The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-04-17
THE EVENING STORY
His Temperament.

/ tempted TO put a red tie around MS
chubby neck his youthful brow had
| puckered and he had drawn away
| with shudder from the flaming color.
| 1t seemed from that moment on as
| if estheticiSm had taken a prominent
place in his life. All that was beau
| tiful, all that was harmonious must
| and would be his.
| Perhaps he will be genius"
thought his parents hopefully, then
sighed for the impracticability of
| genius.
! And yet, when C. Watterson Lowe
1 reached mature years and had nur-
tslred and cherished his growing tenn
permanent no one would have suspect
| ed him of esthetfc tastes. His straight
reddish hair was brushed neatly back
| from his artistic forehead, he wore
| conventional collars and ties and his
| shoes were usually polished.
| The sobriquet of Brownie had
| been given him because of the
| browns and colds with which he
! invariably surrounded himself. His
apartments in the city might have
| been the setting for a feminine to-
paz, SO dainty were the yellows and
Colds and browns blended.
And then, just when Brownie had
found himself in a more or less graft
| flying position with a firm of interior
| decorators he also discovered himself
| to be partially in love with two girls,
The little Chinese mandarin on
Brownies mantelpiece seemed to blink
and smirk down from his golden back
ground at love affairs in general.
But G. Watterson Lowe did not smile
In fact one hand swept a troubled
| brow, while he pondered deeply over
the various attractions possessed for
him by both Sylvia Vane and Daphne
woodrow.
The words which Sylvia vane had
said to him at one time came force
fully back to him.
you will never love a girl for her
own sweet, inner CHARM she had
told him. You will love her only
| because she will be pleasing
medium through whom you can ex-
press your own artistic emotions"
Brownie remembered the shock her
words had given him and the little
added sting. Love would mean moth
ing to you without all the stage set
tings of flowers and music and scent
For a moment C. Watterson loves
very brown eyes became retrospective.
The little mandarin grinned.
Perhaps Sylvia was right. No doubt
his temperament would stand in the
way of love. He realized that he could
not possibly be- happy with a girl
who possessed so great a lack. of taste
as did Sylvia, and yet Sylvia's smile
sent queer little waves of heat over
him. But he shuddered at the vision
of Sylvia's drawing room and the room
that she so evidently intended to oc-
cupy for the rest of her life; it had
been left to her by greataunt and
in it Brownie had been forced to spend
what time he could with Sylvia. And
Sylvia seemed to revel in the atrocities
of that room. There was a crayon por-
trait on easel in one corner, there
were sofa pillows with CHASTITY pan
sizes painted on black satin, and the
great lamp shade with it's hideous
assortment of lace and ribbon and
flowers; the carpets seemed to have
a trick of rushing up to hit one in
the face and the wallpaper was pos
sessed of an equal amount of energy
Il would pass away sighed Brow
ME- IF 1 had to live in that house.
The remainder of the rooms are no
doubt worse"
His mind picture shifted quickly
from Sylvia and her impossible taste
to Daphne woodrow and her comfort
ing, harmonious surroundings. He
sighed contentedly Daphne seemed to
have been given a soul that might
have been twin to his own. Yet
when Daphne smiled he felt no little
warm rush in his veins, no secret thrill
such as the presence of Sylvia gave
him.
In a very much troubled state of
mind Brownie made his way to
Daphne's house. He could not pos
sibly have stood the crayon portraits
and painted pansies in his chaotic
mood.
Daphne was not in when he arrived,
but he went to the room in which
she always received him.
He sank contentedly into the coy
chair by the window and watched the
filmy gold colored curtains float in
the breeze. His esthetic senses were
fully satisfied for even the yellow
jonquils had sffted the air with a
dainty fragrance.
Brownie closed his eyes and be-
gan to see Daphne the fitting har-
monious scheme of his existence and,
after all, thrills and tingling sensa-
tons did not make up the greater
part of life. Yes. when Daphne re-
turned he would undoubtedly ask her
to marry him.
Perhaps it was ten minutes. per-
haps an hour, before he opened his
ewes He opened them quickly, keen
ly alive to new sensations His heart
was pounding heavily in rhythm
with music.
At first he thought he was dream
ing. Surely that was Sylvia at the
piano under the soft light of the
candles, The great knot of chestnut
hair. the 1.-the, gold clad figure were
certainly a part of Sylvia. A flush
had come into the mans cheeks and
his brown eyes spanked He had
not known that Sylvia's voice was
rich and melodious, and for the mo-
ment he felt aggrieved that she had
withheld any of her charms from
him He waited until she had fin
ished the most beautiful of the In
dian love lyrics, IT'LL I Wake then
he arose and went swiftly toward |
her.
with a quick move he swept her
into his arms and tilted her head
back.
aSylvia. 1 love you he told her;
breathlessly and held her so that
her struggles were in vain Brownie
was trembling with the sudden force |
of his love, but Sylvia was calm
even cold Her eyes. however, were
flashing.