The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-02-26
TIE EVENING STORY
Cnnid III ToMn.

Z T
seemed as arid as a desert. Houses
We're closed, their blinds drawn. Maids
gosslpped In area ways. Instead of the
pageantry of carriages which graced
the street on winter afternoons there
were occasional cabs, numbering auto
mobiles and buses filed with tourists.
was strolltng along toward the club
ana oeVoutly wishing 1 was any place
but IN town, when suddenly espied
Honorla Langham. She had come IN
Iron house party on Long Island, ana
our meeting was the merest accident.
AT once suggested the little casino III
Central park As a cool and inviting place
Tor luncheon. HOnOria agreed aunt
myra considers you such a safe conpan-
ion, she said demurely.
It's one of the compensations Of be-
ing Ineligible said 1. For I was IN
| eligible, there was no doubt about that.
Ny income Of a few paltry thousands
barely sufficed to keep me on the So
c1al merry go-round. And / had added
indiscretion to poverty by falling in love
with Honoria. OF course. no one could
have guessed it. Even Honoria's aunt
would have SCORED the idea Of my be-
! ing a probable sutton. In fact the very
dimness of my prospects enabled me TO
see more of Honoria than otherwise
could have done. I was considered per-
fectly safe, for Honoria's circumstances
! demanded that she make brilliant
match, and I was the least brilliant man
Of her acquaintance. It was the olos
! old story of the moth and the star. II
the moth was foolish, so much the worse
for the moth And as for the star
HonOria and had long since Oecloeo
that love was out of the question So
on the way to the Casino our converse
ton was strictly confined to platonic
/ p1atitudes.
We had luncheon at one of the little
| tables close by an open window,
/ through which the green reaches OF
the park were enticing to the eye
Sunshine dappled the leaves with the
light and shadow. Squirrels frisked
across the grass. The hum OF the city
sounded far away and indistinct. Now
1 and then a breeze stole in, carrying
with it a faint, half-woodsy perfume.
The mirror across from us rehected
I Honoria's frills and furbeloWs, her
clear delicate profile, and every turn of
| clink of ice in tall thin glasses, and
}, gay bubble of festivity and laughter
from some OF the other tables. Hon
/ oria's eyes met mine
There are worse places than New
York" I observed.
"Oh, what is so rare as a day in
town. murmured Honoria.
Il bless the fate which prompted
you to leave the seashore, and let me
have a glimpse of you" said 1.
1T WASH t fate, it was dressmaking,
said Honoria. She put back her veil
with an adorable gesture. "Am very
much burned? ?" she demanded.
only enough to be becoming
siad I.
You're a bit brown yourself,
Dick. she observed.
People who make hay while the
sun shines" I began.
fAh," said Honoria, that's just what
I was going to ask Are you progress
/ ing well with the heiress ?"
4 "Modesty forbids me to say" I an
swered. "How's old Croesus p
/ Doing nicely. thanks laughed
Honoria. Then her face grew grave
/ Dick. she said. do you realize that
! this is the last luncheon 'We'1I have to-
gether tete-a-tete ~
/ Il know" said I, that our year of
camaraderie is over. And it was fun
while it lasted, wasn't it. Honoria? All
our little walks and talks and drives
And it's got to end because we're afraid
of poverty"
oria
agreed.
marry the heiress in order to obtain
yacht and all the other things you
cant possibly get along without
while old Croesus can give you a
( house in town, and several in the
/ country not to mention a box at the
I opera and gowns of Paris creation
/ Yet when I'm steaming around Glib
raltar, and you're giving splendid en-
/ tertainments in your brown stone
+ front, I dare say we'll look back on
/ these times we've spent together with
/ a good deal of amusement and some
regret. Don't you think so, Honoria %
But Honoria was engaged in spear
| ing an olive, and apparently did not
hear me.
I've wondered" she said musingly,
/ how it would seem to be poor. I sup
pose I'd make my own hats and wear
ready-made tailor suits, and live in
/ little box of an apartment"
but even a box of an apartment
can be made attractive" said I. 81
know Of some dingy shops on the East
i Side where one can pick UP fascinat-
/ ing old prints and brasses for almost
nothing. and furniture that is a Joy
! to discover. There's a Tuscany lamp
that's waiting to send a cheerful glow
/ over polished wood and the backs of
/ ones fayorfte books. and there are
curious andirOns made solely to reflect
! the CLEAN of a small hearthstone-i
such a hearthstone as have imagined
/ you sitting by, Honoria, while the snow
4 falls without, and
s'Some of our friends would give US
up" said Honoria, hastily.
Wed find better ones to take their
places"
Our greatest diversion" said Homo
ria. would be the theater, and we
could go so seldom that it would take
US long time to decide which play we
really wanted most to see."
wed enjoy it all the more" de-
clared. And after 1t was over we'd 20
off together to same quaint cafe-oh 1
Know OF places tNdl you We never even
dreamed of. Houoria-places where
struggling poets and artists have carved
their names on the tables, and where a
Hungarian violinist plays not the
catchy music of the concert halls. but
things that are heaTtbreak and rapture
and longing all in one. And the people
we know will be supping at Sherry's |
or Deinonico's-a the wealthy. foolish /
people who haven't found out that life
| IS ashes and faces but picture gallery
and talk tinkling cymbal, where no
love is. Are you listening to me, Ho-
noria2"
Yes answered Honoria, very low.
Il know it's sheer folly. said I, this |
dreana of mine We've talked of II So |