The Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 191?-19??, 1919-08-02

| pOSoiDiy nave conceived Sucn an az
ever coming to be his own: i've year
was the limit of his thinking In time
] Five years ago he had been a child
not yet fourteen; and those i've year.
were an abyss. Five years hence he
would be almost twsnty-four; what
the girls he knew called zone of the
older men," he could Imagine himself
at twenty-four, but beyond that his
powers staggered and refused the
task. He saw little essential dlffer-
ence between thirty-elght and eighty.
eight, and his mother was to him not
a woman but wholly a mother. The
woman, Isabel, was a stranger to her
son; as completely a stranger as IL
he had never in his life seen her or
heard her voice. And 1t was tonight,
while he stood with her, receiving"
that he caught a, dlsquleting glimpse
Of this stranger whom he thus fleet
ingly encountered for the first time.
Youth cannot imagine romance
apart from youth. That is why the
roles Of the heroes and heroines of
plays are given by the managers to
the most youthful actors they can find
among the competent Both middle
aged people and young people enjoy a
play about young lovers; but only
mlddle-aged people will tolerate a play
about middle-aged lovers; young
people win not come to see such a
play, because for them middle-aged
lovers are joke-not very funny
cae, Therefore, to bring both the
middle-aged people and the young
people into his house the manager
makes his romance as young as he
con. Youth will indeed be served, and |
its profound instinct is to be not only |
scOrnfully amused but vaguely an
gered by middle-aged romance. So,
standing beside his mother, George
was disturbed by a sudden impression,
coming upon him out of nowhere, so
far as he could detect, that her eyes
were brilliant, that she was graceful
and yOuthful-in word that she was
lovely.
He had one of those curious moments
that seem to have neither a cause nor
any connection with actual things.
There was nothing In either her looks
or her manner to explain Georges un-
comfortable feeling; and yet 1t in
creased, becoming suddenly a vague
resentment, as if she had done some
thing unmotherly to him.
The fantastic moment passed; and
even while it lasted he was doing his
duty, greeting two pretty girls with
whom he had grown up, as people say,
and warmly assuring them that he re-
them very well-an assur.
ance which might have surprised them
in anybody but George Minaferl"
1t seemed unnecessary, since he had
spent many hours with them no longer
than the preceding August. They had
with them their parents and an uncle
from out Of town; and George negli-
gently gave the parents the same as
surance he had given the daughters,
nut murmured another form of greet
ing to the Out-of-town uncle. whom
he had never seen before. This per
son George absently took note of as
a "queer-looking duck" Undergradu-
ates had not yet adopted bird" It
was period previous to that in which
sophomore would have thought of
the Sharon girls uncle as a queer
looking bird" or, perhaps, a funny.
face bird" In Georges time every hui
man male was to be defined at pleas.
ure as duck" but "duck" was not
spoken with admiring affection as in
Its former feminine use to signify a
dear the contrary, duck" I'M
piled the speakers personal detach-
ment and humorous superiority. An
Indifferent amusement was what
George felt when his mother, with
gentle emphasis, interrupted his in
terchange Of courtesles with the
nieces to present him to the queer
looking duck, their uncle. This en-
phasis Of IsabeIs. though slight, en-
abled George to perceive that she con-
sidered the Queer-looking duck a per-
son Of some lmpbpiaaee; but It was
Tar from enabling Aim % understand
why. The duck parted bis thick and
longish black AAtr on the side; his
tie was a forgstfai- looking thing, and
his coat, though It fitted a good
enough middle-aged, figure, no product
OF this year, or q last year either.
Observing only his Questionable hair,
his preocdDled tie ana his old coat,
the Olympic George set him down as
queer-looking duck, and having thus
completed his portrait took no inter-
est In him.
The Sharon girls passed on, taking
the Queer-lOoklng duck with them, and
George became pink with mortifica-
ton as his mother called his attention
to a white-bearded guest waiting to
shake his hand. This was Georges
great-uncle, old John Minafer: it was
old Johns boast that in spite Of his
connection by marriage with the Am
persons he never had worn and never
would wear a swaller-tail coat. Mem
bers OF his family had exerted their
fOffnnnna