Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-09-26
THE DAILY NOVELETTE,
An Awakening
BY WILL T. AMES


THERE are women who, having hung
L up the image Of man in their
hearts. never again take 1t down. A
! whole literature has been built upon this
theory, a thousand songs have extolled
it's truth. What the world knows less
well, or pretends not to know, is that
/ fidelity to a love secretly enshrined Is
not the attribute Of single sex. John
Wade, in twelve years time, had never
been without the consciousness of Jes-
sica Brandt-and IL ever there was an
average man John Wade was he.
John was edging on toward forty. He
had played out the years Of his youth
and early manhood as one ut whist lays
down the cards Of hand which, as the
saying is, plays itself. He had worked
and been moderately rewarded. He had
loafed, wholesomely, and was sound in
health. He had made friends-and some
had gone and some had stayed. He had
| always mingled-and mingled now -
with his fellow creatures: and he had
| his roseate moods and his gray ones,
his full. interesting days and his less
satisfying ones, like everybody. More
over, he had felt his pulses quicken in the
presence of more than one lovely girl
or brilliant woman. And he had never
seen Jessica Brandt in all those dozen
years. But she abode with him. and
all the action in his film Of life was
superimposed upon the dim radiance of
her presence. For John to have per-
mitted himself to love would have been,
he knew, spiritual sin against the
woman in the case. whoever she might
be. He had notions about things, had
John. The average man is honest.
Yet Jessica Brandt was another man 8
wife. And had been for more than eleven
of the twelve years. Rich, too, and
living in world as different from his
own as well might be. Sometimes John
laughed at himself. And then, once or
twice, he had looked across the table a
little wondcringly at Ann. And after
] he had looked Mt Ann for a moment he
! would find himself hurrying to finish his
meal and would excuse himself to Aunt
Elsie and her stepdaughter and 60 away
quickly. Afterward he would wonder
why he did that.
Ann Perdue Is quite the loveliest
creature anywhere. declared pretty
Mrs. Bascom generously. ''It isn't only
that She raving beauty, which there 3
no denying. It's herself. She's $50
big, so splendidly charitable and broad,
ana SO clever and has such n sense OF
humor. She's thirty two. but she looks
twenty five. believe all the men on
earth have gone blind"
"Oh, no: far from it." Mrs. Phelps
possessed the quietly observing type of
eyes. ITS n case Of sell. determina-
tion with Ann, I'm ure. Writing
women are often that way, you know. "
well, she's human and q dear. and
It isn't natural. - protested Mrs. Bas =
com.
Seven years ago. at the end Of post :
graduate course, Ann Perdue had yield =
ed to her stcpmotber's insistence that she
come home to live. That was the first
time she and John had really met, for
he had only entered his aunt's house.
hold at his mothers death. They were
excellent friends from the start, and re-
maincd so. Perhaps year later It was
that Ann said to Mrs. Perdue: Mother
| cant make John fit in with any bach :
clor type. He isn't selfish. he ism
stingy, he isn't self deprecatory, he
isn't welded to any fad he isn't alb
normally diffdent-and bachelors are
usually one or the other. It's interest
ing
Going to make copy Of him."