The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-03-11

/ u
form Of ending. is 10 him lust In ordinar.
| everyday fact. You will get on WITH
ha,Ncr Rlpon, Basil I'm surc. YouIl ge,
| ~ 'oVe tne man as VIC all do ! never
hneW any one 70 absolutely Joyous as Inc
~. ne . about the happlest man in town
J should say. His private income is near.
| " Two thousand year, and his Iiying's
worth something, too, and yet dom
SUPPOSE his own expenses are fifty pounds
re ives more or less on porridge--wlicr
ne remembers to eat at all--and his only
extravagancc Is hanson cabs, 40 that he
| can cram more work into the day"
| Ihey all laughed and Spence began tc
zen anecdotes OF the famous ''rituaIistic'
parson who daily filled more stomachs
saved more souls, and shocked more mar.
row-mnded people than any ..xo men In
Crockford
~ seven o'clock tncly MI went out to.
Rether-spence 10 his adjacent office in
Fleet Street the other two TO dine quietly
AZ the University Club.
London depresscs me-" said Hands
when they were seated on tho ton or
an omnibus and rolling westward through,
the Strand. II am afraid that shall
never be In love with London any more
ALWAYS dislike my vacations, or rather
my business visits to town. It's ncces-
sary that attend the annual meeting
Of thu Society and see people in au-
thority and have to give n few lee
turcs. too. But / hate 1t, all the same
love the simple life of the East, tho
sun, tho deep blue shadows. my silent
Arabs. know OF no more beautiful
sight than the Holy City-why do they
call Rome the Holy city: Jerusalem
is the Holy City-when the hills are COW
cred with the January SHOWS. 1t Is n
wonderful. immemorial land, Gortre. a
silent. beautiful country. lust before I
came over here ] spent a fortnight work
ing at some inscriptions in n very ancient
Latin monastery. I never knew such
peace. Tho monks arc all sad-faced
courteous Syrians. and they move along
the rock balconies like benignant ghosts
And then one cotnes back and is plunged
into this
He threw out his hands over the side
OF the omnibus with a note of disgust
In his rather dreamy voice. The Strand
was all brilliantly lit. and waiting crowds
stood by all the theatre doors Men
and women passed In and out OF the
bright orange light OF bars and restau-
rants. and small filthy boys stabbed the
deep roar of the traffic with their shrlll
voices as they called out tho evening
papers.
They dined quietly and simply at the
big warm club in Piccadilly. Hands did
most of the talking and Gortre was CON
tent to listen to the pleasant nonotony
Of he low, level voice, and to fall under
the mans peculiar spell or charm--a
charm that he always exercised upon
another artistic temperament.
Hands was a poet By nature and scnti-
ment. His strange. lonely life among
the evidences of the past under the
Eastern sky had toned. mellowed and
orientalized his vision
Az he listened Gortre also began to
feel something Of the mystery and magic
influence of that country of Gods birth.
1t was ialf-past nine when they got
back to the chambers again. Hands
went at once to his own room to work.
and Basil sat down I'm front of n red,
glowing fire. gazing into the hot caverns.
lost In reverie. 1t was az though he had
taken some opiate. and there was moth
ing better in life than to sit thus and
dream In the warm silence of the firelit
room.
A few minutes after ten he was sud
denly called out OF the clouds by fu-
rious knocking at the door OF the cham
bers.
Tho sound cut into his dreams like a
knife.
He went to open the door. and Father
Ripon, his new vicar, came in like a
WIiIlNlHu. Ills NpiuiniilouS 'iVfih
brought cold air in its folds; his breezy,
genial personality was SO actual a fact.
struck SUCH n strident, material note.
that dreams and reverie fled before it.
Gortre turned UP the gas-jets and
flooded the room with light.
Father Ripon was a tall. well-made
man. too active to be portly, but with
hints OF tendency towards plumpness,
which was never allowed to ripen. His
ha rronpel rlOSa n his
large. WELL shaped head. The shrewd.
merry eyes. of rare red-hazel color.
were shaded by heavy era. brows. which