The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1901-08-02

individually, only between lneIl, or
any one of them, and me. They were
rougher brawnier, heavier In voice, In
manner. In figure. than ! am. Their
features were coarser - everything
about them was different Hair grows
upon their faces. as ii does on yours.
VIII you explain this difference to
meY
Your training has been different
from theirs. Lisle."
Pardon me, sir, but | cannot under
stand why that should make all the
difference. There were subtle differ
ences which | have not words to eX-
plain because | do not know how to
define them, but | could feel them.
One day, while we were sorting our
cattle, two of them sat upon their
horses close beside you. | studied
them. and l studied you. Afterward
l rode up and took a place beside
you myself, and then | studied over
them again. The same difference did
not manifest itself between them and
you as it did between them and me
or between you and me. Do | make
myself understood? | mean that in
some ways those strangers were more
like you than l, who am your son, am
like you. The same subtle something
which distinguishes those young men
from me does not separate them from
you. and the same ineXplicable differ
ence that exists between them and me
l could discover also between you and
me- am not like other men. Why
am notY
Am | like other men whom you
know, Lisle? Am like Craig Thomp-
SOM" asked Richard Maxwell.
"Yes, you are in the sense to which
| refer-in that subtle sense which l
cannot define. 1t is In the air you
breathe, in the way you breathe it, in
the unspoken understanding between
you and other men, or, since you have
mentioned a name between you and
Craig Thompson-an understanding in
which l have no part or place.
"These subtleties, Lisle, are freaks of
the Imagination which result from your
habits Of study. Your life has been diff
ferent from the lives of any other young
man | ever knew. 1t is my love for
you that has made it so. | have kept
you near me and away from the world
which | have repudiated. | have
taught you differently, trained you diff
ferently, led you 10 think differently.
Your manner Of living. your methods
Of study, your isolation from strangers,
have, combined, created the differences
that you discover. Your Imagination
has emphasized and magnified them.
That is ALL"
Isle sighed and shook his head neg
atively.
you do not or you will not under
stand" he said. Your reply does not
comprehend the question. 1t is like
building a house without windows. l
am your son. You are my father.
Should not father and son be alike?"
Sometimes they are very much
alike; sometimes they are very differ
ent. There is no rule which governs
such condition. Step with me to the
mirror. Have you forgotten how great
| ly we resemble each other, eliminating
the difference in ageY
"No; it is true that our features are
alike. Our forms are different. Ere
quently | see you at work without
your coat. You never permit me TO re-
move mine except here in the house.
The men remove theirs and place them
across their saddles. Their figures,
thus disclosed, are not the same as
mine. Yours is not the same as mine.
l have studied myself before my own
mirror. | know that | am cast in n
different mold from other men. know
/ that you are cast in the same mold as
other men. | am as different from you
as the day is different from the night.
Tell me truly, am like a womanY'
Yes you have the best qualities of
woman and the best qualities Of man.
/ Strangers see and recognize both; hence
/ such remarks"
again you fall short of a complete
response to my question" sighed Lisle.
1--WE will pass it for the present. You
mentioned my parents. Who are or
were they? You are one; who was the
/ otherY
"Your mother"
you have always refused to speak
! VI ueI W me- w III you not 10 50 HOW
mo"
'Was not my mother-a being whom
you have taught me to despise-a wom-
amp?
YES"
docs my mother liveY
eve will not discuss your mother"
II will not urge you, father. | have
learned to know that the subject Is
painful to you, although you will not
tell me why it is so. May n child dur
ing its growth change from woman to
man or from man TO womanY
Human beings come into the world
by the will of God. They live out the
period Of existence allotted to each of
them and pass away in order to make
room for others. God appoints that
they shall be men or women. Human
ity has no power in the selection-a
newcomer is not permitted to choose
between the two entities They grow
up like the sagebrush. some of them;
others like the trees which | planted
oronp1 fhic hot1co Nrrhon Won xvora worry