The Richmond Virginian., June 30, 1910, CITY EDITION, Image 14

About The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920

Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

                
IAN PHONES:
JUNE 30
JUNE 30
PRICE OP VIRGINIAN
Par Copy, City Edition.... la.
Per Copy, SUto Edition.... 2o
By Mail, Ona Yanr.tt.OO.
the Virginian Follow You.
you intend leaving Richmond for a vacation.
The Virginian sent daily to your cottage
I. You may then enjoy the mountain
air and at the same time keep in
touch with all that is happening in the
State, and country—political, social,
sporting circles.
EVERY DAY EXCEPT SUNDAY
BY
THE RICHMOND VIRGINIAN COMPANY. ta»
“ iMI Fl W MEEK.BusImot Mw
B. WOOPF1N.Msoasiac Mw
ViiflnlHi tt. M,..| Oovenor .r. l Ron Stre.t«
. . . . VIRGINIA
Daily am year. postal* paid.,.M CO
Daily a* aweths, pxwUcr p»-d...E*-1*1
Daily tkrse months. posts** paid.M-00
„teret as second-class matter. January Jl. ]®10, a*
postoffice at Hlchmond, Va, under act ot March a.
JOHN *W. DANIEL
Perhaps the central note about the character
.-4 personality of Senator John Warwick Dan
, h>l «n that he whh a virile survival. Men make
nepoehs. but epochs, as a rule, clutch the men
p gave them form ami substance. When the
mile is varied, the exception i« at once of in
finite charm and limitless power. A h reneb
trb run*: “Ah, Youth, if it only knew 1
Age, if it only could l” Senator Daniel
fjltlacw the past, lie was of it. He knew the pro
t, So less was he of it. He was a living transl.i
lion of classic days without b< ing a metnoir <>f
i&ad times, lie had the rare quality, as few men
in history have ever pswtiwl it, of passing,
through a crisis without 1 icing swallowed by it- ,
lie was dominated only b\ purpose. He passed |
^ftfOiu one purpose attained to another; he rose i
«n the w’f-ck of on<* purpose m grapple with
another anew. There was never the flicker to]
hi* courage; there was never in his life or bear
ing evidenced a drop of the acid of defeat.
It thus happened that in the Ended States;
(Senate he gave to the Nation a servant who
vision* d forth that broad* r spirit of statesman-:
ship which animated ami expressed the “Old i
South,’’ but also one who saw clearly the record of
ami in tine faith ami entire met worked j
frhfn the promises of one era to the adjustments,
of another; who never compromised, but avoided:
the vice of the stubborn; and who, respected!
by the .Nation, carried to its counsels an ability !
;,ihat was softem <1 by courtesy and an aggro*
to which a masterful diction lent point
.-|^raua.«ion.
ifiwwhere in this paper is printed as fully
h may be tho story of a life that embraced war,
<tnd learning, statesmanship, and polities, times
m strife, times of peace, victories, defeats, reali
■ rations, disappointments. To the cud the man
carried with him the hearing and the eye of
unquenchable youth; the eye that flashed ;*t
i.-Eirst Alamis-a- gleamed with the same lustre a]
^generation and a half later in Washington; the.
Wound*d hip with which he sank to the ground j
in the Wilderness, Still in his age was noticed
only tilt one heard his voice ami caught his
glance. The voice that could break with the
silver melodics of water flowing over rocks was
t responsive .to a brain that, div erted with the
details of half a dozen lives packed into one,
|csould still leave to the in-»t exacting of profes
niotis one of its recognized standard authorities,
ht'art that had so often all but broken,
lid flam* again, and yet again, always on fir*,
v,always tender, always brave.
There is a lesson in such a life beyond the
honors that he won. at first hardly, afterwards as
Ifl the tributes of a grateful people t<> « grand obi
J|Ktan: the lesson of the purity of conviction;
the lesson of sweetness without surrender; the
LJejjsV *i* of tiie yoiithfuluiiss of hoj*e and the sure
«»f faith.
Even in tin- final victory of Nature there is
|p the lesson of the will that in its superb defiance
Upheld even - Death itself at arm's length, refusing
the ease of capitulation till the moment when
Fate, touched with pity, closed the eyes of virtue
uquerable.
SCHOOL BOOKS.
