Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1905-07-14
,bRINcINc HER AROUND:
The Old; 0Id stsry Told in Another
4 III Wv sl.-

ton, Gertrude was let loose upon an
unsuspecting world.
sShespermitted herself to take a walk
in the woods
: Nature" said Gertrude, somewhat
.deprecatingly, s.has been brought up
on wholly unconventional lines, She
has,. alas! no system; These tree
trunks are allowed to fall indiscrimin-
ately. Such waste! And as for con-
servation Of energy, where is it?
Everywhere l see about me pathetic
evidences of gross carelessness, not to
mention wholly bad artistic effects"
Returning to her parents, she viewed
them also with certain SAVIOR Of dis
criminative criticism.
"YOu appear" she said, ito be
baffled by your surroundings. There
is an intelligent calmness that comes
from philosophic resignation, to which
you are wholly, alien, Your servants.
when you hive ltllem-oppress you.
Your friendships, made wholly without
regard to utilitarianism, are too often
uDproductive of anything but vain
pleasure5thus weakening your moral
fibre. "A more intelligent use of the
principles of sociology would produce
in youagreater symmetry. You4wori
ry, without knowing that worry. is
merely molecular, or perceiving for
moment that there is a psychology of
the hearthstone which, if judiciously
applied, would lift you above vulgar
routine"
Forced by circumstances beyond her
immediate control she was obliged to
pass few weeks at a summer resort.
"Gregariousness," said Gertrude, lis
oftentimes amusing in its Interior as
poets. These poor fools, lulled by Ger:
tain paralogisms of the mind, imagine
they are having a good time. And yet
how absurd their pose. Did they but
know that things are not what they
seem-that the sea is merely sensa-
ton, and feeting styles in bathing gar
ments only an appeal to the excitation
of the ganglionic centres, they would
seek in simple contemplation what
pleasure there is in subjectvity, and
shake off the shackles Of mere mate
rialism."
While recording these phenomena,
and being for moment quite alone on
the beach, with the light Of the moon
overhead, she was approached by
young man, who upon several previous
occasions had obruded himself upon
her consciousness.
81 love you," said the young man.
"Love," replied Gertrude, sis purely
relative in its action, and can never be
thing -in-itself. 1t has no objective
validity"
'It is extremely pleasant" said the
young man, taking her hand.
pleasure and PAIN" replied Ger
trude, "are simply sensations Obeying
the law of contrast. If all things were
reduced to an absolute zero, there
would be nothing at all. What We
term reality is nothing but the inter-
changing of activities, producing heat
which becomes latent in objects, thus
enabling us to differentiate their iden-
tity."
"Good," said the young man. II per-
ceive that you are wound up, but be-
lieving as l do that at heart you are in
reality a sweet and lovable girl, I'm
going to let you run on. For l love
you, with all your pecularities. You
do the talking and I'll do the love-
making. have come to stay"
A week later, when the moon had
reached its full, and the soft sympa-
thetic waves were lulling these two to
supreme joy that she had never felt
before-when earth and air and sky
seemed to surround them with heav-
emily sweetness-Gertrude satOn more
with her head on the young mans
shoulder
Dearest" she murmured, twill you
forgive me for all my nonsense"
And he smiled indulgently as he said:
ayes, darling, 1 knew you would re-
cover all right. But l want you to-
promise me one thing"
'Apyttihii,Hggm exclaimed Gertrude,
as she snuggled up little
closer. "What is it,"
"Only this" replied the young man,
as a momentary shadow fitted across
his face at the thought Of what he had
for her sake:
Promise me that you will never
have o relapse. Tom Mason, in Life.