The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-10-30
Extraordinary Story of the
Great Secret the World
Was Unwilling to Hear.

AM quite aware that IN giving you TINS
story Just as was told It shall incur
i the charge Of downright and deliberate
lying.
Especially I shall be told this by any one
who knew wnbraham personally. wilbra-
ham was not, of course. his real name. but
Z think that there are certain people who
will recognize him from this description Of
him. do not know that it matters very
much II they do. Wilbraham himself would
certainly not mind did he know. Does be
knowD 1t was the thing above all that he
wanted those last hours before he died-that
should pass ON my conviction Of the truth
Of what he told me to others. What he did
not know was that was not convinced
How could be? But when the whole com
fort Of his last hours hung on the simple fact
that was, Of course pretended to the best
Of my poor ability. I would have done more
than that to make him happy.
It u precisely the people who knew him
well who VIII declare at once that my little
story In impossible But did they know him
wenf Does any one know any one else weIif
Aren't We all as lonely and removed from
one sIsother as mariners on separate desert
ha.odsf In any ease did not know him wen
md perhaps for that very reason was not %
greatly surprised at his amazing revelations
-sUprtsed 1t the revelations Themselves, Of
course. but not At hts telling them There
vas always m htm-and have known him
here and thsre. loosely. In Club and London
fnshion. for nearly twenty ysars-something
bamanac and smething sentimental
knsw that because 1t WIS precisely thoss tuo
EttrhGtes that he drew out Of ma.
Most nm are conscious At some time IN
ch<E nyss of having fsat for q member Of
ossk own sex IN emotion that \ sor,ethinx
nars than simpe companionship Il b
SnsE fsanns quits unlike any other In nfa,
Glsttncfty romantic and the more that Dr.
hsps for having no Sax fesling In T.
Aks ths ioss a women, Il = felt generally
- s,ght, but, uni1ks that Io~s. 4 d, I think
e0prmsfy msaansh emotion Il i not %
qutsttt,e. nor posssszf,e. nor Jealous, and az
kts best p@haps when 4 - not urged too
severely. but b allowed 10 nnss< IN the bach
Uuund of Lin. Giving real happiness and -
GH1I and trmt, stand1ng out, indeed; -
surnsthtng cwiomiy rsf1ahss Just because n
ed place IN our Ens1fsa rfe because the men
who fssd n. II thy have bssn 10 public schoo,
md university. have served . long training
h reprsszans every Sign o. expression Of
s.ntiment towards any Other man; nsverths-
ls1 II psxztsts romanfacaIly and deeply per
nstz. and the war Of 1874 off.nsd many curl
sO examples Of T.
Wubraham reused just that feeling IN M
I remember with the utmost disdnctness my
Est meeting with him 1t was Just after the
Boer war and old Johnny Beaminster- gave q
dinner party to some men pals Of his at the ,
Phoenix.
Johnny vas not % old then-~-none of us
were; h was a short time after the death Of
that old harpy. the Duchess Of wrexs, and
some was said that the dinner was In eeaebra~
ton Il that happy occasion. Johnny vas
not unsracioas a. that but he gave ~ q
vsry merry evening and he did undoubtedly
fsel . kind Of Hshtness In the general air.
There vrS about fifteen Of - and WI
Eaham WIS the only man present I'd never
sen before He was only a captain then
and neither % red faced nor % stout ~ he
aftEvards bscama He was pretty bulky.
though, svsa thsn. and with his sandy hair
cropped caoos his staring blue eyes, his tooth
bruah nustachs and sharp. alert move nenta,
looksd ths typical traditional British onlcer.
There was nothing At al b distinguish
him from . thousand other officers Of his
lind. and Jet from the moment 1 saw him I
I'D some especial and personal feeling about
IN He was not IN type At al the man
- vhnm q hat tims should have feit
A.1A Ny nrst book had just been pub
nshed and. although a. now perceive its
puhHeataon had NOT caused the slightest
nppas upon any v14eE. ths congratulations
e my friends and rsa.t3pua. who fsat COM
psnsd. poor thtng.. 10 ny sonething, b.
eans -thsV bad received copies from the
author had made me TED that the literary
Dur1A 49, an buztns st my sar.- I could
- II . glance that Kpling vas probably
- snay dscsnt" author sbost whom WI.
hE1hnm msw anything. and tie frasmsnts
e In oouvsrsatson that eanght dtd not
pssmass anythang tmtsnsct.any szcatane from
- sequatntzncsshtpI
~ hef rsmatns that I wanted b know
lin moro than any othar man IN the room,
md although I Only Exchanged few words
vsrh him that ntgta, thought a him Sor
q1ies . ioog time afssrv.rda
4 d1d not follow from this ~ It ought to
have dous that vs hscamS great frisnds
INST - nsv~ v~A although It was myssk
whom h ant far three days hafors hin dsath
IN tan r,a IA. or,,~, NIL. ,Srrv 49, ttS~n