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If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: A Twentieth Century Idealist - - -Author: Henry Pettit - - - -Release Date: February 23, 2021 [eBook #64612] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TWENTIETH CENTURY IDEALIST*** - - -E-text prepared by Charlene Taylor, Susan Carr, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org). - -This ebook was created in honour of Distributed Proofreaders' -20th Anniversary. - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 61612-h.htm or 61612-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/61612/61612-h/61612-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/61612/61612-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/twentiethcentury00pett - - - - - -[Illustration: View from Pinnacle on Roof of Cathedral--the -Delectable Mountains beyond. - - Among the Himalayas. Supposed highest summits on the earth’s - surface. Elevation, 29,000 feet. From near Sundookphoo, 1885.] - - -A TWENTIETH CENTURY IDEALIST - -by - -HENRY PETTIT - - Under the Surface of the Ordinary Life Lie Great Mysteries-- - The Real Part of Man Is in His Ideals - - -[Illustration: (Colophon)] - - - - - - -The Grafton Press -Publishers New York - -Copyright, 1905, -by -Henry Pettit - - - - - TABLE OF CONTENTS - - AND - - PLAN OF THE BOOK - - - CHAP. PAGE - - _PROLOGUE._ - - I. (a) INQUISITIVE ADMIRATION--TWO KINDS 1 - - II. (b) HOW THE PROFESSOR WAS WON 7 - - - _PART FIRST._ - - _At Home in the States. The Physical Dominant._ - - III. ADELE HERSELF 17 - - IV. SHE HEARS THE WORDS OF A SONG 23 - - V. AFTER DARK IN THE PARK--THE DOCTOR 39 - - VI. AN AVATAR IN THE OCCIDENT 44 - - (a) Conversation with Papa. - - (b) The Theophany of Spring. Adele in the Park. - - VII. OFF TO ASIA 55 - - - _PART SECOND._ - - _Crossing the Atlantic--Up the Mediterranean. - Mentality Dominant._ - - VIII. A STUDIO FOR IMPRESSIONS 61 - - IX. A BUDGET OF NEW SCIENCES 64 - - X. PALMISTRY POSES AS MENTAL SCIENCE 71 - - XI. AMATEUR MENTAL SCIENCE 76 - - XII. AMATEUR TACTICS--A FRIGHT-FULL CURE 83 - - XIII. ADELE’S MEDITATIONS 89 - - XIV. ANOTHER COMMOTION--RELIGIOUS-CURATIVE 92 - - What is Perfection? - - XV. TWO SIMULTANEOUS SOLILOQUIES 105 - - XVI. COURAGE VERSUS FOOLHARDINESS 110 - - XVII. TWO RESCUES, AND TWO GIRLS 115 - - XVIII. A SENSATION VERSUS AN IMPRESSION 120 - - XIX. GIBRALTAR APPEARS AND DISAPPEARS 124 - - XX. THE ARTISTIC SENSE. AT CAPRI 130 - - XXI. AN ARTIST WITH DOUBLE VISION 135 - - XXII. THE SECRET OF A LIFE 144 - - XXIII. OLYMPUS--COURT FESTIVITIES 149 - - XXIV. THE GODS INTERFERE 152 - - XXV. APHRODITE RISES FROM THE SEA 159 - - Eros-Cupid--The Modern-Antique. - - _Intermezzo._ - - XXVI. ALLEGRO--THE WORLD’S HIGHWAY 169 - - XXVII. ANDANTE--THE ROYAL ROUTE 173 - - XXVIII. THE AFTERGLOW 174 - - - _PART THIRD._ - - _In the Far East. Spirituality Dominant._ - - XXIX. MYSTIFICATION--ILLNESS AND HALLUCINATION 180 - - XXX. CONVALESCENCE AND COMMON SENSE 188 - - XXXI. OFF TO THE HIMALAYAS 196 - - XXXII. THE START UPWARDS 200 - - The Himalaya Railway--Fly Express. - - XXXIII. A GLIMPSE OF THE PRIMITIVE 214 - - THE HIMALAYA CATHEDRAL. - - XXXIV. ADELE SEES THE DELECTABLE MOUNTAINS 217 - - XXXV. THE CATHEDRAL BY THE SUPREME ARCHITECT 225 - - XXXVI. PROGRESS OF THE BUILDING 229 - - XXXVII. PRIMATE OF THE CATHEDRAL 233 - - The Message of the Seer--Ex-Cathedra. - - _Intermezzo._ - - _The Voice in Nature._ - - XXXVIII. CATHEDRAL ORCHESTRA AND ORGAN 241 - - Divine Solos. - - XXXIX. ON A PINNACLE IN NATURE 243 - - XL. A GLIMPSE OF TAOISM 253 - - XLI. PROCESSIONAL BEFORE THE VEIL 262 - - XLII. ON HOLY GROUND 269 - - XLIII. SACRIFICE 274 - - XLIV. THE EVERYDAY RITUAL 282 - - Adele and Paul. A Dandy passes by. - - XLV. RITUAL OF THE HUMAN RACE 292 - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - - - PAGE - - VIEW FROM PINNACLE ON ROOF OF CATHEDRAL--THE DELECTABLE - MOUNTAINS BEYOND. - - Among the Himalayas. Supposed highest summits on - the earth’s surface. Elevation, 29,000 feet. From near - Sundookphoo, 1885 _Frontispiece_ - - AS INCENSE ASCENDS--SYMBOLIC, FROM AGES PAST, OF THE - PRAYERS OF HUMANITY. - - The Kunchingunga Snowy Range. Elevation, 28,156 - feet. Scene from Observatory Hill, Darjeeling 268 - - - - - “Nature herself is an idea of the mind and is never presented to - the senses. She lies under the veil of appearances, but is herself - never apparent. To the art of the ideal is lent, or, rather, - absolutely given, the privilege to grasp the spirit of all, and - bind it in a corporeal form.” - - “Art has for its object not merely to afford a transient pleasure, - to excite to a momentary dream of liberty; its aim is to make us - absolutely free. And this is accomplished by awakening, exercising, - and perfecting in us a power to remove to an objective distance the - sensible world (which otherwise only burdens us as rugged matter, - and presses us down with a brute influence); to transform it into - the free working of our spirit, and thus acquire a dominion over - the material by means of ideas. For the very reason also that - true art requires somewhat of the objective and real, it is not - satisfied with a show of truth: it rears its ideal edifice on truth - itself--on the solid and deep foundation of Nature.” - - --From Schiller’s _The Use of the Chorus in Tragedy_. - - - - - A TWENTIETH CENTURY IDEALIST - - - - - I - - INQUISITIVE ADMIRATION - - -There certainly is a subtle charm from personal intercourse with -those who seek a comprehensive view of life, and strive to live -according to their own ideals. People who live upon broader lines -than their neighbors are apt to be interesting from that fact alone, -and the charm becomes quite fascinating when these ideals take form -and they practice what they profess. Even if they do not succeed -according to our notions, and fail to grasp until late in life some -of the profound concepts which underlie the manifest workings of the -mind of nature, the effort on their part counts in their favor--their -actions speak louder than words. - -The Doctor was in his library when he mused thus. Books upon peculiar -subjects lay around him, some open, others closed; and his eye -fell upon a few articles which had been selected for their special -significance quite as carefully as the books. The Doctor was much -interested in what he called “the hidden meaning of things,” and the -character of his library, with its peculiar contents, showed the fact. - -Putting aside his cigar, he looked across the room, as if to give -audible expression to his thoughts, towards a younger man of quite a -different type, an individual whose very presence suggested he had -not ignored athletics while at college, even if the studies had been -exacting. - -The Doctor was about to call him by name, when he hesitated, his -deeper interest in the young fellow asserted itself; he concluded to -take a good look at him first, and avoid if possible any error in -approaching the subject he wished to bring up. He already knew him so -well that it did not take long to recall certain facts bearing upon -the situation. - -Paul was not as a general thing given to bothering about hidden -meanings. His diving below the surface had been chiefly as a swimmer, -from early boyhood until more recent experience. He possessed a -keener appreciation of surface values and the exhilaration from a -good bath rather than what he might bring up by deep diving. But -being young, energetic, and sincere, his very energy itself was -bound to bring him down to the verge of deeper experience. In fact -as the Doctor looked at him he appeared like unto one standing upon -the rockbound coast of the ocean of life ready to take the plunge, -whenever--he felt like it. - -“Take things as they are,” was one of Paul’s favorite expressions. - -The Doctor concluded he would, and broke the silence: - -“How did you enjoy last evening?” - -“Immensely.” - -“Thought you would.” - -“Yes? Greatly obliged for the introduction,” and Paul continued -examining some illustrations in a periodical apropos of the coming -coronation in England. - -The Doctor determined to rivet his attention. - -“I admire Adele Cultus greatly, don’t you?” - -“No doubt she would look well, wearing a coronet like this--look at -it.” - -The Doctor did not look, but continued: - -“She certainly has some ideal of her own about life in general, and, -I suspect, about herself in particular.” - -“Shouldn’t wonder,” said Paul, laconic. - -“But she is thoroughly sincere about it.” - -“Possibly, but last night the sincerity was all on my side.” - -“How so?” - -“Well, I would have danced with her the evening through, if she had -let me--she loves dancing.” - -The Doctor’s eyes twinkled: “Don’t you think she is a striking -personality?” - -“Striking? Oh, yes! gracefully so, deux-temps spirituelle. I felt the -effect at once.” - -“In character?” - -Paul smiled. “I call it strikingly practical--no nonsense; she -wouldn’t let me, and that settled it.” - -“Of course she had her own way--at a ball,” remarked the Doctor dryly. - -“Oh, of course! of course! She certainly would support a coronet -first-rate; it would not be the coronet’s part to support her.” - -“No doubt you are right, Paul. I was only asking some test -questions,” and the Doctor subsided, as if he had more to say but -would not venture. - -“Test questions? Whom were you testing?” asked Paul. - -“Both of you,” said the Doctor. - -“Where did you first meet her?” asked Paul, still examining the -periodical. - -“Where?--we didn’t meet! I heard her voice through the crack of a -door.” - -“H’m!” And Paul put down his book. - -“It was while I was convalescent at the hospital after that bicycle -accident. She was a volunteer nurse, and a remarkably good one among -not a few devoted women. You were right about her being practical and -spirituelle, and so was I about her being spiritual.” - -Paul took up a cigarette. A cloud of smoke enveloped his head, his -facial expression hid behind the cloud. The Doctor continued: - -“You know it takes a fair combination of the practical and spiritual -to make a true nurse?” - -Paul agreed mentally, but all the Doctor heard was a voice from -behind the cloud, “she dances like an angel.” - -Angelic dancing not being in the Doctor’s repertoire of investigation, -he changed to another point of view. - -“While I was convalescent at the hospital it was very amusing to read -hands by palmistry. I read her hand.” - -“You held her hand, you mean?” - -“Of course.” - -“You don’t mean to tell me you read her character by the lines -written in her hand! Nonsense!” - -“I did not. I merely noticed the natural tendencies of the individual -as shown by the form of the hand. Her characteristics, not her -character.” - -“I don’t believe in it,” remarked Paul, positive. - -“You don’t? Well, just swap hands with some other fellow and observe -the consequences.” - -Paul laughed. “Excuse me--quite satisfied with my own.” - -“Just so,” said the Doctor, “and there is good reason why you feel -the satisfaction; the consequences would be not only absurd, but -positively disastrous.” - -Paul began to feel interested as the Doctor forced the practical -issue upon his attention. - -“The consequences of any change from the special form of your own -hand would only prove that the other fellow’s hands do not fit your -personality.” - -Paul, who really knew much more about persons than personalities, -blew another cloud of smoke towards the ceiling, and listened. - -“You know, Nature never makes any mistakes.” - -“I hope not, or I’m a goner,” quizzed Paul. - -“And personality is really made up of three in one, a trinity of the -physical, mental, and spiritual. You’re a sort of trinity yourself, -my boy. You’ll find it out some day if you don’t swap hands with -some other fellow and spoil your own combination.” - -“What did you learn by holding Miss Cultus’ hand?” - -The Doctor was a little slow in replying, in fact, choosing which of -the many things he had observed was the particular one to which he -had best call Paul’s attention. Then he spoke: - -“She shows marked individuality based upon rather a rare type, yet -a mixed hand; most Americans and Chinese are mixed. You know, pure -types are very rare.” - -“You don’t say so?” quizzed Paul; “‘mixed,’ and like the Chinese. -What a wonderful insight for diagnosis palmistry possesses!” The -Doctor continued: - -“In the main, her hand manifests the exceeding rare psychic -type,--that is, she loves and seeks the truth for its own sake.” - -“There! I told you she was angelic, a practical angel,” interrupted -Paul. The Doctor kept straight on: - -“And with this there are other features indicating both the useful -and the philosophic elements in her make-up, very strong, each in its -own relative domain.” - -“Extraordinary! truly!” quoth Paul. “The useful must have come to the -front when she was acting nurse, and the philosophic when she told me -we had danced enough for one evening. As to the psychic,--let me see! -the psychic!--well, to be frank, Doctor, I can’t say I have seen that -as yet.” - -“Oh, yes, you have,” thought the Doctor, “or you would not be showing -the interest you are taking just now.” This _sub rosa_, and then he -turned the topic once more: - -“Where do you suppose she got those traits, so forcible in -combination?” - -“Got her hands?” exclaimed Paul the practical. “Inherited them of -course, even the skin-deep profundity of palmistry is not required to -guess a diagnosis for that.” - -The Doctor’s eyes again twinkled. “Whom did she inherit them from?” - -“Father and mother,--what nonsense to ask!” - -“Why not her grandparents?” - -“Give it up,” said Paul. “Take things as they are.” - -Now, the result of this decidedly mixed but suggestive conversation -was to excite curiosity in both the Doctor and Paul. Not that they -formed a conspiracy to learn about Miss Cultus’ forbears; quite -the contrary. Simply by friction in time they learned something of -the natural causes which had produced her charming personality, so -attractive to all who met her. - -That they both had been led to respect and admire her upon short -acquaintance was only too evident,--on the surface. What was not -quite so evident, for neither of them had said so, was that each had -noticed her devotion to her mother, constant, ever thoughtful, as -if to make her appear to the best advantage: as to her father, she -simply idolized him. - -Some of the items they learned had best be stated at once, for her -ancestors, in immediate relationship, certainly did cast their -shadows before; and the blending of the shades and shadows later on -in her life, formed a character that was lovely and inspiring. - - - - - II - - HOW THE PROFESSOR WAS WON - - -Few who knew Mrs. Cultus in after years, when as an active woman of -the world she displayed much tact dominated by kindly consideration -for others, would have suspected the peculiar phases of development -through which she passed in younger days, during the immature period -of youth when the same natural tendencies took different forms, and -were so different in degree. From one point of view the difference -in degree produced a difference in kind--she appeared to be a -different sort of woman. What she did when young was often mistaken -for selfishness alone, whereas the same natural tendency, operating -as reasonable ambition, after finding its true sphere, exerted a far -nobler activity, profoundly different in both degree and kind. Not -a few expressed surprise when her ambition to lead became coupled -with a determination to help others along at the same time. Always -ambitious, and with strong social instincts, she read the book of -life rather than literary productions; but when she did deign to -peruse a popular novel, her criticism punctured the absurdities of -modern snap-shot incongruity. She was never selfish at heart, but -she certainly did have a way of using the world without abusing it, -personally; and her own way of expressing herself. - -As to the Professor, her husband, he found himself going to be -married without having fully analyzed the case. - -Charming manners and cultivated tastes, largely inherited from -antecedents in the professional walks of life, had led Professor -Cultus to fascinate and charm not a few during his youth and early -manhood,--what more natural! He was slow however to realize that in -so doing he might encounter another, gifted as himself yet of an -entirely different type, complementary; and so it came to pass. - -While returning from a congress of anthropologists which met on the -Continent, where there had been much discussion of the _genus homo_ -through many stages of development, the Professor was fated to be -himself taught a lesson in anthropology which never after lost its -hold upon him. It gave him much subject for thought, but not exactly -of the kind suitable for a technical paper before the next congress. - -He met an individual whose antecedents no doubt did have the same -number of fingers and toes as his own, but whose “thinking matter” -in her brain seemed to operate differently from his own; and whose -experience in life had been very different; one of whose position in -the chain of physiological development he knew much intellectually, -but whose innate appreciation of facts and ability to perform he had -no adequate realizing sense whatever; her avenue to truth, through -heredity, being quite different from his own. - -They were fellow passengers upon one of the palatial steamers which -then first appeared upon the North Atlantic, and it took her only the -ten days’ voyage to capture the Professor, his charming manners, his -intellectual efforts and his anthropological researches, all complete. - -How did she do it? and what did she propose to do with him after she -got him? - -The answer might be given in a single sentence: she met him first -with his own weapons, charming manners and an intellect as bright as -his own; then caught him because he was objectively philosophic and -for pure science, so called, while she was subjectively philosophic -and for pure material results. She was quite as philosophic as he -was,--also knew chalk from cheese when she saw it. The Professor -preferred to analyze the composition before forming an opinion. -While he was analyzing, she so mixed the ingredients in his mental -laboratory that he could no longer differentiate or reason upon the -subject of a marriage at all: and in truth it must be stated, his own -youth was not much inclined that way either. His heart got the better -of his head. - -Thus was the youthful Professor actually forced to accept the -situation philosophically. He flattered himself that in time he would -be able to investigate more fully, and make any needed adjustments -later on. She flattered herself that she would be quite equal to any -emergency that might arise, as she proposed not only to push him to -the very front among his contemporaries, but also use his exalted -position to attain her own social ends. - -When they first met, both away from home, in mid-ocean, their mental -activities alert, stimulated by what each had experienced abroad, and -little on hand to occupy the time, the conditions were favorable. -Even the menu on board ship was highly seasoned after its kind, -during the day, and after dark the stars twinkled doubly in the -heavens above, and the mysterious depths below, while they looked at -“the Dipper” together. - -No sooner did the charmingly vivacious young lady observe the -Professor’s attractive appearance than she made up her mind; and -noticing that he sat at the Captain’s table as one of the selected -few on board, she determined to know him personally. - -Professor Cultus in young manhood certainly did look handsome, of -the intellectual type. His dark eyes were noticed by others besides -Miss Carlotta Gains. The prospect of this new acquaintance was quite -enough to cause her to exert herself, so she frankly told Fraulein -Ritter, under whose care she was returning home, that she would like -immensely to have that gentleman presented to her. - -Carlotta had been to Berlin, taking lessons in singing under Fraulein -Ritter’s direction and chaperonage; had been under rather strict -surveillance while studying, and had not much enjoyed that particular -phase of a young woman’s student life in Berlin. When once clear of -the Continental proprieties, the American girl began again to assert -herself. Carlotta was certainly fortunate in having such a one as -Fraulein Ritter to consult, for she in turn was quite an authority -in her own branch. Educated at Weimar during the days of Liszt’s -supremacy, Fraulein Ritter had no small reputation afterwards from -her publications relating to music in general and voice culture -in particular. Incidentally she had met not a few of the members -attending the congress,--in fact, Professor Cultus had already -been presented to her in Berlin; so there being nothing to shock -Fraulein’s German sense of propriety in granting Carlotta’s request, -an introduction followed. - -“Professor, allow me to present you to my pupil, Miss Carlotta -Gains. Possibly you have heard of her father, Mr. Anthony G. Gains, -of Silverton, Eldorado.” Why Fraulein should have supposed that -any knowledge of Anthony Gains out in Eldorado could possibly have -reached the Professor can only be attributed to the benign influence -of Carlotta’s lucky star, and the other well authenticated fact that -“the world is not so big after all.” As luck would have it, the -Professor had known Mr. Gains fairly well, and not so many years -back, when at the early stage of his career he had been called upon -to give expert testimony in a certain law suit involving technical -information. The Professor had found Mr. Gains a first-rate, -all-round, square-minded American, from his point of view, and Grab -Gains, as his Eldorado friends dubbed him, had much appreciated the -young scientist’s unbiased clear statements as a witness. Being -astute and practical in business, upon gaining the law suit he had -given his expert, on the spot, the biggest fee he had received up -to that time,--not for his testimony--oh, no,--for some other work -which came up incidentally, quite beyond his expenses and regular -charge. - -Gains’s business foresight was not devoid of results. The Professor -at once thought he knew much about the antecedents of the young -lady, and expressed himself as delighted to meet the daughter of his -former friend. Of course he referred to the general circumstances -under which they had met, and praised Eldorado as a locality of great -scientific interest. - -Miss Carlotta put two and two together, and recalled her father’s -remark that he would never have gained that case if the Professor had -not “talked science so that the jury could understand.” The Professor -seemed pleased to know it. Carlotta at once determined to appreciate -the Professor just as that jury had done; so she immediately -introduced a topic bound to be of interest to him. - -“What a success your congress proved to be, Professor.” - -“Quite so,--more than we anticipated. But I did not suspect it would -attract your attention.” - -“Why not? Fraulein takes all the publications; I intend to read your -paper with special interest,” her ambition leading her more than half -way. - -The Professor looked quizzical. “I fear you will find it rather slow -for cursory reading.” Then his responsive manner getting the best of -him he added with considerable effect: “It will give me the greatest -pleasure to make it clear if I can.” - -Carlotta took him up at once,--but on a topic she did know something -about as well as he, and stated it after her own fashion. - -“I noticed that one of the discussions was about the peculiar -costumes of certain tribes. Now, I never did understand why the -darker races should introduce brilliant colors in dress so much more -naturally and effectively than we do.” - -The Professor instantly looked at her own dress and thought it very -effective, in excellent taste. Carlotta continued: - -“Now, with us color is often so arbitrary, mere fashion, the -arrangement artificial, and when the thing is unbecoming you feel -just like a martyr;” then, musingly, “but he won’t find that in me.” - -Professor Cultus laughingly replied that “he really knew little about -dress”--which was a fib for an anthropologist--but he supposed that -“Dame Fashion was a capricious jade who often made her reputation -by producing whims to meet the demand for something new; she had -certainly been known to introduce what was hideous to many, simply to -cover up the defects of a favorite patron.” - -Carlotta at once thought, “Well, there’s nothing hideous about me. I -wonder what he means?” - -The Professor once started, went on about the darker races using the -primitive and secondary colors only with such marked effect; that -they really knew little about hues and shades as our civilization -differentiates colors and effects. He was then going on to add -something about color in jewels adding great effect to rich costumes, -when Carlotta gave a little start, drew her wrap about her and said -she felt cold and chilly. - -Fraulein at once suggested they should leave the deck for the saloon. -Carlotta acquiesced as if very grateful, and begged the Professor to -excuse her. - -Of course he did so promptly, with sympathy excited by fear lest she -might have suffered in consequence of his keeping her standing too -long in a cold wind. - -Nothing of the sort. It was the reference made to jewels by the -Professor which had caused her impromptu nervous chill. Could he -possibly have noticed the too many rings she wore and concluded -she might be rather loud in her taste? That must be rectified at -once,--so Carlotta caught a chill on the spot, merely a little -sympathetic chill, but enough to get away and arrange things better -for the next interview. Certainly her tact showed foresight as well -as power to meet an emergency from her point of view. - -She knew instinctively the value of sympathy as well as propinquity. -She had gained her first point, an introduction; now for the -second, sympathy: and she was not slow to act,--much quicker than -the Professor dreamed of. She did things first and discussed them -afterwards; that was one of her accomplishments which he often -observed later on. - -No sooner in her state-room than Miss Gains snatched off every -ring, all but one, a fine ruby rich in color but not too large; -“rubies never are,” she said, pensive. On this one she looked with -much satisfaction, it would meet her requirements yet not excite -suspicion, the removal of all might do so. - -But why the ruby? - -Carlotta was astute, like her papa, much more so than the Professor -imagined,--he learned that also later on. What troubled her now -was no new matter, and largely in her own imagination. A biologist -would have told her it was inherited. Being a pronounced blonde -of the florid type, vivacious, fond of excitement, she had often -noticed that her hands became rather rosy in color. So the ardent yet -astute Miss Gains had evolved the brilliant yet practical idea that -the ruby would be “the very thing to throw the other red into the -shade--people will notice the ruby and speak of that.” If she could -not avoid being too rosy, in her own imagination, the ruby should -take the blame. - -Carlotta was politic also, like her papa, much more so than the -Professor thought--he found that out also later on. So she retained -the ruby only, and wore a red tocque when next on deck. She would no -doubt have put on her golf jacket if on shore, so determined was she -to make those hands look as refined as possible. - -The Professor’s sympathy was now to be encouraged. If the too many -rings were to be kept out of sight, it was far more important to keep -the object of sympathy in sight. Carlotta determined not to get over -that chill too soon,--not to remain so chilly that the state-room was -the only warm place, but just chilly enough to seek convalescence -wrapped up in a becoming garment, resting in an easy chair in some -retired corner, or on deck where the lights illumined others, and not -herself. Just chilly enough to require the little attentions of a -sympathetic friend, whose sympathy she could make warmer as her own -cold chill wore off. - -Miss Carlotta was diplomatic, as the Professor also found out. -Once ensconced in that easy chair with the Professor to keep the -chills off, her success was already assured. Her greatest triumph -consisted undoubtedly in that she displayed such a bright intelligent -appreciation of the Professor’s point of view about everything, -anything from chalk and cheese to volcanoes and earthquakes, not -omitting the science of games, especially ping-pong, and the usual -dose of theosophy; and so much policy and diplomacy as to her own -point of view, that to this day the intellectual scientist ascribes -the results primarily to his own ability in courting. - -It was in fact a double game of life and chances, the game of all -games, of heart and head, that two can play at. Carlotta won for -life, whereas the Professor began by taking chances. Propinquity at -sea,--floating on the waves from which rose Aphrodite. - -Of course it became evident to the Professor that Carlotta was -precisely the person he most desired in life,--so appreciative, -intellectually bright, much knowledge of the world for her age; and -as she had incidentally remarked on one occasion, quite comfortable -as to worldly goods;--although, to be frank, he laid little stress -upon the latter at that time, having much confidence in his own -resources. He was often glad of it, however, later on; it also proved -one of the things he learned subsequently. - -Before they left the steamer there was an understanding, and the way -seemed smooth to expect a favorable consideration from Carlotta’s -parental governor. Her mother was no longer living, which accounted -for Carlotta’s being under the care of Fraulein. - -As a matter of fact Anthony Gains was not surprised in the least when -his daughter returned engaged to be married, and easily accepted -the situation philosophically; indeed, rather congratulated himself -that she had not been too independent, like some, but deigned to go -through the formalities of making the announcement subject to his -approval. - -“Much better to avoid unnecessary fuss,” he said to himself, “and it -gives me a good chance to spare the Professor’s feelings. In case -they had given me the slip, I suppose a rumpus would have been in -order. Carlotta’s sensible,--I know her well,--I’m glad she lived in -the West before going to Europe.” Her father did know her well, much -better really than he who then desired to take the chances. Papa also -remembered with much satisfaction the young scientist who had given -“plain talk to that jury.” He concluded he might be able to give -plain talk to his household if emergency required it. Finally he told -them frankly: - -“Having gone through the mill myself, I guess you two can manage your -own business first-rate. I don’t suppose you object if I coöperate.” - -As his practical coöperation took effect even before the marriage, -when he settled a handsome sum upon Carlotta, the Professor thought -still more highly of his prospective father-in-law. - -Not till all was over, the ceremony an accomplished fact, and the -young people off on another tour apropos of the occasion,--not till -then did Anthony Gains allow himself to whisper in a room where there -was no telephone: - -“They’ll be comfortable anyhow. These scientific fellows make so -little they are not extravagant as a class. I guess it will be all -right--God bless ’em.” - - * * * * * - -Such had been an early but important chapter in the experience of -the immediate ancestors of Adele Cultus;--of her whom both the Doctor -and Paul had admired,--Paul because she was practical, the Doctor -because she was spiritual. - - - - - III - - ADELE HERSELF - - -It is not so much what was said, as who said it and how they said it, -that will convey an adequate impression of the charm exerted by Adele -upon those she met. Of her two dozen desperately intimate friends at -school, each had been known to exclaim, “Why, of course I know her; -isn’t she just too lovely for anything?” and that covered the whole -ground. - -When during college days a coterie of Juniors decided to invite -some Seniors to “a tea,”--not “to tea,” for all were excruciatingly -academic at that period, there was a spirited debate as to the -special duties of each girl during the function, but not the -slightest doubt that Adele should head the Reception Committee. “Why, -my dear, she’s just the one for that place. Don’t you see it? We’ll -show them the proper ‘pose.’” - -As a matter of fact, Adele did receive; also “poured out” at times; -also introduced some strangers to her own kindred spirits to banish -any feeling of uneasiness; and finally achieved the undoubted triumph -of making two girls friends again, the girls much excited, holding -diametrically opposite opinions upon the momentous question of -Cleopatra’s cruelty to animals. - -When she graduated, valedictorian of her class, she made an address -neither too long nor too short, not unlike her gown, precisely -as it should be,--pointedly academic to start with and meet the -case, then somewhat more colloquial, recalling the good times they -all had passed, and concluding with a touching appeal “never to -forget Alma Mater.” The entire class mentally promised they never -would, “nor you either, Adele,” and she was deluged with so many -future-correspondents that the prospect became really alarming. - -When she made her début, scarcely an evening passed that some “man” -did not tell her confidentially: “You look lovely to-night, Miss -Cultus;” and when upon a certain full-dress occasion she sat with Mr. -Warder on the stairway, presumably with none but the old stand-up -clock to listen, the first remark she heard was, “Oh, I’m so glad, -Miss Cultus, we can have a chat, alone!” “Alone!” exclaimed Adele. -“Why, certainly, alone in the crowd,”--and as she drew her skirts -aside to allow four other couples and a queue of waiters to pass, her -clear responsive laugh appreciative of the situation, made Mr. Warder -enjoy the public seclusion immensely. - -Evidently there was a personal magnetism about Adele which affected -all more or less, and many whose own characteristics were totally -unlike hers. - -At a glance anyone would have noticed her light hair flowing free, -yet under control, tinged with sunlight, the sunlight of youth; -hers was a fair complexion like her mother’s, yet with her father’s -lustrous eyes. She was a blonde with dark eyes; once seen, a picture -in the mind’s eye. - -Her father’s facial expression played over her countenance, -manifesting that responsive personal interest which drew many to -her. Her mother, as we already know, could express that responsive -attitude also, and exercise the personal influence when she chose, -but with Adele it was spontaneous, perfectly natural, and her smile -sincere, ingenuous, rather than ingenious, one of the most precious -and potent gifts a woman can possess. - -And some of her other gifts by heredity were also very evident, but -modified. Dame Nature had been exceedingly kind, and given her as it -were only those elements which intensified the better traits of the -previous generations. Her active mind reminded one of her father’s -intellectual ability in science, but it was so modified by her -mother’s more comprehensive susceptibility and impressionability in -many directions, her worldly wisdom and promptness, that in Adele -it took a different turn from either one of the parents. Her social -instincts could not be suppressed, but fundamentally they tended -towards an appreciation and insight of the humanities and ethical -subjects rather than the material interests one might look for in -the granddaughter of Anthony Gains, or the intellectual abstractions -which might have come from the Professor’s mode of thought. - -Before graduating, some one asked her what she proposed to do after -leaving college, for all felt a brilliant career was open. Adele was -rather reserved in answering this question, and generally replied -that there was so much which ought to be done in the world, no -doubt she would be very busy. But to her mother she confided on -one occasion her innermost thought, she “would like to work in the -slums.” This so horrified Mamma that Adele’s name was entered upon -the fashionable Assembly list for the coming season without delay, as -an antidote in case of emergency, although somewhat premature as to -time. - -It would never do to oppose Adele. She was already unaccustomed -to that sort of management, and would assert herself even if she -regretted it afterwards. A compromise was in order. She did not go -to work in the slums, and did attend fashionable functions with her -mother, but after serious conversation with her father on the subject -of the practice of medicine by women, and her own observations of -the constant demand for trained nurses who would not upset the whole -household, she concluded to look into that matter herself, and -volunteered to serve in the hospital during war times. - -“I must do something to help along; and nobody need know, unless I -choose.” It was while thus serving that the Doctor and Paul had first -met her, when the Doctor was a patient after his bicycle accident in -a miniature cyclone. It was in the hospital that Doctor Wise had -first read her hand, and made a note of it as approaching the psychic -type more clearly than any other he had then met. - -From the Doctor’s point of view Adele’s hand was indeed suggestive, -but not so purely psychical as to intimate mysticism to excess. -It was rather that of a vivid idealist than a moody mystic,--too -much intellectuality in the upper part, as well as assertion in the -thumb and clearness in the head-line, not to influence and modify -the natural tendency and scope as shown by the general form. It -was not the hand of one whose vague aspirations after the good but -unattainable would lead to extremes either in the activities of -communism or socialistic vagaries, nor in the opposite direction -towards the passive life of an ascetic. Either one would have soon -disgusted Adele. It was the hand of one who endeavored to be logical, -and did have common sense; yet in the exuberance of feeling sometimes -put her hero upon a pedestal only to find the pedestal had a crack -in it and the hero was in danger. As to the hero himself, he was -never affected; she remained true to her hero, no sawdust in him; but -she certainly did put him quietly aside on the shelf when she found -herself beyond his point of view. She simply put him on the shelf -to “think it out for himself,” as she had done for herself,--and in -consequence had more would-be heroes following in her train, striving -to catch up, than is generally found in the domain of hero worship. - -Youth has its sway. Adele was most delightfully enthusiastic at -times, often bent upon what she called “having a good time.” Then -she was a picture worthy of Fortuny’s art in a sunny Spanish patio; -but in quieter moments as introspective as one of Millais’ peasants; -rather over-confident in her own resources, having really not met as -yet any opposition worthy of the name, unless perhaps a weak patient -who refused to take medicine. Then she took a sip herself, and told -him “Now you’ve got to take it,” and he did,--because her actions -spoke louder even than her words. - -Her father had several times told her to read the world as if it were -a book, and she had heard her mother refer to certain society leaders -who acted a part that did not suit their own style. She determined -to know and read all passers-by, from cooks with a sauce-pan to -princesses with a crooked coronet, including Tom, Dick and Harry -of course; and she found it so highly interesting, that when about -eighteen she thought she might--yes--she might, in time,--write a -novel herself; in fact she did write the title page, and the chapter -on “Direful Conflict,” in which the sauce-pan and coronet almost came -to blows. Whether to make that chapter the beginning of her novel or -the ending, proved the poser, so it too was put upon the shelf with -the heroes. - -The most interesting thing to people is people themselves. Adele’s -maternal instincts told her this very soon. - -Things are of real value about in proportion to the effort they cost. -Her instincts from her father suggested this, but she did not believe -it at first. It might be, but was not pleasant to think of. She knew -well enough that all that glitters is not gold, but sometimes thought -that glitter might be when it wasn’t. When she found herself deceived -in this respect her conclusions took a pronounced feminine form of -expression. “Mother! I don’t think so very much of Mr. Upham they all -talk about. He tries to show off--absurdly condescending, and talks -as if he knew more about it than anybody else. Nobody really thinks -of what he says, only of him. I think him a bore.” - -“Well, don’t let him know it, my dear,” promptly answered Mrs. -Cultus. “One has to become accustomed to trifles. I generally look -the other way and avoid them.” - -“I’m not going through the world on stilts, anyhow,” laughed Adele. - -“No, my dear, I trust not, nor on a bicycle either; neither is -becoming.” - -Adele watched her father whenever they went out together, with -almost precocious interest. She wished to discover how he made -himself so agreeable to others and finally concluded that “Father’s -manners are perfection.” She followed her father’s advice quite as -naturally as she did her mother’s, the wisdom of which often appealed -to her also; but in spite of her affection for both, she soon began -to perceive there was something much more subtle in life than worldly -wisdom. Things seen were by no means so potent as some other things -unseen. She would use the world, but not let it use her. “I shall -soon be used up myself” was the way she expressed it after having had -rather too much of a good time. - -Without actually formulating the pros and cons in her own mind, she -really decided not to attempt any part unless she could do justice to -it under the stimulus of her own approval. - -Things seen, and never ignored, were already becoming subservient to -things unseen. - -Such was Adele as a girl, and during the few years when her college -experience was prime factor in her life. - - - - - IV - - ADELE HEARS THE WORDS OF A SONG - - -There was just enough of chilly winter left to make the springtime -fascinating and a wood fire still acceptable in the cozy library -where Doctor Wise and his younger friend Paul Warder sat together -expecting guests. They occupied bachelor apartments in common. A -delicious aroma from wood logs permeated the atmosphere. - -There was music also, for the eye as well as the ear. The firelight -played in crescendo and diminuendo, with now and again marked rhythm -and very peculiar accents. The sound of wheels reverberated clearly -in the cool night air and ceased opposite the portal. An expectant -waiting, but no response, no frou-frou from silken skirts passing -along the hallway as anticipated. Instead, Benson,--Benson the -butler, his countenance a foot long. - -“Some one, sir!” - -“I presume so.” - -“Some one, with his--his trunk.” - -“His trunk!” The Doctor lowered the bridge of his nose, and peered at -Benson over his eye-glasses. - -“Yes, sir! a big one.” - -“What’s that for? What will he do with it? What will we do with it?” - -“Show him up, Benson,” said Paul, promptly; “trunk and all.” - -Paul’s eyes twinkled as he vanished through the doorway. - -“Never heard of such a thing,” mused the Doctor, “bringing a trunk -to a musicale. Must be some mistake! Benson! I say, Benson! Show him -next door.” - -“Not yet I hope,” and amid shouts of laughter in rushed two -fellows,--Paul bringing Henri Semple--“Harry”--of all their musical -friends the one most welcome and opportune. - -The Doctor was delighted, and gave him a good squeeze--no time for -much else. - -“Benson! put Mr. Semple’s trunk in his own room, you know the one I -mean; and now, Harry, if you don’t get inside that trunk quickly as -possible the state of the country will not be safe, an invasion is -threatened at any minute. Put on your regimentals at once, and help -us out.” - -Semple, who understood the Doctor’s lingo from many years back, took -in the situation at a glance. He had hardly time to laugh about the -Doctor’s being “the same old chappie as ever,” when he was literally -thrust towards the stairway, to follow the trunk, and put on his -evening clothes. - -The episode had been one of Paul’s agreeable surprises so often had -in store for the Doctor. - -Semple’s name had appeared upon the passenger list of an ocean flyer -just arrived. Paul sought him by telephone, caught him, and insisted -upon his coming. Semple, already in traveler’s shape, had “hustled” -to reach his old friends. The time was short, but Harry in true -American fashion had “got there”--that was all, with the regimentals -ready to be put on. - -It is not necessary to produce the bachelor’s visiting list and -mark off all those who honored the occasion with their presence. -Paul always made it a point to have plenty of men on hand at his -entertainments; whether at chit-chat-musicale or conversational game -of whist, all went off with a rush. Those who took their pleasure -more seriously were furnished excellent opportunity in the library, -while the conversational music-racket progressed in the parlor. - -The trio, Doctor, Paul and Semple, were already standing in line, -like three serenaders in white waistcoats, when Mrs. Maxwell was -ushered in. She had kindly consented to act as matron, knowing all so -well; in fact had entertained both Paul and Semple at her picturesque -cottage, “The Kedge.” Her vivacious presence at once brought with -it a breezy atmosphere from the romantic coast of Maine, where “The -Kedge” stood perched like a barnacle upon a boulder, and the winds -wafted white spray falling like a lace mantle upon dahlias and -nasturtiums at her feet. - -And with her Miss Dorothy, her niece, whose charming letters the -winter previous from Ischl had given vivid pictures of experience -abroad, Vienna life, and Egyptian mysteries known only to herself and -the Sphinx. - -A dozen or more soon followed. Conversation already at its height -when Professor and Mrs. Cultus entered, also their daughter Adele -whom the Doctor had before met under such peculiar circumstances -at the hospital. Adele looked radiant, having brought with her an -intimate friend, Miss Winchester, for whom she had requested an -invitation. The Doctor greeted them with both hands, for he had -already detected the devotion which had sprung up between these two -girls. They seemed a host in themselves wherever they went. He made -Miss Winchester feel at home at once, and she accepted the situation -promptly; she had the happy faculty of doing that sort of thing. -The Doctor enjoyed her frankness. She was like, yet very unlike -Adele; no doubt much in common between them, yet of a very different -temperament. The inquisitive Doctor perceived this at a glance. -“Must read her hand,” he cogitated, for his interest in Adele made -him curious to know more of the one to whom Adele seemed especially -devoted. - -Others dropped in later, the rooms became well filled. The guests -sought easy chairs, Paul taking special pains to see that Mrs. Cultus -was comfortably settled. Mrs. Cultus in turn had made up her mind to -hear Paul sing with the Doctor as accompanist. She had heard that -they performed “stunts,” whatever they might prove to be, and now -was her opportunity; also, she wished the stunts just as soon as -possible. “Keep it up,” said Mrs. Cultus, _sotto voce_. - -Of course Paul could not refuse point blank, but he must be permitted -to do so in his own way, for none knew better than he and the Doctor -that their music together was of such a peculiar nature that unless -led up to judiciously the effect would be utterly ruined. In fact -there was nothing in it but “the spirit of the thing,” and little -technique whatever except to meet the demand of this spirit of the -thing. They had never had either time or inclination to cultivate -and keep technique-on-tap,--a thing to be turned on and off like a -fountain before an admiring public. Nevertheless, the little they -could do gave a deal of pleasure to those not already hypnotized -by digital gymnastics, or become satiated from eating too much -candy-music. - -Unfortunately, Mrs. Cultus’ ideas about leading up to anything in -the domain of music had been originally formed upon her experience -when leading in the german, and in spite of her short but higher -experience in Germany, her natural propensities often prevailed. As -to any preparation of the mind and ear for the reception of given -musical sounds and kindred forms of artistic and poetic expression, -she was lamentably wanting, in fact her tactics often little better -than a box of tacks to irritate the acuter sensibilities of those to -whom she appealed with so much apparent appreciation. Mrs. Cultus -never listened for the tone-color, simply because she could not -constitutionally; she really could not, it was not in her to hear -what she could hear. - -The music commenced, and Mrs. Cultus waited for the stunts. Henri -Semple opened with some of Brahms’ Hungarian Dances, charmingly -vivacious and contagious, also played in some duets with the Doctor -on Creole and Florida negro themes. Racial and national dance music -seemed not a bad overture to harmonize with the gay spirits already -in vogue, yet lead on to something else. Herr Krantz then favored -the company with some German songs; he appreciated the value of -continuity, yet did not ignore the power of contrast. Herr Krantz -was an artist; his first song in rather quick tempo with a dramatic -climax, his second full of suppressed emotion; each most artistic -in effect. All enjoyed his robust tenor voice, also his admirable -interpretation of the sentiment of what he sang. Mrs. Cultus and the -Doctor led in the applause; Mrs. Cultus because she detected that the -whole thing was as it ought to be, especially the dramatic climax of -the first song, and the tears suggested when the second song died -away. Mrs. Cultus was much given to applauding when songs died away -in tears, she wished the singer to understand that he died with good -effect. The Doctor admired all artistic productions and renditions -of any kind; even a good performance on a jew’s-harp or a xylophone -was appreciated by him from the standpoint of art as art. If it did -not manifest the sacred fire of the soul above all else, it was to be -enjoyed and applauded nevertheless, as truth for its own sake, if not -the highest form of truth through musical expression. He had heard -mocking-birds sing like nightingales, yet they were not the veritable -rossignole; he had long since learned that perfect technique was -not the only way of expression, since the sacred fire burst through -all bounds and made terrible mistakes (technical), yet was truth -enduring, truth soaring towards immortality and enduring as memory -endures. - -Paul in the meantime had induced Miss Winchester to follow Herr -Krantz; and since his German artistic rendition had excited her -imagination, her fingers fairly twitched with desire to respond, -ready to the interpretation of what she felt. She knew she could play -well because in the mood, delicious sensation. - -Miss Winchester’s talent for melodic expression was decidedly of the -romantic school. Her idol was Schumann, and at times Tschaikowsky, -but never when in their morbid humor, then she shut up their -compositions and left them to be morbid alone, not with her. Fact is, -Miss Winchester’s versatility and intellectual vivacious activity -were so pronounced that she could render many original or rare wild -fanciful “_morceaux_,” provided they were vivacious and embodied with -personal experience, or what one might call the racial or national -rhythm of those people who did sing and dance naturally. She and -her brother were both extremely gifted in this respect, and to hear -them play together was not unlike attempting to enjoy two glasses of -champagne at the same time. - -Miss Winchester was soon leading the whole company through some -Mexican danzas with a spontaneous abandon perfectly delightful; then -some half-Spanish or old-time Creole reminiscences, very dansante in -their time and place, and yet with a peculiar strain of languor which -pictured the sunny southern clime in one of its most characteristic -moods. Also one of her brother’s waltzes which quite lifted the -hearer off his feet, very difficult to interpret as she did; simply -because not being a singing waltz, neither of the kind that draws -the feet downwards towards the floor in tempo strict and strong, but -quite the contrary lifts the dancer up, carries him beyond, without -fatigue, borne upon the wings of time into the realm of graceful -motion. - -Mrs. Cultus could not quite make out whether this strange rhapsodical -style of waltzing was quite up to the standard of the occasion. -It certainly was rather effective, but not as she ever remembered -hearing it in the german. “’Twas impossible to count two or three to -such a thing as that and keep up with it;” therefore suspicious. So -the politic Mrs. Cultus hid behind her jewelled lorgnette, looking -alternately at the performer and the audience before making up her -mind. - -The susceptible Doctor was quite fascinated, translated, as he -entered into the spirit of the thing. He thought of scenes in -Delibes’ ballets, of Sylvia and Coppelia, also of the wonderful grace -of Beaugrand upon Walpurgis night when she first appears enveloped by -a cloud descending upon the stage, the cloud disappearing, the dancer -wafted forward to whirl amid a maze of fascinating melody. - -Adele and Paul also could not resist the temptation to “try it in -the hall,” but soon gave that up; Adele expecting to sing herself, -therefore careful of her voice, and Paul because the fascination -was quite sufficient without the dancing just then. They were again -caught sitting on the stairs under the benign countenance of “Fanny,” -the old family clock, who ticked on solemnly as if accustomed -to witness waltzing and flirtations, in past times as well as -to-night,--this when the Doctor put in an appearance to ask Adele to -sing. - -Adele was an enchanting personification of youthful enjoyment when -Paul led her into the room, her dark eyes lustrous and full of fire, -yet but little conscious of self when she at once dropped Paul’s arm -to rush up to Miss Winchester and thank her for the treat she had -given them. “I never heard you play better in my life, my dear! Oh, -how I wish I could do it!” and then, feeling her own position, became -more subdued in manner as she approached the piano. Henri Semple had -kindly offered to accompany her--they had often sung together as she -called it, so felt in unity at once. Only a word was necessary to -Henri, “Please go straight on, if I should trip I’ll catch up again.” -Henri smiled and began the introduction. - -Adele first sang a rather pretentious florid aria. Her mother had -insisted upon this, evidently thinking that all should be informed -at once that her daughter had been educated under the best masters, -as she herself had been under Fraulein Ritter. Adele complied with -her mother’s request, even if she herself had different notions as -to the result. Mrs. Cultus had “dropped her music” soon after the -bills had been paid for her education, and never picked it up again -except in nursery rhymes for Adele. Those nursery songs had won -their way to Adele’s heart, she sometimes sang them yet, but their -greatest triumph had been to excite within her a desire to really -sing herself. She now proposed to hold on and not drop what she had -striven for, to make her voice the means towards expression of higher -things, feelings which words could not always express. As to the -florid aria to commence with, “Oh, yes! it would do to try the voice -and bring out the notes, but the real thing must not be expected -until later.” - -Her innermost thoughts were quite in this vein when enthusiastic -applause greeted her singing. She had sung well. Herr Krantz -complimented her, evidently sincere, so she took his appreciation -sincerely, but soon turned to Mr. Semple to select something more -to her own taste. She chose a composition with which she was very -familiar, one of her special favorites, and passed it to Henri. - -Semple glanced it over, and being himself of kindred spirit with -her own at once detected certain signs,--how it had been well used -but carefully handled, certain passages marked, some private marks, -evidently her own. - -“Miss Cultus, don’t you play this accompaniment yourself?” - -“Oh, yes!” - -“I thought so--let me resign!” - -“Don’t you know it?--it’s not difficult.” - -“So I see, but I’m sure none could play it exactly as you would feel -it.” - -Adele knew this to be true; no one could really accompany the songs -she really loved so completely to her own satisfaction as herself, -that was the way she had learned to love them. - -“You won’t be offended if I do?” - -Semple responded at once and stood beside her, but he felt intensely -curious to know exactly why, since she was so different from many, -she desired to do so with this particular piece,--the accompaniment -did not appear to be especially exacting, so he asked her about the -peculiarities of the composition. - -“I like to be near the composer, near as I can,” was all she said in -reply, and without further ado seated herself at the instrument. - -Some noticing her movement were disappointed, others delighted; the -latter were those who loved music which came from the heart,--the -former those who admired what came from the head. - -The Doctor asked her father if she preferred to accompany herself. -“Only at times,” said the Professor, and he appeared rather serious -himself when he observed the mood she was in. It would probably -be Adele at her best, but by no means likely to command the most -general appreciation. Then he told the Doctor: “She knows that head -and heart must work together as one if any true emotion is to come -with the music, and she thinks this is such a subtle matter in her -own case that she must become as near like the composer himself as -she possibly can to render the music as he originally conceived and -felt it. She insists that every good song is fundamentally emotional, -the spirit dominating the art. To get close to this spirit in the -piece, to become the composer and try to re-create the piece, is what -she is after. One soul and mind, the voice soul and the artistic -accompaniment; both had come originally from one creative source, the -composer, whose whole being must have throbbed with one emotion when -he wrote the piece if worth anything. Those who would really feel the -same emotion must try to be like him and follow him in spirit and in -truth. She wishes to reproduce the intimate sympathetic blending of -voice and accompaniment which the composer had felt when he wrote the -song.” - -“How intensely she must feel!” said the Doctor, pensive, and -turned to listen, giving attention to the singer to recognize her -personality as creator for the time being of the song,--the singer -giving new life, a renaissance or resurrection to the song. - -What Adele sang was a melody by Gounod with simple chords in the -accompaniment, the piano filling in like a second voice when her own -was not prominent. The second voice sang with her, that is, to her -and for her, and the two blended as one, a veritable duet of heart -and head as one. The piano gave the atmosphere in which the melody -lived, moved and had its being, and the melody itself was the voice -of a living soul singing in truth and purity. - -To sing it as she did required intense mental effort, herself under -admirable control;--the dominating emotional spirit within. It was -the divine art, the purity in the art, hence divine in origin. Art -dominated by the Spirit of Truth that is Holy, in Music. Music as -Truth, for a religious fervor lay deep within the song. It was -the overflow of her own feelings which others heard and felt, yet -she sang as if no one was present,--none,--herself alone,--Adele -an Idyl. As she continued, the melody seemed to gain in spiritual -significance, so pure, so true, so simply lovely, the good, true and -beautiful, as one, a trinity of inner experience, and thus possessing -a high spiritual significance. All who heard, associated with her -voice their own best thoughts. They “became one” with her,--and -while she thus led them towards higher and better things, the melody -soared upon the wings of a dove, rising as if nearing the celestial -choir. It did not diminish, grow less, nor die away, but passed from -hearing; it was heard, and then it was not heard, gone--gone to live -among the melodies of immortality, for the truth in her music had -made it an immortal song--none could ever forget, neither her, her -song, nor how she sang it. - -“How angelic!” whispered those who heard her. - -“She is an angel,” said her mother, who knew her best. - -The Doctor mused; he was still thinking some time after the -song ceased. There was to him a feeling of both exhaustion and -exaltation,--the human and the divine in his own personality. - -As to Paul,--the emotion was rather strong for him, rather too -much just then, the complications of feeling decidedly confusing, -especially as he would be called upon to sing next. He felt perfectly -limp. “What on earth can I do, after an angel has carried the whole -crowd into the upper regions!” - -The suppressed applause which followed Adele’s sacred song had hardly -ceased, the hum of appreciation still heard, and Adele herself about -to ask Henri Semple for the bouquet of American Beauties which he -held for her, when she caught the eye of Paul and gave him a slight -inclination of the head to approach. - -Paul had been asked to sing next. She knew it,--she also knew the -style of his music, that it could not possibly sound to advantage -immediately after her own success. She also knew Paul’s sensibility, -yet desire to oblige. In the kindness of her heart, now so sensitive -from the holy spirit in music which had prompted her singing, she -wished in some way to aid Paul to bridge over the dilemma into which -her mother’s lack of appreciation of the personal element in music -threatened to lead him, for it was Mrs. Cultus who had insisted upon -his singing as soon as Adele finished. - -May it not also be said that Adele herself was about to take another -step forward in her musical career? namely, by a very practical -appreciation of the vast domain of melodic expression,--in other -words the comprehensiveness of “the art of putting things” and the -wonderful difference in methods and means by which spiritual effects -may be produced. She knew that Paul’s voice did appeal to mankind, at -least to some, quite as positively as her own; he also was sensitive -about it, but his emotional feeling was so different from her own. -She wished to be altruistic, and assure Paul fair treatment. - -Paul joined her. “I never heard you sing better.” - -“I’m glad you were here,--I felt like it,--Gounod is a great friend -of mine.” - -“I wish I had a friend on hand.” - -“How so?” - -“To sing for me, my voice is scared to death.” - -“It doesn’t sound that way, but I know what you mean.” - -“’Pon honor!