The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1903-11-17

alas. they understood one another not
at all.
And the other couple-John and
Alice-life went almost as badly with
them. Alice, with her superabundart
intelligence and vitality, grew to feel
as the months went by that her sturdy
and commonplace husband did not I'M
derstand her. She appreciated hin
sterling worth and his unyielding re-
liability, but she could always touch
Dottom-there was no depth to explore.
Her unconquerable vitality rebelled at
the hard-and-fast bounds she found in
MS character She adored his manly
physiognomy and his sturdy character
and she told herself again and again
tnat he was the sort of man to tie to
One of the salt Of the earth; but her
unquenchable spirit rebelled at bounds
and rules. and it got so she fairly hated
ngures, facts and reason. She longed
for flights into the mystic realm Of
ldeality, into those realms where vital
forces could override rules and meth
DDS
!
John could not understand anything
OF that sort Honest, conscientious,
sterling John could move only along
the lines OF his own understanding
And he resented, in a manly and hon
est way, the breach Alice had placed
between them. He had disregarded
no obligation, no duty, no sacrifice. He
had been altogether unselfsh and
faithful, and somehow he had not sue
ceeded in welding his life with that of
his wife. His hopes, his ideals had
been shattered
Now, mind you, all this time, while
these thoughts and ideas had been
percolating through the minds of these
four simpletons, they had, all of them,
been constant companions and friends.
So 1t was that the artistic mind of
Clarence began to appreciate the
depths and wealth of the nature OF
Alice-contrasting it to the narrow
ness and poverty of that of Gracia.
And by that same token Alice awo..e
one day all Of CULVER with an appre-
citation of the tremendous sweep of the
nature of Clarence along the lines of
her own aspirations
1t was dangerous discovery, and as
1t came to these two people it nearly
foored them.
The harder they fought the more
tense the new situation grew. To
the soul of each the commonplace
qualities of wife and husband grew
more oppressive es they realized in
each other the joys Of perfect apprecia-
ton and perfect fellowship. The
end was certain as the multipn-
cation table, and finally they gave up
the struggle for conventionality and
honor and resolved to shatter their
vows and their regulations, to give up
kindred, associates and home and
wreck the structure they had been
building since childhood and flee to
an unknown country, there to begin a
new life in which their mutual love
would be ample compensation for all
they left.
Brave in their resolution, but guilty
in the consciousness of the great
wrong they were doing their loyal con
sorts, the two slipped into a close
carriage on the evening of the 18th
of June, 1899, and were driven rapidly
to the depot. where they boalded a
train bound for New York, there to
sail for European shores, where they
had planned to begin their new life
In the meantime both John Bedwsll
and Gracia Cole had felt the widen-
ing breach in their respective homes,
although neither had the slightest sus-
picion of the state of affairs between
Clarence Cole and Alice Bedwell. Be-
ing thrown together much Gracia be-
gan to take a new delight in the So
ciety of the sturdy John Bedwell. she
could understand his mental attitude.
his plain, everyday talk, his natural
human methods, whereas Clarence
high-strung. artistic impulses and
localities oppressed and bewildered
her. And John, disappointed and puz-
zled at his failure to understand Alice
and weld his life with hers, and resent
ing the attitude of inferiority she
placed him in, looked with new eyes
upon Graeia and realized her surpass-
ing beauty. And as he talked more
and more to her and found that she
understood so thoroughly his THOUGHTS
and aspirations. his heart warmed
toward her Finally he awakened wan
a start to the realization that he loved
her and that his love for Alice was
dead. And presently she found her
own heart had gone out to John. So
when the fires of the new love had at
tanned fever heat both were more ready
to obey their impulses than the others.
for they had not the condescending
pity-rather sting of injured pride.
John methodically wound up his bust
ness affairs and looked up new loca-
ton where he could reestablish him
self safely, and it came to pass that on
the evening of June 16. 1899, he en-
tered a close carriage with Grac;a and
they were driven rapidly to the depot,
where they boarded train bound for
San Francisco, there to take steamer
for Australia.
The two trains stood on the same
track. the engines heading in opposite