The Washington times., 1920-02-08
Absence Not Noted.

Absence
She wanted TO ascertain, now that
the deluge of war had passed, where
the boundaries OF her realm might
be drawn, and whether out yonder,
too, tho idea OF liberty implied the
right to extend and expand, to nour-
ish and to adorn the interests OF the
Individual or of the state at the eN-
pense OF others, and TINS to gain
riches and power
Surely, thought she. here at home
no one viii notice IL II, for a little
while, there is no heart throbbing
beneath my robe of iron and bronze
beaten by the salt beneath my tiara
10 ponder the problems of the world.
So long as my diadem and torch
flash their brilliance through the
dark and illumine the newcomers
arrival, so long will the credulous
masses be assured that Liberty still
dweus on their continent and that
! her rule remains unimpsired.
She was soon TO realize that upon
/ the seas Liberty is not a welcome
guest. Not that she could not have
managed by hook or by crook to Sc
cure a billionaire's cabin de luke.
But the lin every sense OF the word)
! lofty lady would have required. even
without her granite pedestal, at least
ten such apartments in order to rest
comfortably.
Joins SteeraRe
! And Begins Diary.
Impatient with the press OF crowd
ing applicants. the manager rudely
! assigned the giant dame to the steer
! age; and here she found the wrig-
Cling mass of humanity so densely
packed that she was simply forced
L. 10. f.,,r Ia
under the shelter OF her skull. all of
! whom developed the most annoying
symptoms OF digestive disturbance
the moment the ship began to pitch
and roll.
SO this was her first entry in the
diary of her trip: The duty OF self
restraint in order that liberty may
have free sway IL not yet recognized
by men. when they are in dis
temper they do not hesitate to/defile
the divinity which with their lips
/ they daily profess TO revere
/. Dawn breaks at last after every
night of pain. As the anchor chair.
rattles free a warm land breeze gem
tly swells the canopy, as the JOY of
nourishment swells the delicate
cheeks OF babe: and from the ship,
Liberty, travelling incognita in her
ma jesty, steps forth upon a broad
and shining beach. No creature any
where in the semblance of man.
The smoke of the vessel. which ...as
put ashore only one lone passenScr
on this hot and desert strand, is dis
sipated in the blue vault above. Not
sound disturbs the course of the
day stars or the harmony of the
spheres.
Is this the true realm of libcrtyo
| This the serpentless paradise? Only
| where the plant of human woe IL
unhcard can perfect beauty adorn
| the earth. But they who are born
| here are not the descendants OF
| those who ate of the tree of knowl-
edge and suffered the tortures of
knowing good and evil.
Grcans Of Torment
Issued from Cavern.
| The fleeting illusion is shattered.
! Here, too. dwells humanity. From a
| cavern come, the groans of human
| torment and in the heart of the
! listening goddess joy is mingled with
! pity. For how could she rejoice in
! world which contained only the
bestial and lacked the image of God?
| How in a humanless. earth could
| divinity feel itself divine?
| A woman. In her fading counte-
nance and form the traces still Of
noble beauty. even as the late au-
| tumn recalls the glory OF summer.
Her garb is threadbare and yet so
gayly bedecked with bright bows and
ribbons, with chains and birds. that
| there can be no mistsking her pur-
| pose to conceal her poverty and to
appear richer than she is. She com
| pcls the question. ..How such a suffer
| ing creature could possibly have re-
tained the love OF external adorn-
ment?
Answer Comes ss
Query Il Framed.
Scarcely has the goddess framed
the query before the answer comes:
"For one who has seen better days
II is moro grievous to endure pow
crty than for him that is born in it.
So long as ever he may will he en-
deavor to deceive at least the fleet
ing glance of inquisitivc eyes and so
conceal his fortunes decay. Hast
ever seen a butterfly that would fain
crawl once more as caterpillar"
Europe is your name? Then it Is
YOU whom ! seek. Upon her brow
and in her eyes would I diseren to
what state of wisdom mankind has
progressed. and whether the cult
with which men profess to worship
me is of more than mere lip service.
For since these two thousand years
tho viii of mankind has seemed em-
bodied I'm Europe"
"Secmcd--as once that continent
sec med embodied in the delicate
and quickly fading form OF woman
Europa. To you who werc born
whom tho lord Of the spheres
hrcathed tho brc9th Of life into the
man whom He had formed OF tho
dust OF tho ground, to you most an
cicnt myths arc known.
Told To Take
Look Backward.