--the crudity of it! and then to be asked to sing after -you.” - -“Never mind that, think of the music, and forget yourself.” - -“What! forget the music and think of myself!” He had hardly uttered -the thought upside down before it seemed to suggest something to him. -He said nothing, however, for a moment, and then seemed to brace up, -and began talking about other things, until Mrs. Cultus approached. - -Adele knew, or rather thought she knew, that if her mother pressed -him too hard in his present mood she might receive a refusal in -return, a polite apology for not singing. Much to her surprise, -Paul consented with considerable cordiality, saying he would do his -best gladly; but there was a twinkle in his eye which he could not -disguise as he said it. Adele wondered what the twinkle meant. Mamma -felt sure he would do “stunts.” - -What had influenced Paul so suddenly? The twisted words giving a new -association of ideas had suggested yet another motive for singing. -“Forget the music, and think of you, Adele.” He had thought of a -songlet which did just that sort of thing--he would try it. - -Why had Adele failed to appreciate the twinkle? Simply because she -did not then know him well enough to recognize one of the strongest -elements in his character, namely, a certain sure reserve power which -men of his type are apt to possess, and manifest in positions of this -sort with marked individuality in form of expression. Paul was just -such a man. - -With him it had been Adele’s first song, the florid aria to show off -her voice, which had made the passing impression, not the second; in -fact, the train of thought first excited had continued on through -Adele’s second song, blinding him to a certain extent,--so that -although he did hear the beautiful finale when her voice passed from -hearing, he was preoccupied; he heard it only as another instance of -her highly cultivated technique, nothing more. Its real spiritual -significance had been lost upon him because his mind was preoccupied -in another direction. Having ears he had not heard, yet being what -he was, he had; consequently his impressions of her performance -were complicated. He had appreciated her cultivated voice as fully, -probably, as any in the room, but also remembered how at the hospital -some time before she had sung much less ambitious music which excited -even greater sympathy, bringing tears rather than applause. He did -not wish Adele to lose her charm in that respect, and now, in his -present frame of mind, feared lest she might do so. In fact, being -somewhat askew in his own mind, yet rather sensitive about her, he -jumped to the conclusion that she might give up the old simplicity of -real power in order to electrify society by flights of vocalization. -Thus the spirituality of a sincere, practical man did not differ -fundamentally from that of another with greater æsthetic and artistic -development, but the manifestation of it took an entirely different -form. - -Evidently Paul was quite as much interested in Adele’s success as -she was in his,--but how different the motive and varied the form -of expressing the emotion. Paul determined to give her some sort of -a hint as to how he felt, and in a way she alone would recognize. -If he had been older, no doubt he would have told her so direct, -but youth is fonder of playing games in which self-reliance takes a -prominent part. He made up his mind to sing anyhow, and quick as a -flash the thought had come to him, “her effect was through the music, -not the words, why not forget the music and think of the words?--try -it with a style and with a purpose so different from hers that no -comparison can possibly be in order?” He would force attention to -the words rather than the music, and compel the audience to listen -for the sake of the words. As to sentiment! His eyes twinkled as he -thought of it; the audience could interpret that, each after his own -fashion,--as for him, he would forget the music and think of Adele. - -Paul went to the piano, telling Adele not to listen, as it was only -some verses from “_Life_” which the Doctor had set to music. This was -quite enough to excite Adele’s curiosity, and made her more attentive -even than the others. - -Paul’s voice was a rich baritone with but little cultivation, and -fresh as nature had given it to him, with some few rich masculine -notes as soft as velvet. When he felt intensely, yet kept himself -under control, and the song brought into play those particular notes, -Paul could make even a society reporter listen with sincerity. His -articulation being clear, the listeners heard the words without -effort, and the music became a harmonious medium of communication. - -Much to his satisfaction he felt this mood coming over him. The -Doctor, too, knew by his manner that Paul would be at his best, so -played the accompaniment to sustain the voice, yet allow expression -absolutely free with Paul,--a condition of things only possible to -those who have personal sympathy as well as melodic instinct. - -Each line of the song told its own tale;--the sentiment, not the -cultivation of the voice nor accompaniment, attracted attention;--a -few gestures gave the proper emphasis. - - “She is so fair, - And yet to me - She is unfair - As she can be. - - “Were she less fair, - I should be free; - Or less unfair, - Her slave I’d be. - - “Fair, or unfair-- - Ah! woe is me; - So ill I fare-- - Farewell to thee!” - -The effect was peculiar. Some caught what they thought were puns in -the words, and called for a repetition to catch them better; others -said the fellow was a fool to give up the girl so soon,--she was not -really so unfair as she appeared to him. Society amused itself hugely -over the absurd situation. - -Adele turned to the Doctor. “I don’t care for that song.” - -“No! Why?” - -“The girl was misunderstood.” - -“How strange! I didn’t see it that way at all,” said the Doctor. - -“What did you see?” - -“The young lady did not appreciate her admirer.” - -“What is it called?” asked Adele. - -“A Paradox.” - -Paul overheard them and noticed an introspective expression on -Adele’s countenance. Was she trying to recall the words? He would -make sure of them, so in response to the encore repeated after this -fashion: - - “Thou art so fair, and yet to me - Thou art unfair as thou canst be. - - “Wert thou less fair, I should be free; - Or less unfair, thy slave I’d be. - - “Fair, or unfair--Ah! woe is me; - So ill I fare,--farewell to thee.” - -And as he sang, the peculiar twinkle in his eyes again appeared. -To the hearers it seemed very appropriate to the song, part of the -spirit of the thing. Paul was more interested as to how it would -affect Adele. - -Adele was more confused than ever. Did he, or did he not, intend -anything? She hardly knew how she ought to address him the next -minute. It would be foolish to lay any stress upon such a song, -merely a _play upon words_ at best; yet her womanly instinct told her -it might mean a great deal. She had no time, however, to think much -about it, and did not care much anyhow, so tried to put the matter -quite aside. - -“What absurd words!--not so bad either ... but he certainly made them -tell,” and she looked around the room as if to notice what others -thought. - -People were still discussing the Paradox. - -“The impression seems to last,” said she. - -The Doctor caught her final word. - -“What lasts, Miss Adele?” - -A twinkle in her eye this time. - -“Paul’s song,--wasn’t it amusing?” and they both laughed heartily. - -“The supper is served,” whispered a waiter to the Doctor, and shortly -after Adele was seen entering the supper-room on the Doctor’s arm. -Paul escorted Miss Winchester. - - - - - V - - AFTER DARK IN THE PARK - - -After the guests had departed the Doctor decided he would fill his -lungs with fresh air by a short stroll in the park before retiring. -Thus to saunter was a favorite experience with him after an evening -spent in close quarters. He could be alone, yet not alone,--in the -world, yet not of it. - -“These breathing places are delicious,” he mused, “good for all, day -or night; to the poor a blessed change from close and narrow homes, -and to the wealthy if they only knew it, from their over-heated -rooms. Fresh air in the lungs and a good quaff of pure water are the -most healthy somnorifics I know. Thank Heaven, this park furnishes -such luxuries to all.” This as he took a seat near a fountain which -overflowed conveniently for the thirsty wayfarer. - -The trees overhead were coming into new leaf, and the grass plots -newly trimmed,--the resurrection of spring evidently near at hand. -Arc lights from a distance shone through, giving a silvery lustre to -the undersides of the new foliage, and a radiant glow which permeated -the long vista. - -He looked above into the azure,--it was a starlit night; also towards -the horizon, down one of the wide avenues which intersected at the -park. Upon a public building in the distance some statuary above the -cornice stood distinct in outline against the sky, but from time to -time the figures were obscured by clouds of smoke or steam enveloping -as in a luminous mist. The figures came and went as if they -themselves were endowed with movement. He watched the smoke-mist, -tracing to its source,--a press establishment,--the newspaper workers -busy while the public slept. He hoped that to-morrow’s issue might -bring news of something better than the smoke of war, mists of -politics, and the vile conflicts of the debased side of humanity. Why -not accentuate the good in the world instead of the evil? Such would -be the way of truth in life, to overcome the evil with the good. But -he did not feel very sanguine that to-morrow’s issue would be of -that sort,--certainly not so long as the use and abuse of head-lines -purposely to mislead the public for the sake of cash obtained. - -He then looked more carefully at the fountain. It was a gift to the -city from a dear friend of both himself and Paul, their old friend -John Burlington, whose philanthropy took many practical forms for -the benefit of the public. He skirted the park on his way out, and -noticed a barber shop across the street in which a few days previous -he had been shaved. Why that particular shop? Because therein he had -been shaved by a young woman, of whom in justice it must be said she -did it remarkably well. “Woman’s sphere is rapidly increasing,” he -mused, “but in such matters, at what a terrible risk and sacrifice of -womanly reserve; a gain in wages and publicity, a loss of refinement -and the other feminine attributes. Is not woman’s head-gear -sufficiently complicated already to furnish employment to experts of -her own sex without attempting to scrape a man’s chin? Certainly the -latter was a risky business for a woman to attempt on short notice.” - -There was a hotel on the corner. He stopped to purchase a cigar, -but it was too late. Too late for that, but not too late for others -passing in and out. A couple passed through an inconspicuous entrance -with a peculiar dim lantern in the vestibule near by, and soon -disappeared. They appeared to be sneaking in, yet perfectly familiar -with the premises. - -A gay crowd of young people on bicycles passed by; it seemed -unusually late to see so many out. As they wheeled off, talking in -high spirits, there was naught, however, to distinguish them from a -party of industrious young workers who had been kept indoors during -the day, and whose youth demanded outdoor exercise, even if it had to -be taken after dark. - -“Where are their parents? still snoozing?” queried the Doctor,--“a -ride after midnight may lead to a ‘skip by the light of the moon,’ -but that’s none of my business,” and the bachelor doctor wended his -way back towards his own domicile. - -He was just about to enter when he spied a slight, agile figure, an -elderly lady dressed in black, approaching and motioning to detain -him. He could not mistake that light airy step, the nervous activity, -the characteristic gestures. It must surely be she whose activity in -good works he had known so long and well, yet he little expected to -see her alone in the public street at that hour. - -He ran down to meet her, took her arm under his and begged her to -come in. - -“I can’t, my dear, positively I can’t,” in a voice sweet and -cheerful, as if she wished it but was too busy. - -“Well, let me escort you home, then,” insisted the Doctor. - -“No, my dear, not necessary at all, not a bit. I never have any -difficulty at night. I wouldn’t take you on any account. I’ve been to -the----” and she hesitated. - -“Well, what can I do for you, Aunt Mary?” - -She smiled as if the name was most welcome,--patted the Doctor on the -back, called him one of “her boys,” and stopped a minute to chat. - -But who was Aunt Mary? - -One of those excellent, self-sacrificing Christian women, loving and -lovable, whose whole life was devoted to helping and encouraging -those in distress. Her vocation especially among the worthy poor, -where her heart was ever willing, and her activity constant in their -behalf; striving to bring hope and efficient aid to those who were -struggling against adversity, kindness where it was most needed, -affection where it was seldom met. Among many friends she had a small -coterie of gentlemen whom she called her boys. To these she appealed -in emergencies, and was sure to receive without further inquiry, -simply because “Aunt Mary wanted it.” As sometimes the case with -Christian women of her active, sympathetic, sanguine type, she had -been led to join a few others in the work of redemption conducted -under the auspices of the Midnight Mission. Aunt Mary was returning -from the Mission when she caught sight of the Doctor, her heart -full to overflowing about some hopeful cases among the unfortunate -outcasts she had met. Like an Angel of Mercy she had been spending -her evening talking with purity of thought and action to some, -and waiting for others who might wander in from the streets. She -had been holding out her arms to welcome, to give shelter in the -Home--Christ-like--“Come unto Me, all ye that are weary and heavy -laden, and I will give you rest.” - -As the Doctor left Aunt Mary at the door of her own modest home, his -thoughts reverted irresistibly to his evening’s experience considered -as a whole. - -The lights and shadows of city life, the contrasts, the changes that -a day may bring forth. Then of the countless fields of work for truth -as each one sees it in his own environment. Surely the Christ life -was the most beautiful and helpful of all. - -He recalled how Adele Cultus had once experienced an ardent desire to -work in the slums and been prevented by circumstances, yet continued -to progress in her own sphere. He thought he detected a spiritual -similarity between her and Aunt Mary, yet to outward view there was -little to suggest such comparison; yet again there was, for the -elderly sympathy for others might have once in youth taken a youthful -form of expression,--and the present youthful girl who began by -sympathy for others might yet attain to her ideals. - -Then his thoughts wandered off in quite another direction. The -fresh foliage in the park had forcibly reminded him of the coming -season for travel, the time had arrived to make final arrangements -for a contemplated trip abroad. Paul and he had so decided during -the winter, and already engaged state-rooms. They had often spent -summers in England and on the Continent, and this time looked forward -to a longer absence than usual,--a visit to Greece, and possibly to -the Far East. The Doctor had longed to stand upon a pinnacle of the -Himalayas, having then about as much idea of what a pinnacle in that -region might prove to be, as many possess of the veritable north pole. - -His thoughts were certainly vague, yet again quite definite after -their kind. When he turned in to bed and began to enter the domain -of Travellers’ Hope, he thought he saw Aunt Mary attending meeting -in Exeter Hall, London, and Adele Cultus playing golf with the -divinities on Olympus. He was hoping Adele would win, when--he forgot -to notice whether she did or not. - - - - - VI - - AN AVATAR IN THE OCCIDENT--THE THEOPHANY OF SPRING - - -The advent of spring brought with it the spirit of locomotion to many -others besides the Doctor and Paul,--it generally does to a sane -mind in a healthy body. With the resurrection of new life comes the -exuberant desire to live in the open, more freely, and have one’s -being in action, to exercise “thought, being and joy” to the fullest -extent. - -To none was this more forcibly true than to Adele Cultus, whose whole -being responded when the sun shone forth and the birds sang. This -condition of things had been greatly strengthened in her limited -experience thus far, by a conversation she once had with her father, -when she sought his advice in connection with teaching a class in -Sunday-School. It was soon after she graduated, and although she was -by no means ignorant of academic phraseology in regard to certain -matters, she was not satisfied; she wanted a simpler, useful way -of expressing facts involving doctrine, and had asked her father a -direct question which might have proved a poser to some parents, but -certainly not to Professor Cultus, who earnestly desired that his -daughter should be spared the mental strife in his own experience -over moral and ethical questions involving discussion which really -did not help towards better living. The Professor detected that -she wished to talk with him seriously; so he drew her towards him, -made her sit upon his knee that she might feel near him in love and -affection,--comfortably at home while her spirit sought the truth. - -“Well, my daughter, what can Father do to help you? Any college -conundrums? Life is full of conundrums, you know!” - -Adele smiled. “Oh, yes, I suppose so. But what I want is a simple -answer--my class must understand, and think about it afterwards.” - -“Perhaps you know the answer yourself, already,” said the Professor, -“and only wish to quiz me.” - -Adele shifted her position on his knee, as if uneasy. “Why, of course -I know; I suppose everybody knows,--but I want to be helped. Knowing -is not enough. What is sin, anyhow? I know it’s detestable, but I -can’t help it. That’s about all I do know, really.” - -The Professor drew a breath of relief. Adele saw her father’s eyes -brighten, and instantly felt that he would help her. - -“Not such a poser as you think,” said the Professor, with marvelous -cheerfulness, considering the topic, “although an immense amount has -been written about it which certainly is confusing.” Adele, noticing -that to him it certainly was not so gloomy as she had expected, at -once felt at ease also. - -“I don’t care what has been written about it to confuse,--what is it? -Some speak of a particular sin first committed by Adam and Eve, and -we have inherited it from them. Well, Father dear, I don’t believe I -inherited sin from you, even if I do have it myself. God in Heaven -is Love,--I can’t believe such a thing of Him. Every baby I look at -tells me it isn’t sinful. Why, they stretch out their little hands to -you to take ’em in your arms.” - -Her father appeared rather more solemn in aspect than before; -experiencing a peculiar paternal sensation of mysterious -responsibility. He let Adele continue. - -“Others,” said she, “speak as if it were a condition we each have to -experience for some reason or other. That seems reasonable, because -we do. But it’s very confusing to teach, or even to talk of to -any one else, even if we all do have the experience. What is it, -anyhow?” and she looked at her father straight in the eyes. - -A strong, impressive, additional experience, which was inspiring for -both of them, resulted; and Adele afterwards looked back upon it as -one of life’s turning points, if not a veritable crisis. - -Truth paternal, as if direct from “Our Father,” rose instantly -within the innermost consciousness of Professor Cultus, father of -his beloved daughter sitting on his knee, seeking the truth where -she believed it could be found. He knew intuitively what sort of -definition could alone satisfy Adele at that time in her life. He -must speak the pure helpful truth in sincerity, just as he saw it -himself, no more, no less:--and this being the case, the Holy Spirit -of Truth in Life gave him power of utterance. He answered promptly. -Adele never forgot his words, or to be more precise, the wonderful -concept as to facts in nature which his words instilled within her -own personality. The thoughts engendered became a part of her being, -and produced a purer atmosphere for body, mind and heart. - -“Adele, my darling, think of life this way. Truth is like the -light, the light you see with your physical eyes;--and light is as -righteousness. Sin, as you know, your conscience tells you so, is -the absence of righteousness; and this precisely as darkness is the -absence of light. Christ, the historic Jesus of Nazareth, is well -known, to those who know Him personally, and therefore most competent -to judge, as the Light of the World in regard to spiritual life. -It was He, among all the founders of the great historic religions, -who really, truly, brought that spiritual life and immortality -into the brighter light we now enjoy. His personality, as the very -source of this light which enlightens, grows clearer and more -potent as the history of the world progresses; His personality the -most enlightening influence ever known in human experience and the -progress of civilizations. He was a thoroughly truthful, righteous -man, actuated by love for humanity; whose life, words, deeds and -sufferings for truth’s sake, embodied the truth, and nothing but the -truth. And now, Adele, with these thoughts about the Light of the -World one can understand better, and more light will shine upon your -inquiry. - -“If one does not live in the good light of righteousness and seek the -very brightest and best he can get, then such a person will certainly -be more or less in the dark,--the darkness of sin. Of course this -condition of living away from the light given us will result in -violations of the divine laws in nature, a breaking of the divine -rule of duty which is to seek the light of truth, not darkness. -Adele, your conscience will tell you the truth, therefore always turn -from darkness towards light. Go out into the world somewhere when -you can’t see clearly in your mind, and look upwards, the spiritual -light will soon come to you, my darling; but be sure to look upwards, -always upwards, beyond yourself,--toward the Light of the World.” - -“I never did like cloudy days,” mused Adele,--and then audibly, to -encourage her father to continue--“I think I know what you mean, -Father; please go on.” - -“Let me tell you a great secret,” said her father, drawing her still -closer. He loved her as the apple of his eye, and was intensely -desirous that she should be spared those unnecessary troubles in -this life from which he himself had suffered. “Let me tell you a -great secret, Adele, one of the most practical mysteries in nature, -because able to banish many worries from your own heart-life. Don’t -bother, my dear, about overcoming sin, or sins, simply turn from them -when they seem near by, moving out into the light, any light you -can find,--and the darkness will flee away. Do you understand, my -daughter? All sin, but only when they deliberately choose to seek and -stay in the dark; all sin, just as we all walk in the dark sometimes, -but it is useless to fight in the dark except to get out of it; -therefore turn at once toward the light so that you may see what you -can see, the better the light the more clearly you will see;--this -is a fact in nature both as to physical and spiritual sight, a great -secret in nature, hid from many ‘who love darkness.’ Go out into the -sunlight whenever you can, so warm and beautiful, and the darkness -of sin will flee away,--you will see truth clearer and brighter than -ever before.” - -“Father, I begin to see a little already,” and she kissed him. - -Her natural tendencies were to look upwards and enjoy things. The -Professor’s little sermon on Light as Righteousness appealed to -her strongly as the truth; and what he had hoped for, namely, that -sin, as such, should be put in the dark background so that her mind -would not dwell upon it at all, was for once an actual experience in -her life. This practical experience was what she most needed then -and there. Her father had helped her to look upwards towards the -Light of the World, and when she did, she saw no sin nor darkness -whatsoever. This was indeed a secret worth knowing to live by. It not -only gave her a chance for practical application in her class which -she immediately decided to put in practice, but it generated a train -of thought which she applied many times in later experience. On the -very next Sunday she took her own way to bring the matter home to -her class, several members of which would have been much improved by -a judicious use of soap and water. She touched upon this somewhat -delicate subject by simply suggesting that if any one wished to -know what sin was, he could easily find out by looking at his dirty -hands in the bright sunshine,--the sin spots could then be easily -seen. “Your inside is just like your outside,” said she, “both want -watching and washing _in a good light_ to find those dirty sin spots, -and get rid of them.” The class understood her perfectly; the boys -especially, the girls, too, each after his own kind. - -As to the train of thought generated within herself, that also took -form, and in a way to strengthen her ideals of what good thoughts -should be. She retired to bed that blessed night after her father -had told her about the Light of the World and of always looking -upwards, with no fear of sin whatever. It is something to be turned -from, like many other kinds of dirt in nature, only one had to look -upwards in order to avoid it because it soiled the mind as well as -the body. There was a lovely picture of the Christ Child in the arms -of His Mother, hanging over her writing-desk in her room. As she -looked upwards, it appeared bathed in sunlight, and the Baby was so -very fresh and clean. - -And when the morning rays came into her bedroom, Adele whispered to -herself, “Oh, there’s the dawn! the light is coming! The roseate -first, and then the golden rays! How beautiful! The Angels of Light! -coming to drive away darkness--and sin.” She cherished this symbolism -her father had given her, throughout her whole life; and from that -day sunrise meant much more to Adele than to many who had none to -tell them how the beauties and mysteries of nature are really blended -together as one. All may see the facts and be helped, if they will -only look upwards towards the Light of the World. - -It was not surprising, therefore, at the present period of her -career, when the advent of spring approached, that Adele enjoyed the -prospect exceedingly. Incidentally she had heard of several who were -going abroad that season, among them the Doctor and Paul. “Oh, how I -wish I were going! The very thought is exhilarating; what would the -realization be! If----” - -She went to the window and looked upwards. “What a lovely day!--I -think I will take a stroll in the park,” and she picked up a little -book which the Doctor had loaned her. “I’ll take this with me and -read it; it’s something about Oriental theophanies, whatever that -may be. I’ll just read it and imagine I’m out in the Orient. If one -cannot go, the next best thing is to imagine one is there,--with a -book.” - -She was dressing to go out when her thoughts took another flight. -“People talk about waiting for things to turn up, they always say -circumstances don’t suit just now, and then collapse. Of course they -collapse,--I should if always waiting--I am sure I should. I couldn’t -stand it. Why not hurry up the circumstances? Mother often makes the -circumstances, and then people fall in; I’ve seen her do it fifty -times. Oh, how I wish I could go abroad!”--then taking her book she -set out for a stroll. - -Adele in the park, how different from the Doctor, the circumstances -altogether different. Not at night and alone, but when the sunlight -gave brilliancy and she was liable at any moment to meet some one she -knew. - -There was, however, a quiet nook where she hoped to be able to -read undisturbed, an inconspicuous seat partially surrounded by a -cultivated thicket of shrubbery. This seemed to suit her present -mood, and she was soon engrossed in the little book so full of the -Oriental way of looking at things, figures of speech in which the -forces of nature were personified, and the most ordinary facts -described in language which might lead plain people to imagine -supernatural operations in nature. It was not so easy as she -imagined, however, to keep her mind in focus. Of course she had to -nod to several of the girls as they passed by, and with one eye -still following them she observed how the birds were ruining a newly -planted flower bed, nipping off the young shoots and gobbling up -the seed which should be left to sprout later. Of course that had -to be stopped,--she must frighten off the birds to save the plants. -Returning to her book, she noticed some manuscript leaves inserted. -They were in the Doctor’s handwriting and so palpably intended to -be read with the text in order to elucidate further the author’s -ideas, that Adele had no hesitation whatever in reading them, and -became absorbed at once. They seemed like what her father had told -her, only in another form. The Doctor had used Western phraseology -to convey Oriental imagery and ideas,--to show how Oriental imagery -may still be forcible to Western sense,--how the truth was in all, to -be perceived by each after his own fashion. Of course the Doctor’s -effort was crude, and well showed how such ideas may lose force when -separated from the civilization which had originally called them -forth; but of this Adele had no realizing sense. They spoke to her -so that she could understand. She did not criticise, but sought the -truth no matter how crude the effort,--thereby manifesting the prime -element essential in all true criticism, namely, sympathy with the -author. What she read was entitled: - - - THE THEOPHANY OF SPRING. - -In the Domain of Nature, during early Spring, one sees the Spirit of -New Life as an avatar, a coming of the Deity, or manifestation of the -Mind in Nature, down to earth--to produce a resurrection of thought, -being, joy, from an apparent death and past. - -To rescue mankind from destruction, the Spirit form is clothed with -Hope as with a garment, hope in tangible manifestation, an admirable -exhibition of an abstract idea, a law in nature, in concrete -fulfilment,--obedience. - -Clothed in delicate, lace-like foliage and young blossoms, the -verdant coloring of many shades, the Presence of the Spirit is -manifest. As movement tells of the wind, so do the youthful forms -tell of refinement, modesty, purity. How exquisite the affinity, the -relationship to the azure blue, the heavens above from which new -life must come with light, warmth, and nourishment; and with the -fleecy clouds floating in the vast expanse, white, the blending of -all colors; marking the heavenly route by which the Spirit had passed -in coming down to Mother Earth. Sparkling gems, the gift from April -showers, decked her hopeful garments; not after man’s arrangement; -there was a method in the natural spirit-art which embodied both the -good and the true with the beautiful. Wherever the brilliant points -could accentuate a graceful fold, or enlighten the mind, or give -nourishment, produce good results in any way, as moisture gives life -and sustentation, there were the sparkling gems upon the Theophany of -New Life. - -As one gazes with holy admiration at this theophany of truth in -renewed manifestation, and watches the changing effects, the action -of the Spirit of New Life becomes apparent; the adaptation of the -new growth to progress becomes a living experience, the facts become -vital in significance to help others to live beautifully and truly. -The pure white light from the azure sky, the composite of all colors, -differentiates itself when touching the new growth and youthful -forms. Topaz flowers, and garlands of ruby blossoms, rich golden -stamens set in sapphire corollas, the royal purple, bloomed upon the -garments of Hope, turquoise opaque tints and alexandrite changing -hues took proper place as life took time. - -The New Life advances, treading the way all plants and men should -follow--must follow. The always true, always good, always beautiful, -in motion or effect. And at times the theophany is seen in effects -too dazzling for mortal eye to gaze upon with sight in nakedness--the -naked eye cannot see and live. From behind the cumuli of clouds such -radiant outbursts of effulgent splendor that a transfiguration of -the Presence itself seems imminent, a veritable foresight of what -the pure in heart above can see and live,--a glimpse of what is -implied by the immanence of the Creator of all life. It is then that -scintillations of brilliancy shine forth from every gem, from every -good thought, from every beautiful action, responsive to Him who -created them. It is then that the truth is visible to the naked eye -so that man can see upon the earth that for which he prays, “as it is -in heaven.” It is then that the Spirit of New Life becomes enveloped -as with a halo around her own presence, and vision is blinded by the -increasing effulgence of the truthful atmospheric effects. - -Man closes his eyes, his vision is too weak, too limited in power -and scope, to behold that which is actually before his eyesight. And -while his sight is sealed by the very glory of the fact itself, and -his mental vision strives to retain permanently that which he has -been permitted to witness, then the Spirit speaks, speaks into the -heart-life of those who have sought by striving to learn how to hear -as well as to see. It is then when the eye is closed, yet all in -the presence of New Life, that the avatar, theophany, renaissance, -resurrection of truth in springtime, speaks the pure word of the Mind -of Nature, the Creator Father,--the still small voice is heard. - -Softly as a murmur it comes from all directions. To him whose life -work is in one field it is a voice profound and comprehensive in -nature, and he calls it the music of the spheres. To another, it -seems as tender, loving and true as parental affection in its -holiest moments, and this one takes his children into the fields and -wood to see and hear. It pervades all life, this Voice of Thought, -Being, Joy, in the resurrection of New Life. It is heard in the -bird-notes from every bush as the little songsters sing to their -mates, rejoicing in renewed virility and hope of cozy nests amid -the youthful foliage; it is the voice of renewed youth speaking -unto itself, yet not itself, but through itself into those whom it -had created, preserved, saved,--a simple, child-like voice, asking -questions. - -Man pauses to listen. What are the questions asked in the early -childhood of springtime? - -Oh, how pure, sincere! Transparent, clear! How loving the motive and -desire which prompts the children of men when close to nature to look -up wistfully for an answer. - -“Whence comes this Spirit of New Life?” - -And lo! the inner voice: - -“All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made -that was made.” - -And lo! again the voice: - -“In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of Men.” - -And lo! yet again the voice--for the third time,--the voice of a man -to his brother man: - -“I am the Resurrection and the Life. Come unto Me.” - -Adele heard this inner voice,--the Trinity in Nature operative, -speaking to her, to her personally. - -She closed the book, pressing it against her heart, and wended her -way homeward, absorbed in thought, verily as one in the world, yet -now above it, spiritually. - -Her father had spoken to her of the Light of the World, as -Intelligence and Righteousness. He who is the Light of the World had -said to her, spiritually: - -“I am the Resurrection and the Life.” - -She had sought the sunshine, and heard the Voice;--the Voice of the -Trinity in the springtime of her youth. - -Not until next morning did the practical application of what Adele -had heard take hold upon her as something demanding prompt attention. -The concept once accepted, at once acted like a seed-word, producing -new life, and the beautiful blossoms of a new intelligence appeared. -She herself became a part of this springtime resurrection. Being what -she was, youthful, intelligent, sincere, it of course took form, -naturally, in connection with that phase of life and activity which -was uppermost in her own environment at the time,--but the motive now -much more heartfelt and spiritual. - -She had longed to go abroad, and often said so, merely, however, for -the hope of enjoyment, now the desire was to see and learn more of -humanity at large for a given purpose; and especially that region, -the Orient, from which such thoughts, so practical yet spiritual, -had originally come. She wanted a broader knowledge of the world and -of the great religions; of the Light of the World as a universal -spiritual as well as physical experience, and this, simply in order -to live better, truer, and to help others. - -“I must go!--really must,” she whispered, “even if I have to make the -circumstances.” - - “_Oh, ye who may survive me when the spring returns, - Remember how I loved its loveliness._” - - - - - VII - - OFF TO ASIA - - -It was at the Club, only a few days later, where the Doctor met -Professor Cultus. The usual preliminaries of greeting had hardly -passed from hearing before the Professor seemed unusually anxious -to know certain details about the Far East, details about modes of -travel and such things,--in fact, asked so many questions quite -unlike his usual mode of conversation, that the Doctor pricked up -his ears with delight, evidently having some suspicions, and finally -asked the direct question: “Why don’t you go and see for yourself?” - -Professor Cultus laughed, and then frankly acknowledged the -situation: “Mrs. Cultus and Adele are so bent on seeing the Orient -before it becomes civilized, as they evidently expect, that I have -no peace. Mrs. Cultus is reading ‘O. K.’ between the lines of ‘The -Incarnation of Krishna Mulvaney,’ as if one ought to throw some light -upon the other. She says she wants to make the acquaintance of some -of those Khidmatgars and Maharajas while they yet stand upon their -native heath. I’ve told her they don’t wear kilts like MacGregor, -but ’twas no use. She immediately wished to know what they did wear. -I suppose I’m in for it. They’ve been talking the matter over at -intervals all winter, but now! now! O now! we have it from thin soup -to thick coffee.” - -“Better give in,” said the Doctor, laughing heartily. - -“Well, just between us, I have;--but I haven’t told them so, not as -yet. I rather take to the notion myself since I can see my way to -get off, but I don’t quite understand the _modus operandi_--how one -man can manage civilized women in a land where women don’t generally -count for much. Did you say the Taj could now be seen without an -elephant ride? That’s the sort of thing I must know beforehand; two -civilized women on one wild beast might demoralize the beast.” - -The bare possibility of having the Cultus party in the East at the -same time with themselves, sent Paul to call upon Adele as quickly -as he could pick up his hat and rush out. These two young members -put their heads together and practically settled all details, both -possible and impossible, before the older members of the party could -well realize what they were talking about. Youth forever! American -style! Action! Action! Action! with occasional application of the -brake. - -Mrs. Cultus was greatly in favor of having four in their own party. - -“_Une partie carree_ is always so much more workable when -travelling,” she said, “and besides, Adele ought to have some one -nearer her own age. I don’t intend to follow Adele into every dirty -native haunt she may take a notion to visit. Now if we can only -find some one of the modern Investigating-Civil Club, or of the -Literary-Reformation Reportorial Society, we shall be in clover all -through the tour; we can report progress in print whenever we wish, -and have a book ready as soon as we return.” - -“But, Mother, you are too grasping,” exclaimed Adele, “only a -literary corps can assimilate the whole thing.” - -“No! Not quite!” said Mrs. Cultus. “We need only report our own -progress, not the rotation-progress-of-the-earth. Now that I come to -think of it, perhaps I’d better do the reporting myself. The society -column generally puts in what I send them,--and then I’m sure of what -is said. Oh! I have an idea! It’s a companion for you, Adele, that -troubles me! Now I come to think of it, whom would you like?” But -before any one could reply, Mrs. Cultus continued: - -“Why, Miss Winchester, of course! Now if she can be persuaded,--Adele, -you know how to coax her,--that will be the very thing.” Professor -Cultus made no objection, and the delighted Adele took it up as if the -persuasion of Miss Winchester were a foregone conclusion. - -Adele and Paul found Miss Winchester in her own study, her -writing-table littered with odds and ends, apparently, really notes -such as literary workers are apt to jot down when a passing thought -or phrase seems worth keeping; loose slips of paper and packages -held by gum bands, pieces pinched at the ends with mysterious folds, -also things tucked away under blotters where she couldn’t find them, -and so forth. The Persuasion Committee, Adele Chairman, entered,--a -gale of wind among the papers. Action first and the ideas picked up -afterwards. Rapturous greeting between the girl chums;--then Adele -exclaimed, “Oh! Frank! If you love me do consent to come with us.” - -“Caramels or Gibraltars? Which is it this time?” laughed Miss -Winchester. - -“Please put on your bonnet and come,” gushed Paul, manly mindful of -the importance of such things. - -“O Frank! We’re just wild to have you.” - -“Well, please become sane again, take a seat;--no, not on that box, -it’s precious!” - -Adele dashed her hat and gloves on the writing-table, utterly -regardless of pens, ink, papers or blotters. “Now, my dear, no -nonsense,--do say yes.” - -“My dear Adele, I do love you very much, but I haven’t the faintest -idea what you’re talking about.” - -Adele produced a printed list of routes for travellers. “There!” -Miss Winchester noticed an illustration of the Sphynx on the cover. -“I never made her acquaintance,” said she, and a comical expression -played over her features as she tried to divine what Adele expected -the Sphynx to tell. - -Adele took it up at once. “You never met the Sphynx! Why, that’s -just it! Now’s our chance,--don’t you see?” And the Committee started -in, one hundred and twenty words to the minute, to explain matters. - -Miss Winchester, somewhat confused by the rapidity of Adele’s jumps -from place to place in mental travelling, but as responsively elastic -as either of the others, took several turns in her office-chair while -the others were chatting; but when they landed her among the Himalaya -mountains as part of the journey, she gasped for utterance: - -“Bless me! You take my breath away.” - -“Never mind! Catch it again. Oh, do please! Please do! and come -along!” - -“But you must give me time to think,” and Miss Winchester began -cogitating how she would turn an apparent impossibility into an -assured fact. - -“Oh, don’t think too much,” exclaimed Adele, when the result of -thinking looked precarious. “Just do it,--why, don’t you see? The -opportunity of our lives! We shall learn so much.” - -Now it so happened, the circumstances being favorable, that Adele’s -last appeal touched upon a matter in Miss Winchester’s past -experience, and excited a far more potent incentive to join the party -than any amount of contagious enthusiasm could ever have accomplished. - -Miss Winchester had not long before published a successful novel -based upon results of travel, including character sketches, the -result of careful observation amid episodes of ordinary life. She -had given it the whimsical title of “Upside Down.” Now what could -possibly be more opportune than to follow this with others,--say on -“Downside Up,” or, better still, “Outside and Inside”? And where -could more be found of circumstantial interest than in the Orient? -Who knows!--it might lead to still another, “Turned Inside Out,” -for the East undoubtedly had many examples of that sort of thing. -Being already a member of the literary craft, the opportunity was -altogether too good to be lost, every nerve must be strained to -reach the other side. It goes without saying that the Chairman of -the Persuasion Committee was caught dancing an impromptu tarantelle -when Miss Winchester finally told them it might, possibly might, be -arranged. - -“Oh, then it’s settled positively,” exclaimed Adele; “for if you -hesitate you’re lost.” - -Paul thought Adele a little witch as she danced with glee, all the -time encouraging her friend. He remembered how Adele had bewitched -himself also not long before, when she was in quite another mood. -Paul laughed outright, but could not keep his eyes from noticing her -every movement. - -As to Miss Winchester, she took hold of the problem with a vim -characteristic of some of the characters of her own creation; she -tackled at once the ubiquitous problem known to all men on both -sides of the globe as, “How to make both ends meet,” and of course -solved it satisfactorily. Some few of the craft-literary, and in some -degree all women of whatever persuasion, usually do. So Adele was -right,--that settled it. Miss Winchester finally saw her way clear, -and joined their party. - -It would have been difficult to find a more congenial and vivacious -group than Professor and Mrs. Cultus, Miss Winchester and Adele, -with their friends the Doctor and Paul, as they met in the salon -of the steamer on the eve of departure. Henri Semple, who looked -forward to meeting them later on the other side, led the party of -chosen friends who came to see them off, and while trying to aid the -Doctor and Paul with their hand-baggage, kept dodging Mr. Hammond, -one of those antipathetic, ghostly individuals who throw cold water -upon such occasions. Mrs. Maxwell sent her butler with an exquisite -kedge anchor in rose-buds for Adele, “in case you have no wireless -telegraph when wrecked, my dear.” - -Amid friends, and flowers sent in kind remembrance, with many kind -messages “bon voyage,” there was, nevertheless, just a touch of -regret when some one asked Adele how she liked leaving America. She -had thus far thought of it as leaving home. Now home was “America” -in reference to where she was going,--her first sensation of the -broadening effects of travel. - -A few moments later all were on deck in gay spirits, Miss Winchester -striving to avoid an impolite kodak-fiend in search of celebrities, -who was taking snap-shots from the bridge; but she only succeeded in -getting herself into a most unconventional attitude, almost doubled -up with laughter, strongly suggestive in a finished picture that -some one had the _mal de mer_ already. “One ought never to judge by -appearances,” remarked the Doctor, as he attempted to shield Miss -Winchester from the kodak. - -The bell sounded, only passengers were permitted to remain longer -on board. The Doctor was saying “I trust we meet again” to one of -his trunks, when Semple hurried down the gang-plank waving back “au -revoir”; a gamin on the dock instantly echoed back what sounded like -“moo-swore, take moo-swore.” Adele waved her handkerchief to Semple, -and a Frenchman near by took off his hat, smiling as if the salute -were intended for him. - -The steamer swung out from the wharf and glided into midstream; amid -cheers, and adieus waved in many directions, and kisses thrown to -loved ones left behind. America and home, now one and the same, began -to recede. They were actually on their way to the Far East. - - - - - VIII - - A STUDIO FOR IMPRESSIONS - - -The voyage across the Atlantic from New York to the Gibraltar -proved a constant series of sapphire days. Skies light azure often -cloudless, the ocean a richer shade with enough wind to curl the -sea-foam into delicate lace-like patterns. When the billows rose -into the domain of direct sunlight, myriads of brilliant points -scintillated like sparkling gems decorating the wave crests,--the -sea-foam not unlike flossy embroidery or ruffles of lace upon silk of -blue. - -Adele’s first experience of things as they are in the great motion -constant, onward, ever forward, in the very being of the boundless -deep; also her first impressions of the ways and means amid a -cosmopolitan crowd on board an ocean-flyer. Nature and humanity, each -in constant movement, the former with majesty and potency profound, -the latter on the grand rush, often to obtain something to eat. - -Towards sunset she stood with the Doctor watching the crimson disk -grow less and less in brilliancy, and finally through a veil of -luminous atmosphere disappear in the mysterious beyond. - -They spoke little, as if under some fascination. The varied -movements in the sky and unstable water-foundation were indeed -somewhat hypnotic in effect, but a psychologist would have been -puzzled to detect the outcome of their meditations. While they -gazed, a passing breeze crossed the surface immediately before them, -changing the delicate traceries in nature’s handiwork. The Doctor -at once responded, for the complications appealed to him, and most -naturally he spoke in terms of his own previous experience of similar -impressions. - -“Those changes in the wave curves are not unlike harmonic -modulations, and I can actually hear the difference.” Adele seemed -surprised. - -“Yes,” continued the Doctor, “the slow, dignified progression is -certainly symphonic in character, yet the infinite variety in less -melodic forms piles up little by little until the greater movement is -itself influenced. How wonderful, majestic, yet exceedingly subtle, -and always refined! It is certainly sound-color or color as sound, -and the drawing of the design--well, ’pon my soul, the drawing is -too quick for me. I can’t see how it is done, it flits from me, is -gone, living only in memory, not unlike the technical element in the -rendition of music. But the sound-color, the real harmony. Ah! that I -hear in my mind’s ear and see in my mind’s eye for long afterwards.” -Adele, much younger than the Doctor, was also working out her own -impressions according to previous experience, the experience of youth. - -“Oh, yes! I see what you see,--very artistic,--you can talk about it -in that style if you choose, but----” and she seemed in doubt how to -describe what she really felt. The Doctor waited till she was ready. - -“It’s so awfully real! It’s alive!” - -“H’m!” - -“Yes, a great real picture, that which I like in pictures.” - -“No doubt an original,” remarked the Doctor, smiling. “The original -of many marines.” - -Adele called attention to the magnificent contour lines which -themselves swayed to and fro over the curved surface. - -“Don’t you see, it’s alive; the whole thing moves, it’s so true; and -you and I with it, we’re all going. Isn’t that just glorious!” - -“Oh!” exclaimed the Doctor, “in Him we live and move and have our -being,--that’s what you mean?” - -“Just so,” and she paused before continuing: “He was the Artist, and -it is a living picture, a real one, just ready to be painted.” - -It was the apparent living earth, the breathing of the deep sea which -had impressed Adele, the suppressed emotion of the planet, ever -existing, ever apparent to those who had eyes to see and ears to hear -for observation; and this over the whole vast expanse. - -“Of course,” whispered Adele, “a living picture, by so great an -Artist, must be sublimely artistic.” - -“True,” mused the Doctor, “the greater will include the less,--a -masterpiece, an original, to lead the artistic sense onward and -upward.” - - * * * * * - -But there were few on board who gave even a passing thought to this -physical breathing of the earth, nor to the invisible moisture -ascending by evaporation. The majority thought no more of it than -they did of their own individual breathing; they took it as a matter -of course, no more, no less. They had, however, other impressions, -quite as mundane, and equally apparent. Some sought impressions from -watching card-sharpers in the smoking-room; others by listening -to fluent talkers who really abused good natural endowments by -promiscuous discussion of any and every subject that came up; men who -did not hesitate an instant to suggest what they considered to be -improvements upon nature. The conceit of some seemed indeed colossal, -especially when they, too, waved their arms about, forming contour -lines over curved ideas, to carry their impressions far beyond the -briny deep. Even such, however, were really small harmless game -compared to what Mrs. Cultus soon encountered. - - - - - IX - - A BUDGET OF NEW SCIENCES - - -Previous to leaving home Mrs. Cultus had flattered herself she -was taking the Professor abroad to obtain rest from his arduous -scientific pursuits--alas! only to find herself at once in a very -vortex of new sciences and arts, so-called. Authorities discussed -Ping Pong as an art, also skittles, and the nomenclature of golf -was quite enough in matter of differentiations to establish it as a -science. Then there were new methods in the practice of medicine. -Thoughts warranted to cure were for sale under the title of Mental -Science;--and even a religious science, said to be popular and quite -new to the orthodox Science of Religions. All were on board and much -in evidence. - -None of these things would have much troubled the Professor, but to -Mrs. Cultus they afforded a glorious opportunity to pick up odd bits -of information. She herself was certainly not suffering from fatigue -from the perusal of scientific publications, so when the book of -experience opened a chapter new to her, written by folk who prided -themselves upon the especial efficacy of their own mental efforts, -why, that appealed as the sort of science and art quite in her line -rather than the Professor’s. Having no lack of worldly wisdom in her -own mentality she at once took her stand. With regard to any new -phase of religious science, so-called, she would be very inquisitive, -not opinionated, much less dogmatic; but as to any mental racket, -scientific or otherwise, she thought she might venture further. In -fact ought to have some opinion of her own, being entitled to it, -_ex-officio_, as a Professor’s spouse. Such was Mrs. Cultus’ point of -view. - -Matters were soon brought to a focus. She overheard repeated remarks -about patients who had been healed simply by receiving new mental -impressions easily obtained, generally by correspondence, fixed -charge, five dollars for epistolary impression. Some one who had -been victimized had told her of a bushel-basket full of impressions -shipped by mail each day from a single office. - -“There must be some good ones in the lot,” thought Mrs. Cultus. “We -must investigate a little.” - -Then she heard of others cured by thought-transference, either -with or without faith,--and finally of cures which tax credulity -to extreme limits of sanity, namely, by the persuasive efficacy of -belief, even in spite of the Creator Father’s natural laws to the -contrary, as if natural laws were inadequate to suit the Creator’s -purpose. Surely enough this to excite Mrs. Cultus’ curiosity. “What’s -the use of travelling unless you take things in, without being taken -in yourself?”--and she determined to caution her daughter. “Adele, -my dear, when your father and I first crossed the ocean together, -some time since, before you appeared, the ship’s company contained -many pilgrims from a sacred shrine, very sacred and very profitable. -We then heard much about cures. If I mistake not I have yet a bottle -of the sacred water from that European shrine, stowed away in our -medicine closet, warranted to be very efficacious to the faithful.” - -“Did you ever test its efficacy?” asked Adele. - -“Well, to be frank, I never saw it used except just previous to -funerals, which struck me as rather late in the day. It certainly -acted like a sedative upon those who administered it, but that’s -another matter. What I was going to remark is, that to-day the tide -of curative waters seems to flow all the other way. America does the -quick-cure business whether the patient is faithful or not.” - -“Well, that’s certainly great gain for the medicine,” remarked Miss -Winchester. Mrs. Cultus continued: - -“Yes, indeed; one might have guessed Americans would introduce -improvements in the system. I always did believe in practical -science, practical metaphysics they call it now, and all that sort of -thing, specially when the thing looks a little mysterious to begin -with,--it clears out the system.” - -“Whose system? What system?” wondered Miss Winchester, “the -medicine’s or the patient’s?” but she said nothing, and smiled -inwardly as Mrs. Cultus continued her drolling. - -“But tell me, are the new medicines proprietary, patented, or merely -bottles for sale, duly authenticated like the old bottles? I wonder -if it would be safe to put some of this new wine, beg pardon, -curative water, into the old bottles?” - -“Oh, dear no!” exclaimed Miss Winchester, promptly. “All medicines -are quite out of date. All you have to do is to think you think, pay -the price, and there you are--cured. I was cured myself.” - -“Why, bless me, child! of what?” - -“Nothing serious--merely of my former impression.” - -“What was your impression of an impressionist, Frank?” said Adele, -laughing. “I don’t believe all of them are quacks, certainly not -until I first hear what they have to say.” - - * * * * * - -Now Miss Winchester, being of the literary craft, indulged in methods -not unlike those practiced by the Doctor in connection with his -palmistry pranks. They both were much given to observing individuals -whose outward appearance suggested a personality from whom they could -learn something. Studying types, the Doctor called it; studying human -nature, Miss Winchester considered it. All was grist that came to -their mill, good, bad, and even the indifferent, cranks and amiables -included. It so happened that in the course of her study of human -nature Miss Winchester had encountered a pronounced specimen of the -genus Professoress, said to occupy the chair of Thought-Cure in a -would-be Sanitorium-University. This had been some time ago. What -was her surprise now to find said Professoress on board, occupying -a deck-chair among the innocents abroad. Not wishing to claim any -acquaintance (having already written her up in an article upon “The -Inside Cure”) unless forced to do so, she had avoided a meeting. It -had been this same individual of whom she had thought when telling -Mrs. Cultus of her own cure; and as luck would have it, there the -healer appeared,--on deck, in a chair, quite near them when Adele -innocently asked for an impression of an impressionist. - -Not wishing, however, to disclose this coincidence until she could -lead up to it after her own fashion, Miss Winchester kept one eye -upon the occupant of the chair, and the other upon Professor Cultus, -and yet answered Adele at the same time; all of which goes to show -that she herself was somewhat of an expert in impressions, and -in leading others up to them; observing others while not herself -perceived. When she was ready she replied: - -“No, Adele, I do not believe they are all quacks; but I do believe in -nerves and hysterics. There is such a thing as self-deception;--the -little tin-Solomon within the most of us does sometimes assert -himself;--you know the saying, ‘Everybody’s crazy except you and me, -and you’re a little off!’ I certainly believe in nerves and hysteria.” - -“What has that got to do with it?” asked Mrs. Cultus, curious. - -“May I refer to the Professor?” quoth Miss Winchester, blandly. - -Professor Cultus thus unwillingly drawn in, gave some points simply -as the quickest way to get rid of the talking. “There is a class of -disease known as hysteria, nervous, yet involving no recognizable -anatomical hurt, wound or injury. The nervous system plays a -very important part in the problem, and nerves, you know, affect -mentality.” - -“No doubt of it, my dear,” interrupted Mrs. Cultus; “a pinch always -makes me start up as nervous as a witch, and I never could talk sense -during an electric storm. I feel nervous now just to think of it.” - -The Professor continued: “To meddle unadvisedly with the nervous -system is dangerous; yet with shrewd sense based upon clinical -observation it is possible to perfect cures.” - -“Not without some smelling salts,” chimed in Mrs. Cultus, laughing. -“But bless me! are these new doctors experts like that?” - -“Specialists in the shrewd-sense department,” remarked Miss -Winchester. “Please go on, Professor Cultus.” - -“When mental science encounters cases of hysteria, it is quite -possible a cure may be accomplished now and then, but from the -standpoint of what you would call orthodox treatment, mental -derangement of any kind requires most careful consideration and -perhaps prolonged treatment in the full light of scientific research. -To attempt such practice irregularly is to court the consequences of -ignorance, or perhaps worse, really to injure the patient.” - -“Oh, I understand it perfectly!” exclaimed Mrs. Cultus. “I might be -accidentally cured by irregular treatment, but would not stay cured. -My dear, I prefer to be orthodox. Adele, where are my salts? Look in -that bag, please,--I haven’t used them for some time.” - -“Nonsense, Mother! You’re cured already and don’t want any salting, -the sea air is quite enough;--nor do I believe that all mental -scientists have the hysterics, I mean their patients haven’t.” - -“No, indeed!” said the sprightly Frank Winchester; “it is those who -are cured who had the hysterics or something equivalent; and the -practitioners who now have the shrewd sense and cash perquisite,--I -know from experience.” - -“What! Oh, my!” exclaimed Adele, “you have the hysterics! Frank, I -should never have accused you of such accomplishments,” then, as if -musing: “Isn’t it strange that when you begin to describe an ache, so -many others soon find they have the same thing. Mild case I suppose, -Frank?” - -Miss Winchester enjoyed immensely this little rap; but having been -caught concluded to make the next sensational remark more specific. - -“I’m thankful to say, in my case there was no hysterics;--but I -did visit a mental science center, where ‘vibrations’ were said to -radiate marvellously. I went there on strictly professional business, -to hunt up a case, and on arriving was received by--by----” - -The speaker came to a sudden halt, her eyes fixed upon a remarkable -individual, the Professoress, now standing by the deck-rail, -overlooking the sea;--a short, very stout personage under a -broad-brimmed hat decorated with enough feathers to have plumed a -male ostrich in the month of January. Her attendant, a tall, slender -man with long neck, sharp eyes, and gold eye-glasses. Fortunately the -couple stood far enough away to be out of hearing, or Miss Winchester -would not have continued: - -“Speak of angels! there she is herself! She of the winged thoughts! -the redoubtable Angelica Thorn, popularly known as ‘Madame,’ the -honorary title conferred exclusively by the Sanitorium-University. -You may not believe it, but that impressive angel with wings in her -hat and honorary degree on her own University register, is gifted -with a marvellous power of radiating thoughts,--her words fly up but -thoughts remain below, credited with realizing thousands of dollars -per annum by giving and taking mental impressions, sent and received -by the bushel-basket full, all by mail.” Mrs. Cultus put up her -lorgnette to see if any ships were passing in that direction--then -whispered: - -“You surely don’t mean that person with flowing tresses and all -those waving plumes? She’s Milesian Frinch, not Parisian French. You -can’t deceive me. And what is she here for?” - -Mrs. Thorn had taken off her hat; the tall, slim attendant held it; -while she, resting both elbows on the rail, and her chin on her -wrists, gazed out o’er the mighty deep. - -“The pose is certainly cherubic,” remarked Mrs. Cultus, cynical. - -“No doubt she is radiating now,” remarked Frank Winchester. Adele -noticed her hair parted on one side, and plastered flat over the -temples, also wavy ringlets round her neck. - -The Doctor, who thus far had not taken any part in this -impressionistic séance, no sooner observed her hands exposed to -display an unusual assortment of rings glistening in the sunlight, -than he concluded his turn for investigation had arrived. Possibly -here palmistry might be in order,--and diamond cut diamond. There -might be some real sport in it. Before the others noticed, he -sauntered off towards the couple. Little did he then realize the -consequences. - - - - - X - - PALMISTRY POSES AS MENTAL SCIENCE - - -It was not difficult for the Doctor to obtain an interview, and -this without really introducing himself, simply by some casual -remark suggested by the surroundings. He soon succeeded in directing -conversation away from the immediate vicinity and called attention -to objects at a distance, of course interjecting the highly -original remark that distance lends enchantment. Mrs. Thorn at once -appreciated the enchantment part of the proceedings, and pointed -with her forefinger at certain objects as not being exactly what -they seemed,--thereby illustrating what was really more important -for the Doctor to find out, namely, that she had no real objection -from refinement of feeling to specify given objects by pointing -at them. If she did appreciate enchantment, so-called, she was -certainly very practical in its application. From the Doctor’s -point of view this was simply “delicious” on her part, and made him -more blandly-persuasive-appreciative than ever. Within five minutes -more he had Mrs. Thorn and her attendant both pointing at various -features, clouds, waves, ripples, a passing ship, the capstan and -the captain’s signals, anything, in fact, that would cause them to -use their hands; even soiled spots on the hand-rail and some very -sticky tar on a rope he made them avoid touching by withdrawing their -hands, any movement, in fact, that would show both the form and -action of their hands in connection with the spoken words,--the hands -suiting the action to the word (thoughts). Mrs. Thorn was, in fact, -betraying herself by every word and action, and the expert Doctor -reading “the natural tendencies of the individuals” as if an open -book. - -The Cultus group privately watched these proceedings. Paul and -Adele, with heads rather close together, having their own fun, Paul -imitating the Doctor, and interjecting the platitudes-of-humbuggery -he had often heard the Doctor use before in similar palmistry cases. - -“You are a person with strong social instincts,” remarked Paul, wise -as an owl. - -“Yes! not a hermit,--thanks!” said Adele. - -“Very popular. Lot of fellows might fall in--h’m!--admiration of you.” - -“Thanks again, but don’t look at me, watch the Doctor.” - -The Doctor was peering into Mrs. Thorn’s hand, which she held out to -him with evident satisfaction. Of course Paul seized Adele’s hand -while watching. - -What was the Doctor examining with such apparent interest? In general -terms, a short fleshy hand, soft, with thin skin, and ruddy color -easily suppressed or caused under pressure. Fingers only slightly -tapering, with tips of the well known “useful” curve when viewed from -the under side, yet curiously suggestive of the spatulate when seen -from the back. Thumb well proportioned and turning back spontaneously -with considerable self-assertion. But most noticeable of all, where -the roots of the fingers joined the palm, materialism developed to an -exceptional degree, almost of the “elementary” type. A combination -more curious than rare, designating certain womanly instincts likely -to operate by methods presumably masculine in character. It was not -easy to formulate a specific diagnosis until after hearing such a -person converse on subjects about which she had had an interested -experience, for no mortal could reasonably conjecture, not even she -herself, how things would go eventually. Certainly a woman of the -world with strong emotions, no doubt loquacious at times, yet a very -clear head when it came to action; and material results never lost -sight of. Strange to say, however, the hands themselves were soon -forgotten, attention being drawn to their adornment. The woman had an -inordinate passion for precious gems. Mrs. Thorn wore upon each hand -exquisite rings, superb stones set in excellent taste, but rather a -mixture when displayed together. The usual solitaires, also set with -sapphires of peculiar peacock hue; a changeable alexandrite, and -a ruby amid emeralds as leaves, evidently some color-scheme taken -direct from nature; not a topaz nor white sapphire among the lot, and -evidently the wearer knew cat’s-eyes from Norwegian opals, even if -others did not. Even these, however, were secondary to a fire-opal -of true Indian iridescence. A cleft-opal, that mysterious gem so -suggestive to mystics in all climes. The light came from within the -stone, through an irregular cleft, the exterior still rough;--by no -means a conspicuous ornament, but when the eye upon close examination -penetrated the cleft, the mysterious interior was ablaze with -variegated colors. It was this fire-opal the Doctor was examining -when Adele caught him holding the impressionist hand. The Cultus -group saw little more of the Doctor until after-dinner-promenade on -deck; he was occupied with Mrs. Thorn. Then Miss Winchester at once -applied at the bureau of information. - -“What are the probabilities, Doctor Wise? mystic, or merely -gymnastic? One must never judge by appearances, of course, but----” -and Miss Winchester gave a little cough to suggest her impression. - -“Oh, a very interesting case,--very intelligent and thoroughly -practical. She talks mysticism like a California theosophist, but -acts like a cool-headed politician. Her thoughts are about mysticism -in its useful aspects; her words mystical because a good business -method for her; and her acts businesslike, very, from the mystical -point of view. How do you like that for a type?” - -“Evidently interesting to talk to,--also good to keep clear of, in -business,” thought Miss Winchester. - -“So that’s what you palm-cranks call a mixed type!” exclaimed Mrs. -Cultus. “I call her variegated.” - -“Oh, of course she is bound to be contradictory, in appearance at -least, at odd times,” said the Doctor. “Moody as a mystic, dogmatic -as a sectarian theologian, and will take risks like a Wall Street -speculator. She is made that way, she is constitutionally so. Oh, -yes, she is a bundle of mystical impressions held together by very -clear ideas of what she wants, also has fearless business methods -to obtain it. The seeming contradiction is more apparent than real, -however.” - -“How about those rings?” quizzed Adele, when Paul’s back was turned. - -“Well, only one thing worth remembering. She wears her largest upon -her forefinger, the most conspicuous position possible, a sure sign -of--but let that pass.” - -“No, Doctor! no passing allowed in this game--just tell me, but -please don’t tell Paul, or I shall never hear the end, no matter what -it is;” and she put her arm in the Doctor’s, drawing him off for a -deck promenade. - -“Well, my dear, if you must know, the woman can’t help advertising -herself,--a most unrefined quality in woman, to my notion. Men, you -know, no matter how much they may do it themselves, generally detest -that sort of thing in women. That’s one way in which her feminine -instinct for appreciation takes a somewhat masculine form in action. -I could only find it out surely by conversation with her. Now I -expect to hear of her some day as President of the International -Impressionists’ Mental-Mystic Board of Trade. She will make a good -thing of it and possibly then disappear, mystically.” - -Adele shuddered. The Doctor felt the motion on his arm. Evidently -that sort of talk was antipathetic to Adele. - -After a little while she asked quietly: - -“Does she presume to practice when travelling?” - -“I should not be surprised if she were at it now. She told me there -was a patient on board whom she knew she could cure, whether he had -faith or not.” Adele twitched again. - -“That sort of thing ought to be counteracted in some way. I’ve not -served in a hospital without learning at least that much. But here! -Oh, what can we do?” - - - - - XI - - AMATEUR MENTAL SCIENCE - - -Many on board had noticed an invalid who took his airing in a rolling -chair. It seemed very natural that he should appear melancholy at -times, for he was said to be partially helpless, in fact paralyzed -on one side. This was the unfortunate Mr. Onset, whom Mrs. Thorn -desired to treat according to the impressionistic methods of the -Mental-Mystic University-Sanitorium. - -How it came to be rumored that she had obtained his consent and that -he was already acting under her direction is really of little moment, -for the fact soon became evident,--Mr. Onset himself willingly -alluded to it. He explained that after trying many regular physicians -he was about to visit certain baths on the Continent when he -incidentally met Mrs. Thorn, and was only too glad to avail himself, -in passing, of any hopeful aid; especially since “the method required -no medicines which might interfere with subsequent treatment at the -Spa, and demanded no faith,”--of the latter commodity he had little -left to give to any system whatsoever. Mr. Onset was certainly trying -conscientiously to be frank with himself. - -The next thing known was that Mrs. Thorn had held a good orthodox -business-mystic interview properly to diagnose the case; and had -given the patient some published articles to read, the wording of -which was most dexterously adapted to excite curiosity for--what -next; and later on some manuscript letters to be perused when -alone, the lights turned low so that no one else could read them by -looking over his shoulder, nor find out how he kept them next the -fifth-rib-covering of his heart. These latter letters must be made -mysterious, simply because they communicated to the patient the -mystical line of thought he was to follow while the Commandant of the -Thought Center sat in her state-room meditating. - -“Oh! I know exactly how it works!” exclaimed Mrs. Cultus. - -“How? What?” asked Miss Winchester, laughing. - -“Why, lying in your state-room bunk, meditating. I know the whole -business, so does the steward. He brings me champagne in one hand and -porridge-mush in the other. He reads my thoughts perfectly.” - -What the printed matter given to Mr. Onset contained was soon known -all over the ship,--an excellent advertisement; what the written -pages contained Onset kept to himself, as if the subject-matter was -rather too personal for discussion in either the men’s or women’s -smoking departments. - -Mutual meditations continued, however; mental impressions were -presumably radiating, the vibrations presumably acting in a -marvellous manner, having been promised to take a straight course -direct from the state-room bunk to Mr. Onset’s legs and none other, -which certainly was a vast improvement upon the expansion method of -wireless telegraphy in communicating thoughts. And this even if the -paralysis did remain as evident as before. - -Yet curious to relate, these mysterious vibrations certainly -did expand with most positive effects upon others; Mrs. Cultus -continually on the lookout for substantial results, Frank Winchester -jotting down absurd notes as they flew by, Paul continually vibrating -between Adele and what she wanted. This until Adele asked if there -was any book in the library upon “Practical Metaphysics.” Then Paul -flunked, and sat down beside her. As to the Doctor---- - -One morning he and the Professor inquired of the patient how he was -progressing: - -“Slowly,” said Mr. Onset. “I still have little hope, but I certainly -caught a new idea.” - -Onset’s voice was unquestionably melancholy, from his own point of -view,--but not of that peculiar timbre, nor in any degree involved, -as might reasonably be expected from a partially helpless paralytic. - -“There is something strange about that fellow,” remarked the Doctor. - -“I think so myself, but have not defined it as yet,” added the -Professor. - -“Did you ever observe a man paralyzed on the right side who could -speak as he does, to say nothing of his power to talk and converse -connectedly and with ease?” - -Their conversation naturally became more technical than is desirable -in this record, but it may be remarked that Professor Cultus’ mode -of thought displayed an insight into the nature of mental processes -in general, from the standpoint of the modern psychology; whereas -the Doctor accentuated certain facts he had observed in Mr. Onset in -particular. The Professor, very careful in what he stated and very -cautious as to conclusions; the Doctor intensely appreciative, and -ultra sanguine as to results. The Professor much better informed -as to how details of anatomy were supposed to work; the Doctor -understanding how they actually had worked in cases he had observed. -They were, each of them, truth-seeking;--the Professor exceptionally -explicit as to the anatomy, nerves, nerve-centers; especially clear -as to “a veritable nerve-center having a strange domination over the -memory of articulating words.” The Doctor insisted that Onset ought -to manifest phenomena different from what he did if he suffered from -veritable paralysis. Both being sure that paralysis of the right -side of the body is undoubtedly connected by the nervous system with -the left side of the brain; the careful Professor would not commit -himself further as to Onset’s case; the sanguine Doctor did so at -once: - -“Onset is paralyzed on the right side. The organs of speech in his -case are not affected, yet if speech should be affected, and is not, -what becomes of the paralysis?” - -A twinkle in the Doctor’s eye as he said this was noticed by the -Professor. - -“You seem to have discovered something,” said the Professor, smiling. - -Another twinkle in the Doctor’s eye. “Rather! I think it must be -another opportunity for the palmistry humbug. Mrs. Thorn and he are -a pair, complementary, positive and negative. He a good subject, for -her, perhaps a medium and all that sort of thing.” - -“Go tell it to the marines on board,” said the Professor, laughing, -as the Doctor hurried off to find Onset. - -Onset’s hands amused the Doctor greatly. He found vitality much -stronger than he had expected, but much less vivid characteristics of -health:--color thin, action weak; texture smooth, fingers pointed; -palm hollow and much crossed; groups of little lines on certain -mounts (versatility); a fine development of a certain part of the -hand (imagination, Mount Luna); thumb lacking in force of will, just -the opposite to Mrs. Thorn; in fact, a number of details which in -combination might be read several ways, but invariably showing marked -susceptibility to fleeting impressions, mental-sensitiveness,--an -active mind yet unstable characteristics, a liability to vagaries of -some sort;--the natural tendencies of the individual also suggested -in certain directions,--but let that pass. - -Yes. Onset’s hands were amusing. The Doctor would not assert that the -man was actually hipped then and there, but there was ample chance -that he should be if circumstances led that way, the conditions -favorable. He was just such a patient as Mrs. Thorn might succeed in -curing. And then came the gist of the whole situation: - -If Mrs. Thorn, why not anyone else? provided a counter-impression was -given, vivid and forcible enough to convince the patient _in spite of -himself_. - -That afternoon found the Doctor, Miss Winchester, Adele and Paul, -putting their heads together, mysteriously cogitating; evidently a -plot on hand to give Mr. Onset another new idea. - -“It can do no harm and may do the poor fellow some good,” whispered -the optimistic Doctor. “Adele, your father will find it out soon -enough himself, so we needn’t bother him just yet. In case of a -rumpus the Professor will be just the one to fall back upon. He told -me to go to the marines; we’ll make him our guardian angel,--our -marine.” - -Adele, laughing, wondered how angelic her father would appear acting -as a marine. - -“Remember!” whispered the Doctor, “all at your stations when the -invalid is brought down to his state-room to retire at nine o’clock -this evening,--now don’t forget. You see we’ve got to catch an idea -before it gets away from us,--quick work;” and the chief conspirator -bustled off to find Onset. - -“There’s nothing like having a patient toned up previous to an -operation,” said the Doctor, musing. “If we can succeed in directing -the mind previously, and put him in a proper mood to receive the -impression, the work will be well under way before he himself -is aware of it. Mrs. Thorn seems quite an adept at preliminary -work,--correct, but the preliminaries may reasonably include a -counter-irritant. If we can produce premonitory suggestions leading -up to an idea, the impression will have a better chance to operate, -the idea to cure in its own way.” - -“How are you this afternoon, Mr. Onset?” and he took a seat near the -invalid. - -“Not much encouraged. No doubt Mrs. Thorn is thinking the thing out -in her room;--can’t say I feel any worse, and that may be her doings; -but really this arm and leg are still so helpless that possibly when -I retire to-night I ought to remain in my berth to give her a better -chance.” - -“Not if I know it,” thought the Doctor; then audibly, “Would you -oblige me by attempting to stand up, if only on one foot, and allow -me to support your weak side,--just for the effort?” - -“It’s no use, my dear sir, not the slightest; I can’t move, for the -life of me. I only wish I could.” - -“Then let me roll your chair for a turn or two,” and without waiting -for a reply he gently moved Onset to a place where both could observe -some steam issuing from an aperture. - -“What complicated machinery!” remarked the Doctor. “This ship must -be a network of pipes, steam here at the side, and also from the top -of the funnel, no doubt both connected with the boilers--boilers -and live steam, live boilers and steam everywhere! Fortunately, -explosions seldom occur.” - -“What terrible things accidents must be,” quoth Onset, evidently -interested and nervous; “terrible when one is helpless.” - -“Sometimes not fatal,” quoth the dismal-cheerful Doctor; “it -frequently depends upon one’s own exertions at the critical moment. -I was myself once in a collision of passenger trains, our car turned -upside down--thrown twenty feet. I lit head-foremost in one of those -overhead parcel baskets which had been above my seat and was now -below. Fortunately, I was able to pick himself up by the seat of -another fellow’s breeches, and scrambled out through a window. If I -hadn’t scrambled out that window I should certainly have been burnt -alive!” - -“Heavens!” exclaimed Onset, “there’s not even a window on this ship -downstairs to crawl through. I should never get my leg through a -port-hole, and probably be caught head out and legs in. Do you think -there’s any danger, Doctor?” - -“Well, there’s a good deal of live steam under high pressure about -here; I really don’t know much about steam-fitters’ work, but if it -were plumbing I should certainly say, yes. Thank fortune, it is not -plumbing, Mr. Onset.” - -“But it is steam-fitting,” quoth Onset, now becoming positive, his -mental process very inconsequent, as with many of his type. “Now, -Doctor, I’d like to ask you just one question, seriously you know, -strictly private. I ought not to ask it but I really must, under the -circumstances. Mrs. Thorn has told me considerable about vibrations; -now any fool can see that vibrations are not good for steam pipes, -yet here we are. Now tell me frankly, do you think Mrs. Thorn’s -meditations can affect or be affected by all this around us. She told -me, most positively, that her meditations vibrating to me must not -leak out---- Oh I wish she would accelerate a little if any good is -to come of it.” - -The Doctor at once made a plunge for his handkerchief, and blew his -nose, enough to create more vibrations; then, - -“Well, Mr. Onset, your perspicacity is remarkable; I never met anyone -who detected possibilities, aye, even probabilities, more quickly -than you do.” Onset felt flattered, the Doctor gave him time to pat -himself on the back, and then, - -“But there’s nothing like having one’s mind prepared for emergencies. -If anything should happen, why, just call on me, Mr. Onset. Fact is, -I’m now so accustomed to accidents both mental and physical that when -not killed in the first crash I generally pull through.” - -“Thanks awfully, I certainly shall. Doctor, my man James is good -enough in ordinary emergencies, but I doubt his use in accidents. -James! Jamie! here, Jimmy! take me back where I won’t see this steam, -the odor and its suggestions are both unpleasant. Good-bye, Doctor, I -must now take a rest.” - -Onset’s organs of speech were certainly all right, but his mental -apparatus decidedly leaky, and something the matter with his legs. - -“I trust the preliminary tonic may not lose its effect before nine P. -M.,” mused the Doctor as he went to report to the other conspirators. - - - - - XII - - AMATEUR TACTICS--A FRIGHTFUL CURE - - -Dinner served, the conspirators enjoyed a promenade on deck, keeping -an eye upon Mr. Onset and Mrs. Thorn as they sat conversing. No doubt -vibrations were at work, the most approved methods of the wonderful -Mystic Department of the Sanitorium Universitasque making some sort -of an impression; because, as Mrs. Thorn remarked afterwards, “Mr. -Onset was already oscillating between the old and the new, and -whenever that condition arose she felt sure that the preliminary -tendencies of the occult influences towards a cure were already -taking effect.” Mrs. Thorn could be quite as perspicacious as the -Doctor when she chose, her theories decidedly new as well as lucid, -in fact unique. - -At last James appeared, to take the patient to his state-room; this -was the signal for the Doctor’s party to fly to their stations. The -rolling chair was brought to one of the narrow gangways leading -directly to Mr. Onset’s quarters below; the passage entered through a -door at the top, the short flight of steps down closed by partitions -on either side. The chief conspirator noticed that when James went -off with the patient Professor Cultus was engaged in conversation -with Mrs. Thorn; evidently one of those curious coincidences most -opportune, which occult influences often exert in favor of the -one conspired against. “Good!” exclaimed the Doctor. “I now know -where our marine-angel is to be found when I want him; now for an -impression less occult.” - -When James reached the head of the gangway, there stood the Doctor, -apparently by accident; and of course he offered to assist in -carrying the invalid down the steps. Onset appeared more helpless -than usual when, the Doctor supporting his shoulders and James his -feet, the trio began to descend. If ever a subject for treatment had -weak legs, it was Onset at that moment. - -All progressed favorably until they reached the bottom, and were -about to make the turn into the state-room passage; “Look out for -that awkward corner, James.” - -“All right, sir! Keep his head up, I’ll take his feet round first.” - -“Go ahead!” exclaimed the Doctor. (The signal.) - -No sooner said than a brilliant flash of light burst forth, a little -way ahead down the passage, accompanied by a hissing noise not unlike -an explosion. - -Onset gave a start. “What’s that? Look there! Oh, Lord!” replied -to by shrieks from female voices, and a cloud of white smoke with -pungent odor. In an instant the passage seemed filled with frightened -voices and smoke. - -It was merely some of Paul’s photographic flash-light powder, -accompanied by very realistic exclamations in consequence, but in -such close quarters it seemed much more serious. - -“God help us!” cried Jimmy, dropping Onset’s legs and turning -around to discover what had happened. Through the smoke he saw -Paul violently beating back flames which came from one of the -cross-passages. - -It was only Miss Winchester and Adele, invisible behind the angle, -holding at arm’s length some burning paper upon a plate, but quite -enough for faithful James. Seizing Onset by the ankles he would -probably have dragged him on deck feet foremost if the Doctor had not -ordered him in sharp tones: - -“Keep your head, man! Don’t yell! I’ll attend to this! Go find -Professor Cultus near the head of the gangway, quick! Don’t yell! -It’s bad enough as it is!” - -The last remark settled Jimmy; he vanished up the steps, and Onset -groaned at the thought of being caught helpless below decks. - -“Now,” said the Doctor, quickly turning to the patient, “we’ve got to -hustle--it looks like an explosion, near by!--before a panic seizes -the passengers.” Poor Onset, in the narrow passage lit by the flames, -seized the Doctor with a grip of terrible fright, his well arm -jerking the Doctor as if he had a spasm. “For God’s sake, don’t leave -me!” - -“I don’t intend to, I’ll stick by you,” said the arch conspirator, -“but you must make an effort, too,” and he lifted the fellow upon his -feet. - -At this instant, down the steps came Professor Cultus and, by another -prearranged “coincidence” to which he was not a party, the door above -closed behind him. - -Darkness indeed. The place might prove a veritable death-trap, -surely, so thought Onset. - -“What mischief are you up to?” exclaimed the Professor, serious in -tone, but his countenance (which none could see) somewhat suspicious -if not humorous. - -“Lend a hand!” cried the Doctor, and then in a whisper, “I’m trying -to get an idea into this chap’s legs---- Sh!” - -Professor Cultus took hold of Onset’s opposite shoulder, and together -they turned him around, moved him in an upright position towards the -steps. He seemed indeed helpless, but his eye was now fixed toward -that gangway, the way to escape. To get there and escape was the -only thought potent in his mind. The Doctor turned and again nodded -to Paul. Off went another flash-explosion, more pungent smoke, the -sort of choking fumes that scare you off. This time nearer, the vivid -light and more excited screams seemed hardly ten feet away. - -Onset gave a plunge with his well leg, and would certainly have -fallen flat but for his strong support. - -“Now for it, Onset,” urged the Doctor, lifting the limp limb, -assisting to put it on the next step. Professor Cultus nodded and -took the weight. - -“Now for another step!” urged the Doctor. Onset put his well leg up -by his own effort, but when the Doctor helped the other to follow he -noticed a change for the better, the paralyzed limb was not quite -such a non-active member as before. Onset’s fright and desire to -escape were getting their hold on him in spite of himself, his legs -asserting and maintaining themselves without his realizing the fact -that paralyzed legs should not be able to behave that way. - -The critical moment was approaching, the crucial test, the final -effort to force Onset to put forth his whole strength spontaneously -as for his life. The closed door above made the passage still darker -at the top, the smoke from behind made the atmosphere more oppressive -each moment. “Only three more steps,” exclaimed the Doctor, “to burst -through that door or be suffocated.” Onset heard this. The Doctor -pressed his elbow against Professor Cultus to signal he was now -ready. The Professor gradually lessened his support, and then quietly -let go, slipping behind him to catch the man if he fell. - -Nothing of the kind occurred. Onset was so frantically determined to -get out that he stood supported on one side only without realizing -the fact, both legs commencing to work together. Almost alone he -managed to force himself higher. Seizing the auspicious moment the -Doctor gave Paul the final signal. Flash! hiss-s-s-s-s! red lights, -jumping shadows; cries, more jumps; something yellow--ghastly! “Rush -for your life!” Onset and the infernal regions close behind him, at -the foot of the steps! - -Paul had prolonged the agony by some red-burning powder from one -of the ship’s signal lights. Miss Winchester waving a sheet of -yellow glass from Paul’s photographic lantern before her portable -flames--great effect! Screams certainly diabolical; one could hear -the wild laughter amid the cries. At such close quarters none could -stand the racket a moment longer. Professor Cultus, in the thick of -the fumes, was the first to protest. “Open that door! open I tell -you, we’ll be smothered!” which was a fact. Onset in a spasm of -despair, “Let me out! Let me out!” Miss Winchester, also spasmodic, -“I’m getting roasted--fried!” Adele, “I _am_ roasted!” - -Onset never knew the exact moment when the Doctor left him standing -alone; all he realized was the bursting open of the door, the flood -of electric light--it seemed like daylight--and the Doctor above -offering his hand to assist, the hand not quite within reach, an -effort necessary to reach it; all depended upon the invalid’s own -effort. - -Without a thought but to escape, Onset started up those remaining -steps as one flying for his life, forgetful of weak legs, paralysis, -or any other incumbrance. Actuated by the mental and spiritual -impulse towards self-preservation he plunged through the opening out -upon the deck. Thoroughly scared by a vivid realization of things as -they were, his previous hysteria which had clouded the mind vanished -before a more potent impression which cleared his mental atmosphere, -vanquished by a forced acceptance of the actual facts--he was not -paralyzed. - -The Doctor steadied him an instant; only a moment of assistance was -necessary, until he realized himself standing without support. Dazed -and frightened, choking from the fumes, while those who followed made -an uproar of coughs and laughter, the poor fellow could not take in -the situation at a glance. No one seemed excited, however, about any -explosion; all interest seemed centered in himself, congratulations -from everybody, Mrs. Cultus in particular. - -“Why, Mr. Onset! I’m delighted to see you looking so well” (social -fib; Onset looked like an escaped lunatic), “and able to walk” -(conversational stretch), “cured” (perhaps), “and quite like yourself -again” (since when?). - -Not until Onset heard these highly appropriate congratulations did -the whole situation dawn upon him. Yes, he had escaped by his own -unaided efforts at the last, and of course it was too ridiculously -evident to be denied that he was then and there standing alone. The -very thought was paralyzing to the former impression that he could -not stand. And behold the power of a new lively idea, affecting -matter as well as mind--instead of melancholy Onset and an old scared -impression, behold Onset smiling in spite of himself. Everybody -thought he was going to make a speech. He did. - -“Ho there, Jimmy! James, where are you?--Jim!” - -Now, James had been in a terrible quandary during all the latter -part of these proceedings. After Professor Cultus had descended, at -his request, James had been confronted by Mrs. Cultus, who calmly -moved her seat directly in front of the passageway and with apparent -carelessness closed the door. She had moved not an inch until just -in time for the Doctor to make his exit, followed by the demoralized -Onset. It was Mrs. Cultus who had amused herself by giving her -impressions as to the vibrating Jimmy, keeping him there until the -proper time came. The valet was as much surprised as the master when -he saw the melancholy Onset rise to the surface in a cloud of smoke -and then favor the company with a smile. He received a further new -impression when Onset remarked: - -“We’ll clear the deck, Jimmy; I go it alone.” - - * * * * * - -Would Onset remain cured? Could a man so unstable in legs, mode of -thought, and possibly character, remain steadfast? Adele was the -first to ask herself this question. - - - - - XIII - - ADELE’S MEDITATIONS - - -Nothing succeeds like success. The Doctor’s party had broken so many -of the ship’s rules, by igniting flash-powder and burning paper below -decks, that a lively time was expected when they were called upon to -explain matters. No real harm had, however, been done to the vessel; -no more than if they had taken a flash-light picture after dark. A -few good fees to the stewards and a draft of fresh air through the -passage soon cleared the atmosphere. When the officers put in an -appearance to make an examination, merely the fragrance from some -pastilles which Miss Winchester thoughtfully used to overcome the -odor from charred paper was noticeable, and every one was talking -about the paralytic who had rushed up the gangway in a state of -terror. - -Onset’s cure became the general topic of conversation on board, and -forty people had forty differences of opinion as to what had happened -and the propriety of such proceedings. Adele had taken only a minor -part, but after it was over came a reaction which made her very -thoughtful: - -“Onset must be very weak, weak in mind as well as body; something -must be wanting in his make-up. I don’t believe that any one with -real strength of character could be cured exactly as he was; and -what’s more, I don’t believe he is cured.” - -Then she mused more comprehensively, and being a well-educated girl -at once sought for the most notable example she could recall of the -antithesis of this weakness. Her thoughts had been much on serious -matters since her meditations in the Park and her previous talk with -her Father. “What is it this man lacks?--strength of character, force -of character? What is that? - -“Well, it strikes me most impressively in one particular -personality--historical; and in Him so strong that you feel this -strength to-day precisely as if He were yet alive. He told the weak -to take up their beds and walk, and they obeyed--really weak legs -walked. There was something wonderful about such a character and the -cures He made. He certainly had a force which never failed, and the -patients were permanently better through and through, mental as well -as physical--a deepening of the whole character. He seems to me the -only perfect practitioner of healing ever known, and the first great -Psychologist, and although living so long ago is modern yet. He seems -like one who had then conquered even Science itself.” - -Adele then sought the opposition to her own view, her college -training having taught her to reason in that way. - -“I never heard any one say that the Historic Christ lacked in force -of character. Let me think! Yes, I did, too--once; and curiously -enough it was a Jewish Rabbi disparaging the greatest historic -character of the chosen people. He insisted that Christ was -‘deluded,’ and deluded forsooth in direct consequence of His own good -thoughts and actions. Now, how could a Personality setting the most -notable example of force and power be deluded like an ordinary man or -self-constituted critic? As to the ancient golden rule, known so well -to Confucius in Chinese form, and the Lord’s Prayer, also possibly -known in some form to the Rabbi Hillel in Hebrew fashion previously, -were they not each shown by Christ Himself in a manner far more -potent to all men, each after his kind?--I might say acceptable -to all creation in a way never dreamed of by either Confucius or -Hillel. Don’t tell me that such a character could be deluded. If such -was the case, then truth itself in character is a delusion, and -expediency takes its place. All sciences and religions know better, -all creation knows better, all except the few who delude themselves -in order to bolster up a previous impression as to character to which -they feel committed. Don’t tell me that the greatest Hebrew who ever -lived, great because He developed force and strength of character in -civilizations strong unto this day, was deluded! That is illogical -and unsound, intellect misused, the twaddle of criticism.” - -Thus Adele, the young modern educated girl, free to think of truth -as she saw it, decided this question for herself, and put the result -of her meditations away in her mental storehouse, little realizing -how soon she would have occasion to congratulate herself upon having -crystallized her views on this weighty subject. - -“I’m glad,” she said inwardly, “I’m glad Christianity is founded -upon Christ’s personality still alive, His own words and deeds still -active, and not upon what other people, ancient or modern, say about -Him.” - - * * * * * - -Adele went to join her mother, and found Mrs. Thorn already in -evidence. The latter had indeed found her curative vibrations -somewhat counteracted by events due to others also meditating more -actively than she. And Mrs. Thorn showed much worldly wisdom and tact -in saying very little about it; simply remarking that “Mr. Onset was -already in a fair way to recovery when the accident happened. Indeed, -Mrs. Cultus, I feel quite confident I should have cured him with much -less fuss about it.” - -This latter remark was made as they sat in the same vicinity on deck -enjoying the air, the day following. Much to their surprise some one -answered promptly: - -“I’m sure I should.” - - - - - XIV - - ANOTHER COMMOTION--RELIGIOUS-CURATIVE - - “Will that you won’t be sick, and you won’t be,” quoth a volunteer - adviser. - - “It’s my will itself that is sick,” replied a real sufferer. - - -“I’m sure I should.” - -Mrs. Cultus turned quickly, to find the speaker, a placid-looking -person, sitting near, presumably a lady, yet who had evidently -been eavesdropping. A person of matronly aspect, whose voice and -expression suggested a desire to tell others something that might -be of benefit to them. Not at all one whose appearance suggested -mysticism in any degree; on the contrary rather ingenuous, -consequently a surprise to all present when she launched at them the -following dogmatic statements: - -“The practice of healing, of course I mean metaphysical healing, is -based upon certain ethical and religious principles, because we know -that mind holds utter control over matter.” - -Mrs. Cultus, at first taken aback, then much amused, replied -promptly: “Mind over matter! well, I should hope so. But it strikes -me mind often controls matter better than it controls itself--h’m!” -and Mrs. Cultus gave a little cough, as if the very idea had produced -“something-the-matter” in her own anatomy. - -Miss Winchester whispered to Adele: “My dear, we have found -another--metaphysical specimen this time. The ship is full of them.” - -“No more cures for me,” retorted Adele. “That magnesium powder is not -out of my head yet--I mean my hair.” - -“Never mind that, dear. Your head will save your hair; beg pardon, I -mean your heels.” - -“Well,” thought Adele, laughing, “even if this individual is another -new-science-expert, she can’t possibly be of the loud, vociferous -variety.” Adele judged by the placid manner and quiet voice, -insinuating even when making such positive and surprising assertions. -She had yet to learn how extremes sometimes meet in the same -personality. The Doctor could have told her that the woman’s hands -showed a most ardent temperament, and that in some types suppressed -zeal could assume the appearance of placidity personified. - -Mrs. Thorn regarded the matronly lady with especial interest, because -new mental impressions of any kind, from any source, might at any -time be of use to her. Her smile was bland, mild, courtesy itself, -with just a humorous tinge for business with it, as she leaned -forward to catch every word. Some new point in the game might be -played at any moment. This when the placid matron remarked: “No -medicines are now needed, no such disturbances as we have had on -board. The true method by which mind may overcome all disease in -suffering humanity we have now learned.” - -“You don’t say so!” exclaimed Mrs. Cultus. “No medicines? What a -blessing! But what takes their place, massage, or change of climate? -We’re trying the latter.” - -The placid lady, as she soon informed them, was Mrs. Geyser, of -Wyoming, claiming to be an expert in the modern field of _popular_ -metaphysics. Miss Winchester, who knew what popularity implied, -interrupted, “Oh, tell us, Mrs. Geyser, Wyoming is noted, is it not, -as a locality where the natural ebullitions produced by physical -forces are very remarkable?” - -“Assuredly; in the volcanic region of our Park we have many instances -of nature’s activity, in the boiling springs and water volcanoes, -mud----” - -“Baths and smothered combustion?” interrupted Frank Winchester. Mrs. -Geyser paid no attention, except to intensify her previous statement. - -“I’m quite accustomed to such sights. Nature often looks so quiet -and harmless, yet the ebullitions you speak of take effect when not -expected.” - -“Anybody scalded?” asked Miss Winchester. Mrs. Geyser began to -suspect that she was being chaffed. - -“Gushers by nature, don’t you think so, Mrs. Geyser?” - -Mrs. Geyser could not question this undoubted fact. How could she? -Her own ebullitions of thought were already seething. She couldn’t -get a word in edgewise without interruptions. How could any one -preach practical metaphysics, metaphysics with interruptions? The -conditions were most unfavorable. She determined, however, not to be -balked in a good cause. No! not by a flippant damsel, anyhow, with -her unseemly intrusions. So she fired off one of her big statements -to back up what she considered to be practical metaphysics. - -“You know, I presume, that we preach the gospel or good news -according to doctrine found in the Bible and stated in the tenets of -religious Science.” - -Mrs. Cultus remarked that she hoped her knowledge of the Bible was -sufficient, but, really, she knew little about the tenets. “What are -tenets, anyhow?” - -“One of our tenets reads this way,” and Mrs. Geyser assumed a tone of -voice most serious, as if she were uttering a revelation of mystery -never before vouchsafed to ordinary mortals. “We acknowledge the way -of salvation to be the power of truth over all error, sin, sickness -and death, and the resurrection of human faith and understanding -to seize the great possibilities, yes, possibilities, and living -energies of divine life.” - -Mrs. Cultus drew a long breath. “Oh, dear, tenets are awful things; -so complicated! May I ask what becomes of the simplicity of the -gospel?” - -Adele became very attentive while Mrs. Geyser was speaking. There was -something in it which appealed to her as very true, yet that word -“possibilities,” it was so easy to stretch it into the impossible and -unreasonable. - -“Please give us a simple tenet,” asked Mrs. Cultus, now the placid -speaker. - -“There is nothing easier, it’s as easy as reading a book. We have -keys of our own--you must use our keys--our own book to both science -and health.” - -Frank Winchester gave a start, as if struck by an idea. “Keys! those -everlasting keys! There must be two sets!” - -“Three, my dear, three! I remember them well,” said Mrs. Cultus, her -memory also startled into activity. “I knew St. Peter by reputation -only, but Louis also had keys. I remember Louis XVI of France very -well, when I was at school. He was a locksmith also, and made -Bourbon keys for the government. Poor man! he lost both his keys -and his head. Why, Mrs. Geyser, I’m astonished! Don’t you know the -religious-government-locksmith-business is entirely obsolete?” - -“In both science and religion,” mused Adele, while her mother still -kept the floor. - -“Why, St. Peter himself said his keys were worn out. He told the -whole world he couldn’t lock the door on those Philippine friars, -when they had been caught interfering with the Government.” - -“Don’t mix politics and religion with metaphysics!” exclaimed Adele, -greatly amused, but beginning to feel interested in the serio-comic -discussion. “Please don’t--it’s bad form.” - -“I won’t, daughter. I was only thinking, thinking how astute St. -Peter was to find it out before The Hague conference told him so. -I rather liked that in Peter, because Paul generally showed more -intellect in the long run. Peter probably was the better manager, but -I suspect Paul had more--more--Oh, what shall I call it?” - -“Metaphysics?” suggested Frank Winchester, struggling to conceal -intense amusement. - -Mrs. Geyser, in the meantime, was not the sort of person to remain -“sat upon,” as she thought, “in this outrageous manner.” Her own -mental ebullitions began to demand utterance, but she managed to -suppress external evidence. Nevertheless the cause she represented -must be defended. Yes; in spite of Paul, Apollos, Cephas, Mrs. Cephas -and Miss Cephas, the truth must prevail. She must witness to show how -it could and would. She must tell how the greatest thing on earth -should be applied as medicine. Sincerity called for strenuosity, the -fundamental element in “our religion” must be made known, preached, -and she did so, thusly: - -“The maintenance of health and cure of disease occupy a large space -in the religious faith of our society. Love is the greatest thing -on earth, the fundamental thing with us. Love conquers all things, -headache and neuralgia, backache and lumbago, all included, annual -and perennial, the whole list, non-chronic and chronic. To apply -religion scientifically we first fix truth and love steadfastly in -the patient’s thoughts and explain what religious science is, but not -too soon, not until the patient is prepared for it;” and then Mrs. -Geyser continued to elucidate her method, incidentally remarking that -medicine was never needed, not even for babies, not even in the mild -form of a preparatory mixture. Frank Winchester recalled to memory -the recent preparatory mental dose given by the Doctor to Mr. Onset, -but said nothing. Adele, recently graduated, could not avoid asking -the question: - -“Have you a diploma?” - -A very dignified attitude struck Mrs. Geyser in the small of -her back when Adele innocently propounded this touchy question. -She straightened up to reply. “Our diplomas are attested by the -supernatural powers we exert. I deny that natural causes can account -for our proceedings, I mean our results.” - -“It looks just that way,” remarked Mrs. Cultus, while Mrs. Geyser -continued: - -“But to comply with the laws of the land and render unto Cæsar -the things that are his I did take a course at our Metaphysical -College--twelve half-days’ instruction at three hundred dollars -for the course. Ample, I assure you, to satisfy any materialistic -law-maker, and quite as expensive as many other colleges.” After -this incidental announcement Mrs. Geyser seemed ready to resume the -practice of her profession as teacher, but Adele, by this time, did -not seem inclined to let it be done so easily. Evidently a climax was -approaching in Adele’s own mind as to the duty of graduates. - -“I notice, Mrs. Geyser, that you lay great stress upon cures.” - -“Yes, they bear witness to the truth in our religious-science.” - -“Do you keep any account of failures?” - -“None whatever.” - -“Then you notice what suits you and ignore the rest. Is that truth in -science?” - -“Failures do not depend upon phenomena or cases.” - -“Then upon what?” inquired Adele, intensely interested. - -“Failures depend upon the Divine Word.” - -A pause--Adele as one astounded at what she considered the fearful -abuse of both thoughts and words in Mrs. Geyser’s statements. - -No doubt Mrs. G. imagined she was protecting her faith and religion -by this placing of blame for failure upon the Spirit of Truth in the -Divine Word, as if Truth itself could ever be a delusion, a fallacy, -a failure; but, unfortunately, or fortunately perhaps, Adele Cultus -grasped the fuller import of such assertions--so abusive of facts in -nature scientific and philosophical, so diametrically in opposition, -or else ignoring Christ’s especial teaching by word and work. Such -was Adele’s point of view. - -To Adele this was utterly illogical, antagonistic to truth as -she saw it. Such an atrocious conception from one who had just -been talking about love, the greatest thing on earth, struck -through Adele like an electric shock, and, as usual with her, the -spiritual dominant. She was also outwardly calm, but mentally that -violent tension which comes with strenuous effort to find the -truest utterance. The horrible words again sounded in her ears: -“Failures--depend--upon----” - -“Mrs. Geyser, to the Divine Word let us appeal. The record states -that our Saviour did depend upon the phenomena to sustain his claims, -‘Believe me for the very works’ sake,’ and He never failed. When -science, some day, progresses to the standpoint of our Saviour’s -knowledge and practice we too may understand the application of -natural laws as He did. What is the so-called supernatural? Merely -that which science has not yet explained: miracles to-day are not -miracles to-morrow.” - -All attention was now focused upon Adele, her eyes flashing as they -often had done when tackling a difficult problem at college. Her -mentality was concentrated. Mrs. Cultus thought she “looked like -Portia” when she continued: - -“Our Heavenly Father wrote the Divine Word in all things. Science and -religion must agree. They have the same Author.” - -Now if Adele had only stopped at this point and by silence let the -truth further speak for itself in the heart, much of what followed -would have been avoided. But youth is impulsive in method and often -abuses strenuosity by becoming indiscreet. Her youth led her to -jump at a conclusion embodying personal reference, which of course -broke away from the direct route to assurance of faith by spiritual -discernment of actual facts. The bane of both science and religion -came nearer wrecking the truthful impression already germinated in -Mrs. Geyser’s consciousness. - -“You are a religious thaumaturgist, Mrs. Geyser--a dealer in -wonder-work. Your results are not real miracles, because you have -failures and abuse truthful words. Having failures when you attempt -to heal, you can’t possibly be apostles of the truly ordained -religious and scientific type.” - -Quick as a flash, Mrs. Geyser spoke the historic truth: - -“Christ’s Apostles did have failures. Your remarks have no force.” - -Adele also quick as a flash: - -“Precisely so! which shows the real difference between them and Him. -In every instance when they did fail He called them a faithless and -perverse generation. Do you know why, Mrs. Geyser?” - -Mrs. Geyser refused to reply. - -“Because they neglected well known means, considered scientific in -those days, and so recognized yet by reasonable people. The Apostles -neglected to employ prayer and fasting, that is to say, proper mental -and physical treatment. They had not adequately examined the case -themselves, conscientiously nor in a prayerful spirit, nor given the -proper medicine already known to be useful in such cases. Our Saviour -always applied common sense to his physical and spiritual healing and -had no failures.” Then she added mentally, “He does it yet.” - -Mrs. Geyser had never before heard the historic Christ spoken of as a -physician of the regular school, which eventually resulted in modern -practice. She had always thought of Him as an Oriental Healer with no -pretence to manifesting cures by reasonable specific methods, such -as have since been learned by the Holy Spirit of Truth in medicine, -psychology, and the science of religion; by the Spirit which is Holy, -which Christ promised He would send. She had often said that the -Scriptures gave no direct interpretation of the scientific basis for -demonstrating until the new key was discovered. In fact, Mrs. Geyser -was herself very mediæval in her notions of what Christ’s personality -stands for as enlightenment, the Holy Spirit of Truth in all things, -the Light of the World. - -Therefore what Adele asserted made little real impression other -than antagonism, not as yet, not until Adele, more roused than ever, -continued: - -“No record of failures is shirking responsibility, and personal -responsibility is one of the truest things in any religion worthy of -the name. Denial of dependence upon phenomena is a false position, -totally unlike our Saviour. It is a pseudo-Christianity, and it is -rank pseudo-science to quote in the same breath only those phenomena -which you think will suit your purpose.” She was going on to add -“preposterous abuse of the Divine Word,” when her mother beckoned -her to be less extreme and impulsive. Her youth therefore satisfied -itself by turning the personal allusions half-way round towards -herself: “I think your position is preposterous, Mrs. Geyser, and -your science an imposition upon the public.” - -Adele regretted her words almost as soon as uttered, but too late; an -eruption imminent, it must come. - -Mrs. Geyser, the mystic, had been in a suppressed condition, but -the mental-effervescence was approaching nearer and nearer to -the surface. Personalities which she often applied to others she -could not stand when turned towards herself--they acted still more -potently; in effect not unlike that of soap-suds upon the water -volcanoes of her native region, temporary suppression followed by -ebullitions worse than usual. She could no longer sit still, so she -rose to her feet, without fear but with much trembling, and gave vent -to a torrent of expostulations, hurling her words at Adele as if to -deluge her with facts. - -“You don’t pretend to say there have been no cures by faith?” - -“I do not,” said Adele firmly, “but----” - -“But what, young miss? Can you deny facts in life? Facts! facts as -well authenticated as the New Testament itself!” - -“I neither deny facts in nature nor the testimony of honest -witnesses, but----” - -“Cures which the Founder of Christianity promised His followers they -should perform!” cried the Geyser, still more excited. - -Adele’s indignation at this became irresistible, neither could she -stand it; and the result? - -A remarkable thing yet perfectly natural, phenomenon well known to -both religion and science, a sudden intense appreciation that “the -letter killeth but the Spirit giveth life,” affecting her whole -personality, physical, mental, spiritual. - -Adele’s ideal became realized in her own person. - -The psychological influence of that which is Holy became manifest. - -She became, as it were, the personification of that which she -believed to be true. Sober enthusiasm and convictions, both -scientific and religious, came to her rescue. - -She spoke, but with a revulsion in manner, quietly, slowly, each -sentence distinct, and her words were the truth in soberness, moral -courage and reason at its best, the Holy Spirit over all: - -“Pardon me, Mrs. Geyser. I am really very sorry I offended you.” -Then, after a little pause, “I can’t express all that I feel and -would like to say; but it seems to me our Saviour was always -reasonable. He never did imply what is unreasonable, no matter what -marvels and mysteries He may have revealed to enlighten further. -It seems to me nature has ever since witnessed to His wonderful -obedience to her laws and His profound knowledge of the Divine Word -wherever written in nature, physical or spiritual. He came not to -destroy but to fulfil laws in nature, and this in spite of all that -has ever been said of Him to the contrary.” - -All were now absorbed, blending their own spiritual experience with -hers as Adele continued: - -“Now in religion the claims you make demand a marvellous thing in -nature, a marvel indeed, quite unreasonable to expect in the brighter -light of known truths,” and she rested her eyes calmly on Mrs. -Geyser, she too having become quieter under the better influences at -work. - -“A marvel, indeed, Mrs. Geyser, no less than the actual presence of a -perfect human being.” - -Mrs. Geyser repeated the words, musing self-consciously, “A perfect -human being!” - -“Yes, indeed,” continued Adele. “Taking things as they are, as the -truth in science has already taught us, the performance of cures by -the means you attempt would demand perfection in both knowledge and -technic--one who knows and one who does to perfection--a perfect man. -Of course I must mean perfect in reason, reasonably perfect as nature -manifests truth, at the period when the man lives.” - -“What do you mean by perfection?” asked Mrs. Geyser, evidently -sincere. “I don’t quite understand what you mean by that sort of -high-flown talk.” This was only too true, for Mrs. Geyser, with all -her pretence to metaphysics, had never formulated a definition of -that word “perfection;” she knew little and perceived less in that -very mode of thought to which she made claim as an expert. - -Adele’s youthful eyes certainly did show a human-nature-twinkle when -thus called upon to define what should have been elementary to Mrs. -Geyser if an expert; and so very important to remember when “perfect -cures” were claimed in spite of the known imperfections of all other -systems of treatment. Adele never appreciated her college training -more than when she found that she could use the knowledge thus -obtained in reasoning with Mrs. Geyser. - -“Well, in metaphysics as well as other studies, perfection is -something like this: it is not only ‘finished in every part, -completed,’ but much more, it is ‘whole, entire, existing in the -widest extent, and in the highest degree--in spiritual relations -_divine_ in character and quality.’ You surely believe this, Mrs. -Geyser!” - -Mrs. Geyser made a heroic mental effort to grasp this statement and -answer the question; Adele tried to help her, anxious to share the -very best of her own mental conclusions, her own spirit dominated by -the Spirit that is Holy, to help others and not antagonize. - -“Now to me the two words, perfection and divinity, are precisely the -same in significance in relation to our present discussion, and they -both touch the very highest point in reason, the acme of reason. We -cannot go higher than that, can we, Mrs. Geyser?” - -Mrs. Geyser acknowledged it was “pretty well up.” - -Adele, properly gauging the calibre of her patient by this remark, -repeated the idea: - -“No, I can think of nothing higher than perfection and what it -implies. No, not in physics, metaphysics, nor religion. Can you, Mrs. -Geyser?” - -The listener seemed somewhat confused, but sincerely anxious to -learn. Adele continued: - -“Religion and Philosophy both teach me that Divinity alone manifests -Perfection to the extent your claims call for. No doubt you have -examined into the matter thoroughly, Mrs. Geyser. May I ask what your -key says on the subject?” - -The matronly Mrs. Geyser, ever self-conscious, yet trying to be -sincere, immediately directed her thoughts inwardly, to a sort of -self-examination which her system was apt to call for in such cases; -a system of self-examination very peculiar in its operation, as if -trying to detect how-much-of-perfection she had within herself to -be depended upon to influence or exert the Supreme Power to perfect -cures. If anybody ever did try to work out her own salvation (cure -herself) by means of complicated theories distorting good intentions, -it was this earnest woman, misguided by a mist of words applied to -the veritable mysteries in nature, a mystical abuse of the unseen -truths so well recognized by all truth-seekers as mysterious. Thou -canst not tell whence it cometh nor whither it goeth. Mrs. Geyser -seemed worried, but in no way daunted; rather troubled because she -could not state her own case as she thought it should be stated. Very -like a matron indeed, with an enormous bunch of keys at her side, not -one of which would fit. - -Adele, also uneasy lest she had not shown that kindness and -consideration in manner and tone for one older than herself, which -the case called for--a case in which the Perfect Spirit alone, the -Holy Spirit of Truth in Love, can do the “perfect work.” - -Adele felt this deeply. “What shall I do now? Talk on? No; no more -talk. I hate this rumpus, hate it! but must do something. Never again -will I be caught in such a discussion and controversy. Never! but I -must do something. Poor soul, she can’t even see what she can see. -I wish I could see for her,” and Adele cast her eyes about, as if -looking for inspiration in the surrounding objects. - -A book lay upon Miss Winchester’s lap. She had been using it at the -piano in the salon. The title caught Adele’s eye. “Songs Without -Words,” the musical association with the title she well knew, but -now, what? - -Her active mind, trained to work by association of ideas, and her -spiritual faculties longing to determine what to do then and there, -the two worked together. If the beautiful art of music she loved so -well could speak without words through the ear, why, surely there -must be a way to speak by--by---- - -She left her chair, crossed over to where Mrs. Geyser sat, and held -out a friendly hand, her attitude the reverse of antagonistic, her -eyes speaking the meekness which is always followed by the promised -reward. There was no mistake as to the words uttered by those lovely -eyes, they asked first for peace, peace first, then hope, then -charity, showing that meekness which inherits the earth. Herself -illumined by that wonderful light that never was by sea or land, but -sometimes is reflected on the human face. - - - - - XV - - TWO SIMULTANEOUS SOLILOQUIES - - -The countenance of Mrs. Cultus after this trying scene was a study in -itself. She was attempting to understand her own daughter. Worldly -wisdom was well developed in Mrs. Cultus, and it was fortunate for -Adele that her mother had suppressed dangerous personalities early -in the interview, else the result would have been permanently bad -instead of what it proved to be. Much of what Adele said Mrs. Cultus -had fully appreciated, but not all; not when her daughter began -talking of what constituted perfection, and the consequences. Then -worldly wisdom failed, and the mother regarded her daughter with -amazement. - -“The child! What does she know of metaphysics? Yet she talked as -if she knew all about it as well as she knows her own classmates. -She must have studied both religion and science at college. I don’t -wonder they made her valedictorian of her class, to get in the last -word. She is just like her father, intellectual, and I certainly -was with her when she became angry with that woman for not giving -medicine to sick babies. Extraordinary, isn’t it, how some people -can crowd out their natural instincts for an idea--it is not safe -to live, not with such notions. What new-fangled medical schools -without medicine are being propagated! Here are two new ones on board -this ship--even in mid-ocean there’s no getting rid of them. Well, -I’m rejoiced that Adele has not been educated out of her natural -instincts. It is so much safer to be orthodox about such things, and -take medicine; and these fads, why, never bother with fads except -for amusement. Now that telepathic reading we had one night at home -was almost as good as the other evening with hypnotics, both were so -diverting. But, oh! deliver me from these new sciences. Now I mustn’t -forget; I must tell Adele how much I admired her standing up for -old-fashioned medicine and orthodoxy in religion.” - -Thus soliloquized Mrs. Cultus in her state-room, while a door, -slamming every ten seconds in the passageway, somewhat interfered -with the continuity of her thoughts. - -There was yet another of the party whose estimation of Adele rose -immensely. Paul Warder had overheard the discussion; it gave him an -insight as to Adele’s character which he would have been a long time -discovering, and he felt strengthened himself by the thoughts she had -expressed. Paul was not given to ostentation in religious matters any -more than Adele herself, nor did he feel quite able to discuss such -things even if opportunity offered. He was not so constituted, either -by heredity or education. His antecedents had been of good Quaker -stock, his own affiliations with churchmen, his daily associations -with Doctor Wise, from whom he had heard views almost to the verge of -heterodoxy. - -Paul kept his own counsel and, like Adele, preferred to show by -acts rather than words what his principles were. He and Adele were -physically and mentally different, but spiritually not at all unlike. -Without appreciating it themselves at this time they already embodied -that potent yet mysterious combination in nature which affords the -most solid, durable foundation for true friendship, the secure and -real basis upon which marriage should stand. To hear Adele speak her -mind freely, as she did, was a new experience to Paul, an insight -which from its very nature forced him to think about her. It was -one of these incidents in his own life he could never forget, never -forget her nor what she had said. - -Paul’s vernacular when he soliloquized was not so Emersonian as -it might have been; if it lacked anything it certainly was even a -suspicion of transcendentalism. No; Paul had a vernacular of his own, -equally characteristic and, from his own point of view, even more -forcible. He still retained some of his college idioms when talking -aloud to the bed-post, and there was in them a peculiar virility. -When he found himself alone after this new experience his youth -effervesced in this style: - -“By Jove, what a girl! No nonsense there! And she was right, too; O. -K. every time. How she did pick out the flaws in that queer woman’s -racket. I could see that it was absurd myself, but I never could -have spotted the thing as Adele did and then finally smoothed things -down so well. She must be an awfully good girl. I wonder if a man -can ever be as good as a woman. And these college girls get on to -things we fellows never grasp by the right end, and then they put -them in practice, too. I detest women preachers, but, hang it! I -believe Adele Cultus could preach first-rate if she wished. I hope -she won’t get into the habit, but it is a deuced good thing to be -able to say exactly what you really think when occasion arises. By -Jove, she is a stunner! Take care, old boy, and don’t fall in love -with a strong-minded girl, whatever you do. I never heard her talk so -before, and if it had not been for the provocation given her by that -crank and the preposterous statements she made about all-metaphysics -and no-medicine Adele would never have been roused. No, it was not -that either which aroused her--it was the abuse of the serious words -and what Adele saw differently that roused her. No, that was not -uncalled-for interference, but a regular spontaneous stand-up for -the truth as she saw it. But she must have gone over it somehow -beforehand, in her mind. We fellows always have to peg over such -things, or get the exact words from books, so we can be sure of our -ground. I expect she has a good verbal memory; I wish I had. Science, -religion, and metaphysics all mixed up in the same breath. I believe -she’s right, metaphysics and religion do go together in brain work, -but it’s very dangerous ground for weak minds. Great Scott! when a -bright girl does use her intellect how attractive she can be, and a -fellow can’t help seeing and feeling how lovely she is.” - -Why should Paul have been so moved? He had just learned something -well worth knowing of a truly good woman whose intellect worked -comprehensively, not in grooves; one who really knew more than he -did on certain lines, and had the courage of her convictions, the -convictions being precisely what he himself most highly approved, -instinctively and by education. His youth did the rest. - -He was attracted to her, as he said, and even more than he thought, -but he was not enamored of her--the masculine desire for possession -had not yet asserted itself; he was being unconsciously led, however, -in that direction. Nature’s preparatory course was on a much higher -plane than was the human style of preparation given by the Doctor to -Mr. Onset. Paul felt beginning to blossom within him such an honest -regard, such a profound admiration for Adele, for her sincerity and -the truth in her, that he was led to “believe in her,” trusted her -perfectly, and was ready to defend her in all things. But he did not -love her in the complete sense of the term under natural laws: the -“for better or for worse” in the supreme sense had not yet made its -appeal, nor had either of them yet seen Aphrodite rising from the sea. - -What was Paul’s condition from a purely philosophical standpoint? -He had acquired through Adele’s force of character that which was -far better, the permeating sacred spirit in which all true affection -must rest if it is to endure. Paul was as true in type as Adele. Her -mentality had conquered by manifesting her spirit from within, he -had obtained a firm intellectual belief based upon certain phenomena -in nature. Would the realizing sense of the need of each other -follow? If so, what direction, what line would it take--physical or -spiritual, downwards or upwards, for better or for worse? The blossom -might fall blighted before the perfect fruit was formed. - -As a matter of fact they themselves were absorbed simply in the -beauty of the flower as it unclosed, with little thought of else than -the enjoyable present. - - - - - XVI - - COURAGE VERSUS FOOLHARDINESS - - -While yet thinking about Adele, Paul stood near the stern of the -vessel, overlooking the foamy roadway produced by the constantly -revolving propeller; he noticed the rapid progress made by the ship -which bore him onwards. Looking outwards his thoughts at first turned -hopefully towards the future--towards the region to which they were -going; but soon, very soon, that which was before his very eyes drew -his mind towards the past, suggested by the boiling wake extending in -imagination clear back to the land they had quitted. Yet as a matter -of fact it was neither the past nor the future that was just then -most urgent with a crucial test for him; he was about to realize that -the present is always more urgent and important than either. - -Paul stood musing about this luminous pathway which led back to their -native land, their home, yet each moment took him farther away from -such associations, to meet strangers from whom in the very nature of -things he could not expect such spontaneous sympathy as with his own -countrymen. - -Phosphorescence shone upon the troubled waters, marking the wake -of the ship for some distance. The sky clear, and in the sheen of -the moonlight details of the white-crested waves could easily be -defined. It was one of those glorious evenings when the seascape -appears artistically perfect, but cold and unsympathetic. Moonbeams -are not inherently sympathetic, they have no warmth, they come not -direct from that source of heat and life which gives the vital energy -to all material things. But to imagination and in idealization -moonbeams may excite or allay fear, and they often give a clearer -vision of what sympathy really is, namely, hope and succor when most -needed. Nature is always kind if we have the spiritual discernment to -appreciate her, but variable according to her own methods. - -Paul had but little of the red-hot-heroic in his physical make-up, -nor was he especially romantic, but he did have something a great -deal better. As often with those of his type, his sound mind in -healthy body was supplemented by a keen sense of duty. Moonbeams and -romanticism he could joke about, but underneath the jokes he had most -decided opinions that a fellow ought to help others when necessity -arose, and also his own ideas as to what was practical and what was -foolhardy. - -While still musing he could not avoid admiring the scene, and -spontaneously associating it with one he knew could enjoy it; the -picture was complete, ready to be admired. “I think Adele would enjoy -it, she ought to see it. The ship is not going too rapidly, so the -noise of the propeller amounts to little. I’ll go and find her,” -and he turned to seek her whose pleasure was now more to him than -heretofore. - -Hurrying away, he had taken but a few steps before his attention was -arrested by a commotion forward. There were voices, then the rapid -patter and scuffling of feet on the deck, then a sharp cry, a cry the -most soul-stirring a landsman can hear when in mid-ocean: - -“Man overboard!” - -“Which side?” exclaimed Paul, spontaneous. - -“Port, sir!” - -This caused such a complete revolution in Paul’s emotion that for -an instant he was confused. Like many a landsman, with little fear -of the water itself, yet with little or no practice at sea, the -simplest nautical phrase was apt to convey confused ideas. He could -not on the instant remember whether he should look forward or aft -(as in a theatre) to determine port from starboard on board ship, -and as usual rushed over to the wrong side. The light was bad, the -moon shone the wrong way to see clearly, he rushed back again, leaned -over the hand rail and thought he saw something bobbing about on the -water, but was not sure--only an instant, then could distinguish the -waving arms of some one struggling. The figure was yet ahead, but -approaching, not quite near yet, but about to pass as he looked on. - -The situation was painfully dramatic, but from the deck as Paul saw -it not so perilous if actions were prompt. - -“Where are those life preservers?” and with pocket-knife he cut -one loose and threw it overboard, then a second, and some smaller -cork-floats. Why several? He did not stop to think, for another cry, -this time from the deep, reached his ear, the cry of a drowning -man. It came sharp on the night air, like a personal appeal, and so -sounded to Paul--a personal appeal, for none could have now heard it -as clearly as he. - -This was more than Paul could stand without making instant response. -Two more rips of the knife blade, this time on his own shoe-strings, -off went the shoes, then coat and waistcoat. - -He answered with his college call, “All right, old fellow!” then -sprang on the hand rail and plunged headlong into the ocean, a clear -dive from the deck outwards, to find the drowning man. - -None but a deck hand caught a glimpse of the youthful figure -springing into space, of course too late for him to interfere. “Two -overboard!” cried the sailor promptly, then giving vent to his own -reflections, “Some blasted fool who wants to do the thing hisself!” -mumbling as he went forward to report. - -Increased excitement, passengers calling for help. - -“Where was the other man?” exclaimed several voices among a group -coming aft to the new center of interest. “Where?” - -“There, ma’am!” said the deck hand, pointing; “he left his boots.” - -“Poor fellow!” exclaimed Miss Winchester. “Oh, Adele, what a legacy! -Just think of it, boots!” - -The crowd rushed to look at the boots. They were held up for -inspection. Frank Winchester no sooner turned her eyes upon them than -she rushed forward, recognized the coat and waistcoat, and stood -aghast. - -“It’s Paul!” - -Adele did not move, she seemed turned to stone. - -Her eyes were fixed, looking straight ahead, trying to pierce the -shadowy deep, the boundless expanse. The ocean seemed enormous, -terrible, and, oh, so cold, heartless, consuming! “What! There? Lost!” - -But she was quiet only for an instant, then seizing any loose -articles she could find threw them overboard, and with strong emotion -invited others to do the same. “Anything that will float--will float! -It may reach them; it may, it must!” and the passengers followed her -example. - -More life preservers, several deck stools and steamer chairs then -followed overboard before the enraged boatswain could interfere to -stop their useless efforts. - -“Don’t you see we’re b’arin’ round?” growled the old salt. “The -boats’ll pick ’em up. There’s no sea on now.” - -“I truly hope so,” breathed Adele. - -“They’ve got plenty of floats already,” said the sailor. - -“How do you know?” demanded Miss Winchester, nettled at the fellow’s -brusque manner. - -“Well, he’s got plenty anyway. Look here!” and it was indeed a great -relief to see the dangling ends of those cut ropes, cut by Paul only -a few minutes before, not insignificant items, for they told of -presence of mind and foresight instead of reckless venture. - -A lull followed, while the vessel began to turn in its course. -Several boats were made ready to be lowered into the water. - -“Adele,” said Miss Winchester, striving to grasp the situation, -“Adele, I knew he could swim, all right, but, really, really I did -not take him for that sort of man.” - -“H’m!” - -“He’s very brave, Adele.” - -“Perhaps you don’t understand him as well as I do,” and Adele’s voice -betrayed a greater intensity of feeling than she had intended. Then, -as if catching herself before too late, she added in a very different -tone, and casting her eyes towards the center of the ship, where the -officer of the deck was giving directions: - -“Frank, he’ll not be left--not if I can help it. Just wait a minute.” - -Each had done what she could thus far. - - - - - XVII - - TWO RESCUES--AND TWO GIRLS - - -The turning of the steamer appeared to take an interminable time, -especially to the only two members of the Cultus party who knew that -Paul was overboard. The passengers watched the great curve of foam -left behind as the huge monster crept around in its course. Then -whispers were heard, irrepressible, nervous whispers from people who -could not keep still, and who jerked their hands up and down as if -they themselves were in a dilemma. - -“We’ll never find ’em, never! We’re only getting further off! Will -she never turn round? We’re miles away now! Why don’t they steer -straight for where they are?” - -“I wish I had my hands on that wheel, I’d yank her around in a -jiffy.” This critic was judging by a cruise he had made in a cat-boat -on Barnegat Bay. - -“I hope they’ve got them preservers hitched up high,” quoth a kind, -thoughtful old dame, wearing a knitted hood and shawl crosswise. -“It’s awful important not to be top-heavy in the sea, nor to swallow -too much water; it’s awful salt, you know”--this kind suggestion the -result of experience in a surf bath at Atlantic City. - -The boatswain’s whiskers surrounded a capacious grin as he listened -to this sagacious advice, while at the same time he was watching the -great semicircle of foam change to a horseshoe curve, the two ends -converging toward a point in the open. He took a shy glance towards -the bridge, observing what was going on there, and then called out: - -“Keep a lookout for’ard! Who’s got the best eyes?” - -All strained their necks to catch a glimpse ahead. - -The vessel had by this time veered and was ploughing back in a direct -course. Suddenly a beam of light shot out from above the bridge, -illuminating far ahead, penetrating the moonlight, making objects on -the surface distinctly visible. - -“The search light! The search light!” and a burst of cheers went -forth loud enough to be heard a long distance. - -“Give ’em another, boatswain!” exclaimed the Barnegat critic. - -“Those fellows ain’t deaf, give ’em another, boatswain!” This from -the thoughtful hood and shawl. - -The old salt looked disgusted, for he had not taken part in this -demonstration, but the advisory committee took it up at once, -cheering again and again, as if the rescue depended upon the noise -they made. - -Adele put her arm in Frank Winchester’s and drew her away towards one -of the life boats amidship. The boat was already manned, waiting to -be lowered at the right time. - -Professor Cultus and the Doctor were standing near these boats, when -Adele touched the latter on the shoulder. - -He turned quickly, something in her manner impressed him, and he drew -her aside. - -“Please go in that boat, Doctor Wise.” - -“What, you want _me_ to go?” - -“Yes, by all means.” - -“I don’t understand.” - -“Oh, but you will, if you’ll only go.” - -“But there’s no reason for my going.” - -“Yes, there is. Don’t ask me, but go, please, you really ought to go.” - -“Ought, ought to?” repeated the Doctor curious, very thoughtful. - -Now Doctor Wise had already learned that the first man overboard -was Mr. Onset, the very man he had frightened by his amateur mental -science treatment. Could the hysteria have returned in some new -form? Was it no cure after all? Could the man have attempted suicide? -If so, didn’t he himself have some personal responsibility from -tampering with such a case? He should have left it for regular -treatment. A successful cure would probably have brought no such -adverse consequences as this; but if unsuccessful who would be to -blame? At any rate he was now identified with Onset on board that -ship and could not remain passive in such an emergency, even if the -ship’s crew could do the work better. - -Such thoughts rushed through the Doctor’s mind when Adele told him he -ought to go with the rescue party, as he supposed, to help Onset. - -An executive officer was superintending the boat close by, when -Doctor Wise approached and asked nervously: - -“Where is the physician of the ship?” - -“With the next boat ahead.” - -“Then I should like to go with this one.” - -“Contrary to all rules,” said the officer, sharply. - -Adele overheard this and before Doctor Wise decided what to do she -had the executive officer by the sleeve, holding on firmly. - -He politely but forcibly told her to let go and keep cool, but she -would not, not until she drew herself near enough to whisper in his -ear. If he could have seen her eyes he would have listened even more -quickly than he did, but she made her voice speak from her heart. - -Those close by only heard the first words, “Doctor Wise will be of -the greatest use, he----” the rest in an undertone. - -Several of the self-constituted advisory critics at once volunteered -the opinion that two doctors were not too many for two men overboard. -The title “Doctor” carried its own weight and the rush of events -prevented any questions. - -Miss Winchester meanwhile had worked her way through the crowd to -the side of the vessel and was straining every nerve to discover the -whereabouts of the two men struggling in the water. No doubt they -had been sighted already by the officers on the bridge, because the -speed of the vessel had been slackened and the search light kept -in a definite direction, but Frank wanted to see them with her own -eyes, alive and kicking, if possible, especially the kicking, to -make sure they were alive. She thought she saw them, then knew she -did not; she put up her hands to look through the fingers curved to -form binoculars, but this was no better. Then eagerly looking around -she spied a pair of glasses in the hands of a lady. “Oh, excuse me, -just a minute!” and without waiting for a response, took the glasses -without ceremony. Mrs. Thorn let her keep the glasses, but watched -her excited fingers attempting to focus them in the dim light. - -The speed was now so much less that boats could be lowered, ready -to be let adrift at a moment’s notice. Miss Winchester saw the -Doctor in the second boat, then noticed a small white spot in the -distance upon the surface of the sea, and while struggling to focus -those “obstinate glasses” on the white spot only made matters worse. -Annoyed, clumsy just when most anxious and impatient, she pressed -her lips together to steady her usually strong nerves, almost biting -the end of her tongue, and lo! the glasses were all right, and into -vision sprang the white spot, a life preserver supporting some one -waving a handkerchief; one end of it was in his teeth and the other -corner was held at full length, not at all unlike a flag of truce or -a “peace-flag” amid all the commotion and excitement. - -“Oh, Adele, I see them! He doesn’t seem to mind it in the least.” - -“Both?” asked Adele, eagerly. - -“Yes! no! yes!--I can’t make out what he’s got. Yes, two! I think so.” - -“They’re both there, ma’am,” said a sailor, respectfully. “The -Captain gave orders for each boat to bring a man. He’s seen ’em ’way -back.” - -The boats were cast off; they rose and fell upon the undulations -of the mighty deep, now more impressive than when traversed at the -more rapid speed. The tiny boats ascended to the summits of the -white-crested waves and then were hidden in the deep valleys of the -dark sea. Paul, fluttering his little white flag, rose and fell with -them. They approached each other with the movements of a stately -minuet upon the ocean. The fixed lights in the heavens above and the -creeping search light of man below illumined the scene. - -When Doctor Wise recognized Paul it gave him an icy chill down -the middle of his back. It will never be known which was really -experiencing the worst chill at the instant, the Doctor or Paul. -However, the Doctor managed to shake himself back into a normal -condition, then stood up in the boat and motioned with a peculiar -movement, knowing Paul would recognize one of their private signals. -Paul did recognize it and gave the reply. The Doctor then felt in his -hip pocket for his whiskey flask--it was all right--and then waited -until the boat was near enough to throw a line; Paul seized it. - -The rescued Mr. Warder was found floating in a circular life -preserver as serenely as a duck in a pond. He held Onset tightly with -one arm, while Onset clung to him with both, though safe enough if he -could but have realized it. There was nothing tragic whatever about -either of them, except Onset’s state of mind, which he showed by his -convulsed clasp of Paul. - -Paul had taken a great risk, from the popular point of view, but in -so doing had trusted to the good faith of others to aid him and had -not been deceived. Without formulating these facts in his own mind -on the instant, he had acted nevertheless upon the presumption that -the science of navigation was able to meet such a case, and he had -faith in human nature when embodied in sincere men. He had trusted -the truth, and that had made him free to act for the best, as he saw -it; and all this spontaneously, because he had the courage of such -convictions ingrained in his character. - - - - - XVIII - - A SENSATION VERSUS AN IMPRESSION - - -“Why did you do it?” asked the Doctor, as they rowed back to the ship. - -“He called me.” - -“Who? Onset?” - -“Yes. There was no real danger, only some risk.” - -“The deuce there wasn’t,” rather surprised at Paul’s nonchalance. - -“I knew you would pick me up. Onset floated, but was nearly a goner -when I reached him.” - -“What possessed the fellow?” - -“I don’t know. He was scared wild when I first saw him, beating his -arms about in every direction. That’s what kept him from sinking, -even if his head went under at times. Got any more whiskey?” - -Paul had been in the water only about half an hour, no longer than -during many a previous dip in the surf, but the nervous tension had -been severe. - -The Doctor took hold of his hands and found the finger tips were -merely cold, not blue, and as usual the form and vitality of the hand -showed every element of power to give many a good grip yet. - -“Ah!” thought the Doctor, “your type can put forth the strenuous -effort if your spirit calls for it, and it does sometimes draw upon -the physical too much; the best swimmers are for this cause sometimes -drowned. Don’t do it again, my boy. When the reaction comes you -require stimulants even more than at the time of exertion,” and he -again gave Paul the flask. - -Mr. Onset was similarly cared for in the other boat. When the two -crews came together near the steamer Doctor Wise inquired of the -physician in charge what Onset had to say for himself. - -“He says he became giddy and fell over. I don’t believe him.” - -“H’m,” mused the Doctor, “weak head and hysterical legs--what will he -do next?” - -Once on board again and the steamer well on her course, the incident -produced quite a little sensation, a surface ripple, but very little -serious impression. - -Paul, in spite of himself, had to gratify curiosity and explain -details--how he first caught one of the floating deck stools (“the -one I threw over,” said the benign countenance with the woollen -hood), then swam towards where he thought Onset might be, and saw his -head against the sheen on the water, and then kept his eye on the -head while swimming; how it did not seem a long swim, but a little -slow after finding a life preserver to tow along; how he managed to -get the floats under Onset, after first boxing his ears to keep him -quiet, and then ducked into the life preserver himself, “and there we -were until the steamer turned head on and the search light became so -blinding that I could not see what I could see.” - -“Oh, you good boy!” again exclaimed the beaming hooded countenance, -who had evidently been reading one of Mr. Frank Stockton’s stories. -“Do tell us, is it true, as Miss Frank says, that you wore black -stockings to keep off sharks?” - -“Trousers, this time, madame--trousers! I really didn’t have time to -change.” - - * * * * * - -“All’s well that ends well,” but with Adele it was not the end, much -more the real beginning. - -The part she had taken in connection with the case of Onset’s -hysteria, her mental activity during the discussion with Mrs. Geyser -and the spiritual experience she had just encountered in learning -Paul’s decided force of character, made the young woman live and -breathe intensely. Her whole being had been brought into play. She -developed more during that eventful week of their life in mid-ocean -than she might have done in a whole year on land. Not that aught -of her past was lost or ignored, but it was made effective and she -herself made more completely alive. She was now indeed amid the -turmoils of life, where she found herself taking an active part. - -The strange and varied motives which actuated many, also the lofty -aspirations and the power to act, seemed very similar to her own -ideals, far more so than she had expected. This took away some of -her own youthful conceit, but gave her a much deeper and stronger -appreciation of things as a whole. - -Naturally a strong conviction arose within her that two individuals -with different characteristics, yet harmonious in purpose, must be -able to work better together than alone. She had always felt rather -independent as to any methods she chose to adopt, but now she felt -herself confronted by a whole series of things she could not do, no -matter how good the motive. Paul, for instance, being a man, had done -just what she would have liked to do, but could not, being a woman. -She felt quite able to have done it--oh, yes; she could dive and swim -and keep it up; but somehow, for her to have jumped overboard--well, -don’t do it--foolishness--ridiculous. But Paul could--no foolishness, -nothing ridiculous; in fact, a praiseworthy act, a reasonable risk, -approved by his conscience at the time and eventually strengthening -his character. She began to obtain a realizing sense of the -complementary equivalent in human nature. - -Unavoidably Paul rose higher in her estimation. Twice he had shown -himself her equal, perhaps even her superior, not mentally, but -somehow in a forcible manner which taxed her spirit as well as -her intellect to comprehend. He had once proved how her own vocal -accomplishments, so much more highly developed than his, could be in -spirit most potent when made subsidiary to the words and sentiment of -a song; now he had shown that actions are more convincing than words -themselves in spiritual significance. She no longer thought of Paul -as like other men, two-sided, one side good and the other--well, not -so good; but rather as good all round, a really good man. Being an -idealist, she put Paul on a pedestal and took a good look at him. -Certainly he was very sensible and brave, also fascinating, now that -she saw him in a good light. - -This was the state of affairs when the crossing of the Atlantic ended -by their entering the Straits of Gibraltar. - - - - - XIX - - GIBRALTAR APPEARS AND DISAPPEARS - - -It may seem superfluous to observe that the military spirit dominated -every other at “The Gib,” but the ladies of the Cultus party had -little idea how forcibly it would affect them until they were behind -the guns. - -Four regiments were quartered at the station--brilliant uniforms -in all directions. Regulation scarlet most in vogue; also “the -sporty Rifles,” parti-colored like paroquets, green predominating; -also Scotch Highlanders in white and flesh tints of nature. Bands -and bag-pipes, fifers and drum corps perambulated the narrow -streets--action, color, martial music in the air--the spirit of the -place exhilarating at first and its activity contagious. - -“Look at those red-breasts, and, oh, dear, how very perky!” exclaimed -Miss Winchester, as Tommy Atkins and a group of his chums went -by--Tommy had winked at her when passing. - -“Come, Paul, fall in! Keep step! We’ll take that battery just ahead.” - -“Look before you leap!” cried Adele, laughing. - -“Oh, that’s only a military mote in your eye,” laughed Miss -Winchester, “soldiers don’t mind a small matter like that----” and -she drew the young people off along the crooked street which led -to the hotel, Convent (headquarters), Park and Alameda beyond, -Professor and Mrs. Cultus following in a carriage. As they looked -upward the Rock frowned upon them from a great height, and O’Hara’s -Tower appeared near as the bird flies, but a fatiguing ascent for -those on foot. At the Signal House flags were fluttering, and with -a glass one could distinguish “wig-wagging” in the direction of the -Mediterranean, possibly to an approaching steamer many miles distant, -on the way from that Far East which they all hoped soon to reach. - -Life at “The Gib” not forming an integral part of this narrative, -it is enough to recall that during their stop-over between steamers -they were fortunate in assisting at a battle upon the neutral-ground, -after which they attended a ball at the “Convent.” Our interest -just now is to note how well Mrs. Cultus improved her opportunity, -especially after visiting Tangiers. - -When at home Mrs. Cultus was a busy member in several clubs, -all fashionably active in good works. She had a pigeonhole -for each particular style of club letter paper, with headings -artistically engraved. Among them, “Politely Civil Club,” “Amateurs’ -Topographical,” “Domestic Relief Association,” “Cat Home,” and “Old -Man’s Depository.” Mrs. Cultus doted on cats and variety in good -works, and was determined to prove all things and hold fast to that -which is good. In a spasm of zeal previous to her departure she had -faithfully promised to report from abroad such of her observations -“obtained by travel on the spot,” as might be interesting in -connection with the club work at home. It goes without saying that -both Gibraltar and Tangiers each proved to be a bonanza to Mrs. -Cultus, and she very wisely determined to get rid of the troublesome -business at once. - -“I know I can write something better than that communication about -‘Tobogganing in St. Petersburg,’ and as to the one on ‘Seesawing in -Alaska,’ it was a very trivial production. In civil matters it’s -quite as important to know what not to do as what to do, and I -certainly do see here on ‘The Gib’ many things highly instructive to -Uncle Sam in connection with our new colonies. Now, let me see! Let -me arrange my thoughts before writing them out. - -“Why, I feel quite an embarrassment of riches” (she repeated it in -French): “Gibraltar! certainly the most cosmopolitan region we have -yet reached, a perfect conglomeration of diversified interests, -and yet they are not at loggerheads; military, also millinery, -costumes very important; not so much commercial as confidential; -financial, with four kinds of currency; national yet international, -geographically considered; diplomatic, aromatic, and ethical; all -substantial problems working in harmony--not a gun fired to keep the -peace, only for salutes.” - -Mrs. Cultus’ finished production proved to be in a style -quite unique, what might be called demi-semi-official or -colloquial-realistic, with “side tags” to inform the Club in what -direction the region might be further “explored.” Of course her full -text became part of the archives of the Society, but her opening and -closing sentences were in this case so brilliant that the world at -large should really have the benefit of their luminosity. No expert -in the modern school of English composition had greater appreciation -than Mrs. Cultus of the real value of an opening sentence to attract -attention in the right direction. What she fired off at the Amateurs’ -Topographical thus began: - -“We are supposed to be in Europe, en route from America to Asia; as -a matter of fact we are in Africa, just across the way. I write from -the Café Maure, in order to get the flavor of the place.” With her -literary feet thus planted on four continents at once, why, of course -the Club knew precisely where she stood, and obtained a glimpse of -the habits and customs of the population, also of Mrs. Cultus in -particular. Her closing sentence was also a masterpiece, this time -of imagery and charming retrospection, all carefully led up to by a -vivid description of the Zok or market place; introducing a group -of snake-charmers at work charming, fascinating to watch, especially -fascinating when the charmers, accompanied by tom-toms and a sana -(tambourine), appeared to eat the snakes. - -“It was diabolical,” wrote Mrs. Cultus; “I fled, and called the -others to escape fascination also. We had enough of the Zok and -snakes. Unfortunately, camels were in our way. I had nothing but my -parasol to keep the beasts off. No doubt they too had been fascinated -by the snakes, for a hubbub arose which completely demoralized the -dromedaries. A camel with both humps up and rear legs in the air -and his front legs helping him to scream is calculated to make one -leave his vicinity unceremoniously. We did, we made our exit--_sans -ceremonie_--as I have the profound honor of now doing at the end of -this report.” - -And the Society sent her a note of appreciation later on for the -sincere observation and vivid realism displayed in her graphic -report--_noblesse oblige_. - -But in the meantime, while the report was on its way home, Mrs. -Cultus, when thinking it over, seemed not quite sure as to its -effect, in fact rather worried. - -“I know,” said she, “that my style embodies that happy medium between -dignity and frivolity which is sure to take at the Club, but, oh, -just suppose somebody has described Tangiers before!” - -Miss Winchester overheard this terrible conjecture with the keen -interest of a real member of the literary craft, and naturally came -to the rescue of Mrs. Cultus, who was yet a novice. - -“Tangiers!--sung about before? Not more frequently than some other -good songs.” - -“What song are you talking about, Frank? I sang no song.” - -“‘Thou art like unto a flower, O Tangiers! so pure, so white,’ et -cetera. A Morocco rose by any other name will always smell as sweet.” - -“Anyhow, it’s Oriental,” quoth Mrs. Cultus, “and that’s what I’m -after just at present.” - -Oriental--yes; they had been fascinated by their first glimpse of the -Orient and its surfeit of varied impressions. From this time forward -Adele was continually looking Eastward with great and increasing -eagerness. The shores of the Mediterranean had yet in store for -her some experiences quite as forcible as those of the Atlantic -mid-ocean, but she knew it not. No doubt this had something to do -with her present mood when they came to leave Gibraltar, and she -stood with Paul and the Doctor upon deck, watching the disappearance -of the Rock. - -The steamer took a southerly course when leaving port, heading -for the African shore, then bore off towards the Orient, which -was the real goal of their voyage. When passing Europa Point the -impregnable Rock, with terraced fortifications, loomed up in gigantic -proportions; seen edgewise, its decreased width added to the apparent -height. Lofty and massive, it was indeed a Pillar of Hercules at the -Gateway of the Inland Sea. - -The steamer passed into more open waters, the Rock rising higher and -higher, as if determined to assert its majesty, no longer a pillar -but a column of Victory, a strong and mighty outpost of Europe, -an advance guard of that domain which lay behind, a bulwark of -defence, a salient point for attack, a formidable diplomatic menace -to the nomads of Africa--“Thus far shalt thou go and no farther.” -And they sailed onwards, out upon the blue expanse of sea and sky; -the landscape receded from view and different objects sank in turn -beneath the horizon. The graceful curves of the Iberian coast faded -away in the background, the mainland of Europe but a thin line in the -distance; the gateway of the Straits soon followed, and the Atlantic, -highway to America and home, was lost to sight. There was naught left -in what they saw to suggest America. - -As the ship sailed on, the sunlight pouring upon the sands of Africa -produced a hazy, luminous, rose-tinted mist o’er the Land of the -Moors, the mountains of Morocco blended away amid the fleecy clouds -in the azure of distance. - -And they gazed until the sombre outline of the Rock alone remained, -an isolated dot upon the waters. A fisherman’s craft scudded across -the open, the Rock was hidden behind a sail. A sea gull flitted along -the horizon, the Rock was no larger than a bird. The human eye grew -weak in the effort to retain its whereabouts. Could it yet be seen? -Yes, it is there--a mere speck in space! No, ’tis gone! Gibraltar had -disappeared. - -Adele, standing between the Doctor and Paul, clinging to the arms of -her good friends, looked dreamily upon the vacancy. In thoughtful -silence this vivid experience in life had become but a thing of the -past. - - - - - XX - - THE ARTISTIC SENSE - - What is the long and short of it? - Art is long, life is short. - - -After a short tour through Italy, they had reached the Vesuvian Bay. -As Mrs. Cultus expressed it, “Heretofore we have been visiting lakes -and crypts, ruins and picture galleries, and now at last have met -a volcano. It’s really beautiful, I assure you, quite as artistic -as in pictures, and set in a frame of landscape which I don’t -wonder artists love to paint. I feel just that way myself. Oh, it -is so exquisite with these sloping shores! and in the distance that -beautiful Island of Capri.” - -Capri, the haunt of so many emperors in art as well as in government. -Capri, favorite of the imagination, one of the enchanted isles, -legendary locality, with its rustic stone ladder to ascend -heavenward. Capricious Capri, with its grotto in blue, whereas -ordinary mortals would be satisfied with grottoes in green. -Picturesque Capri, with rocky foreground, no middle distance -whatever, and several Paradises in the background. Mythological -Capri, ever under the watchful eye of Minerva of the Promontory. -Sportive Capri, with quails on toast, and woodcocks twice a year. -Historic Capri, famous to the antiquary and modern economist; -infamous, but only in days gone by. - -All this appeared very mysterious on the morning that the Doctor -looked from Capo da Monti over the Bay of Naples. The island, -enveloped in light mist, hung, as it were, in mid-air between sea and -sky. Adele and Paul were with him. - -“Hazy atmosphere,” remarked the Doctor. - -“I see violet tints,” remarked Adele. “I love violets.” - -“It looks as if the island had no weight,” said Paul; “it might be -blown away by the wind.” - -“One of those atmospheric effects,” continued the Doctor, “which -some artists portray with great success because much is left to the -imagination.” - -“Then the other fellow imagines what he likes best; safe, sure plan -that; it just suits me,” said Paul. “All the pictures I had in my -room at college had a ‘go’ in them, and I imagined what was coming.” - -“Happy the artist who has the art of suggestion. It is a rare gift; -inborn, I think--the power to make others complete the picture by -reading their own best thoughts into it.” - -“Some seem to care very little about what they say,” remarked Adele. -“I never could understand why they paint a woman looking at herself -in a glass; one’s back hair should not be the most conspicuous thing -in the picture; and as to those extraordinary soap-bubble-cherubs, -they don’t appeal to me, no matter how well they are painted.” - -“What sort do you like?” asked Paul the innocent. - -“Why, dancing, of course--dancing on one’s knee--that’s the place -they would enjoy it most, stretching out their arms in play, not -catching flies. Those fly-catching cherubs are just as bad as the -bubblers.” - -“How much you’re like your mother at times,” thought the Doctor while -laughing; then audibly: “You’re right, Adele; art never is very high -unless it reaches for something better than catching flies--fleeting -impressions.” - -“Then from your point of view,” said Paul, “the technical part and -the science _per se_ may appeal to the physical and mental only; but -if you want a picture to be thought about afterwards, the subject -must speak to the spiritual sense.” - -“Well, rather!” exclaimed the Doctor, now getting somewhat excited; -“and more than that, many a well executed work of art has been -utterly forgotten simply because the subject had better be forgotten. -Some artists have actually killed their pictures before they first -touched brush to canvas.” - -Adele appeared to agree to this, but said nothing. Paul was not so -loftily mystical in his appreciation. - -“Perhaps they belong to the ‘yellow’ school?” - -“And have the jaundice themselves?” quoth the Doctor, warming up; -“perhaps, for a bad subject is apt to have bad influence. No picture -worthy the title of masterpiece endures as such unless it possesses -the spiritual element and excites spiritual perception of the right -kind. In the final analysis, the higher spiritual element is the -salvation of any artistic production. Woe betide the artist who -belittles his art by what might be called aspiration towards the low, -and thinks to justify it by a perfect technique! That is a false -position for a true man; for there is but one art--the Art Divine, -which cannot be debased by unworthy association.” - -“Of course you mean Music,” said Paul, smiling. “Now you’re off on -your hobby; every man thinks his own hobby the best--his art divine. -You’re just like ’em all, Doc! Look out! don’t measure everything by -your own pocket-rule.” The Doctor paid no attention. - -“In other arts than Music,” said he, “the physical association is so -intimate and permanent that the artist has increased responsibility -in consequence.” - -“Then greater achievement when he does succeed,” interrupted Adele. - -“Possibly, but not probably,” said the Doctor. “I only referred to -music because it furnishes an ideal standard by which to judge of -the unlimited power (of course divine, if unlimited) which may be -exercised through the artistic sense. For instance, Mozart’s ability -to excite pure spiritual aspirations towards the good and true by -means of the beautiful in melodic phrase, was, and is (for he is -immortal), so great that those who yield themselves to his art are -often led to forget even the debased Don Juan (miserable subject), -and have pure emotions and beautiful visions suggested by the melodic -beauty of the music. One might almost say Mozart’s inspired art -awakens the dormant Angel who sleeps within the nature of every man. -You know what we find stated in Rau’s ‘Tone King’ about him?” - -Adele drew close to listen. - -“Mozart, when on the border land, when his lovely spirit so melodious -in expression could see upwards even more clearly than around and -about him, said something like this: - -“‘All work is divine, and raises man above earth. We all love -earthly things, but there are higher delights than these. I, too, -know something of this higher joy of creating. The faculties God has -given me render me happy; but I feel that these powers within me are -capable of fuller development in eternity. To think that my power of -producing something great and fine could cease just when it begins -to rise to the full consciousness of all that might be accomplished, -would be to doubt the perfection of Divine Wisdom--perhaps my whole -being may be absorbed in one flow of immortal harmony, for the -musical spheres within one cannot perish.’” - -After a pause, the Doctor asked, with much feeling: - -“I suppose you know what all this means?” - -“Tell us,” whispered Adele. - -“It means that all true art in this life springs from Love Divine, -and aids in bringing life and immortality to light.” - -As the Doctor said this the sound of a simple, plaintive melody came -floating upward toward the crest of the hill on which they stood. -Paul went forward to see whence it came. - -“Some peasants in the next field; one is singing, another playing a -pipe, before a shrine.” - -“Ah!” exclaimed the Doctor; “not the first time that shepherds -abiding in a field have heard music with a spiritual significance.” - -“And neither a Mozart nor very fine art,” remarked Paul. - -Adele stood musing, then added, in a subdued voice: - -“Yes; it is yet bringing Life and Immortality to Light.” - - - - - XXI - - AN ARTIST WITH DOUBLE VISION - - -They were again overlooking the Vesuvian Bay, Capri still in the -distance, but more distinct, not unlike a phantom appearing and -disappearing as the mist passed by. The intermediate space was much -clearer, more light, better definition, as photographers say. - -“Paul,” began the Doctor, “you remember George Le Roy, the artist we -met at Tarpon Bayou, Florida? He is now at Capri.” - -“Good!” exclaimed Paul. “A genius if ever there was one. He takes me -a walk out into the country whenever I look at his pictures.” - -“‘Art is his religion,’ so he says,” quoth the Doctor. “His palette -and his Bible tell the same story, or something like that.” - -“I can’t tell exactly why I like his pictures,” said Paul, “but I do.” - -“His pictures speak,” said the Doctor; “they echo the Mind of Nature, -the Voice, yet he never copies a tree or a cloud. You hear something -said to you, yet not a word spoken. Now, Paul, that’s quite as high a -flight for the artist as one is apt to find in figure painting.” - -“Oh, I can’t agree with you there. The human form requires far -greater ability to portray; one must depict action, and emotions, -too--in fact, a better draughtsman is required.” - -The Doctor took him up. - -“No doubt greater accuracy in detail, correct eye for form, knowledge -of anatomy to make the figure plastic, and intense feeling to give -power to convey to others the idea of emotions; but when it comes to -_exciting emotions_ the landscape artist has a field bountiful with -opportunity for spiritual insight and significance--as a matter of -fact, figures themselves need not be ignored, but made accessory.” - -“The world and his wife don’t value landscapes as highly as you -do,” remarked Paul, cogitating. “Who ever sees all that in a -landscape?--why, the average man wouldn’t like it if he did see it.” -This somewhat nettled the Doctor. - -“The average man! that pretentious individual who always thinks of -himself as Lord of Creation--let him keep on thinking of his physique -and physical comforts. I enjoy good landscapes for the very reason -that they lift one above all that; they respond to something better, -and that settles it for me. I enjoy having inspiring landscapes -always where I can see them; there are precious few faces of which -I can say the same thing.” Then he added, as if mindful of one in -particular: “Some faces never respond; I take to the woods to get rid -of ’em, as I often leave a portrait for a landscape.” - -The Doctor was getting roused. Paul detected it and concluded to -laugh the matter off. - -“Why not take your piano with you, Doctor--to the woods?” - -“I would if I could. Gottschalk did; and others to-day, like him in -that respect, do seek fresh thoughts and sounds direct from Nature. -Saint-Saëns does; he told me so during some talks we had when out -in far east Ceylon; and he is the most notable living expert in -different forms of musical composition, ranging from complicated -rhythmic conceits to serious harmonies well nigh sublime. As to -Edvard Grieg, I caught him in the very act, entranced by Nature’s -strange moods and melodies amid the waterfalls of his beloved -Norway. And Beethoven! ah! there is the real test! Beethoven’s most -profound utterances are but the unadulterated deep sounds and chords -from Nature, both felt and heard when others thought him deaf. His -experience was in the woods of Austria, and if we do not hear now, -elsewhere, when he yet speaks, we do not really comprehend Beethoven, -how he transmuted into another form that which exists in Nature. -Blessed be his name! for he did it that we, too, might hear. And we -call that Art.” - -“Well, there’s one advantage about a piano in the woods,” teased Paul. - -“What’s that?” - -“You’ll be more comfortable, and possibly less moist than the other -fellow.” - -“What other fellow?” - -“The one who sat on a wet cloud pecking at a harp--ask Widow Bedot.” - -Evidently Paul was trying to escape a serious discussion. Fortunately -for both, Adele came to the rescue. She perceived that men of such -different temperaments could seldom see anything from the same -point of view unless it was the result of a similar or simultaneous -experience, and that with Paul the personality of the artist should -go far to promote a thorough appreciation of his work. - -“It strikes me,” said Adele, “neither of you knows all that may be -said on that subject.” - -“H’m!” ejaculated the Doctor, looking out of the corner of his eye. - -“Or else you’re not thinking about the same thing.” - -“Give it up,” laughed Paul. “I was with the Widow on that cloud.” - -“Then, isn’t it just possible, a wee bit possible, that a landscape -artist himself, Mr. Le Roy, for instance, should know more about such -things than either of us?” - -“All right; we’ll visit him,” said the Doctor; “take a run over to -Capri for the sake of our--artistic health.” - -“You mean your credit as a critic,” thought Adele. - - * * * * * - -The venerable artist, nearly seventy years of age, gave them a -cordial welcome, his sharp eyes sparkling behind his old-fashioned -spectacles; a man of medium height, with evidently no thought to -throw away on mere matter of dress. His light-colored soft hat -covered a mass of touzled hair, with a few streaks of gray; his beard -was sparse on the cheeks and luxuriant on the chin. - -The Doctor looked with interest at his thin hands and his hectic -cheeks; then noticed his forcible action as he walked and talked. -Outward signs of a highly nervous, impulsive temperament were very -pronounced. - -“He looks more like an impractical, enthusiastic mystic than ever,” -pondered the Doctor; “even more so than when I met him years -ago--no doubt Italy suits him as he ages in spiritual discernment. -He certainly can give very powerful impressions when he paints, -and to all sorts and conditions of men; how remarkable, yet quite -reasonable, that a man so frail as he should produce such effects of -power. I suppose it is the intensity of his visions which makes him -great. I wonder how Paul the practical will size him up?” - -The artist was talking to Paul about fresh air and the delightful -life at Capri. - -“Then you paint in the open?” asked Paul. - -“Well, yes, and no. Of course, one must go out, but not necessarily -far--all is near at hand. The _paysage intime_, as it was called -at Barbizon, is here, too, as we also found it in Florida. There’s -a sort of unity in nature, and in it we live and move and have our -being. It is a vast thing, that unity, but it is close to us also. -The landscape picture may convey a comprehensive impression very -large, out of proportion to its actual subject. Art, you know, is but -part of the universal-plan, and like both science and religion, must -drop into its appropriate place.” - -Paul seemed interested, also somewhat amused. “Fresh air certainly -does surround everything, and no doubt there is a universal-plan -in nature; but why mix up art, fresh air and the universal-plan -in that way?” Paul wondered how a fellow who could paint such -practical pictures, so true to life, should talk so vaguely. “He’s -a high-flyer. I like his fresh air and his pictures better than his -queer sentiments.” - -Now, what Doctor Wise especially desired to learn was, not what other -people thought of Mr. Le Roy, but how he himself satisfied his own -keen, analytical sense. How Le Roy worked, not in mere allegorical -figure, but, going directly to nature, discovered and conveyed -something worth portraying. For it was well known in art circles that -Le Roy had slowly gathered together his own theories as to nature -and what nature could give him, and of the Immortality of Art. The -conversation, therefore, took that turn. - -“Every artist,” said Le Roy, “has his own feeling, and if he develops -it, may be a great artist in his way; yet, the other schools, the -men with other methods and ideas, may not recognize the merit in his -work.” - -“Can this matter of feeling be explained in words?” asked Adele. - -“I think so, having made a thorough and complete theory of it. I am -now seventy years of age, and the whole study of my life has been -to find out what it is that is in myself--what is this thing we -call Life--and how does it operate. The idea has become clearer and -clearer; and as we see that the Creator never makes any two things -alike, nor any two men alike, therefore every man has a different -impression of what he sees, and that impression constitutes feeling, -so every man has a different feeling.” - -The Doctor’s face lighted up as he eagerly drank in these words. Here -was the “unlimited,” the very thing he had heard so much about--the -unlimited with a vengeance. He knew that varied mentality and -temperament among musicians who were artists often produced discord, -but here was a successful artist of ripest maturity who insisted that -no two artists were ever alike--all received different impressions, -all had different feelings. Evidently everything or anything -might be expected from an artist. “Hurrah for the typical artistic -capacity and temperament; feelings of endless variety and scope, -hence unlimited.” Such was the Doctor’s interpretation--the way it -impressed him. - -Le Roy continued: - -“As to sitting at the feet of nature for inspiration, that came to my -mind in the beginning of my career. I went instinctively to her, and -drawn by a sympathetic feeling, I put something on canvas. It was not -always a correct portrayal of the scene, but only something more or -less like what I had in mind. Other artists and certain Philistines -would see it and exclaim, “Yes! there is a certain charm about it. -Did you paint it outside?