The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-03

with sting and rasp and burns It's
rassaee 10 the soul and mind Of him.
And all the while the gorgeous moon
sailed softly over the meads Of yellow
aspodef The world was beautiful The
night birds sang in the Wild abandon
of rlotous wooing. From afar came
floating the delicious fragrance of tho
grape vine There was the airy COM
ing and going of the music of love.
Life, at lastr' breathed the youth.
This is gloriousr'
1t all depends upon the stun the man
is made of. Environment is Bohemia;
heredity. the force which dispeis its
baneful influence. The surrounding
evils tempt. seduoe and would enthral
It's victim In perpetual worship. If he
has the strength Of character which
comes almost exclusively through in
hefitance, Bohemia will not prevail.
Otherwise, he moves steadfastly down
the path at the end of which is writ
ten Failure" 1t IS the process by
means of which nature finds her own,
the strong men who will accomplish,
and discovers the weak and rushes
than, n fbef- dooy,
The youth of the story. on the NORM
Ing after, suffered with the nangs OF
remorse. His head ached. of course.
and the taste of his mouth was of
the dark brown" variety. He slowly
dragged his leaden feet to his daily
grind. fought himself through the
work of the day. bore without COM
plant the harsh reprimands of his
boss, and heard unmoved the giggles
of his associates.
And at evening he prepared to re-
turn to Bohemia. He looked forward
to the recurrence OF the experiences
of the night before not with pleasure.
Had one noticed. he would have seen
his lips set in grim determination. He
was preparing to investigate to put
Bohemia beneath his microscope and
painted surface, behind the glaring
glamor. No bacchanalian was this
stern young man who crossed the
threshold of the Land of Song. He
was not to be swayed by the outburst-
ing Of gladsornes music and the trip
ping of siippered feet. He was carry
ing, on the other hand a bit of reality
into the sphere of empty dreams
And he found-instead of Utopia
based on natural ground, the artificial
kingdom of fools. The lights were not
so bright as he had dreamed them the
night before; there were diseordant
notes in re music of the band; the
women, once considered angelic
sprites. could not stand the closest
scrutiny; the moon tonight was not so
gorgeous the men. happy when he
mingled with as one of them. were
merely pale young creatures. weak In
body. dull in mind, tonight.
y thought So" calmly said the
youth.
Then he concluded further to inves-
tigate And he found leading from
Bohemia broad and easy PASSAGE
way And he followed it until no
longer could he hear the hollow music
Of the gay And there he found
horde Of men and women, very old TO
be SO young. From their cries no
knew he was then in the territory of
those who had failed There were tho
drpnkards, men and women, or rather
boys. and girls, the ugly. the disrepu-
table. the unclean the foul fiend from
cocaine. plying still his deadly needle.
elamoring in protest AGAINST his fate.
mutteling without cohesive thought
and shaking With idiotic gestures:
the clerk who had been discharged.
and turned a thief branded in his
furtive looks, an outcasti the fallen
beauty on whom man had turned his
back. the most miserable of the lot
There were cries and shriels and
groans Of suffering. For the bodies
we're paying nature for the sport Of
other years Men walked on crutches.
OF wheeled Themselves in wretched
chairs Poor broken forms tossed on
horrid BEDS. ana disease buroened the
atmosphere with the foulness Of its
breath.
The youth rushed onzslill on. And
lie came to sheer pre lpiee. lie
knew this was the end. Below, 50 far
the eve could scarcely reaelA lay hud-
died bones and horrid srinning chaps
OF men.
And then he saw a fatted vultufe
raise himself and hap his wings away.
'lsohemia, the middle ground be-.
tween the world-and this.
The boy turned. With hurrying feet
he pushed through the territory Of the
damned, forever echoing with the
sroans Of death. And he came to
Bohemia. The music still was Ia the
ain. The moon sailed soraeorslx far.
above The flowers bleomea. and