Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-17

/ most diS1t Will ileT Drains. VI pe dDSotutS
! mistress of herself. to look her best.
But the drowsy god would not come
for wishing. and she tossed through
the long hours till once again she saw
! the gray light steal round the edges of
| her blinds There was this much to the
! good-she felt that there had been no
| narrowing subject of thought: nothing
| to regret.
| Leonard received the Litter at break
| fast time on the morning. He did not
| give it any SPECIAL attention. as he had
! other letters at the same time. some of
| which were. If less pleasant Of more i'm
| mediate Importance. He had of late been
f! bombard9d with dunnng letters from
| tradesmen: for during his university life.
| and ever since. he had run into debt OK
| travagantly. The moderate allowance
| which his father rad made to him he had
| treated cash for incidental expenses.
! but everything else had been on credit.
| Indeed. he was beginning To get seriously
alarmed about the future. fer Lis father.
| who had paid his debts once. and at a
/ time when they were by comparison with
| the present inconsidera biz. had said that
! he would not under any circumstances
pay any others which lie might make. 1t
was therefore with concern and anxiety
| that he opened his letters every morning.
| Stephen rose fresh and in good spirits.
despite her sleepless night. When youth
and strength are to the fore night S
| sleep is not Of much account. for the
slacken. Had she enjoyed her custom
airy long and sound sleep 1t is possible
that she might have abandoned her en-
terprise. for. being a woman, the courag :
of her purpose was of that purely femi
| nine kind which is strong so long as it is
not checked or broken. 1t Is true that as
the time grew closer her nerve was less
marked And just before it she WAS a
girl-and nothing more. with all a girls
diffidence. a girls self-distrust. Il girls
abnegation. a girls Elasticity. 1t was the
striking of the clock. which sounded in
her ears like twelve separate peals of
thunder of ever-swelling volume. which
recalled her to herself and braced her to
the coming ordeal.
In the more purely personal aspect in
her enterprise Stephens effort more
conscious. 1t is hardly possible for a
pretty woman to seek in her study of per-
lection the aid of her mirror and to be
unconscious of her aims. There was
certain sense of triumph in her glance
as she took her last look in her mirror:
a full qualification of her own wish to
show herself in the best way possible to
her. 1t was very charming picture
slim figure and long delicate neck seemed
made tn bear with grace the shapely
head. Her hair was glorious. so that the
rich color of her cheeks. whose ripe red
seemed TO come through tine clear skin
rather than be a part OF 1t, seemed in ex
quisite keeping. The great. black. sweep
ing lashes. which yelled the eyes when
they fell over. gave new forca to the
dark lightning of the black eyes when
they smiled or frowned. or when they
gazed tenderly. or looked out with pas
SiOnate longing. There was something
tropical in those eyes. something reminis
cent of another land and another time.
Centuries seemed to have been Obliter-
ated and in the sockets Of this up-to-date
twentieth-century girl cleaned the very
eyes of that Saracen maid who had
cheerfuly LEFT her glowing sunlight for
the chilly north to be with her lord.
1t was with a satisfied consciousness
of power that she threw her last back
ward glance into the mirror and went out
to her tryst.
1t may be that there il a companion
ship in mirror. especially to woman:
that the reflection of oneself is an en-
boldenng presence, a personality. which
is better than the actuality of an I'M
valued stranger. Certainly, when Stephen
closed the door behind her and stood in
the wainscoted passage. which was only
dimly lit by the high window at either
end, her courage seemed to begin at once
to OCZe away. At first came the nervous
ness which is antecedent to doubt. The
nerves are the sleepess guardians of hui
man safety. and their blind susceptibility
is quicker than the manifestations of
thought. This nervous submission to as
yet unknown influences is part of the
garb of reason: warning. and doubt and
fear are pearls in her girdle.
Probably for the first time in her life.
as she left the long. clustered shade of
the long passage. and came out on. the
staircase. flooded with the light of the
monday sun. Stephen felt that she was
girl-"girl standing some sort of
synonym for weakness. pretended or &C
tual. Though her whole nature was re-
pugnant to the task. she forced herself to
the effort of repression. 1t would she
felt. have been to her a delicious pleasure
to have abandoned all effort: to have
sunk in the lassitude of self-surrender.
The woman In her was working: her
sex had found her out.
But there is no fiercer fight known than
sex in arms against itself. Thought after
thought. of struggle. of surrender. of
abandonment of her purpose Of accept
ance OF tho power of convention flashed
through her mind with lightninglike ra-
pidity. Each foOtstep down the carpeted
stair. though in fact silent, seemed to
sound like thunder. as though she walked
on drumhead resonant of DOOM Then
came mnsling of future and present.
of distance which obliterated all per-
spective. She turned and looked
around her. though she was conscious
of being watched. Then. seeing that she
was all alone. she went on her way with
settled purpose. with flashing eyes and
glowing cheeks-and a beating heart. A
neart all womans since it throbbed the
most with apprehension when the enemy.
HAL WAS the objective OF heT most resO-
lutte attack. She knew that she must
keep moving. that she must not stop or
pause. or else her whole resolution must
collapse. And so she hurried on. fearful
lest chance meeting with any one might
lmperH her purpose.
She met no one on the way. and the alb
sence of necessity for self-control seemed
10 restore her courage. On she went
through the faint mOssgreen paths.
where the red earth was hardened by the
rains OF century falling softly through
| the towering trees. Through the head
lands of meadows rich with Towering
mer wild flowers. The clover was fra
grant. and the humming of bees seemed
hitting accompaniment to the sleepy
sway of the ripening grass. Through
narrow paths with edges blurred with
trampled corn. where the scarlet peoples
stood forth conspicuous and triumphant.
and where chickweed and spreading
ground plants lost the delicacy OF their
natural green and grew red and brown
IN the unaccustomed sunshine. And so
on. up through the path cut in the nat
Caester hill and formed strong base for
the ciump of great trees that formed
landmark for many a mile around. Dur
ing the first part of her journey between
the house and the hilltop. she tried to
hoid her purpose at arms length: II
would be sufficient to face its terrors
when the time had come. In the mean
time The matter was of such overwhelm-
ing Importance that nothing else could
take It's place all she could do was to
suspend the active part of the thinking
ceptive
AS she drew near the Amounted place