--because if you did, you could not have -seen this, that and the other.” - -“Of course I could not deny it, and thought I ought to improve -my method. Being young, I then took it for granted that we saw -physically, and with the physical eye only. What I had to learn was -that a true artist has two sets of eyes: the one physical, the other -spiritual.” - -Adele began to be uneasy lest the Doctor should at once claim three -pairs of eyes, physical, mental, and spiritual, one of his own -theories about such things, so she appealed to the artist as quickly -as possible. - -“What did you do about it, Mr. Le Roy?” - -“At first I tried to paint what I thought I saw, calling memory to -supply the missing details.” - -“And the result?” - -“The picture had no charm whatever; there was nothing beautiful about -it. I asked myself why it is that when I try to do my duty and paint -faithfully I achieve so little, but when I care little for so-called -faithful duty and accuracy I get something more or less admirable.” - -“Oh!” exclaimed the Doctor, “I presume the first pair of eyes is -always imitative, that is to say, photographic, and copies; the -second, artistic or spiritual--but how about the third pair, the -intermediate?” - -“Whose?” asked Le Roy. - -“The highly intellectual critic’s, self-constituted.” - -“Oh, the critic! He always sees more than I do,” laughed Le Roy. “Let -him pass; what I wish to tell you is this: - -“Little by little I began to find out that my feeling was governed by -a principle, and I needed to find out the law under which it would -act--the law of the unit, that is, of impression; although I did not -then understand it as such.” - -Paul thought this a rather big undertaking, to discover any law which -would apply to all feelings, no two alike. Le Roy continued: - -“Landscape is a constant repetition of the same thing under different -forms and in a different feeling. When we go outdoors our minds are -underloaded in some, overloaded in others--we don’t know where to -go to work. We can only achieve something if we have an ambition so -powerful as to forget ourselves and grasp whatever nature may give -from any source; that is to say, one must be up in the science of his -art. To be able to draw what you feel, you must first of all be able -to draw what you see. There can be no true color without true form. -In other words, to create an impression you must have both knowledge -and technique to do so.” - -This statement pleased the Doctor immensely, a clear recognition of -the great philosophic truth that in the nature of things science -and art are both essential under the law of impression in order to -produce the best work. Now, what could the artist say about the -higher spiritual element? - -The reply came: “If a man could be as God when he is painting outside -(perfection, thought the Doctor), then it would be easy enough; but, -as he cannot, he must fall back on science. It is not possible for us -to establish a measuring point in art--not in a broad, general sense. -Even the early masters of the Renaissance were not always perfect in -technique; they sought sympathy, not applause; and their results -will always remain pre-eminent and authoritative in the domain of -impression.” Le Roy seemed strong in his convictions about this, and -followed up his thoughts with a still more comprehensive statement: -“The worst of it is that all thinkers are apt to become dogmatic, and -every dogma fails because it does not give us the other side.” - -“Then it restricts the truth to one point of view?” inquired the -Doctor. - -“Yes--and the same applies to all things, to religion as well as to -art. A man who thinks must find a third element besides the science -of his art for his standpoint of reason. There is a Trinity operative -in regard to this.” - -All the party now strained every nerve to catch the words as they -fell from the great artist’s lips. - -“At one time I took up the science of geometry because I -considered it the only abstract truth; the diversion of the arc of -consciousness, and so on. No one can conceive the mental struggles -and torments I endured before I could master the whole thing. I knew -the principle was true, but in practice it seemed contradictory. I -had constantly to violate my principles to get in my feeling.” - -“Purely intellectual effort,” thought the Doctor, “must ever fail, in -the very nature of things.” Le Roy continued: - -“I used this mathematical mode of thought as my third, together with -natural science and the art, to form the stable tripod-standpoint of -reason. I found it enabled me to keep the understanding under perfect -control, except----” - -“Except when?” interrupted the Doctor, nervously. “Was not pure -mathematics always invariably sufficient to attain stability and -confidence?” - -“Except when I overworked myself, then I was mentally tired, _my -spirit not satisfied_--I got wobbly, like any one else.” - -“Now what do you do?” asked Adele, in thorough sympathy, her lovely -black eyes, full of intelligence, meeting those of the venerable -philosopher in art. - -“What do I do, my child? What do I do?” - -“Therein lies the secret of my life.” - - - - - XXII - - THE SECRET OF A LIFE - - -All waited reverently until the venerable artist was ready to -explain. They watched him take off his spectacles and polish them, -so that his physical sight might aid his mental vision, and his -spiritual insight assert its potency. He stepped across his studio -toward one of his superb paintings--a landscape in which a wealth of -rich coloring streamed forth from behind dark, luxuriant foliage. -At first sight “the related masses of color rather than the linear -extensions” was what appealed to the beholder, as if, as a work of -art, it was not intended to instruct or edify, but to awaken an -emotion. Le Roy stood with one hand held forth toward the picture; -his other, as the Doctor noticed, rested naturally, unostentatiously, -upon a sacred volume lying upon a table at his left, as if he wished -to feel in physical touch with that book while he spoke. - -“You ask me what I do in the final resort--what I do when both -science and art grow weak and unstable. - -“I retire to be alone, take only certain books with me, and write, -applying the principles I have already experienced as true in art -to the purest of all forms of reasoning, theology--religious truths -scientifically stated. Speaking of and with God in nature is the -saving, the salvation of my art. The impressions I then receive -are what you see in my pictures and ask me to explain. That is the -feeling you recognize and the sentiment you appreciate. You see -and appreciate precisely in accordance with your own experience -in personal religion, no more, no less. You are part of the truth -in unity just as I am; we all have the soul for the beautiful, the -beautiful soul within us. One Father breathed into each man when -he became a living soul in beauty of mind and spirit. In a way, I -worship through my paintings. - -“I know I have always had this power; all of us, when at our best, -know we have it in some degree, creative or responsive--but I did not -always understand the principles which govern it. Science now assures -me it is the truth. The unit law of impression, you now see, demands -the three in one, Science, Art, and Communion with the Holy Spirit of -Truth, God in nature. - -“People ask me why I keep on painting, old as I am, and I answer: -Simply because of a constraining force from beyond me, from without, -something which lifts me higher and higher toward finding the very -best forms of truthful expression. Of course this development must -depend in a measure on physical strength and individual endowment. I -am obliged to watch myself that I do not overwork, and when I grow -weary of painting then I open the Book--the Source of Wisdom. This -gives me the only point of view, except the artistic, which interests -me--in fact, art and religion are very closely connected.” - -Le Roy ceased speaking and stood thoughtfully before his wonderful -picture--verily his masterpiece, in that it rose to a height of -spiritual suggestion he had not before attained, and by means the -best he knew. His eyes were fixed upon it, and he seemed to become -oblivious to his surroundings. - -Adele drew near, the Doctor and Paul close behind her; the grouping -itself was suggestive. The artist-philosopher, mystic and artistic; -the inquisitive Doctor, sincere and at times metaphysical; the -practical Paul, true and observing; and Adele, an idealist--all -dominated by a landscape utterly devoid of figures. - -A pure landscape. The beholder stood upon a moderate elevation, a -grove of trees on his left, the branches covering the upper part -of the canvas. Looking forward, a valley; a village nestled below, -telling of happy homes and playgrounds, and near by the parish -church, where the belfry chimes could almost be heard. Through -openings in the grove and in the broader expanse were cultivated -fields, and faintly outlined was a winding stream meandering off -toward the horizon; the course of the stream broken by woodlands and -far distant bluffs, the bluffs lessening to a point in mid-distance, -where the stream for a time was concealed behind the foliage on its -banks. As observed by the physical eye trained to seek many lines and -complicated perspective it was truly a very simple, modern subject, -embodying little more than elementary drawing. But what had this -great artist seen by spiritual insight dominating his art? What -impression had the Spirit that is Holy, the Creator with whom he -had spoken when alone, revealed to him? What had “the candle of the -Lord,” within himself, illumined? - -An early morning, the atmosphere clear and transparent, with fleecy -clouds pure and chaste, late draperies of the flying night, so -delicately refined in form and shade, with light and shadow, that -with the birth of a new day the resurrection from the dawn became -brilliant with color. Every cloud and celestial vista, every -hillside, undulation, meadow, stream, stone, branch, leaf and -leaflet gave its own responsive reflection of the Brightness of -the Coming. Each diversified form was alive with the inspiration -caught and expressed by tints and hues in the harmony of colors. So -brilliant were some of the combinations nature had called for, that -the artistic sense demanded that they should be partly hidden behind -the darker foliage. A vision of this world as it is, yet looking -towards something more beautiful, heavenward. Earth idealized by -the artist’s dream, to a reality too lavish for the credulity of -ordinary experience. None, unless with the artist (he had seen with -the eyes of the Spirit as well as of Science and of Art), would have -credited the glorious impression so simple a landscape could give; -therefore the sombre contrast had been introduced. The artistic -sense had controlled the flight of imagination, and deeper shadows -told each beholder to look within and complete the scenes from his -own experience. Let us approach more closely, and go with the artist -nearer to the inner recesses of the heart of nature. - -Among the shadows what had the Spirit suggested? “The place whereon -thou standest is Holy Ground.” - -The beholders are upon an elevation, and close at hand in the subdued -light a group of trees, modestly conspicuous among others in the -grove. Vines encircle and climb their trunks, and blossoms glorify -the branches on either side. The central vine is more luxuriant than -the others, and its flowers, tinged with a roseate glow, much akin to -flesh tints in nature. - -The vine and its branches are waving in the wind; they take graceful -forms and scatter blossoms at the beholders’ feet. To every lover of -nature and weary one who seeks repose it is a vision of beauty and -rest now, and a promise of rest to come. - -The artist seemed especially fond of this feature in his work; his -eyes repeatedly reverted from the glorious coloring he had given to -the sky and the heavens above, to this notable detail in shadow. - -“May I ask what flower you intend to suggest?” said Adele. - -“A passion vine. It climbs aloft among the ordinary forest -trees; some life-plants grow at its feet; the Rose of Sharon is -in bloom among the shrubs, and I leave to your imagination the -lilies-of-the-valley in the grass beneath. One of my impressions when -alone was, that a cross might have once stood in such a place in the -years gone by, when the mount was bare and bleak; since then nature -has shown her constant kindness, for she abhors the void of bleakness -and barrenness in such a place, and has covered the mount with -lovely foliage. But the vision, the sight and the site of the cross -remain; you may find the suggestion here--it upholds the vine and the -branches, and the flowers are cradled in its arms. - -“The cross is conceived as in bloom; and to me all the beauty is -greatly enhanced by one precious significance--the same light in -nature which so brilliantly illumines the celestial cloud vistas also -gives the roseate tint to the flowers upon the cross.” - - * * * * * - -“That is ‘a creation’--by the artist,” meditated Adele. - -“Through nature, looking upward,” remarked Paul, pensive. - -“The crucifixion itself is marvellously beautiful,” said the Doctor, -“when portrayed in landscape without a figure upon the scene. How -great is genius in art, if it is endowed with a gift for spiritual -impressions.” - -Adele put her arm in Paul’s as they walked along, pondering over what -they had seen. “The Cross in bloom, illumined by the Light of the -World. The Divine in Art has both sought and spoken the Word.” She -thought of how the artist had searched the Book of Wisdom; and she -recalled what had long since been written therein about such Words -spoken in nature and in history: “They are they which testify of Me.” - - - - - XXIII - - OLYMPUS--COURT FESTIVITIES - - -Sailing down the Adriatic, the Ionian Isles finally rose above the -bosom of the sea; before them lay modern Greece, with its landscape -and atmosphere still populated with the legendary divinities of -ancient times. Mrs. Cultus adjusted her eye-glasses to catch first -glimpse of Olympus, evidently under the impression that the Mountain -of the Gods towered over Greece much as Fuji Yama does over Japan. -She found it did, but not precisely as she had anticipated. - -As to Adele and Paul, they were becoming more susceptible to -impressions subtle, if not mystical, than ever before. Being in the -region of the old-time divinities the influence of those deities at -the Court of Olympus, whose especial duty was to direct love affairs, -began to be felt. So potent was this influence that the lovers became -intensely absorbed in watching for Aphrodite, lest she might rise -from the sea at any turn of the tide. They had heard how, in modern -times, she often arose at other points than Cyprus. - -As the vessel proceeded southward, a new Olympus was constantly -discovered and pointed out. This was great sport to Miss Winchester; -such an accommodating guide-book mountain she had not before -encountered. - -“How many mountain resorts does our present Zeus keep up?” asked she -of the Captain, a jolly sailor. - -“Oh, wherever you see storm clouds around the highlands, there’s some -fun going on.” - -“Any court festivities, any Apollo bands or musical sands to -entertain Court circles?” - -“Apollo is not popular at this season--since rag-time came in, the -lyrique and doggerel have gone out--the old accompaniment was too -sleepy.” - -“But I must hear Orpheus on a lute, or Pan give a toot.” - -“Orpheus played last at a ball game,” said the Captain. - -“Too dulcet?” - -“Not enough wood wind and brassy; the boys said too lugubrious. They -came to play ball, not to shed tears.” - -“And poor Orpheus?” - -“Went off with an organ grinder; now his name only appears on Club -letter paper and headings for concert programmes. He manages to get -into print, but he never plays.” - -“How discouraging to art and musicians! Alas! alas! But apropos of -games, what is the popular athletic sport now-a-days around Olympus?” - -“Chasing quinine pills--a caddy holds the pills. You take the pills -and then chase ’em ‘over the hills and far away.’” - -“For the health, I presume?” - -“Of course; the discus has gone out, but this later game makes more -discussion than the discus ever did. Golf goes first-rate in Greek -costume. You ought to see it. Scotchmen outdone.” - -“How about ‘events’--athletic events?” - -“Oh, events always occur in the Stadium.” - -“Bless me, how exciting! But it sounds very stationary.” - -“The victor generally does feel puffed up,” said the Captain. “During -the last Olympiad a local divinity came down (from up the country) -and accumulated such centrifugal force in running that he flew off to -Thermopylæ or Marathon, some outside place or other, caught hold of -the post there, swung himself round and slid into the Stadium in fine -style.” - -“What honors did he receive--laurel or oak wreath?” - -“Think it was fig leaves,” remarked the sailor Captain, “but I am -not sure. At any rate he was a hero. The town gave him free entrance -to all the beer saloons for life, a new pair of sandals with wings -and honors galore.” - -“How appreciative! Discriminating public!” - -“Sure! His name was engraved in the most honorable place possible.” - -“How was that?” - -“At the foot of the list of victors from B. C. 1776, or thereabouts, -to A. D. 1896. He can no doubt stand the honor, but I doubt about the -beer.” - -“May I ask his name?” - -“Name--his name--let me see, what was his name? It escapes me just at -present. I’ll ask the steward some time, he’s up in such things,” and -the Captain went off to superintend the passage of his vessel through -the narrow channel between the islands and the mainland. - -“There’s modern fame!” thought Miss Winchester. “After winning an -Olympiad, to be labeled No. 3672, approx., name forgotten and soon -marked ‘Unknown.’” - - - - - XXIV - - THE GODS INTERFERE - - -While in the vicinity of Olympus it was, of course, quite natural -for the gods to take an interest in Adele and Paul at this critical -period in their affairs. They had heard of Adele as an Idyl--and -assumed her to be an interesting, romantic and possibly poetic little -creature, and in their old-time way of looking at things were far -from imagining what a modern American Idyl might have become. - -Mrs. Cultus in turn also had her own ideal. “Those Grecian gods,” -said she, “are so frightfully anthro-popo--something, I forget the -exact word, but it means meddlesome men. If I had my way we would -leave this place at once. Who is Aphrodite, anyhow? I thought Venus -was the most popular at Olympus. Oh, dear, my Greek is awfully rusty. -I wish I had a copy of Took’s--good old Took’s Pantheon was full of -such things.” - -Now, unfortunately for Mrs. Cultus, her flippant words flew upwards. -They were heard in Olympus by the great Aphrodite herself, ever one -of the most influential of the Twelve Court Divinities. Hearing -herself referred to in this trivial manner she determined to prove -to this modern woman her potency, and that too by hastening events -before madame and daughter could escape from her realm. The campaign -opened at once. - -Aphrodite whispered in Adele’s ear to be sure to make herself -attractive to Paul, especially in personal appearance, for he was -acutely sensitive to certain impressions just at that time. - -Adele’s natural instincts would no doubt have taught her that much, -but as she was under the brow of Olympus it is better to call natural -instincts and some other forces in nature by their proper names. - -At any rate Adele was thus affected, using every natural womanly -effort to make herself agreeable, and Paul responded with a keen -sense of appreciation. If Adele expressed a desire to stroll on deck, -Paul cleared the deck to give plenty of room; if she wished to rest -after a promenade he hurried to bring two chairs, one in either hand; -if she said the night was dark, he said “ebony;” and if she expressed -admiration for the heavenly moonlight he was ready to agree they were -together in a Paradise. - -Things would have worked admirably if some of the deities other than -Aphrodite and some busybodies who hang around Courts and courting -in general had not further interfered. Juno the Jealous and Diana -the Golf-player, both Roman divinities visiting Zeus and his consort -Hera, conceived the idea that the course-links in the game Adele and -Paul were playing were entirely too smooth for real life, and it was -astonishing how many of the lesser dignitaries with their relations -came to the same conclusion. Complications at once arose, since all -were in the secret. - -Juno promptly stirred up Boreas, whose special domain was a little -farther round the coast in the Ægean Sea, inciting him to blow great -guns which reverberated from shore to shore across the billows. This -in turn ruffled up Neptune, and in consequence there was a tremendous -commotion in the roadstead where the steamer lay. Neptune’s venerable -locks shone like white-caps in all directions at once. - -As to Adele, she admired the sea in commotion and Paul agreed it was -“the most magnificent spectacle.” Adele thought she could stand the -movement, in fact did at first, until the united efforts of Boreas -and Neptune acting simultaneously produced a very peculiar motion of -the vessel, and a diversity of feelings so complicated within herself -that she naturally took to her state-room on short notice. Paul at -once pronounced the weather “beastly,” and the previous magnificence -took flight on the wings of the wind. - -Now, with all these divinities conspiring against her, Adele’s -resemblance to her mother was certainly brought into prominence as -never before, and all the romance of her nature seemed to vanish. - -Adele in her state-room: “It is a physical impossibility to look -well, much less be agreeable, when things are tossing about in this -frightful way. Where’s my trunk?” and as she reached down to open it, -the trunk slid across the room. Alas, too late! When she raised her -head a new sensation. - -“Oh, what’s that? Oh, dear, what a peculiar pain! Call the steward, -somebody. Steward, steward!” - -Enter steward. “Yes, ma’am.” - -“I’m miserable, steward.” - -“Yes, ma’am, take tea and toast and a little porridge.” - -Adele, sharply: “Go for Miss Winchester at once, steward. Tell her -I’m--I’m----” - -“Yes, ma’am.” - -Enter Miss Winchester. “Awful sorry you feel so upset, Adele. What -can I do for you?” - -“I never felt so collapsed in my life,” moaned the sufferer. “Now, -tell me, Frank, shall I really die of this or not? Really, I couldn’t -stand a joke!” Miss Winchester smiled when she perceived this -universal symptom. - -“No joke? Not even an antique in Greece, good yet? You know what -Ulysses said when he passed this way: ‘You fear you will, then fear -you won’t, and don’t’; that’s what he thought, I’m sure.” - -“Frank Winchester, you’re positively heartless! You make me feel like -throwing both you and Ulysses through that port-hole. Oh, dear, dear! -How badly I do feel!” - -Miss Winchester did what she could to quiet matters. “No, Adele, you -certainly won’t die on purpose, not just yet.” - -“Oh, Frank, what an awful thing to say, when you know it’s really so -critical;” then musing as if of unutterable things, “what will Paul -think of me?” - -Now Paul, as luck would have it, was constitutionally opposed to -seasickness even in the roughest weather; and as for Adele she had -never before been so badly affected. “Owing to too much ‘Egyptian -Delight’ and dates,” said Miss Winchester, feeling her pulse. - -Paul thought the trouble would prove merely a trivial matter on -Adele’s part. If he had suspected how miserable she really felt -he would have acted differently, but being a veritable tease at -times, he sent her, by Miss Winchester, the following verses from a -newspaper clipping “for consolation.” - -Frank proceeded to console Adele by reading these newspaper verses: - - - I - - “In the steamer, oh, my darling! - When the fog horns shriek and blow, - And the footsteps of the stewards - Softly come and softly go; - When the passengers are moaning - With a deep and heartfelt woe, - Will you think of me and love me - As you did a week ago? - - II - - “In the cabin, oh, my darling! - Think not bitterly of me, - Tho’ I rushed away and left you - In the middle of our tea; - I was seized with sudden longing, - Wished to gaze upon the sea, - It was best to leave you thus, dear, - Best for you and best for me.” - -“In the gloaming,” said Frank, and finished with a deep sigh. Adele -looked unutterable things. “Best keep Paul out of my presence--to -send me such stuff, and just now, too!” The vessel gave an awful -lurch, and a tumbler broke in falling. “Oh, Frank, I feel those -terrible twists again! Is that awful propeller still at it?--it feels -just that way.” - -“It will soon untwist, dear--don’t mind; think of the consolation in -those lovely verses.” - -“I shall never speak to him again!” said Adele--“never!” - -“Oh, yes, you will, and before the moon sets.” Miss Winchester was -thinking of other lovers’ quarrels in her experience. - -“Moon!” exclaimed Adele. “If this continues there’ll be no moon and I -will be a lunatic. I have a thunder-gust headache.” - -Frank bathed her temples with cologne. - -“Oh, how delicious that is! It’s so kind of you, Frank. The Doctor -would say your hand is sympathetic; I think it’s you, Frank. How much -better I should feel if this ship would only keep still one minute, -just one minute, half a minute, quarter of a----” - -“That’s right, dear, go to sleep,” and Miss Winchester kissed her on -the forehead as she slept. - -And while she slept, one should remember the season when these events -occurred--during the early autumn, the period when summer changes and -a purer radiancy obtains in nature. The compensations of age in the -year supplied the “unthought-of deficiencies of an ardent past.” - -Luna, the Italian goddess, was also visiting Olympus at this time. -She was behind a cloud during the pranks of Boreas and Neptune, but -overheard the conversation between Adele and Miss Winchester, and her -appeal to Adele that the lovers’ quarrel should be settled before -she sank beneath the horizon touched her pride as a goddess. Luna -was generally considered cold and purely philosophic and at times -artistic in relation to lovers, but when in her march across the -heavens her pride and power were touched or called in question, she -could see very clearly and influence coming events with great force. -In fact all the tides in mundane revolutions were affected by Luna. - -Being a great personal friend of Aphrodite, the two goddesses put -their heads together and approached Zeus. The very sight of two such -exquisitely beautiful creatures of his own creation, embodying both -philosophy and love in league towards one accomplishment, proved -eminently effective. Their anthropomorphous paternal progenitor, as -usual, listened to their request and granted it, his reason for so -doing being markedly paternal in its character. In order to keep -peace in the family while strangers were looking on, Zeus directed -Neptune to cease his uproarious behavior, and sent Zephyr to take -the place of Boreas. Zephyr, well known as the mildest and gentlest -of the sylvan deities, was only too glad of the opportunity to take -his family for an outing at the seaside. He and the little Zephyrs -played with ripples on the waves like children enjoying themselves on -the beach, while Mrs. Zephyr waved the tree branches to and fro when -fanning herself in a hammock beneath. Thus, while Boreas scudded off -with the heavy clouds from above, the Zephyr family wafted in gentle -and delicious breezes below. - -Luna looked down, smiling at intervals between clouds, at the result -of her visit to Zeus, and her open countenance, often mistaken for -that of a man, assumed the likeness of a cameo goddess. - -While this went on Paul, on deck, was watching the heavens clearing -after the storm, the breaking away of the clouds, the falling of the -wind, the quieting of the sea. Through rifts in the sombre sky he -caught glimpses of a silvery glow in the mysterious depths, the glow -became a radiancy, and darker clouds hurried by in troops, their -places taken by delicate draperies, gauze-like, upon which the -silvery light played in form of a halo. - -This celestial scenery riveted Paul’s attention. As the last -shadow-cloud passed away the gauze-like draperies also receded from -view, as a veil withdrawn from before a beautiful face. - -Luna of Italy--Queen of the Night--shone forth. - -Paul, keenly susceptible and appreciative, became absorbed in -admiration, but such his mood at this time that never before had he -been so affected by the moon’s glory. - -“Our harvest moon at home,” thought he, “the merrymaking moon for -lads and lassies, so they say. I like it better for yachting; no, I -don’t, either;--the cozy twosing moon when one feels like confiding -after the day’s work is done. Yes, I feel just that way--in some one -we love best: Yes, I think so, too. The moon which settles things -before the winter comes on--the moon--the--confound it! that moon -knows entirely too much! let me think for myself.” He imagined he -heard a whisper putting his secret longings into words, and telling -him he ought not to live alone--that is to say, not enjoying this -moon alone--no! And off he started, as if something very urgent -suggested itself. - -It was Aphrodite who had whispered to him. - - - - - XXV - - APHRODITE RISES FROM THE SEA - - -In the meantime the quieting of the sea had produced a most -beneficial effect upon Adele. Thanks to the kind ministrations of -her mother and Miss Winchester, the thunder-gust headache had passed -away as suddenly as it came. The steward entered again to open the -port-holes in her state-room; a delicious breeze, soft and balmy, -entered, most refreshing. - -“How quickly the storm has passed,” said Adele to her mother. - -“Yes, my child, and you had better leave this stuffy state-room as -quickly as possible. I feel sure you will recover as soon as you -breathe the invigorating air.” - -“I had a whiff just now.” - -“These coast storms are very fussy while they last,” said Mamma, “but -I suppose ’twill be like all those along the Riviera; we often had -superb nights following terrible gusts. You had better get up, Adele.” - -“Do you think it safe to venture?” - -“Not the slightest risk, not the slightest. I’ll ask your father to -have the chair ready; you can take his arm at first.” - -The soft, balmy air was again wafted in through the port, and passed -with healing touch over Adele’s cheek. - -“How delicious that is,” and she repeated the line: - - “Soft as downy zephyrs are.” - -Why Adele used the word zephyrs instead of pillows, Zeus only -knows;--it must have been Zeus, not Aphrodite, for the latter seldom -troubled herself about either zephyrs or garments; and yet the -association of ideas aroused in the mind of her mother by Adele’s -talking about zephyrs was most potent in results. - -“That reminds me, Adele, I have a zephyr-shawl that is just the very -thing. I’ll go and get it,” and off she hurried. - -In the passage outside she met Paul, also in haste, and they stumbled -over one another. - -“I’m after a shawl for Adele; she ought to be on deck.” - -“Ah! just what I think,” said Paul, enchanted to find matters already -so favorable. - -“Her father will bring her up.” - -“I shall be delighted; let me.” - -“No, thanks very much; but, no, it’s not at all necessary,” probably -thinking of her daughter’s appearance. “But you may arrange her chair -in some protected place.” - -“Better than ever,” thought Paul. “I’ll find it; a first-class -protection, to suit us all round.” - -When Mrs. Cultus put the shawl around her daughter’s shoulders and -mentioned incidentally that Paul was arranging things for her on -deck, Adele had a violent revulsion of feeling. Still thinking of -those trashy verses Paul had sent her, she felt little disposition -to meet him; then noticed again how stuffy was the air of the -state-room; then her mother insisted. - -“But those verses, mother!” - -“Never mind poetry,” said Mrs. Cultus, laughing. “Think of what -you’ve done in that line yourself. You’re just like me. I did it,” -and her mother shook all over with amusement. - -“What are you laughing at?”--Adele serious. - -“Why, my dear, you’ve been singing verses about ‘doves’ and ‘loves,’ -and ‘toujours’ and ‘amours’ ever since you began singing lessons. If -I believed half of what you’ve sung in public, I would not know what -to think. Never mind poetry, verses don’t count. Now go on deck.” - -“It was half Frank’s fault, anyhow,” mused Adele, “to read me such -stuff when I felt so wretched. Never mind, I’ll have a good crow to -pick with Paul when I get him alone.” - -Aphrodite also laughed--one of her most bewitching ripples of -laughter--when she overheard Adele’s last conclusion, and promptly -sent for her accomplished son, Eros. - -Eros was a youngster, at least in appearance, but very precocious. -Like his father, the ancient Hermes (Mercury), he was very quick in -his movements, and affected considerable style in his undress, for -a divinity. He even appeared wearing a collar, with the very latest -style of neck-tie, a cordon of blue ribbon over his shoulder instead -of a belt around his waist; which fact often troubled artists and -“fotographers” when they took his “picture.” Being thus ultra, he -carried at times a torch, then again bow and arrows, in lieu of a -walking stick; and sometimes put the name “Cupid” on his visiting -cards, because he said it sounded “cute.” The modern divinities -elsewhere, as well as at Olympus, were much divided in their opinions -about this Eros-Cupid, “modern-antique.” Some said he was a good -boy; others, the most mischievous little urchin that was to be found -sporting around the Mount of the Gods; some contended that the -mischief he wrought showed him to be a charming little elf with his -mother’s dimples and ripples of laughter. Later, some foreigners -dubbed him Puck, but he was never so designated at Olympus, never, -not even by his mother; only by those who never ate apples, the -apples of discord, nor sported with him in the Gardens of Hesperides. - -Cupid, himself, however, when among the Romans generally followed -their example and called her Venus, which he never did in Greece. -The Greeks would have been shocked; they were artistic and saw -nothing improper, even under the electric lightning-lights of -Olympus; the Romans merely commonplace, practical, useful. It was -rumored, however, that the pair of them, Aphrodite and Eros, did work -together, as Venus and Cupid even in Greece, on the sly as it were, -when Juno was off with her swans, and Diana gone out fishing; beg -pardon, it was hunting in those days, fishing came in later. - -On this occasion Eros appeared in due time, obedient to his mother’s -call. But, marvellous to relate, in appearance quite different from -what Aphrodite had expected. He became visible in his most ancient -Greek garb, his aspect the Beauty of Youth. He bore a flaming torch -which Zeus had given him, the torch with which he had been armed from -the beginning of human experience, the torch which was lighted in the -Garden of Eden. The most youth-full as well as ancient of all the -divinities approached. From remote ages he had been known to exist in -some form, not only as an epiphany or an apparition of youthful life -and beauty, but more than this, far more: the personification of the -principle of union among the disunited elements of the world, drawn -together by that “enthusiastic congeniality of spirit” which is the -basis of all true love; potent among human kind as the power which -operates for that sincere friendship which continues and develops, -ever ascending through the domain of mutual respect and regard, into -the glorious realm of devotion, self-sacrifice. This, the purity of -union among human kind, the purity of marriage, the birth of souls, -the realm of Immortal Youth. - -Such was the unexpected aspect of Eros when he first appeared; and -such the significance of his presence. - -Being a divinity, in the old Greek sense of the term, that is to say, -a personification of the natural forces and instincts and passions, -he could not appear reasonably in other garb or aspect at this time, -when active in relation to the affairs of such a one as Adele Cultus, -an Idyl, an ideal girl. - -Upon Adele, in modern times, the same forces of nature were still -operative as they had ever been since the beginning. Adele, too, -possessed the divine spark or flame, within her, as given by her -Creator Father, and she was both lovely and lovable. Paul adored her -for her beauty of character, and her youthful form as _he_ saw it; -and her devotion to the truth as they _both_ saw it; the true union, -earthly, heavenly, eternal. - -Alas, that such a divinity or personification, this original, ancient -Eros, should ever have been dethroned by others less spiritual than -Adele; dethroned, aye, dragged down from the lofty pedestal, the rock -of ages; and his torch of flame become but an urn of ashes to be -scattered by every vagrant wind; he, himself, in time, represented -as a thoughtless wayward child, often as a wanton sporting with bows -and arrows as if at play; and forcing himself where no true affection -exists, not even regard. His unhappy victims deluded, and wandering -in a region of shadows where the light ever grows more dim; alas! -forever failing to enter the realm of Immortal Youth, the realm -illumined by the unfailing radiance of true love. - -Yet such are the vicissitudes involving changes and irregularities in -mortal experience, especially in connection with the materialistic -tendencies of modern times, that the original aspect of Eros has -suffered, as with many other similar conceptions. His aspect only, -not the natural forces which he personified; hence, in relation -to Adele, the truth in Eros remained untouched, whereas, his -interview with Aphrodite in this case certainly did illustrate the -deterioration which had overtaken the region of Olympus since so many -of the old divinities have fallen from their pedestals. - -The Eros of the ancient Greeks could no longer retain his lofty -attitude and position amid modern requirements, and his behavior in -this instance certainly did demonstrate the deterioration. He became, -in aspect only, by various stages, the versatile modern imp, Cupid, -the Cupid now so often represented as blindfolded, or even blind; and -with or without wings when used for decorative purposes. In fact, he -might easily be mistaken for an all-day-vaudeville performer, or a -cherub brought up upon the latest cereal, so little is left of the -original mythological divinity. - -As before noted, Eros responded promptly to his mother’s call, his -appearance as it had been in the beginning. - -Aphrodite was struck with amazement, it had been so long since she -had seen him in that guise. It recalled to her the early Grecian -period, soon after she herself had risen, born by the forces of -nature from the foam of the sea at Cyprus; of the time when Eros -(Amor) and the Graces were ever in her train, and she herself the -deity of reproduction and love; of the time when the myrtle, the -rose, and the apple were especially sacred to her, and the dove, the -swan and certain other animals were symbolic of her activities. And -she looked upon him with affection. - -“Eros! Oh, Eros! my lovely boy! son of my youth!” and her voice -failed. Overwhelmed by surging memories, some time elapsed before she -could again speak. - -“How long, Eros! how long since thou camest to me as now?” - -Eros knelt before her as if to receive her blessing. - -Verily, no Phidias, or Praxiteles, among the ancients, could have -worshiped by means of the sacred art of their day, and found a better -subject to crystallize in form for the good of future generations, -than this, an Olympian Madonna, a son at his mother’s knee. Maternal -love and the responsive trust and veneration of Youth. - -The nearer approach of Eros naturally brought his torch in closer -proximity. Its brilliancy became dazzling, in fact blinding to eyes -long since unused to its power. - -Aphrodite, conscious only of the physical inconvenience, placed her -hand before her face as if to shade the eyes. This was enough for -Eros, he placed his torch upon a tripod at greater distance, where -it remained, so near and yet so far; so subtle are the adverse -influences when the physical becomes dominant over the spiritual. - -And instantly the natural consequence: - -Eros separated from his torch was no longer the same. He had entered -the shadows; his aspect at once changed. His form, still exquisite to -behold, was like sculptured marble, faultless in outline, yet without -the flesh tint, the warmth of color; complete except the illuminating -flame which Zeus had given him. - -Aphrodite still gazed with admiration, but, alas! strange to say, his -aspect having become more familiar to present conditions and himself -speechless, she also said nothing; and Eros continued to manifest the -beauty of form alone. - -And again the natural consequence: - -Aphrodite had called him for a purpose, and must talk with him; must -cause the exquisite form to manifest life, the statue must respond. -And she called him anew: - -“Eros! Oh, Eros! why not speak? Come to me from amid those shadows! -Eros! answer!” - -Alas, no response. - -And again she called him. - -He was but a stone. - -And again, for the third time. - -No response possible. - - * * * * * - -Yet while she waited, a profound and thrilling change did take -place, both in form and expression. Not that Eros spake, but his -form manifested a movement or evolution towards another phase of his -nature. So impressive had he been as a statue of divine suggestion, -that many a Greek would have placed him within the precincts of a -sacred temple as most appropriate locality for his abode. Once there, -his heavenly youth would serve to uplift the hearts of all who beheld -him. Once so conceived, any religion might have felt enriched from -an artistic point of view, to possess him among the treasures of -the sacred enclosure, as a symbol of the countless babes within the -heavenly realm; for “of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.” - -And so Eros now appeared, as a mediæval cherub, a concomitant to -a sacred picture. His religious aspect still apparent, but now as -accessory; and often represented only as “head and wings,” gazing -upwards. - -And still he was silent; significant, but silent. - -To Aphrodite he seemed as one fading away from her forever, to be -lost amid enveloping clouds; possibly to be appropriated by other -worshipers than those who frequented Olympus. And such would have -been the case if the torch of Zeus, ever radiant, so near and yet so -far, had not still cast some light upon the scene. To Aphrodite, Eros -was still hers, of her, and from her, by whatever name he might be -addressed; and who more potent than she to call him by any name she -chose, any endearing term that sprang from her heart? - -“Eros, my own! Eros, my darling! My cherub! surely you wish not to -offend me, and rest gazing at others. Cupid! speak!” - -She had called him by his later and modern name; and again the -natural consequence, the final change. Of course he spoke. Being what -he was as Cupid in modern conception, he could not do otherwise, he -could not avoid conversation. Also, his youthful wings commenced to -flutter; and his beauty, never lost since the beginning, made him, -from the worldly point of view, adorable. - -But, alas! not as Eros, simply the modern fascinating Cupid. Sad, -also! no longer the Aphrodite of early times, but the Roman Venus -still in vogue; Venus who at once asserted herself by giving orders -to her attendant Cherub. The Cherub carried his bow and arrows, and -the torch of Zeus grew very dim as Venus spake: - -“Cupid! you certainly are clever! but you gave me such a shock! I -thought you never would wake up, or speak to me again!” - -The Cherub fluttered about her person not unlike a butterfly to -fascinate by graceful movement; the poetry of motion, an admirable -motif for decoration; activity, new sensations; no more, no less. - -“Cupid! if ever that occurs again, you will be caught and imprisoned, -imprisoned within a picture gallery, and there you will remain. Zeus -help you! Naughty boy!” - -The beautiful winged youth, the spritely Cupid, at once answered: - -“I’ll girdle the earth in forty minutes. Catch me, who catch can.” - -Venus smiled. Some would have thought this smile “bewitching,” others -could have called her expression “a cynical smile.” But it soon faded -away, and in no degree prevented her proceeding at once to the object -of their interview. - -“Cupid! there is going to be an engagement.” - -“Ah! then the fight comes later on,” remarked the precocious Sprite. - -“Are you ready?” - -“Always ready,” and as if to suit the action to the word, he -fluttered in graceful curves, and finally, _en passant_, kissed her -upon the cheek. - -“Good. I see you are! You may amuse yourself with bow and arrows when -the time comes.” - -“May I respectfully inquire when this momentous engagement is to -transpire?” - -“When you see me----” - -“Do what, my Lady Venus?” - -“Rise from the sea, and give the usual signal.” - -The confab ended for the present. Lady Venus and Cupid understood -each other perfectly. - - * * * * * - -A moonlit night and zephyrs wafted in; an easy chair, and no one -looking on. Two in shadow, gazing upon legendary Greece; talking -mythology such as they alone could understand; feeling fluctuations -of quite another kind. - -A convalescent lassie, and a sympathizing lad, old friends for at -least a year, it seemed as if from childhood. A timely aid, and a -grateful maid; compliments in words, and nature’s complementary. A -man’s stout heart, and a woman’s tender sympathy, sincerity and truth. - -The conditions were favorable. - -What else? - -A secret, a secret to all but Cupid who stood behind a celestial-rose -bush on the heights nearby, his bow and arrows ready. An event not to -be seen by the binoculars of newsy gossips, nor even perceived by the -mental eyes of inquisitives. All is left to the spiritual discernment -of those who have loved. - -What actually occurred during that heavenly evening when they drifted -upon the bosom of the Adriatic, when the stars shone brightly or -when cloud-draperies hid some endearing charm, can only fully be -known to two (and the divinities), these two nature’s lovely, lovable -and loved. But sure it is, before the evening closed, Aphrodite -again arose from the sea, a Vision of Loveliness. Gliding by in her -graceful shell, floating amid foam on the crest of a wave, illumined -by a divine radiance, she threw a kiss of affection, the signal. And -from behind the celestial-rose bush sped Love’s Arrow, borne upon -the wings of the unseen. As this sweet messenger enters the hearts -of those ready to respond, so it was welcomed by Adele and Paul, -reclining beneath the brow of Olympus. - - - - - XXVI - - INTERMEZZO--ALLEGRO - - -Oh, that voyage! From the brow of Olympus, across the Mediterranean, -down the Roseate Sea, the two lovers journeyed. As they skirted the -shore, never did delicate tints upon a sapphire surface give back -more heavenly reflections! Those sunny days, under double awnings, -when none dared look at a thermometer lest he himself should melt -away. Those first-magnitude starlit nights when sleeping on deck, -with glimpses of others passing like spooks in the dark; and in the -distance, on “P. and O.” boats, the invisible friends known to be -there. - -The last glimpse of Boreas was in a storm brewing off in the -direction of the Ægean Sea. Some thought they saw him in -propria-persona, gesticulating upon the high cliffs of Candia as the -vessel sailed by in the teeth of the wind, but this individual proved -to be merely a Turkish brigand, one of the gang which infested that -region. - -But are not all such minor incidents already recorded in the -chronicles of the Cultus family for publication in future -genealogical records? How at Alexandria the Doctor took little -interest in the modern city upon the island of Pharos, but much -interest in the Ancient Library with no books left! How, since said -Library was destroyed some time ago, Paul and Adele managed to -reconstruct a brand new temple with lamps, incense, and priests--all -complete, to say nothing of singing birds, and vestal virgins each -carrying a sieve instead of a lamp! How Miss Winchester met the Four -Hundred élite of Alexandria at the base of Pompey’s Pillar, and was -kodaked by Paul with the four hundred gamins at her feet, asking for -backsheesh; this historic picture labeled, “Hypatia Addressing the -Multitude. A. D. MDCCCLXXXXIX.” How Mrs. Cultus took in the situation -from a barouche, positively refusing to set foot on the sward of -a country famous for asps and beetles; and also how Mrs. Cultus -announced that Cleopatra’s relish for pearls was in good taste, only -it carried her too far. How the unfortunate noseless Sphynx turned -up her nose, as usual, at all innocents abroad; and how Mrs. Cultus, -when entering the memorial bridal chamber of Cheops, slipped upon -the inclined staircase which leads thereto, and fell into the arms -of a modern bridegroom--a young sheik. How the Professor stood upon -the apex of Cheops and took notes, alternate notes upon lichens -which grew there, and upon Memphis where it once was. Is it not also -recorded among the archives of modern Egypt how, during the period of -occupation of Shepherd’s, cards were left in due form upon Pharaoh’s -mummy in the Boulak Museum; and how Mrs. Cultus received in turn a -scarab, and some little scarabei, of Manchester manufacture, taken -from the left pocket of Pharaoh’s forty-second cousin, after reposing -there since A. D. 1492 (some said from 4000 B. C.)--a slight token -of regard from the Pharonic dynasty to the latest Republic on earth? -Was it not recorded also at the time, in the society column of the -“Pyramid Times,” that “Miss Pearline Cultus and Mr. Adolph Warder -were last seen behind an umbrella on the top of the Pyramid with -their feet hanging over the top step?” probably the most conspicuous -perch on the globe for two lovers. - -And above all, was it not also jotted down in the private -memoranda of both Paul and Adele, when passing Mocha and Perim -and Aden, in and out of the gloaming, that the voyage was perfect -bliss, the coffee--nectar fit for the gods, and the coals of -Perim--black diamonds? As to Aden, the much-abused Aden, said -to be separated only by a thin sheet of Manila paper from the -infernal-region-frying-pan--such assertions proved absolutely false. -Aden was a Paradise of fruit and flowers, its reservoir like Lake -Tahoe, and its inhabitants--white-robed angels with Chinese features, -flying hither and thither in phantom jinrikishas. Was it not here at -Aden that Paul had the innocent audacity to open that delicious but -appalling fruit, the dorian, chopping it with a hatchet under their -very noses, only to hurl both dorian and hatchet into the sea for -the delectation of fishes whose noses were equal to the occasion? -And finally, did not the whole party, except Mrs. Cultus, visit -Mother Eve at Djeddah, and find her the most attenuated specimen -of humanity, both physically and historically, that anyone could -imagine, at least forty feet long, aged six millenniums (some say -eight or nine; possibly seven times seven, or thereabouts), with her -toes turned up about two feet? And did they not make the astonishing -discovery which Mrs. Cultus at once reported to the Politely Civil -Archæological Society, that our own Mother Eve was really very dark -in complexion; in fact, quite a fast black (since local tradition -said so, and tradition was invariably exact, if not too exact)?--a -case of proving too much; which wonderful discovery made them all -wonder and debate if they themselves, being white at present, might -not possibly be changed backwards, and revert to original color and -type before entering Mahomet’s Paradise. - - * * * * * - -Youth! Oh, Youth! how many are thy pleasures and privileges, and -thou dost not realize it. Thine the period when all things are -interesting, new sensations at every turn, and little responsibility -to interfere with whims. Go to the circus, go globe-trotting in -an automobile, and take part in the show. Oh, Youth! thine is the -blessed time of freedom, although thou mayst not think so. Thou wilt, -no doubt, hear much good advice, but follow thine own inclinations, -and enjoy the happy privilege of changing thy mind on short notice. -Mrs. Cultus was no longer youthful, but she held on to the privileges -just the same. - -“I always change my mind, Frank, when it suits me. I fully intended -to call upon Eva at Djeddah, certainly the first lady in the land, -even if she were only Mahomet’s wife, and not our mutual ancestress; -but, Frank, when it turned out so midsummer hot, with such a brazen -sky, I gave it up. Why, Frank Winchester, I wouldn’t appear in -the condition you were, in that bedraggled gown and hat and felt -slippers--no! not if I really wished to call. That’s wisdom, my -dear; take an elder’s advice. Never hesitate to change your mind, -especially when it suits you.” - - - - - XXVII - - INTERMEZZO--ANDANTE - - _The Royal Route._ - - -_O Science!_ How true thou art! How true thou strivest to be! Yet, -what is not claimed in thy name, when few are the golden gems picked -up upon the limited shore of this single world! We learn of thee, -O Science! through thee! by thee! but ever when we ask of thee the -Bread of Life, thou givest us a stone; and when we ask for a fish, -thou givest us a serpent. From the beginning it has been so. Know -thyself, O Science! thy finite place. Learn even as a little child -sitting at the feet of Infinite Knowledge. - -_O Philosophy!_ How noble thou art, to seek the truth in all things -as they are; ignoring nothing in nature, in any province of thought, -word or deed--in Science or Religion. But thou revealest nothing. -Thy intellect is finite--not infinite; thy standpoint mortal--not -immortal. Thou art god-like--but not God. - -_O Religion!_ Thou Voice of the Mind of Nature! of Our -Almighty-Father, Creator; accepting all of Truth in Science and -Philosophy; yet, ever speaking of a higher and better life, here and -hereafter. How many untruths have been spoken in Thy name, even spoken -as _ex cathedra_, taking Thy name in vain; yet, verily none can escape -Thee, Thyself, O Thou Holy Spirit of Truth in Love, in the heart of -Humanity--Immanuel, God with us! - - - - - XXVIII - - THE AFTERGLOW - - -Again the shores had vanished, this time Europe left behind, and the -Orient lifting before them. It was after the sun had plunged beneath -the waves, and the distance was illumined with the afterglow; when -the Parsee matrons had retired to rest, publicly, upon the saloon -floors, and some mysterious figures re-entered to recline on deck -in awkward pose, with crooked necks against chairs and skylights, -that Paul and Adele also glided forward, past captain and capstan, -to their favorite spot. Only the prow of the vessel when it mounted -the billows, and a spooky lanthorn aloft, hung in space between them -and the constellations. Together they gazed forwards and upwards, -listening to the thoughts of the stilly night. - -“Fond memories for other days,” remarked Adele. - -Paul looked round to discover the object supposed to suggest -memories, and then concluded his chair was not quite close enough to -hers. - -“There it is,” said she, looking toward the constellation of the -Southern Cross, resplendent in the heavens. “I never shall forget it.” - -“Beautiful, each star a gem, all gems; but----” - -“I cannot conceive anything more suggestive or more appropriate in -the heavens than that cross,” said Adele. - -“I am yet inclined to think that perhaps Orion is still more -magnificent.” - -“Don’t let’s make comparisons, Paul. I don’t feel in the mood just -now; that only spoils our present enjoyment.” - -“All right; take things as they are,” and Paul looked again at the -constellation. - -“See those four stars, Adele; they would make an exquisite pin. Would -you like one in that form?” - -“Pin! Please don’t think I care only for trinkets, and at such a -time as this! Please don’t, it only belittles everything;” her voice -betraying a slight trace of emotion. - -Paul vowed inwardly that he would acquiesce in everything she said, -so in duty bound endeavored to be philosophic himself. - -“There’s nothing like being natural, even when it feels unnatural.” - -Adele laughed outright. - -“My dear Paul, philosophy never did sit well on you; please don’t.” -Paul felt somewhat subdued, and immediately changed the subject. - -“What was it you said you wished to ask me?” - -“Oh, yes, about being inquisitive. We’re all getting so horribly -inquisitive that I’ve had a curious experience. I really don’t know -what I think.” - -It was Paul’s turn to laugh. “Oh, that comes from thinking too much. -Give it up; we’ve got something else on hand just now; don’t let’s -think.” - -This idea seemed to impress Adele rather favorably in her present -mood, but she could not resist the temptation to continue. - -“Paul, I really feel that I must exert my will--yes, I must will that -I won’t--no! I mustn’t won’t anything, that is not what I mean. I -can’t untangle my thoughts while talking. Paul, try to help me; you -do the talking.” - -“I know exactly what’s the matter with you, Adele; what Frank -Winchester would call your ‘thinking apparatus’ is a little weary, -and I have a sure cure--put it here;” his shoulder being very -convenient. “Now we can talk without thinking or think without -talking; just as you please.” - -Adele felt safer, and her mind much less disturbed. - -“I’m so very inquisitive,” said she. - -“That’s perfectly natural,” acquiesced Paul, who was himself feeling -quite comfortable; “most women, I mean most people, are.” - -“Doctor Wise is,” said Adele. “I like to hear him talk.” - -“Oh, that’s the way the wind blows, is it?” exclaimed Paul. “I knew -you would tell me sooner or later. I know the Doctor like a book. -He’s the best friend I have in the world; but I’ll tell you something -about him.” - -“I don’t wish to know unless it’s good,” said Adele, then paused an -instant; “but I think he can trust both of us.” - -“Oh, yes, but the Doctor’s this way; now I tell you this in -confidence. He often forgets how old he is, and thinks we are about -the same age.” - -“I don’t see anything very confidential in that; besides, I rather -like these middle-aged old fellows who must wear glasses and won’t -wear ‘specs;’ they keep their youth.” - -“You surely don’t like frisky old boys?” laughed Paul. - -“Nonsense! People may live many years and yet not be aged. The -Doctor’s not frisky.” - -“Nor very slow, either,” laughed Paul. “Only he will persist in -looking backward, and above one’s head, and sometimes inside of one, -while you and I always look forward; don’t we, Adele?” - -“Why, of course.” - -“Well, then, when we reach his age, we may find some satisfaction -in the other thing, but just at present I don’t feel like it. The -Doctor mixes me up, too, sometimes; even when I understand his words -perfectly. It’s the after-effects.” - -“‘After-effects’ is good,” said Adele. “I’ve felt ’em myself, -lately--in my state-room; but even before that, when they talked in -the Sunday-school about Jebusites and Perizites, the most mixed-up -crowd I ever met; almost as bad as those so-called scientists we met -on the Atlantic. Now, I really care more about Porto Rico and the -Philippine Islanders than any of those ancient or modern mixtures; -and to return to what I started with, don’t you think the Doctor -attempts to explain too much?” - -“Well, yes--and no. Of course there are some things no fellow can -find out, but the Doctor is not really trying to discover; he merely -tries to arrange after his own fashion what he already has read and -experienced. He really sees much more than most of us, and he told me -he had discovered that fact written in the palm of his own hand.” - -“I see he has you well in hand,” said Adele, thoughtlessly. - -Paul winced. - -Adele felt a slight shiver, and was sorry she had so spoken. - -“He has helped me greatly,” said Paul, reminiscent of the Doctor’s -friendship. “I never met a man who tried more to give his friends -something worth thinking and talking about instead of twaddle and -bosh.” - -“And that’s just where my trouble comes in,” said Adele. “I don’t -care for twaddle and bosh, but isn’t there such a thing as too much -thinking; I mean too much thinking about too many things? I’ve a -great notion to do something radical.” - -“Gracious! You a Radical? What do you propose to do?” - -“Change my mind.” - -“Don’t do that; it’s too radical! Change your method, or your -climate; but for heaven’s sake leave your mind alone.” And Paul’s -sudden outburst of laughter attracted attention from the night -watchman, who came forward to see if anything was wanted. - -“Nothing. Thanks!” answered Paul. - -“Oh, yes, there is,” continued Adele; “something must be done. I -cannot undertake to keep up with all that’s going on above, below, -outside, inside and underneath. I used to think so at college, but -now it’s fatiguing. It’s not safe to live with all creation coming -down on you at every turn.” - -“I never thought Atlas a happy man,” interjected Paul. - -“He gives me the backache to look at him,” said Adele; “and I’ve a -notion not even to listen to philosophers or, in fact, any talk that -involves so many ifs and buts in one’s own mind. Others may enjoy -that game; I don’t. I told Father I detested ‘exceptions’ to rules -when at school, and now it’s worse. I’m getting to think that most -people had best leave such things alone in real life. What do you -think about it?” - -Paul felt a thrill of satisfaction run through him as Adele allowed -herself to run on, giving vent to her feelings; and she also felt a -pressure of endearment which thrilled also. - -“My dearest,” said he, “that’s the wisest thing you ever thought out -in your life. You’re the most level-headed girl I ever met in all -my days.” He spoke as if both he and she were quite as old as the -Doctor. Then, wishing to be very profound, Paul tried to be eloquent. - -“Adele! do you know what you have done?