The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1905-01-04
GREAT GOD
PAN
BY
KEITH RDON

the Huteh-his for mot;h--a squat,
oriental looking building $rndng in
the tempered shade of the pines and
arches and containing all those touches
of home comfort usually asSibed to
feminine hands. but found in the mod
ern bachelor quarters.
Ats2:3o, his tweed suit changed for
more informal costume, he emerged
from the low. broad doorway, stirred
by II pagan desire 10 get closer still TO
nature, out into the dim. cloisteral
places of the woods, where he might
float deliciously upon Il sea of silence.
whose calm was unbroken save by the
ripple of bird note or the swapping of
Il twiS.
Il say this is great burst from
his lips uxuriously as he drew In long
whiffs of the suave air with its warm,
elusive scent of sweet growing things.
This is life This is what man was
meant for"
As he ceased speaking he lifted his
face To the soft breeze that caressed
his cheek like spirit hand and thought
things of civilization. What
after all did this boosted condition
mean? What but crowded cities with
stone where turf should be, the roar OF
trains, shrieking of whistles. whizzing
of autos. gathering of hoofS and the
grind, grind. grind of office life. As he
thought of il now, looking as he was
t,xAt I,,t
bile face. 1t all seemed supremacy ridic-
ulous. Fauns and sntyrs, hamadryads
and naiads had been wiser.
AT the end of an hours walk he
found that the path ended abruptly Mt
n grassy knoll For few moments
Trenham gazed with dn appreciation
too deep for words Then, with sigh
of contentment. he sank down upon the
thick grass and stretched himself out
his head resting In the hollow of his
clasped hands. his eyes narrowed TO
Sits like gutekeepers who would say
to the beauties about them, "One ut a
time. please.
AnI presently the Sits became mar
rover and narrower
Spring" he murmured musingly. lis
just bursting into young summerhood.'
Then his lips twltched slightly, and he
tried again
THAT apple tree looks like some
sweet, sedGte Quaker lady"
He stretched his eyes open wide. MS
II to fling off some Irresistible intlu-
enCe.
Good Lord, am | n poet after ALP
he demanded comically OF the shad-
owy self that always attends US, but
never SO paIpably as in solitudes. And
then he smiled and lay staring up into
the great arch of the blue above him.
Again the Sits grew narrow, almost
imperceptible. A line from IL poem
learned in youth trailed across his
mind Great Pan is dead
ITS n lie," he murmured drowsily,
Great Pan is not dead. Great Pan
The murmur ended in knowing
smile, the smile of one who has learned
for certainty what fools most mortals
be, and that in turn faded into gravity.
Trenhum slept
Its regular sleeping beauty Of
place-has II GREATNESS, charmed mir
as If it were under II spell. believe
there are fairies or godiings to he dis
covered.
SO had Natica Duke written to a
friend soon after coming to Cantico
for the summer There We're few
In, i,n HnZnn
within twenty miles and her first I'M
preston of the country was only deep
ened by her long, solitary strolls. She
had mystical feeling that there was
something to be discovered some Sc
cret that she was forever on the verge
of
Cooling. gnome or fairy, she fancled,
might rise In her path ut any"moment
without causing her any surprise, and
so IL was without dismay that she
stopped short at the edge of the wood
one day upon finding her favorite spot
already occupied
For the fraction of a second she half
believed. Then she wholly disbelieved.
No godlings would appear In tan OK
fords. Sandals were the utmost one
could concede. Still, as mortal the
sleeping youth before her was worth
A glance told her that,
and she cautiously drew n step nearer.
He lay SO that the spreading branch
of a tree shaded his face, his soft linen
hat tossed on the grass beside him, thus
revealing the thick dark hair that look
ed as II it might have curled had not
its owner sternly refused to hear OF
such thing. His features reminded
her strangely of certain marbles she
had seen, they We're 80 massive, yet SO
finished, and with glrlish attention TO
dress she bestowed an approving
glance ON his white negligee shirt. the
sleeves rolled up to the elbow, and the
duck trousers to match. II he was not
q godling he was at least most at
tractive mortal.
Daringly she stood and gaZed at him,
tingling with the fear that he might
awaken, yet too Interested to turn
away The blue OF her eyes was match
ed by the color of the linen gown she
wore. Around her neck dandelion
chain dangled like a cable OF rich gold.
With a sudden movement she lifted
the latter. breaking off part Of 1t AMI
fastening II into wreath. Again she
hesItated Then. with her underlip
held between her teeth In IA way that
showed two very merry dimples. she
took letter from her dress, hurriedly
tiny pencil from the envel-
ope, scrawled something on an unused
sheet and tore ii OFF
Almost holding her breath, she tiptoed
nearer. lie was sleeping very heavily.
The scrap OF paper she had twisted In
to the wreath. At last she stood with
in an arms length of his head. She
listened excitedly, but the long. even
breaths treasured her
Slowly she bent over; lower and low
er the wreath descended until 1t rested
on the crisp dark hair. With the brac-
ed air of "A person who feels that he Is
likely TO be shot at any moment she
Strengthened up and waited, but he did
not move. Then, with last admiring
glance, for he looked like a veritable