The Lamar register., 1919-10-29

y
of Fastening from one little thing to
another. Look back and tell me II
your memories aren't all stock varie-
ties; / mean don't they all fall into
set and dry classificationsT'
81 understand" said Andrea. you
mean they are all chucked into about
six bins like staples at a grocery"
He gave her look of undisguised
admiration. 81 mean exactly that
My philosophy will give you the secret
of the happy idle hour. Never again
can city or a great house quite
smother you. for 1t will be In your
power to sit spellbound. your eyes
fixed ten thousand miles away on II
girdle of high-peaked huts, or black
women pounding millet, pot-bellied
pickanins at play, blotch of bronze
statues taking an hour of from pose
and chanting the news Of the hour"
"And an airplane," added Andrea,
"trying to push two surprised huts out
of the way"
The man made an impatient gesture
There you CO." he exclaimed, "pounc-
ing. claws out, on the one personal
element ~
Gently wide. whats personal about
an airplaneT t
He looked at her grlmly and ignored
the trap. "It Will give you things to
think about" he continued, "and when
you have them you'll no longer be
afraid Of thought In itself. and when
you are freed of that fear you will
find that sincerity ceases to be con-
versauonal bad taste. II becomes
rather a weapon. the only probe that
can pierce the armor of individuals.
for OF course you know that every per-
sonality wears shell, thick or thin,
close Joined or loose"
She turned her eyes and looked him
up and down heetingly. What else
will your philosophy do for mel" she
asked.
what else?" he repeated. "It will
make you gloriously independent-re-
duce you to the three elements of con-
tent-health, honor and an inner
flame"
Let's begin with the inner fame"
she suggested. 'It sounds mystic"
But II isn't" he replied. ITS the
most practical thing In the world Am
bition. illusion. youth. are few of its
commoner appellations. but the ono
that comes nearest to lmprlsoning 1t In
a phrase is. breath Of life
Andrea studied him almost impa-
tiently; inwardly she was rebelling
tremendously nt finding herself 50 con-
tinually Interested by one who was
even at the moment calmly doing her
n great wrong. f he had spoken as
didacticaIly about his precious phil
osophy she would have found herself
at once but he hadn't. In that point
more than In any other lay the charm
-charm7 Well Gull IL charm. anyway,
of this unusual male.
Having thought the matter out with
view to hearing him browse some
more. she said. Cant you bring 1t q
little nearerT
"I'll try" he answered after a pause.
Breath Of life is that quality which
holds back n man from marrying for
money and urges another TO the de-
sertion OF wife and children because
he's bored. that makes a preacher leap
from the pricking pinnacle Of dogma
to the heart of the Red Light district
and his own destruction, that leads the
king-bull OF the herd to impatient paths
of lonely meditation. In short, it's
the perpetual vigilance Of self at the
apparent risk Of the soul"
sort of subllmated egoIsm." re-
marked Andrea.
"Selfishness, you meanT He shook
his head. "It's not even on that plane;
it's so much over 1t that selfishness as
quality is merely one Of the pebbles
on the beach below It that the sea has
been grinding down to uniform char
acteristics for O hundred years. Alive.
it's a flame; dead. II doesn't even leave
u corpse"
Andrea yawned. "Now honor" she
said.
won't you talk littleT said the
man. Defining Is a great game and
/ don't want to hog all the fun. Speak
for your class. What's honorr
Andrea thought for a minute; then
she smiled. with women. it's keeping
anywhere this side of the Rubicon.-
She paused.
"And with menf" he urged.
with men it's the art Of not get