Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-02-28
NEW WOMAN


the afternoon, although he was quite
aware that she preferred to receive
him in the evening in the fat which
she shared with her sister artist.
She was alone and tired. Her sitter
she was a portrait painter-had just
gone, and she WINS in the act of making
a cup of tea for her own use.
The tea table was an inviting one.
The little kettle purred cozily. She
handled the tea ball gracefully with
pretty and expressive hands.
81 don't see what you are doing with
q teakettle." he said. You have alb
jured all that ii stands for. You have
found something better than domestic
life"
THAT is nonsense" responded the
woman of genius GROSSLY. for her work
had not gone we'll that day. Tea ta-
bles are popular because women need
stimulus and chatting dishes because
men like substantial nOurishment."
'"Those are very pretty views-very
pretty" he remarked gloomily. 'but
have not observed that you practiced
them. Your views are incompatible
with marriage"
wrong man just to show that my
views upon the woman question were
conservative. would your
You will never find the right one"
She looked at him-a curious, meas
ured, wondering gaze. There was scorn
in it, but was it all scOrn? No" she
said slowly, Il am not emancipated
enough for that. / intend to let him
find me, even though we play ut hide
and seek together all our days" 1t was
rather difficult for this man to admit
an important idea offhand into his
mind, but something i'll her voice
stirred him so that ne sprang to his
feet.
do you mean-would you really lis
ten? T.
1t was half an hour later before it Oc-
Cured to him that all this was violat-
ing precedent.
do you suppose you can be happyT"
he implored, and then he brought up
the subject of the books in which mar
ried women of genius had always been
miserable.
ooh, books" said she. with an inf
mite scorn. Haven't you ever noticed
that people write best about things of
which they know absolutely nothing?
And you thought 1 did not care and
would not marry yOu?"
az thought so. Yes"
An adorable smile bent her lips.
Don't you think you were rather
hasty, not to say unkind, in adopting so
completely the generalization that the
artist rejects-love and with it lifeP'
''But if you had heard yourself talk
ing of your work. he cried. You
seemed to think art the one thing in
the world. Every word fell like clod
on a coffin"
''Why should not speak of art with
fervor? 1 feel it all and you had not
offered me any career which 1 pre-
ferred.'
"Ah, but do you. will you always
prefer it? 1t is not as if you were
merely talented, you know, to give
up
Give up? But 1 intend to give up
nothing! 1 am afraid you are little
stupid
would you mind explaining the sit
uation to me-" he asked humbly.
THAT is very easy" she said com
posedly. II simply don't intend to be
unequal to the combination of love and
| art
The luminous fbrill fancy of thisi solu-
ton kept him silent, while she went
on:
''Those women you read about, you
know, were under the disadvantage OF
not being modern when they tried tC
do things. They were working against
a tremendous though perhaps invisible
pressure. The world wasn't adjusted
so as to help, them and make'the solu
ton of their problems easy. They felt
that horrible weight-the pressure OF
the disapproval of the universe
could not stand out against it. But
with us It is different. The world is
ours and the fullness thereof-at least
that is what feel about it. One has
delicously buoyant senSation-the
Lord is on our side feeling-that is III
itself a guarantee of success. Then
| you know, we have better health and
fewer nerves than women used to
have, and thatrmakes difference"
But suppose" he persisted, 'jusi
suppose that you were to fail. What
| then?"
She puckered her brows judicially.
lone is willing to pay a certain price
for the bestvthings," she admitted slow.
ly, 'if the goods are delivered. 1t is
possible that happiness might not be q
very bad bargain, even though paid
| for it with art-''
"Ah, darfingw he began, but she went
on: But 1 shall not have to do it
shall have my cake and eat it too"
He looked at her with an expression
of admiration which almost hid his
| fundamental skepticism.
"YouJ are" he said, with sudden illu
minatipn, something more advanced
than modern. You are she of whom
we have heard-the coming woman"
| GI,z, looI-od LIZ