The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-02-25

A
~ the truth that duck pond has to the
open sea. Like the ocean the pond re-
fleets the blue sky, and in the same way,
suppose, all epigrams carry partial truth.
No doubt the duck finds his pond noble
stretch of water, and the maker of epigrams
is generally inclined to despise all other
forms of expression.
Jordan coined epigrams.
Otherwise he was a jovial fellow, but in
an argument he was, to be frank, an in
fernal nuisance. While one explained
theory and puffed it out with nebulous
thoughts until it began to float, Jordan sat
back with his hands folded, smiling serene
ly: but at the very critical moment when
that inflated balloon of theory was about
to leave the earth and soar to the clouds, he
popped out with an epigram that pricked
the bubble of an hours fine dreaming, and
in place of the noble balloon there remained
only some fluttering fragments
The shadows of thousand shattered
conversations surrounded Jordan. I've no
doubt they were to him what the scalps of
dead enemies were to Indians
Because he was SO amiable in many ways
/ never confided to Jordan my inner opin-
ion of his processes of thought, but finally
he passed the forbidden line and the anger
which I had been storing up for months,
like water behind a dam, l loosed upon
him in single burst
It was the old argument about the Rus
sian. | had carefully elaborated theory
that the Slav peasants are packed full of
energy, but the energy of the dreamer and
they require a severe jolt before they
awaken and translate their moods into con-
crete acts. l expounded all this to Jordan
at dinner in the club and he waited until
we settled down to chess game afterwards
before he fired his epigram, solid shot
that hit me between wind and water. He
did this Immediately after capturing my
queen with an impudent knight, and the
combination was too much for my self-re-
straint.
In word, let Jordan have it, and I
drove my opinion of him straight from the
shoulder. | might have known that he would
hear me with unbroken good humor.
As l finished, little red and putting,
he suggested that we refer the argument
to referee, and when / agreed we hailed
Marshall secretly think that Marshall in
clined toward Jordans point of view, but
he wouldn't commit himself.
"Heres lot of theory and not much
of fact" he said, ''but few minutes ago
l was introduced to a man who has been
in Russia. Suppose we go up to the din
ing room and find him?"
We followed him-I was rather glad to
discontinue that disastrous chess game
and in the dining room he led us toward
middle-aged man, and the moment I
saw his round, white face, knew him. 1t
was Jean Paul Meneval. At that time he
was quite unknown-which is, in a way,
the point of the story. A rare coincidence,
that meeting, for it made the third time
l had run across Meneval in widely sep
aratcd quarters of the earth-the first time
in Naples, again in Manila and in fash
ionable New York club!
He greeted in his usual unsmiling. earn
est manner, and as Stewart and he were
down to cheese and coffee, the rest of us
drew up chairs around the table. Marshall
announced the reason of our coming.
I've been in Russia said Meneyal in
that quiet voice of his, "but, of course
you can't expect me to settle an argument
on point $3.50 very inclusive It is
like prophesying the destiny of the Slav
isn't it,"
"Come," said Jordan, leaning forward
in his aggressive way, 1--WE aren't asking
for profound opinion. Put it this way:
l claim there's the touch of the brute
in the Slav-they have the brute mind,
the brute way-they go to extremes; they're
either blndly stupid or blindly violent