The Mena weekly star., 1908-06-25
SAGE AND ROMANCE
By Stuart 8. stone.

The author of The Caucasian Ego and Its Manifestations in the Orient" uttered an ecstatic little cry. Away down in dusty musty corner, in an octave of 1,4S3 pages of very fine print, the author of the great Ego book had found very great truth. It was on page ,117 and the great truth was a sentence of 96 words averaging II letters to the word. and 1t related to evolution, or devolution, never definitely learned which. You see, 1t was really a most astounding. soul-satisfying truth, and 1t was no wonder that the bookman glowed at the discovery.
 He was writing seven-syllabled words about Huxley and the Cosmos and the Indian veda, when the door to the room of books-and-books opened and fairy walked in. Oh, Of course, it wasn't one of those Goldilocks, Snowdrop fairies that you cherished when you were inno- cent, but 1t was a fairy for sure four years old, with the prettiest brownish hair and eyes like the maids on the life insurance calendars.
 Dad" said the fairy. my mudder wants you to come and go to the show with us. We'll have the bestest time"
 The bookman, though. continued to write great. deep biology stuff, 80 that the fairy child piped her sum mons again and then again.
 When the bookman finally under stood he frowned and stamped his foot. No, indeed." he declared. q must finish my chapter on The Sig nificance of the Rink in Human Hair"
 "Oh. dad, won't you go?' the little one pleaded. There will be tigers and kings
 But even a promise of tigers and kings could not stir the clammy blood of the man who wrote and the fairy turned in disappointment, yet fingered unseen by the hearth For the tiger king show was a hard matter to give up. I'll leave it to you.
 The author sighed with relief, now that the prattler was gone. and he rolled up his sleeves for deeper wad ing in stack of Egyptology books. He would show the British museum bunch trick or two in the Ego line ah, that he would
 The biggest. fattest Egyptology book was on very high shelf, and the au- thor had recourse to his stepladder to secure the heavy tome A smaller book dislodged itself and fell to the floor with considerable chatter.
 Dear mel" sighed the author; what great bothers there are in life. :" He stopped to secure the little book. | and the title was in red and the cover was of green, so that the author could not help but see and read the foolish words: Lord Durhams Beautiful | Sweetheart" The sickly sentimental | fly of 1t all irritated the man of sci ence.
 h-rubbish-absolute idiocy-" he grunted How in the world did such clap-trap get in here?'
 The front cover fell back, and the scientist could not get away from the l inscription on the fly leaf:
 ITO Arthur, from Evelyn" It was the gift of his bride of the happy, happy days.
 Whats this?" frowned the author, l and he sat in leather chair and fell | to reading Chapter ILL. of how young Lord Durham found pearl of price in a cottage by the sea and the Pearl loved dearly, and finally of how ty- rant fate put the lord in very high place and the poor little Pearl was left to cry out her heart. It was a l moving tale.
 The philosopher read on into Chap l ter ". where he attended fashion able ball, and in the fifth chapter he learned of young things kissing. Here he sighed real Lord Durham sigh. utterly different from the Egyptology l sigh of a wee bit back. "I'll declare" he murmured, when, after awhile. he looked away from the love tale "I was once something like this myself
 The fairy-kid, lettering desperately by the open fire, thought she saw a change--a curious softening in her fossil parent. So she asked again:
 Dad. let's go to see the pretty show?r
 The author looked at Egypt ana veda and Darwin on the table; then he looked at the pinkish tot by the fire, and once again he sighed-an' | other Lord Durham sigh.
 Tell your mother to get ready" he | announced.
 The fairy whooped and bounded away
 And here's a quarter for peanuts and popcorn" the author of the Cau- casian Ego shouted after.
 Then the wise author followed the fairy, but he first took a long. finger ing gaze at the stack of dreadful Egyp- tology on the ink-stained table. |