The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 8, 1900, Page 5

THE SUNDAY CALL. = Qertrud - Washington politicians. Some quite un conversations pass between mother and aughter upon the matter that, while no By 3. qg. oCafthP‘ particularly edifying, will doubtless prove interesting to our English cousing who % RS ERTRUDE FRANKLSN to swallow such remarks ON has gone into pol h. For example the fol ) B prcg o r « e world T hs of her puppets. CosYy CarRNER IN HALL OF ©L-b ATHERTON HOME they the ad ce” were to wh a discriminating Almight To ber the entire . servants, entitled to ail kind- P M ness %o long as they kept their place, but to be ! g in . stepped on the moment they pre- 2 - sumed. "Ehe recoiled In growing disgust from d 1 this girl with the hidden drop of black in her to North for advige, and 8 ¥ ng the impulse of duty brings the er Book two is taken up senings in_the Adirondacks, mily admi summer’ tion of 1 into love and are inpleasant position of a f the other's affection hei £ expressed in that there can be lit- I s in 189 ations; for Mrs. ’ is in np particu- rity of American men demise. ' The fi - e gl »00k is unique and w rth are taking a r »on_the the conversation bas turned upon affairs of the heart: % Do you love now?”’ she broke out “Is there a woman In your life? Some one who makes you happy 7’ The sn eft his lips. It was too much to say that had been in hig ey but they chanzed als There is T Why 4 1 in my life, as you put Beca the I They regarded arely. In a soment #ald Che greatest the t to happiness that I in the past few » v t ag months bas been dship with you. It 7 2 mane Of waies .k Teee free. X iy love to you. It = reaches the vt | you il have tbe A% S oo o ¢ - mviction pappiness #o great as to be your husband. I L n girl to myself dreaming of it and over be B political and and over again. -But as it is 1 am not going * by her decision to take to make love 10 you. When the strain becomes cestions of o great I shall leave you. Unill then—ah, e o don’t!"” Betty, who had dropped her head when he began to sneak, had raised it slowly, and her face concealed nothin “L, too. love yow,” she sald in a moment. I love you, I love you, If you know what a relief it is to say it. That is the reas I would not go up into the forest with you just n I was afraid. 1 haye been with you there too often.” For the first time she saw the muscles of his face re she o T face with her hands * she sald, 1s ve made it He dia nutes. Then he said: Can you do without what we have?’ Oh, no!"* she said passionately. ‘‘Oh, mo! Nor can T—without the hope and the pros- pect of an occasional hour with u, of -the sympathy and understanding whic wn u en us. 1 have conquered m any linquished many hopes. a thini at cont, pped her hai fYer anything, I lo_without y east thing that &h fore. 1 wa i1 can't e b 1 r speak like this again, but w. 1f you love me you = rible it is. I am not a chi be said, and for a few moments more, but looked down into the “In dealing with methodical scoundrels you know at least where you are. A man ang woman can mever be too certain of what five minutes will bring forth. ‘That ends it. We will never discuss the question again umtil 1t comes up for the last time—if it does. I do not mean that I shall not tell you again that 1 love you, for I shall. I have no desire that you shall forget it. I mean that we will not discuss possibilities again or.give expression to the passionate regret we must both feel. Is it a compact?* I will keep my part of it.' T promise to be good. I have prided myself on my intelligence. T am not going to disgrace it by ruining the only happiness I shall ever have. I love you and will prove it by making your part as easy as I can and by giving you all the happiness T am permitted to.* He leaned toward her for the first time, but he did not touch her. And 1 promise you this, my darling,’’ he said softly you should ever be in great trouble and should send for me—as of courss do—I will promise to take vou in and forget myself. Now changs seats with me and I will row you part of the way h I shall get out a half-mile from t sfel. There was really no reasoh why vou should have made me walk nearly the en- tire t 3 ngth of the lake.” Meantime Jack Emory and Betty's un- fortunate half-sister Harriet have been ly without h sec marriec having been informed of her dreadful secret. ~Their ‘marriage, through the curiosity of a pry- ing housekeeper, becomes known, and one nig rrist, who has been worked up toa