Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1900-08-23
PORTALS new YORK LETTER

New York, Aug. 1l.--The Cynic and
/ wers sitting or a rustic bench under
tree by the Bronx, that winding
stream made famous in romance by II,
Hopkinson Smith and his delightful
stories of Laguerre and other little
French settlements near New York, and
Gow, unfortunately, being invaded by
the ever wakeful land advertiser,
"chenp lots for dwellings, However,
there are yet some of the romantic
spots untouched. The Cynic was quiet
and said little; the heat had evaporated
my brain, aud at any rate, | was
thinking of the ''little rift in the lutte, -
one of those unfortunate things that
will come up into the best of friend7
SHIPS 10 y W ~ " 4
The Cynic had done most unusual
thing, for him; he had been thought
less and it seemed to me that our friend
ship had had knock from which ii
would be difficult to recover. am
sure the Cynic felt this and knew that
he had been unkind: but, manlike,
tried to make me appear in the wrong.
''lou don't understand, he slowly
said, drawing a long puff from his
cigarette and then be looked far in the
distance and waited for my answer.
Men are very clever there, Beth; they
put out little feeler and leave a
woman TO do all the talking, and, bless
me, she usually does it in way that
gives him the upper hand. You know
the Cynic has an idea he knows all
about the management of women. His
air of knowing it all' at times eS-
asperates me, but the very last thing
for woman to do is to let man sea
that she is not being managed. ] will
confess he is past master in the art
of keeping a woman guessing, but If
she knows bit she will see the why Of
his mannuvres. He had hurt me, and
he knew it; but the women, Beth, take
life too seriously. 1t Is serious
affair to most of us, the Lord KNOWS,
but we should PITT ID bit Of philosophy
in it, for philosophy goes farther than
sentiment. You know the story Of little
Jack and Jill, who fell down, splitting
the hard earned water. "Don't cry"
we tell them; "little boys and little
girls must learn to hear pain. Get up
and fill the pail aud try again." and
we grown Jacks with hair turning gray,
and grown up Jills with the lines Of
sadness showing bit about our mouth
aud eyes early in the morning when
We are tired, must learn to pick our
pals up and start again rs stoically
| as do the children. We must not take
the matter seriously, although We have
spilled our happiness; we must toll up
the hill again and refill the pail and
carry it more carefully the next time
A campaign cannot be all drum and
fife; the campaign Of life cannot BIZ all
marching to brass bands and party sup
pers: here is TIE real hard work for some
Of us to do. II am glad am not in
love with YOU" said to the Cynic,
you would break:my heait in month.
As it is like this plan of ours, this
comradeship, this studying life together
and Watching each others humors. "
The Cynic slowly turned, and after a
moments pause, The never says any
break your heart, Portia,: granting that
we are both too old to be foolish
enough to fall in love with each other2"
"Oh, simply because you have sufi-
cient amount of those characteristics
called selfishness and thoughtlessness
with which men are particularly on
dowed. You do not mean to be unkind |;
it is only just because you are a man
and have never been taught to regard
the little things. oh yes, you would
be thoughtful as If the mood were on
you, or while your comrades were new.
Men like new toy. All Oh iidren do.
Watch child in the nursery and see
him toss the old ones aside reck lessly,
when even the cheapest kind of new
tin soldier is brought to him. The
great steam engine, Noah's ark, the big
jumping jacks. everything that have
been his delight before are pushed aside
to welcome this new toy, be it ever SO
cheap and inferior an article, and until
the paint begins to come off and the
little tin soldier IL in his tuin an old
thing, it has all my baby lords atten-
tion. Men are quite the same, and as
long as the toy IS new / will admit that
even you, my dear Cynic, would be
most studiously thoughtful and I'M
selfish. Watch the young clerk there,
sitting on the bench next to us. How
|, shoulders Of the little milliner
girl, aud watch how he springs
to pick up her glove when she drops
. it, how he walks when she wants
to walks, and sits when she wants to
sit, and how he laughs at the foolish
little things she tells him. l wonder II
two years hence he will laugh at such
rrattle or take such clumsy Eains to
, put her shawl about her. Experiences
shakes her head and is amused at my
, question. Now, / don't mean to in.
, sinuate, my dear Cynic, that you would
, not brave anything for me, for mar
, will jump into lion den to rescue
his lady's glove. hs will swim across a
rushing river to show his prowess, but
it is In the little thirgs in life, that be
fails, the little things that women &C
truly appreciate.
, Eyes, | know what you are thinking
| about. You are remembering that to
, day at lunch you remembered nv predi.
, lection for those crabs ED coqhit1e, and
! then you referred to something oil
/ Baochus and Venus, which showed me
! that you had been interested. And you
, remembered gown shat | wore thai
! you liked. All these things, my dear
. Cynic, appeal to woman, and she re.
J nembers them and harbors them up,
! but after all, they are not unthoroughly
unseltish things, for it pleased you tc
, remember them. 1t is the tolerance Of
. comrade when che is intensely stupic
: or when she is i'll, or when those days
, filled with the clouds of life come II
! her; it is the little things that you d.
then which show the really deer
q thought. Yes. you tell me that wher
4 last week the blue devils kept me tot
cross to be comrade, you were lonely
8 and therefore manlike, you sough
e recreation. Why should you not? l d,
d not blame you. and the other oonirad
3 you dined with out under the sky 70,
tell me that you wished all the time i
a were l. don't doubt you did, unit
I after the second course, but you didn'
!, think enough of 1t or feel it deepi
Il Il