The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-09-20
THE EVENING STORY


The Death of the Poet.
The young man had glass eye, which
was by no means perfect ut, a posi-
ton in life as assistant to a grocer
which was extremely distasteful to him,
and a passion for q girl called Annie,
which seemed absolutely hopeless. The
young man himself was fully conscious
of the tragedy of the situation. He
knew that it was from such a furnace
as this that the pure gold of poetry was
extracted. He took to doing a little
poetry in his leisure hours.
1t was very much like our poetry;
that is to say, it was neither very bad
nor very good. The leisure hours were
limited, and this limited the supply of
the poetry. There was not enough for a
volume. Perhaps there never would be.
That which was already written did not
entirely satisfy the young mans nice
and critical taste He would have re-
cast it again and again if he had had
the money.
Much meditation on the poignancy of
this situation led him to the decision
that when he was dead, with the green
grass growing over him, after his name,
come the effective words, who died
unexpressed." 1t was some regret to
him that he could never live to see it.
1t was only one more instance of the
| lIO1ly u 1dl6s Out he COulQ IIildSlIiS Lie
group of visitors passing through the
cemetery arrested by the strangeness
of that epitaph taking it down in little
notebooks and writing to the newspa-
pers about it. They would ask who he
was. 1t would come out That he was
poor unpublished poet. Nothing at all
would be said about the glass eye.
Most of his poems were addressed to
Annie, who was a practical young lady
A girl who is called Annie is almost
| pQrt in n he Nfina1 would with
out much encouragement, read these
poems to her. Then she would say,
| Thank you,' and look very doubtful.
He did not like the look. He went so
! far as to ask her if she did not think he
was right in using the one talent that
| heaven had given him.
'Well, don't know about that, y
said Annie. Its nothing to me. and
you've got to suit yourself. Of course
| it's better that you should spend your
time over this kriting than II you
stopped boozing in the public house all
night-Same as some do.
MY two brothers make picture
| frames in the evening and sell them
too It's not for me to advise. but
why don't you try the picture frames
| Besides, ought you to go on writing
poems about me when you know per
fectly well there's nothing in it? ]
| like you well enough SO far as you go
| but if ever 1 take a husband it'll be
some body in a far different position
| than you. Just you think about that.
| At the moment he was extremely
annoyed and had to be pulled up by
Annie with a sharp jerk. Afterwarc
he did go away and think about it, and
while he was thinking about it re-
spectacle soap boiler of moderate for
| tune passed peacefully away.
BY the death of the soap boiler, who
was indeed his uncle, the young man
was placed in very different position
Annie received the news from hin! in
a brief and extremely business-i1ke
note. Her mother agreed that it was
clearly her duty to go round and see
him about it. She would be able nc
catch him at the grocer's shop in Full
ham on her way to work. He was moi
at the shop, and she was informed thai
he had resigned his post. She had Just
time to go on to his lodgings. But
he was not there. either. He was al
the moment engaged in the purchase
of one of the very best glass eyes that
money could buy. 1t was a triumph.
He himself could only tell the differ
ence between the real eye and the
artificial by first shutting one lid and
then the other. His self-respect grew
tremendously.
Annie who as I have said, was quite
practical, did not forget that August
was his birthday and sent him pail
of slippers which she had worked will
her own hands. She thought the ac-
acknowledgement which she received of hei
d
driven SO far toward desperation that II
perfectly needless letter Of reply she
asked him to send her any poetry thai
he had been doing lately. post caro-
reached her from Margate bearing the
simple statement that he had not beer
doing any lately.
Annie's charm had been the charm o.
the unattainable. That was gone now
and his eye showed him that there were
other prettier girls. The other eye. the
glass article. was SO complete that ne
no longer suffered from any feeling OF
physical deformity. He was free from
! the long hours of work at a business
which had never pleased him. He hac
heaps of time to write poetry and to re.
cast what he had already written, ane
he never wrote a single line
Just once, as he enjoyed his after
luncheon cigarette, he did recall the
simple headstone and the proposed in
scription, who died unexpressed,
would not do now. What could be sub
stituted? who died with nothing to ex.
nress,' occurred to him. But he did moi
worry about it. He had promised to
| take a girl out on the water that after
MONA remarkably pretty girl, too. He
went in search of her, whistling as he
went.-Harry Pain.