The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-01-03

than undying devotion. They probably
meant another crisis. Lucy had acquired,
from long practice, good deal OF skill
in Tending off crises, but she had known
for some time now that she couldn't keep
it up indefinitely. Sooner or later the
great crisis would have to be faced, and
for weeks she had spent all the spare
time she could take from other matters
trying to decide what she should say
when that time came.
For Lucy, in her own small way, was
face to face with the problem which lies
at the foundation of all the moral codes
and most of the tragedies of the world,
namely the conflict between society and
the individual. The Bohemian flats rep
resented the claim of society and Charlie
Ransom represented the individual.
Lucy's social settlement work was no
mere fad, compounlel of curiosity and
Vacuity. She had been brought up in an
atmosphere where social service was
familiar subject of thought and moral
responsibility was accepted as the COM
monplace of decent living. Her little
world was made up of people who were
doing something or other philanthropy
ic. and Professor Wayland was it's czar.
Then, merely as an individual, she began
to slip into love with Charlie Ransom.
The process had been so gradual that she
did not yet consider her old position Of
free will as hopelessly lost. Rather, she
looked upon her heart as a would-be
traitor, deserving of little mercy. Charlie
was delightful, of course-so sweet-tem-
pered and funny and generally mice"
that it would have been pure stupidity
not to value him. But he belonged to a
different world
Should she give up all the things that
Lucy Elmer was expected to do, and,
what was perhaps more to the point, all
the things that Professor Wayland had
expected Lucy Elmer to do, and devote
herself to keeping house for one young
man (and comparative stranger at
that, because he had an amusing habit
of making droll speeches? OF course,
from the Individual standpoint, she would
| be horribly, inconceivably lonesome II
| Charlie were eliminated But so every
Darby and Joan had felt from the be-
| ginning of time. 1t was part of the phe-
| nomenon of being in love-which was an
| exceedingly common experience, regarded
! sociologically
And then. from the tendency of all low
| ers to consult oracles and the feminine
| instinct for throwing the responsibility
| for action upon some one else, she hit
upon the expedient of making Professor
| Wayland himself solve her uncertainty.
! Not that she could-or for a momoent
would-ask his opinion directly. 1t wasn't
advice she wanted. 1t was an oracle.
"rlf take his word for a sign" Lucy
said to herself, and felt that after that
the responsibility rested upon the Provi-
! dence.
| So she said two words and half to Mrs.
I Fessenden and as Mrs. Fessenden was a
woman for whom that was ample allow
ance, Charlie had been invited to meet
| her distinguished guest the first time
| that Professor Wayland arrived in River
J ton for a flying visit And then had come
! this gorgeous box of orchids!
"Oh, dearp laughed Lucy, bending over
| them with misty eyes. She could read
their message without any Language OF
| Flowers to help her They meant thai
| Charlie was badly scared.
| And the minute the professor appeared
she knew that Charles dismay was JUS
| titled His look. was SO transparent to
| his thought that there was little need for
her to wait for his spoken word. YET
| to keep him from the fatal word for
| little while she talked breathlessly OF the
| things they were both supposed to care
| about-her classes and the approved
methods and the relative adaptablity OF
| Rohemians and Syrians and Russian
Jews: but all this was from her lips, and
in her quaking heart she was saying all
the time:
He doesn't like Charlie He doesn't.
| And I said / would let his word decide
| And. of course 1 will There is no use
going back again to worry by myself.
said I would take his woodland will"
You are looking tired" the professor
said abruptly, peering at her through his
glasses. "Are you tired? Today especial
ly? Or generality"
| II didn't know it. Never mind me-"
"Oh. no, you don't count" her god
father scoffed. What makes you look Sc
disheartened them"
.Nonsense. I'm not disheartened O.
tired or anything at all. Pm going Il