The Washington herald., 1914-04-26

sound and sane young man. and he
wished. as far as possible. to leave his
money where health and integrity were
assured.
That was my first meeting with the lit
tie old man. He was mysterious about
himself; he would not give his name yet.
he said, and after I had answered some
vitski portal. His insistence upon bodily
health was curious. In accordance with
an arrangement we had made applied
that day for a life policy in the Loyal In
surance Company for a large sum. and
was exhaustively overhauled by the med
icaI advisers Of that company in the SUBJ
seauent week Even that did not satisfy
him, and he insisted l must be re-exam-
ined by the great DR.. Henderson. 1t was
Friday in whitsun week before he came
to a decision. He called me down. quite
late in the evening-nearly g. II was. He
was standing in the passage under the
feeble gas lamp, and his face was gro
tesque interplay of shadows. He seemed
more bowed than when had first seen
him, and his cheeks had sunk in a little.
His voice shook with emotion. Every
thing is satisfactory, Mr.. Eden" he said.
Everything is quite. quite satisfactory.
And this night Of all nights, you must
dine with me and celebrate your-acces-
SION" He was interrupted by a cough.
You won't have long to wait. either"
he said. wiping his handkerchief across
his lips, and gripping my hand with his
long bony claw that was disengaged.
Certainly not very long to watt
We went into the street and called q
cab. I remember every incident Of that
drive wildly, the swift, easy motion, the
vivid contrast Of gas. and oil, and electric
light. the CROWDS OF people in the streets,
the place in Regent street to which we
went, and the sumptuous dinner we were
served there. At first the old man talked
Of himself. He had already told me his
name in the cab; he was Egbert Five
sham. the great philosopher, whose name
had known since was a lad at school.
He told me now of the future that the
feeble streams Of his life would presently
leave dry for me. houses. copyrights. in
vestments; had never suspected that
philosophers were so rich. He watched
me drink and eat with a touch Of envy.
What a capacity for living you have!"
he said; AID then. with a sigh, q sigh Of
relief I could have thought It, 1T will
not be long"
"Ay," said I, my head swimming now
with champagne; II have a future, per-
haps-of passing agreeable sort, thanks
to you. 1 shall now have the honor Of
your name. But you have a past. Such
a past as is worth all my future"
He shook his head and smiled. a. I
thought, with half-sad appreciation OF my
fattering admiration That future" he
said, would you in truth change it,"
The waiter came with lioueurs. You
will not perhaps mind taking my name,
taking my position. but would you indeed
-wiIlingly-tske my years.
with your achievements" said /, gal
lantIy.
He smiled again. 'KummeI-both," he
said to the waiter, and turned his atten-
ton to a little paper packet he had taken
from his pocket. This hour" said he,
this after-dinner hour is the hour of
small things. Here is a scrap of my I'M
published wisdom" He opened the pack
ct with his shaking yellow fingers, and
showed a little pinkish powder on the
paper. This" said newell, you must
guess what it is. But Kummel-put but
dash of his powder in it's Himmel"
His large grayish eyes watched mine
with an inscrutable expression.
1t was a bit of a shock to me to find
this great teacher gave his mind to the
flavor Of liqueurs. However. feigned a
great interest IN his weakness, for was
drunk enough 70 such small sycophancy.
He parted the powder between the little
glasses, and. rising suddenly. with
strange, unexpected dignity, held out his
hand toward me. I initiated his action,
and the glasses rang. ITO a quick sue
cesson." said he, and raised his glass
toward his lips.
Not that" 1 said hastily. Not that"
He paused, with the Iiqueur at the level
Of his chin, and his eyes blazing into
mine
TO a long life" said I.
He hesitated. ITO long life" said he,
with a sudden bark of laughter, and with
eyes fixed on one another We tilted the
little glasses. His eyes looked straight
into mine. and as 1 drained the stun of.
! felt a curiously intense sensation. The
first touch of it set my brain in a furious
tumult; 1 seemed to feel an actual physi-
cal stirring in my skull. and a seething
humming filled my ears. did not notice
the flavor an my mouth. the aroma that
filled my throat: 1 saw only the gray in
tensity of his gaze that burned into mine
The draught, the mental confusion, the
noise and stirring in my head, seemed to
last an iHterminable time. At last he
broke the spell. With a sudden explosive
sigh he put down his glass.
"Well?" he said
It's glorious" said 1, though had not
tasted the stun.
My head was spinning. I sat down. My
brain and chaos. Then my perception
grew clear and minute as though I saw
things in a concave mirror. His manner
seemed to have changed into something