The adoption by the State Board of Kuuea
Ition of the ‘‘Single Book” system is a forward
'{Hep toward uniformity and economy in the
JState’s educational system. ,\ot only does the
l-lppltiple list system tend to impost- increase*i
Ifelpense for school books upon the parents of
ldreu moving from one school to another, but
also to greatly increase the cost at which
P books themselves are sold. I 'nder n system of
fition whereby a particular !>ook on a particu
si|bjeot is awarded to a particular house,
^manifest that the price at which the book
lean sell the book in question will b<- figured
ta wholesale basis; whereas, in cas, the books
[several houses are adopted, the decreased mtm
wbioh each can sell will cause each to place
at a higher [trice.
estimated that, not considering this ad
of the single book system, the saving
>ple will be $250,000 upon the pjesen'
book adoption. The estimate is no doubt
in money; when the saving in irritation
idhred, it becomes trivial.
ttly with the maintenance of schools
t modern standards, every effort to minimiz*
book worry is due the people. If th<
the occasional Roosevelt family could
the array of school books would bo
ling and pathetic. Readers by the
cties by tlie dozen; geographies m
ppmain to clutter the ground over
feet have passed, through which
have stumbled. Even to the
well-to-do tins constant buying and rebuy
ing if a grave annoyance; to the poor ambitiousi
for their children it frequently means real hard i
ship. occasionally the real tragedy of stomachs
empty that brains may be led.
Anything minimizing this popular affliction i«i
an act of practical patriotism.
SECTIONAL ACUMEN.
Hie Interstate Comeree Commission is again j
reducing rafts—in the West.
Reductions ranging from 20 to 30 per cent i
have lain declared on classes of commodities be
tween the Mississippi and the Coast and other j
large reductions la'tween the ('oast and the Moun- '
tuitions Districts.
This action probably means that there is some
where a conspicuous defect in the railroad argu
ment that i norm si -s in wages and in operating
expense have resulted in a greater proportionate
<lfcrease in net than increase in gross earnings.
In other words, it is a finding against the rail-'
road contention that good times <k> not mean for j
railroads increased prosperity except at the cost
of increased rates.
So far as the particular decisions are concern-1
ed, they reflect popular sentiment. In hard I
times, the railtoads are the first to say 'hat. they,
ate merely the reflectors of the country-wide con
ditions of business ; that, with business lax, they j
suffer, and'therefore, although business is less;
able to pay the toll, they ought to be given
the privilege of raising prices on transportation
lsitfi of persons and freight. In good times, there I
i- strangely enough an absence of railroad ela
tion. The plea then is that such prosperity as
exist- in the country is the result of the railroad.-,
and at th< cost of the railroads. Although they
have more business to do, it costs them more to
do it. Consequently, they ought to he entitled to
maintain, and even to increase rates. It, is gen
erally, in fact—good times or bad—a ease be
tween railroad and public of White Man, Turkey, j
Indian, Turkey Buzzard!
We regret, however, to note a sectional quality
in the acumen of the Interstate Commerce Com
mission in analyzing this almost self-evident
condition. They reject the railroad pleas so
far as the West i- coma-rued; they sustain them,
when the section affected happens to be the
South. In one leading decision, in fact, the Com
mission even went so far as to sustain a high
Southern rate on the candid ground that, by vir
tue of it. New England manufacturers of cot
ton were able to compete at an advantage over
their Southern competitors in shipments of man
ufactured goods to the Orient. In another re
cent ease, it rendered a decision in which it was
seriously suggested that Congress pass a law un
der the Commerce Clause by which authority to
fix intrastate rates would be taken away from
State rate commissions.
On account of these facts; it is interesting to
note that a general Congressional election is to
the fore; that the Insurgents are militantly ram
pant in the West, and that railroad rates consti
tute the greatest of their demands which have
not already bmi definitely denied by a Repub
lican administration.
Is the "barrel" which it is hoped will once
more save the West to the Republican party to be
contributed,—- unit n*. nils tut,—by railroads whose
rules are unpopular in the Republican section
now in revolt; while equally unpopular rates
are to be permitted to be retained in the South,
where the Republican party hopes to hold such
existenei as it lias alive bv continuing a tax upon
the ]ample '(
The railroad rati is a prism that catches more
j colors the more i .- confusing facets are turned
before the eye.
HUMAN SNAKES.
Referring yesterday to the pending trial of K.
