Evening star., 1909-04-20

more real than doubt--so far as it goes.
Victor Cousin took from its reality MS
lsubtlest argument for relief: AT this point
skepticism itself vanishes; for II man
doubt everything else, at least he cannot
doubt that he doubts" So with Athlyne.
BY accepting doubt as reality he began
| the experiment for its cure.
In the silence Of the night, with nerves
hiEh-strung and with brain excited. he
tried in those most earnest hours Of his
| life, when for good or ill he was to or
ganize his intellectual forces. to arrange
| matters so that the earliest time he might
] with certainty learn his fate. He had an
him he must not be over-precipitate. And
| yet he must not check impulsiveness as
long as its trend was in the right direc-
tion. He knew that a woman's heart IL
oftener won by assault than by siege. For
himself he had plenty Of patience as well
as suffciency of spirit; his task at
present therefore was one OF generalship
alone: the laying out Of the battle plans.
the disposition of his forces. AS he
thought. and as his ideas and his inten-
tions came into order, he began to under
stand better the purpose of those two
preparations OF his which were already
complete; the overhauling Of his auto
mobile and the supplying with female
other, dependent on developing opportu-
nifty, to bring her for a ride in the motor.
There. all. alone. he would be able to
learn, perhaps at first from her bearing
and then from her own lips. how she
regarded him.
/ Athlyne was young man. very young
man in his real knowledge Of the sex,
lnere are hundreds. thousands, of half
pulseless boys, f1abby OF flesh and pallid
with enervating dissipation. who would
have smiled cynically-they have not left
in them grit enough for laughter-at his
doubling.
He would not frighten her at first. Here
for time he took himself to task for
seeming to plot against the woman lie
| loved. Surely 1t would be better to treat
her with perfect fairness; to lay his heart
at her feet; tell her with all the pas
sionate force that swept him how he loved
her-tell It with what utterance he had.
Then he should wait her decision. No.
thought. II indeed there was any an
swering love to his little decision would
be required. Had he made any decision
From the first moment he had looked in
in their depths his very soul had gone
out to her. And 1t might be that she
too had felt something OF the same self
abandonment. He could never forget how
on that afternoon visit at the Holland
she had raised her eyes to his in answer
to his passionate appeals. Joy. look at
mel" Then at that memory. and at the
later memory when she had spoken the
words herself only the day before-the
sweetness of her voice was still dtnglhlg
in his ears. q sort Of tidal wave Of loves
rapture swept over him. 1t overwhelmed
him 50 completely that it left him physi-
cally gasping for breath. He was in a
tumult: he could not lie in bed. He leaped
| to his feet and walked to and fro with
long, passionate strides. He threw up the
lower sash OF the window and looked out
into the moonlight craning his neck round
to the right 30 that his eyes were In the
direction Of Ambleside as though the very
ardor Of his gaze could pierce through
distance and stone walls and compel
joys white eyelids to raise so that he
might once more lose himself In those
gray deeps wherein his soul alone foursl
peace.
In this passion Of alteration all his
doubts seemed to disappear as the sun
drinks up the mist. He felt as though
uplifted. At the very idea Of joys loving
him as he loved her he felt more worthy,
more strong, and with a sense Of trf-
umph which had no parallel in his life:
He stood looking out at the beauty Of
the scene before him. till gradually 1t be-
came merged in his thoughts with Joy
realize. He never knew exactly how long
he stood there. 1t must have been q
long time, for when he realized any sense
fof time at all he was cramped and chilleds
coming from far away behind him was
tarticulating the fields on the hill slopes
across the lake.
He was then calm. All the thinking
and reasoning and planning and passion
Of the night had been wrought into unity.
His mind was made up as to the first
stage Of his undertaking. He would bring
the car to Ambleside and leave 1t with the
chauffeur outside the town. Then he
would take hts place in the garden and
wait till she came out for that walk OF
which she had told her father. He would
cautiously follow her; and when there
was a fair opportunity for uninterrupted
speech would come to her. II he found
there was no change in her manner to
him-and here once again the memory OF
those lifting eyes made him tremble-he
would try to get her to come for ride
in his car. There, wrapped In the glory
OF motion and surrounded by all the
grandeur of natural beauty, he would
pour out his soul to her and put his fate
to the touch. Then II all were well he
would send on the letter to her father
and would pay his formal visit as soon
as might be. He would take care to have
ready a luncheon basket SO that II she
would ride with him they might have to-
gether an ethereal banquet.
1t is strange that even those who are
habitually cautious. whose thoughts and
deeds alike are compelled and ruled by
reason, will in times OF exaltation forget
their guiding principle. They will re-
fuse to acknowledge the existence Of
chance: and will proceed calmly on their
way as though life was az a simple cord.
with Inclination pulling at one end Of it
and Fact yielding at the other.
ITO he continued tOmOrrOW.1