The Washington herald., 1921-06-19
By EDEN PHILPOTTS

stands ths ss9sG rhsss thrss alone ere
responsible for thar swn undoinG; or Il
would Be more correct TO ny that an eyre
sious action Of Henry slanning prscipitatsd
the dsath Of tbs TIVE hamsssr personAssa
Henry slanning We nnd To Be q man q
cultured and refined tastes, avsrss from even
the incidental vioisncs Of sport Mu. Jane
scorpion. He was shrswd, sasacious, and
good man Of business rhe power Of
wealth he inherited and did not abuse. He
worked hard and with an exemplary hu-
mainly and consideration for all he en-
ployed He was generous. thoughtful and
kind hearted; nor did he lack for ambition
beyond his own prosperity and the we'll
being Of his many employees. for We ind him
accepting civii ofscs In Barbados and do
voting no small measure Of his time to
unpaid labor for the general veal
This il the other man and the per,on-
atty familiar to his brother. his friends. and
acquaintances; but there ID another Henry
slanning. an intellectual of inquiring
spirit q ceaseless searcher after curious
knowledge. voluminous reader, and a keen
thinker along certain lines. He Is interested
In many things. but certain subjects possess
for him peculiar fascination. and one
above all Others would seem persistently to
intrigue his mind
1T is a morbid subject hardly to be .sso-
ciated with a prosperous. hale. and popular
young man of IS: but there can BE- no doubt
Of the fact, since not only was 1t reported to
my colleague from more than one quarter
In the course Of his independent inquiry
but we also ind It an ever present theme Of
Henry Slanning's careful memoranda He
commits himself to q definite opinion upon
IT: he ransacks profane literature for his
support and nnds Justification for his con
illusions in Christian history.
:" To this We will return. For the moment
1t is necessary to show how what possessed
in the first place. no more than an abstract
and academic interest for Henry slannins
rose to become . personal problem and q
personal temptation. He had tasted what life
could offer and had. apparently, reached to
the summit Of his own ambitions, when
there came into his Life a new and tremen-
dous experience He fell in love for the FIRST
time His brother. who was never absent
from him, assures US that he had not before
declared or revealed any affection for q
woman, and though We have no absolute
proof Of this. since In the case Of his known
attachment Mr. Amos Slanning was entirely
ignorant Of II until after his death-though
therefore. we cannot say with conviction
that Henry never loved before II lie reason
abe to assume that no naster-passion over
whelmed him until he found himself In love
with Miss May warrender.
1T 10 certain that he was deeply attached
to her, though his reserved and sensitive
nature concealed the fact from all but the
young lady herself. He paid his devotions
with such delicacy. such humility, and such
refinement as might be expected from such
. man: and may assume he was
s,ine. for his life had moved easily and
successfully. He had much 10 offer and the
object OF his affections, a. We know. was
inexperienced and declares that for a long
time she did not appreciate the significance
Of his friendship. Few girls. who did not
yet know the meaning OF love, would have
refused him; and she had in all innocenes
welcomed his advances. SO that we may as
sumo he felt little doubt OF acceptance.
Il labour this In order to dwell on the
extent Of Mr.. Standings disappointment
when he heard that his hope was vain: and
believe that 30 violent and complete was
the shock Of the news, that man who never
appears TO have loved life for Itself. was
thrown into q very furnace OF disillusion-
ment and for the time being. at least found
existence 4 tyranny no longer to be endured.
With his rare mental endowments II Is
reasonable to suppose that. given time, he
would have survived his terrible experience
and recovered from his disappointment in
the manner OF q normal man: but he per
mitted himself no time. He turned TO the
subject OF his philosophic meditations and
research, and under this hard blow Of fate
q fate that had always used him kindly until
the present-he found in that thsme no
longer q preoccupation for thought but an
invitation to action.
That theme. the ever recurring obsession
Of his mental activity. was suicide. And
thousand times- Again and again he opens
on some other subject yet, like a phantom
in the MONDAY Of intelligent considerations
upon love. hope faith, honour. duty. and
other subjects worthy Of q high minded and
altruIstic spirit. there creeps into the arru-
ment self-destruetion. He cannot evads It:
there is for him a fascination In the topic
that brings him back again and again. II
vitiates his thinking; 1t is q biood-red thread
woven through the fabric Of his thoughts
He exhausts literature In his search for
every high example and significant reference