--the most--h’m!--the most -satisfactory thing I could have wished for in life.” - -“Nothing radical, I trust, or I probably shall regret it;” her voice -fading away towards the last in secret amusement. - -“God knows! The Lord only knows how much trouble it will save -us--after we’re settled.” - -“Don’t swear, my dear, don’t swear! I’ve been thinking about it for -some time. It’s the kind of philosophy I really believe in.” - -“So do I,” said Paul, his voice betraying strong feeling. - -“Not to bother with ’osophies or sophistries, anthropologies or any -other apologies,” said Adele. “I want to live a free, open life--a -life in the open.” - -“Take things as they are.” - -“Yes, and people as we find them--try to do them good.” - -A pause followed. - -Paul was striving to grasp within his own consciousness what an -admirable girl Adele was, and how happy he ought to be with such a -true woman for his wife; but such thoughts only confused him. All he -could do was to whisper, more to himself than to her, the old, old -words, “How I do love you, love you with all my heart!” - -She heard him, and her heart responded. - -“Do you know what _you_ have done?” asked Adele softly, intertwining -her fingers in his. The sympathetic touch, the currents of emotion, -vitality and supreme strength entered his very soul. - -“Given me,” said she, “for my very own that which I most crave.” - -He bowed his head in reverence, and could not lift so much as his -eyes towards heaven. - -“Oh, Paul, do you know what that means? Faith in one to love and -trust.” - -He made a movement as if trying to speak, but she grasped his hand -anew, and pressed it. - -They did not speak, only thought, and loved each other. - -The Southern Cross shone resplendent in the heavens above. - - “Let Nature be your teacher; - Sweet is the love which Nature brings; - Our meddling intellect - Misshapes the beauteous form of things. - We murder to dissect-- - Enough of Science and of Art; - Close up those barren leaves; - Come forth and bring with you a heart - That watches and receives.” - - --WORDSWORTH. - - - - - XXIX - - ILLNESS AND HALLUCINATION - - -At last they had reached the Far East--a new world densely populated -with darker races, dark forms clothed in white or multi-colored -garments; many with little clothing at all. The faces intelligent, -the profiles often more clear-cut and refined than their own. People -who told them frankly that their physiognomy showed “pink faces with -green eyes”--quite a revelation, since they had never before seen -themselves as others see them, from that point of view. - -It was at Bombay Mrs. Cultus first encountered the prolific -assortment of “boys,” Khidmatgars and Jadoo Wallahs, punka boys, -and boys from Goa. It did not take her long to grasp the situation, -simply because she purposely kept her own personal assortment -constantly on “the grand jump.” “I must find out what each fellow -can do, but won’t; and what he can’t do, but will. As Paul would -say, ‘This caste-business and somebody else’s business is most -distracting.’” - -As to the Jadoo Wallahs and their famous tricks, Mrs. Cultus had set -her heart upon detecting the manner of growth of that celebrated -mango-tree, and in consequence had an experience. - -The magician went through his whole performance as it is usually -given, and was about to take up his bush and walk, when Mrs. Cultus -at once exclaimed: “Not so quick, please! You say it grew in ten -minutes; that mango bush?” - -“You saw it, Mem Sahib,” said the magician respectfully. - -“Then there’s a humbug in that tree,” remarked Mrs. Cultus blandly. - -The Wallah seemed a little thrown off his guard. - -“Show us the roots! the roots!” demanded Mrs. Cultus, as if giving -orders. - -“Pardon, pardon, Mem Sahib! I thought you said a bug was in the -tree;” and instantly the magician’s acting became superb; his whole -attitude changed. One might have supposed he considered it most -unreasonable to ask to see the roots of a tree. Possibly, this one -had roots, but then they might be so small you could not see them. -Who knows what really was there under ground? He didn’t; but he could -take the risk of digging to discover. - -Considering the little pile of earth was only six inches high and -stood upon a cemented pavement, Mrs. Cultus told him to “go to work -and dig them up.” And then came the surprise for her; a surprise -which caused her never to forget that she had been in India. - -The Jadoo Wallah, taking the bush by the stem near the ground with -one hand, loosened it carefully from the earth. In lifting it into -the air, a half-opened seed, still attached below ground, and the -tendrils of new roots appeared. As the small clods of earth fell -away from these roots, the whole bush from topmost leaf to lowest -root-tendril, was exposed to view at full length. Tremendous applause -followed. Mrs. Cultus was thoroughly nonplussed, mystified; but not -too much to find her purse and pay the Wallah well for his skill and -preparation. - -“Those roots,” whispered Adele, “made me feel uncanny when the little -clods of earth fell from them.” - -“Bits of string, soiled with moist earth, make very good roots when -seen from a distance,” remarked the Doctor, laughing. “Even better -imitations than the tendrils and flowers in your hat, my dear.” - -Thus, during their very first glimpses of India, they realized they -were encountering an intelligent people, a branch of their own Aryan -race, but of dark complexion, and given over to skilful mystification. - -Before reaching Calcutta, the physical exertions of the tourists had -been considerable. Mrs. Cultus in particular, owing to her natural -antipathy to a warm climate, seemed to suffer more than any, and -in consequence became seriously ill. One cannot say suddenly ill, -as often the case, although her perambulations at Benares, and -in the vicinity of Patna to visit the Buddha’s bo-tree, had been -quite enough to produce serious results. Her strong nerves and -her persistent determination not to be a burden to others unless -physically incapacitated, carried her through until Calcutta was -reached. Upon their arrival she would have broken down at once -if Western “grit” and feminine curiosity had not again asserted -themselves. She would not give up; not at least until she had -obtained her own impression of the Bengalese capital and Government -House, to be able to talk about them afterwards at home. Then she did -succumb, half-purposely as it were, really when she had left it until -too late. - -“If I must take my turn at collapsing, this is a much better place -than some of the bungalows where we were forced to bunk. I might as -well give in and have done with it. Adele, my dear, I really do feel -wretched.” This, when she was already so feeble as to be unable to -stand. - -The daughter of Anthony “Grab” Gains, of Colorado, had both grit and -worldly wisdom by inheritance, but she had little suspicion then -that these characteristics could be so forcibly demonstrated, even -while the spiritual element was in the ascendant. This spiritual -element had not before been especially evident--in fact, it had lain -dormant, making her appear one-sided, and often unappreciative of -much that interested her daughter as well as her husband and Doctor -Wise. The Calcutta physician soon pronounced her case important if -not serious, due to over-exposure in regions where malaria of various -kinds should have been guarded against. Evidently few precautions had -been taken; malarial germs of some sort had entered her system; what -particular fever would result could only be determined after further -observation and certain tests. This much the physician told the -Professor. - -Mrs. Cultus, who could interpret every change of expression in her -husband’s countenance, and could read his thoughts in such matters -much more quickly than he suspected, took in the exact situation a -few minutes after the physician left her, when her husband entered -and began to potter around her room, anxious, but striving to appear -just the opposite. She noticed him, a little later, take up a bottle -of medicine, tasting it as if he wished to make sure as to its -contents. After he had gone out, she said to Adele: - -“My daughter, your father is such a dear man. Do you know what he -did?--tasted that medicine himself first, just to satisfy himself it -was all right for me. Now just suppose it had been poison?” - -Adele looked tenderly at her mother, fearing lest the fever had -already begun to affect her brain, and was causing absurd notions. -This proved to be the case. Mrs. Cultus became more and more flighty, -complaining: “My head feels so light; it seems to be sailing off like -a balloon.” Then, again, speaking in disconnected phrases, her ideas -all mixed and inconsequent. Adele concluded she did not always say -what she meant to say, and therefore did not give the impression she -intended to convey. - -All of which, being quite natural, was not surprising; only when at -intervals among her absurd vagaries the patient startled them all by -some exceptionally sane remark, indicating a very level head, indeed. -It was then that Adele felt confused, and hardly knew what to do; she -did not understand the case. - -Drawing affection led her to put her arm around her mother’s neck, to -place her cheek next hers, and to cherish her. The invalid did not -even whisper in reply, but her tacit acceptance seemed to indicate -that she knew it was her daughter near, very near, and felt her -touch--that was enough. Fevered imagination was thus often soothed by -the reality of love. - -“Nothing does mother so much good as to love her; it’s better than -medicine,” said Adele. “It’s very curious how quickly her mind -becomes quiet when I don’t say a word, only let her know with -caresses _how we all love her_.” - -When Adele made this remark to the Doctor, he could only reiterate -what Adele and her mother had already told each other by sympathetic -touch. “Yes, the greatest thing on earth is love, the beginning and -ending of the greatest good; and it is indeed a notable fact in -sacred history that Christ made more cures by the instrumentality of -touch, bloodless operations so to speak, than in any other way; in -fact, Christ conquered Science and soared away beyond.” - -This assertion seemed to impress Adele most seriously; then her mind -turned towards some particular incident in her own experience. - -“I made several cures myself when I was nursing in the hospital. I -cured one of the physicians, a young man, a mere boy.” - -“How, may I ask?” The Doctor was very inquisitive. - -“Put my first finger on his lips--he knew instantly what I said--‘You -had better not talk so much.’” - -“Was he indeed cured?” - -“Yes, instantly. He had been rather verdant before, but after his -cure he turned a lovely pea-green. Doctor, physicians ought to look -into this touchy-method; there’s more psychology than medicine in -it--that’s why it cures.” - -“What a queer girl you are,” thought the Doctor, serious himself; and -then recalled what she had just said about her mother, “we all love -her,” not “how I love her,” but “how we all love her”; assuming that -her own affection for her mother must be common to all the party. - -The Doctor cogitated over this: “I can understand mother’s love, -and its response in all human kind; filial love, brother’s love, -sisterly affection, and much that is implied thereby, they are innate -in all races; but when it comes to thinking and speaking and acting -as if all others are sharing our affection for the one we love in -particular, as Adele assumed, then I think a still nobler spirit -exists, something borne in from without must have been granted -her. She seems even unnaturally good. Here am I looking for this -something-worth-knowing as manifested by races at large to-day, and -I hear much in India about the brotherhood-of-man; yet, right here -under my eyes appears a girl manifesting it in her experience, as if -she knew more about it and its differentiations, truly, than any of -us. Now one might say that each individual loves his own parents, -or ought to; and certainly here in Asia what they call ancestral -veneration does obtain without necessarily much ardent love; but all -that is a very different thing from seeing the very best of one’s -self in others, and acknowledging it--feeling that one is but an -exponent of the good in all, yet without conceit. That appeals to me -as the work of the Holy Spirit in man; one may say unnatural, because -more than natural; and that is to be born again--spiritual rebirth.” - -The illness of Mrs. Cultus soon manifested another phase. No matter -how incongruous her delusions or hallucinations might be, her own -character, the principle of her own individuality, always dominated; -the energy which lies deeper than even the manifestation of life, -on which the identity of man and his existence and the continuance -of his existence depend, was never inactive; the principle of -individuality which determines both the form of character and the -physical frame, as well as the connection between them, was never -violated. It was Carlotta Gains Cultus _herself_; from her came the -thoughts. They were not words put into her mind by suggestions from -others. - -One of her delusions was that she had lost all her money, her -fortune, and was now in a foreign land among many strangers to whom -she might be obliged to appeal, in case family necessities forced -them to work for their living. From her point of view this was the -direst calamity conceivable. She expressed herself, however, with -that peculiar tact which showed how all the characteristics she had -inherited from her father were rooted and grounded in her very being. -She was talking to Miss Winchester: - -“Frank, do you think the people over here would like it if the -Professor should lecture before them? Would he draw good houses?” - -Miss Winchester smiled, but knowing full well that Mrs. Cultus could -not be easily deceived, and would not be satisfied by anything -indefinite, answered as if serious: - -“Of course, he’d draw, once or twice, on account of his reputation; -but I doubt about keeping it up.” - -“Why not, Frank?” - -“India’s a complicated place, you know; only Jadoo Wallahs and -balloon ascensions draw intelligent people--h’m!--native crowds don’t -count any more than middle-of-the-road people do at home; now and -again a polo or cricket match, even the theatres are at a discount.” - -“Couldn’t we try the Bishop and his set?” - -“Certainly; if for charitable purposes.” - -“Oh, dear! dear!” said the patient dolefully, “not yet charity, not -yet.” Then in a low, troubled voice: “I suppose Adele and I must do -something, ourselves. What can we do? I feel so helpless, so weak!” -Another expedient soon suggested itself. It was sad to see her thus -frantically trying to think to some purpose; finally the effort was -successful. - -“Frank, do they play whist over here?” and then realizing that the -object must be clearly understood: “I could give lessons myself, but -dear Adele, my precious darling! it would be too much for her, she -never took to whist.” The poor woman seemed so serious, the situation -was really pathetic. - - - - - XXX - - CONVALESCENCE AND COMMON SENSE - - -These periods of hallucination, mingled with very practical -considerations, continued for some days, until the fever ran its -course. Fortunately it is not within the scope of this story to note -the progress of physical ailments; it is more timely to note the -effects upon the mental and the spiritual life of an excellent woman -ever true to herself and to others, even during hallucinations. It -was fortunate also that Mrs. Cultus herself relieved her attendants -of any uncertainty in the matter. - -She had just passed through a period of exceptionally vivid -impressions of disaster, when one of those flashes of clearer -perception, before referred to, came to her rescue; whether merely -a reaction from her previous weak condition, or because she was so -thoroughly frightened by what she had conceived as possible, need not -now be discussed. That she did brighten up marvelously and manifest -then and there a permanent change for the better, was a fact. And -again it was Miss Winchester who was with her. - -“Frank,” said Mrs. Cultus composedly, and with an air of finality, -“I’ve made up my mind; I’m determined.” - -“You don’t say so--good!--about what?” - -“To get well, that’s the first thing. I can’t stand this being a care -to others.” - -“You are better, I’m sure; much better.” - -“Not much as yet, but I can see it. I will be.” - -Miss Winchester gave a little start. “See it? see what?” fearing lest -the patient was again off at a tangent after more disasters. But Mrs. -Cultus, having obtained a mental grip upon herself, would not let go, -even if she still felt weak physically. - -“Tell me what you see,” said Miss Winchester gently, taking her by -the hand, and continuing to wave the fan she held. - -“Oh, Frank! what a terrible thing it would be to be caught in such a -predicament, and unprepared!” - -“How, my dear?” - -“I’ve been imagining all sorts of things--these Indian beds are not -the best sort for me, I fear; I’ve been imagining--nonsense, of -course, for us--but just think how awful it would be to lose one’s -means of support! be forced to work for a living! and then not be -able to succeed; I mean when the real thing does happen.” - -“The world is full of cases like that.” - -“Yes, I knew that before; but now I have actually felt it, just as if -it were true in our own case. I was sort of luny all the time, even -when my head floated off like a balloon. I thought it was serious, -and I suffered as much as if it had really been true. Why, poor -Adele--it would have killed me to see her in such hard circumstances. -Adele would have--let me think--I’m wrong! Adele would not have----” - -A strange expression came over her countenance, as if something -ineffably joyous and precious was just revealed to her. She closed -her eyes, and evidently was seeing the image of her daughter in a new -light. - -Miss Winchester kept on fanning her gently, hoping she would soon -fall asleep. - -But Mrs. Cultus’ spiritual discernment had been quickened; and with -it came the real, true conquest over both physical weakness and -mental vagaries. Her eyes opened again, they were clearer than -ever; her voice had a new depth, and was certainly more sympathetic -than before the fever began--it manifested the spiritually melodious -quality in essence. - -“What about Adele?” asked Miss Winchester tenderly. - -“Oh! I love her so much! She is so much to me; I cannot tell you how -much.” - -“We all love her,” said Miss Winchester, innocently repeating the -very words Adele had used when speaking of her mother. - -“Yes, I know that, too; no one knows it better than I; but I now see -something about her I never saw before so clearly.” - -“Tell me what it is.” - -“Frank!--a mystery! Adele _is_ prepared. She is ready for anything -that may happen. None of us need ever fear for Adele, I’m sure of -that; and I can see that she acts as she does because she feels -prepared. I must tell you about her; it is a mystery, yet at the same -time the most practical thing.” - -All the positive elements in Mrs. Cultus now seemed focused on the -conviction that Adele was “prepared,” as she called it, for anything, -any emergency. - -“She has many to look to,” said Miss Winchester, “more than most -girls.” - -“Yes, but I’m not thinking of that. I mean her own strength, -something within herself, something I suppose all girls could have if -they were like Adele. I’m beginning now to understand that--beginning -to understand a little of how she acts and why she does as she does. -Adele could endure and overcome adversity; she enjoys pleasure, more -than any of us; she lives what she believes, and is not afraid of -anything. Do you notice it, Frank, Adele is never afraid?” - -Miss Winchester felt a little incredulous, but she said nothing. Mrs. -Cultus continued: - -“I never before so well understood Adele, although I am her mother. -At times she talks like a chatterbox, but she never says anything -unkind about people. Perhaps I shouldn’t say ‘never,’ for she did -once give a regular scolding to a rascally brute who was abusing his -horse--a dumb creature that couldn’t retaliate. Adele did speak for -the dumb brute, but that was an exceptional case, and she did right -to interfere.” - -“She has my full approval,” remarked Miss Winchester. Mrs. Cultus -continued: - -“Then she is interested in all babies--would you believe it?--of any -color. ‘Cherubs’ she calls them if she thinks it will stop their -crying. I heard her one day call a cherub, ‘Cupid,’ and kiss him. -Bless me, I saw nothing attractive in that particular child. She says -she likes babies just as God made them, of any color. Now, Frank, I -call that practical religion, and Adele turns from nothing; she is -interested in all humanity.” - -“No doubt of it,” said Miss Winchester thoughtfully, as if recalling -an instance known to her personally. - -Mrs. Cultus continued: “But when it comes to talkative religion, -Adele is more conservative, says little or nothing--only acts -naturally what she feels. And the strangest thing of all is----” and -Adele’s mother paused an instant as if she ought to be careful about -what she wished to say. - -“What?” asked Miss Winchester, closely attentive. - -“Why, she is always so sure, so perfectly sure in her own mind, as if -under the influence of some invisible power--something mystical, you -see, but very practical, too. I never heard her say much about it but -once--you remember when she spoke to that Geyser Science woman on the -Atlantic steamer?--and then she certainly did express herself like a -girl much older, very precocious, to my notion. Do you know what I -think, Frank?” - -“No, I can’t imagine.” - -“Well, Adele was talking about Christ, and she was perfectly -fearless; you remember how He talked, when only a youth, to the -Doctors in the Temple?” - -It was difficult for Miss Winchester to accept this comparison; and -seeing her hesitate, Mrs. Cultus tried to express herself in better -form: - -“It seems to me Adele had the same spirit, and that’s what I feel. -Now you remember that Geyser Doctor, who at first appeared so placid, -and talked about what she really knew so little; and then ended -by exploding her ideas? Frank, I shall never forget her, or the -explosion, and its effect on Adele. It was the first, last, and only -time I ever saw Adele in a religious discussion, and I never expect -to see her so caught again; in fact, she told me she would never -indulge again, not if she knew it in time.” - -Miss Winchester nodded in remembrance, and was much surprised that -Mrs. Cultus should be able to display so much of her old-time -vigor, when lately she was so weak. “Her spirit is stronger than -ever,” thought Miss Winchester. Another pause, and then Mrs. Cultus -continued: - -“I shall never forget that scene, because the child talked as if she -knew personally Him in whom she believed; as if the One in whom she -believed was being misquoted, if not actually slandered, and all that -sort of thing.” - -Miss Winchester listened more attentively than ever. - -“My dear, the child was right. I can see it all now. A sort of holy -jealousy, because she was averse to hearing anything so misleading -attributed to Him in whom she believed. Now, for a girl to feel that -way means a great deal, a very great deal--it means everything. Adele -was far more than interested; she felt intensely all she said. How -did she do it? Why did she do it? Had the Holy Spirit spoken in her -heart? Frank, that is a mystery! Nobody, I trust, can deceive me -about such things, and I can see so much more than ever now, and in a -new light. Now, I know God is Love, because He gave me Adele, and I -try to love Him for it; and just between us, you and me, myself, it -is going to be very hard for me to give her up, even to Paul.” - -Miss Winchester would not have interrupted Mrs. Cultus on any account -as she was thus opening her own heart freely, fearlessly. There was a -beauty in these revelations fundamentally holy. - -“One of the strange things,” continued Adele’s mother, “is how -nothing has been changed with Adele since she became engaged to Paul; -just the reverse, her feelings seem even more intense; and her love -for Paul influences her for good in every way.” - -Miss Winchester, not wishing to intrude in these family matters, -made an effort to change the subject; but it was of no use. Mrs. -Cultus was too much interested in her daughter’s future to talk of -anything else; while her natural tact was too vigilant to admit of -any indiscretion. - -“Adele and Paul,” said she, “with all their nonsense and lovers’ -pranks, get more out of their fun than any young people I ever saw. -I’ve watched ’em often. Adele does not give up a thing worth seeing, -and she goes into unspeakable places with her Father and Paul. They -tell me not to worry about her, for she is always equal to any -emergency. I wasn’t so fearless when I was a girl. But Adele is -different. I shouldn’t be surprised if she did get into trouble some -time.” - -“Of course she may--that’s where the fun comes in,” said Miss -Winchester, less serious. - -Adele’s mother looked up in alarm. “What are you laughing at, Frank? -Has she already been getting into scrapes?” - -“Oh, no scrape, but I saw her on her dignity in a little scene at -Benares.” - -“What was it?” - -“We were in one of the temples, and a young Brahmin approached -her when she was a little distance from us and alone. He was a -good-looking young fellow, and he seemed to know it. What he said I -don’t know, and what she saw wrong in him I can only conjecture, but -the few glances she gave him put him in a different frame of mind. He -certainly changed his manner and bearing as if forced to recognize -some superiority in her. One doesn’t often see that sort of thing in -young Brahmins, or their elders either. Only too often that caste -seems to arrogate to itself a special license to do as it pleases.” - -“There! I told you she was never afraid!” exclaimed Mrs. Cultus. -“Adele changed that fellow’s mind by a glance--and a Brahmin at that; -overcome by the use of his own weapons. No, she is fearless. Whatever -she does, she’s never afraid. Very mysterious, yet so much common -sense to make it effective. It is as if--as if--oh, how shall I -express what I want to say in a few words? as if--the truth had made -her free.” - -“Why, she must be a veritable Christian Psychologist,” said Miss -Winchester, seriously. - -“There is no doubt of it,” answered Adele’s mother, confidently. -“Adele believes in the Greatest Psychologist that ever lived.” - -No more was said, and Mrs. Cultus pondered over these things in her -heart. The exertion of talking had fatigued her, in spite of the -increased spiritual strength which had been born of her suffering. -While looking at some flowers which Paul had brought into her room, -their beauty seemed to lift her soul beyond them. Was it into the -region of her own youth, or of Adele’s youth?--or more beautiful -still, the realm of Perpetual Youth? Sleep came nigh. - -She noticed that Paul’s flowers were buds just ready to bloom. -There was among them a lily, not a lily of the valley but of the -Annunciation; an Easter lily, double emblem of new life--new life -here, and resurrection into the New Life of Perpetual Youth. It was -the same sort of lily that she remembered seeing in a sacred picture -representing an Angel’s Visit. - -As Nature’s Comforter, restful slumber, closed her eyelids in blessed -peace, she seemed to behold herself in the act of giving this lily -to Paul. Miss Winchester heard the whispering as she dozed off: - -“Take it, Paul; it is a priceless treasure. This bud in blooming will -sweeten all your life. Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like -one of these.” - -Certainly an unexpected conclusion to be reached by the worldly-minded -Mrs. Cultus; but practical, as truth itself is both mystical and -practical. How different the hallucinations during illness and bodily -weakness, from the spiritual experience, the visions of truth which -really conquer physical weakness and rise into the Realm of Perpetual -Youth! - -“Verily, a double blessing she gave them,” said Miss -Winchester--“youth here, youth perpetual.” - - - - - XXXI - - OFF TO THE HIMALAYAS - - -During the convalescence of Mrs. Cultus the physicians recommended -that she be taken to a more salubrious climate, a higher altitude; -and suggested Darjeeling in North Bengal near the borders of Sikhim -as an admirable sanitarium. Adele was delegated to suggest it to her -mother. She entered the sick-room in great glee, drawing Paul in with -her. - -“Little Mother, we’ve all been ordered off; Paul and I have already -thought of flying upwards to the Himalayas, and now we all must go.” - -“What’s that you say about flying away? Who’s ordered it? I didn’t.” - -“The physicians,” said Paul much amused. “We need to take the usual -Oriental prescription for foreigners--Vamoose the ranchibus; get out!” - -“Do Hindoos prescribe in Latin? What does it mean?” - -“To be taken instantly,” said Miss Winchester, laughing, “and all -take the same dose.” - -“Where did you say we are to go? Up where?” persisted Mrs. Cultus, -now beginning to enter into the spirit of the thing. - -“To the mountains,” said Adele joyfully, “up to Sikhim.” - -“Sic ’em!” and Mrs. Cultus’ eyes twinkled. “Is it a hunting scheme -for Paul and the Doctor? Are there dogs up there?” - -Evidently mental alertness had returned to the invalid. Adele thought -so, and nodded to Paul: - -“Come, boys! get your guns, and call the dogs--I mean your tickets -for the trip; I’ll attend to the rest.” - -Paul vanished to make arrangements for the journey. - - * * * * * - -Never did a more interested and hilarious party start northward -towards Kunchingunga; towards the foot-hills of Sikhim, between -Nepaul and Bhootan. From the crest of these foot-hills they hoped -to see the Himalaya range stretching east and west, like unto a -barrier insurmountable, towering aloft into thin air which no man -could breathe and yet live; terra firma supporting glaciers a mile in -vertical height; _terra incognita_, for no man had yet been able to -tread thereon. Region of the seen, yet unseen, because unlivable to -mortals as at present constituted. - -No other portion of their tour gave better opportunity to bring out -individual traits of character than this; for nature herself was to -be met in many moods. Professor Cultus suggested that each member of -the party should select a specialty for personal observation. - -Miss Winchester jumped at this idea, like a reporter for a woman’s -home journal. She selected the varied ejaculations of the natives; -“grunts,” as she called them. - -“Every race seems to grunt differently, and every idol swears -differently. I suppose prayers are diverse also, but the grunts will -be enough for me. We shall have hot-weather sighs, and cold-weather -shivers; torrid zone lassitude and temperate zone platitude; Hindoo -shuffles and Mongolian shrugs, each accompanied by its appropriate -ejaculation or grunt. It is astonishing how much grunting is heard. -Asia is like a Florida razor-back settlement on a large scale. -I shall be kept quite busy; and no doubt myself become quite -accomplished.” Miss Winchester was evidently in high feather, finding -her surroundings inspiring from a literary point of view. - -“The Himalayas will suit your purpose admirably,” remarked the Doctor. - -“How so?” - -“You may write a dialect story on your way--all grunts, and nothing -else.” - -Paul thought the subject of the rapid changes from one kind of -vegetation to another would suit him as a specialty. “There ought -to be enough variety in ferns, palms, and natural shrubbery, to say -nothing of tea, quinine and poppies (opium) to excite or soothe as -we require doses.” Paul was evidently hoping to obtain some plants -for his Florida Garden, his winter home, between Pelican Lodge and -the salt waves. There the Pelicans were omnivorous birds, not being -restricted to ordinary pelican diet. - -Adele said she expected to be engaged chiefly in “looking up.” - -“Not guide-books, I hope?” quizzed Miss Winchester. - -“Only when I lie down, to take a siesta; they will serve as a -sedative.” - -“Whatever you do,” said Mrs. Cultus, ever practical and worldly-wise, -“be sure to jot down notes. You remember my report on Tangiers to our -Politely Civil League? Memoranda came in splendidly then; I’ve just -received a note of thanks for my ‘communications.’” - -“You mean your ‘proceedings,’ my dear,” grunted the Professor. - -Miss Winchester at once made mental note of the Professor’s -mode of ejaculation, as indicative of the Occidental grunt in -contradistinction to the Asiatic. - -“Miss Cultus is correct,” interrupted the Doctor, champion inquisitor -and note-jotter of the party. “No brain could remember, much less -assimilate, all that we are going to see, without taking notes.” - -At this point they were interrupted by the call to take their places -in the railway carriage at Calcutta, for their first four hours by -rail to Damookdea on the Ganges. - - - - - XXXII - - THE START UPWARDS - - -En route from Calcutta, many villages were situated amid luxuriant -bamboos, palms and grasses, where the Bengali cultivators of the soil -worked hard for a portion of the year, and then during the heated -term put in their time loafing, bathing in puddles, and raising -children; some of the children looked as if so raised--in puddles. -Life was known to ebb and flow spasmodically in that region, at times -receding to the very verge of famine, only to return and overflow the -country with abundance. Life was like a candle burning at both ends -in days of plenty, to be followed by total darkness, where skeletons -groped, wailing and gnashing their teeth. - -The foliage was luxuriant, and of rapid growth; but not calculated -to endure much strife with wind and storm. Very beautiful, however, -were some of the compensations in nature: when the graceful banana -leaves were blighted by the adverse forces, and fell limp, black, -and apparently useless; in the very act of dying they fell over the -clusters of fruit below, thus protecting their offspring after they -themselves had returned to dust, in some cases cremated by the sun, -ashes to ashes. Many human beings had no doubt sacrificed themselves -in the same way, involving physical and nervous prostration, -since Vishnu was the real preserver, and they were Vishnubs. A -mysterious parallel. Altruism, to a certain degree, exists between -plant life and humanity; and one often hears the natives speak of -the transmigration of souls. Numerous birds of brilliant plumage -flitted about, and rows of paroquets sat on the telegraph wires; as -the natives said, reading and reporting the messages. Did not the -monkeys show great wisdom and skill in constructing bridges of their -own bodies for Krishna to escape by passing over? Surely birds must -know something if monkeys were so wise. So also reasoned the natives, -with variations, each man after his own kind. - -Miss Winchester in time took down a number of the native ejaculations -apropos of these things; and Mrs. Cultus, of course, reported all -such facts to her special committee of the “Pet-Monkey Section” of -the “Kindness to Animal League.” - -“I did not know that Asia was so kind to animals,” said she. The -Doctor laughed: “I fear it is a sort of ‘touch-me-not, taste-me-not’ -kindness.” “More absurd proceedings,” thought the Professor. Adele -did not laugh; on the contrary she was as usual much interested in -children, and these people seemed to her to be in the childhood -period of the human race. “They believe it all,” said Adele, “and so -did I when I was in the nursery; my dolly always talked, and monkeys -scared us both.” - -The river Ganges was crossed at Damookdea, in the darkness, on the -steamer “Vampire.” Torchlights upon the distant shore showed the -river to be nearly a mile wide, the further sides rising to form -low bluffs. A huge sand-bar lay opposite the primitive wharf, and -had to be circumnavigated; which was made difficult by the strong -current and the tortuous eddies whirling in many directions. They saw -fishing-smacks etched against the sky, with their lights bobbing up -and down; the nets were carried on enormous bamboo frames which shone -against the lights like spider webs. The prows and sterns of the -boats were pointed and rose high in peculiar curves. The same boats, -seen afterwards in daylight, propelled by a single boatman, whose -form showed against the blue waves, were quite as picturesque as the -gondolas at Venice. - -Then all night on the train, crossing the plains, and in the morning -Silliguri, the station at the track’s end, apparently. - -Paul proceeded to reconnoitre among the crowds who gathered about -and under the railway sheds. There were officials, indigo planters, -race-course frequenters, Anglo-Saxons and Germans, among the much -more numerous dark-skinned natives. - -The preponderance of white garments showed the district to be yet on -the comparatively low-level, but a glance northward told a different -story; woodlands rising in billows of foliage. - -Paul beckoned to the party to hasten; his expression an amused -interrogation point. - -“The railway has shrunk; prepare to shrink, or you will not be -comfortable in your new quarters;” and he escorted them to the -miniature Himalaya train which stood at the end of the shed ready to -ascend skyward. - -Miss Winchester at once dubbed it “The Fly Express.” - -Mrs. Cultus, looking over the top of one of the cars and then bending -down to see inside, exclaimed: “Are we really to go up in--that -thing? It’s a big toy, for little children.” - -Miss Winchester at once crawled in; then peeping out like a bird in a -cage: “I have already shrunk--it feels quite cozy.” - -Adele did not much relish such close quarters, and asked: “Can’t we -ride on top?” - -Only the first-class coaches were inclosed; the second-class had low -partitions; the third-class had seats in rows, open on all sides, -covered overhead not unlike American trolleys in summer. The width -of the train accommodated only three abreast, without any aisle; -the car wheels were about eighteen inches high; the car floor, into -which the wheels were set, was only a little over a foot above the -ground. Sitting within, one could easily touch the ground with an -umbrella. The engine appeared like a toy in dimensions, but it was -very powerful; like a strong healthy boy who could successfully pull -or push, but not very effective for sprinting. - -“I like that engine,” said Paul, “he’s chunky, but tough; I guess -we’ll get there all right.” - -The luggage was carried on platform trucks, covered with tarpaulins; -and this whole remarkable cortége was capable of advancing at the -reckless speed of eight miles an hour. - -Some French tourists at once took places in “the first,” hereby -assuming the usual American prerogative to pay more and receive -less than was due. Mrs. Cultus entered the same apartment, as she -required protection on account of her health and some one constantly -in attendance. Thus cooped up, Mrs. Cultus, Miss Winchester, and -the Frenchmen, made a coterie of their own; Mrs. Cultus somewhat -uneasy lest the movement of the train might deposit a Frenchman in -her lap at any moment. The ladies, intensely curious, thrust their -heads through the little windows, like children on an excursion; the -Professor called, “Look out!” - -Mrs. Cultus quickly drew in her head. - -A Frenchman instantly asked, most politely in manner: - -“What have you, Madame? Monsieur said, ‘Look out!’” - -“But he meant just the opposite,” quoth Mrs. Cultus. - -“Hein! what a diabolical language!” - -Miss Winchester here made a double addition to her collection. Adele, -since her mother was comfortably settled, began looking around to -locate herself; she espied a place just suited to her ideas, at the -rear of the train, on the last trolley truck. She and Paul perched -themselves on a good square trunk, and were not visible to those in -front when the Flyer showed symptoms of flying. This resulted in the -Professor and Doctor Wise being greatly puzzled to know “what had -become of those children.” - -The whistle gave a Himalaya shriek, and the foremost coaches -commenced to joggle before the “children” were discovered. In the -hurry there was nothing for the dignified elders to do but to -scramble on, as best they could, the same truck with Adele and Paul. - -Thus this inquisitive-exploration party commenced their ascent of -the famous Himalayas with a detachment of inquisitives at each end -of the train. Hilarious? who could help being so on the Fly Express, -rushing through the exhilarating air direct from the Himalayas, at -eight miles an hour? when none would wish a moment curtailed; there -was so much to be seen, sitting there on a trunk and looking in the -direction of Kunchingunga! - -Adele adjusted some robes taken from her strapped luggage, in an -effort to make her father more comfortable. It was fortunate she -had done so, for the joggle-train began a frightful series of -alternate jerks and bumps. Doctor Wise described its construction -as “articulated,” especially adapted to requirements of the line. -When on a level each car took its own gait, the equipment loosely -hung together to facilitate running around sharp curves; a comical -rattling arrangement more ludicrous than agreeable, until it was -stretched out in making the ascent. Adele seized Paul and her father -alternately in convulsive efforts to hold on. - -“I think I’d better get inside the trunk,” she gasped, when a -tremendous lurch threatened to tilt over the whole combination. - -It was the last lurch, however, for the train had now struck the -high grade of one foot in twenty-eight, and at certain points one in -twenty-two. It drew itself out to full length, the strong-boy engine -sturdily dragging the apparatus after him. - -From the start the lift was perceptible. - -Silliguri lies at an elevation of less than five hundred feet above -the sea. Ghoom Station, the summit of the line, is only thirty-six -miles distant, at an elevation approximating seven thousand feet -higher. That this difference should be surmounted in one short -stretch of road was, in its day, a marvel of engineering skill. The -Himalaya spur-hills upon the southern side are often thus abrupt, -hence the topographical difficulties to be overcome by the miniature -railway. The line followed the old cart-road built by the English -Government some eighty years previous, crossing and recrossing, -oscillating from one side to the other to gain distance. Doctor Wise -could not help expressing admiration for those early engineers who -had originally penetrated this region, and had located the cart-road -where the native trails were little better than the trails of wild -animals; and for their later brothers in the same profession whose -skill had adapted rails and motive power to such peculiar conditions. - -Adele said she felt herself ascending the mountain “squirrel fashion, -by zigzags, and the longest way round was the shortest way up.” - -The train, after a short run through the thick woods, crept out -upon a knoll, and before them opened upwards a superb vista; seen -through a ravine it expanded heavenward; and they caught sight of -a mountain-spur jutting out against the sky, far above them in the -cloud region. It was indented; they could plainly see the dent with -their glasses--it looked as if a roadway might pass through. The -point stood boldly out in space, with clouds beyond; the main range -hidden from view, the impression conveyed was that this promontory -might be near their destination. - -“Can that be the summit?” exclaimed Adele; and an answer came to her -in rather an interesting fashion. - -While they had been joggling along, a party of civil engineers -connected with the railway, waiting to take the train, had noticed a -pretty girl sitting upon the rear truck, evidently in for a frolic, -and at once concluded it was a good location for themselves also. -They had boarded the truck, and were sitting upon the lower part -quite ready for any innocents abroad, reportorial or globe trotting, -when Adele noticed the railway cut far up on the mountain-side; of -course they volunteered the necessary information: - -“Oh, that’s only chilly Kurseong, where passengers begin to sneeze,” -answered the civil engineer. - -Adele, also responsive, gave an appreciative mock sneeze at once, -adding she “needed a little practice after being so long down on the -plains.” - -“Others take tea for colds,” responded the civil engineer. “Kurseong -tea is, you know, tip-top.” - -“Then it is the summit?” quizzed Paul. - -“No, only halfway up, when you reach that point; the real summit will -appear as far aloft as that does now.” - -“Oh!” said the Doctor, “then, as the Florida ‘crackers’ would say, we -are just ‘two sights’ from the real summit.” - -“They measure by sights there, do they?” remarked the Professor. “In -Switzerland they measure by hours; and down in Calcutta I noticed -Hindoos who measured time by the numbers of pipes they could smoke.” - -Adele gazed in amazement. It seemed hardly credible that this lofty -point, over one thousand feet higher than the famous view-point on -the Gemmi Pass in the Alps, should be only halfway up, that the -foot-hills of the Himalayas covered with verdure were as lofty as -Mont Blanc covered with snow fields and glaciers. All the party began -to realize the grand scale upon which the Himalayas are built. - -“So much for low latitude and high snow-line,” remarked the -Professor. “Now look out for changes in vegetation, races and -costumes;” all of which soon became apparent. - -These southern slopes being protected by the high range beyond, and -the low latitude in which they are situated, make it possible to -reproduce the vegetation of all the zones within an incredibly short -distance. The Doctor remarked: “It is as if we were traveling, in -the short distance of about forty miles, from Cuba to Canada.” The -effect as if the earth’s surface had been tilted upwards, so that to -ascend the mountain spurs was really to travel towards the Frigid -Zone; and that the north-pole must be up above them instead of being -in its supposed proper place, the middle of the north. This state of -things, so unusual to Adele, made a vivid impression upon her as they -advanced upwards. - -The marshy lands and thatched houses of the type to be found on the -plains, enclosed by fences of matting hung upon bamboo poles, with -mud-puddles for public bathing--all these began to disappear. There -were fewer clumps of tall grasses twenty feet in height with tufted -heads, and of plume like pampas; the mighty bamboo, and the giant -cactus ever grotesque, always on the defensive, even while bearing -down vegetation mightier than itself--these were left below. Soon -there were less fruits, wild mulberries, pomegranates, dates, figs, -lady-finger bananas of delicious strawberry flavor. These became -less and less frequent, although there were still to be seen some of -the five varieties of figs and twelve varieties of bamboos. These -continued with them to an elevation of one thousand feet. What they -now began to admire was the profusion of roses and the luxuriant -boughanvillia with rich dark-red blossoms, much richer and darker -even than in Florida, more akin to that in the Bermudas, or at Hong -Kong. But even these souvenirs of the South passed from view as the -panorama continued to move; semi-tropical luxuriance constantly -giving place to stronger growths. Wild orange, also peaches and -lemons, were seen among the bananas. Banyans with pendant branch -roots spreading the parent growth through the forest; cotton-wood -trees built with buttress-roots, as the Doctor remembered seeing -them at Nassau; and wormwood twelve feet high. Ferns in profusion, -graceful as ever, some of them old friends of the Alleghanies; for -the ferns are the most inveterate gad-abouts, constantly visiting -poor relations in almost every zone and climate. - -Here and there were now to be seen terrestrial orchids, vigorous -specimens, holding their own amid the foliage of their adopted -parents, pines, oaks and other hardwood trees--a curious combination. -Persistent bamboos of hardier varieties still obtained; they -flourished along the water courses at the foot-hills, and swept their -graceful curves over adjacent knolls. Such slender growths, although -tough and strong, became too attenuated to support themselves in an -upright position; their immense copious fountains of foliage took -not only curves of ascent like the cocoanut, palmetto, and superb -talipot, but also the return curves of leafy spray ruffling the -surface of the little streams. - -Then there were glens and shady hollows decorated with lichens and -pendulous mosses; trailing growths of verdure of countless kinds, -carpets of tiny ferns--some mysterious growths of sombre reds -with vitreous lustre, as well as greens so delicate that they hid -themselves from the direct rays of the sun; not to mention horrible -nettles and poison vines; terrors to thin-skinned visitors, but as -little regarded by the natives as were the leeches in the swamps, and -the pestiferous insects in the jungles. Bad plants, which the natives -said had been bad people in some previous incarnation; hence had been -incarnated backwards and downwards, not forwards and upwards. - -Adele much appreciated these flights of fancy among the natives; -they seemed so much like nursery stories when she was in the nursery -herself. She was on the lookout to kodak each new scene, and at times -almost in despair. - -“I might as well acknowledge that the Himalayas, like Niagara, cannot -be crowded into a small picture, but some of those crazy cacti I -really must catch; there now is something already posing to be -taken--let me catch him;” and she balanced herself on the top of the -trunk to photograph a large tree festooned with vines suggesting the -doleful tree decorations in some of the cemeteries at home, only more -luxuriant. - -“How artistically tearful! How festive-funereal!” exclaimed Miss -Winchester, now with them, having changed places with the Professor -who had gone to Mrs. Cultus. - -“That’s where you’re a little off,” said the civil engineer quizzer. -“The botanists would probably call it ‘leguminosa’--have some?” - -“Thanks, awfully,” said Miss Winchester with English style and -intonation. “Himalaya vegetables may prove more inviting than that -one looks, but please don’t risk your precious neck to pick them off -the vines.” - -The English engineer said that he did not propose to die before -reaching the Sanitarium, which remark seemed to strike the Doctor -as “not bad, for a colonial living in a warm climate.” So Adele -settled the matter by kodaking the whole party overshadowed by the -artistically-tearful funereal-festive vegetable-vine. - -Near this locality the track indulged in numerous twists and turns, -squirming like a huge snake encircling the mountain spur. The train -slid out to the verge of a precipice, and then backed off, just -before the crash came. - -“What a narrow escape!” exclaimed Mrs. Cultus, “I felt as if well -shaken, and was about to be taken. I hope to goodness they won’t do -it again”--but they did. - -They were now rounding a projecting knoll, before passing through a -short cut; they then crept under a bridge which, curious to relate, -they crossed over hardly a minute later. These engineering gymnastics -were utterly preposterous to our explorers. - -“Has the train lost its way?” laughed Adele. “Where are we? What -next?” - -“If I don’t fly off like a bird,” said Miss Winchester, “I expect to -enter the bowels of the earth and be a gnome; that will surely be my -next incarnation.” - -“I prefer the bird,” remarked Adele. - -“Which? parrot or peacock? India’s choice. Considering altitude and -climate, I think a gnome will suit me. What will you be, Paul?” - -“Oh, leave things as they are.” - -“But you’ve got to be something if in India,” persisted Miss -Winchester. - -“Rats!” exclaimed Paul, “as lief as anything else--what nonsense you -are talking!” - -“There’s method in this railway madness,” suggested the civil -engineer; and he showed them some rough sketches he had hurriedly -made illustrating the series of loops and zigzags the line had -followed between Tindharia and Gumti. “How is that for horseshoe -curves, mule-shoes, and other adaptations to the requirements of the -road--‘feats of engineering’ we call them.” The Englishman was trying -to be facetious. - -The lines he had drawn were curious. Paul said they reminded him of -the marks left upon the surface of ice by an expert-fancy skater. -Miss Winchester said she could use them for an embroidery pattern, -the art of embroidery being one of her favorite occupations. The -Doctor said they reminded him of a fly travelling over an orange -to find out what it was like. Adele said they reminded her of -exactly what they represented, only now she had a bird’s-eye view -looking down on the whole thing. “I understand it now, but until I -saw this drawing I did feel all twisted up.” Curious, indeed, was -the association of ideas, each traveller finding suggested by the -engineer’s drawing his own tastes, or the memory of some previous -experience. - -Still higher up, say between four and six thousand feet, the -Americans felt really quite at home in the woods; no matter what part -of the Middle or Northern States they might have come from there were -glimpses to remind them of home; not unlike the loftier parts of the -Alleghany range as seen from Blowing Rock, or Cloudland in the Land -of the Sky (North and South Carolina), also glimpses suggesting the -magnificent distant scenery of Colorado, and even of the Northwest -Rockies; but in every case with much greater luxuriance of foliage, -and a realizing sense that they were only on the foot-hills, the -first steps leading to the Celestial region, still away up and beyond. - -Adele searched in her pocket and brought forth her little -Stars-and-Stripes badge, and pinned it on her left shoulder. It took -very little to make Adele show her colors, and just here where the -woods were full of oaks, hemlocks, maples and many other trees which -reminded her of home, she concluded this was the proper time to bring -out the pocket edition of Old Glory. - -The Englishman wondered why she selected that particular time to -do such a thing; it seemed such a superfluous proceeding. He would -have scorned the idea if he had known that she associated oaks with -America in particular. As it was he could not suppress his curiosity. - -“May I ask why you show your colors?” - -“Because here I feel quite at home.” - -“Oh, you Americans think the States take in all creation, don’t you?” - -“Well, pretty much; but this is the Queen’s Empire--we admire the -Queen immensely, she’s a home-body; and personally I quite envy her.” - -“No doubt she would appreciate your appreciation,” remarked the -Englishman, again touching the facetious. “May I ask why you envy -her?” - -“We are going into the expansion business ourselves: the Queen knows -all about it.” - -“Once you are in, you’ll wish you were out.” - -“You made a success; why shouldn’t we? Of course we’ll add some -improvements.” - -The Englishman laughed heartily. “What do you call success?” - -“Making people feel at home,” said Adele. - -“And the improvements--some new ’ism or religion, I suppose?” - -“Every man to his own religion,” said Adele; “it’s the same as with -one’s own home. Religion ought to suit one’s nature as your home -suits your life.” - -“These people have a great variety of religion,” remarked the -Englishman. - -“There seems to be no lack,” said Adele, “but really I don’t know -yet. I can’t say that I have really worshiped with them, according to -their ritual here in their own homes.” - -“Well, I wish you joy, but really I don’t understand fully yet as to -your idea of home here. I don’t feel at home; we all go back to our -homes--Merry England.” - -“That’s not what I mean,” said Adele; “this region is the most -extraordinary home-country I ever saw, even more so than our own -mixed-up country, and that’s saying a great deal.” - -“I don’t understand yet,” said the Briton. - -“Why, it’s this way, I feel perfectly at home in these woods; the -Hindoos were just as much at home a few miles back; the place seems -to suit all sorts and conditions of different civilizations, not -one civilization only; and the Queen lets them live at home here in -peace.” - -“They fight like cats and dogs,” said the engineer promptly. “We have -the devil’s own time to keep the home, as you call it, quiet.” - -“It must be the children that cut up so,” laughed Adele. “Every home -is supposed to have its nursery--the world no doubt has; people often -call Asia the cradle of the human race. This seems to me to be like -God’s nursery.” - -“And England’s the nurse!” shouted the Briton. - -“Yes, that’s about it.” - -“Well, here comes another baby, fresh from the woods, to be taken -into the nursery. What do you think of this precious babe? I hand her -over to you.” - -What Adele saw for the first time was a large, stout Mongolian woman, -broad-visaged with slanting eyes, very dirty and unkempt, accompanied -by two men of similar mien, neither of whom appeared so masculine -as the precious babe herself. These had wandered down from the upper -regions--the first glimpse to Adele of the next race they were to -encounter. - -“Babes in the woods,” remarked the Englishman. - -Adele concluded not to call this one a cherub. - - - - - XXXIII - - A GLIMPSE OF THE PRIMITIVE - - -The miniature Fly Express having crept over the summit now slid down -on the other side for a few miles, into Darjeeling. The mountain -resort, though upon such high ground, was surrounded by still -loftier elevations; a veritable Sanitorium protected on all sides. -It contained more buildings of a public nature than the inquisitive -Cultus explorers had expected to find; the Sanitorium and bazaar were -surrounded by many substantially built structures, generally upon -picturesque sites, schools, a convent, villas, bungalows, and here -and there native shanties in unexpected nooks and corners. There -were valleys within valleys, and hills upon hills; and domiciles -were scattered broadcast over the landscape. No time was consumed, -however, in gazing around them when they first arrived. The station -and bazaar nearby were lively with Nepaulese, Bhootans, Lepchas, -members of the hill tribes of Sikhim, inhabitants of the Darjeeling -Terai, with a much smaller contingent of English who seemed to be -there to keep the rest in order. - -The tiny train had hardly come to a stand-still before a Bhootan -woman, a fine specimen physically and decidedly noisy in manner, -thrust her broad Mongolian visage, with its high cheek bones and -slanting eyes, into the little car window where sat Mrs. Cultus. If -a demon had suddenly appeared at close quarters and offered to rub -noses with Mrs. C. the effect could not have been more startling. -The Mongolian, talking and gesticulating and holding a strap in -her hand, made it plain to them that she wished to carry their -luggage--she was a woman-porter. - -Mrs. Cultus, not ordinarily disconcerted by sudden apparitions, -was this time fairly taken aback. Aside from the novelty of a -woman-porter, her repulsive appearance was disconcerting; the -broad cheeks smeared with red pigment and distorted with grimaces -seemed to Mrs. Cultus at first glance as more than grotesque, even -appalling. Drawing herself up with dignity she gave a piercing look, -as if in defiance, only to discover that the Bhootanesque wild grin -was intended for a polite smile, and the smile was that of a young -girl trying to be serviceable and obliging. Mrs. Cultus burst out -laughing, which the Bhootan girl of course mistook for a cordial -acceptance of her offered assistance; and forthwith through the -window she seized all such loose articles as lay within reach, piling -them in a heap on the platform previous to depositing them in her -strap which she placed over her forehead and let fall in a loop down -her back. Several articles had already disappeared out of the window -before Mrs. Cultus grasped the misunderstanding of her own laughter; -but when she found the woman was actually doing the heavy work of a -porter, and for her personally, Mrs. Cultus’ American ideas about -woman’s sphere and woman’s work asserted themselves. As a member of -the Ethical-Social Culturist’s-Reversal Association, she must become -an impromptu missionary to enter her protest, and even set things -right. - -“I can’t allow it!” she exclaimed, shaking her head. “Get me a man! a -man! why, it’s outrageous! You’re only a young girl!” and Mrs. Cultus -turned to look for the Professor who had already gone in search of a -man. - -The Bhootan damsel grinned once more, as if astonished, then spoke -her mind not unlike the historic waiter who “roared it.” “No -man!