Putnam patriot., 1911-03-03
Pastoral Love
 Affair
Combination of the Natural and
 the Artificial.
By ARTHUR BEAVERTON
Copyright by American Press Asso-
 ation. 1911.

lF-ln IdCl. tt) nave Ol- ten thought how pleasant 1t must be X for the animals and birds to mate without having to look into each
 others record. A tiger may not only
 Kill man. but eat him and mate with
 A most respectable tigress without any questions being asked. Two birds X may meet on the branch of a tree and
 without the slightest knowledge of each other become mates. But man
 and woman must not only know all 8 about each other. but be of the same
 grade and each have a clean record. or % there comes q lot of trouble. q And the most singular thing about < 1t all is that either of them will mur- der any animal. except their own kind. # and eat the carcass.
 I, being an artist. when the buds a were beginning to open went into # the country to catch that first delicate % shade of pale green which appears on # the trees at that season. l was sitting q on my tripod in a wood working in the n colors when heard the bark of a dog, # and a moment later little terrier # slDOu SlONilh SAA AiiS- @A SiA if bhNNAAA4S $ like the trees, not into leaves, but into < womanhood, hurried up, calling in soft voice:
 Brisk! Come away, Frisk! What \ do you mean|
 I paid no attention to the dog, and < there was no need for the girl to call S him off, for he had no idea of attack ing me. but he gave me an excuse for addressing the girl
 And yet l question if any excuse was required People who meet in crowds are constrained by convention alities We two, meeting in wood, with not sound about us-when the dog had ceased barking except an oc- casional twtter of birds engaged in nest building, felt constrained in an other way. We were impelled to be companionable I began by telling her not to mind the dog, that he wouldn't disturb me. and she sidled around where she could catch a view of my sketch One thing led to another until we felt quite well acquainted. I had
 chosen a delightful spot to transfer to canvas. It was on a deelivity. An opening in the trees below revealed
 patch of landscape, while at my feet
 gurgled a stream, at this season well
 supplied with water from snows re-
 gently melted at higher attitudes. The
 air was balmy and laden with per fumes.
 One has but to mention thls outline picture to indicate the result. Given
 an opening spring in wood, buds wild
 flowers, twittering birds, a vista,
 brook. dog and lastly a young man
 and a young woman, both in the first freshness of youth, what followsP Why. exactly what the poet says-the
 young mans (and the young woman'sl fancy turns to thoughts of love The result of this meeting was an other meeting and another and another. I didn't count them; l was too preoc- cupied to do so. painted so long on my picture that before I finished it the delicate shade 1 had come to the coun- try for had grown into q dark green and the full grown leaves had plotted put the vista which gave the work more than half it's beauty. But while 8 this beauty was disappearing the bud of love was opening.
 So much for the natural features of this story. Now come the artifci2l- viz, a girls confession to her father that she had met her fate. but had not met with any knowledge of that fates antecedents: then command from the father. tears from thef girl and
 triangular condition between the fla I ther, the girl and the artist such as has taken place ever since the first primeval girl planned to give her fla ther the slip and climb a tree with the first primeval youth, the tree being too
 high for the old gentleman to follow. Bessie's father was really as reason able as we considered him unreason-
 able. He merely wished to know who was Since l had lived in South America from the time was two until twenty-two years of age I must send there for my credentials. involving s delay of a month or more What cruel ty 10 force a pair of lovers to wait all that time in a state of suspense, sweetheart" | said to her one day. suppose the reply should come that am an escaped defaulter, jaibird. mur \ derer''
 "I would not believe the story. But your father would l added tantentiously.
 One day. after having painted alone In the wood. on leaving it l saw some thing half covered with shriveled branches and dead leaves. exam ined it and found the dead body of q man. Mortified lest I might be i'm plicated in q mure'7r. l threw back what I had rem nd was about
 to hurry awsy saw two men coming for uie five minutes I was on my way to the nearest pc lice station
 My anteoedents were now not 50 much needed to enable me to possess my loge as to preserve my neck. Tho status had changed a second time The ci.se was not now one of father girl and an unknown man. but [ father. girl and an unknown man ac cused ui murder. I sent at once note to Bessie. informing her or my trouble. encouraging her to keep up good heart and assuring her of my fn- nocence. Receiving no reply. con cluded that her father would not per init her to send reply.
 Breeding in my cell, I could not but revert to the good old primeval times have cited before when a suitor might kill as many of his fellow be