•E. l’owell, of North Carolina, we expressed a
fear <d' the jury which had been selected to pittw
upon the cast’, which fumed upon the issue of
(insanity, on account of the prevailing practice
of selection from large venires of men who are
supposed by the defense to be temperamentally
j favorable to the prisoner. As is the case in the
| majority of States, North Carolina law gives the
[defense practically the privilege of selection by
i virtue of the fact that in capital eases it has, in
’addition to many outworn common law grounds
j of challenge, the privilege of poremptorialy clial
j longing no less than twenty-four of ytho venire
nun. 1’nder these circumstances, with a cloud
[of wilnesMs ready to testify to the prisoner’s
insanity, an acquittal, hail the ease been fought
to a finish, was all hut a foregone conclusion.
Howell’s crime, however, was of so flagrant a
1 character, and so much of the evidence of his
insanity consisted of opinion from laymen tha*
ho wii.i irrational when under the influence of
!drink, that it was determined to plead guilty to
!murder in the second degree. Under the cir
,cumstances, this was doubtless the cautious pTN^
! f’<>r the defense, and acceptance the part of cau
tion by the State. So many murderers have
recently been acquitted, not only in North C'aro
[lina, hut throughout the country, that the op
]sirtunity to temporarily imprison an enemy of
' society is one which a prosecuting officer can
|not in these days lightly ignore.
There is, however, in the acceptance of the
second degree verdict the vice of com promise.
.Juries are permitted by the courts to return such
,-t verdict when there is not a single phase of
evidence logically to support it. Prosecuting of
ficers and Judges accept a tender* d plea of
guilty of second degree murder, when all Iho
[evidence indicates murder with malice afore
thought. In the broader view this course is un
fair both to society and to the criminal on trial
for his life. In the ease of society it spreads the
I unfortunately true impression that murder
I means, at most, imprisonment 6f the murderer,
lit therefore gives the criminal a chance to gamble
i
with the life of another, Making aguinst that life
not his own but an indefinite sacrifice of his
liberty. In the case of the prisoner, it not in
frequently puts him to the disadvantage of con
viction of murder in the second degree by a jury
which is confronted with the alternative!# under
the evidence and the law of convicting or acquit
ting of murder in the first degree. In such case the
jury, bv compromising, denies the State the bene
fit of its theory and denies the prisoner the right
of his defense.
In this connection we note the statement of
.Judge Holt, of New York, that an habitual, in
corrible enemy of society should be solemnly
adjudged to la* put to deuth. It. is true that, like
many Northern men. he applied this statement
chiefly to lynchers, and Southern lynchers, for
getting that lynching is not now, if it ever was,
a typical Southern crime. That, however, was
merely injecting prejudice into common sense,
and the fact remains that what is needed is a new
principle which will distinguish between those
mental maladies which take pernicious homi
cidal form and those which merely incapacitate
their victims. A snake is an egomaniaoseongem
ing his own venom. It venomous in fact, he is
an enemy of society whom society should de
stroy. This is, perhaps, hard on the snake, but
it is a fair estimate of values. Should the same
principle lie applied to the human snake apt at
any moment to strike the unsuspecting from the
grass, there would be less inclination in the crim
inally inclined population to kill first and de
velop a mania for killing afterwards.
( LAP-TRAP CHITRCH METHODS.
Synchronously with the heated season the aver
age pastor discovers that church attendances fall
in inverse ratio to the rise of the, mercury in
the ttil:>e. Jf he is wise, he views this manifesta
tion with a more or less good humoured philoso
phy, mingled, if he he very wise, by judicious
variation in service and sermon calculated to
combat the enervating effects of the temperature.
If he be himself a man to be made choleric with
the heat, he makes the mistake of fuming with
himself and his congregation, so that the one be
comes still hotter and the other disappears in
search of a less heating exercie. But, if ho be
really silly, there will be generally found in him
the type of minister who with cherubic faith
and wasted optimism seeks to apply the show
man's proverb to the church, and declaring, " I he
people must la* amused”, attempts to do so with
out the aid either of training or temperament.
The inevitable result is a transient rush to see
the new show, and a corresponding slump into
an even more profound lethargy.
We do not, know why this tradition prevails.
If it has ever succeeded, we have not heard ol it,
even so far as attaining the particular end de
sired. So far as accomplishing anything that
| is really worth while, it cannot succeed. The
world may sometimes seen to take its ..religion
lightly, but it is a revelation us to how far thi«
lightness is merely apparent to note with what
quick disgust it. turns from anything and any
body who, in official capacity, to cheapen
its form. In all the list of church attractions,
ranging as they have from “temperance'* sntoons
to what can only be adequately described as
“sacred” vaudeville, there is not one that has
survived the briefest sort of novelty.