religlous frenzy through a camp meeting in the neighborhood and i ed with the fear that some one else will tell her husband her secret commits the fatal or of telling him herself. Here is a chance for the pen of Mrs. Atherton to give us a really dramatic situation, to describe this scene between husband and wife—the woman drunk with religious re- i \/HERE THE ATHERTON MNrs. GERTRUDE ATHERToOMN.. I am not a beltever In people parting because they can’'t have everything,” he continued finaily Tt s only the very young who do that. They take the thing tragic the con- flict of § appointment tramples down common If love is the very best thing in life it is r e only thing. Every time 1 have seen you 1 have wanted to take you in my arms and yet I have enjoved every moment spent in your presence. The thought of giving you up is intolerable. We are both old enough to control ourselves. And I be- lleve that any habit can be acquired “And will you never take me in your arms? Have I got to go through life without that? 1 must say everything to-day—I will row out into the middle of the lake if you like, but X must know that." “You can stay here. There are cert things that no man can.say, Betty, even to tne nost loved and trusted of women. The only wer that I can make to your question 1s I find that I must leave you I shail take you in my arms once.” u sorry 1 told you loved you? Would it be easier if I had not?" Probably. But I am not sor: give happiness “xpression of 1t “I never Intended to tell you. 1f T did you would leave me at once.” “So I should if you were not—you. But I should think myself a fool if T did not make an attempt to achieve the second best. I may fafl, but T shall try. And life is made up of Love can even when one is denied tne 1 was afraia are more certain of smashing the she said with the humor which never bore repression for long. FAMILY USED TOLIVE " 1950 CALIFORNIA - ST, and fears its power. The conflict in her mind and her ultimate decision is written with characteristic Athertonism: Even for him Betty reflected that she could not endure vulgar goesip, and wondered how any high i woman could for any man. For w ilization mea she have its highest adyan- tages are not wiser than the mob? And unless & woman is ready to go and live in a cave she cannot be happy in the loss of the world's re- it ¢an make her uncomfortabls in a thous » ways. Expediency is the root of all It is stupid to be unmoral, and that is the long and short of it. I would marry him to-morrow, if I had to cook for him, if he were dishonored by his country, if he were suddenly smitten with ill-health and couid never walk again. I am willing to go through life alone for his sake, even without seeing after he is dead and gone. I love him f there is another world I there. But I am not willing to pariah on his aceount.” - permitted her mind to linger t of a different relation- deliberately. She knew that what her ad intimated was the happ to be got out of it would amount to very little, and that the day would come when she would say it was not worth the price. There were as not capable of ning coldly on this Subject, but she had been listening to Senator Firench on the restriction of immigration. and fer mind any times when t all intelle turned to Harrie was a creaturs foredoomed to destruction y the f with g fn vatm, assisted and gua uld she, with her inherit forces within and without kne world ¥ erv not_only wear down, shatter the ideals of herselt and him. would be infinitely more miserable than now It relieved her to have thought that phase sl i TECCETTERERL O] e Atherton's New Book, Senator Nerth, Which Is Soon to Be Published %5 marry Burleigh. She made up her mind in- abl She would fight as long as she for she passi live her 3 alone wit 5 Burleigh thought. Betty drew a cool at last, were Gead, it felt nearly dri pendently of her wh . like other facult citement, nervous pain. The impulse had risen uneritfeized from her heart, once it could would be full ¢ ms, racket of its sad ndignant r who dared to set ccompantment was foterable 1 that had b > her con- forced fr n " mpan 1 be fed very device should support it propitious circumstance. Again and in the Semate w ! experience this f Cuba as a reput e blood W but & war ¢ 100 of the dark parlor minded = x for an excuse to b bed The story has a conventional end! The death of Mrs. North is_opport announced, and of course the sequel is easy to guess. “htspering, Aside from the narrative and the study vice Pres of the characters