Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1903-07-11
A WELL MEANING WOMAN.

are quite the cleverest man l know, yet
you never seem to have done anything"
Il sincerely hope not" replied Cecil
Halsted, in a musical, slightly weary
voice The supreme efforts of my life
have been to avoid doing anything. 1t
is positively indecent how one longs to
work sometimes"
If ! didn't know you better" / should
say you were a poseur.'
Whereas / am only a drifter."
Some people might call you an idler, -
retorted Margaret Dennis.
Some people don't interest me; but
! dare say they might. You have one
fault, Meg. You can't drift. In fact,
believe you are secretly pining to do
something mighty"
"Of course / am. I want to write a
book"
Good heavens! The very thing
have had the greatest difficulty to avoid
doing ever since l could hold pen"
But why on earth should you not
write book! Indeed, you ought-it's
your duty"
Ought! Duty! My dear child, such
words are not recognized by men CT
thought. Beauty is the word that should
rule all great minds, and men don't do
beautiful things-they only think them"
"Oh, ! don't agree with YOU a bit!
Think of all the beautiful pictures that
have been painted-the music that has
been composed-the books that have been
written!"
"Well, you don't suppose men did those
things from a sense of duty! They did
them just because they could not help
| than sol ho lSTrh4
can help being reflected in the Seine"
They were standing on the Pont Saint
Michel, looking up the river Not the
and silver tones-but the mysterious
haunting river of the night; the play
ground of innumerable lights and the
home of deep reflections.
Then you think" went on the girl
after pause, chat Raphael only paint
ed, and Beethoven only composed, be-
cause they could not help it?'
"Why not? The things they imagined
were much more beautiful than the
things they did, and it must always be
50 with all of MS. That's why / won't
let myself work"
but if every one held the same views
there would be no landmarks, and gen
erations woulu not be able to gauge their
powers"
why think of generations? Meg. YOU
are falling deeper and deeper into the
slough of duty; you viii be quoting
Charles Kingsley at me soon. Come and
drink coffee at the Lorraine"
Does nothing ever disturb your calm,
Cecil?"
mot often. It's no use getting excited
about things"
Il should like to see you in rage all
the same. 1t would be like thunder
storm on summer sea-
"And you like thunder storms?"
Yes, they clear the air"
Sometimes they upheave things"
Anyway they are definite-which is
more than you can say about our con-
Versations."
Can You imagine any thing more ter
rible than a definite conversational"
II can't imagine anything more diff
, cult. I've never done or said q definite
thing in my life. That's why | admire
2 people who do
What misplaced admiration. Believe
me, there is nothing so deplorable as a
, definite person, and nothing so delightful
as an indefinite one. If ever you do a
, definite thing, you will regret it with
I great bitterness of spirit. Besides, think
= of all the JOY you have culled from the
indefinite! Take our friendship, for in
stance. We met, because we had in
: definite longings after the beautiful
! which led us to the feet of the Venus Of
q Milo We spoke because we had in.
( definite need of speech, and an indefinite
degree of sentiment has turned chance
a meeting into a friendship which may last
forever, or end tomorrow. That is its
;, charm"
! "Yes, that is its CHARM" said Meg
/, with a little laugh, shall we go ant
I drink coffee, as you suggested"
[ But the students cafe did not amuss
o her tonight The pre- Raphaelite LOOKING
I models, who perched themselves OF
tables, and demanded "bock" from
young men in picturesque clothing, iarret
! on her nerves, and she listened in an alb
sent minded way TO Halsted's somewhat
j cynical remarks.
Take me home, Cecil" she said sud
denly. I'm not in the mood for this
kind of thing tonight. The undercurrent
is too obvious
Halsted looked at her in SUNRISE
Certainly. But you are behaving in a
disgracetul feminine way. What's the
matterg'
"Nothing-except that l am feminine. -
, Meg climbed the many stairs to the
flat which she shared with Miss Emma
Dale. rather YEARLY, after she had left
Halsted. The fire was out in the sitting
room. and Miss Dale had gone 10 bed.
The whole place looked mournful. She
sat down in n chair and stared at the
ashes in the fireplace.
"Ashes!' she muttered. That's lust
ii, As long as the fun and laughter of
youth are with us, we don't think. But
when they are gone, what is there left ?
Ashes-just gray dusty ashes! We are
so clever nowadays. We scorn all the
things our grandmothers cherished. and
we rant, and rave about living our own
lives Oh, why was l born a womang"
This was rank heresy. Bohemian Paris
| gives no thought to the morrow, and Meg
belonged to Bohemia, Indeed, she was
one of its most sunny inhabitants. Her
unorthodox friendships never grew into