The Washington bee., 1911-07-15

said, "that l have been TO the sea-
shore love it, yet 1 fear it. 1t is to
me like the serpent that charms the
bird to destroy it. Fancy this tranq1ii
scene transformed by tempest. There
is nothing in nature that is to me so
miraculous as those waves. See that
leviathan out there rolling in. True,
his name is gilded by the moon, but
his body is black. There is a terror in
his very silence. There, it breaks!
How it pounds the beach,
81 dread the water in any FORM" she
went on after pause. Even when it
is tranquil it Is treacherous. One who
cannot swim may drown within a few
feet Of land. A current will glide along
like a crawling reptile, carrying one
who may be caught in it out into the
great, dark. unmerciful ocean. Oh, I
hate the waterl l don't know why I
came here. I will never come again"
Madam" said Warrington, "you
speak as one who has been caught in
the tolls of the wateTy element You
have had what swimmers call a scare.
One who has suffered from fright in
the water win never get over it. Once
conscious of its terrible grip. one can
never be induced to trust it again"
You are right" she said. "The re-
lentlessneSs of any inanimate force is
terrible, but it seems to me that the
power Of water is the most terrible of
all. How can people cross and recrOss
the ocean? 1t would seem that one
ship being sucked down into the nav
Of the monster would be enough to de-
ter others from trusting themselves
upon its treacherOus BOSOM"
Warrington was sure that the lady
| had experienced some mishap to give
curious to know the incident. But he
| was too we'll bred to ask a direct ques-
| ton. Moreover, it occurred to him that
| possibly it might have given her a
mental as well as a physical shock
| from which she had never recovered.
Il have had" she went on, what
| you call scare. 1t gave me an incur
| able dread of water, but in itself it
gradually passed into comparative un-
! Importance. There was that connected
with it which has affected my whole
! life"
''Indeedr'
The word indeed" is an extremely
well bred expression and means moth
ing. 1t doesn't trespass on any ones
feelings, asks no questions, invites con-
fidence only if the cOnfider is minded
to give it and leaves him or her to
proceed or turn the subject at will. 1t
is one of the most useful words in the
English dictionary.
'When | was a girl 1 was sitting one
evening on a rock viewing a scene like
this, so enraptured that l was uncOn-
scious of the tide rising behind me. !
was already cut off when a young man
not only warned me. but saved me-
Only fortunate circumstance enabled
US to get to the shore"
She shuddered and continued:
"NOt for the world would l dwell on
that occurrence. 1t is of what followed
that l am going to speak. In novels
when a young man saves a girl from q
catastrophe they love and marry. IL
my case a romance was started that
was continuous, leaving me with ole
age before me without a single com
paniOn, 1 could never forget my res
cuer, but my rescuer apparently never
considered me in any other light thar
as one he had rescued. At any rate
he never sought me out, never came
near me. | had a number of excellent
offers, but my mind had become alb
sOrbed with one person, and 1 would
yield to none other. And here 1 am al
nearly fifty years Of age, desoIate be
cause a man saved me from drowning
1 would prefer that he had left me tC
have been engulfed."
After this burst Of confidence the
lady suddenly remembered that she
was giving it to a stranger. There
was mOmentary silence, at the enc
Of which Warrington was about t
speak, when she fOrestalled him.
Il dare say" she said, that you ar,
surprised at my revealing to one
have never met before so sacred an ex
perieGce. Perhaps you will not be
, lieve me when l tell you that till thi!
moment l have kept the secret in ny
own bosom from every living soul
When l came upon you just now thii
scene brought back the incident Of N!
youth, and a certain kindlineSs 1 saw
in your eye invited me for once Il
open the fiOOdgates and permit tht
long pent up waters to flow forth"
Madam" said Warrington, Il an
aware of that propensity engrafted II
humanity to cOnfide. In this case yOl
could not have cOnfded in a person
better calculated to console you. 1t i
said that misery loves company. YoI
and l, having been made miserable b7
: the same incident, should love eacl
l others company for the rest OF ou
l lives"
''Indeedr' said the lady, in her turl
using that convenient word.
Thirty years ago 1 saved a cir
from drowning. Unfortunately l wa
= so cursed sensitive that | feared Z
! mako apv advance Xyba favor Lost Sb