The Washington herald., 1922-09-08
The Beautiful
And Damned
Continued from Yesterday.
By F. Scott Fitzgerald.

mock the credulity Of man. Let's
persuade our more erotic poets to
write about the delights of the fesh.
and induce some Of our robust jour
nalists to contribute stories Of
famous amours. Well include all
the most preposterous old wives
tales now current. Wen choose
the keenest satirist alive to compile
a deity from all the deities wor-
shipped by mankind. q deity who
will be more magnificent than any
of them. and yet SO weakly human
that he'll become . byword for
laughter the world overland we,n
ascribe to him all sorts Of Jokes
and yanities and RACES. in which
he'll be supposed to indulge for his
own diversion, so that the people
win read our book and ponder 1t,
and theren be no more nonsense in
the world.
FINALLY. let US take care that
the book possesses all the virtues
of style, so that It may last forever
as a witness to our profound scep-
ticism ana our universal irony
so the men did. and they died.
But the book lived always. o
beautifully had 1t been written, and
so astounding the quality Of imagi-
nation with which these men =
mind and genius had endowed IT,
They had neglected to give II q
name, but after they were dead II
became known as the Bible"
When he concluded there was no
comment. Some damp languor
sleeping on the air of night seemed
to have bewitched them all.
las / said, I started on the story
of my education. But my high balls
are dead and the nights almost
over. and soon there1l be an awful
jabbering going on everywhere, In
the trees and the houses, and the
two little stores over there behind
the station and therell be a great
running up and down upon the
earth for a few hours Well" he
concluded with a laugh, thank God
We four can all pass to our eternal
rest knowing we've left the world
little better for having lived in
it,"
A breeze sprang up. blowing with
il faint wisps of life which fat
tened against the sky.
Your remarks grow rambling
and inconclusive," said Anthony
sleepily. You expected one Of
those miracles of illumination by
which you say your most brilliant
and pregnant things in exactly the
setting that should provoke the
ideal symposium. Meanwhile Gloria
has shown her far-sighted detach-
ment by falling asleep-I can tell
that by the fact that she has man.
aged to concentrate her entire
weight upon my broken body"
Have / bored your" inquired
Maury. looking down with some
concern.
NO, you have disappointed u.s.
You've shot a lot of arrows but did
you shoot any birds?"
Il leave the birds to Dick" said
Maury hurriedly. Il speak errsti-
calIy, in disassociated fragments"
You can get no rise from me-
muttered Dick. My mind Is full
of any number of material things.
l want a warm bath too much to
worry about the Importance of
my work or what proportion of us
are pathetic figures"
Dawn made itself felt in a gath
ering whiteness eastward over the
river and an intermittent cheep-
ing in the nearby trees.
"Quarter to Ave." signed Dick;
almost another hour to wait.
Look, Two gone. He was point
ing to Anthony. whose lids had
sagged over his eyes. Sleep of the
Patch family"
But in another FIVE minutes, de-
spite the amplifying cheeps and
chirrups, his own head had fallen
forward, nodded down twice, thrice.
Only Maury Noble remained
awake. seated upon the station roof,
his eyes wide open and fixed with
fatigued intensity upon the distant
nucleus Of morning. He was won
dering at the unreality Of ideas, at
the fading radiance OF existence.
and at the little absorptions that
were creeping avidly into his life,
like rats into a ruined house. He
was sorry for no one now-on Mon
day morning there would be his
business. and later there would be
a girl of another class whose whole
life he was; these were the things
nearest his heart. In the strange
ness OF the Frightening day 1t seem
ed presumptuOus that with this fee
hle. broken instrument of his mind
he had ever tried to think.
There was the sun, letting down
great glowing masses OF heat; there
was life, active and snarling, NOV
ing about them like q ny swarm
the dark pants Of smoke from the
engine, q crisp all aboard!- and a
bell ringing. Confusedly Maury
saw eyes IN the milk-train staring
curiously up at him. heard Gloria
and Anthony in quick controversy
as to whether he should 60 to the
city with her-then another clamor
and she was gone and the three
men, pale as ghosts, were standing
alone upon the platform while a
Erimy coal-heaver went down the
road on top OF a motor-truck, car
olling hoarsely at the summer
morning.