The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-07-30


should we remain mere paper friends
when fate SO clearly intended more
Think Of an we may be foregoing, or,
better still, think not at all. but send
me a simple, trustful Yes
And she did send by return colos-
sal eyes" that occupied the whole Of
the first page. On the second came
Instructions "Let It be AZ the British
museum 0or respectability) BY the
Elgln marbles tfor inspiration next
Tuesday afternoon az 5 O'Clock. And,
to avoid asaaulting she wrong people,
let each wear a yellow orchida.f In my
dress, you IN your coat Rob (of
John Giddens' novel; has decided me.
was rereading last night Those
whom a common humor hath joined
together let no man put asunder
Tuesday was d pouring wet day, but
at FIVE minutes to a tnll, gaunt WON
nm, large footed. with a yellow orchid
in her dress. entered the Elgin marble
room, wiped some spots Of rain of
her gloves and cape, twealred nervous
ly at her veil ana looked about her
with furtive, shortsighted eyes that
cleaned excitedly behind her glasses.
She must have been forty II q minute
but had the originality tn face Il
squarely in her soberly expensive gar
ments, her unchallenging- almost apol-
ogetic-- bonnet and her hygienic boots
A certain broad humanity In the
mouth and a decided CLINT Of humor
IN the eve saved the face from down
right ugliness, Orwell, nearly saved
It.
At three minutes TO young man
Of about twenty-five, very short very
fair and bloodless, with stoop, and
yellow orchid IN his buttonhole, en-
tered the same room from the other
side. He. too looked about him with
quick, light eyes. wherein. "a CORE.
spending CLINT Of humor fought with
an impasslye mouth
They did not appear TO see one an
other at once, these two, although the
room held no more than its usual half
dozen people But they moved toward
each other. from statue to statue, With
slow, casual steps and deep interest
apparently IN the antique IN they
met Then they glanced hurriedly
over one another and passed On IN
opposite directions. Both continued
this slow prowl around the room I'M
til they necessarily met again This
time the woman stopped, fastened her
sbortsighted eyes on the mans button
hole and said with a rush, u am John
Giddensg
He looked fxediy at the orchid IN
her cape and said @And / am II. r.
Cornish"
she held out her hand. their eyes
met sQuarely. the glints struck. and
they stood there LAUGHING historically
two I'll shaped, civilization soiled mod
erns among the cold gIories Of the an
clients.
Questions and explanations followed
in quick alienation. Why had John
Giddens masqueraded as a man ii
private correspondence
Don't you see that ! thought you
were woman she explained fran
tically. Don't you see what d sub
lime situation was going to bring
about-to work up 70 the point Of ro-
nance, almost Of love, and then meet
bonnet to bonnet and watch the ef
feet? Tableaul How ! should have
scored And what a valuable expe-
rlence to find out how another wom-
an would really write to man, and
oh. 1t would have been perfect But
why you should pretend to be won-
am
And f. r. Cornish had to explain
how the idea, once given to him, had
seemed iYesistibiy suggestive; how he,
too had determined to represent him
self as a young and beautiful girl that
he might wailow in the moment Of dis
illusionment again the same idea,
you see" he ended
But after one hours talk, sitting
face to face in that silent company,
each had said and heard enough to re-
alize that theirs was indeed al I'M
intellectual sympathy It
was extraordinary. No two friends
Of half a century's standing could have
played better into each others hands,
taken each others illusions with |
quicker grasp, enjoyed each others
utterances with more unjealous admi-
ration.
II was almost unconsciously that
she told him such fragments OF her
life as could interest him how sheer
boredom and social reaction had start.
ed her pen IN middle life and how her
age and her wealth made her fearful
of ridicule and determined her to con-
ceal her identity.
And, equally unconsciously, he gave
her slirnpses on his lower middle class I
setting in Hampstead his attacks Of I
literary despair, bis sister, who paint.
ed screens and bellows, his struggles
against III health.
Yes, there was the intellectual atm
fly in its finest tower spontaneous, /
beautiful urging eternal union Only
there were likewise the facts Of his
twenty-five and her forty years, bis
Eve feet four and her five feet eleven.
bis probable consumption and her GER
tain mother, and, far above all, the
fact OF their common humor, illumi-
mating all these and holding them to
their taeit pact Of mere friendship--a
friendship which lasted them their
time.
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