Metropolis weekly gazette. (Metropolis, Ill.) 1???-19??, 1915-12-24
JAMES REDIsCOVERY
BY cArHARlNE cRAlMER.

not come home for visit just at the
tine Leonard Mills was leaving
Springfield to take up practice with a
leading law firm in Chicago there is
every probability that Jane would
have become engaged to Leonard be-
fore he left. A proposal had been on
the end of Leonard's tongue more
than once, as Jane well knew, but
until he had prospects more encour-
aging than his scattering civil cases
in the circuit court gave him it wasn't
exactly prudent to become engaged.
While prudence is not always the
guiding influence in the timing OF en-
gagements, 1t had to play its part in
this case, for Jane had a snug little
income of her own and Leonard's last
penny had gone for his legal educa-
tion.
The day before Leonard got the Of
fer from the Chicago law firm James
married sister came home, and, as
she opened her travelling bag, she
threw a new magazine over on the
bed. The cover attracted Jane, and
while her sister took a nap Jane took
the magazine out in the yard by the
lilac bushes and, turning idly through
it, she noticed story entitled, PRO
pinquity and Perspective"
The title sounded almost as heavy
to Jane as some of the legal terms
Leonard sometimes let slip in his con-
versation. She frowned as she be-
gan to read, but gradually she be-
came fascinated as she found it to be
the story of a girl who had thought
herself in love with her boyhood
sweetheart until she lived for a time
away from him among men Of the
world. When she returned, with
many new interests in life, she found
that her boyhood sweetheart was still
interested only in the local happen
tngs. He listened with only moder-
ate patience and no interest to her
enthusiastic accounts of the phases
Of life she had glimpsed while in the
city, where her aunt's home was a
center for people who were doing
things" in various professions. AS
sAO tittC Va tuc cLOIy ouB6cStcup per
spective revealed so much about her
sweetheart that propinquity had con-
cealed that the girl shrank from him
and accepted with eagerness her
aunt's invitation to return to the city
to make her permanent home.
Jane discovered that the story was
in two parts, and to be concluded in
the next issue of the magazine, but
part one had set her thinking in a
direction that led to her refusal to
enter into an engagement with Leon
ard Mills when he called for that spe-
cifc purpose the night before he left
for Chicago.
But Jane" protested Leonard, tits
beer tentatively understood all along
that we'd marry some day"
'And, Leonard, that is the very
reason why neither Of US has got far
enough away from the idea to see
whether it really appeals to US from
choice or just from habit. We've been
set aside for each other by our fami-
lies and our friends until 1t all seems
a matter of course that we should
marry" Jane looked straight ahead
of her at an old engraving of a pair
of lovers in its quaint gilt frame on
the we'll.
Jane. is there somebody else?"
asked Leonard
No, Leonard; but neither you nor
! know enough Of others to know
whether We really want to marry each
other"
Il don't have to know others to
know that l want to marry you. Why,
Jane, it wasn't like you to be talking
like this. Don't you love me the least
little bit?"
Il like you sincerely. Leonard; but
whether l love you as ought to love
the man l promise to marry, frankly
do not know. You are going into a
life, entirely different from what
you've known" she continued. your
ideas will change and you yourself
will unconsciously change. II / re-
main here l shall not change, and you
might find me very uninteresting
from your broadened viewpoint when
you return in later years. Your sense
of chivalry wouldn't let you tell me
so, and u would mean misery for both
of US eventually when we had time to
see the mistake we had made"
Don't talk nonsense, dear; that
could never happen" pleaded Leon
ard.
oh. yes it could, but it won't, be-
cause I'm going away also, where Ill
get a new outlook ON life, and then
when we meet on plane where we
can get a perspective of each other
wen know whether we really look
good to each other" Tho slangy ter
mination of James high-fown speech
was accompanied by nervous little
laugh.
Where on earth are you going,
Jane?p
Pm going to New York to study
artistic designing and decorating"
Sounds vague to me-" said Leon
ard. why can't you learn that sort
of thing in Chicago?"
.