Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1905-02-01

49, AiiiHN w ''f-Se'Sij pViiiiS iHSdi
tatively at his pipe At last could
not help questioning him even at thu
risk of giving offense. "Bensor
says" 1 remarked, chat you arr
quite different from what you use(
to be. You never 90 out anywhere
What is it? You remember oul
talking about the perfect type.
You have not found her? You arr
not in lover"
He was silent moment, putting
out huge clouds of smoke. Then
Look here, old fellow" he said. 81
don't know why | should not tell
you. These other fellows could not
understand if | did tell them. -
81 am afraid you are crediting
me with more intelligence than !
possess" l said. "If what you pro-
pose to tell ME would pass Benson'S
understanding | am afraid it would
also pass mine"
ny on underrate yourself. Be
sides, after all, it is quite simple,
only Benson is such material per-
son. The Stock Exchange has made
him worse. Anyway, l am going to
tell you"
"Yes? 2" l said invitingly.
"You remember" he said, set
thing himself back in his chair, Il
had always my own views about wo-
men,"
"Ysu expected great DEAL" |
said.
"Well," he went on, not needing
the interruption, you know | can
well afford to marry. If l had found
the woman l wanted, should have
married long ago. l could not find
her, much as | sought. The clever
woman had no beauty, the beautiful
no brains, or, where the combination
did exist, the woman was already
married or had some equally pro-
hibitive defect"
"You sought for what did not ex-
ist," / said ''There is no ideal'wo-
man, as their is no ideal man."
'Not in your sense" he said. Ger
tainly not in the sense of man like
Benson, if he can conceive the pos
sibility of an ideal woman at all, or
an ideal anything"
"And in yours?" / said.
He rose from his chair and, going
to long drawer in a cabinet, took
out from it on armful of photo
graphs-there must, l should think,
have been some fifty there in all.
Gust look through these" he said.
| did so, wondering. Every type
of female face and female beauty
was there represented, from the
English and American woman to the
French and Austrian, from the Gre
ole to the Caucasian, from the
daughter of the people to the daugh-
ter of the peer. Some of the faces
might well have been those of saints;
others were individually those of sim
ners. Barmaids jostled against Sis
tiers of Mercy. Actresses followed
on the princesses of the blood royal.
Some Of the faces were too util-
itarianly clever to approach physical
beauty Others, again, proclaimed
the triumph of body over soul.
t"Well ?" | said at length, still
more astonished.
He spread out the photos on the |
table before him, eying them loving |
ly, fondling them as man fondles |
the woman who is to be his wife.
"There," he said, pointing to the
rows of faces before him, you have
a perfect type. | tried to find it ex-
listing in one woman. You were
right. 1t was impossible, but
have got it there"
"Yes," ! said, smiling at his inten-
sity, "but these are only mere pho
tographs. The essence of them con-
stitutes the perfect type of woman
hood, no doubt, but these things are
not alive. They are mere counter
felt presentments. You are not
nineteenth century Pygmalion. You
cannot make mere photographs
live"
perhaps not" he said. "At
least, who can tell? / know that
when L gaze long on these faces |
conjure up from their various char
lcteristics the perfect type of wo-
man and can never care for any one
else-I mean any woman. This face
have erected represents to me the
supreme essence of feminine lowell
ness, the one woman for whom a
nan should be glad to die, for whom
would die, did she require me, this
yery minute. People tell you | new
II go out anywhere. How can !
when this splendid beauty smiles
before me at home? / tell you !
lever lived till | knew her, and now
cannot live with her. To me she
s the one woman in this world or
he next. Indeed not the one wo-
nan, but woman herself"
l left Wetherby's chambers half {
n hour later wondering if my old
riend was going mad. AS | turned
. close the door behind me | saw
i'm suddenly bend down over the
able and, sweeping the photographs
ogether into his arms, cover them
nth a rain of passionate kisses.