The latest departure of this sort that wo have
noted is the leap toward notoriety of Rev. II. A.
Jump, pastor of the South Congregational
( ■hutch. New Brittain, Connecticutt.. •‘Churches
to maintain membership must offer inducements
that will get fteople to attend services” lie de
clares in the evident hallucination of original
ity, “and I propose to make South Church a
j popular place this summer.” As a consequence
he proposes to have his sermons illutrated with
motion pictures, and to provide other popular
features. As a result the motion picture men,
who have Item making a losing light for Sun
day performance's, arc moving for an injunction,
and a merry advertising war may be expected
between the vaudeville houses on tho one hand
and the church on the other. And in such a
contest, it cannot be doubted where the victory
will rest.
The trouble in these efforts that, in one form
or another continue to be making, is two-fold,
’Superficially, it is tho difference that has and
^always will exist between the real and the spuri
ous, the professional and the amateur. Even
lone docs that thing best about which he knows
I most; and everyone worth while knows most
'about that which he wishes to do best. When a
pastor undertakes to run a moving picture show,
he displays a “side-line” in competition with
men who are doing the same thing as a central
aim. lie not only fails in his departure, but
! weakens the effectiveness of his real calling by
| reason, if not by the measure of his failure. He
j is handling weapons that he does not know how
|to use. But beyond this, is the broader truth
fthat the people hold the church sacred. They
! will support it only so long as it holds to its faith
land the dignity of its aims. A congregation that
is lured to the church does it no manner of good.
I Indeed, it reflects upon the church and makes
impotent its effort. To inject clap-trap into
religion is to confess its failure and prostitute its
!aim.
1 Nor do we consider as seriously as some the
alleged falling off in church attendance and
church membership. The heart of the people
is still right. The bold of the church is still
strong. Perhaps in its service there is not alto
gether the passion animating those who were
ready to die for it in the days when its exist
ence was threatened Perhaps in^a measure
the want of necessity for sacrifice has super
ficially cooled the people who ought to supjjort
it most ardently. But that it is superficial, that
there is the great reserve force still behind the
church, aUll - deepening and broadening
throughout the lives of the nations, is evidenced
by the instinctive rebuke given to each and every
one of these methods of half-cooked enthusiasts
such as Reverend Jump at the hands of a people
who, knowing the restricted ambitions of men
of bis stripe, bide their time in the cool with
a tolerance that holds softiewhat of amusement,
but that awaits only the proper moment to be cut
away as the scissors snip a thread.
Trainer Murphy says that internal layers of
abdominal fttt may cause Jeffries to lose his tight.
By this he scarcely means, however, to declare
that the big boiler maker has no stomach for
the fray.
In Roanoke they have lteen fighting it out with
brass knucks and brickbats. The brickbat won.
Another triumph of brute force over science.
Virginia Comment
Thu Right and Wrong Spirit.
The action of the Springfield, Massachusetts, post ot
the Grand Army of the Republic is in striking and
| commendable contrast with the action of those G. A
K. camps, and malignant Northern papers, that are
j making protests against the placing of the effigy ot
, Robert E. Lee in the Statuary Hall of the capttol build
ing in Washington. These G. A. it. camps object es
pecially to the statue of the Confederate leader being
arrayed In Confederate uniform. The Springfield camp
has Invited the A. P. Hill Camp of United Coniederate
Veterans, of Petersburg, Virginia, to come on to Massa
chusetts and unite with them In celebrating the
Fourth of July; and they particularly request them to
wear their Confederate uniform and march under the
Confederate flag.
It may be that this request was Intended as a re
buke to the G. A. R. camps that are protesting against
the Lee statue. Btu whether so Intended or not, it cer
tainly Is a rebuke, and a stinging one at that,
Leslie's Weekly in rferring to the invitation of the
■Springfield camp of Grand Army Veterans to tht
i Petersburg Confederate Veterans has the following,
"The men who fifty years ago actually fought one
! another on the field of battle can bury all rancor; n
is time that their children and grandchildren should
j know no North or South. To see Grand Army and
i Confederate Veterans, each with their old uniforms
and Hags, marching in the same procession in a typical
1 Northern city, will be a moving spectacle. The move
1 in this direction is doubly significant, <oming as it
; does from tiu city of Springfield as well as the Grand
Army post, and Virginia Veterans will appreciate the
special Invitation to wear their Confederate uniforms
and march under the Confederate flags."—Charlottes
j Mile Progress.
