Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-15

mercial. It lives and thrives upon the ere
duiity of fools Just consider-man is the
only animal which does not glory In the
Creators gift, the dawning day and all its
wonders. For. what do We change lit For
the electric light and the champagne which
dfsagrees with US? We borrow of the night
and then grumble because we haze nothing
to offer the day. If men would <.Gt up at
o'clock and go to bed at ID. they would
| begin to understand the realities OF living"
Evelyn, much amused at his earnestness
and quite understanding that some pleasant
originality of character dictated the out
burst. looked at him little mischievousiy
| from beneath her long lasl1es while she
said:
ordg' 'i'e SUI ''s i''' : : l'0eN ''e'' :
Not at ALL" was the quick reply; I'VE
are expected to use our common sense in
the matter. winters dawn is distinctly
unpleasant: have nothing to do with 1t. "A
| true benefactor of mankind would help US
to hibernate. Imagine how splendid 1t would
be to sleep from the twenty-sixth day OF
December until the first day Of April. Those
are the months of the income tax-of no
Interest to you, Lady Evelyn. but of great
Importance to poor people who are unable
to help the government to throw hay into
| the from the shores OF South Africa.
Blot out the winter, by all means; but leave
us the summer. and do not expect us to
spend the best hours of IL in bed.
Am I, then, personally guilty in the mat
ter? Frankly, you will nexer convert me. L
am hateful before 10 O'Clock, and IL go
trer1ble. Consider what going to bed at 10
o'clock would mean to us in the season.!
II have considered IT often. We should
be spared a large number of very indif-
ferent plays: q great many falsehoods
would not be told to our acquaintance: old
gentlemen would not, under such circun1-
stances. need to go to Carlsbad to be scrub
bed You would save vast quantities of
good food; learn what the country is to
those who really know it; and perhaps.
discover that strange personality, yourself
Why should we be so frightened of such
an excellent companion? Men and women
tell you that they do not like to be alone,
Is not that to say that they desire to keep
self at a distance? The fellow would be
troublesome. ask questions, and that sort
of thing. But let others always be shout
ing in our ears (and modern society has ex-
cellent lungs) then we keep the stranger
cut and are glad to be quit of him. Some
achieve the same end by work. am one
of them. When my work gets hold of me
cannot answer common question decently.
Sometimes | wake up suddenly and say
My dear Gavin, how are you getting on
and what have you been doing ali this
time? | become Solicitous for the fellow
and want to peep into his private books.
That is often at dawn. Lady Evelyn. Just
when the sun is shooting over the horizon
Then may not be ashamed to meet
himself. For the rest of the time he is often
piay-acting.
A faint blush came to her cheeks, and
she turned away her head.
why not IL play-acting amuses us? Per-
haps not all contented with that
amable stranger ourselves. Some other
figure of the present or the past may seem
more desirable as a friend. Is there any
law of nature which compels US to take one
personality rather than another? Cannot you
imagine man or woman living years of
make-believe-play-a acting always, if by
playactng they can discover a world
| more desirable than the one we live in? We
speak of imagination as a rare gift. doubt
if it Is SO. Even little children have their
m M thaV 1aflr-
able than any books. l would say that
your outlook is too limited. You see one
side of life Mr.. Ord. and quarrel with those
who can look toerantly upon both
Gavin was honest enough to admit that
it might be so.
Yes he said, II grant you that the
world is sometimes better for make-believe.
If we did not deceive ourselves some of
would commit suicide. The age is to blame
for the necessity. We have not color
enough in our lives. and even devotions
often entirely selfish. Witness the ca sc
of a modern millionaire who is proud of
being called "a hustler This rogue tells
his friends that he has no time for ordinary
social intercourse. My answer is that he
ought to be hanged out of hand. Such a
fellow never comes face to face with him
self once in twenty years. Men envy him
and yet despise him. Take the. meanest
hero of medieval fiction and place him
side by side with a Gould or Vanderbilt
What a very monarch he becomes! Total
up the riches of trust and remember
Mozart died of starvation. vulgarity
everywhere-none of us is free from it, Our
very ambitions are advertised"
And we have not even the courage to
hide ourselves in nunneries'
They would come here with cameras and
photograph our habits. No. we must ac-
cept the position frankly and make the
best of it. That carries me round the cir
Gle. BY getting up with the sun we see
something of ourselves sometimes Our
work is not then the whole occupation of
the day"
But yours, surely, is not work you de-
spise. Mr.. Ord?'
$50 little that I fear 1t on that very ac-
count. Just imagine how this house is