--don’t want a man! I take! I take all! easy!” and proceeded -to show how easily she could take all by lifting a huge bundle of -travelling rugs, rezais, nearly as bulky as herself, putting them in -the loop of her strap as foundation piece, the smaller heavy things -on top, and gave a good grunt of satisfaction when the weight settled -on her forehead; and then--smiled again. - -Mrs. Cultus, equally practical, at once changed her mind; she -concluded it was utterly useless to waste sympathy upon a damsel so -eminently qualified to take care of herself; especially since the -woman-porter had her own ideas of woman’s sphere, and did not intend -to permit any man to take away her trade. If Miss Winchester had been -near at the time no doubt she would have been much impressed by the -Bhootan grunt of satisfaction for the privilege of carrying luggage; -for verily it was a notable addition to her collection. - -Such was Mrs. Cultus’ first interview with a specimen of womankind -from the immense area of Central Asia, where woman’s rights were -already granted after their fashion, and woman’s work performed with -a vengeance. Mrs. Cultus little realized that there, in the crowd -around her, were not only women-porters, but Thibetan mothers to whom -polyandry was no new thing, being in fact a custom of their district. -Women who had several husbands because they were the proper things to -have; and felt themselves quite equal to do man’s work and a little -more, besides. Mrs. Cultus learned this and other items, when a few -days later she noticed a pair of rough sandal-boots standing at the -door of a hut occupied by a polyandrist household. She was informed -that these were equivalent to a notice left outside by one of the -husbands that he was on the premises, therefore for the present -the others had best keep away. Mrs. Cultus learned, too, that the -several husbands were often brothers, hence the household was a more -united family than if it were otherwise. Mrs. Cultus was obtaining -a realizing sense of relationships among some of the primitives yet -upon the earth, and she soon concluded that the more primitive the -people the less she personally cared to visit them socially. - - - - - XXXIV - - ADELE SEES THE DELECTABLE MOUNTAINS - - “_On the mountains is freedom! The breath of decay - Never sullies the fresh-flowing air._” - - --SCHILLER. - - -The next day the whole party were domiciled in a little stone -structure one-story high, hung like an eyrie upon a cliff. The -site overlooked great depths, and their domicile much like a tiny -doll’s house perched upon a mantelpiece. Above and beyond were -insurmountable heights, and only a narrow pony-path separated this -little dwelling from the forest-clad valleys thousands of feet below. -Within a few steps a remarkable view-point, a promontory jutting out -in mid-air; and before them rose “The Five Points of Eternal Snow.” - -Kunchingunga was no “Jungfrau,” but a matron, with her children and -grandchildren clustered around her imperial throne. - -Adele wandered off alone, and stood upon the promontory, looking -forward. On a level with her eye and apparently not far off, soared -a giant bird, poised in space, he being thousands of feet above -the earth beneath him. Adele waved her handkerchief to attract his -attention; the majestic areonaut merely changed the angle of his -wings to bring his eye into better position, and refused to approach. -A chilly current of air came over the crest of the mountain; -Adele drew her wrap about her, and in so doing lost hold upon her -kerchief--it floated off on the breeze. It was no sooner free from -her hand, than the expert bird sweeping round in majestic curves upon -the wings of the wind, picked it up in mid-air, and soon disappeared -amid the foliage of the forest. This wild denizen of the woods, who -could sustain himself at a perilous height in space, apparently had -an instinctive fear of man, even of a young girl, yet no fear of -man’s inanimate production, the handkerchief; and his penetrating eye -had evidently grasped the situation from the distance of half a mile. -Such was the clearness of the atmosphere, and such the acute vision -of the bird. - -Adele admired his quickness of sight, his natural cleverness, and -his wild knowledge of the world, as he sailed away with what she had -held in her hand an instant before. “I don’t mind the loss,” said -she, “but I do dislike extremely to have things snatched away, first -by the wind and then by that eagle. What the Doctor calls ‘the wild -forces’ in nature, surely do require taming.” - -She looked across the valley. The lower ranges rose above a belt of -haze, the mountains above did not appear to rest upon any solid base, -and the summits of eternal snows appeared as if in another world--a -world where corruption had put on incorruption, the world of purity -and whiteness. Seen through the rarefied air above, the apparent -nearness of such stupendous masses, solid and firm yet resting upon -an ethereal base, somewhat appalled Adele; and she drew her wrap -closer about her as her eyes wandered from peak to peak extending in -endless length on either side, yet all above and beyond the reach of -man. She knew them to be the backbone of a continent, which (when -seen from certain elevations, at the end of the rainy season when -the southeast monsoon ceases to blow) was visible over an expanse of -two hundred miles. She knew this range of peaks must be miles away -as the bird flies, yet so wide was the angle between the horizon and -those celestial summits, and so great the difference between her -own level and that of the Eternal Pure Whiteness, that she felt -their presence near, and herself in the presence of the sublime in -nature. Her natural eye told her this, and gave her a new physical -sensation which was exhilarating, uplifting and inspiring. And with -this inspiration came a new incentive to spiritual perception, a -tremendous stimulant to idealize. It was, indeed, what she saw--a -Celestial Vision. - -She caught her breath as she gazed afar; and a sense of wonder, aye, -of adoration, welled up from within, and a comprehending love for -the beautiful and for the sublime. These emotions, like a powerful -impulse heavenward, filled her whole being, and words came--breathed -rather than spoken--towards the One who ever dwells in nature, ever -listens, and always hears. Forgetting self, unconscious that she was -actually praying, she yet prayed. Such is the compelling force of the -sublime in nature. - -“Our Father who art!--art in Heaven!--Father in Heaven! where all is -beautiful! - -“And what is this? Oh, how beautiful! just where our Father has built -His mansions. Look! those snows and glaciers reflect His Glory! I can -see it! That blue canopy overhead, and those forests below, are like -the Earth-Beautiful He made for us, and there is the roseate light of -a Holy Place. God is there! Yes! I know it--I feel it! He is here, -too! Yes! surely. He is here! How holy is this place!” - -Then assured of the nearness of her Father Creator, she tried to -grasp some idea of the meaning of His Presence to her; and unto her -was granted a glimpse of the very highest possible conception of the -facts visible in nature, of things as they are, for the study of both -science and religion. - -She stood in the presence of the loftiest mountains upon the globe; -and what were they? What was this earth at her feet?--the world and -all that is therein! - -“The Lord is in His Holy Temple! The Lord! and His Temple! Holy! both -Holy--God and His Temple. I can see that, too! He made it, and all -that is therein. He said it was ‘good,’--it is--it must be Holy! It -is His own.” - -The word “Temple,” and what it implied, impressed itself upon -her mind, as if it revealed some tremendous fact in nature which -before she had not fully realized. She gazed right and left, up the -cross-valleys, and into the forest depths; then finally towards the -Celestial Summits bathed in that roseate light which symbolized -so much to her personally since her earlier experience when her -attention had been called to it by her earthly father. What before -she had really seen but dimly, yet strong enough to be a constant -aid to enlightenment, now became a living reality. It was verily a -temple; and anew she began to idealize her surroundings. - -“It is a Cathedral! this whole region! a mighty Cathedral! God’s own, -built by Him here in these mountains, the Himalaya Cathedral!--the -greatest upon Earth!” And while possessed by this vivid thought, -there came a still small voice, as if from a sub-intelligence, -whispering: “His service is here, His ritual.” She heard this but -faintly; then, rejoicing in her idealization, she went straight on to -picture the Cathedral. - -“Look! there is the Nave, this great valley! and there is the crypt -beneath, that sombre forest far below! There is plenty of room in -that Nave for the congregation--free seats everywhere. I can see -it filled with all sorts of people. There! there is some one now, -in that tea-garden under those tree ferns, a party of them looking -towards the blue sky. They wish to know what the weather is going to -be like, wish to know what God intends it to be, for they are looking -upwards; perhaps that is their way of worshiping! who knows? - -“And there is the Transept! there is more than one, those valleys; -they reach to the end of the earth. How curious that so many of these -valleys lead directly up to the front, not so ‘crosswise’ as in other -churches. I never saw a Cathedral so well arranged for approaching -and hearing. Ah! there’s a Chapel in that transept! it looks more -like a hut! some one within is burning incense--it comes out of the -chimney! Well, we’ll call it incense, and that home is a chapel.” - -And while she mused, a little group of natives crossed an open field -and entered a clump of trees surrounded by shrubbery, a thicket. -“Some other sort of worship,” she thought. “I wonder what they are -going to do? I’ll wait and see.” - -Numerous parties on ponies passed along the mountain roads, ascending -and descending from different levels. “Why, this Cathedral has most -extensive galleries, and how many real workers all on the move! Well, -I rather like a gallery at times; one can sit up there and not feel -too conspicuous, only worship.” - -Then she noticed that the majority on ponies were going in one -direction--northward. “Why are they going that way, I wonder?--why -not towards the East as so many do in Cathedrals? No, I forgot; -the Moslems turn towards Mecca no matter in what direction they -may be from it; but here it is different. These people seem to be -approaching and observing their ritual in a different manner and in -a different direction. Everything here seems to draw one’s attention -northward,” and she mused about this for some time, then: - -“The pole star itself is hidden behind that mountain; we are too far -south to see it, but I heard Father say it was in that direction. -Yes, I remember it was very low in the heavens when I last saw -it sparkling there. It is there now, always behind the crest of -Kunchingunga. Even if these worshipers cannot see it, they see -Kunchingunga, their Holy Mountain, pointing the same way--northward. -Now, what does this mean?” and she mused again, but this time only -for an instant. - -“Oh! I can see why! I understand it!” she exclaimed. “In other -directions, stars, as well as lesser things on earth, seem ever -moving, revolving, changing; Kunchingunga and the North Star seem -never to change. The North Star is towards the centre, all revolve -around that fixed point; it is marvellous what a magnificent Clock -there is to this Cathedral--the Great Clock in the Heavens, the Clock -of Ages, ever revolving around the permanent fixed centre. But then -again God is the only Permanent, Unchangeable; and to Him a thousand -years are as one day--the Clock says so. Why, of course, in His -Cathedral one must look northward; it is like looking towards Him, -towards something fixed, that does not change. Oh, I shall always -think of this Cathedral with Kunchingunga, its Great Clock, and the -hidden star,” and she quoted from Bryant’s “Hymn to the North Star”: - - “And thou dost see them rise, - Star of the pole! and thou dost see them set. - Alone in thy cold skies - Thou keepest thy old unmoving station yet.” - -“Yes, I understand it; in this Cathedral the worshiper should look -towards the north, towards the visible centre as Nature and Science -have made it appear to us. To consult that Clock one must look -straight ahead, towards the Only One who is from the ever-existent -past to the everlasting future--the Ancient of Days.” - -This thought naturally led to her next and final impression on this -memorable day in her spiritual life, alone with the sublime in nature. - -“Where is it?” she thought. “Where should I look to find it? the Holy -of Holies in this Cathedral,” and again she turned northward. - -“That Celestial region!--it is very near it, yet not exactly of it. -There! I can see the Choir, and almost hear the angels singing, but -I cannot approach nearer--not yet. Oh! those Celestial summits!--the -Delectable Mountains! Look! Oh, look!” - -Now as a matter of fact in Adele’s history, a kind Providence did -see fit to respond to her yearnings to appreciate this marvelous -scenery. As to all who seek the beautiful, sublime and holy in nature -she saw what she did see, and through it she perceived the invisible; -through things seen she was in the presence of the unseen. - -The sun’s rays falling upon the snow-fields and glaciers on the -higher elevations were reflected upwards and on either side with -intense brilliancy--prismatic colors of exquisite delicacy were -diffused over the whole landscape; these and the various hues and -shades bathed the whole of nature visible with a glory that could be -seen. The human eye was satisfied, the artistic sense enraptured, and -the holy spirit in man at rest in peace. - -No “dim religious light” had this Cathedral, but a Glory, sublime, -sacred; the Creator’s own handiwork, which man’s artistic efforts may -often suggest but can never equal. - -To Adele in her frame of mind, it was a veritable Shekinah. - -“The Holy of Holies! white and glistening! It is too bright! too -bright for me! I cannot see--the altar,--too bright!” and she covered -her eyes. “Weak humanity cannot look upon His Face, and live.” - -Not long after a voice was heard--a melodious voice, a young and -cultivated voice, singing; one who strove to make her art holy--a -means to spiritual ends; for it is in the spirit that is the real -growth. It was Adele--Adele worshiping after her own fashion. She -had prayed in her Cathedral, and now she lifted her voice in praise; -the melody rose heavenward to mingle with the music she had heard -spiritually--the Celestial Choir. She sang with her whole soul: - - “Angels ever bright and fair, - Take, oh, take me----” - -None on earth heard her, so far as she knew. - -None, indeed, but a poor unfortunate human being clothed in rags who -sat at the door of her hut under the brow of the hill. Being out of -sight, and dull of hearing, and a Taoist priestess withal, this poor -soul, sincere and true in _her_ faith, told her followers she had -heard the Good Spirits talking in the air above her. - -“In a strange language,” she said, “but clear and sweet. I knew it -was the Good Spirits--and I called: ‘Buddha! Buddha! O Sakya! take me -from existence! O Sakya Muni!’” - -He who ever listens, heard them both. - - - - - XXXV - - HIMALAYA CATHEDRAL BY THE SUPREME ARCHITECT - - -Adele’s idealization was correct. The inquisitive explorers found -themselves face to face with nature in one of the Creator’s own -Temples, where the good and true and the beautiful were embodied in a -place made for worship by the Creator. A Cathedral whose architecture -was appropriate and soul-stirring (æsthetic) even unto sublimity; and -beyond man’s capacity to appreciate fully. A Cathedral whose vaulting -was the heavens above, its floor the earth beneath, and its religious -life as profound as the depths under the earth. And as the sequel -proved, our travelers were also to find all types of worship there, -existing even unto this day in this Temple of the Lord; from the -early sacrifice to the latest enlightenment--the Divine Light of the -World. - -“Why so? Why all this? Upon what ground scientific, philosophical, -moral and religious? Freedom obtained--Life in the open--the open -life--physically, intellectually, spiritually. The Truth as each man -saw it was able to make him free.” - -The sense of the beautiful, the artistic sense, first asserted itself -in this particular group of Nineteenth Century inquisitives. They -were accustomed to temples made with hands in which art had striven -to express the truth; here in this scene they found it rising through -all gradations of beauty, and realized that in nature we have the -mother source of truth and beauty in architecture. Of course, they -first noticed and criticised as seeing with the eyes of their own -civilization. What did they see? Lines as studied, yet free, as -in any masterpiece of Greece or basilica of early Christianity, -as full of aspiration, arching heavenward, as any Gothic work of -later day. And not only this; they soon recognized other forms, -outlines marked in character as a Hindoo Temple or Burmese Pagoda, -peculiar as a Chinese Tower or Japanese Torii--pure and chaste as the -Moslem Taj Mahal. They were astounded at the many forms, originally -obtained direct from nature or suggested by natural forms, which had -been subsequently conventionalized by art. Evidently all sorts and -conditions of men had at one time or another sat at the feet of the -Supreme Architect. - -Then they observed more critically. - -The growth stood upon basal lines, founded upon the earth itself, -plain areas; then massive foundation rocks; terraces to suit the -location; knolls to accentuate the demands of perspective; spurs -to act as buttresses and bind together the rising masses; hills to -invite one to ascend higher; mountains towering towards the realm -of the unseen. The work suggesting solidity, firmness, and all the -essentials for majesty dominating heavenward. The elementary design -simple in form, simple in combination, simple even as a Chaldean or -Egyptian monumental pyramid, Tomb, Library or Portal; as straight and -as true as a Persepolis House of Prayer; as flat and as positive, and -yet as significant and as symbolic as any Parsee devotee of old, or -a Mason from the days of Solomon, would have chosen to signify Basic -Truth in Religion or Simple Life in Morality--the simplicity of the -Gospel of Architecture. - -A palpable fact began to manifest itself, namely: that man never -did learn anything worth knowing unless he came to nature to see -and perceive, to observe how the lilies of the field were arrayed, -and how the mountains towered heavenward to Our Father who Art, to -Him who is Art--the Way, the Truth, the Beautiful; and this was not -only visible to the eye, but the Cathedral was resonant--it spoke. -There was heard the very Voice of the Creator Architect, the Mind of -Nature; and the sound thereof echoed to the ends of the Earth. The -great instruction had been given, learned practically, and practiced. - -The motifs and details, conceived for application in working out the -design, had come direct from the original source, the Artist-Mind of -the Almighty, whose prolific unlimited power of artistic expression -manifested knowledge of all form and substance; and this was -impressed upon the beholder and heard by him, an unobtrusive still -small voice whispering from that Spirit which had conceived it. Such -manifestations in nature were exquisite to both eye and ear; one -did not feel disposed to be loquacious about it, but only note and -apply what had been done by the Trinity of Usefulness, Beauty and -Adaptability. The Voice had said, “Follow me,” and men had tried to -do so. - -The style chosen was that which in time became the Parent of all -styles subsequently born--born through man’s observance of natural -forms, his environment, his mental endowments, and his intellectual -appreciation; his virility to produce artistic work. The Supreme -Architect had been unceasingly painstaking and exact; in human -parlance, He had been sensitive, conscientious, profuse yet never -wasteful of His virile powers; in fact, to the last degree jealous -for what He knew to be the truth in art. Being the One who knows, He -knew how, and would not otherwise. He would have naught unless it -were equally good, true and beautiful, the three combined in one--a -Trinity of Truth, like Himself, Himself in His Work. - -The doctrine of the Trinity pervaded this Cathedral, as ever with -truth physical, intellectual, spiritual. - -To Professor Cultus and the Doctor after noting these things, it -seemed really to imply much more; namely, as if the truth, the whole -truth, and nothing but the truth, could only be expressed in terms of -Three in One. - -“I love to think of it,” said Adele, “it’s so helpful.” - -Thus appeared the Himalaya Cathedral to these Nineteenth Century -inquisitives. A place of worship--not the Lord’s barn, but his -Temple, His Holy Dwelling Place, adequate, artistic and pure; worthy -of humanity endowed by Heaven with the power to worship in Spirit and -in Truth; worthy of its Master Architect. - - - - - XXXVI - - PROGRESS OF THE BUILDING - - -Professor Cultus and the Doctor had many talks concerning the -progress of this Himalaya Cathedral during construction, its -“evolution,” as they expressed it; and geological records were found -safely deposited for those who know how to read rocks. It appeared -that the design had been originally conceived and sketched by the -hand of the Master, and then worked out, or developed according to -forms suitable to all climes, from the tropical in the valleys below -to the arctic amid glaciers and domes of eternal snow. Pupils of the -Master had embodied His ideas; His own assistants and workmen, the -forces of Nature; born, brought up, educated in His own industrial -and artistic schools; where His own master mind, masterful technique, -and masterly spirit dominated--the Trinity of Mind, Matter, and -Spirit. - -There had never been a period during the work when the real progress -had been arrested, nor had the original purpose of design ever been -changed by alterations, extras, or further information on the subject. - -In the beginning He had conceived it; the work commenced; it grew; it -continues. In itself manifesting a clear distinct purpose, namely; -a place in which to live, learn, and worship; thereby manifesting -the Trinity existent and operative, in action, action, action; three -as one. Within and without its needs and decorations have ever been -growing and progressing, as the world grows older and the worshipers -grow wiser. The purpose pointed clearly towards what the intellect -of man designated as “perfection;” and of what the Holy Spirit in man -dreamed of as “The Perfect Day.” - -At various periods in time poor humanity standing aside like helpless -children, had seen great commotions on the premises, apparent -catastrophes, and seeming opposition to things as they should be. -Humanity had actually seen the lightning “strike” and demolish; and -there was marvelous unity in co-operation of labor when the lightning -did strike. Nevertheless the real status of things was not thereby -changed. Man imagined that the edifice itself would fall, and the -world come to an end; a mass of débris to be blown away, much like -nebulous mist or a comet’s tail is scattered and disappears in space. -Man had seen such things with his “field-glasses;” similarly man -presumed to know. He really knew just so much of the building and -its eternal purpose as the present stage of progress permitted--no -more, no less. Of many things he could be but a spectator; and when -he manufactured his glasses for greater depths of penetration, he -reduced his scope (field), and less and less grew the light upon his -lens. - -Thus far there had been no real catastrophe; it was merely the taking -down of scaffolding amid a cloud of dust and rubbish. The scaffolding -removed, the Temple stood behind safe and erect; its beauty more -apparent than ever before. A new façade had been brought to light -for the admiration of all who cultivated their inborn capacity for -appreciation; both worshipers and non-worshipers alike. - -It was during the crises of scaffold-demolishing, when there was -much talk of what would happen when the world dissolved, that absurd -disputes had arisen among the crowd of lookers-on. Non-worshipers, in -their conceit, offered criticisms, although in fact they knew only -“the little” that is vouchsafed to all mankind. Theological fanatics -asserted themselves, saying with intensity: - -“You have neglected your opportunities, and now it’s too late. You’ll -be condemned.” - -To which came, of course, the practical responsive application: - -“Be condemned!--yourself!” Hence the sobriquet, “condemned,” popular -in application to this day as a verb of intensity. - -Such dogmatic assertions and petty recriminations were really absurd -in this presence; disputes embodying mere words; since naught is -condemned in nature where each day’s work is pronounced “good,” and -where “there is no condemnation” to those who seek the Truth and -follow in it; and where the Divine Voice of a man to his brother man -has pronounced the dictum: “For this cause came I, the Truth, into -this world, to save it.” - -This Himalaya Cathedral stood in a region where the rain-fall -was appalling. It was more sudden and more terrific than occurs -elsewhere. Torrents, apparently devastating, passed that way, -carrying all loose impedimenta before them, gathering fresh strength -by momentum as they rushed headlong into the depths. Humanity stood -aghast, wiseacres felt confident that nothing could withstand the -force of these downpours. Having observed similar phenomena on a -smaller scale, therefore these reasoners concluded it must, must -forebode the worst, annihilation. - -It was then that the voice in nature, resonant through the Cathedral, -actually laughed them to scorn for their blindness. - -From the beginning nature had abhorred the idea of annihilation, -and would never permit a vacuum where she had built so beautiful -a Temple. Truth destroys not, but fulfils; it is not destructive, -but constructive. Annihilation, a vacuum, is an abstract conception -without a concrete embodiment even in physics; and less still where -the Mind of Nature and the Spirit that is Holy dominate. - -The phenomena of apparent devastation in this Cathedral were but -changes or transmutations of the forces employed by the Great Master -Builder. A change from lightning to rain was simply a change of -workmen, from those of one trade to those of another, neither more -nor less; only the removal of that which had done its work, and -now would interfere with the progress of the building, the Temple, -its greater usefulness and its greater beauty. The torrents which -seemed to devastate were in fact cleansing, purging, sweeping -henceforth the accumulation within and around which had served -its purpose, and in that form was no longer needed. Acting under -natural laws, as recognized in geology, biology, natural history -and botany, the Divine Administration had cleaned and purified that -region. Cleanliness being a feature of godliness, even the odor -of the unkempt, the unwashed, and the unclean, must be scrubbed -out--the Cathedral to remain holy must be kept fresh, clean and pure; -befitting those who would be pure, and thus able to pray and to -praise. - -And again was the Voice Divine of a man to his brother man heard -resonant through the Cathedral arches: - -“I came not to destroy, but to fulfil. Wash and be clean! Cleanse -your hearts, and not your garments only.” - - - - - XXXVII - - PRIMATE OF THE CATHEDRAL--EX CATHEDRA - - -It was during one of these cleansing periods, in years gone by, when -the terrific rain-fall scoured out the useless and hideous from this -Himalaya Cathedral, that a company of poor native Lepchas stood upon -the hill-side watching. Comparatively safe in their own position they -witnessed and heard the forces of nature at work. - -Among them was one whom they accounted as a wise man, a Seer, who saw -more in nature than most people can see; a prophet who had foresight -founded on close observation of facts. Some of his neighbors would -have designated him a Lama, others would have called him a Buddha, -and some, more distant still, would have said a Medicine Man. Yet, -all listened to his words of wisdom, repeating them, until they -became in time the folk-lore of the land. - -This Seer, who was so clear-sighted, stood for much, both -historically and ecclesiastically; also in Wisdom Literature. - -He, and no one else, was the venerable and venerated Primate of -this Cathedral where a thousand years are as one day and one day as -a thousand years. As Primate-Leader he received many visitations -from distinguished ecclesiastics, men with other titles; notably a -primitive nature-worshiper named Abel, whose parents, according to -one form of record, were quasi-divinities in the Garden of Eden; -and another named Tenno, himself also, according to another form of -record, a semi-divinity, his mother a Goddess--father of a dynasty -ruling upon earth to this day, the Mikado. There were also Holy -Rishis of the Vedic Period with their descendants, Brahmins, Chief -Yogis; also Buddhas, Grand Lamas, and Superior Men; Priests after -the order of many things; Priests from Adab, “the oldest city in the -world,” founded in the misty years of the fifth millennium B. C.; -Priests of Bel at Nippur, 3800 B. C.; Priests of the Sun God from -Sippar (Biblical Sepharain), 3750 B. C.; Priests from Lagash, the -Sumerian Priest (King Gudea) who reigned 2800 B. C., fully 500 years -before the days of Abraham; Priests from Assyria, 860 B. C.; Priests -of the North and of the South, of the Highlands and of the Lowlands, -and of the “Unknown,” after the order of Melchisedek. Also Priests -of Isis, from Egypt; and the Great Priest of Ormuzd, Zoroaster, -through whom the brightest light as to conscience over intellect -enlightened the world for one thousand years--representing millions -upon millions of worshipers born from the womb of ancient time. Also -Wise Men of the East, Apostles, Elders, Deacons, Metropolitans, Popes -and Archbishops; Archdeacons, Priests, and Fathers; Rectors, Pastors -Emeritus, Ministers of the Word of God, Preachers of the Gospel of -Salvation; and Evangelists who brought both the Word and the Bread of -Life; of latter day experience; all filling offices acknowledged to -be sacred, and some using words which sounded almost profane. - -While he, the Himalaya Seer, was often clothed in rags, and fed upon -the flesh of wild beasts, and upon edible locusts and excellent -wild honey, and his loud ringing voice was as one crying in the -wilderness, the others often officiated in robes of state. While he -carried a staff in his hand, and had little change of raiment, they -often bore relics they considered sacred, rings through their noses, -and even iron bars thrust through their cheeks, and others bore a -gilded shepherd’s crook so weighty in importance that it proved an -incumbrance even unto themselves. While he, in hot weather, wore but -a cloth about his loins, and a band across his forehead to absorb the -sweat of his brow, bowing his head in reverence and fear when he saw -the manifestations of Energy in the Supreme Force in nature; another -manifested the life of asceticism and callousness to both heat and -cold; another brought lotus leaves and meditated, trying to think -of nothing at all--of absorption into nature; another brought the -Sacred Fire and preached the higher light which did enlighten for a -millennium of years: “O Ormuzd, Fountain of Light! thy Light is in -all that shines;” another brought his artistic image and preached -justification by faith in Ameda. Another brought his crude and -immoral images, yet preached justification by faith in Krishna, and -the enfranchisement of women; and another, a fearless man, a married -priest as God had made them so from the beginning, who preached -justification by faith in Him who had said, “I am the Light of the -World; believest thou this? follow Me.” - -And when he, the Seer, cried with a loud voice: “Repent! I say unto -thee, Repent!” the others also preached as they had ability; using -diverse institutions and rituals according to the spiritual needs -of the times and places. Thus it was these who embodied the diverse -manifestations of the Spirit that is Holy; their experience in -history proving that intellectual effort only stimulates the craving -of the soul, whereas religious consciousness is never satisfied -except by spiritual growth. - -Thus, there were many, very many, sincere preachers who appeared and -labored conscientiously, each after his own belief, and officiated -in this Cathedral, Nature’s own Temple; some proselyting, others -not--only trusting to natural growth. And while all “took up -collections,” yet, strange to say, one only possessed the ancient -veritable title of Seer, the one in primitive costume, with primitive -sincerity; the Venerable Primate who lived in the open “without money -and no scrip,” and thus preserved his loud sonorous voice in nature; -he who lived very close to his Creator-God, the Creator and Father -of all. - -What did this Seer see? - -Standing in the presence of the storm, none realized his own -helplessness more devoutly than this poor Himalaya Seer himself, -following in the footsteps of his own primitive ancestry since the -beginning of man’s appearance as a religious animal upon earth; hence -known, in consequence, as a nature-worshiper. Calling his group of -followers about him he spake to them as if in a trance, as if he -saw what they could not see: the Evil Spirits, or spirits for evil, -flying hither and thither over the land. While in this trance-like -condition of religious rapture, he spoke of the wind, the rain, and -the lightning as antagonistic personalities. He gesticulated, as -if he saw them as such, wild and irresistible, in indiscriminate -conflict with things as they are. Being himself human he could not -conceive personality as otherwise than subject to human influences; -therefore he called upon his fellow-worshipers to send up some sweet -odor, to propitiate, to offer a sacrifice, to attract attention to -something good and not evil--aye, to crowd out the evil by the good. - -The people obeyed him. Then and there arose the good influence, and -lo! a marvelous change took place in the heart-life of each primitive -worshiper. The evil spirits in the storm ceased their warfare and -dispersed--the tempest ceased, nature smiled, each heart was filled -with peace. “Peace, be still! I say unto thee, peace, be still! My -peace I give unto thee.” - -When in due course of nature the heavens had again cleared, the Seer -spake anew; but not now from a trance. He had no trances after it -cleared off, and he stood in the bright sunlight of nature. No! He -was as other men--no more, no less--in all ages. What he now saw was -also different, and the tenor of his voice had changed. - -He announced a message to be delivered. - -His followers fell upon their faces before him. - -He kept them waiting; in fact, being no longer in physical fear -himself he began to lack his primitive simplicity. The sight of -others bowing with their faces to the earth before _him_ was not -unpleasant. Weak human nature asserted itself; he posed, after his -fashion. He kept the people waiting; and he flattered himself that -this was due to his office as Seer, as if the office made the man, -and not man the office. - -The people waited; they had long since learned to wait, and to wait -upon others. The Seer then raised his hands heavenward and spake; -a message so ancient that its form now sounds archaic, from before -Abraham, from Job, from primitive man; a poet of the Vedas of the -South, or a historian of the Northern Sagas, might have said it each -after his own fashion; it is recorded in the Holy Bible, the truth -from the beginning. - - - THE MESSAGE OF THE SEER. - - “The God of thy fathers hath sent me.” - - The people respected the speaker--messenger--apostle--the one sent. - - “I know that my Bondsman, my Redeemer, liveth.” - - The people were glad there was some one to call upon in time of - trouble. - - “Thou shalt not be afraid of destruction when it cometh, at - destruction and famine thou shalt laugh. The Almighty shall deliver - thee in six troubles; yea! in seven there shall no evil touch thee; - therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Thou - shalt be hid from the scourge, even the scourge of the tongue; it - shall not come nigh thee. I know that my Redeemer-Bondsman liveth! - and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” - -Such was the message, god-like, short and to the point; natural, -personal, spiritual; the Trinity in Speech. - -The first message of Truth Immortal signaled from the Fortress of the -Primitive in nature; signaled from the “hills whence cometh our Help.” - -This thrilling message was heard around the world, in all religions -in some mysterious form or degree. A divine utterance, original, it -has continued to resound through all the ages. It was the beginning -of Hope, the assurance of Help, from “Our Father who art”--art “ever -present.” - -The primitive populace wondered at the wisdom of their Seer; his -strange words which spoke of the God of their fathers, as if He -would help them and would save them from destruction. They then, at -first, thought little of that historical significance of the message -which referred to His coming to the earth at a “latter day,” perhaps -after they themselves had departed; they were interested only in the -present. They wanted Him now; why would He not come at once? - -The Seer satisfied them, explaining by application of the message -sent to them each individually. He did it in his own way. The Seer -had seen according to his capacity then and there; he continued to -preach as he had ability. - -“The Good Spirit is here. I heard Him above the wind and storm. I saw -Him when He took me to the seventh-heaven where I did see more than -I do now. But He is here!--the thunderings and lightnings were the -noise of His horn (trumpet), and the light of His Countenance?--the -dust you saw was the mountain smoking under Him.” - -The people trembled with dread of what their Seer had seen. - -“I saw the Evil Spirits driven before Him, as the torrent drives the -wild beasts from the forest; and when He made a scourge of small -cords He drove them from his Temple as sheep and oxen are driven. -Some had disguised themselves as those who sold doves--they fled at -His approach. Deceivers offered Him money, to tempt--He overthrew -their tables, tore their shams (hypocrisy) to shreds, and banished -them from His sight. And they cried: Peace! peace! and there was no -peace.” - -The populace thought of demons let loose, and of a “hell upon earth.” -The Seer instantly thrust home his vivid thoughts: - -“You, yourselves, saw how He cleared the sky! You, yourselves, know -how His rains and storms cleaned out the dirt and sickness. You saw -it! You saw it yourselves! You sent up the sweet odor! You made the -sacrifice! See how you were answered, your prayers answered.” - -And a great shout went up: “We did! We saw it! a miracle! when the -sun shone again.” - -And then the Seer closed with a statement so terrible, that none in -reason, among them, could doubt the truth depicted: - -“These are they--these evil ones--who fell into deserted graves; -graves that men walk over them and are not aware of them.” - -The hearers shivered with abhorrence--the direful thought! deserted -graves! terrible consequence of disrespect to ancestors, frightful -neglect of ancestral veneration, abhorrent disrespect to that source -from which they had received their being, as the Great Good Spirit -had granted them life. - -Thus ended the Seer’s message, and his own application of it. Such -was the imagery he used, such the emotion he endeavored to portray -and to excite. And yet, with all his flights, from the Divine -Message to the human application, this Primitive Primate of Nature’s -Cathedral had been profound. He had touched upon the three great -facts in things as they are, and reasonably shall be: - -“Dependence, Right Living, Eternal Security.” - -Or, to employ another category of later date in Asia: - -“Thought, Being, Joy.” (Hindoo formula for Brahm.) - -Or another, philosophic: - -“Science, Morality, Religion.” - -Or as Christianity teaches: - -“Faith, Hope, Love.” - -And when seen as “The Light of the World”: - - “The Almighty, the Saviour, the Holy Spirit of Truth, Immanuel.” - - * * * * * - - “The Soul of Man is the candle of the Lord.” - - --PHILLIPS BROOKS. - - - - - XXXVIII - - INTERMEZZO--THE VOICE IN NATURE - - Cathedral Orchestra and Organ. - Chorus, with Divine Solos. - - O Man! Blessed is thine inquisitiveness--to learn and to know: - Cursed is thine inquisition of others. - O Man! Blessed is thy longing--to look upwards and beyond: - Cursed is thy willingness to sink downwards; - Where vice brings vileness in its train. - O Man! Blessed is thine altruism--to help others: - Cursed is thy selfishness, to bury thy talent of help. - - Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness--for - they shall be filled. - Blessed are they who seek the Truth--for they shall know. - Blessed are they who follow the Way--for they shall attain. - Seek and ye shall find. Knock!--it shall be opened. - I have the words-- - The Words of Eternal Life. - - Arise! O Soul! I say to thee, Come forth! - The Truth hath made thee free. - Arise! O Soul! and stretch thy wings; - Thy better portion seek. - Arise! and soar! towards greater things, - Enlightenment--and Peace. - Peace and Rest--Rest in Peace. - I am the Resurrection--and the Life. - - -This triple comprehensive chorus from nature, with its Divine Solos, -was heard by both Professor Cultus and the Doctor with profound -feeling and a deep sense of responsibility. They had never heard an -inner voice (solo) blending with sounds in nature (chorus) quite like -this. And a veritable intermezzo in their experience, a recitative -of the wonderful harmonious truths in nature accompanying the pure -melody of Christ’s words; and corroborated by others who knew Him, -personally. All so true when sung in concert of harmony and rhythm; -the sacred music of this sphere. - -It seemed as if the Voices sang of truth ever present, ever active, -with men at work or a man at rest. All who entered the Door of Truth -in experience had the Words of Eternal Life spoken unto them; and the -words implied action, greater light, intelligence, and peace; rest -from trouble, in an immortal active existence--a life immortal: - -“Activity for all our powers, and power for all our activities.”[1] - - * * * * * - -Such was the deep impression made in the Himalaya Cathedral upon the -elder members of the party. Being elderly they saw things that way. -How about the younger members? Youth does not see things in nature as -elders do; youth has much to learn yet; and old heads rarely grow on -young shoulders. - -Adele had insisted upon going to a greater height up the mountains. -She longed to reach some high summit. She wished to lose nothing of -the lofty that could be reached; and neither Paul nor the Doctor -failed to second her motion. - - - - - XXXIX - - ON A PINNACLE IN NATURE - - -From the time that this region of the Himalayas first impressed -itself as a Cathedral upon the mind of Adele, an idealist, she -invariably spoke of the various natural beauties of the locality as -parts of the Grand Edifice. - -“This Cathedral has magnificent proportions. I must explore it, and -go all over it, from crypt to dome, visit the baptistry, and, as the -Doctor says, ‘mount upon a pinnacle;’” then musingly: “I should like -to attend a service.” - -“All right,” said Doctor Wise, the liberal, “we can have a service of -some sort, even if we are obliged to read prayers ourselves.” - -“It would be better to have the natives officiate--one of the local -bishops,” said Adele. - -“He would not have Apostolic succession,” said Paul, of Non-conformist -proclivities. - -“Apostolic, nevertheless,” remarked Professor Cultus, who habitually -looked at things from a literary point of view. “He would consider -himself sent by some one--that makes him apostolic. He would -have been ‘called’ to preach, or to write, or to do something, -fundamentally apostolic, if he is a true man.” - -“I should like to see a primitive cassock or stole,” said Miss -Winchester, who was inclined to ritualism, “and a real old-time monk -with his beads and a rope around his waist.” - -“You shall,” said the Doctor, “and we will investigate to see whether -the clergy face towards the East.” - -“Not here,” said Adele promptly; “they would not if they knew.” - -“Why not?” exclaimed Miss Winchester. - -“Because they must look up.” - -“Oh, of course.” - -“Northward, I mean--up north.” - -“What has that got to do with it?” - -“It’s towards the centre of things--the pole star in the heavens.” - -“Dear me!” said Miss Winchester, “you’re so ‘broad’, you’ll flatten -out, become thin. I don’t like my bread buttered too thin; but tell -me, Adele, why here, in this place?” - -“This Cathedral is so constructed.” - -Miss Winchester said she had not before observed it in that light. - -“Which way shall we start?” inquired Paul. - -“For a good view, down the nave,” said Adele. “Let’s ask a verger to -show us around.” - -The verger presented himself in the person of a Bhootan peasant -astride of a Manchu pony, and leading others saddled for members of -the party. - -“I’m not accustomed to attending church on horseback,” remarked Miss -Winchester. “But I rather like the idea.” - -“Our ancestors did; often two on the same pony,” laughed Paul. -“That’s why I like it; heredity, I suppose.” - -“It strikes me it was a case of go-as-you-please with our primitive -ancestors,” said the Doctor, jovial. “That’s why we all like it.” - -“If you mean liberty in worship,” whispered Adele, “that’s why it -suits me.” - -“That’s about it,” thought the Doctor. - -This was as they ascended Mt. Senshal towards Tiger Head. The valley -below was filled with cloud-billows which the cool morning air still -kept intact, the atmosphere above more clear and transparent. As they -and the sun rose higher and higher the cloud-billows became vapor, -and the mist twirled amid the foliage of the forest, or was dissolved -and disappeared in the general atmosphere. - -The Bhootan verger took them to a lofty crest from which they could -look down the vista of the valley, and before them the nave of the -Cathedral. Verdant hills lifted their heads on either side, making -a sky-line as lofty as many in the Alps; yet here they were merely -spurs of the mighty range beyond. - -A pause. Adele stood gazing through the Nave; and there was the -congregation, a world-full, at her feet. - -Some one suggested to Paul that he ask her to sing. The request -seemed injudicious just then and there, but some people have no sixth -sense. Paul drew up his pony near hers while she was still absorbed -in the prospect. It certainly was inopportune, but he ventured: - -“If my voice would carry, I should try to sing. How do you feel about -it, Adele?” - -She shook her head. - -“No? you don’t feel like singing! That’s not like you!” - -“I like it too much, that’s why.” - -“Oh, is that it?” - -“Not here--I could not.” - -“Where?” - -“Perhaps--perhaps in the choir, when they have service.” - -Evidently she had her own ideas about sentiments appropriate in -this Cathedral. There was a place and time for all things. This was -not the time nor place to make herself prominent, not even with the -divine art; rather the time for meditation upon the infinite grandeur -of the scene. - -And the verger took them to other points of view, even as far as -Tongloo (altitude 10,000 feet), and Sunkukphoo (altitude 12,000 -feet), consuming several days for these journeys. Over hill and dale -they went, from the Forest Bungalow mounting to Goom Rock; passing -by the pools (porkri) on to the Manay Bhunjun (temple); up zigzags to -a way-station hut. They passed through bamboo groves, and were off -and on their ponies as the route became too steep for riding. The -view at Tongloo was comprehensive and superb. Then they continued on -by descending, before surmounting another range; past waterfalls, -towards the base of Pionothumna Hills (S. E.); to rise again rapidly -by endless zigzags, seventeen at one time alone, towards the Kala -Porkri, a loftier point than they had yet reached; then more zigzags, -much puffing and blowing, through pines; then across the country, the -open upon a high level; and finally up and up, terrific pull, higher -and higher, by what Adele called the Himalaya Ladder, as extended as -Jacob’s, twenty-five zigzags in succession, a steep climb and hard -work, requiring an extra pair of wings, and double-bellows lungs--to -the summit at Sunkukphoo. - -“Out on the roof!” exclaimed Miss Winchester. - -“Among the flying buttresses,” thought the Professor. - -“On a pinnacle of the Temple!” exclaimed the Doctor. - -“All the world beneath us,” said Paul in admiration. - -“All but those Delectable Mountains,” thought Adele, glancing at -once towards the snowy peaks which still towered above them at an -elevation of some twenty-nine thousand feet. - -They stood in the presence of mountains five and a half miles high, -with comparatively little intervening; in the presence of some of -the highest summits upon the globe, and themselves literally on a -pinnacle.[2] - -The sublimity of the Himalayas, now enhanced by greater proximity of -the beholder, presented a more pictorial effect than heretofore: the -grouping of the Trio of Mountains a composition from the Artistic -Mind of Nature; an inspiration full of aspiration, for the earth -itself seemed inspired by a desire to ascend. Such was the first -impression. - -Attention was at once focused upon the Three Eternal Peaks, rather -than the extended Snowy Range which on either side disappeared in the -dim distance; and the forms and arrangement of the landscape seemed -almost ideal. Imagination might have conjured up such a tableau, but -its realization and potency in spiritual influences would hardly have -been expected as reasonable--the constant ascension of jagged glacial -ever-pointing summits (material substance) towards the Celestial -unseen realm of azure blue. Yet, there it was--an actuality--fixing -itself in the mind’s eye and on the physical retina, to be remembered -ever afterwards. - -In the centre rose the Majesty of the Mountains, the Majestic Father -Peak, clad in Nature’s robes of State Existence; simple in outline, -exquisite in texture, the dignified sweep of lines and folds, -draperies and half-hidden illusive forms seemingly mysterious which -characterized the vestments of Nature’s Royal Presence--robes of -state flowing from the heavens above to the earth beneath. - -Through the crystal atmosphere one could distinguish Celestial -Valleys, and ravines set amid rugged crags and mountain “needles” of -stone attenuated to an extent greater than any Cathedral spire ever -constructed by man: and in and about the deeper recesses were local -mists and hazy atmosphere, as if to hinder or prevent too inquisitive -curiosity as to the hidden depths within. Curious and admirable -indeed was this seemingly mysterious element in Nature; yet, verily -not so, not mysterious, but only secrets yet to be explored and -divulged by scientific research. - -Although the tourists had thus ascended heavenward somewhat -differently from Jacob’s angels with wings, rather upon winged -ponies following the legendary hero upon his white horse; yet when -they arrived, the after-effects were quite according to ordinary -experience. - -Miss Winchester was the first to illustrate her human nature under -such conditions. The altitude affected her peculiarly, not as it did -the others. - -“No wonder,” said she, “that some people are tempted to jump off when -they find themselves on high places!--the exhilaration is intense. -There is a fascination in the depth, it draws one; it makes me feel -as if I could sail off in space, like the birds.” - -“Be careful,” thought the Doctor, moving near her to steady her -nerves, if necessary. - -“It is as if I should spread my arms--and leap!” cried she. “I could -sail on the air like the eagle; there is no thought of danger.” - -“No danger! no danger!” instantly shouted the Bhootan pony driver, -noticing her actions which spoke quite as loud as her words. “No -danger! my horses are sure-footed. No danger with me! The Good -Spirits take care of all I bring, and will not let them dash their -foot against the stones;” and he continued to praise his sure-footed -ponies as able to carry anyone with safety. Miss Winchester concluded -to dismount, nevertheless, and the Doctor assisted her. - -Adele began to feel nervous; the atmosphere being rarefied, and she -more sensitive than the others, it told upon her physically, and at -the same time affected her spiritually. She was glad that Paul kept -his pony next hers. - -“What is it? are you tired?” asked Paul, noting her pallor. - -“No! it’s so really high; we’re so high I don’t feel easy--it’s not -natural; it takes my breath away.” - -“Oh, then you feel the effect of the thin air; open your mouth wide -and get the air on both sides of your ear-drums. The pressure will -then be even; you’ll feel better.” Adele did so and felt more at ease. - -“How resourceful you are, Paul--so practical; that pressure was -becoming too much for me--I felt faint.” Then after looking around -for some time and observing other things, she remarked with -considerable energy, yet serious: - -“These pinnacle views are too much!” - -“What is it now?” asked Paul. - -“Why--look before you--those are mountains beneath us, yet they look -flat.” - -“Yes, they do.” - -“They are neither picturesque nor artistic, when you look down upon -them.” - -“Then don’t look at them, my dear! Look at me.” - -Adele smiled, but continued in her mood. - -“Paul! from above, those mountains are not true to nature, they are -not mountains at all.” - -“From your point of view, no.” - -“From here, the world is all out of drawing, it does not give you a -true idea of itself.” - -“It certainly doesn’t look very round,” remarked Paul; “it’s rather -concave, with the horizon as high up as we are.” - -“No, the idea is not true,” continued Adele; “seen from here, one -might think our journey had been over a flat country--easy to walk -over--but you know it wasn’t.” - -Paul laughed. “No, it wasn’t, my saddle tells me so--it was a hard -road to travel. But the view! that’s all right; Adele, it is the -grandest we have seen. I never expect to see anything finer.” - -“It’s too grand for me--it overwhelms.” - -“How, Adele?” - -“I’m deceived, in so many ways; deceived as to distance and heights, -and I can’t tell what I’m looking at. There now--over there, is a -large bare place, I suppose, but it looks like a small field; and -just the reverse, there is a clump of foliage, it may be a jungle -with tigers, although from here it looks so harmless.” - -“Oh, but you must use your common sense and gumption, and not be -misled by experiences.” - -“Indeed! Well, what do you call that?” - -“Where?” - -“That thing over there--what is it?” pointing with her whip. - -Paul looked. Far away an irregular cloud-like something stood out -clearly as if raised above the surface of the earth; it gleamed or -glistened faintly in the distance, but being irregular in form, -light in color, and doubtless lifted up because it appeared so, Paul -pronounced it to be a cloud drifting between the lower hills. - -“No, Mr. Common Sense with gumption, it is a lake--the pony man just -told me so; the reflection makes it stand up above the forest. I -don’t think much of common sense that mistakes a mud-puddle for a -cloud, do you?” - -“Then we won’t photograph it, for cloud effects,” said Paul, feeling -less sure of himself. - -“Paul, these high places give a sort of false perspective. I don’t -know how to describe it, but it takes too much common sense to get -correct impressions. I don’t like to be deceived, especially about -things so intensely interesting; or when I’m doing my best to see, -and I don’t see the real thing in return.” - -“Well, keep your head level; if I had been on the lower level I -wouldn’t have been mistaken about that lake.” - -“That’s just it,” said Adele. “No ifs are allowed on pinnacles,” and -on the instant her pony gave a lurch which threatened to unseat her. -She pulled him up sharply, and in so doing was thrown forward, into -a most uncomfortable position, on the pommel of her saddle. Bracing -up she tugged at the reins, drawing them tighter than was necessary, -which only made the animal more restive. Paul patted the beast on the -neck, and held him until the guide approached. - -The Bhootanese came up, swearing outrageously in his native lingo; -declaring that the very devil was in the beast. He had bragged about -his sure-footed ponies, but had not mentioned that they, too, when -in unaccustomed places and particularly on elevations where the -air was thin, were apt to become restless, and were then given to -shyings and backings and misbehaviors quite foreign to them when -on a lower level. The pony was anxious to get down and return -home; the beast knew what was best for him. His Bhootanese master, -enraged at the animal for behaving so, swore until the air was full -of Himalaya imps, Bhootanese blue-devils, Nepaulese demons, and a -varied assortment of ejaculatory grunts, both human and equine, all -summoned for the occasion. Even in Occidental parlance it might be -said that the Devil and his imps had been summoned to meet there on -the pinnacle. - -Fortunately this assortment of demon-devils were of native -production; therefore not recognizable by the rest of the party; -although not unknown to the ponies, who soon quieted down. - -Miss Winchester, completely surrounded by the ejaculations, of course -secured a choice assortment for literary purposes; she and the demons -seemed to have it all their own way for the time being. - -Adele was so preoccupied with keeping her seat in the saddle that -she was conscious of neither imps nor sounds, but after peace was -restored she turned to Paul: - -“That man swore, didn’t he?” - -“Yes, like a trooper.” - -“Well, tell him the Bad Spirit will catch him if he does that sort of -thing.” - -“Then, perhaps, he’ll set the Old Boy on us.” - -“I would like to see what the Bhootanese Old Boy is like, if he -doesn’t scare my pony.” - -“What would you do if you’d see him?” - -“Tell him to keep his eye on his servant here--this mule! But we’ll -have no more trouble now, this pony only needs watching.” - -“You held on first-rate.” - -“Yes, but I didn’t come up here to watch a mule; I came for something -better.” - -“Let me rub his nose,” said Paul, leaning over, making friends with -the pony. - -Adele, who was indeed rather shaken up and agitated by the incident, -continued to feel nervous. She finally spoke: - -“Would you like to know, Paul, how this really makes me feel--this -being so high up in the world?” - -“Yes; I’d like to know how being elevated above the level of ordinary -experience affects you.” - -“Well! sitting on a pinnacle, as the Doctor calls it, is a fraud.” - -“You really think so!” - -“Yes, it is deluding; it demands more than I can manage; it takes -entirely too much time trying to hold on.” - -“What do you propose to do about it?” - -“Why, get down--to our own level--soon as possible.” - -There had come into their experience one phase of the great Asiatic -lesson to humanity, namely; to be content in the position, humble or -exalted, to which they had been born. The things seen had actually -embodied things unseen. - - - - - XL - - A GLIMPSE OF TAOISM - - -After the exhilarating ascent and sudden descent from Sunkukphoo, -Adele expressed a desire to see the valleys. “We’ve been on the roof -garden, amid the flying buttresses; let us visit the cloisters, and -see the crypt.” - -The Bhootan verger led the way along the pony-path in front of -their Peek-o’-Tip-Bungalow, to the left--the descent was rapid. The -mountains closed in upon them. Rhododendrons as lofty as oaks shaded -them from the outer world. A strikingly beautiful region of another -type, where blossoms fringed the trees against the azure blue; -and what was still more beautiful, there were bouquets of scarlet -appearing against the snow-fields and glaciers. - -“What striking contrasts!” exclaimed Paul, “yet the effect is not -overdone; it’s quite natural.” - -“Nothing seems overdone in this Cathedral,” said Adele, not dreaming -what she was about to encounter. Miss Winchester helped her out. “I -must make a sketch of these wonderful contrasts; it will suggest a -superb color-scheme for an embroidered altar cloth. I wish I knew one -of the monks or ecclesiastics in charge here; we could ask him to -show us the vestments in the Sacristy.” - -Miss Winchester’s wish for a monk was soon gratified. A turn in -the road brought them face to face with a Taoist Temple; a row of -so-called young monks sat upon the ground before the door. The -Lamas wore masks, as well as parti-colored garments, and they -carried long, slender bell trumpets, which they kindly tooted to -the accompaniment of cracked drums. The colors of their vestments -and costume in general were æsthetic as a patchwork quilt from the -revolutionary period of Sally Ross--only far more ancient. - -Mrs. Cultus and Miss Winchester, both Colonial Dames, were at once -sentimentally affected by the color schemes and the designs of these -very old historical vestments. It was impossible to be “moved” by -their artistic excellence, so their historical value became at once -more important to notice. As to the masks, they were supposed to -represent demons, being in design diabolical, no doubt very true to -the life; and the trumpets shrill. - -Adele and the Doctor had little appreciation for the crude colors, or -the terrific din. The latter, finding himself an unwilling listener -to a “Rhapsodie Lamanesque” on drums, searched for something to stuff -in his ears to soften the sound; he would have been willing to put -his fist in the bell of the leading trumpet, but such things were -inopportune. The effect was startling in the extreme; so very abrupt -after the exquisite tone-color contrasts they had just been admiring. -In fact, even their Manchu ponies halted, and wagged their ears to -shake off the sound. Adele’s animal turned one ear backward and the -other forward in astonishment. - -Adele gave a new twist to the old line: “Where every prospect pleases -and only the music is vile.” - -Miss Winchester’s churchly expectations received a severe shock, for -in this Cathedral monks were grotesque; but still they were monks, -although the ideal peaceful life of a monk did not appear. - -Curiosity got the better of Paul; he was off his pony and confabbing -with the Lamas before the others had recovered from their amazement. -A Lama took off his mask to allow his own voice to be heard more -distinctly. He was a young fellow and rather good-looking, although -shaven with a tonsure; and quite as healthy in appearance as many a -monk who advocated asceticism. