Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1910-06-17
CHAPTER XI.-Continued.

~ IL"
IF they all stood here by me on the
sand, if all their excellencies and vir-
tues were centered upon n and she
stood by you on the sand, my heart
would turn to you. 1t isn't because
you are beautiful. You are beautiful,
are you not?"
Poor man, he had nc standards of
comparison, only the instinct for the
lovely.
Men said So" she answered, smil-
Ing at him and blushing in confusion.
Mem" he cried. What men?"
Il will tell you tomorrow"
She sighed deeply at the thought of
the revelation.
well then" he continued, 1T isn't
because you are beautiful, or because
you are wise, or because you are
learned. or because you are kind; it is
because you are you that 1 love you"
And If l were none of these
things?"
IT would love you just the same"
Blu l am not what you think me in
some ways"
"I could never hin highly enough
of you, l know that"
NO, no., it isn't that. When 1 tell
you"
She stopped and looked at him pa
ling. After all the greater test was
to come then. ITO err" she remem
bered the ancient Latin proverb, was
human; to forgive divine" Would he
be human or divine in this trial? Had
she so trained him that he could for
Civ the unforgiveable? In more ways
than one her happiness depended
upon what would be his course If
he forgave her and cOndOned her
fault, their love could have free
course If ever opportunity for benz
son upon it presented. But If he
followed the common course of men,
not only would any future union be-
tween them on the only terms to
which she could consent be impOs-
sible, but AA would kill her heart, her
trust !n man-sometimes, she wildly
believed, her trust in God.
Nothing, nothing" he repeated,
THAT you could tell me would make
any difference"
So lovers have protested, she re-
called. since time and the world be-
gan. And yet things told have made
differences. What would it do for their
future, this revelation Of the morrow =?
M again she realized that the test,
If she herself we're compelled to make
1t, would not be exactly fair, for she
would be at once prosecuting attOr-
ney, advocate for. the defense, even
In some phase the passer of judgment.
She would be the criminal and the
world to him. 1t would hardly be
possible for him to arrive at a correct
view and come to a determination I'M
biased and free. If she could have
transported him by some magic pow
er among the children of men, and
with them for auditory have told her
story, the test would be a true one.
What he would do then after having
heard the worlds voices. the worlds
appeals, the worlds mOckeries, would
truly determine what he was, and in
no other way could that determina-
ton be arrived at. Though she strove
to be as impartial as divinity. she
could not but make her defense coin
cident with her revelation. her ~justifi-
cation at the same time with her con-
demnatiOn. He knew nothing of life
but what she and instinct had taught
him, and neither would be safe guides
in this He could protest
and she could believe his protests, but
unless they were uttered not merely
before high heaven but before sur
rounding men, they would be of little
value.
She put this by resolutely at last.
We are the creatures of circumstance
and environment. She would have to
do the best that she could on the
morrow. Meanwhile she would, as she
had said, enjoy the day. And SO the
morning hours wore away until the
time came for the customary parting.
AT first she would have abandoned, in
the luxury of the new passion. or the
new revelation of the old passion, the
customary rule, but she still preserved
some lingering remains of her common
sense and she clearly perceived that
It was necessary to go on as they
had. Society cannot proceed without
FITS conventions and these simple regu-