The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1900-06-29

ng their influence if they had been ac-
Gused And, anyway, neither would have
thought of accusing the other. The
Greshams and Davises lived in different
cities during the winter, but it so hap
pened that they had selected Ongiara as
the choicest spot on the great lakes for
their summer outing. They had tried it
for the first time on the previous year,
and it was in that way that Jack
Gresham and Polly Davis first met. They
had met only a few times, but were so
congenial that all winter they had been
thinking of each other, and it was due
to their influence exerted on their re-
spective families that the fitting took
place as early as May. And when they
met they Immediately began to act as
if they had known each other for years
and had been in the habit of meeting
every day 1t is strange, but true, that
people who are acquainted and think
about each other a great deal find their
friendship ripens just as quickly when
they are apart as if they were associat
ing daily.
Jack and Polly promptly began to en-
joy the beauties of Ongiara in company.
They ganized botanizing parties of two,
went boating and fishing, and discovered
d
inyigoratng or long walks so healthful
as in the early evening.
But although they were inseparable,
neither of them was aware of the fact,
for nothing had happened to make them
study the state of their hearts. Of course
they were teased by their friends but
they We're so sure of the platonic char
acter of their friendship that they didn't
mind in the least. One evening about the
middle of June, however, something I'M
expected happened
81 have made up my mind" said Polly
as she swung in the hammock that Jack
kept in motion, ''to celebrate the first
Fourth Of July in the new century by
doing something unusual, though
haven't decided yet what it shall be-"
"Well, you have plenty of time to make
up your mind"
''Not so very much--ony about two
weeks"
.'About year and two weeks, you
mean, don't your said Jack.
Certainly not" Polly retorted, with
slight show of temper. "Now, surely you
are not one of the cranks that try to
prove that the new century does not be-
gin till the beginning of the year 1901"
ooh, don't know that am so particu-
larly cranky in thinking so, and anyway,
! have the majority of the world with
me-"
"Well, Matthew Arnold used to say
that the majority is always wrong, and it
most decidedly is in this case"
Il don't see how on earth you can say
so. The argument is just as clear as
pikestaff."
well, I'd like to have a look at that
pikestaff. l suppose the argument you
refer to is the one about dollars and pay
ing them out one at time until you have
paid 100"
The tone in which this was said ex-
asperated Jack by its condescension, and
he answered in the same strain.
mot by any means. The argument l
use is much simpler and suited to any
grade of intelligence"
Indeed" said Polly. Would you
mind prattling it out?"
''Not in the least. Let us suppose that
we have 100 volumes of 365 pages each
and each divided into II chapters. The
first volume would be volume l, and so
on to volume 100, and if l started to
read them couldn't say that they were
all read until had completed the three
hundred and sixty-ffth page of volume
100, and in the same way century can
not be complete until the three hundred
and sixty-ffth day Of its hundredth year
has elapsed"
"That's no argument at ALL" said Pol
ly. Books and years are entirely diff
ferent things"
"But each book represents year."
"No, it doesn't; not any more than
that COW out there on the commons does.
Won surely have studied rhetoric even il