Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1902-02-01
TWO CHRISTINES.



from his survey of the scene inside the
brilliantly lighted hotel dining room 10 find
tnat ne was SHARING the picture VITA a wom
an. Sac turned also, and he started as hs
recognized her.
Christine Merriam had room near Rails
tons in an old studio building that was full
OF artists and authors, mostly unsuccessful
ones. He belonged to the former class, sac
to the latter.
The girl was not too warmly dressed, and
Ralston wondered that she should have
paused in that cold spot, a corner where
the four winds Of heaven held hign carnival.
They look comfortable ia there, he said,
his eyes following hers, which were fixed
upon a young couple seated at one OF the
smaller tables.
Yes. And how happy There was an
indeseribable note in the girls voice.
why shouldn't they be happyg They
have everything to make them So" Rails
tons tone matched hers. The man ia
Clyde Willis; the woman Christine Bran.
don"
Curiously, wistfully, the shabby Chris.
tine in the street gazed at the Christine who
sat, wrapped about with light and warmth,
on the other side Of the plate glass window
Ralston's eyes were upon the same errand
and his heart aehed as a sharp sense OF the
contrast snote him. For the woman in
there he cared nothing; the one at his side
be loved.
"The papers are right in saying that mel
Their OF those two is marrying for money"
said Christine, suddenly. 1T is easy to
see that they love one another"
why should either of them be marrying
for money, when they both have Millions
Ralston spoke modify
Christine made no answer. She was
searching out the details that gave the other
Christine's appareling harmony not unlike
the harmony of picture, poem or o
song Her eyes saw, too, the light that
flashed from the eyes of the girl to those
in the face of the man opposite her, and she
noted the perfect understanding that ex-
isted between them.
"a scene like that makes one feel that the
river is the only place for people like us
doesn't II" Ralston asked What pic
ture could make out of it, though, if there
were light enough
at isn't the lack of things that money
will buy that makes me so bitter" Ralston
went on, ''it's having to do without others
that are beyond the power of wealth to pur-
chase and yet are made unattainable by
lONelt1y BtdNt vi Iilttu 4oNS.
His companion did not reply. She was
listening, but she was thinking at the same
time how much wealth, in the shape OF
grooming and gowning, could do for
woman.
what handsome man Willis is" Rails
ton remarked.
The Christine at his side glanced up at
him. He did not need to envy any man
his good looks, she thought. He was quite
as handsome as the one the other Christine
loved, and his face held, besides, something
higher and finer.
Il don't envy him his houses, nor his
yachts, nor his money" Ralston's stability
gloved hands closed tightly over two points
in the iron railing before him; but it's not
fair that he should be free to make the
woman he loves his wife, while lone can
not invite woman to share nothing" The
bitterness in the mans tone was intense.
The girl at his side grasped the railing
also, trembling convulsively for support.
Twice she opened her lips to speak before
she finally said:
Not if she already has--nothing."
tChristine!" All the love in the mans
heart and the pent up feeling of the last
hour were in that passionate cry.
Christine crept close to him and laid her
hand upon his arm, and for awhile neither
spoke. Love could not warm the icy air or
still the piercing wind, but it could make
them forget both.
Look" cried Ralston, pointing to the
other two, whom they had forgotten; "they
are raising their glasses for a toast. Let it
be our toast, too"
He moved back step and lifted his
empty hand with flourish, as if it held a
trimming glass. "To love-" he cried, 'love
that robs wealth of its monotony, poverty
of its sting; love that brings happiness to
rich and poor alike"
Christine initiated his gestures, laughing
softly.
Come" said Ralston, drawing her hand
within his arm; 81 must take you home; it
Is beginning to snow"
But the girl fingered to take last look
at the picture inside the gorgeous dining
room. She was comparing, for the second
time that night, her lot with that of the 9TH
er Christine.
Her eyes sought the man at the table,
then the one at her side. No, she did not
envy the rich woman her lover. She meas.
ured the ease and luxury Of the others
life with the poverty that fell to her share
hut her heart did not falter at the contrast
Were not the love she gave and the love that
was given her both sweeter, tenderer, be-
cause of the things they must compensate
for? Lastly, she looked at the other Chris
tines shimmering gown and flashing jew
els. They were desirable, surely, and yet
Ito be loved without theml
A smile was on Chrstine's face as she
turned away from the window and the pic.
ture it formed, to go with her lover-Na-
tional Magazine.
The "SpeIlbfnder."
The origin of the word as applied TO cam
paign speakers is traced to Gen George