New-York tribune., 1904-09-01
1be Mefanorp6o,sis Of Colin
BIZ RAFAEL sARATINi.

IN
npd himself famous.
He rad Ieft home 1our years before giving
out ta25 he was going abroad for pIeastre-lhe
pleasure. scandal mongers had it. being thar pc
euliarly Immoral delight which some men Tn4
in the evasion of clamorous and insisrent cred
ifors.
He had done himself fairiy wen mad colin
Harrington. in the three yeafz -hat Isv between
ms coming of age and his abrupt de1lrr,r4
from England. He had done a lltt!e-a very
itJle-Work, made a little love. and spent a iir-
tie mouey-the little. IN this last ease beng All
thar had been left him by the none TOO wealth.,
gentleman VINO had had the honor Of being his
father
Abroad he had worked Lacking the means
10 pursue au eHjoyaol tdieuess-and there ara
few things more cosl!y-he turned to rhe ,uI-
ovation OF the gifts ne unquestiouahIv nos
St-sed but which he seemed TO prefer in their
latent condition he had sent his work home
IL had round ready market, grown i'm value.
and IN four short wears brought him enough
tame 70 turn the head of any ordinary -oun-
man or twenty seven BuI. then Colin .sas NOT
an ordinary young man. and success Iafr hin,
cold and unchanged
In measure perhaps. s. Strengthened our
that moral oblpUtty of mis- touching his debts
,luI ot.i! l' q Hea sure some Of Tire larger Ones
ne l0rSot-iE indeed. we may be allowed To uSs
me term Where accident mad no part And So
~ happened lnat te'r OF MS creditors. Who had
hailed his Jriumphs and his Homecoming as the
heralds Of settlement discovered that they
had run aefore their horse to market.
Some Went the length Of boarding him with
tLer claims. bUt he wTigSled and slipped
through their hands just he wriggled and
pleasant
He. was sorry-there were at times tears In
his voice when he protested it-he was des-
perately sorry for the inconvenience they might
be suffering, but he besought then-and here
MS accents would grow seductive as a sirens
10 give him time. He had nothing TO speak OF.
rf7or 4
grace him 70 no purpose; while II they waited
until he should have earned something he would
satlsIy y them. Fame was his In the wake OF
FaIne. Fortune has at times been known TO
Journey Let them give him a chance, and they
would see he was not quite specific concern
ing what they would see, ard the last thing
they thought themselves likely TO see was their
money, but-realzing perhaps how feeble reed
Is the law for the creditor-they consented to
wait
And while those poor creditors waited Colin
Harrington spent his not tnconsiderabIe earn
ings with that jovtaI recklessness characteristics
OF his happy-go-lucly nature.
How long this strocious state os things might
have prevailed but for the Intervention OF Mary
Escott there is no saving with any degree OF
certainty, though-by bastng q presumption OF
the future upon our knowledge OF Collins past
we might hazard a guess that II would have
prevailed until a second ditttng from England
became Imperative.
She. however. was destined TO work his meta
morphosis arresting his progress along the road
Of unconscious dishonesty that leads to perdi-
ton IN the abstract and the County Court in the
concrete.
In the years OF his adolescence Colin had been
very fond OF Mary. There had been certain
tender passages between them, and the budding
OF a love which Collins financial SHORTCOMINGS
had cruelty nipped Abroad he learned that she
had married. At the news he had sighed urat-
tilv. and smiled with fond retrospective arruse-
mentor he had known one or two other and
even greater, passions since that which Mary
had ins5tred-
Later. he had heard that her husband was
dead. and this time he had sighed perfunctortly
and without smiling. believing himself genuine
ly anected b. the mental picture he drew OF her
wtdowhood- Thereafter he had forgotten her
which. platttude rnongering cyuics fell us is
human natures vile way.
And now of a sudden he came face to face
with her again. II was at a regtnental ball in
his native town OF Stoubridge. and the coIoners
wife had hustled him across and presented him
as the lion OF the hour They had smiled upon
each other the quiet smile. fraught with never
so little sadness, OF souls stripped OF their Nlu-
sIcns-
The coIoners wife had withdrawn. and Colin
seating himself beside her was scrfbbling hero
glyphs on her dance card with a clumsiness
that would never have led you 70 suspect that
things he wrote were worth something Ike six
pence a word.
Then he looked at her intentIy for a moment
and-'Molly," he whispered. how beautiful you
The genuineness OF his accents robbed the
words OF all vestige OF impertineRce.
Colin" she Knocked back. how clever you
have become" And they laughed together.
Tell me-" she added, how does It feel To be a
non?"
'One longs for the mouse TO come and guaw
the cords. and allow one to get up and stretch
ones SELF
She knit her brows
What an artificial speech
Believe me- il describes an artificial condi-
ton"
"Wh5 do you talk Ike that7''
-Oh. It's expected OF me. suppose and It ex-
presses exactly what 7 nean when I refer %
the cords that bind one and the stretching OF
th- limbs so devOutly desired"
- have read your books. Colin" said she.
can You see anything in them to justify
7 can see you in them. colin They reflect
you constantly They sound like you
He flushed With pleasure
NO? Do they. though Then his voice
dropped to more feeling key. Molly. I am
glad at last that wrote them I never thoughr
very much OF my work. but II IL served 70 bring
me to your memory II has not been wasted"
His great blue eyes We're bent upon her ar
IDENTIFY. She laughed, and set herself 10 sway
her fan gently.
Please don't stare st ne Ike that, Colin"
said she People are looking at us"
But Colin was not to be repressed- The old
Feelings that had died four years ago were IN
course of being resusCitGJed. Love is a flame
difficult of TeiguitOn where once il has been
QuenChed: but let that reignitiO1 take place. and
its blaze Is all consuming Colin was realizing
this. More fully still did he realize It when.
two hours later-toward the close OF the even
conservatory. where there were no pryirg eyes
10 restrain him. and where with impUniJy he
might gaze dt her as he listed
He fed his glance upon the perfect curve OF
her white throat the gllsJeninE masses OF her
ebony hair. and in the clear depths OF her dark
eyes his soul at last was drowned. His hand
closed upon hers. His fine. foolish young head
was bent until he felt her hair upon his cheek
Molly" he st1Innered, II love YOU.
She moved her head away The action seemed
IN the nature OF a rebuff. but the soft. seductive
laughter that rlppled from her lips COunteracted
what effect il might have had upon hOtheaded
Colin lie read in II a challenge. and answer
ing it. his was about her nm instant. and
he was seeking 10 draw her to him. Bur she
broke from his clasp. and. pushing him fOrcibly
back. she stood UP suddenly. She longer