The latent from Oyster Hay is that the Colonel, Hilly
Taft and Charlie Hughes will have a confab there
pretty soon. Or will it be a conference of ex-I’resi*
dent Roosevelt, President Taft and Governor Hughes?
! —Lynchburg Advance.
Raynor's Advice . Boys.
Mayor Gaynor. of New York, dias given many in
stances of good sound sense, and has said many things
j thflt are worthy of serious thought, but he has said In
: a few words nothing more striking than the advice
he recently gave to a rlasr of young men just leaving
college. These are his words:
"l)o not go out of here puffed up with pride. Re
simple men. A man who has inordinate pride has no
; charity whatever He does not treat anybody right.
I Bring yourself down to simplicity. Let your
: prayer be every morning, 'O Lord, save me this uay
| from being proud and arrogant, because l am only
| a little man here with other men.' This U a hard
j job. but it w ill make you bigger men and will prob
! ubly do the others good.
"The vain man never reaches the highest point in
the professions. Be simple, la-ad the simple life. It
Is the simple man who succeeds. Do not arrogate airs
to yourself, because they easily slide off. Go out of here
with no notion that you are learned men or that
! your education is complete. Anybody who thinks so
had better stay on here. Keep on studying. To be
| a success you have got to work hard "
i No man would seek to ctjrb the energies of youth,
j or dispel the glow of enthusiasm that Illumines ine
I hopes of the boy just out of college. He sees only the
1 beautiful side of life, his Impulses are good, his
aspirations high, his ambitions free from all taint of
i sordid things. He is like a tit racer that sees the
tra< k stretch away ahead of him and Is eager at the
post for the contcts that is sounded, or the sturdy
sailor that feels the favorable breeze swelling In the
sails, and sees the bright waves dancing under the
sunlit skies The thrill of achievement Is In bln
veins, the ability to accomplish dominates his being.
That Is the youth that Mayor Gaynor counsels to be
cautious, to be natural, to be not lifted out of his
sphere of usefulnes by false pride or the dream that
he has won a tight that has in reality not begun. It Is
to him that he suggests the sublimity of endeavor,
to him he points the pitfall of arrogance.
Mayor Gaynor knows that.
"Tile heights by great men reached and kept
Are not attained by sudden Might.
But they, while their companions slept,
Were tolling upward in the night."
He knows that success In life in any field Is not
the result of fate, chance or luck, hut is rather the
accomplishment of hohest work, honorable conduct,
fixed purpose, and a broad sympathy with those whose
lives touch ours. No young man could have a better
chart than he has given, do lift- should be In vain
that is modeled after his precepts.—Norfolk Ledger
' Dispatch.
I -
I Richmond In Trouble.
The lack of harmony and co-operation among the
heads of departments of the Richmond city govern
, ment would he laughable if It were not extremely
I costly and annoying to the people of that city. We
| observe that The Virginian devotes more than a colum“
; to the discussion of a proposition to have a commit
tee to have supervisory powers over the departments
j of streets and water. The mayor, the city engineer
; and other leading citizens heartily favor the change,
j They argue rightly that In this way only can co
j operation among the departments be secured.
So lacking Is this desired co-operation that they
| are discussing seriously the advisability of having the
1 heads of the water and light departments before the
i police Justice on a misdemeanor charge for tearing
: up the streets and not restoring them to their former
I condition.
Now while it would be a great Improvement In
; Richmond to have a committee to overlook the work
| of all three departments, It would still be a cumber
I some arrangement. One man could do the work bet
j ter than half a dozen or of three, simply because
i one man can act promptly while three cannot. T'nless
: put under restraint three men cannot be kept together
| for a whole working day, und the moment thev
I separated some question would arise that demanded
i Immediate settlement, and the city's Interests would
I suffer while they were getting the committee to
, gethcr.
After trying the committee plan awhile, we shall
he greatly surprised If Richmond does not take a
further step and place the "Work of these several
departments under one head Just as we have It here
In Staunton.—Staunton Leader.
I
The Talk “Down Home”
Wlrelnn Station For Hotel.
Aiihevlllo Is to receive rather desirable prominence
In the establishment of a wireless telegraph station lit
the tower of the Battery Bark hotel. ’ Thbt statement
wai authorised- last night by a representative ot the
Continental Wireless Telegraph and Telephone Com
pany who has signed a contract with Proprietor J. L.
