Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1907-05-09

Married Q turning point In his life'
Lindsay was an actor good one, IA
mous for his sympathetic acting OF
character parts. Carter sat at his feet
and iistened-and talked. at frst shy
~ and then In . food Of excited
words.
There ought To be good stun In
that old town of yours" he said, cas-
lily, one day to Carter. for a firstrate
playa kind Of Down East'-old
Homestead thing. you know. Why
don't you write It. cartery You've
nothing else to do. and you really
know lot about stage AFFAIRS" laugh
Ing carelessly.
Carter caught his breath suddenly,
| "oh. | don't know, Maybe | will
some day. Would you play III"
| He thought his voice was quite in
different in tone.
"Might-if 1t proved to be what
wanted. and had good part for me In
II. Go ahead" Lindsay added. kindly,
All through the summer Carriers
mother had seen him go nightly TO
Lindsay's. Her thin lips frightened.
a, on the day she crushed the Make
Believe People," her eyes grew stern
ard unyielding.
The next spring Carter went to New
York with roll OF manuscript In his
bag. In a weeks time he was back.
his thin face little keener. and lines
OF disappointment about his eyes. In
the autumn he went away again.
At home his mother waited and
prayed. and occasionally wept.
He's got 1t in him." she sighed.
fearfully.
One night Carter came back. His
mother read his face and braced her.
self for the blow. At the tea-table he
looked up appealingly and said;
Mother. | have been writing a
play. and Lindsay has bought it. He's
going to put it on this next season"
His mother pulled her shawl about
her shoulders and shivered slightly
Her voice was even and colorless
when she answered:
Il guessed that this was going on.
So you have chosen your life? 1t is
in you-the players blood. My sis.
ter, whom l loved deeply, went on the
stage-and her soul was lost-she died |
-somewhere-miserably: we never
knew. Your father had it-and his |
life was failure. Perhaps 1t will be |
better for you to go away. II will |
only hurt me and hurt you-your
staying now. No. don't answer me
yet"
She rose and left him alone.
Carter went away.
Lindsay put his play on, and made
big hit with it, The papers were
kind to it. The public accepted II,
and laughed, and cried. and applaud
ed over its homely pathos and hu.
NOR. 1t ran all that winter in New
York.
Carter's mother missed him sore
ly. At first she did not admit it,
even to herself; later the conviction
was forced upon her. The fiber of
her disappointment and shame over
her only son released gradually: she
never knew how it came about but
one day, quite by accident, she read
in a paper a fiattering account of
James Carriers play. His mother
frowned and laid the paper hastily
aside. In the evening she cut out
the notice and put it between the
leaves of the Life of Bishop Simp-
SON." She cut out another that same
week.
The inconsistency of her position at
first troubled her ceaselessly At last
she made deep and stern decision;
it came after night of prayer and
struggle. That afternoon she took the
train for New York.
Carter CHANGED to be in the thea.
ter that evening in Lindsay's dressing
ROOM
i say. Carter, there's little bit OF
a thin woman down near the front
that's worth watching. I've been play
ing to her all the evening. She's
laughing and crying all at once. like
a little girl. BY Jove! she's really re-
freshing.
Show her to me-cant | see her
from the wings?" Carter said, when
the last act was called.
It's the little old lady in the second
row left-see herr"
Carter started. "Why-why-" he
began, boyishly, but he broke of into
laugh that was near something
deeper.
4 know her" he said softly Lind
say, this is the biggest night of nv
life--that's my mother!"
Jimmie said his mother after the
play was over, why didn't you let
that nice girl with the yellow hair
marry the dark mann"
JUDGMENT Oay Settienoan<