The Washington times., 1922-01-15

word used. he had q horror OF Tn
Adrian Rose was perfectly hap
py, or perhaps l should say per-
fectly satisfied with life He was
. second son--he preferred to be a
second /son-with all the advar-
tages of a country house to far
back on and none Of the disadvan-
tages Of having to live there, go to
church on Sundays, study agricul-
ture and give garden parties.
Also by saying, my brother is
rather a Philistine, you know" he
could deity hint at q background
Of breeding
Having been left money by an
aunt, he was able to live in great
comfort a life Of leisure, lazy with
out being idle and occupied with
cut being busy. He was interested
IN literature, in art, in music and
in people, boasting an ignorance
Of politics and an indifference
to science. Praised as a most flat
tering listener, he was glad the
chatter of his neighbor invariably
gave him time to frame piquant
contribution to the conversation.
He took an indefatigable interest
in what he was going to say next.
A man who is available for lunch,
has no wife, is interested in every
thing and talks well is socially
invaluable. If Adrian was never
the first person to be asked to
meal, and, let US admit it, very
frequently the last, he was never
theless always the right man in
the right place, and if not the life
and soul, at any rate the cement
Of a party.
Adrian believed in light, iri-
descent emotions. The amitie
amoureuse was always his objec-
tive-a glove, a fan, a camelia-
these were to him the symbols of
love. He imagined himself be-
having with infinite delicacy in
rather difficult situations. Hid
ing a bleeding heart beneath a
gallant smile, he withdrew in
favor Of his rival, or, sacrificing
his happiness for hers, he recon-
ciled his beloved with her hus-
band. Never by any chance was
he left with a woman on his
hands-but always he left be-
hind him a little aching void
which nothing else could fill.
These day dreams occupied his
mind so pleasantly that he hardly
sought to carry them into effect.
He waited confidently for
Providence to cast him for the
role he had chosen for himself.
And, as so frequently happens,
Providence played him false.
Amber Vane, who had lost
her parents as a baby, had been
brought up by an aunt in an old
gray house that seemed to have
become white and transparent
with age. Surrounded by a
water-lily laden moat, you caught
two tantalizing glimpses Of it
from the road, and each time
you believed that you had seen
some mirage, cleaning appari-
ton, the ghost Of a house.
Millet Court, protected by the
monosyllables Of its yokels and
the maze of lanes by which it
was surrounded, remained deli
ciously inviolate in spite Of re-
peated efforts to pierce its pri-
vacy by lovers Of architecture or
adventure. Miss Millet did not
believe In God and ignored the
very existence Of her neigh
bors. She spoke French and
Italian, she played the harp,
she read indefatigably.
The village accepted her iron
rule and her home-brewed medi-
cines as they accepted the sea-
sons. She belonged as init
mately to them as the soil they
titled, and yet in a sense she was
awe-inspiring, an uhdoubted am
bassadress Of fate. Two pas
sions she had, gardening and
.---., T.. L..