The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1905-09-30


"a thing to own. IL is necessary
& to stand 1t at all times in a
good light and to be sure that
the pedestal which holds it is a steady
one, And when It does fall. as sooner
or later 1t Is bound TO do, there are
terrible crash and confusion and many
tears and lamentations before the bits
are finally gathered into the duspan
of resignation and made way with.
This Is the story of girl who owned
an IDEAL, II she had not been eighteen
and pretty and blond and sentimental
md noarished mentally from the time
she could on the Dora Thorncsqne
style OF literature | doubt IL even she
could have accepted him az such.
10 most people he was simply a
handsome leading man, whose eloeu-
ticn and eyes were his strong points,
in a third rate stock company whose
manager changed the bill weekly and
male the price OF admission so low
that his company played invariably to
crowded houses.
The girl sat always in the front seats
and in time became as much Of fix
tnre MS the German gentleman who led
the orchestra, At first she came to see
the performance and applaud the mar
row escapes and lofty sentiments pc
ciliar to the drama presented at this
certain theater. At the last she came
solely to look upon the leading man
with the eyes Of admiration and-eight-
cen,
AT this stage she wrote him letter,
youthfully supposing herself the first to
do such daring thing. 1t was a very
nice letter, original only because of its
utter sincerity. 1t said that she adj
mircd hts work more than she could
SAY: that she considered him one OF the
greatest actors that ever lived under
iineD and that she was very sincerely
Miss Florence Armaghdale. which was
not her own name at all, but one Dor
rowed frola a fayorite romance be-
cause her own was not pretty and end
cd In "th. This was done moreover,
not rom any motives of prudence but
simply because the ideal, being one of
The lofty and artistic lights Of the
earth might be shocked at such d com
mon appellatlon. However her own
address was at the bottom of the letter.
Ihere was no more reason why he
should have answered this than any OF
the ninety and nine Of the same caliher
ne received daily. 1t may be because
In In ,,tn III Il.
ity Of the notes he received being more
rrniurkapie fur spelling 4a.a.,- t,,,s.....
However. answer it he did. He said
that 1t was always gratifying for an
artist to know he found favor with his
public, and. il 1t were not asking too
much, be should like to hear from Miss
Armaghdale again.
The girl read this note with the feel
ing that she had neen picked from tho
multitude 70, receive the laurel crown
OF fame. Naturally she answered II
and received another IN return.
This went on for month or so, one
side becoming more amused and the
other more in earnest every day All
the while the ideal stood in d becoming
light and was as excellent craven i'm
age to worship as heart could wish.
The crash came almost before the
pedestal had time to totter 1t occur
red in the largest restaurant In thf
town, anything but an appropriate
background for such a tragedy The
girl and some half dozen of her friends
1ld been to see the ideal in pathetic
lralna wherein he had shonc as tht
protector of youth and innocence. They
We're having supper in a little room
Dnly separated from the main restau
ant by oarelessly drawn curtains. /
was doubtless some merry Jest Of tn
gods that made the ideal and two Of hi
friends choose the table almost direct
Iy outside for their customary even
ing repast.
The little party inside of the curtain
had great deal to say and, after tn
fashion Of youth, were making fai
amount Of noise doing ii.
II was some time before certal
voice struck them as strangely fami
~ }57f fp No. 800 ~