Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1912-11-29

al
George was given the position,
with an itinerary that carried him ali
round the planet once a year. to
Greece. Turkey, Persia, Arabia, inc
India, the lands Of the genii and the
bottles, of a~rabesques, Of temples and
tombs, of ~many-colored turbans and
flowing robes and distracting tongues,
He walked and always In . kind OF
mental enchantment.
The suave and elusive Oriental
with his sharp practices, found his
match in this pleasant young man,
who knew the history Of the very
woods and cottons and silks woven
in a rug or carpet. So George pros
pered, became known In strange
places, by strange peoples; and saw
romance, light Of foot and eager OF
eye, pass and repass; learned that
romance did not essentially mean faii-
Ing In love or rescuing maidens from
burning houses and wrecks; that, on
| the contrary, true romance was kalei-
doscopic, having more brilliant facets
than q diamond; and that the man
who begins with nothing and ends
with something Is more wonderful
than any excursion recounted by SIN
bad or any tale by Sc~heherazade. Blu
he still hoped that the iridescent god
dess would some day touch his shout
der and lead him into that maze OF
romance so peculiar to his W fancy.
And then into this little world of
business and pleasure came death
and death again, leaving him alone
and with a twisted heart. Riches
mattered little, and the sounding title
Of vice-president still less. It was
with a distinct shock that he realized
the mother and the father had been
with him so long that he had forgot
ten to make other friends. From
one thing to another he turned In
hope to soothe the smart. to heal the
wound: and after q time he drtfted,
as all shy, intelligent and imaginative
men drift who are friendless, into the
silent and intimate comradeship Of In
animate things, such 40 Jewels, worries
old metals, rare woods and ancient
embroideries, and perhaps more com
forting than all these, good books.
Tho proper tale of how the afore
. said iridescent goddess jostled (for !
scarce may be said that she hd) him
into a romance lacking neither com
, edy nor tragedy. now begins with
: trifing bit Of retrospection. One o
/. those women who were not good ant
= who looked into the clear pool OF tn
4 boys mind saw the harmless longinl
! there. and made note, hoping to flint
profit by her knowledge when the PEI
tinent day arrived. She was a woman
q so pleasing, 90 handsome, 90 adroi'
that many a man, older and wise
than George. found her mesh to
strong for him. Her plan maturet
= suddenly and brilliantly, 40 project
: Iof men and women Of her class an
= caliber without variation DO.
y Late one December afternoon It
q be precise, 1909, George sat on tn
\ te~a-veranda OF the Hotel Semirami
A In Cairo. A book lay idly upon hi
q knees. It was one Of those yarn
in which something was happenin
70 every other minute. AS adventure
. 20, George had never had q real on
# In all his twenty-eight years, n D
:. believed that fate had treated bill
rather shabbily. He didn't quite a.
preciate her reserve. No matter no
>. late he wandered through the myster
= GUS bazaars, either here in Egypt
a over yonder in India, nothing ever b
=, fell more exciting than an argumel
:, with a carriage-driver. He never ca
ried smallarms, for he would n
- have known how to 8 them. TT
only deadly things in his hands we
:, bass-rods and tennis-racquets. "
nothing eyer happened to him; y
AZ he never met q man In a ships smok
room who hadn't run the gamut
" thrilling experiences. AS Geor1
wasn't a liar himself, he believed 9
- he saw and most Of what he hear
Well. here he was, eight-and-twent
a pocket full Of money. q heart n
of life, and as hopeless an outlook,
~ far as romance and adventure we
III concerned. az an old maid In a Nc
England village.
~ George. you old fool, what's t
use?' he thought. Whats the u
of a desire that never goes In
straight line. but always round a
round In q circief"
He thrust aside his grievance a
nv surrendered to the neverending VIZ
~, der OF the Egyptian sunset; the N
feluccas, riding upon perfect ref'
ct tons; the date-palms. black and n
A., tonless against the translucent bl
Of the sky; the amethystine prisms
we the Pyramids, and the deepening 81
of the deserts brim. He loved I
orient. always 30 new. always
-. arrange, yet ever so old and famili
A carriage stopped in front, and
gaze naturally shifted. There is cea
less attraction In specializing abb
n. newcomers in a hotel, what they a
what they do, where they come fre
and where they are going. A I
ue elderly man Of fifty got out In
square set Of his shoulders. the u