The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1902-04-18
ON NEW YEARS EVE.
BY BARRY PAIN.

KILL
"a fault of my education" said the as
tronomer.
She glanced at him shyly and back to the
glowing logs in the fireplace. Il can't tell
you why, everybody knows that the birth
of new year is important. Look how the
Scotch regard il"
eyes, said the young astronomer, look
ing always at the girl, and not at all at the
smoldering logs. eyes, know. It's Scotch
for the Scotch on January |. National Gus
tom. l love these old national customs
they provide the standard of imbecility for
the test of wisdom. They are the fixed
point by which we can judge our progress.
It is by looking at them that we see the bal
loon is really going up"
"You say things. 1 like that, though l
can't say things myself Tell me, now, why
the birth of new year does not matter to
you"
"You reduce me to the Aattest common
place. One moment of time is precisely
rs important as another--no less and no
more. A year is a year because we choose
to call it So These divisions of time are
man-made and arbitrary. They are, I'M
doubtedly, convenient divisions, and one
often sees a thing which was made for con-
venence converted into fetish, to which
convenience is sacrificed. In this case you
will sit up long after your usual bedtime to
worship at the shrine"
eyes, we always sit up to see the new
year in. But we let visitors go to bed if
they like"
"This visitor" said the astronomer,
"hates nothing so much as going to bed
except, perhaps, getting up again. Have
not said, too, that love old customs, even
when their origin will not stand analysis"
"Why analyze? 1t spoils things. Astron-
omy is a cold science, | think"
The astronomer laughed. II don't like
my science hot; when it gets feverish it fire.
quently ceases to be science"
"And believe astronomy spoils one for
near sight. You look so far. You see so
many other worlds You know SO much
about them"
"Or SO little," added the astronomer,
parenthetically.
"And you lose interest in this world.
You don't care for world that you can't
look at through telescope"
TITS not point of Importance, but you
can look at this world through a telescope
if you like"
"You know what | mean. These ire
mendous distances dwarf everything. You
get to think this world quite trivial. Good
ness knows what you must think of the
specks of people on it,"
81 hope I'm not ass enough to talk as if
/ thought my fellowmen did not matter"
"No, no." OF a sudden it fitted across
her mind that she was talking rather Sc
riously-the usual light interchange had
died down. But it was the afternoon of the
last day in the year; the sun went down in
splendor, reddening the sky and the fiat.
mysterious marshes; her own heart inclined
to seriousness. "You know too well the
way to talk. think, besides, that you are
too kind. But it does not follow that you
talk exactly in accordance with your CON
victions. Certainly, you always speak of
yourself as if you were some kind of bitter
joke. | thought at first it was self-defense
so many people who read about you in the
papers congratulate you, and generally in
the stupidest way. But don't believe it's
only that. After all, if you think the world
trivial and its people contemplate, that is
not unreasonable" She waited for a Wig
orous denial; she did not get it.
Possibly" he said; "but then one doesn't
hold reason as final and impregnable."
''But-er-sciencew she said, amazed.
Reason itself teaches the limitations of
reason Before instinct and emotion rea-
son goes always will. Life would
be poor and nsipid business if it were not
so. Is it any good to talk reason to sane
man who has the horror Of heights? Or to
a sane man in love? Will you convince the
one that he can walk the edge of the preci-
pice in safety, or the other that the woman
is worthless? OF course not. And would
not have it otherwise. You said that sci
ence was cold; it is just that. My enthu-
siasm for some new instrument of scrupu-
lous precision and fidelity is intense, but it
is cold intensity My desire to learn more
is imperious and constant, but there are
other desires more potent" He rose and
replaced fallen log in position with judg-
ment and dexterity "Dont' believe that
a man of science isn't a man. he's a man of
science-that defines the position exactly"
81 see what you mean. could almost
have thought that you would have rebelled
against that"
mo useless rebellions for me-"
ut surprises me that you are so con.
tented"
"The desire for the explanation and the
love of the inoxplicable exist together"
"And what is the inexplicable?"
He looked down into her eyes, and her
eyes met his and sank "You want in
stances? You and are inexplcable; there
is not even probable theory to account for
us wholly, Love, too, is inexplicable."
He took both her hands and drew her to
him, unresisting, like a woman half uncon-
scious.
"You wonder that | am content? If
knew all-everything-an missed you'll"
He kissed her and let her go.
She stood back, smiling nervously
rs this true?" she said,
"Quite. The old year can so now."--