Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-09-09
One of Series of Evemg Public Ledger Original Short
on Married Life by the Best American Fiction Writers

II accept. I am gettin, ala
one does. Peter. I am willin. q
DID," -
She whispered now. "p.,.
even willing to diei H.
He pressed her closer. In. =
desolate helplessness had com. =
You, Peter--you are such
Peter How you shut your .,.s
fight! Trying to hold what ~.
held. And hating me becsu.. :
For I can't. Peter, I can'ti"
This a child' A strange china, u
q child. Since in children v ~.
dom: Was this wisdom A ..
revolt frightened his heart
But she was weeping ys,.,.
softly against his breast 3.
gathered her in his arm. - ~
this gesture felt a new lsr,. -
ness MI him. A tenderness " wb,ss y.
not only for her, but for NAM a a.a
for the whole world. Tn. 49,,
- - , rser'ns world which could NJ
sec straisht, which could not s.s ~.
which suffered dimly, in a sort s q -
N EAR the end Of the day. p.... \.
once moro alone in tbs ..Ss ~ "
M whas had passed in the sft.,n1.. &
ret something like embarr,,.n0
ehsnt distaste, that stranp. -.
% we feel whenever we have n.s. 49, 4
gesture gesture Of plumbing life's . .ma.,.s..
depths. As If there were sa....s. .u,0.'es
wrong about it, something u-s" -
as II life were meant to b. s'.Ell lly.s Va
surface. i'y On u
He felt the need of levity, 49,.
wnat' M perhaps, made him rem.mh.. 4.
ants; the ants which had been +. !. !
ginning Of the afternoon. 'a'
a slight breeze, ruflins n. Z,
naa pushed together the dust. IL. A..
ana the eggs in a uitiful desd s..s
against a. bank. a nue.
himself. ." ne aseNI
ne, and his wife had thi. d., ~
ono OF those complete circles ,s,s M
as II by some natural law. ,.cn...
almost at certain intervals -
s, state of hostility into which tb., ~
shipped through crisis, to a r.r.... i.
eentieness of each other. Tb.v ~
happy once more, Daisy and h. ny -.
what about the ants? Where d,d ~
come in! 1t was over their b.cl. ~
nad happened. They had paid "a, :
Didn't they connt at all?
An idea come to him. He r.i..d \.
face to tfe skies.
whenever he did this, senm...
painter that he was, he was much 40.
apt to visualize the old, familis, G,..s|
deities than any more abstract s,,,.|
and terrible god. So he did this NM
"A fog had come in from the y. . d
made low floor of the heavens. NJ
on that floor, Peter imagined ths ~
walking-Zeus. Hera, tho whole s,lsuj
democratic, familiar, with robes Ittl]
disordered and wreaths a little aSk,s.|
He hailed them. III n
"Heigh, up there. Zeus. Hera, vesu|
all OF you, tell me, please!
when, down here, the earth shsls|
mountains slide, or the sea overflow
when, down here, there is a Nail
flood, a San Francisco earthoush,]
when China dances and Saint Piens|
with one belch of its volcano is BLASTED
Does this mean, merely, that 81
there, where you dwell, soms snat
marital difficulty is being resolvedip \
But from the gray celing-celling n
him, floor to them-there came no o..
swer. whatever. So Peter ended I'd
day knowing not much more than n
had at the beginning. And in tll
state, smiling philosophical nuIA
turned his steps toward the house, N
the dinner which his good little VII
had there just put down for him.
Copyright. 1919. bp United Feature Sywlsds
! All y{0hfa - manned R.,ro6,,tIow n.nSiAisaA