San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-03-18


You're a grand old man. Dom
inie." said he. Lets go"
We went. We found Barbran. We
conversed. Half an hour later when
| left them-thcy were deeply en-
crossed in a mutual discussion upon
decorations. religion. the high cost OF
living. free verse, two-cent transfers,
Charley Chaplin. aviation. and other
equally safe topics Did l say safe:
Dangerous is what | mean. For when
| Il youth who is as homely as young
Phil Stacey and in that particular
style OF LONELINESS and a girl who is
as far from homely as Barbran begin.
at first sight. to explore each others
opinions. they are venturing into a
dim and haunted region, lighted by
will-o'-the-wisps and beSet with perils
and pitfalls.
Phil Stacey some three days there
after came to my rooms.
'Dominie,' said he. Il want TO tap
your library. Have you got any OF the
works of Harvey Wheelwright -
"Love forfend," said /.
Phil looked surprised. rs it as
bad as that? l didn't suppose there
was anything wrong with the stuff"
Don't you imperil your decent
young soul with it," I advised earn
estly. 1T reeks of poisonous piety.
The world he paints is SO full of
nauseating virtues that any self-re-
speeding man would rather live in
Hades. No such people as his char
acters ever lived or ever could live.
because a righteOusly enraged popu-
lace would have killed 'em in early
childhood. He's the smuggest fraud
and best seller in the United States.
Wheelwright? The crudest. shrewd-
est, most preposterous panderer TO
weak minded"
"Whew, Help. I din't know what
was starting" protested my visitor.
"As literary critic you're some Big
Bertha, Dominic. / begin to suspect
that You don't care an awful lot
about Mr.. Wheelwright's style Of
composition. Just the same, I've got
TO read him. All of him. Do you
,b;r,l- T;1T f;,J lie e,,ff -, H. Dnnn,
Circulator:"
MY poor. lost boy. Probably
not. 1t is doubtless all out in the
hands of eager readers
However. Phil contrived to round
it up somewhere. The awful and un-
suspected results | beheld on my first
visit of patronage to Barbran's eel
lar, the occasion being the formal
opening. \ large and curious crowd
of five persons, including myself and
Phil Stacey, were there. Outside, an
old English design of a signboard
with a wheel on it creaked despair
ingly in the wind. Below was a le-
gend: AT the Sign of the Wheel
The Wrightery.' The interior of the
cellar was decorated with scenes from
the novels of Harvey Wheelwright.
triumphant virtue, discounted vii
lains. benignant blessings, chaste en-
braces. edifying death-beds and
orange blossoms. They were I'M
signed; but well knew whose was
the shame. Over the fireplace hung
framed letter from the Great Soul.
1t began, Dear Young Friend and
Admirer." and ended, yours for the
Light. Harvey Wheelwright.'
The guests ate and drank every
thing in sight. They then left; that
is TO say, four of them did. Finally
Phil departed, glowering at me. ]
am patient soul. No sooner had
the door slammed behind him that ]
turned TO Barbrain, who was looking
discouraged
well. what have you to say in
your defense:'
The way Barbran's eyebrows went
up constituted in itself a defense fiji
to move any jury TO acquittal.
For WHAT" she asked.
For corrupting my young frienJ
Stacey. You made him paint those
pictures"
They're very nice" returned Bar
bran demurely. quite true to tn,
subject"
They're awful. They're an of
tense to civilization. They're an in
suit to Our Square. Of all subjects
in the world, Harvey Wheelwright
Why, Barbran? Why? Why? Why
Business said Barbran.
Explain, please" said ].
81 got the idea from a friend o
p mine in Washington Square. She go
i W a little cellar cafe built aroun'
= Alice. Alice in Wonderland, yo,
know, and the Looking Glass. Thoug
e | don't suppose a learned and seri
i Gus person like you would ever hav
y read such nonsense"
1T happened to be Friday an
= there wasn't a hippopotamus in tn
+ house" | murmured.
y "Oh," said Barbran. brightenin,