The Washington herald., 1922-09-14
The Beautiful
And Damned
continued from Yesterday.
BY F. Scott Fitzgerald.

turned to Marietta. Why had he
not forced his way in? That was
what she would have done!
Between them they drafted a let
ter to the old man and after con-
siderable revision sent 1t on. IL
was half an apology. half manu-
factured explanation. The letter
was not answered.
Came a day in September, a day
sfashed with alternate sun and rain,
without freshness. On that day
they left the gray house. which had
seen the flower Of their love. Four
trunks and three monstrous crates
were piled in the dismantIed room
where. two years before, they had
sprawIed Iazily, thinking in terms
of dreams, remote, languorous. con-
tent The room echoed with
emptiness Gloria. in a new brown
dress edged with fur, sat upon q
trunk in silence, and Anthony
walked nervously to and fro smok-
ing. as they waited for the truck
that would take their things to the
city.
What are those?" she demanded.
pointing to some books piled upon
one Of the crates.
That's my old stamp collection"
he confessed sheepishly. Il for
got to pack it,"
Anthony. it's So silly to carry
It around"
We'll. / was looking through
il the day We left the apartment
last spring, and 1 decided not to
store it."
Can't you sell it? Haven't VS.
enough junk"
I'm sorry" he said humbly.
With a thunderous rafting the
truck rolled up to the door. Gloria
shook her fist defiantIy at the four
walls
I'm so glad to CO." she cried,
so glad. Oh. my God. how l hate
this house,
So the brilliant and beautiful
lady went up with her husband to
New York. On the very train that
bore them away they quarreled-
her bitter words had the frequency.
the regularity. the inevitability Of
the stations they passed.
Don't be cross" begged Anthony
each other. after all"
We haven't even that, most OF
the time" cried Gloria.
When haven't We
a lot of times-beEinning with
one occasion on the station plat
form at Redgate."
You don't mean to say that"
No she interrupted cOolly. II
don't brood over it. 1t came and
weut-and when il went it took
something with it."
She finished abruptly. Anthony
sat in silence. confused. depressed.
The drab visions of train-side Ma
maroneck. Larchmont. Rye Pei
ham Manor. succeeded each other
with intervals of bleak and shOddy
wastes posing Intellectually as
country He found himself re-
membering how on one summer
morning they two had started from
New York in search Of happiness.
They had never expected to find
il. perhaps. yet in itself that quest
had been happier than anything
he expected fOrevermore. Life, Il
seemed must be a setting up Of
props around one-othewise il was
disaster. There was no rest, no
quiet He had been futile in long
ing to drift and dream: no one
drifted except to maelstroms, no
one dreamed. without his dreams
becoming fantastic nightmares OF
indecision and regret.
Pelham, They had quarreled in
Pelham because Gloria must drive.
And when she set her little foot
on the acCeleratOr the car had
jumped off spunkily. and their two
heads had jerked back like marion
cites worked by a single string.
The BrOnX-the houses gathering
and cleaning in the sun, which
was falling now through wide re-
fuicent skies and tumblinC cara
vans of light down into the streets.
New York. he supposed. was
homc-the city of luxury and
mystery. Of preposterOus hopes and
exotic dreams. Here on the out
skirts absurd stucco palaces reared
themselves in the cool sunset.
poised for an instant in cool un-
reality, CIidcd off far away. sue
Ccedcd by the mazed confusion Of
the Harlem River. The train
moved in through the deepening
twilight. above and past half a
hundred cheerful sweating streets
of the upper East Side. each one
passing the Csr-window like the
space between the spokes of a
gigantic wheel. each one with its
vigorous COlOrful revelation OF
poor children swarming in feverish
activity like vivid ants in alleys OF
red sand. From the tenement
windows leaned rotund. moon
shaped mothers. as consultations
"f this sordtd heaven: women like
dark imperfect jewels. women like
vegetables. women like great bags
Of abominabIy dirty laundry.
I like these streets" observed
Anthony aloud. Il always feel as
though it's performance being
staged for me; as though the
second I've passed they'll all stop
leapinE and laughing and. instead.
grow very sad. remembering how
poor they are, and retreat with
bowed heads into their houses.
You often get that effect abroad
hut seldom in this country"
Down in a tall busy street he
read a dozen Jewish names on a
line Of stores: in the door Of each
stood a dark little man watching
the passers from intent eyes-eyes
cleaning with suspicion. with
pride. with clarity. with cupidity,
with comprehension. New York
he could not dissociate il now
from the slow. upward creep of
this peOple-the little stores. grow
ing. expanding, consolidating. NOV
in-. watched over with hawks ewes
and a bep'S attention tp dataiI