Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1909-12-30
THE FASCINATION OF
FORBIDDEN FRUIT,
BY HENRY S. sPIcER.

| business involved some corrcspondence
with olive oil merchants i'm Italy. 1
concluded TO learn the Italian Ian.
guagc in order TO be able TO write
those In their own tongue from whom
we bought oil | inquired Of a friend
Tor a teacher. He told me that he
could recommend one, young WON
an, native OF Italy, but there must
be one condition attached to her giving
me losSohS-I must promise not to
make love 20 her. Somewhat SURPRISED
that such promise should be cXactcd.
! asked reason for it, but received
no satisfactory reply. AS | had no
intention of making love to any one. /
readily agreed 10 the terms. II IS only
too true. however that such promise
was very inconsideratc OH my part. for
several episodes in the past had demon
Strat'd my extreme susceptibility to
the Goddess Love and her subtIetics
But my word had been given and in
all the vcrities / was placed upon my
honor
Miss Cor, rather Siguorina Aboui
turned out 10 be teacher i'm the -cv
York public schools She was about
twenty live years Old, with the dark
hair and eyes prevalent among her
countrymcn ana, unlike most Italian
women possessed 4 very sweet voice.
no language is musical when rapidl.
spoken and in a rough voice, but as
Miss AJ,ni spoke Italian to mo SLOWLY
and soft.y it was very mcliauous.
/
not been for The promise / had made
| might have taken lessons OF Miss
Aboni for al indefinite time wfthou.
danger - my bachclorhood. should
not have thought Of making love 10
her But all the while she was i'm
STRUGGLING HE my mind. instead OF he
ing on the Italian language, was on
the question why was / pledged not
10 make love 10 my teacherW That
we wish TO do what we are forbidden
TO do is curious psychological! coudi-
ton for which l cannot account
can more readily understand why one
should dislike to do what he is com
PEELED to do. and yet this condition is
10y no means so universal as the other
However this may be, / was soon
seized with an uncomfortable desire TO
make love TO my teacher. l resisted
ul had been some time under her
tutelage, then made a break.
The pain expressed in her face told
me that l had in some way hurt her.
and a sudden sensation of shame told
me that l had dishonored myself
stammered an apology, promising not
TO break my word again, a condition
Ike that laid down by the poet when
ne says II is weakness to be wroth
with weakness" The poor girl could
only accept the apology and hope that
would be stronger i'm future.
But was tampering with q passion.
and the passions usually master con.
science. The only safe way out of the
matter was to acknowledge myself
beaten In the first encounter and avoid
a second by ceasing to take lessons
of Miss Aboni. This course occurred
TO me, but | persuaded myself that IL
would be more manly to conquer my.
self than to ingloriously run away. |
continued 10 receive instruction. but
there had come a feeling Of constraint
between me and my teacher. | went
on conquering myself, as l persuaded
myself | was doing listening to the
melodious Italian sentences rs they
glided from my teachers lips. Then.
too, we frequently read from the same
book, and this compelled us TO sit side
by side, dangerous position for those
who arc forbidden 20 he lovers.
one day while thus looking over the
same page / suddenly found my hand
resting on my teachers waist can
only assert that ! did not put It there:
10 put itself there Then another un-
fortunate circumstance led TO n fatal
step. Feeling a tress softly Craze my
cheek. with my hand-the hand not on
her waist turned her face to mine
and kissed her on the lips.
] shall never forget the shuddcr that
passed over her frame. know at
once that 1 had done something tcrri
bic. But terrible things cannot usual
ly be undonc Whatever it was. IL
must stand. One thing was certa.u-I
had given my word aud broken It,
II am beneath contempt" cried
'No ! have made mistake"
What mistaken
instead OF .z.rIue promise
Should hove taton YOU into my con.
G"cn.c. But ~ou wyrg 70 strange. 90
w" su1 IL you tr'd"-
We'll if to.1, what thcIt"
"I would DO my position. wc would
star.c"
$50. Who are wcG"
~ and mv hu hand Married women