The Washington herald., 1922-09-26
The Beautiful
And Damned
Continued from Yesterday.
By F. Scott Fitzgerald

NHe lOWeSt tOuEln OF neT CLASS l"O
days before he died. At high school
she had enjoyed a rather unsavory
reputation. As matter of fact
her behavior at the class picnic.
where the rumors started. had been
merely indiscreet-she had re.
tanned her technical purity until
over a year later. The boy had
been a clerk in a store on Jackson
street. and on the day after the
Incident he departed Unexpectedly
to New York He had been intend
ing to leave for some time but had
tarried for the consummation of his
amorOus enterprise.
After a while she confided the ad-
venture to a girl friend. and later.
as she watched her friend disac-
pear down the sleepy street of
dusty sunshine she knew in fash
of intuition that her story was GO
ing out into the world. Yet after
telling it she felt much better. and
q little bitter. and made as near
an approach to character as she
was capable of by walkin" in an
other direction and meC ting an
other man with the honest inten-
tiOu of gratifying herself again. As
a rule things happened to Dot. She
was not weak. because there was
nothing in her to tell her she was
being weak. She was nor strong.
because she never knew that some
Of the things she did were brave.
She neither defied nor conformed
nor compromised.
She had no sense of humor. but
to take it's place. a happy disposi-
tion that made her laugh at the
proper times when she was with
men She had no definite in
tcutiOns-sometimes she regf cited
VagueIy that her reputation, pre-
c!'Ided what chance she had ever
had for security. There had been
no open discovery: her mother was
interested only in starting her off
on time each morning for the jew
clry store where she earned s14
week But some Of the boys she
had known in high school now
looked the other way when they
were walking with nice girls" and
these incidents hurt her feelings.
When they occurred she went home
auj cried.
Besides the jackson street clerk
there had been two other men. of
vhom the first was a naval officer.
who passed through town during
tn" early days Of the war He had
stayed over night to make a con-
Hertion. and was leaning idly
s=ainst ono Of the pillars of the
Stonewall Hotel when she passed
hy He remained in town four days.
Sh" thought she loved him-lavished
"r him that first hysteria Of passion
that would have gone to the pusil-
Luminous clerk. The naval officers
uuJtorm-there were few OF them
ia those days-had made the magic.
He left with vague promises on his
lips and. once on the train. re-
jniced that he had not told her his
real name.
Her resultant depression had
thrown her into the arms OF Cyrus
Fielding. the son of a local clothier.
who had hailed her from his road
ster one day as she passed along
the sidewalk. She had always
known him by name. Had she been
born to a higher stratum he would
have known her before. She had
descended a little lower-so he met
her after all. After a month he
. d
little afraid Of the intimacy. a lit
lie relieved in perceiving that she
had not cared deeply for him. and
that she was not the sort who
would ever make trouble. Dot ro-
manticizrd d this affair and conceded
." her vanity that the war had
taken these men away from her.
She told herself that she could have
th"less. it worried her that within
'i=ht months there had been three
men ia her life. She thought with
tU"re fear than wonder in her heart
that she would soon he like those
bad girls on Jackson street at
whom she and her Sum-c chewing.
=i=CiinC friends had stared with
fascinated Elances three years be-
fore.
For while she attempted to he
more careful. She let mon pick
her Up.' she let them kiss her. md
even allowed certain other ibcrtics
To be forced upon her but she did
not add TO her trio. After several
months tho strength of her resolu-
i"n-or rather the poignant expe-
dIcncy Of her fcars-was worn
away. She grew restless browsing
there out Of life and time while
IN" summer months faded. The
soldiers she met were either obyi-
ouSly below her or. less obviously.
above her-in which case they de-
sired only to use her: they were
Yankees. harsh and unEracious.
they sWarmed in large crowds.
And then the met An
thouy.
On that first evening he had been
little more than a pleasantly nm
happy face. voice. tn. means of
which to pass an hour. but when
she Kept her engagement with him
"n saturday she regarded him wi.h
cons Iteration She liked him. In
knowingly she saw her own traS-
cdi"S U'rrored in his face.
Again they went to the movies
again they wandered along the
s'7d"wN. scented streets. hand IN
hand this time. speaking little
~ HuSh"d voices. They passed
'Hr"u-h th" Eate-uP toward the
Futile porch
~ "'n stay awhile. can't L"
she whispered. we've GOT
Z" nr very quiet. Mother sits IN
reading "Suapry stories" In con-
f'U"tI"u nc heard the faint crack
Inns lu>'dc as a page was turned.
III" "p"n-Shuttcr Sits emitted hor-
Iz"rta' rods Of light that fell in
tom parallels across Dorothy's
skirt Th,. street was silent sa re
for Il group on the steps of a house
across the way. who. from time to
time raised their voices in a sort.