Alexander which calls for the equipment of the station
within the next ninety days. Asheville will then be
! In wlrelotej communication with New York, Chicago,
, Bouton. Pittsburg, St. Louis, Salt Lake City and San
! FTancisco. The nearby cities to have wireless stations
; are Charlotte. Beaufort, Atlanta, Memphis and Chat
tanooga.—Asheville Cltixen.
Missionary Society nets Bareheaded.
Many of th<. ,ladiaa of the Methodist congregation at
\ >\ - ,r
tended church last Sunday, without hats. There was *
concerted movement on the part of the Missionary
Society ladies, not to wear hats in church and their
action meets with general approval and commenda
<ion. It Is hoped that the movement will spread until
It embraces all those who wear the big hats.—L«enolr
News.
Attempt to 1*1 zon Aunt Patsy.
"Aunt" Patsy Little, a good old colored soul who
lives out In the Staton community, near the Pee Dee
river, was about to go across the "Great River" some*
what against her will a few nights ago. She had been
unwell and some of her neighbors, it seems, were
anxious to relieve her of all further earthly sufferings
anyway. Just before retiring she had the water bucket
brought from the porch and placed near her bedside.
Later she felt a little thirsty and went for a drink,
i Lipping up what she thought was pure water, she
I noticed that It had a "greenish” color and some In
vestigation proved that several tablespoonfuls of parts
' green had been placed In the water. It was a close
I call and "Aunt" Patsy Is a llttlo bit excited over It
yet.—Hadesburo Ansonlan.
| .IN THE LABORATORY |
BY J.-Y.VB OSBORN.
(Copyright, 1910, by Associated Literary Press )
Romance in a chemistry laboratory seems, on the
face of it, abusrd, but then Burke Langton was a
most unusual professor—young, good looking, self- |
possessed, good natured and not a bit conceited. And j
Madge Walton, at least so Burge thought from the '
first, was quite unlike the usual run of chemistry
students.
She was always letting acids burn her pretty
Ungers, accidentally blowing up test tubes and beakers
and keeping the chemistry class in general, and
Professor Burke Langton in particular. In a stata of
perpetual excitement.
The task of wooing Madge had been anything but
easy; not because Madge hersell was unwilling to be
wooed, but because it wasn't wise to arouse college
gossip and never would be until there was an actuat
engagement. To call 1^1 her at the dormitory was
much too obvious, to chance to encounter her In
the campus was well enough, but hard to arrange.
Once or twice when Madge had "let things happen"
In the laboratory, Burke had had a chance to help
her and show her how great was his concern. Ou
several occasions he had requested an Interview with
her after hours, apparently to help her with her
work, but really with dhite differ, nt intentions.
rinally, when the school year was almost over.
,h® ftna* s*ep—he asked her to go to town
with him to the theatre. "1 have something 1 want
to talk over with you," he told her, trying to maks
; , PurP<>re Clear, "and of course It Is Impossible any
! w-here around the old college. We'll Just make th«
i theutre a sort of an excuse "
1 Apparently Madge was delighted. She blushed, ana
I then blushed all the more to think that he had
! noticed her blush. Me was to get the tickets for
; “something Shakespearean." and they were to meet
[ In town where none of the college people could see
| them. Madge was to spend the night m town with
j friends, and he was to return to college, perfectly
l happy.
! 1 n* great day had come, and Burke was sitting
j before his desk in a state of blissful reflection on
j .Madge « eyes, and Madge's voice, ano Madge's amusing
i ways when some one stepped timidly up to his desk.
''Bvfr«ur Langton!" It was Indeed Mpdge who was
talking: she seemed very grave and constrained. "Pro
ieasor Langton, 1—I—1 won’t be able to meet you to
night."
Why, Madge, why, Miss Walton," he said, looking
in vain tor her usual smile, "of course you will M's
ull planned. I can ! let >ou off." Me looked intently
into her face to discover the cause of her sudden
change of heart. What do you mean?" he de
manded.
