New Britain herald., 1923-09-21
Why Madge Was Irouhied As She Read of ,snenjamin'


 do not knew how long l sat
 staring st the inscription in the novel
 I had picked ID, Medusa's head
 could have had no more psralyzing
 effect upon me for a little while than
 did the innocent looking words, "fo
 'Benjamin' with the authors grati,
 tude," decorating the. iy-leaf Of the
 presentation copy which pieky had
 left upon the table.
 The falling Of a stick in the grate reused me 10 realization that my sorry fire was out, With the instine.
 tive need Of work for my hands something which always comes 10 me in any mental erisis-i rebuilt it, Then, throwing all depression aside, I seixed the hook again, and began to read it. rapidly. feVerishly watching upon every page for indications that picky had sat consciously. or uneon. sciously. for the anthor's word picture Of his hero. Benjamin"
 had not long 10 wait From the hero's first entrance and the authors description Of him, suspected what further deying into the text only confirmed. Benjamin" was Dicky 10 the life as far as outward seeming went. had not dreamed that any one beside myself knew all his man nerisms and foibles so well.
 But the soul Of the man whom the novelist had described with a frank ness as brutal as his handling was briiliant--surely that did not belong to my husband
 Madge Is Frightened
 If were to believe that the novel, fist had gsuged Dicky's spiritual and moral qualities with the same un- canny accuracy which marked his portrayal of my Peter Pans physical and mental characteristics-the in- deed my world had crashed to ruin about me.
 For Benjamin" as portrayed by the author was as immoral and as devoid of the ordinary standards of life as he was fascinating. Portrayed in the book were two wives and a number of other women who had loved the hero. To each he had been | intensely devoted for a short time and over one description of Ben l jamin's wooing, l shivered as with q | chill, 1t brought back to my mind so vividly the tempestuous manner in which Dicky had swept me from my sedately ordered life and into mar riage with him.
 It was long past midnight when I finished the book--I had made no a tov ,t <n oor l,,I I | paid no attention to the really fine points of the authors style/of writing and his treatment of the characters --and when I closed it, I also closed my eyes in weariness and bewilder- ment which held more than a touch of stark fright.
 A Wise Determination
 For the book had ended in fantas- tic tragedy. faintly reminiscent of Sentimental Tommy and his collar button. But it had rounded out the portrayal of Benjamin as man at- tracting the love of all women, but !, incapable himself of any lasting pas- sion !,
 Was this, then, the real personal ,, tJ VI IiiC iAdi l Hdu IlldIIlcui anu L., who despite the many vicissitudes of our emotional life. I had believed to De my royal lover still?
 Useless to tell myself that the book |, vas only fiction, and that the novelist e lad drawn upon his imagination for everything but the outward charac , eristics he had so skilfully described The story had so obsessed me that I , vas incapable of anything save jeal- r 'us, unreasoning fear and anger. 7 There was but one drop of comfort . n the whole bitter cup. Nowhere in ' he book had the author described a F voman even remotely resembling me. 1, Only one glimmer of common , ense penetrated my swirling brain T torr1 I must not let Dicky guess hat had read the boork or had seen c he inscription. :, I rose from my chair. and walking Q the table from which I had picked p the book, scrutinized it carefully. 5 I had thought, I could see upon he cloth table cover the faint out a ne of the book, and I carefully re- it