Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-01-13


made me laugh was a singular PROPOSE
ton he set before me. He said he
owned stock in a concern called The
United Romance and Adventure Co.;
and that for specified sum of money,
one could have any adventure one
pleased" r.. ,.-
Ibid you ever hear Of such thing -
cried the mother merrily. Fortune
searched her face keenly. "The United
Romance and Adventure Co.! He
must, have been joking. What did you
say his name was?"
"Ryanne. Joking is my idea ex-
actly," George agreed. "The scheme Is
to plunge the stock holder into real
live adventure, and then let him pull
himself out the best way he can.
Sounds good. He added that this rug
business was an instance Of the sue
cess of the concern. There goes the
music. Do you dance, Miss Chedsoye?"
"a little" Fortune was preoccupied.
She was wondering what lay behind
Mr.. Ryanne's amiable Jest. >.#~., .'
go along, both of you" said Mrs.
Chedsoye 81 am too old to dance. |
prefer watching people, She sat
down and arranged herself comfort
self comfortably; it was one of the
secrets Of her perennial youth. She
was very lovely, but George had eyes
for the daughter only. Mrs. Chedsoye
saw this. but was not in the least
chagrlned.
H"It is SO many years since tripped
the light fantastic toe George con-
fessed. reluctantly and nervously, now
that he had bravely committed him.
self cit is quite possible that the ac-
cent will be primarily upon the trip"
Perhaps, then" replied the girl,
who truthfully was out of tune, per
haps l had better get my wraps and
we'll 60 outside. The night is
glorious ..r...
She couldn't have suggested any
thing more to his liking. And so, after
hurrying about, the two young people
went outside and began to promenade
slowly up and down the mole Their
conversation was desultory. George
had dropped back into his shell and
the girl was not equal to the task of
drawing him, out. Once he stumbled
NCi q olCCPlhS bcSSdl, Woulu
have fallen had she not caught him
by the arm.
Thanks. I'm clumsy"
ITS rather difficult to see them in
the moonlight; their rags match the
pavements."
!, The Egyptian night, that sapphirine
darkness which the flexible imag gina
ton peoples with lovely and terrible
shades, or floods with mystery and
romance and wonder, lay softly upon
this stpfp Of adventure <aslant the
deserts face. the valley of the Nile.
The moon, round, brilliant. strangely
near, suffused the SCARED old visage
of the world with phantom silver: the
stones of the parapet glowed duly,
the pavement glistened Whitley, all
things it touched with gentleness, Law
ishing beauty upon beauty, mellowing
ugliness or effacing it. The deep blue
Nile, beribboned with the glancing
lights from the silent feluccas, curling
unsteady along the sides of the frost
like dehabeahs and steamers. rolled
on to the sea; and the blue-white arc
lamps, spanning the great Nile bridge,
took the semblance of a pearl neck
idSC. ioul Llhl6 " lliAC d SCl q OH
trooped across the bridge into Cairo.
The high and low weird notes Of the
tom-toms, the wheeling protest Of Inc
camels, the raucous defiance of The
donkeys, the occasional thin music
OF reeds, were sounds that crossed and
recrcssed one another, anciently
do you care for poetry, Mr.. Jones9"
81? l used to write it,
and you aren's afraid to admit it,"
''Well, shouldn't confess the deed
to everyone he answered frankly.
I'VE all write poetry at one time or
another; but it's not generally consti-
tutional; and we recover" 80.
Il do not see why any one should
be ashamed of writing poetry"
"Ah, but there's poetry and poetry.
My kind and Byron's is born of kin
dred souls: but he was IN active
genius, whereas, wasn't even pas
sive one. In all great poets find my
own rejected thoughts, as Emerson
says; and that's enough for my slen-
der needs. Poets are rather uncomfort-