The sun., 1908-03-28
The journal Of a Poets VIE.

In Amulet Andrews's story Of THE Wife
Of Narcissus' (Moffat, Yard and Company
we have Sophie Van Cort 3 journal, Sophie
was an artist with studio in West Fifty
seventh street She went to Mrs. Morle's
reception and there saw Narcissus. These
receptions in Mrs. Morles studio were
peculiar. Mrs. Morle sat on a throne with
peacock colored glass at the back. There
was a fortune teller with a jewelled girdle
and a catseye dangling in the middle OF
his forehead; a creature with marvellous
white flesh shockingly exposed yho played
the piano; a fat woman who purred TO .
laconic man with pointed eyeteeth and
s0iled finer nails; bearded man in sandals
and robe who played what was declared
10 be Gothic music on a harpsiohord In
a corner, occasionally beating on a brass
gong with hammer; a foreign gentleman
all over hTistles who spluttered and was
inoomprehensble; a pretty young woman
who said fervently that she hoped the day
was not far Of when women could dis
charge unsatisfactory husbands as they
did cooks and number Of queer persons
besides, including Narcissus. who had
violet eyes and tender blue veins on his
temples
Arthur lnness was his real name, and he
was a Welsh poet, the author Of 'The
Nymphs Of Orion and the leader Of the
New Hedonists Sophie married him pres
emily and was unhappy George Gordon
Morgan came along after a while, Il have
found him. Sophie wrote, my beautiful
warrior. my Crusader nave seen MIN in
the fesh--very little flesh, mainly bone
and muscle This was different from Mar
cissus. The poet Cufiered by comparison.
We know 40 much from the journal. We
read Of the poet dawdling over his coffee
at the dinner table the day George Gordon
had called. He yawned. He leaned his
smooth msrbelike face upon his hand.
The blue rings made the ephemeral deli
cate hand look all the more feminine. He
sat with one foot tucked under him in
Womanish fashion" This was too much.
Poignant irritation and disgust grappled
my SOUL Sophie writes. Il wanted to put
a moral ramrod down his back-to crop
his halo Of golden hair She did do some
thing of the kind. She said TO him; Please
take your foot from under you and put
your hand down and sit up straight He
must have been little startled, He told
her she was disagreesble.
Sophie had 10 pay the penalty for marry
ing her poet, The journal tells all about it.
At last fortune turned a most generous
face upon her. A rich aunt died and left
her fortune, A young woman from Eng
land the mother Of a baby, presented her
self with the information that the poet
had married her before he had married
Sophie Finally and very suddenly the
poet himself passed away in Canada. At
that the young woman from England spoke
very forgivingIy and nicely Of hin Sophie
was impressed by her msgnanimity. She
experienced in her own breast q magnani-
nous feeling. She records: Il felt
could be as forgiving, The girl wanted TO
70 TO Canada and take back TO England all
that remained Of Narcissus, and ! made
her my deputy, and she went as an Eng
lish relative TO take him home and bury
him in a Devonshire churchyard. We
do not know how many copies Of "Ths
Nymphs Of Orion" were sold or what be-
came Of the poets blue rings.