Evening star., 1920-03-21
ELEASED from the great prison
Of Chains, Shaws entered Tired
ways sitting room late one
evening, at my invitation.

those easy glances which seemed 30
casual, and which were SO absorbing.
'Bs heated" he invited. II am glad
you decided to pay me a visit. ] felt
interested In you always. ! used to
read your poems in the monthlies.
Your 'Sonnets Of Illyria,' Mr.. Shaws'
reminded me, in their cold and classic
beauty, of Matthew Arnold"
Our guest bowed ever so slightly.
Fires Of the prison hell had long
quenehed any thirst for compliments.
He was a gray man. Hair, face, man
ner-all gray. When he spoke 1t was
with -Quietness and dignity.
Mr.. Francie urged me strongly to
come" he said, though I do not see
to what useful end. But as the Chap
lain Of Chains prison he always
showed me kindness; therefore, did
not wish to refuse him In this instance.
His plea, Mr.. Tredways. was that. as
a distinguished criminologist and in
vestigator, my case had appealed to
YOU"
Indeed, yes" responded my friend.
"Francie brings to me at times in
mates who have been discharged from
chains. Now he never brings them
unless he has an idea at the back of
his head that they should never have
been in prison at all. Sometimes he is
in the right Of It, sometimes he is
off the track. Your sad case power
FULLY impressed him. We discussed it
together. You were convicted on
charge OF killing. You pleaded
guilty; you have never even hinted
that you did not commit the crime in
question. Yet my friend here, the
Rev. Horace Francie. has his doubts.
Now you have gone through the furnace;
from its clutches the law has dismissed
lou. Whatever you say to us here will
De treated with the greatest privacy.
Man to man, now, Shaws-did you, or
lid you not, send James Staining Nc
Marsh into the dark?"
While Tredways was speaking our
guest had turned his wan face two or
three times from him to me. He now
lowered his eyes to the carpet and
was silent A long time passed and
neither Of US even moved. Presently
Shaws lifted his bowed head and fixed
his eyes, haggard and overladen with
recollection, upon Tredways.
II did not" said he, simply.
flashed a glance of triumph at
Tredways. who did not choose to per-
ceive 1t.
"Ah," said he, in that case your
story must be a very singular one.
Never have I known an innocent man
load himself with the fearful burden
Of murder"
1t Is doubtful II Shaws heard this
remark, for he went on. staring
staight before him as IL oblivious Of
our company.
There were six of us: JAWS, the
water-color artist; Timing, a second
secretary Of embassy; Willis, the pro-
fessor Of. languages; Margaret Scott,
the novelist; Staining McMarsh Scott,
the chemist, and myself. All profess
eional men, and one woman-Marga-
ret.
I'VE formed ourselves into coterie.
We used to meet at Margaret Scott's
house, in London. We were high en-
thusiasts on one subject Of supreme
value and importance-the necessity
OF annihilating war. Our idea was to
start a movement to form the nucleus
Of a society having a single aim; the
killing Of the war lust wherever we
found 1t. We commenced with six
members; we intended to enroll mill
lions. Our ideas were not nebulous,
Visionary. We had sketched practical
lines, definite methods of work.
81 come out from prison, gentlemen.
to find q flame running over the earth.
We have got it-this terror limited at,
whispered Of, for twenty-five years.
It roars up in blaze from sea to
heaven, and God knows when you will
put 1t out.
we had heard, with every listen
ing, intelligent man and woman, the
distant mutter OF the storm which
growled over some part of Europe,
and then died away, and then sounded
from some other part, and was hushed
again. And we Joined our six lives to-
fether in a campaign against the ia
talists and the pessimists. What great
movement has had its small begin
ming? Among US there were cer-
tainly three first-rate intellects and
each lived in a circle Of culture, Of
thoughts. / am not going to describe
to you our way of work. which did
not lack originality. But II is neces-
sary for me to impress upon you
something OF the ardor and evergrow-