The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1913-10-02

He was young. but no 30 young
as an idle glance might conjecture
I'm passing. To such casual reckon
ing. he appeared to be In the early
twenties; but scrutiny. more or less
infallible. noting line here or an
angle there. was disposed to add ten
years to the score. There was In the
nose and chin a certain decisiveness
which In true youth Ii rarely devel-
oped. This characteristic arrives
only with manhood, manhood that
has been tried and perhaps buReted
and perchance q little disillusioned.
To state that one IL young does not
necessarily imply youth; for youth
Ii something that Is truly green and
tender, not rounded out. aimless,
light-hearted and desultory, charm
Ing and ineonseQuent. IL man re-
grets his youth. II Is not for the
passing of these pleasing. though
tangled attributes. but rather be-
cause there exists between the two
periods Of progression series or
irremediable mistakes And the sub
ject of this brief commentary could
look back on many a grisvous one
brought about by pride or careless
ness rather than by intent.
But what was one to do who had
both money and leisure linked to
an irresistible desire to leave behind
one place or thing In pursuit OF an
other. unfortunately! At one time
he wanted to be an artist, but his
evenly balanced self-criticism had
forced him to hing his daubs into
the ash-heap. They were good daubs
In q way. but were laid on without
hre; such work as any respectable
schoolmarm might have eQualsd II
not surpassed. Then he had gone
In for engineering; but precise and
Intricate mathematics required pa
thence OF quality not at his COM
mand.
The inherent ambition was to make
money; but recognizing the absurd
ity Of adding to his income, which
even In his extravaganza he could not
spend. ne gave himself over into the
hands OF srasping railroad and steam
ship companies, or their agencies,
and became for O time the slave of
guide and dragoman and carrier. And
then the wanderlust, descended to
him from the blood Of his rowing
Dutch ancestors. which had lain dor
mant In the several generations fol-
owing, sprang into active life again.
He became known In every port of
call. He became known also In the
wildernosses. He had climbed almost
inaccessible mountains. in Europe, In
Asia: he had fished and hunted north,
east, south and west; he had fitted
out polar expeditions; he had raided
the pearl markets; he had made as
tonishing gifts to women who had
pleased his fancy. but whom he did
not know or seek to know; he had
kept some of his intimate friends out
of bankruptcy; he had given the most
extravagant dinners at one season
and, unknown, had supported bread
line at another; he had even financed
musical comedy.
pealed to his fancy, that he had done.
That the world and despair neither
disturbed him nor swerved him In the
least. He was alone, absolute master
of his millions. Mamas with mar
was IMPOSSIBLE; the marriageable
uou6h'ctb ucNCI HdQ u Cu6uCS W u0
eide one way or the other; and men
called him a fool. He had promoted
elephant fights which had stirred the
Indian princes out OF their melan.
choly Indifference. and tiger hunts
which had, by their duration and mag.
nihcence, threatened to disrupt the
efficiency OF the British military ser.
yice--whimsical excuses. not under
standable by his intimate acquaint-
ances who cynically arraigned him as
the fool and his money.
But, like the villain In the play, his
income still pursued him. Certain
scandals inevitably followed, scandals
he was the last to hear about and
the last to deny when he heard them.
Many persons. not being able to take
into the mind and analyze a charac-
ter like Courtlandt's. sought the line
OF least resistance for their under
standing. and built some precious ex-
ploits which included dusky, island.
princesses, diaphanous dancers, and
comic opera stars.
Simply, he was without direction: q
thousand goals surrounded him and