The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1902-07-24
The Clairvoyant
Found a Way "

nY THE time Freddie Lawrence has
Il made another million or two it
would not be surprising if he endowed
school for the advancement of clairvoy-
ance. Yet six months ago you couldn't
have found a greater scoffer at all
forms of mysticism. The change came
about in this way:
Six years ago Freddie was one of
some 40 young men who wanted to
marry certain young woman. All OF
Freddie's rivals seemed to have hope
less advantages inherited or acquired
over him and Freddie grew SO detected
that he became even less attractive
than usual. Then the young woman
married him, though Freddie has been
unable wholly to believe it ever since.
No one ever accused Freddie of be-
ing brilliant, but he stepped into his
fathers shoes and did even better at
business than he had at football. For
four years Freddie gazed across his
dining table at his wife, like man
astray in fairly tale. That she looked
back at him with certain light in
her eyes was to Freddie one of earth's
mysteries.
But one day something happened, or
rather something didn't happen, which
was the same thing. At first it was
affecting, half-realized twinge Of dis
comfort in one corner of Freddie's
brain. Then sense Of unrest. now
here, now gone, that made Freddie
fear he was bilious. Then with a sort
of dumb instinct he went and bought
his wife diamond and ruby necklace
that was worth a maharajah's ranso ON.
But the unrest grew and sat on his
chest. Something had been changed
or lost, Freddie knew, but he groped
along blindly. Then all Of sudden,
one day, the truth went through him
like half dozen double-edged swords.
His wife wasn't looking at him the
way she used to look!
( After that the descent into Hades
was easy. Freddie's wife not only
didn't look at him the way she used
to look, but she didn't laugh at his
stories the way she used to laugh. In
the midst of one she tried to conceal
a yawn.
When she took his arm her hand
rested on it like a bird-but former
ly it was a bird about to build nest;
now the bird was restless for flight.
One night she asked him if he was go
ing to the club, and when he replied
that he would rather stay at home
II he might sit and look at her, she
looked bored.
Freddie's wife came to dance and
talk and laugh with other men and
accept Freddie with resignation.
These other men were clever, most OF
them, or otherwise favored of for
tune, like the 80 rivals who had once
driven Freddie to the brink of despair.
Freddie would have thought sooner
of suicide than of finding fault with
her. The only wonder he had was
that she hadn't found him out before.
He went from 100 pounds to ia,
smoked black cigars to excess, spent
13 hours day at his desk, and had
protracted fits Of abstraction when
time was worth thousand dollars a
minute to him.
Also he struggled for awhile against
{ fate. The constancy and delicacy of
his attentions might have won a
princess.
Then he complained to her reminis.
Gently, and she did not understand and
was annoyed. Then he tried simple
dignity. Then mute pathos. At the
end he was seeing her about twice a
week at dinner.
One afternoon Freddie slammed his
desk to and left his office in the mid.
die of the afternoon because he felt
if he didn't go out and walk around
he would have apoplexy. He tramped
about the streets for ten miles or so
hearing nothing and seeing nothing
and nobody until he ran into or over
them.
For man whom nobody had evel
accused of being sentimental or imag G
NATIVE, Freddie was thinking queer
thoughts. He was wondering if h,
should do some heroic deed-saye {
little child or an old man or half s
dozen people-and was mangled OF
crushed fatally perhaps) in the opera
ton; whether when he was brought
home by an admiring policeman anc
ambulance surgeon, his wife would
orush back his hair from his forehead
IS she used to do. The picture was sc
pathetic that Freddie almost wept.
de might have wept, had his eye
not been arrested at that moment 10y
gorgeous black and gold sign on the
ground floor of fiat house which h,
was passing. This was the sign:
The Only Greatest