The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-10
70 HIM WHO WATTS ms A4s %s Hermit by O. HENRY

The hermit folded his arms and leaned
against a tree. Beatrix, with a sigh,
settled down upon the mat of pine nee
dies like a blueblrd upon her nest. The
hermit followed suit, drawing his feet
rather awkwardly under his gunny-
sacking.
ut must be nice to be a mountain"
said he. with ponderous lightness. "and
have angels in blue climb up you In
stead Of flying over you"
Mamma had neuralgia" said Beatrix
and went to bed. or I couldn't have
come. It's dreadfuly hot In that hor-
rid old inn. But we hadn't the money
to go anywhere else this summer"
Last night" said the hermit. 81
climbed to the top Of that big rock above
us. could see the lights OF the inn and
hear strain or two OF the music when
the wind was right. l imagined you
moving gracefully In the arms OF others
to the dreamy music OF the waltz amid
the fragrance Of flowers. Think how
lonely 1 must have been!"
The youngest. handsomest and poor
est of the famous Trenholme sisters
sighed.
You haven't quite hit It," she said
plaintivcly. II was moving gracefully
at the arms Of another. Mamma had
one Of her periodical attacks OF rhcu-
matism In both elbows and shoulders
and had to rub them for an hour with
that horrid old ointment. I hope you
didn't think that smelled like flowers.
You know there were some West
Point boys and a yachtload of young
men from the city at last evenings
weekly dance. I've known mamma t.
sit by an open window for three hours
with one-haf Of her registering So de
grces and the other half frostbltten and
never sneeze once. But just let bunch
! Of ineligibles come around where | am
and she'll begin to swell at the knuckles
and shrek with pain. And I have to
take her to her room and rub her arms
/ "To see mamma dressed you'd be sur
prised to know the number Of square
inches of surface there are to her arms
~ think it must be delightful to be a
hermit That-CassoCk-or gabardine
Isn't it?-that you wear is so becom-
| ing Do you make it--or them-of
course you must have changes-your-
self? And what blessed relief it must
} he to wear sandals instead OF shoes,
Think how we must suffer-no matter
how small I buy my shoes, they always
pinch my toes. oh, why can't there b
-, lady hermits too"
| The most beautiful and most adde's.
cent Trenholme sister extended tw
slender blue ankles that ended I'm two
enormous blue silk bows that almus,
concealed two fairy Oxfords, also Of on,
of the forty-seven shades of blue The
hermit, as II impelled by a kind of reflex
telepathic action. drew his bare toes
further beneath his gunnysackins.
! 81 have heard about the romance of
your life" said Miss Trenholme softly
"They have it printed on the back of
the menu card at the inn. Was she
very beautiful and charming"
"On the bills of fare" muttered the
hermit: but what do | care for the
worlds babble? Yes she was of the
highest and grandest type. Then" he
continued, then I thought the world
, could never contain another equal to
her So I forsook it and repaired to
this mountain fastness to spend the
remainder of my life alone-to devote
and dedicate my remaining years to her
memory"
I ITS grand" said Miss Trenhome.
absolutely grand. | think a hermit's
life is the ideal one. No bill collectors
$ calling, no dressing for dinner-how I'd
like to be one! But there's no such
= luck for me. If I don't marry this
r season I honestly believe mamma will
force me into settlement work or trim
( ming hats. 1t isn't because I'm getting
, old or ugly, but we haven't enough
money left to butt in at any of the
1 swell places any more And I don't
I want to marry--unless it's somebody
like. That's why ia like to be a hermit.
P Hermits don't ever marry, do they?"
! Hundreds of EN-" said the hermit.
I "v-hen they've found the night one"
But they're hermits," said the young
I est and beautifulcst, because they've
a lost the right one, aren't they?"
t Because they think they have" an
e swered the recluse, fatuously. wis
, dom comes to one in a mountain cave
0 as we'll as to one in the world of 'swells,
as 1 believe they are called in the
p angot."
q when one of the 'swells' brings 1t to
5 them" said Miss Trenholme. And my
t folks are swells. That's the trouble,
e But there are so many swells at the
d seashore i'm the summer time that we
hardly amount to more than rlppbns.
G SO we've had to put AN our money into
d river and harbor appropriations.
k I'VE were all girls, you know. There
were four Of US. I'm the only surviving