The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1911-01-20
Copyright 1909. by Augustus Thoma.

class by buying unnecessary things
and demanding unbecoming comforts
Ii was almost the last voyage of La
Champagne. The night before the ship
arrived Captain Didot had asked all
the passengers to do him the honor TO
dine with him, an invitation that
meant a great deal more on board this
old French ship than the captains
dinner means on the average ocean
liner. There were souvenirs. there
was champagne. there was a little bit
of Gallo gayety. and there was delight.
full Gallo informality There were no
loud toTSts and no long speeches. nor
did any one pull the lions tail or wave
the stars and stripes
Graham Winthrop had been over in
Paris for a month he cursed his luck
that he had been obliged to take this
slow going vessel instead Of one of the
faster steamers, as his natural Amer
lean appetite and income suggested.
The first few days had been days Of
intolerable boredom. There was hard
ly a soul on board the ship who
amounted to anything. as far as he was
able to find out, but himself There
were silk merchants from Lyons. a
French consul or two, a couple of
American travellers from the middle
west and lot Of other people that
zone doesn't see at ones club"
His fair knowledge of French and
his proclivity for bridge led him to
spend most of his evenings In the
smoking room with three Frenchmen
who admired his bridge and cursed his
French Internationally. The attitude
that two Of the card players took to-
ward the third, NJ. vavin. impressed
him little until one day, walking on
deck, he did memorable thing In his
athletic nfe-a two mile turn with the
same M. vavin.
You have written plays" he sug.
gested In the course of the brisk walk.
NJ. vavin smiled and said. ~ should
rather say. monsieur. that have tried
to write plays"
And yet Alexandra says you are
one of the greatest dramatists In
France"
vavin laughed pleasantly and raised
his hand deprecatingly. IT have done
my best in recent years to write plays
for France that would do France good
That Is not always the right attitude
of the dramatist. for sometimes the
dramatist Is justified In doing the
thing that be thinks will help his
country. even though II does not help
his country. even though 1t does not
help his art, monsieur"
I'VE have never had any of your
plays in America" said winthrop For
him the deeper and subtler side of
vavin's answer had no meaning.
America" said NJ. vavin. with a
smile. is q wonderful nation. won
derful In that she Is growing more
wonderful every day. She wants
things that pertain absolutely to her
self, and there she is absolutely right,
The great art is never produced by
any nation unless 1t pertains absolute
ly to that nation. My plays pertain
to France. Your American dramatists
sometimes have. think. less finish
than we of the older nation You viii
pardon me II say that sometimes
your dramatists are. from our point OF
view. rather crude, but that is not the
question. The plays of your best dram
atists would not succeed In France.
and the best plays of my confreres In
France do not succeed In America for
the same reason"
1t was all a trile too technical for
Winthrop. but before they had IN
ished their walk the consideration and
thr great courtesy that he had been
shown in this conversation. the defer
ence that had been paid TO his FAR
from acute understanding, had fasci
mated him. and for the rest of the yoy'
age he and NJ VaviD were walking
companions
When they sat down to the captains
dinner on the last night out be had
begun to feel that there was In him
an undeveloped intellectual power-the
inevitable and sometimes unfortunate
result of association with intellectual
men. In addition. be had in the course
of his conversation during the voyage
referred to the fact that he knew ana
had been engaged to Dora Fullerton
and vavin. with surprise well conceal
ed. had after that hunted him up on
every favorable opportunity to get MS
opinion of the young woman. her sur
roundings, her friends and her inch-
nations.
~ met Mile. Fullerton" be told Win
throp. some years ago in Paris when
her father. Professor Fullerton. was
Occurring there She was very SWEEP
girl. and every year | have taken the
liberty of sending her a token OF my
respect" /.
II NAV have been the champagne II
NAV have been the ground on when
they met-talks about Dora-but when
the captains dinner was nearing its
close winthrop. who was known IN
college as the great introducer, STOOD
on his feet and declared be thought
that il was about time they had some
remarks from NJ. vavin. the great IN
tellectual light OF France"
There was a ripple of laughter some
half hearted applause. but the IDEA
had gained momentum. and nnaiiy
X,.,-,n ,vas ohII1ed TO stand and bow