The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-03-04
AMan Built of Sentiment
loriginal.l

~WhatE
"A glass bottle picked up on th'
coast near Atlantic City containing
message"
big storm2 Shipwreckl Vessel sink
ing? We are all lostY'
.More than that. I've had lover
didn't knew Of. Read It." And shi
handed him bit OF paper on whie.
were scrawled her full name and a,.
dress and
In q few minutes this vessel win carr,
~ an to watery grave. I wish you L
know that there has been one who has
unknown 10 you. loved you devotedly
Hut he viii die al he has lived wfthol'
Fwealing himself to you. Farewell.
well" said Joe after reading the
nsssage do you suppose its gsnu
lner
something tells me 1t is"
-Whatr'
u somehow 1t seems to me
shat had this man wooed me we would
hnver-.
Would have
what noble. good man hs msst
have been to love me at a distance!
s2goble, good man. ehi To love ysu
= I disfancel VIZ you kindly ex-
tafnr
~Why, there must have been some
rsaaon why be couldn't declare him
IN. HIS great heart bore the load
without permitting me to share !"
ssThen why didn't he keep on bear
Ing It without mixing you up IN this
VAR
SHe knew q wcman's nature. Iwish
y0u knew 1t Is well. A woman re-
eeives her greatest compliment In the
love Of good man."
You mean noble. good man. Don't
have out the noble"
'.This man must have been q noble.
rood, self sacrificing man."
~where does the self sacrifice come
mY'
ssWhy. II he had told me Of his love
I would have loved him. We couldn't
marry and"-
@How do you know you couldn't7'
swhy, what other reason would there
- for his not
Lots OF 'em. The chances are he
was beneath you, probably some cab
driver who once drove you somewhere
e.
.Josephr'
More likely common sailor. with
his arms and breast tattooed with an
ehors."
"You are simply showing your envy
Of one who was doubtless your su-
perior."
AT any rate, I'd have more sense
than to keep my love a secret till a
few minutes before ! was to be launch
Cd for kingdom come"
ssYou haven't that nobility Of soul to
understand this mans nature. He
would not speak till what he said
would not make me suffer-till it
would be only sweet for woman to
hear"
Mobility Of soul, eh? / haven't no
bility of soul. And this man-how do
you know be had soul at all? How
DO you know he isn't myth? Some
body may have been playing joke
On you"
Zone who would play such joke
would have as little soul as the myth
he created"
Joseph looked sorely troubled.
ut seems to me-" he said presently,
''that rival has sprung up-a blood
less, spiritual, heavenly, noble, good,
unselfish"-
Heroic"
Heroic. Any morei"
'fWhy do you sneer at himY
@I'm not sneering at him. He's sim
ply manufactured man, one who has
been built up out Of pure sentiment,
with sentimental arms, legs, head
hands,
''Who created him? Not l! / never
heard of him till / received his only
and last message"
"At any rate, he has replaced me.
I'm going to say farewell. I'm going
to give way to your ideal hero"
@You should strive to be like him"
"Like himl Do you suppose I'd wish
to be like a man of tissue paper, with
nothing inside Of him but gas? He
isn't even gas. He's vacuum"
There's no substance in the angels"
There are different kinds of angels"
" do believe you hate him."
Il! Hate him! I'm perfectly indifer-
snt to him, confound himp'
The girl burst into a merry laugh.
She laughed for FIVE minutes, holding
her sides, then tried to say something,
but she was interrupted by another in
voluntary peel of laughter. Finally
she controlled herself sufficiently to
say:
"Joe, this Isl
~Its certainly no laughing matter"
Eyes, 1t Is, stupid"
Stupid! It's well that stupid man
should give way to little tin god"
"Joe, the next time you send me a
message from the dead do have sense
enough to write 1t on paper that ]
won't recognize as your own"
The expression Of mingled ferceness
and misery on Joe's face gradually
faded away and gave place to one Of
and relief.
9nid von recognize thA paperW he