The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-09-22

and certainly, 50 she felt, if she had
taken a step, SO momentous, so vitality
concerned with her life, as having a
lover, she was sure that she would not
have done 50 blindly in any heat Of
double life, she would have done so de-
hberately, and for reasons which would
have seemed to her excellent-frstly,
that her husband was opium drenched;
secondly, that she loved Villars, and,
thirdly, that she would not have be
llieved it was wicked. Had Villars
cause she did not see any moral reason
why he should not be. And tho, in
judging others, as has been said, she
had had no 2. moral code, yet she Judged her
all-unformulated, than she applied to
her friends. She wanted everybody to
HAYES good time; but she would not
take the species Of "good time" that
others might choose and make it her
own.
been subjected to the anticipation Of
the rack; the rack itself was yet to
come. For Rudolf Villars was (tho he
was the rack also) her one standby in
this awful passage thru which the in
scrutable master Of souls was leading
her. Maud was splendid, she could
not have done without Maud either; but
"duu "dS d WOuldu, Ituu Sllc WdsS q
woman and Villars was man. There
fore, he could help her in way that
Maud could not. For humankind is
. created male and female, and those of
different sex can and must help each
other in manner impossible to those
of the same sex. That is the glory Of
the world, and it's shame.
Villars, and her debt was mounting
into huge figures. And tho she knew
we'll that to him it was nonresident
he never, anyhow, added it up-yet
it was fearfully existent to her. In
payment of it she could only give him
one thing, herself, and that she would
not. But in the intimacy which had
shot up again, mature growth this
time, from the root Of their boy-and-
girl affection, he must have seen, she
knew, the apparent inconsistency Of
her attitude. She did not judge or con-
denim, she did not really disapprove
in the case Of others of that which
she refused him: True, he had made
no declaration Of his love for her, but
it was only the instructive knowledge
that to do so was quite useless that re-
strained him. But day by day it was
getting harder for him to be silent.
And what would happen then9 Would
she be strong enough to withstand
him? For the moment, however, the
acuteness of these perplexities had lost
their point since Thurso's collapse this
morning, and, torturing as that anx-
iety was, it was less wearing than the
other.
But these thoughts, the summary of
her inner life for the last two or three
months, did rot now get between her
pen and her paper. She had to answer
these letters, inquiring about her hus-
band, regretting her absence from va
rious parties and gatherings, and she
had to answer them with the knowledge
that the world knew what was the mat
ter with him. Some people thought he
had taken to drink, others that he had
taken to drugs, and since nobody said
such things to her, she had to frame
her answers carefully. But it was no
longer any use to pretend that nothing
was wronsg,-the whole world knew that
something was wrong. Thus these let
But the interruption for which she
had been waiting soon came, and Sir
James Sanderson hustled cheerfully
into the room. He looked eXtraordi-
narily unlike an eminent doctor, but. ex-
actly like a P. & o. captain, dressed
rather absurdly. He had toothbrush
mustache, a bronzed, ruddy face, and
boots, and red tie. He was awk-
ward, cheerful and embarrassed, and
played golf whenever possible, which
was not often, with the enthusiasm Of
boyhood and remarkable inability. But,
incidentally, he had saved more lives
and restored more health, which he
thought far more important, than any
other three doctors put together.
He shook hands with Lady Thurso,
and sat down on small chair, which
broke into fragments beneath him,
leaving him couched among splinters
on the floor. He quite distinctly said,
cob, dammit and struggled to his feet.
HOh, I am so sorry, said Lily. st
hope you are not hurt
And tho this farcical introduction
was utterly unintended by the doctor,
she felt rather more courageous.
Not in the least, but the chair isl
he said. Yes, I have been with Lord
Thurso for the last hour
He found another seat.
Now, be brave he said