The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-10-17
go, 5000. ,s~s,s, .z.,., ........
OUR IDEALS.


Lake mountain.
1t was summer morning. / lie
mountain side on which the park was
situated faced east and the sun slInnc
bright and warm on the face of every
house, sparkling Oh the dew it had not
yet dried from leaves and flowers. Ey-
cry garment we wore was white, l$a-
bells being lawn, | believe: mine, thin
flannel. | would have scorned to wear
hat Hats in summer for young
bloodS have goue out of fashion
There was Il walk shaded by many
trees beside Il rivulet running through
a deep ravine. We turned from the
road into this ravinc. Presently we
came to large fiat stone, on which we
sat Below us the water gurglcd and
dubbed and sparkled. | love the
sound of running water.
We were ut that a@c-I was twenty.
Isabel nineteen when Il boy and Il girl
must talk philosophy or at least what
they think is the bedrock of those prin
ciples which are to govern their ltycs
The visible world they have already
seen. They are just getting their first
glimpse of the world of thought Be
meath both is Il minglng of the spirit
ual and the sensual. the former of
which charms them to Il want of rec
ogntion of the latter.
"Rohbins is back from college" | re
marked. "lle spoke the valedictory ut
commencement. | believe"
Il haven't seen him yet" said Isabel
indiffercniIy.
'Pcrhaps you don't fancy 2cholars?'
Not if scholarship is all there is to
them"
What is Your ideal in q mani
We'll" meditatiycIy. Il think !
should like him tall slender and with
raven black hair His eyes
Il don't mean physically: | mean his
moral and intellectual makeup"
ooh, I should want him to he
morally brave. He should always
choose the nobler part. He must never
do anything mean, be always generous.
kind, forgiving. honorable
l was troubled | feared | was not
quite mp to her standard. Indeed. if
she knew of sundry small acts <f mine
she would despse me.
"Thcn should like him smart" she
went on, warming with her subject
mot one of those hIcar eyed. spec
tacled persons who if you speak to
them appear to wake up as from Il
dream and cape at you; I mean, rather.
one Of those fellows who can take
prizes with theses ut the same time
they are winning the game for their
college on the gridron. who can leap
streams and walls on horseback. who
| sing delightfully."- always prefer a
tenor voice-who are sure to take
high stand when they get into the
broader battlefield OF the world"
1t did not occur to me that this
ideal demigod was not likely to DC
realized in one and the same person
was intent only on the great height
on which he stood that is. The dis
lance between him and me- / was one
of the kind who could not learn with
out digging" and confess ] was too
lazy To dig. couldn't engage in
games because | was nearSighted. rath-
err small and trifie lame, though the
latter defect | managed to conceal.
What under heaven could Isabel see
in me to love with this ideal hero in
her mind?
"Shall I give you my ideal of Il
woman" | asked.
She stirred the dirt with the tip Of
her parasol metIitaiyey.
No she said after consideration
81 know your ideal of q woman
This was remarkable. since | had no
| ideal Young fellows don't spend thei'
time con juring up ideal girls. There are
| lots of other things to take up thei"
attention.
What is my ideal!'
"Nettie Sackett"
I had spent some time with Miss
| Sackett at the tennis court the pre-
vious afternoon, Isabel being present
| Miss Sackett didn't play tennis, and
couldn't. on account of my lame leg,
We couldn't very we'll help being to
gether.
''Then you have only to give me Miss
Sackett's traits to express my ideal
You don't care for beauty. Miss
| Sackett is not beautiful, you know
nobody preteRls to call her so-and an
| intellectual girl would bore you. Miss
| Sackett wasn't remarkable at school
| Indeed. she failed at the final examina-
ton You like wit i'll a girl, and you'll
| find it in Miss Sackett. Her tongue is
sharp as a razor. The only objection
have to this feature is that she slashes
| people behind their backs"
l picked up stone and threw it into
little pool in the stream below.
| There was n sound | always like to
| hear-a sort of PUNK. | was niedi-
| tatng Oh the difference between Isa-
| bells ideal Of a man and mine Of a
| woman. Isabel sat ,Inconcerned. Since
| she pictured my ideal herself it didn't
require a very high appreciation Of
| herself to rise ;ihove it. There WAS
| something unfair about the proceeding.
! but my limited knowledge of the idio-
| syncraSies Of women did not admit of