The Washington herald., 1922-08-31
The Beautiful
And Damned
By r. Scott Fitzgerald.
co~ts..es from Ysstsrdav.


here the idea OF success must
grasp and limit his mind, II
seemed to him that the essential
slsuent In these men at the top
was their faith that their Affairs
were the very core of life. All
other things being equal. self-As-
surancs and opportunism won out
over technical knowledge: It was
obvious that the more expert work
went on near the Oottom-so. with
approximate efficiency. the :echni-
cal experts were kept there.
His determination to stay in at
night during the week did not sur
yfve. and a good half of the time
ne came to work with q splitting.
sIckish headache and the crowded
horror Of the morning subway
ringing In his ears like an echo OF
hell.
Their. abruptly, he quit, He had
remained In bed all one Monday.
and late in the evening. overcome
by one OF those attacks OF moody
despair &c which he periodically
succambed. he wrote and mailed a
letter to Mr.. Wilson. confess.nx
that he considered himself III
adapted to the work. Gloria. com
Ing In from she thester with Rich
ard Caramel. found him on the
lounge. silently staring at the high
ceiling. more depressed and dis
courased thar he had been at any
time since their marriage
She wanted him to whine. If he
had she would have reproached
him bitterly. for she was not
ilttIe annoyed. but he only lay
there 80 utterly miserable that she
felt sorry for him. and kneeling
down she stroked his head. saying
how little il mattered. how little
anything mattered so long as they
loved each other. IL was like their
drst year. and Anthony. reacting to
her cool hand. to her voice that
was soft as breath itse'f upon his
ear. became almost cheerful. and
talked with her of his future plans
He even regretted. silently. before
he went to bed that he had so
hastily mailed his resignation.
Even when everything seems
rotten you can't trust that judg-
Enent." Gloria had said. It's the
sum Of all your judgments that
counts"
In mid-April came a letter from
the real estate agent in Marietta.
encouraging them to take the gray
house for another year at a
slightly increased, rental. and en-
closing lease made out for their
d signatures. For week lease and
letter lay carelessly neglected on
Anthony's desk They had no in
tention of returning to Marietta
They were weary of the place. and
had been bored most of the pre-
ceding summer. Besides. their car
had deteriorated to a rattling mass
4 Of hypochondriacaI metal. and a
new one was financially inadvis-
able.
But because of another wild
revel. enduring through four days
and participated in. at one time or
another. by more than a dozen
people. they did sign the lease: to
their utter horror they signed IL
and sent it. and Immediately it
seemed as though they heard the
last. licking it's white chops and
waiting to devour Them.
Anthony. where's that lease 80
she called in high alarm one Sun
Gay morning. sick and sober to
reality. Where did YOU leave it?
1t was here
Then she knew where II was.
She remembered the house party
they Fad planned on the crest of
their exuberance; she remembered
room full of men to whose less
exhiiarated moments she and An
thony were OF no Importance. and
Anthony's boast OF the transcend
ent merit and seclusion of the
gray house. that IL was so isolated
that 4 DIDN'T matter how much
poise went on there Then Dick.
who mad visited them. cried enthu-
stastIrally that IL was the best lit
Tie mouse Imaginable, and that they
were idiotic not 70 take IL for an
other summer. IL had been easy to
WORK themselves up TO a sense of
how no, and deserted the city was
getting. OF now cool and ambrosia
were the charms Of Marietta. An
thony had picked ur the lease and
waved Z Wildly. found Gloria nan
ply acq=iascent. and with enc last
burst Of gs--ulous decision durinz z
which all the men agreed with
solemn hapdshakes that they world
come out for q visit.
Anthony" she cried. "we'va
signed and sent n.''
WHAT
The Ieaser
what the devIi"
"oh. Anthopyr' -sere ~ss utter
misery IN her voice. For the sum
\ nsr. .or eternity. they hsd bull:
themselves a prison. 1t seemed TO
strike mt tire las. roots OF their
stability. Anthony thoaGht they
might arrange Il with tie real e,-
tale agent They coeld mn longer
sfford .he double rent. and going
10 Ma-ietta meant giving no his
apartment. his reproachiess spart-
rent with the exquisite bath and
the -corns for which he had bouchr
his furniture and hangings-it was
the closest to a home that he had
ever had-fam!Iiar with memories
o. four coiorfu1 years.
Bot IL was not arranged with the
zeal estate agent. nor was ~ ar
ranged at all. DispirItedIy. with
out even any talk of msxine tnr
best Of II. without even Gloria's
Eii-sufficing II don't are thev
wen. back TO the house that thew
now knew Needed neither youth
nor love-oriy those austere ana
tncor,fnunicabie memories that th.y
could never share.
The stnIsfcr Summer.
There was 4 horror in tn. house