New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1914-12-30

Il
face Of them and let them 60. He
never met them as others" as be-
longing to- countless equations Of which
he was one. term. and they playing
that wonderful. near role Of .'other."
Thus he hnd got along. ms II his own
indivfdunt iDn were the only one that
had ever occurred and rs II all the
mass OF mankind and the night and
the day-were' undffferentiated from
some substance all fnimical.
Then this vast egotsm had heard It,
self expressed I'm the mention Of
Bruce's buby-the third generation
But by the great sorcery wherewith
nature has protected herself. this man.
moth sense Of self. when It extends
unto the next generations. becomes a
keeper Of the race. Ebenezer had been
touched. relaxed, disintegrated Here
was an interest outside himself which
was vet no external. Vast. level reach
es lay about that fact and all long
UNEMPLOYED. But these were peopled.
He saw them peopled.
As in the cheer and stir within the
house where that night were gathered
his townsfolk. his neighbors. his
hands" He had thought that their
way Of meeting him. II he chose to 60
among them. would matter nothing.
Abruptly now he saw that it would
matter more than he could bear. They
were In there ut Mary's. the rooms full
Of little families. getting along as best
they could. taking pride in their chill
dren. looking ahead. looking ahead
and they would not know. that be un-
derstood. He could not have defined
Offhand what it was that he under
stood. But it had. it seemed. some
thing to do with Letty's account book
and Brnce's baby.
Gradually he let himself face what
it was that he was wanting to do.
And when he faced that he left the
hobbyhorse where it was under the
wall and went into the street.
He took his place among the exter-
nails Of the winter night. himself un-
conscious of them. The night. with
all its content. thing of applicable
fellowships. lay waiting patiently for
those Of it's children who knew it's face.
In the dark and under the snow the
very elements Of earth and life were
Obscured. as in some clear wash cor
recting too strong values. He moved
along the village. and now his dOmi-
nant consciousness was the same con-
seriousness in which that little village
lived. Butzhe knew it only as the i'm
| pulse that urged him on toward .Ien-
ny's house. If he went to .Jenny's. If
he signified so that he wished not to
be cut off from her and Bruce and the
baby. If he asked Bruce to come back
to the business. these meant lifetime
OF modification to the boys ideals for
that business and modification to the
lives Of the ''hands" back there in
Mary Chavah's house-and to some
thing else
What 'elsey' he asked himself.
! Mechanically he looked up and saw
the heavens crowded with bright
watchers. In that high field one star.
brighter than the others. hung over
the little town. He found himself try
ing to see the stars as they had looked
to him gears ago. when they and the
night had seemed to mean something
else.
What else?'' he asked himself.
The time. did not seem momentous.
1t was only very quiet Nothing new
was there nothing different. 1t had
always been SO. The night lay in a
sovereign Consciousness Of being more
than just itself. do you think that
you are all just you and nothing else?'
It was seen to be conpassionately ask
ing
What else:" Ebenezer asked him.
SELF
He did not face this yet But in that
hour which seemed pure essence. with
no alternating sound or touch. be kept
on up the hill toward Jenny's house.
-
Mary Chavah left ajar the door from
the child's room to the room where, in
the dark. the tree stood He had want
ed. the door to be ajur 80 the things
think about can 60 back and forth."
he had explained.
In the dining room she wrapped her.
self in the gray shawl and threw up
the two windows. New air swept in.
cleansing. replacing. prevailing. Her
guests had left her early. as is the
way in Old Trail Town. Then she had
had her first moments with the child
alone. He had done the things that
she had not thought of his doing. but
had inevitably recognized had delayed
his bed going. had magnifed and re-
peated the Offices of his journey. had
shown her the contents OF his pockets.
had repeatedly mentioned by their first
names his playmates in Idaho and
shown surprise when she asked him
who they were. Mary stood now by
the window conscious Of a wonderful
thins-that it seemed as If he had
been there always.
In hn nj ~,l..,