Evening star., 1938-12-18

IllIlu IllS DdCk ana set the school re-
marking Rud's exceptional quality,
The New World Summer School
was fair sample of the continually
increasing chaff of mentally unset
tied people that was being win
moved out of the social order by the
advancing disorganization of the Pc
rlod. 1t was sort of lodgment of
Wind-driven minds in Granny of
the Yorkshire hills. They had one
thing in common, an enthusiasm for
progress. The New World Society
was pledged to progress in any d.
rection, to anywhere. and to any
idea about New World its mem
bers chose to entertain. 1t was of
all ages above IA and it included
everything from barely cryptic mud
lists to extremely woolly vegetarians,
and from single-taxers to Douglas
ties; there were Swedenborgians,
Spenglerites, modern spiritualists,
aberrant Fabians, seers and great
thinkers, teachers of all grades, sex
reformers, thoughtful people who
listened intently and never said
anything, professional and genuine
refugees from Nazi tyranny, Indian
nationalists and one Chinaman of
incomprehensible speech and conse-
quently unknown attribution, who
bowed very politely.
Hardy and Healthy Life.
The school led hardy, healthy
and extremely inexpensive life,
sleeping crowdedly in austerely sim
plified dormitories at night, and
eating in tumultuous refectories on
trestle-tables covered with marbled
white American cloth by day. There
was much walking and swimming,
table tennis, medicine-ball and bad
minton and a series of conferences
that it was bad form to cut alto
gether. There were a number of
young women, brightly rather than
over dressed, who supplied little
more than applause to the discus
sions, but manifestly appealed and
set themselves to appeal to the pair
ing instinct of mankind. One or
two of them decided to betray an
interest in Rud but he was wary
and unrespohsive. Chiffan after a
slight resistance lit up and re-
sponded almost too much.
Rud never discovered who was
running the assembly. There was
a secretary. an anxious looking spec
tacled lady of the headmistress type
whose name he never learnt, who
stood up and made proclamations
and stuck up notices, and there was
an omnipresent white-bearded old
gentleman in state of earnest in
activity, who may have been her
husband. And there was something
that met somewhere called the COM
mittee. The essential interest for
Rud was score of nuclear individ-
uals, who did seem to be trying to
shape out some sort of ideas about
the current world drama and the
roles they might have to play in it.
Chiffan made rapid and quite plaus-
ible estimates of their quality and
Rud concentrated upon them to
learn and impress.
1t was not that he was Indifferent
to the sexual stir that was going on
around him. Indeed he was acutely
aware of it, but his habits and in
stinct in these matters were be-
coming increasingly solitary and Sc
cretive He did not like to give
himself away to a fellow creature
even amorously. He made no ad-
vances and no responses. He
wouldn't go near the bathing pool
or look a girl in the face if he could
help it. He was acutely jealous and
at the same time contemptuous Of
Chiffan's gallantries and Of all the
other scarcely masked love affairs
in progress.
Nevertheless he showed off as
brilliantly as he could in the meet
ings.
Growing Admiration.
Chiffan sat and listened with a
growing admiration while Rud, who
had only the most rudimentary and
casual ideas about the whole busi-
ness, three days ago, now not only
repeated but expanded and filled
in and rounded off what he had
picked up in their conversations.
Chiffan watched the bulging fore
head and the pugnacious profile
with an almost parental interest
and kept up a sotto voce indorse-
ment to the sentences that came
clear and emphatic from Rud's de-
termined mouth.
"You can't deal with money ques-
tions in this way" said Rud in the
magisterial tones of one who had
studied the subject for years. you
can't do it like that. Before you can
begin to talk about money, you
must settle in your mind what you
mean by property-for money is
only a ticket for property-and be-
fore you can talk about property
you must have made up your mind
about the social system you want.
How much private property Is there
to be? What can be bought? What
can be sold?"
Hear, hear!" became audible
from Chiffan.
Talk every time you can" said
Chiffan late that night and with
the manner of trainer. Its all
YOU can do here"
"As long as they listen,' said Rud.
They'll listen to you,' said Chif-
fan.
Rud displayed no gratitude for
Chiffan's aid and support. He took
Chiffan as matter of couSe. He
was always to take Chiffan as a
matter of course. He trusted him,
he relied upon him; he expected
everything from him and gave moth
ing in return. He took credit to
himself for everything Chiffan
taught him or told him to do. That
was Rud's way with life and 1t
worked very well for him. 80.
When Rud was disposed to guy
the Swedenborgian's account OF the
Master as Socialist, Chiffan kicked
him on the ankle.
Afterwards Rud discussed that
,.1 -,:4L roxoa 1oot UNoyor ridi =