Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1901-10-03
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THE TANGLE.

NORTHUMBERLAND

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
4 LISON COLEwas wondering wheth-
n er she might not be able to slip
away without offending her hostess,
when a voice said: miss Cole, may
1 introduce Mrs. Kynaston to your"
and in a moment she was face to face
with the one woman in the world she
most desired to avoid. 1t had come
upon her so suddenly that she almost
lost her presence of mind, and q leap
of color dyed her face so richly
that she was painfully aware of it.
The strange futter of her heart and
the mist in her eyes prevented her
for a second from either seeing or
hearing distinctly the individual who
was smiling and speaking to her-a
tall, plump woman of middle age, we'll
dressed, comely, with soft, shining
eyes and pretty teeth.
81 have long wished to know you,
Miss Cole" she was saying, "for /
have heard so much about you, and I
love your pictures so we'll"
"You are very kind" Alison muir
INJURED family. So this was the wo-
man! She had met her at last, after
IS years.
Yes; it was IS years since she had
played, with James Kynaston, in the
commonest Of all tragedies, where
love is the hero, circumstance the viii
Ian, conscience the stalking specter.
1t seemed a long while-15 years
when she had passed through Heaven
and hell in six months, entering with
wings and coming out a strange chrys-
ais that was still alive and able to
notice vaguely the other curious,
wingless things about it. That state
had not lasted either. She had moved,
crawled, walked and learned to feel
again, looking back on the past as on
n previous incarnation, with but
faint sense of identity. Nova great
cloud of time was lifted; the old days
were painted before her in sudden
glare of light. She shrank and trem-
bled.
"You can't think what pleasure you
have given me over and over again"
Mrs. Kynaston went on, gazing with
frank admiration at the paling face in
front of her; "those two last pictures
of yours in the Academy-The Way In
and The Way Out-are my favorites OF
all. They are exquisite! The express
sion of the woman's eyes in the one
where her lover is seen going away
in the distance haunted me for days.
How can you put such pathos and
life into mere paint and canvas? 1t is
wonderful! But l do not marvel so
much now that have seen you"
Her eyes begged a question, but
Alison could not ask it. She could
only mutter: at is very nice of you"
Mrs. Kynaston, smiling sweetly, con-
tinued:
"Your face tells me plainly that you
know what suffering is, and that you
are full of sympathy for those who
suffer. Am 1 not right2"
cit is a question of art, you
know" faltered Miss Cole. trying not
to meet the earnest eyes fixed on her.
"And heart. But it is all amazing.
have so often longed to be clever"
"Never do that" Alison exclaimed,
impetuously, adding, in lower key:
Believe me, i is undesirable"
Undesirable! TO be clever! You
cannot mean it, Miss Cole. l would
give the world to have your genius,
your brain. They would have brought
me a good deal of happiness that 1
have missed. But you will not under
stand-- i can't explain"
Alison felt cold. The womans
voice, warm and sweet as it was, had
become a stabbing pain to her; its
note of sadness wrung her heart.
When she spoke again her voice was
husky.
"You are, fear, under a dclusion,"
she said. "The clever and talented
woman is one of natures mistakes,
a freak that had better, perhaps, be
strangled at her birth. Too often
she misses all that is worth having
in life. For the simple, ordinary wo-
man the feast is spread, everything
is prepared. Her notes are all soft
and low, in harmony with the normal
key; the melody of Der fate flows cas-
ily. 1t is otherwise with the woman
who finds herself pitched too high
for the usual voice."
"You mean that she seldom mar
ries happily; that, as so few men are
her superiors, she rarely meets one
who can dominate her, as a husband
should. 1 have often though of that,
was the quick reply.
("And he told me she was not re-
sponsive!" thought Alison. She said
aloud, choosing her words carefully,
for the ice was thin between safety
and betrayal: "That flatters the clev-
er woman too much. Her superlative-
ness is a thing not proven. Probably
the difficulty lies less often In her
failure to find the superior man than
in her failure to please him when she
has found himl"
Mrs. Kynaston look at her moment
before replying.
"You can never have failed to please
any man or woman" she observed de-
cisively, $50 don't tell me that. But
YOU are modest, as all large-minded
and great-hearted people are. 1t has
been a real pleasure to meet you, Miss
Cole, and / have thoroughly enjoyed
our chat. If you will only come to
see me, should be more than de-
lighted. Will you? My days are first