The Washington herald., 1916-01-09
The Silences Of the Soul.
BY JOHN ID. BARRY

j They were wonderfully happy
The woman busted herself about her domestic
man worked at his daily task, looking forward to
the end of the day when he should return home
and to her.
/ They would sit together beside the lamp, she
with her sewing he with book and pipe
There were long periods of silence between
Them of beautiful silence. Their happiness seemed
to vibrate in the air.
The womans head would bend over her sewing.
The man would smoke and smoke.
| After a time the woman began to ask questions.
First she asked if he were happy.
I He looked little surprised and he smiled
good .humoredly He took his pipe out of his
mouth and said that he was very happy
She asked if he had ever been so happy be-
fore.
/ There was an almost imperceptible shadow on
his face.
He said that he had never been SO happy before.
I His tone showed that he was puzzled.
For long time she sewed. Somehow the vi
brations of happiness were not quite so distinct.
! In few moments the man rose and started to
leave the room. He said he was tired.
The woman sat alone. She sewed and sewed.
The hoo next night z; they St tosshsr the
The woman looked up, quickly and said: What
He took the pipe out of his mouth. "I'm think
The answer pleased her She dropped her head
over her sewing.
Whenever WI ! he stopped rsading nssg she would look
about?"
She. saw that the question made him slightly
uncomfortable She wondered why.
Sometimes he would answer directly. At other
times he would say: I'm not thinking OF any
thing"
For long interval he kept his eyes on the
book. And yet she noticed that he did not turn
the pages
was not turning the pages. But she refrained.
agreeable.
She could not feel the vibrations of happiness
till she listened ntently.
| 1t was comforting to find they were there.
| He looked up and caught her eye. What are
you thinking about?" she said.
He grew to loathe that expression, What are
you thinking about" 1t made him feel almost
painfully self-conscious.
He saw that she had passionate curiosity
about his feelings
| After long time he saw that her curiosity
drove her to probe into the inner recesses OF his
being, into the depths of his consciousness, into
! the sacred places, where he hardly dared intrude
himself, the silences of his soul.
! The discovery filled him with dismay though
| he could hardly have explained why.
One evening she was very gay. She tore the
clared she should have him all to herself for
He should not read another word. They were 60
ing to have long chat.
! He yielded good-humoredly She sat on a
footstoo beside him, resting her head against his
Then she asked: When was the very first mo-
ment you knew you cared for me?"
! He put down his pipe. He could not answer
such question with his pipe in his mouth. He
tried to look back and to discover precisely the
the moment" he said, when our fingers touched,
the night we were walking away from your aunts
house"
She. elapped her hands and laughed. "Oh. 1
remember that moment
| She asked more questions. She drew nearer
and nearer the silences of his soul
| The questions became harder and harder for
him to answer. They so personal so nt-
mate, they dealt with feelings delicate it
ed if the mere breath upon them would be
a desecraton.
said Now | really must get at this book"
/ She that his face flushed and his eyes
were bright.
She rose from her seat and took up her sewing.
She would go the next evening.
i But the next evening she met difficulties. For
some reason she could not understand, it was im-
possible for her to take that little stool his feet
and to rest her head his knee. And it was
hard to go on while they sat opposite each other.
Besides, he seemed absorbed in this particular book
or. some deep subject
! She made occasional efforts, however, usually
in the form Of joking references to his absorption.
| Then he that she was like child determin-
inside.
But she was child with the will of woman
| And what she longcd to tear made of his
tenderest sensibties, hidden in the slences of
his soul.
Gradually as they sat together in the evening,
she felt doors closing in her face quietly, mex
!orably
/ One night she made an effort.
! He felt her will pitted against his
| She asked searching questions, leading into the
silences of his soul.
There she should find his real being.
| If she could only enter and possess herself of
him, he would be hers forever
He steeled himself against her, adroitly parrying
the questions
| Then he realized that she stranger. She
had always been stranger. stranger she must
always be.
/ Between her questions there were long inter-
walls when she seemed to gather breath and
strength
i With every question his answers grew more i'm
perturable. They sounded if they came from a
distance.
| Sometimes he would not reply till long after
she had spoken. His words would be brief, absent
| At last she could not endure the tension She
broke into angry reproaches. Her voice grew
higher and higher
VI, 49,.