The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-08-03
Love Affairs of a
Lonely Woman
By MARY HAx

beautiful women in the recent years.
AS he studied Jane Browns graceful
pose the delicate tapering fingers, list
lessly yet gracefully dropping on the
table; her upturned face caressed by
the sensuous dark tendrils of her curly
hair: the soft, rose-petals of her lips
the long, shadowy lashes of her half
closed eyes; the alluring curve of her
neck to the rounded line of her should
ers, silhouetted against the dark rec
of the distant tiled floor-he lon5ed
madly to confide to her the thoughts
which had been benumbing his WORK
a-day brain the entire day.
| Never, so long as he could remember,
had his fingers been such uncontroll-
able truants from the keys of his type
writer with important profitable writ
| ing in hand and delayed IN completion.
He leaned toward her, his heart in
his eyes; then, as Jane turned toward
him. he foolishly lost the eloquence
which he so easily mastered on the
white sheets of his manuscript paper,
when quoted as the words of his char
| acter creations
There is such a difference between
| whispering ones innermost secrets into
a shell-like ear, close at hand, and yet
millions of miles beyond the reach of
desire and the prosaic task of pounding
out alliterative. soulful, declarations OF
devotion on a typewriter, in the as
celtic solitude of ones own work
room!
"Tt is so wonderful of you to bring
me here" Jane said softly. turning
her warm eyes up to his AND yet
it is so beautiful that it hurts and
saddens! How I dread returning tc
that sordid room at Mrs. Seldons"
Holiday gulped back the words
which he longed to say. He knew that
it was presumptuous, foolhardy and q
breach of trust the girl had placed II
him. Stoically, he came back to earth
and rapidly began the lecture whicf
, he had promised himself to give. Ii
his tone was none of the ardor which
burned within; instead. he spoke witt
a grandfatherly air, forced paternal'
ism, which seemed even to Jane to bt
somewhat stilted. And his insistenct
caused the tiniest bit of feminine rebel
lion in her, at first
at is Mrs. Seldom of whom I wish t
speak first" Holiday told her "Yol
must not stay there any longer. 1
will be maddening to you. 1t was bat
! enough for me when had a room there
and I was out nearly every evening
so that I did not worry about the oil
4 woman"
Jane smiled family 'Tt seems al
though 1 was out there as much a.
4 you, judging from my first experienc,
in New York. But what shall 1 do:'
you should get in some comfortable
place where you will have a woman
companionhip-and by woman I meal
a lady--a landless lady-if you wan
to put it that way. I know of jas
such a one, an old friend of my sis
ter's, Mrs. Guthrie, who lives up oil
Eigty-first street. not far from River
side Drive and Central park"
4 But, 1 could not afford such a fash
A ionable neighborhood," expostulatet
Jane.
Indeed you can. You fell victim t.
! the usual piracy which these old land
ladies down around here practice OF
\ innocent souls from the agriculture
districts You are paying double wha
l it is worth. My sisters friend is wild
i ow, who reduces her rent by lettin
out one room. You can get your break
fasts there, and occasionally a dinner
\ Although 1 hope you will take man
\ with me, Miss Brown. Why don't 20
dine with me tomorrow night, an
\ then run up town to see the place?
overheard Mrs. SeIdon's arrangement
with you in the hail. and know tina
you can have this big, sunny room 0
A Eighty first for the same money.
1 telephoned about it at noon today 70
see I have been thinking of you 10
4 viii you look at it? l know what yo
I must have to stand, and how discou
i aging it is and will continue increa
\ ingly to be. at that wretched lodgin
house"
Jane pondered for an instant, Gag
to change her habitat, and yet the
\ were complications which the 9TH
4 place ed-complications whit
j might interfere in no small way wi