Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-06-26

the dignity, the perfection Of her environ
ment he came upon her face to face be-
hind the counter of a huge white marble
department store! She was shaking out
a pair of long white gloves preparatory
to trying them on the hand Of a woman
seated before tn. counter. and as she met
his amazed eyes the burning color ran
over her face like a fame, and her eyes
fell. Then she looked at him again, her
head high. In response to his grave bow
she gave a curt nod. and in another mo-
ment she was lost to him in the quiet and
deft performance of her duties.
Il
He went home in a fever of rage-rage
at himself rage at this woman with her
air OF distinction. and for her extraor-
binary trade. and a sick amazement that
the thing could be possible And yet the
poet in him scoffed at the notion that
she was anything less alluring. less sat
lsfylng than his nymph against back
ground Of blue Sky and green water. He
thought of his friends of his stately. old
fashioned mother, he remembered pretty.
fastidious Jessie Van Ness in her digni-
fed old New York environment and
though he had never loved her. Jessie
Van Ness meant a great deal to him.
not merely in herself but because OF
what she represented in the conservative
set which to Merwin was the best that
modern city can show.
Yet l. was not Merwin's mother nor
Merwin's friends who counted most in
this struggle with his own soul. 1t was
his own scorn he feared. He had always
recognized that there were two warning
forces in his nature, the imagination
which re"els In the beautiful and the un-
hackneyed wherever placed. and that re-
spect for the very mundane conclusions
CT his own kind, his own class. even
of himself. as he knew himself best in
moments when
ing themselves in his brain.
Two weeks later. at o'clock Of an
October day, 9th avenue was black with
hurrying groups of young women swept
suddenly from the doors of a great build
ing into the streams Of pedestrians which
throng one of the proudest streets in the
world At the corner. a little beyond
the surging Of these eager young women,
q tall man waited and watched
1T last came a girl dressed severely
In dark green. Under her simple hat q
glcam of bright hair showed: her face
was pale, with tired lines about the
mouth and shadows beneath the beauti-
full eyes. The man came forward eager
ly ard the girl faced him half angrily, no
longer pale.
MI. Mepwin.'
They were walking side by side Mer-
wins voice was very quiet and curious
ly happy II came to walk home with
you. Sea Nymph and incidentally to
thank you for saving my life!''
They had passed into a side street and
the girl stopped suddenly. Merwin saw
that she looked older than he remember
ed her. and he wondered how any creature
so strong as he knew her to be could
seem SO delicately nodded as she Look
ed in her long. close-fitting coat
do you realize. Mr.. Merwin, that In
town l can only know you in the usual
conventional way? You know my social
standing-and / happen to know some
thing about yours! But l have my code.
and we meet as equals-or as strangers"
Merwin's low laugh was a pleasant
sound. Dear mermaid, ] only want to
marry you-so that we can meet very
often! And afterward, we will talk So
cial equality. There IS an old. little. IA
nous church within five minutes walk of