She avoided his glance. "I—I hoped you would
understand," she said “1 can't explain "
Professor Langton would have insisted upon a
more complete explanation had it not been for the in
evitable approach of other members of the class—
that ever-present class. Me stumbled through his
lecture somehow, experiencing all the tortures of un
certainly. When hi- had finished and had entered the
sanctum of his inner laboratory he felt as If he had
(endured years of aging l hoped you would under
stand," sne had told him. "1 can't explain." He re
< ailed the w ords and saw again the look of anxiety
on her face. Yes; she understood how he felt and only
wanted to save his feelings. ,
1 hen the vision of ner as he had last seen her mmi
to his mind. Bhe had left the room with two of those '
tall, overbearing, all-important seniors. Just how he
did not understand, but somehow, he was sure, those
seniors were responsible tor the change. She had been
with them continually, he remembered. They wer»
making her another of that self-sufficient, tiresome
type of college girl And yet there cam.- back the
certainty again and and again that Madge really and
truly liked him
When the afternoon had dragged away and tbs
monotony of dinner he thought of the tickets in his
pocket and was Inclined at first to Invite a fellow pro
fessor to share the evening’s entertainment with him.
but the thought of going without her w-as Impos
sible.
Bo it was that Burke sought consolation in ths
laboratory, to go on with an important experiment and
try to work himself into a state of scientific Indif
ference. It was about 7:90 when he reached the build* * ?
Ing. It was. as usual, closed for tne day. but with
the use of his latch key he gained admlssloVcHs
groped his w ay through the main hall, up ths
way. along the corridor toward the laboratory. i5ud
denly he stopped short.
“tireat heavens!" he said aloud, and then a sicken
ing dread came upon him as he realized that he had
stum bled in the dark upon something soft and human.
In the deep shadow he could see the graceful figure
of a girl, covered with black, lying motionless upon ths
stone floor.
"It’s one of those poor, overworked rtudents who's |
fainted from fatigue," he thought with a touch of -
annoyance as he bent down over her. and then realized
that students couldn't be In the building at this time
of night, as their work there was over at sundown.
To call for assistance was useless, as there' wa*
no one within call of his voice. He hurriedly lifted
the limp form In his arms and carried It up the
stairs into the laboratory. There he laid it down on
the floor while he reached to rnap on the electlik
lights.
It was Madge—Madge enveloped In an academic
gown, with a black cloth drawn over her eyes. Almost
j faint with dread, he felt her pulse and listened for her
I breathing. Kverythtng was perfectly- normal, but mil
; he could not rouse her. In a second he had the
bandage from her eyes and was throwing water Into
her face, when he perceived a faint smile. '
Still her eyes were closed and . she was apparently
unconscious. "Madge! Madge!" he said In a vole*
that did not sound like hts own. “Don't you hear meT"
As he clasped her hands frantically In hla he recalled
having heard of all sorts of curious manias brought
on by over work, and yet he had ne|er thought of
Madge as having studied much. Certainly she didn't
spend much thought on chemistry. He hurriedly
reached to his experiment table for some strong
ammonia In the last hope of rousing her.
Me.put the uncorked bottle before her and watched
her anxiously. In a second she had opened her eyea,
set up and pushed the bottle from her, and then aa
she saw the anxious face before her, a look of mystlfl
cation came over her.
"Why, why. where am I?” she asked, rubbing her
eyes andPlooktng about In alarm. "My, but that'a
1 strong. X Just couldn’t keep still another minute."
"It's all right, Madge, little girl," said the profes
sor. lifting her to a chair "You’ll feel better In a
I little while." Then’he stood anxiously over her, look
; ing down Into her flashed face.
It was a good many minutes before things were
, f tralghieiifd out; before the prolesaor realized that
I Madge wua undergoing the p.allmlnary stages of her
. iniitatlon to a iiecret society when he encountered her
In the ball, and that she had been commanded by
j her Initiators to lie perfectly quiet with her eyes closed
! no matter w hat occurred, and before Madge realised
that the professor wasn’t In some way taking part U|
tho foolish | orformance.
And why didn't you tell me why you couldn't
keep your date with me”' he asked.
I "Because It was all a solemn secret about the
! initiation and we were commanded not to tell." she
I said simply. "It's such an honor to be aaked to Join
(that no one ov.r thinks pf objecting even If they do
| have to break their engagements. I thought you would
j understand w hen I told you."
The urotvircr was sitting on his disk looking
curiously at the girl who had been taken from him
and now had been strangely brought back again. "Bee
here, Madge,” he said, looking at his watch "Well
only miss the first act If you go with me now. Do
you want to or would you rather go back to and Join
that fool society ?'*
"I think," said Madge, "I would rather go wltk yog.
This time the professor understood.
* i