The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1916-02-05

balance of his current account. 1t
amounted to something over two thou
sand dollars. He took most of it in
Bank Of England notes. Then he start
ed home to pack but before he reached
the house vision Of the servants,
furried after helping their mistress
of. commiserating him to each other,
plying him to his face perhaps. or in
the case of the old butler. suppressing
q great emotion, was too much for
him. He drove instead to big de-
partment store and in an hour had
bought complete outfit. He lunched
at one Of the quiet restaurants that
divide down town from up. The peo-
pie about him were voluble in French
and Spanish. Already he felt as IL
his exile had begun.
The Gunter was to sail Mt three from
Brooklyn. Gerry crossed by the ferry.
He did not get out Of his cab. Over
his baggage, piled outside and in. he
caught Il glimpse of the suspension
bridge. Years and years ago his father
had led him across that bridge when
1t was the eighth wonder Of the world.
Gerry gave Il great sigh at the men,
ory. He had not invaded Brooklyn
since. AS the cab threaded the in
terminable and reeking length OF Fur
man street he looked out and felt HIM
self upon an alien shore.
He had avoided buying ticket
As the Gunter warped out the purser
came to him. II understand you have
no ticket"
NO." said Gerry, drawing IL roll Of
bills. How much is the passage to
Pernambuco?"
The purser fidgeted. This is irreg-
ular. sir"
SIS it?" said Gerry. indifferently.
II have no ticket FORMS" said the
purser, weakening.
II don't want ticket" said Gerry.
II want n good room and three square
meals day"
Long, quiet days on quiet sea are
a master sedative to a troubled mind.
Gerry had great deal to think
through. He sat by the hour with
hands loosely clasped, his eyes far out
on the ocean, tracing the course of his
married life and measuring the
grounds for Alix' arraignment. Gerry
was just and generous to others faults
but not to his own. He had forgotten
the sting of AK words and to his
growing amazement, saw in himself
their justification. A time-server he
certainly had been. But he reviewed
the lives of many other men in his
own leisurely class and decided that
he was not without company. After
all, what was there in America for
such men to do except make more
money?
For the first time he was struck by
the narrowness of American life.
There was only one line of effort.
The whole people thronged single
causeway. They made provincial
demand that all should dress alike,
look alike, think alike. They pressed
on in body to tine single goal OF
wealth and when they got there they
were lost.
Individualists were rare and unwel
come. Boys stoned Cinnamon because
they We're different; they followed a
turbaned Asiatic, straycd to an un.
friendly shore, with jeers; an nstound
ed Briton, faultlessly dressed. found
his spats the sensation of n street
Each of these incidents Gerry had wit
messed with amusement and dismissed
without a thought. Now they became
so many weather-vanes all pointing
the same way. How was 1t Alan had
summed up the history of America
"Men, machinery, machincs!''
With the thought Of Alan his brow
puckered. Here he felt no impulse to
Indulgence. Some day he would NEE,
Alan and when he did he would break
him. The scorn he had expressed to
Alix for Alan and Alan's nature was
without understanding but 1t was gen.
uine. He knew there were such men
and he ascribed all their acts to de-
basement beyond regeneration and
none to temperament. From moral
laxity there was no appeal beyond the
sin itself.
The landfall Of Pernambuco awoke
him from reveries and introspection.
He did not look upon this palms trewn
coast as n land Of new beginnings-he
sought merely Lethean shore.
The ship crawlcd in from an oily
sea to the long strip Of harbor behind
the reef. Above, the sun blazed from
a bowl Of unbroken blue; on land,
the multicolored houses spread like a
rainbow under dark cloud Of brown.
tiled roofs. Giant plane trees cast blots
Of shade on the cobblcd esplannde
of the boat quay. In their shelter a
negress squatted behind her basin of
CONSCIOUS and another before tray
of fried fish. Around them lounged
ragged crew, boatmen, stevedores
and riffraff, black, brown and white.
Beyond the trees was line of high
succeed houses, each painted diff
ferent color. all ther-stained, and
some with rusted balconies that threat
ened to topple on to the passer-by.
One bore the legend, "Hotel d'Europe."
There Gerry installed himself.
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