Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-10-15

"
floor OF the smoking room and
rank modify into an armchair.
He pressed the bell.
Waiter"
"Sir?"
"You may have these clubs. Take
them away. II YOU don't want them
yourself. give them to one of the
caddies"
Across the room the Oldest Member
eyed him with grave sadness
through the smoke Of his pipe. He
was not unprepared for this attitude
on the part of his young friend.
From his eyrie on the terrace above
the ninth green he had observed him
start out on the afternoons round
and had seen him drop a couple Of
balls in the lake after doing the
first hole in seven.
You are giving up golf?'' he said.
"Yes!" cried the young man fiercely.
Eyes! For ever, dammit! Footing
game! Banked Internal fat-headed
silly ass of game! Nothing but a
waste Of time"
The sage WINGED.
Don't say that, my boy"
But 7 do say it. What good is
golf: Life is stern and life is earnest.
We live in a practical age. All
around US We see foreign competition
making itself unpleasant. Is golf
any use? Can you name me a single
case where devotion to this pestilen-
tial pastime has done q man any prac-
teal good?~
The sage smiled gently.
Il could name a thousand"
zone will do
Il will select" said the sage, from
the innumerable memories that rush
to mind the story Of J. Cuthbert
Banka"
Never heard OF him"
BE OF good cheer" said the Oldest
Member. You are going to hear of
kim now"
TT was in the picturesque little set
i Element of Wood Hills (said the
Oldest Member) that the Incidents
occurred which I am about to relate.
Even II you have never been in Wood
Hills, that suburban paradise Is prob
ably familiar to you by name. Stu
ated at a convenient distance from
the city, 1t combines In a notable
manner the advantages Of town life
with the pleasant surroundings and
healthful air of the country. Its In
habitants live in commodious houses.
standing in their own grounds. and
enjoy go many luxuries-such as
gravel soil. main drainage. electric
light. telephone. baths thot and cold).
and company's own water. that you
might be pardoned for imagining life
TO be SO ideal for them that no pos
sible improvement could be added to
their lot.
Mrs. Willoughby Smethurst was
under no such delusion. What Wood
Hills needed to make it perfect, she
realized. was culture. Material COM
forts are all very well. but, IL the
summum bonum is to be achieved.
the soul also demands a look in. and
It was Mrs. Smethurst's unfaltering
resolve that never while she had her
the losers end 1t was her intention
to make Wood Hills a center of
oil that was most cultivated and re-
fined, and golly! how she had sue
ceeded. Under her presidency the
Wood Hills Literary and Debating
Society had tripled its membership.
But there Is always a fly in the
ointment. caterpillar in the salad.
The local golf club. an institution to
which Mrs smethurst strongly OBJ
jected, had also tripled its member
ship: and tho division Of the COM
munity into two rival camps. the
golfers and the cultured, had become
moro marked than ever. This divi-
sion, always acute. had attained now
TO the dimensions OF schism. The
rival sects treated one another with
a cold hostility.
Unfortunate episodes came to widen
the breach. Mrs Smethurst's house
adjoined the links. standing to the
right Of the fourth tee: and, as the
literary society was in the habit of
entertaining visiting lecturers. many
a golfer had fooled his drive owing
to sudden loud outbursts Of applause
coinciding with his down swing. And
not long before this story opens a
sliced ball. whizzing in at the open
window, had come within an ace Of
incapacitatinE Raymond Parsloe De-
vine. the rising young novelist (who
rose at that moment q clear foot and
a half) from any further exercise Of
his art. Two inches. indeed. to the
right and Raymond must inevitably
have handed in his dinner pail
To mako matters worse. q ring at
the front door bell followed almost
Immediately, and the maid ushered In
= young man Of pleasing appearance
in 4 sweater and basgy knickerbock-
ers, who apologetically but firmly in
sisted on playing his ball where It
lay. ana. what with the shock Of the
lecturers narrow escape and the spec
tacle Of the intruder standing on the
table and working away with a nib
lick, the afternoons session had to
b classed as q complete frost. Mr..
no argument could swerve him. to de-
liver the rest Of his lecture IN the
coal cellar. gave the meeting q jolt
from which It never recovered.
have dwelt upon this incident. be-
cause Il was the means Of introducing
Cuthbert Banks to Mrs. smethurst's
niece, Adslins. Az Cuthbert. for 1t
was he who had SO nearly reduced
the muster-roll Of rising novelists by
. S.a n "a