involved the reader will = B t him in the p cal t the wide nd espec ¢ chatre and Agd e Washington. T fair idea of the a of great men an On Thursd moments but never as natists’ g ery all night and wome When the Senate the ¢ Dle. ridor there statues @ in their seats that the for the Senators Representattve cal n_the congrat upon tk United twenty annou; drew on the ar the marble ol tiring Preside very republican Cleveland, w ing what he umbrella. Th accerd pronov good-looking as he amiable and new Vice Pre and after the proclamation fo Serators were swor how any man would d oath. e women Betty, whn had fu that she knew & year's appilcat Books Receilved. of a Quack” by The Century Com- morse and fanaticilsm and the man torn between conflicting emotions of love for his wife and proverbial Southern hatred of the blood that flows in her veins. Un- fortunately the mere fact is brought out that Harriet has told him and that he has rushed out into the night and is gon M Atherton has missed a splendid op- portunity to do €ome of the powerful writing of which she is perfectly capable. In fact, the story of Harriet and Emory could form a book in itself, and a most interesting one at that. As it is, there are some very strong scenes presented in the tragedy of their lives, and the character of Harriet—a strange blend of good and evil—is remarkably well drawn. Betty returns to Washington and estab- lishes a salon, where she receives all the nation’s representatives and political dis- cussions run rife. She is much aged by subsequent happenings in the depiorable marriage of her cousin and half-sister— which it is well to leave for Mrs. Ather- ton to tell—and upon being criticized by her mother for her conduct with Senator North decides to marry Burleigh, who has been pressing his suit. She feels that she is not strong enough to resist forever her feelings toward North and that she must gn away. Mrs. Atherton has done some ne work in plausibly presenting the evo- lution in the personality of her- heroine from the cold-blooded, intellectual young ‘Washington soclety belle to the woman who learns to know what love really is out, and she put it asi But the other! Must she give him up? ' What pleasure could she find in sitting here with him if her mother's apprehensive mind did not leave the room for a moment? What pleasure if a vulgar world was whispering? She reflected” with some bitterness that one danger was receding. F room since the day of her return. Although he had called_several times he had come in the evening, when she always sat with her mother, or in the morning, whea Mrs. Madison was again sure to be Dresent. She knew that he dared not come here and that it was more than likely he would never call at the old hour again. She realized these two facts suddenly and vividly, for her mind worked with a brutal franknéss at times. She began to cry heavily, the tears raining on her intellectual mood and obliterating it. If she were not to see him alone again she might as well ask him to oniy come to the house on Thursday evenings and to show her no gttention in pubilc; if she could not have the old hours again she wanted noth- ing less. And she wanted them passionately. Those hours came back to her with a poing nancy of happiness in memory that the present had not revealed, and the thought that they had gone forever filled her with a suffocating anguish that was as compiete as it was sudden She implored him under her breath to come to her: then prayed that he would not. She became conscious that she was ifi a mood to take any step, were he here, rather than lose him, and the mood terrified her. Would the time come when this intoler- able ovain would kill every inheritance in her brain, its empire the more absolute because it made passion itself insignificant in the more terrible want of the heart? If it did she would 1 not entered this object her first a which may sor The Presid diplom:; message he w medie t and no faster. President was rushed his hand was for An K country was clamoring. hammering Ms ot the do and shrieking in Congress. on s was inflaming it and of the world executive ar houses: and tracting every it looked as if asunder by Mr. Bi be unified once more. President's calm and fmpers the Maine report, acted iike a m of bad boys who had not been tauzht the fir principles of breeding and dignity: the few gentlemen in 1t hardly tried to make themselves heard, and even the Speaker was powerless to quell & couple of hundred tempers all rampant