The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1905-03-24

it. Keep away from them - from
women. They will not wait to see il
you are the kind that-that lives
through it. They will break you heart
as child breaks a doll-to see what
is inside-and though your heart beats
afterward, the quickness is gone from
your spirit and the fire from your
brain. That is, 1t would be from yours.
You can see for yourself that l have
entirely ecovered-entirely"
He waited until he had unrolled the
paper and looked at it on all sides, and
swiftly rolled it again, before he went
| on.
1T was three years ago, just after
you left town, that first neither. l
will not tell you her name-you would
not know her-but she was young-I
was young then, too-and she was so
beautiful that all men were attracted
| to her.
"Do you smile to think that / was
| attracted, too? True-I had not lived
the life most men live. / was stu
dent, and had lived among books and
dreams. She was the embodiment of
all that was pure and lovely in litera-
| ture and fancy. / had worshiped her
afar off until she called me to her.
Howard, she sent the others away and
called me, at queen calls a courtier,
and l went"
The paper was growing ragged at the
edges. He held it up a moment and
looked at it, then clasped his fingers
around it till they were white from the
pressure and went on:
For weeks saw her every day.
found that l could say brilliant things
to amuse her-I, the recluse, the silent.
Other men, Weather, well-known, So
cially stood off and were amazed, but
L cared nothing for them. Through
all the ages, through all the impossible
ties of time and space, our two souls
had been coming together. Missing
her, l would have gone on, a solitary
student, to my journeys end. I shud-
dered, sometimes, to think what my
life would have been if I had not gone
to the house where 1 met her first.
missing me, she would have laughed
and TESTED with the crowd of suitors,
until she wearied Of them, and they
fell away, one by one, and left her still
heartwhole and alone.
"My life was filed with such dreams
as these, which seemed so true, so
natural that felt it necessary to speak
to Elinor, for she must see as clearly
as l."
The flood was carrying him on-he
resumed hurriedly, with his eyes on
the paper:
Zone evening I went to her home.
Elinor was alone, with a shadow on
her face, and something took posses
sion Of me, and II spoke. 1 see you
are disturbed-for me. You need not
be troubled-it was all over, long ago.
l have lived through it. 1 can laugh
now, when I think Of it-ha, ha, ha!
"She laughed, too, at the time, and
said it was the strangest thing that a
girl could never be friends with q man
but that he spoiled it by wanting to
marry her. She leaned back in her
cushioned chair-there was something
made of silk and lace behind her head,
and gentle-but she was laughing; and
she told me that she liked to have me
near her for several reasons.
''In the first place, l was tall, and
she liked tall men. Then / could talk
to her about books, and that enabled
her to talk about them, too, without
being at the trouble of reading them
herself. Then, l was so dpliciouSly
serious. and that refreshed her--and
above all, she knew she was perfectly
safe with me, for no one would ever
be insane enough to dream of our
marrying.
"She laughed great deal, yet she
was veXed that l had spoken and
spoiled it all. She had broken her
doll, and, finding nothing but hearts
blood inside it, she threw 1t away. But
men were all alike, she said; they all
took themselves so seriously.
'And then laughed also, and went
out into the night. A little while after
she left London and went abroad;
and II sat here at my desk and |
lived.
Eyes, 1 am quite recovered-fortun-
ately. With some men it might have
been very serious thing. There are
men, you know who put so much Of |
life into thing that what is left be-
hind isn't worth considering. 1t would
be so with you, Howard. I have
thought of you many times, for 1 knew
what might come-and l wanted to
warn you. When you are pouring out
your soul they are tolerating you be-
you are tall. 1t would
do it,"
"WAit n moment - said tha naln-