The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1905-05-09
A Mood
By KEITH GORDON

book face downward ON her lap in the
way that one should not and, picking
up the poker, gave the fire a thrust OF
so as rider spurs his horse to greater
effort
ugh! What dayP' her thoughts
ran. Zone would think Joy were dead
Fire won't burn, sun won't shine, even
the sparrows huddle together lumpish-
ly without energy enough to scrap"
She picked up the book again and re-
read the last sentence, "And no man
can foretell what the future has In
store for him" This time she closed
the book and placed 1t ON the table be-
side her. Decidedly she was in no
mood for reading, and with hands
clasped idly in her lap she sat staring
into the fire. But that last sentence
logged her thoughts. The past, with its
smiles and tears, was left behind. The
present seemed momentarily a thing to
be endured as one might. But the fu-
turel
At this point her eyes turned from
the CRATE and fixed themselves upon
the ring that she wore upon the third
finger Of her left hand. 1t was a beau
tiful ring-a pink pearl that reminded
one of tender dawns f1anked' by two
diamonds-her engagement ring. Ordi-
narily she could not look at it without
a kindling of the heart, thrill of
warmth and happiness. Today she eyed
it with languid, restless interest
That then, represented her future.
1t was as fixed and irrevocable as the
past itself. How well she knew what
1t would be like. Had she not seen
dozens Of her friends marry, bubble
blissfully for brief year or so and
then subside into the stale beer of do
nestle existence? If she had ever
thought that with Jack and her it
would be different the Illusion had van
ished in the bleak light of this all re-
vealing day, which brought out every
sordid detail of existence with bitter
emphasis.
Different? OF course they would not
be different There would be the brief,
dazzling happiness of the honeymoon,
the glamour of new possessions, and
then some day they would both sud-
denly tire of the play and see each 9TH
er for the first time plainly. Jack
would squint his eyes critically and
discover that she was not the most
beautiful woman in the world after all
though, of course, he would be too
well bred to say anything. He would
simply be a trifie bored at the let-down
and plunge into business to forget, kiss
ing her absently In the morning and
evening as a mere form-a matter of
habit
And she? Well, she would rub her
eyes about the same time and see to
her amazement that he was just a
plain, ordinary, average man, without
a single godlike attribute and with a
painful and unmistakable tendency to
grow bald and stout. But she, too,
would be politely reticent and hold up
her face for that perfunctory kiss and
try to forget it all in a feverish en-
thusiasm over house and gowns. And
they would grow more and more ST.
lent toward each other, conversing
mostly in mOnosyllables. Never would
they quarrel-her lips closed a trife
more firmly at the mere thought-but
each would withdraw farther and far
Their into his own little world, and they
would communicate with each other
through small wickets, as the ticket
sellers at the theaters do with the pub
lie.
The details of this gloomy picture
were as clearly visible to her mind as
though she saw them with her eyes,
and she laughed ruefully. Was this
sort Of thing necessary? How did she
know that Jack was the man? Might
not the real person still be imbedded
In the future, like fly in amber?
At the thought she caught her breath
and, leaning forward, dropped her face
upon her hands and gazed into the fire
with q new intensity. 1t was a ire
mendous thought, but what guarantee
had she that he was her ideal2 He
seemed so, perhaps, merely because he
approached 1t more nearly than any
man she had yet met, but no one could
tell what the future had In store for
him. There was the rub.
She proceeded to develop the thought
with applications Enthusiastically femi-
nine. Like an index finger her mind
pointed backward to the day when big
sleeves had seemed the most entranc-
lngly becoming things a woman could
wear. Then inexorably it pointed again,
this time to the sleeves she was then
tight above the elbow, but
with great pouches sagging below. And
these were now chic, and the others
The poor old fashions of
ugly and deforming
they appeared Could it be that by any
the Hkings, the loves of to-
day would
With rush it came over her that
ones loves did change. There was
Prissy Clemens, whom she had wor-
SHIPPED when she wore her hair in pig
tails and now could not endure. There
was Aunt Grace, whom as child she
had considered cold and severe, and
Aunt Ruth whom she had loved. Now
their places In her esteem were exactly
reversed. Aunt Ruth was kind, but I'M
while Aunt Grace was in
spring
ut is possible" she murmured tense
~ to the fire. Somewhere in the fu-
ture there may be a man who is all
that Jack is and more. And what If /
should meet him?"
Her lips parted. Half unconsciously
she drew off the ring. Its pressure had
suddenly become unbearable How
could she wear 1t without knowing
without feeling sure in her own heart
that it meant finality in the matter Of
choice, meant that with all the world
10 choose from she would have him and
no other?
And how could she know that? She
might send back the ring and wait,
but meanwhile what of Jack? 1t SEEM
ed scarcely probable that he would
acquiesce mildly in such a proceeding.
She laughed Historically. She could
hun under Sut1cient pr0voca-
ton informing her that there were just
as good fish to be found in the sea as
had ever been caught-aye, and find
ing them tool She WINGED as if some
thing she regarded as wholly hers were
slipping away from her.
Moreover, suppose she should break
her engagement because of the uncer-
tainty as to whether he was her final
choice and the future should bring no
other. What then?
She frowned in bewilderment For
the first time she realized with a gasp
just how big a lottery marriage really
is. She had heard that trite phrase
many times, but it had never seemed
significant before. Now she felt as if
it were lottery In which to million
tickets there was but one prize and