Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1915-01-23


a Mrs. Goodwin, wife of one of the
great magnates. 1t was on landing
stage, just as she was embarking in
her private dirigible, that she dropped
her parasol A servant picked 1t up
and made the mistake of handing 1t to
her-to her, one of the greatest royal
ladies of the land! She shrank back,
as though he were leper, and indi-
Gated her secretary to receive it. Also,
she ordered her secretary to ascertain
the creatures name and to see that
he was Immediately discharged from
service. And such woman was Vesta
Van Warden. And her the Chauffeur
beat and made his slave
"-Bill-that was it; Bill, the Chauf-
feur. That was his name He. was a
wretched, primitive man, wholly de-
void of the finer instincts and chival-
rous promptings of cultured soul. NO,
there is no absolute justice, for to him
fell that wonder of womanhood, Vesta
Van Warden. The grievousness OF
this you will never understand, my
grandsons; for you are yourselves
primitive little savages, unaware of
aught else but savagery Why should
Vesta not have been mine? | was a
man of culture and refinement, a pro.
lessor in a great university, Even so,
in the time before the plague, such
was her exalted position, she would
not have deigned to know that | ex-
listed Mark, then, the abysmal degra-
dation to which she fell at the hands
of the Chauffeur, Nothing less than
the destruction of all mankind had
made it possible that | should know
her, look in her eyes, converse with
her, touch her hand-aye, and love her
and know that her feelings toward me
were very kindly. have reason to
believe that she, even she, would have
loved me, there being no other man
in the world except the Chauffeur.
Why, when it destroyed eight billions
of souls, did not the plague destroy
just one more man, and that man the
Chauffeur?
Once, when the Chauffeur was
away fishing, she begged me to kill
him With tears in her eyes she
begged me to kill him But he was
strong and violent man. and | was
afraid AfterWard | talked with him.
offered him my horse, my pony. my
dogs, all that | possessed if he would
give Vesta to me. and he grinned In
my face and shook his head He waa
very insulting He said that in the
old days he had been servant, had
been dirt under the feet of men like
me and of women like Vesta, and that
now he had the greatest lady in the
land to be servant to him and cook his
food and nurse his brats, You had
your day before the plague, he said;
but this is my day, and damned
good day it is. l wouldn't trade back
to the old times for anything Such
words he spoke, but they are not his
words He was a vulgar, low-minded
man, and vile oaths fell continually
from his lips.
Also he told me that IL he caught
wiring my neck and give her beating
as we'll What was | to do? | was
afraid. He was a brute. That first
night, when | discovered the camp,
Vesta and | had great talk about the
things of our vanished world We
talked of art, and books and poetry;
and the Chauffeur listened and grinned
and sneered. He was bored and an
gered by our way of speech which he
did not comprehend, and finally he
spoke up and said: And this Is Vesta
Van Warden, one-time wife Of Van
Warden the magnate-a high and
stUck-up beauty, who is now my
squaw En-, Professor Smith, times is
changed, times is changed. Here, you,
woman, take off my moccasins. and
lively about it. | want Professor
Smith to see how we'll | have you
trained
81 saw her clench her teeth, and the
fame of revolt rise in her face. He
drew back his gnarled fist to strike,
and was afraid, and sick at heart. |
could do nothing to prevail against
him. SO | got up to CO. and not be
witness to such indignity. But the
Chauffeur laughed and threatened me
with a beating if did not stay and
behold And | sat there, perforce, by
the campfire ON the shore of Lake
Temescal and saw Vesta, Vesta Van
Warden, kneel and remove the moe
casins of that grinning, hairy, ape
like human brute.
oh, you do not understand, my
grandsons. You have never known
anything else and you do not under
stand.
Halter broke and bride WISE the
Chauffeur gloated, while she performed
that dreadful, mental task A trihe
balky at times, professor, trif1e balky;
but a clout alongside the jaw makes
her as meek and gentle as lamb.
And another time he said We've
got to start all over and replenish the
earth and multiply. You're handi-
capped, professor. You amt got no
wife and we're I'M against a regular