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying the -racket and also the masquerade. They were all of them, the Lamas, not -unlike a party of children playing at “theatre” in a nursery. - -“Come,” said Paul, “we are invited to enter--it is one of your -chapels, Adele.” - -The Taoist Temple was an unpretentious, one-storied structure, of -small dimensions, with projecting eaves. To the heathen inquisitives -who accepted this invitation, it proved to be a curio shop without -and within. Under the eaves were set vertically, into the front and -side walls, cylinders about two feet high and a foot in diameter -each, a double row, each cylinder held in position by a vertical -spindle through the middle. The double rows extended around these -three sides of the building. - -The Chief Lama entered by the central door, the foreign heathen -following him. Passing around the interior, he gave each cylinder -a smart spank with the flat of his hand, causing it to revolve -rapidly on its vertical spindle. In a moment all were in motion, and -the whole house buzzing. The cylinders were reeling off prayers by -machinery at a rapid rate; and the Lama, holding his simple rosary -made of beans, stood ready to accelerate any particular cylinder -which lagged behind. - -There could be no doubt as to the exact intention, the sincerity -and consequent efficacy of such prayers, simply because the proper -wording for a prayer was printed upon a slip of paper carefully -wrapped around the spindle inside the cylinder. Even if one’s -thoughts did wander, the printed matter did not--the machine did -the rest. All the worshipers had to do was to obey orders to attend -service, and whirl the machine; the Lamas would take care of these -wheels both inside and out, and would also give any stranger within -their gates a little wheel for hand use, to take home with him, if he -chose to pay for it. - -Mrs. Cultus, who was still far from strong, no sooner entered the -Temple than she found herself surrounded by buzzing wheels on three -sides of the room; the fourth side occupied by what she called a -“cabinet of curios.” So many rotary prayers, whirling simultaneously, -were very confusing, especially as some of the wheels prayed in one -direction and some others in just the opposite. Mrs. Cultus soon -grasped the situation, however. - -“I must have one. They are the most convenient things I ever saw. I -did not know these Taoists had such Yankee notions in this line.” - -An innocent (_sic_) Lama promptly offered to sell her a small wheel, -which, upon her return, she discovered had been especially adapted -to heathen requirements. The thoughtful Lama had removed some of -his own prayers and had substituted items for which he knew the -Christians were constantly praying. He had inserted slips cut from -advertisements in the bazaar. - -“Wanted, to rent--a bungalow! Wanted, bachelor’s quarters with good -drainage! Wanted, a good ayah (nurse);” and he had also kindly left -those petitions which all humanity should offer, of course: - -“Wanted, a baby; boy preferred. Girls need not apply.” - -It was lucky that Mrs. Cultus did not discover the tenor of these new -prayers until later, or she might have felt constrained to preach -a heathen sermon herself to the innocent Lamas in that chapel. At -this time, however, she held the wheel in her hand, twirling it, -innocently praying (according to the service interpretation) for what -would have surprised her greatly had her prayers been answered. - -The Lama felt well pleased. The heathens were doing as they were -told. In time they would make good Taoists. - -Miss Winchester also took much interest in this service, but with a -tinge of the missionary spirit which had escaped Mrs. Cultus. - -“It is curious, isn’t it?” said she. “I feel like spinning round -and round, myself--not alone, like those dancing dervishes we saw -at Cairo; I want a partner. But I can’t decide which wheel to -choose--curious, isn’t it?” - -“I would not have believed it,” said Adele, “if I had not seen it. -It affects my eyes in exactly the same way that my ears are affected -when a congregation repeat the same words over and over again without -thinking what they are saying.” - -“It is very monotonous,” said Paul. “I suppose the Lamas use wheels -to save talking--possibly to save preaching; it does save the sermon, -yet brings people to church.” - -“It must amuse them, too,” said Adele; “they are only children, you -know.” - -“But grown-up children,” remarked the Doctor. - -“Yes, and that reminds me; I’ve heard before of folk condemned for -much speaking without thinking, and for sounding trumpets in the -synagogue and streets; we’ve certainly found it here by the roadside.” - -The scene thus far had been antipathetic to Adele, to both her -artistic and to her religious sense; still her sympathy for the poor -Taoists was excited. The real missionary spirit arose within her; -but what could she do? It seemed preposterous to attempt or to say -anything just then; she turned toward Doctor Wise. - -The Doctor was standing near a very old woman who had just entered, a -poor creature in rags and tatters, her face smeared with dried blood -and other red pigments, a veritable hag in outer appearance, bowed -down with hard work and suffering. Even the Lamas made way for her, -however, for she was known to be a very devout old creature, who -spent much time in the Temple, who almost lived there; in fact, she -was a sort of priestess among them, the very priestess who had heard -Adele singing on the heights above her, and had said it was the Good -Spirits talking in the air. - -The poor old soul had come to her customary holy place, and was -now evidently surprised to find it invaded by such a coterie of -strangers. Her attitude of intense curiosity soon changed to an -obsequious inclination of the body--the poor creature was doing her -very best to meet the case, to welcome them to her temple. - -Adele felt drawn to her because she was so hideous to behold--so -sure is it that extremes will meet if truth is in each. Both being -sincere, each after her own fashion, the poor Taoist quickly -appreciated when one of her own sex came nearer to her; and an -experience altogether truthful followed. - -The eyes of the priestess surveyed Adele from hat to shoes; and -womanly instinct once gratified, her eyes brightened. Adele smiled -responsively; utterly forgetful that she herself was indeed -beautiful, her heart went straight forward in visible sympathy with -the poor creature before her. - -The light in those old Taoist eyes became still brighter--it was -wonderful this time--with that Asiatic fire which characterizes the -religious enthusiast. An idea had evidently struck the priestess; -what was it? - -Turning from Adele she hobbled across the room, each step an effort, -to where stood an enormous prayer-wheel over six feet high, the most -important wheel in the Temple. Squatting on the floor beside it, she -fumbled under it as if trying to find something. - -It was Adele’s turn to be curious. - -The priestess, now fired by religious zeal, drew from underneath an -iron bar bent at one end, not unlike a heavy poker. She adjusted it -underneath to a crank on the wheel, and began tugging and struggling. - -Paul exclaimed at once: “She’s trying to start that immense machine!” - -“It looks so,” said Adele quietly. - -“To pray with that is hard work.” - -“She is not conscious of the effort.” - -“Well, I should be.” - -“I never knew before what it meant,” said Adele. - -“What?” - -“Why, to pray with all your strength--don’t you see?” - -“Yes.” - -“She has a motive to give her strength; I see it in her eyes.” - -“Possibly! but don’t tell me you can detect motives in people’s eyes.” - -“I can; she is a woman, you are not.” - -“I give it up,” said Paul. “You have the advantage of me in feminine -insight; what is her motive?” - -“To pray for us,” said Adele seriously. “I feel sure of it; the good -old soul, she looks it and acts it; she’s going to pray.” - -“By machinery?” - -“It is for us, I tell you, Paul; I don’t care if she doesn’t say a -word; she’s doing it for us!--don’t you see her?” - -“Oh!” - -“Watch, and pray yourself, and you will see.” - -Paul watched, but he couldn’t pray, not just then, so he whispered: -“Taoists and Buddhists don’t pray, anyhow--they only mutter.” - -“Well, no matter, nor mutter either,” said Adele. “It’s the way they -get at it. She is not beautiful, but she has something better--she -can----” - -“Use machinery,” muttered Paul, the incorrigible. “No, Adele, she is -not handsome----” - -“No, but she is good and true, poor old woman. If I had to make the -choice, I would rather have her prayerful spirit than even beauty.” - -Paul looked at the lovely girl to whom he was betrothed, and thought -her an enthusiast quite equal to the old woman; then upon second -thought: - -“Adele!” - -“Well?” - -“I suppose you are right, but I’m glad you don’t look like her.” - -While they watched, the poor priestess was still tugging at her -wheel; she had but little strength and it was so heavy. None of her -people offered to help. - -Adele’s interest increased, until a glow came into her eyes also; -seizing Paul by the arm, she whispered: - -“It’s--it’s too much for her, Paul; see! she cannot move it. You must -help--no, I;” and the next instant Adele was beside the Taoist on the -floor; each helping the other to turn the wheel, each trying to pray -according to her own previous experience. Adele said afterwards it -took about all the strength she had. - -Between them, the wheel began to turn slowly, very slowly; the dead -weight, the inertia, the figurative indifference to be overcome was -typical of mundane matters generally, forming a heavy impediment to -be overcome in spiritual relationship. But the wheel did move, the -momentum increased, it gained force, and was soon revolving at a -good rate of speed by the sole effort of the poor, weak, but sincere -Taoist. - -Adele slipped aside, and stood listening to the low musical hum of -the large machine instead of the sharp buzzing of the smaller wheels -she had heard before. Her musical ear at once noticed the profound -difference in the tone; it sounded solemn--aye, sweet and peaceful; -if continued it would be a veritable lullaby dominated by spiritual -significance; it would be truly musical, spiritual music; all the -greater harmonies condensed in one solemn tone; a single spiritual -tone. The greatest orchestra of man could do no more. - -Could it be possible that this wild priestess was also affected by -the sacred solemn sound? Do even the crude forms of religion have -such subtle distinctions of feeling? Do they not, as well as we, -hear the solemn sounds in nature? Why not? Nature’s tones are full -of significance. And who would “know” this better than those who -worship in the forest where the trees bow their heads and the leaves -rustle; or by the stream where zephyrs blow and the birds warble; or -before the majestic mountains when the rushing mighty wind blows its -diapason, and the avalanche gives the basal note at the end? Such -are the nocturnes, the largos, aye, the symphonic sounds in nature. -Does not a “nature-worshiper” hear them? They have been from the -beginning, are now, and ever shall be. - -Strange, oh, passing strange, the low tone of this mighty wheel now -sounded much like nature’s tones in harmony with one at her devotions. - -“I have heard the Taoist organ,” thought Adele, “its sacred solemn -sound.” - -But for this solemn music, there was silence in the Temple while the -Taoist muttered. - -So long as the strangers remained in that Cathedral chapel the huge -wheel continued to revolve--emblem of perpetual prayer--praying -without ceasing. The priestess who thus prayed had much to say--to -repeat--being old, and with little time left in which to say her -prayers. She kept on, oblivious to all surroundings, absorbed in -contemplation of the unseen; for with all humanity there is nothing -so real as the unseen. She kept on oblivious to all the outer world -who might be gazing with curiosity; she remained crouched on the -floor of the Temple, simply muttering, over and over again, some -mystic phrase or the name of Buddha, which none of the strangers -could understand. - -When the party left she was still praying after her fashion. As they -mounted their ponies and journeyed out into the great world, she -was still meditating on the best she knew, as the Good Spirit had -taught her. As they descended the ravine, Adele could still hear the -hum of the wheels; and above all the low solemn tone was profoundly -significant. It now came to her from above, through the tree-tops; it -blended with the rustling of the leaves, and was lost in the sough of -the forest. - - - - - XLI - - PROCESSIONAL BEFORE THE VEIL - - -Atmospheric changes were varied and rapid in the vicinity of the -Himalaya “Five Peaks of Eternal Snow.” Clear days were by no means -constant around Darjeeling. There were periods when “the view -towards the chancel,” as Adele called it, was obstructed; days when -the clouds hung low, even resting upon the forests in the ravines -beneath. Yet the forms of the trees were not always hid, they -appeared as darker lines of delicate tracery against the lighter -background. - -At such times Adele idealized with much refinement of vision. “Those -trees are the rood-screen; I can see through into the chancel when -it is clear; but to-day the chancel is misty, the clouds hang like a -veil. It is astonishing how much is hidden by fog and mist in nature; -that veil hides a great deal.” - -The Doctor also was very appreciative of such atmospheric changes, -since they often resulted in superb effects, cloud scenery, sunbursts -never to be forgotten for their magnificence. - -It thus happened while they were all assembled on a Saturday evening -discussing projects for the morrow, that Adele and the Doctor each -felt the impulse to rise early on the same morning to watch some of -the atmospheric changes which made beautiful the dawn. - -The Doctor remembered having seen remarkable effects at Banff in the -Rockies; and Adele recalled having met Tartarin de Tarascon on the -Righi pretty early in the morning; no doubt there might be some -greater things than these to be found among the Himalayas. Why it -was, that only these two of the party should have been so moved, -and upon the same particular morning, and without saying anything -about it previously, the Doctor could never quite understand; unless -on the general principle that if people will follow their natural -inclinations to see the best in life they need not be surprised -to find others doing the same thing at the same time. When they -discussed it subsequently, Adele accounted for it in her own way. - -“I so often dislike to make the necessary effort. That sort of effort -is very trying, when to see something extra which I know can be seen -I must force myself. Getting up early, for instance; I don’t like -getting up early as a general thing, but I just forced myself to do -so on that morning.” - -Thus it happened to be the first day of the week very early in the -morning that she and the Doctor found themselves abroad when it was -yet somewhat dark. Adele was the first to appear upon the scene; she -was standing in the road opposite Peek-o’-Tip when the Doctor came -out of the bungalow. Neither one was in the mood for conversation, -and the morning air was fresh. After the first agreeable surprise -Adele put her arm in his and they moved off together briskly. She -was in sympathy with him also, as with Paul, but the mutual feeling -manifested itself very differently. The cloud hung low. - -“The sun will drink up the mist,” remarked the Doctor in peasant -parlance. - -“I hope so, but I never can tell. Let us go to Observatory Hill; -that’s the best place.” She seemed to take it as a matter of course -that they each had the same object in view. - -“Your Cathedral is gloomy,” said the Doctor, looking around. - -“One can’t see the chancel.” - -“No.” - -“It’s the veil,” said Adele, thoughtful. - -“What did you say?” - -“The cloud-curtains, the veil of the Temple is down.” - -After walking some distance they entered a grove; of course it became -still darker because they entered the grove. What they did not notice -was that the clouds, instead of dispersing, were becoming more dense. -They only remembered that the path led upwards towards higher ground -in the open. - -At one point on the way Adele stopped, and looked into a dark glen -where she said she heard running water. The Doctor pushed aside -bushes that stood in the way, and they were sprinkled by the moisture -that had condensed on the bushes. If there had been more light they -would have seen the diamond drops upon the scarlet blossoms; but -these were hidden in the shadows at the mouth of the glen. - -Before them was an exquisite cascade falling over rocks; coming down -the mountain it was tossed upon either side of a heavy stone which -had been rolled there in past ages by natural forces, and now stood -with white foam enveloping its rugged sides. - -This unexpected gem of natural scenery compelled them to halt and -admire. - -“What a surprise, how beautiful!” exclaimed Adele. - -“Yes, even in this dull light.” - -“The water looks like delicate cambric.” - -“Why, so it does--draped round the stone; the rocks are sombre and -solemn. You know it is said that some animals, wild and savage, like -to find such places as this to nestle down and take their last long -sleep.” - -“I think I know why, too,” said Adele. - -“Ah!” - -“It is the music of the waterfall perhaps, and the movement too. The -water is so much alive, it’s living water.” - -“All life seeks life,” said the Doctor. “Some sort of companionship; -even a hermit likes the life in his glen. It’s not uncheerful here, -after all, is it--even if it seems gloomy?” - -“No, listen; the waterfall is singing. I could catch the rhythm, and -perhaps a cadence, in a short time if I were to try; it seems to say -something.” - -“What does it say, to you?” - -“Oh, ’tis ‘the water of life repeating,’” said Adele, quoting one of -her favorite lines. “I cannot tell you exactly what it says in words, -but the music in it is hopeful; I love to listen to it.” - -“So do I,” said the Doctor. “Would you like a drink?” - -“Indeed, I would; just for remembrance, to say we have been here -together. Let us take a drink in remembrance.” - -They both drank from a cup made of leaves--both of the same cup--“the -water of life,” as Adele called it; and as they drank a bird flew -down from its nest, perched itself on a rock near the cascade above -them, and drank also; a little bird with a red breast. They did not -see the bird, emblem of suffering unto death for others, and only -took a drop or two themselves, for verily the realities of life made -the glen damp and cold, yet the thought symbolized by the bird was -ever with them and the moment precious. - -“I should like to drink that water always,” said Adele. - -“Always is a long time.” - -“Well, I did not mean exactly that--until----” - -The Doctor waited. - -“Well, if I must tell you, until the resurrection.” - -“I trust we may,” said he solemnly. - -They understood each other perfectly, and after a pause, while the -robin sang a morning hymn, they continued their walk. - -Drops of rain began to fall upon the tree-tops. Adele and the Doctor -caught the sound. - -“Only a little condensation,” said he, “a draught of cooler air has -passed over. We will be out of it in a few minutes.” - -Adele felt chilly, but would not say so. She drew her hooded-wrap -about her, and felt quite safe with the Doctor. - -“A Lepcha shanty is just beyond here,” said he, “if it comes to the -worst we can find shelter.” - -“And plenty of dirt,” thought Adele. “No doubt, lots of insects, -especially on a damp day.” - -The patter of rain increased, a very wet drop fell upon her cheek, -several big drops struck the Doctor full in the face. Having no -umbrellas they hurried along instinctively, then broke into a -trot--then ran to escape as best they could. When crossing an open -space between the woods and the hut the rain fell in torrents. - -“You will be drenched through and through,” said the Doctor. - -“I don’t mind it at all. It’s only on the outside, anyhow, and I’m -warmly clad; still it’s a little chilly--let’s hurry,” and off -she started, the Doctor after her, on a bee-line for the shelter. -Panting, they rushed up to the shanty. - -The hut was almost full--full of Lepchas--men, women and children, -unkempt specimens of humanity whose clothes when once on seemed -seldom to be taken off until they fell off. The Lepchas had also -taken refuge from the storm, and were all wet and bedraggled, like -themselves. - -“A sweet party, truly!” thought the Doctor, and so it was. Poor -natives lying round like drowned rats--the Americans in exterior -appeared not much better; all but Adele’s cheeks which glowed after -the exercise of running. - -She pulled back her hood, and a ripple of smiles played over her -countenance--the Lepchas laughed too. Then as if they were all -friends together, she asked: “Can you take us in--take us in?” and -began shaking the rain from her garments at the outer stone. It must -have been her cheerful manner that induced one of the women to make -room next herself on a seat; the Lepcha men were more stolid, but all -began to move when the strangers entered. - -The Doctor soon detected a goat in the shanty--there was no doubt -about it--and concluded to escape as soon as possible. But there -they were--caught; caught as in a net of circumstances. Little did -he or Adele know to what the circumstances would lead, but he said -afterwards that it reminded him of St. Paul’s experience at Joppa -with a sheet-net full of common things, four-footed beasts and fowls, -unclean things in general; which later on proved not so unclean as he -had at first thought; only in this case Adele and he were inside the -net with the rest. - -Some of the Lepchas knew a few words of English, but the more ancient -universal language of signs and grunts proved to be more useful. -Adele patted a chicken, and a Lepcha damsel patted the young goat, -a kid. Both chicken and kid seemed of special value to the natives. -Adele could not conjecture the reason. When the rain ceased and -they all stepped outside she was further enlightened. Neither the -wet Lepchas nor the bedraggled Christians desired to remain in that -stuffy hut, both hurried to seek the fresh air and to reach the open; -the whole crowd in fact, kid and chicken included. And out they -scrambled, pell-mell, with a unanimity of action as natural as it -was prompt. The natives formed a little group in the open, looking -around to satisfy themselves that the clouds were dispersing. Through -rifts in the mist near them came the clearer morning light, to all, -from whatever part of the earth they had come, a foretaste of the -brightest of days. - -The natives gathered together, a little company, their leader -carrying the kid, a boy following with the fowl, others straggling by -twos and threes, yet now all of sober countenance. - -Adele and the Doctor looked after them; there was evidently some -purpose in the manner of those natives as they proceeded up the hill -towards its crest, to the very place of observation they themselves -had selected for the best view, and where they were going when -they had been arrested by the shower. More than mere curiosity, -a fellow-feeling, now suggested that they all go together; so, -regardless of their wet and soiled garments, Adele and the Doctor -soon found themselves willingly tramping up that hill along with -the ragged natives. The leader looked askance at first, but when -he noticed Adele beside one of his women, and the Doctor with his -men, he made the best of it, accepted the situation, and kept ahead -carrying the kid. - -The path wound upwards, the ascent growing more steep. None could see -far ahead when the processional commenced. Not until their march was -well under way, not until the very last stage of the climb, not until -near approach to the place they sought, not in fact until their own -forms arose above the near foreground, did they witness the Glory in -nature which was, and is, and is to be. - -And as they surmounted the crest of the hill, so did the Celestial -scenery beyond become visible to their mortal eyes, rising before -them a sublime transformation scene--an ascension of truth beautiful -in nature. - -To Adele and the Doctor, a veritable transfiguration of the earth as -they might imagine it glorified on the morning of a Resurrection. - -The mighty summits, the eternal peaks, on this first day of the week, -shone forth in the purer atmosphere of greater altitude, magnificent -in proportions as a work in Creation, impressive in their glorious -grandeur, refulgent as with the sacred glow of a physical rebirth. - -The clouds were moving aside, as a curtain is withdrawn; and from the -depths below, the valley and ravine, from forest and waterfall, rose -the mist. That which covers, screens, or conceals in nature, like -the fog, was passing away; that which is more permanent, ascending -heavenward to form clouds; ascending as incense ascends; incense -symbolic from ages past of the prayers of humanity. - -The Holy of Holies of the Himalaya Cathedral was open before them. - -The Veil of the Temple had been rent in twain. - -[Illustration: As Incense Ascends--Symbolic, from Ages Past, of the -Prayers of Humanity. - -The Kunchingunga Snowy Range. Elevation, 28,156 feet. - -Scene from Observatory Hill, Darjeeling.] - - - - - XLII - - ON HOLY GROUND - - -As the impressive scene unfolded, the Cathedral becoming more -sublimely beautiful each moment, Adele watched the wonderful play -of light--the refulgence. She was also profoundly impressed by the -magnificent proportions of the picture then being illuminated before -her very eyes by the Creator; and felt the breath of life come and go -with emotion. - -“It is the Glorious Beauty of Holiness,” she murmured, and then, kept -silence before Him. - -Now, next to Adele stood the native woman; and before them both -was unrolled the same scene. To this Himalaya worshiper, Lepcha, -Bhootanese, Nepaulese, Thibetan, or whatever tribe she might have -been born, the effect was not the same as upon Adele. Familiarity -with such sunrises in the mountains had dulled what little -appreciation she might ever have had; but her religion had told her -something which Adele did not know. From untold generations her -people had been taught to regard that place as sacred. She had been -brought there as a child, and now she was leading her own children -there; and told the little ones: “The place whereon thou standest is -holy ground.” She had also her own ideas as to why it was sacred; and -that very morning had come to the holy ground to show the children -why it was holy; but Adele knew nothing of all this. - -Worldly wisdom might have judged this woman and Adele to be in no -way alike, yet, here in this presence, where the holiness of beauty -and the beauty of holiness were both in evidence, there was really a -fundamental similarity. - -Adele drew near the Doctor; he, too, had been keeping silent in the -Holy Place. - -“The Veil has been taken away,” said she. - -“H’m, yes.” - -“It is the most impressive sight I ever beheld.” - -“Why so?” - -“It is as a chancel should be.” - -“Of course, the most beautiful portion of a cathedral.” - -“Beauty is not all, I feel more than I see; the beauty is sacred -here; the sacred feeling comes first, and then--oh, it is so -beautiful!” - -“It must be a Holy Place if it affects you that way.” - -“Yes, a place for prayer, it seems natural to pray here; here one -thinks upwards, and looks upwards.” - -“Then the effect is spiritual as well as artistic.” - -“Oh, don’t analyze! I don’t wish to reason at all,” said Adele. “For -me it’s perfect. I’m satisfied. Just let me rest here, let me go and -sit down, _and be a part of it_.” - -She seated herself at the foot of a tree. - -It would have been sacrilege to disturb her at that moment--a -violation of sacred things in her experience. So, on the instant, -thought the Doctor. - -After a little reflection, the Doctor said to himself that this was -not the time for Adele to “loaf and invite her soul.” He feared lest -she was carrying her idealization entirely too far. Even the best in -the world, if carried to excess, leads one into danger; and spiritual -excesses are especially dangerous, either to youth or old age. - -To sit at the feet of Nature, to admire and enjoy the Creator’s -work, was one thing; to be so absorbed in Nature’s moods, and to -become such a slave to emotion that all else is forgotten, would -be quite another thing. Adele seemed to have forgotten the Lepchas, -and himself, and even her own self; and to be totally absorbed in -adoration of the scenery. - -The Doctor had many times seen pious worshipers in certain phases of -Hindooism, Buddhism, and Christianity, indulge in that sort of thing; -but never in Shintoism or any really old form of faith which brought -one close to nature, through nature’s activities and manifestations -unidealized; where nature spoke for herself and mankind was silent -before her. He suspected this excess of idealization, this becoming -“a part of it,” as Adele had wished for, might become really a -weakness in her character, and might lead her into danger. Such a -frame of mind would certainly be fascinating to Adele, she was so -made, she was constitutionally an idealist; but certainly it was not -mentally healthful in relation to her duty to others; not a thing -to be rooted out, but to be controlled lest the result should prove -injurious. - -The Doctor determined to break in upon her mood in some way. He -recalled her last remark, that she was perfectly satisfied with her -Cathedral, and only wished to rest and be a part of it. - -“Adele, you said this Cathedral was complete.” - -“It is to me.” - -“Not if it is a cathedral as usually understood.” - -“What do you mean?” - -“You have idealized what we now see as the chancel?” - -“Certainly, the place where the service is conducted.” - -“May I ask what is the central feature in the service to which you -and I are accustomed?” - -“To administer; no doubt.” - -“To administer; certainly--but what?” - -She thought very seriously, trying to find suitable words. She was -not accustomed to this sort of stand-up-and-deliver catechism; but -finally she spoke: - -“Some might say to administer the sacrifice; but I do not see how -this can be possible. It is not a fact in nature; I cannot consider -it true.” - -“May I ask, why not?” - -“You can never kill the truth; and Christ is not dead, but living; -they are the same no matter how you think about it--Christ and the -Truth.” - -“But Truth was sacrificed in Him.” - -“Never!” she cried. “That is an impossibility in nature. It only -seems sacrificed; it never really is.” - -“But He was sacrificed.” - -“His great sacrifice of Himself for Truth’s sake was really His whole -life work, and it was Perfection,” said Adele. - -“His life, as well as His death,” acquiesced the Doctor, solemnly. - -“Yes, a perfect work.” - -“Well then, Adele, no other _idealized sacrifice_ in administering -could make the service more complete, nor the atonement more adequate -than it is.” - -The atonement! - -Yes. The at-one-ment--the Saving of the World--the Salvation of -Mankind by the Truth. - - * * * * * - -And as they conversed thus, upon the Lepcha Holy Ground, the Doctor -concluded that Adele’s meditations had not led her astray; but he -felt constrained to say something further which had been on his mind -from the first. - -“Adele, with us the ministration is usually at the chancel rail.” - -“Yes, or what corresponds to it.” - -“Where from?” - -“The altar; why do you ask?” - -“Have you seen any altar in this Cathedral?” - -Adele looked around in different directions, continually reverting -to the chancel region she had idealized, as if it ought to be there. -Surely there must be an altar in nature, or something she could -idealize as such; for so many religions professed to have altars, -from the earliest times down to the present day. She began to fear -lest her imagery as to the Cathedral had failed her in a vital point. -Once before she had thought she could discover some form or shape in -the higher altitudes which might suggest an altar; in every case the -light had been so dazzling, or what she tried to see was so vague, -that her ideal had never been satisfied in its most vital need; and -now with the chancel itself open, the veil rent, she saw nothing to -suggest an altar. Where was it? Had it been there? If so, then what -had become of it--the altar? - - - - - XLIII - - SACRIFICE - - -Adele was still sitting at the foot of the tree; some said it was a -bo-tree; others did not have knowledge enough to tell what kind of a -tree it was. She did not think of this at all, as she sat dreaming -upon the magnificent spectacle before her. In her mind she was -seeking for an answer to the Doctor’s inquiry; then her eyes, while -searching for some object which might be idealized in some degree -as an altar, were drawn to the immediate foreground, away from the -chancel, to something in her own vicinity, quite near herself. - -Upon the same knoll, a short distance from her, boughs of foliage -were festooned with cords and ropes upon which hung hundreds of -small pieces of bright-colored muslin cut fantastically; also pieces -of white textile, the size of a large napkin, covered with printed -or crudely stamped characters in the native language. Hanging in -garlands from bough to bough, fluttering in the wind among the -leaves, they were about as effective as yacht signals strung out for -decoration. Signals they were, indeed, but of quite another kind; -the fluttering prayer-signals of the poor Lepchas, or Bhootanese, -or Thibetans, arranged in a semi-circle around their sacred place. -Wafted heavenward by the breeze, such signals were presented as -acceptable to the Good Spirits, and were considered to bear upwards -the supplications of poor humanity. They were the symbols of prayer -used by the same worshipers in whose hut Adele and the Doctor had -found a welcome shelter from the storm. - -At first sight Adele thought: “How very crude and tawdry!” A second -glance told her the decorations symbolized something, and she felt -more sympathetic. The bright colors and the printed texts on white -were certainly newer, fresher, and cleaner than the garments of the -Lepchas themselves; they must have been selected, and they had cost -something; only a few annas perhaps, or possibly some widow’s mite. - -“Yes, the effect is cheerful; a happy one,” thought Adele. “One -doesn’t feel despondent when looking at them.” How could it be -otherwise when each praying-signal fluttered a message of thanks, -or propitiation?--all of them in remembrance of the Good Spirits. -And then she thought she detected among them a familiar arrangement -of colors; what!--could it be possible? Yes, an old faded-out, -partly-torn specimen of “Old Glory,” hardly recognizable, but yet -there, for the sake of its being a new arrangement of colors, -probably its true significance utterly unknown. This moved Adele -intensely, giving her a curious new emotion, blending her patriotic -feeling with the sacred things of others. Finally she concluded -that all the signals were really artistic from the Lepcha point -of view, for she noticed an expression of much satisfaction pass -over the countenances of the natives when they found their sacred -prayer-colors were still so bravely fluttering after the storm; still -in motion where the Spirit of the Air could easily see and hear. The -poor woman with whom Adele had walked up pointed to some as if they -were her own private signals, but as Adele did not manifest much -outward enthusiasm about them, a sad expression came over the face -of the nature-worshiper. She seemed to realize that she ought not -to expect these strangers to understand her feelings. Perhaps the -strangers would scorn such things--old pieces of muslin picked up in -the bazaar; they could afford yards and yards of it if they chose. -So the poor woman turned away disappointed, to seek sympathy among -her own kindred who could better understand how such things were -acceptable to the Good Spirit. - -It was profoundly interesting to see those two at this time, so near -in body, and yet so far apart in religious interpretations; yet -each upon what was to her “holy ground.” Such are the mysterious -operations of the Spirit of Religion in Nature. - -Adele was just beginning to realize the varied conflicting elements -in her surroundings when she and the Doctor heard voices behind -them--a weird chant--a primitive monotonous crooning, but wild--the -natives’ hymn. Around a thicket the people had gathered, singing -this invocation. Adele and the Doctor drew near, and both of them -being musical they involuntarily attempted to catch the higher notes -and to join in; but it proved to be too much for them in every way, -especially to Adele’s cultivated ear. The very simplicity of the -strange sounds, all spirit and no art, made it difficult to detect -any method, only variations of monotonous notes and cries; sometimes -rhythm, but no trace of melody, at least to civilized ears. It was -painfully monotonous; aye, there was pain indeed in that native chant -of invocation. No grand aria of the art divine, nor “wail of the -orchestra” in modern times, had more pain to the spirit in man, than -that primitive wail. All that Adele and the Doctor could do was to -feel for them, yet not be of them. - -The thicket was formed by underbrush which had sprung up around some -taller trees. There was an open space inside, with several rocks and -stones which had evidently been brought there by the worshipers. One -rock larger than the rest stood on one side, the others scattered -with apparent lack of method. The entrance was wide, so that all near -at hand could witness what was going on within the circle. And while -the weird song continued outside, the people drew nearer and nearer; -the solemn moment arrived for the Leader and his Helper to enter this -thicket--the Lepcha Holy of Holies--and stand before their altar. - -As Abraham of old, in mature manhood, Leader of “the Chosen People” -among races, did enter a thicket and there offer a sacrifice well -pleasing to the Lord: so did this poor native at the end of the -Nineteenth Century, enter his Holy Place, a thicket in the Creator’s -Cathedral of the Himalayas; and there did offer a sacrifice well -pleasing to the Good Spirit to whom a thousand years are as one day, -and one day as a thousand years. - -The first offering was the fowl; and as the dying spasms of the bird -scattered blood upon the stones, and upon the primitive priest, and -upon others who stood near enough, the wild chant rose above the -sound of flapping wings, and with the final throes of death mingled -the wails of the worshipers. - -To Adele, whose experience in killing of any kind was limited, the -sight of life-blood flowing was most painful, even obnoxious. When a -little girl in the country during her school-day vacations, she had -always avoided seeing the fowls killed; not only because it destroyed -her appetite for them afterwards, but because she felt a most -positive and acute sympathy for the fowls. In later years, if anyone -had called such proceedings “a sacrifice,” she would have been much -surprised. On this occasion, face to face with it, her sympathy was -strong enough to give her a sympathetic pain in the back of her own -neck when the fowl was stabbed, pierced unto death. - -When Adele was in the hospital acting as volunteer nurse, her -experience had been to assist in curing, not in the surgical -department; and if such had been the case, she would not have -remained there a day. Now, when she found herself a quasi-participant -in these Lepcha proceedings, eye-witness of a bloody wounded fowl -flapping about, the situation was positively repulsive; and very -difficult to sympathize with, even when she knew the act to be a -feature in religious worship. She looked up at the Doctor. - -Doctor Wise was absorbed in studying the movements of the priest. - -The Lepcha stood over the kid, with his knife drawn ready to take its -innocent life. - -Adele caught sight of him in that attitude, and gave a shudder. She -knew she could not endure to witness the next act. Naught could have -induced her to turn spiritually from the poor nature-worshipers at -such a moment, yet she could not accept their primitive methods as -other than downright cruelty to-day. The sharp glittering knife, the -rough stone, the priest’s stolid expression; and above all else, the -unsuspecting little kid, so docile, as if among friends. Verily, the -trustful eyes of the little animal seemed to speak the very words: -“Ye are my friends, while I am yet with you.” - -Adele buried her face upon the Doctor’s shoulder, and only heard -without seeing the sacrifice which followed. - -And behold! one of the most natural yet mysterious of all the -phenomena in nature at once followed: Adele, embodying in her own -personality the progress made in appreciation of religious ritual -upon earth since primitive times, while spared the terror of realism, -was more deeply affected than by realism itself; the things done -had greater scope and power, the spiritual impression was far -more profound and lasting than the effect of any spectacle which -had actually been witnessed, and this in the very nature of truth -progressive. The mind is greater than the eye, the Spirit of Truth is -greater than the mind, the real growth is not in the intellect but -in the spirit; aye, “the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. -Knowledge is power, but the spirit giveth immortality.” - -Adele heard the cry of pain, the cry of life departing. It was only -that of an animal, an innocent kid, but it and its innocence stood in -lieu of many human beings. She heard the chant of the natives calling -aloud, heavenward! above the cries of the innocent sacrifice; the -people seemed themselves to be suffering. They were, yet they were -not; not physically, yet their cries sounded as if the knife might be -entering their very vitals. No realism apparent to mortal eyes could -have been so powerful to affect them spiritually--the noblest, the -divine in their personality; not unless nature itself had witnessed -by taking part; not unless the veil of the Himalaya Temple had -closed again, or “the sun had been darkened over all the earth,” or -some such occurrence had transpired to direct attention to an event -affecting humanity at large. - -Then the strangest part of this primitive ritual followed; enduring -in its action, and lasting in memory. An event implying mystery -took place, a seeming mystery was suggested, a philosophic truth -inculcated. How so by such a primitive uneducated people, yet able -to embody what to this day dominates the profoundest concepts of -philosophic man? - -With the passing of the life by sacrifice, the life from the shed -blood as it curdled and sank into the ground, went also the moans -and dirges of those for whom the sacrifice had been made. The Lepcha -voices changed in quality, manifesting great gain in force of -conviction, rose higher and higher, and finally gave vent to cries of -exultation, aspiration, exaltation--they chanted a triumph: a victory -leading them onwards and upwards towards something beyond in the -direction of the Eternal Summits magnificent before their very eyes. -It was as if they saw the truth in their faith no longer militant and -sacrificing, but triumphant in the Celestial Realm. - -Strange, yet a natural consequence of the truth as they saw it: as -the life of the kid departed by the blood of sacrifice returning into -the earth among the grass of the field from which it had come and -upon which it had fed, there arose a new life--a resurrection from -the depths of misery and woe; a new song--a triumphal song--a song of -the Saved Ones. The native choristers seemed possessed with renewed -hope and vitality; and acting under these influences they found the -burden of their song changed to suit a new condition which they -certainly discerned. - -In the case of these Himalaya nature-worshipers, this ordinary -killing of a beast for food, as practiced by their ancestors from -time immemorial, had been used by the Mind of Nature, the Creator -Father, to teach a philosophic truth through the religious sense; -the full significance of which was not learned by humanity until -millenniums after those primitive ancestors had found it to be a fact -in nature. - -Truly, this ancient ritual was profound in significance; it had been -so from the beginning. - -Adele next heard the priest speaking aloud in a clear exulting tone; -it sounded as if he were addressing a multitude. She would have -given much to have comprehended fully what he said, but it was lost -to her; his words passed into the distance over the tree-tops, into -space, off towards the Celestial region where the Good Spirit would -both hear and understand. Then ensued an interval of suspense; all -she heard was the sound of broken twigs and a slight tapping. It was -the worshipers attaching some feathers of the fowl and small pieces -of raw flesh of the kid to the trees. The feathers were to flutter -in the wind as more signals to the Spirits of the Air. The hair of -the goat was to be blown by the breeze as more prayers or symbols of -propitiation, ever active before the Good Spirits. - -After the ceremony was finished, the primitive procession started -upon its recessional, wended its way down the hillside, to enter -again their huts, and feast upon the burnt offering--cooked. - -Adele looked up. The Ancient Service, in vogue from the beginning in -the development of religious consciousness in man, and held to-day -in the Himalaya Cathedral, was finished. The altar had not been in -the chancel, but as of old, in the outer court of the Temple, in -the world at large. The daily sacrifice could be made by any man -in his own daily life--it was a part of the ritual of day-by-day -devotion--the sacrifice of things seen to attain spiritually to -things unseen. The altar might be in any man’s hearth or home, in his -heart or soul-life. - -Adele had been present at a primitive realistic ceremony, but she -had not been able to witness it with her bodily eyes, so great was -the progress of truth in life “since the days of sacrifice.” She -understood now why the Creator had led humanity to abjure and abolish -actual burnt sacrifices, substituting the spiritual experience, in -remembrance. - -Adele and the Doctor entered the thicket where the service had been -held. They noticed how the life-blood had already sunk into the -ground and been absorbed and become a part of it, “earth to earth.” -If they had visited the Lepcha huts, they would have found “ashes -to ashes.” They noticed also how the recently added signals, the -feathers and the hair of the innocent kid, were fluttering with the -other color-signals; these latter new ones in remembrance of the -day’s service. And as they looked around they heard the Lepchas still -off in the distance, singing. They had plenty of fresh food now, and -a joyful spirit within. They sang as man often sings, when at his -daily work, at home, in his shop, or in the field. - -What more philosophically true in man’s religious development, from -before Abraham, from primitive man, from the beginning so far as -humanity knows about itself? The Spirit of Truth in ancient man had -ever testified to the shedding of innocent life-blood instead of -the sacrifice of self, or personal surrender, as the visible sign -of propitiation, or of at-one-ment, the atonement. A tangible sign, -symbolic, which could not in the very nature of things be understood -in fuller significance until mankind was ready for the comprehension -of the unseen, the spiritual sacrifice or atonement, until -civilizations had sufficiently developed to comprehend spiritually -what had always transpired naturally. The revelation culminating -in the voluntary sacrifice of Him who said: “I am the Truth, the -Life”--the Saviour of mankind. - -Verily the Ancient Ritual was worthy of the Cathedral built by the -Mind of Nature--our Creator-Father. - - - - - XLIV - - THE EVERYDAY RITUAL - - -Adele and Paul spent much time together wandering about exploring -the Cathedral. Adele said she heard sermons in stones, and voices in -running brooks, and all that sort of thing. Paul hurled stones down -precipices, and said he didn’t care much for sermons, anyway. Adele -laughed when he stopped her at a spring in the woods and insisted -upon her tasting the water when he himself enjoyed it freely. - -“It goes all through me,” said Paul. “Delicious, the best mountain -spring I ever found.” - -“Of course it goes all through you; such pure cold water exhilarates -as if giving a new life.” - -“Oh, if you put it that way--why, of course. I know what you mean; -but what is life, anyway? No fellow can find out; nobody knows much -about it.” - -“Well I do, and I intend to enjoy it,” and she filled her lungs with -the mountain air, which gave her such buoyancy that she took off her -hat, and shook back her hair to be en rapport with her own ideal. - -“That’s all right, while you feel like it.” To Paul she looked like -the personification of New Life for him; and he came near kissing her -to assure himself she was not a wood-nymph who might vanish in a tree. - -“People are not so stupid as you think,” said Adele. - -“Well, what do they really know?” asked Paul, his double-self amused -to hear a girl assume that she knew more of life than he, a man. - -Their attention was distracted for a moment. - -On the road close by they heard the tramp of feet approaching, and -they were near enough to speak if it proved to be anyone they knew. A -dandy, a variety of palanquin, was passing, and inside was a woman of -the English Colony. The livery of her bearers was rather conspicuous, -being yellow with blue trimmings, yet not in bad taste for that -region. The toilet of the beauty inside the dandy was decidedly -“chic,” and the pose between the curtains drawn aside was certainly -most captivating. Many had said of her: “Thy bright smile haunts me -still.” - -Paul recognized the occupant at a glance; to Adele she was a -stranger. Paul had met her accidentally and incidentally; and upon -so slight an acquaintance had received an invitation to join a -card-party at her apartments. The invitation had been sent him before -the soi-disant widow knew that Paul was there a member of a family -party, or she would have known it was useless to waste a thought on -him. - -Not being a man who played cards for money, and for some other -reasons, Paul had sent a polite regret; after acknowledging to -himself with a laugh that he had been innocently caught by that sort -of thing once before, and didn’t intend to be again. But the fellows -persisted that he was “a fool not to go and see the fun,” as the fair -creature was only one of many birds of passage stranded in India, and -“devilish amusing” when sitting at the head of her own table. - -Paul preferred not to sit at that sort of a table; and when this -dashing woman of the world, a notable representative of her set, thus -appeared on the public road in her dandy state-conveyance, so very -near Adele, he instinctively stepped between them; and became so much -engrossed with Adele’s wraps and her comfort, getting her things -all mixed up when no attention was necessary, that the fair one had -passed without receiving the slightest sign of recognition from -either of them. - -Paul flattered himself he had disguised the situation fairly well, -and so he had from a man’s point of view, but not from a woman’s. -Adele at once spoke up: - -“Don’t you know that lady, Paul? Why didn’t you speak to her?” - -Paul turned aside after his fashion, to avoid meeting Adele’s eyes, -but promptly answered: - -“Yes, slightly--very slightly.” - -“Then why not speak to her? A gentleman never cuts a lady; never.” - -“No, of course,” remarked Paul. “It’s the lady’s prerogative to do -the snubbing; some women seem to think men enjoy being snubbed.” - -“A well-bred woman always protects herself,” said Adele briskly. “If -I had been in that dandy, and you had turned your back on me, that -would not have been the end of it.” - -Paul laughed, incredulous. - -“No, Paul, I should not permit any acquaintance to treat me so -cavalierly. I should demand an explanation.” - -“My dear Adele, no one would ever treat you that way,” said Paul, -rather surprised at her vehemence. “That sort of thing is not apt to -happen to you.” - -“No, I suppose not, but I should resent it if it did. Now tell me, -Paul, frankly, why did you avoid speaking to that lady?” - -Paul pulled himself together as best he could and tried to explain. - -“Adele, you saw her yourself; you had a good look at her, did you -not?” - -“Yes, I glanced at her, slightly--very slightly;” using inadvertently -Paul’s own words, which still rung in her ears. - -“I think you must have seen her better than I did, for I did not look -at her at all. I was looking at you.” - -“Well, perhaps I did.” - -“Then we both know her slightly--very slightly.” - -“Paul, don’t be evasive; I don’t like it. You were introduced, I was -not.” - -“Well to be frank, Adele, I was introduced; yet I wasn’t.” - -“Explain!” - -“She introduced herself, and that’s not woman’s prerogative.” - -“It might be, under some circumstances,” said Adele with some -asperity. “I know what you mean, however; go on.” - -“I thought she held herself very cheap,” said Paul. “I never could -recognize, as a friend, one who undervalued herself.” - -“Oh, dear, I never would have thought it! was she that sort of -person?” exclaimed Adele. “She didn’t look at all commonplace, not -with that stylish turn-out and liveried bearers.” - -Paul laughed again; he couldn’t help it. - -“I don’t see anything funny,” said Adele, as they moved towards an -old stump, took a seat under the trees, and sat looking forward -between the crimson rhododendrons, towards the Celestial scenery -beyond. - -“Adele, unfortunately she didn’t pay for the style herself,” remarked -Paul, sub rosa; then correcting himself: “Yes, she did, too!--no! she -didn’t, either!--oh, bosh! you know what I mean.” - -This only made Adele more pointedly inquisitive. - -“What are you talking about? Who did? her husband, I suppose.” - -“No, luckily she has none.” - -“Paul, you’re outrageous to say that; who did?” - -“I don’t know. I only know what a cruel, unkind world says.” - -“I’m sure you do know; tell me.” - -“You’re extremely inquisitive, Adele--excruciatingly so; you’re just -as bad as Elsa.” - -“Who’s Elsa?” - -“In Lohengrin, but never mind her or him; if you must know now, if -you insist about this woman, why, then--some other fellow, or other’s -husband, has paid for it,” said Paul reluctantly. - -Adele was confused, and her manner showed it. She felt uneasy, and -her words told on what account. “Oh, Paul, that is terrible--poor -woman--poor soul!” and Adele turned her head away to avoid Paul’s -eyes--her heart sensitive--pained at the thought of the poor soul. - -Paul drew Adele to him and placed her head on his shoulder. - -“Now, my darling, you do know why I could not recognize that woman.” - -“Why you came between us?” whispered Adele. - -“Yes. I couldn’t help it.” - -“To shield me--you felt that way?” - -“H’m--but it isn’t necessary to say so.” - -“I understand--only do it,” and she took the hand of him who thus -loved her, in her own, and pressed it to her, her heart going out to -him in tenderness. - -A thrill of blissful content passed through Paul’s innermost being. -He knew her in whom he had believed; and she had faith and trust in -her protector for life. They were truly happy. - -The dandy had passed--gone forever--a mere episode in their -experience. - -Their lives were thus becoming as one. - -“I shall never forget our walks in this Cathedral,” said Adele. - -“I hope not,” said Paul, laconic, and not nearly so enthusiastic as -Adele had anticipated. - -“You hope not? Why, what on earth is to prevent our remembering?” - -At this point Paul’s natural tendency to tease a little got the -better of him; but Adele also by this time had had enough experience -to recognize his moods, and to meet him on his own ground. - -“I should like to clinch it,” said he, “so that we couldn’t forget.” - -“I’ll remind you if I see your memory weakening,” said Adele. - -Paul’s countenance exhibited that sort of smile usually described as -capacious. “I should like something to happen before we left,” and he -looked doubtfully at her. Being a man of normal growth, the masculine -desire for actual possession of his future wife had grown upon Paul -recently in a marked degree; and the incidents of that particular day -led him to speak out. He felt sure Adele would be sincere with him in -response. - -Adele as natural as he was, woman’s instinct told her to be cautious, -in fact shy; and her intellect suggested that she act upon what she -had just heard Paul say about people who undervalued themselves. Of -course, Adele suspected at once what Paul hoped would happen; but she -took her own way to make him ask for it. - -“What’s going to happen?” said Adele, leading him on. “I mean what do -you hope for?” - -“It’s just this way; let me tell you.” - -“I’m listening.” - -“You call this a Cathedral, don’t you? I think it a first-rate place, -myself.” - -“Admirable for a short sojourn.” - -“And more, it’s very suitable for something special--something for us -two.” - -“Not to live in; it’s too breezy.” - -“I don’t mind a breeze, if it don’t result in something worse--a -squall.” - -“Squalls! I don’t permit squalls,” said Adele. - -“No, nor I, either; especially when another fellow tells you squarely -to ‘forever after hold your peace.’” - -Adele did not quite enjoy this turn in the conversation, so changed -it a little. - -“But you missed seeing the Lepcha ritual; you should see how the -natives make their sacrifices.” - -“Sacrifices? God forbid, my dear. No! it’s all gain for us here; -please don’t even think of sacrificing anything.” - -“Then we can attend some other ritual,” said Adele; which remark was -so very much of an acknowledgment on her part that Paul imagined she -would consent at once. - -“All right!” said he. “There is a Church of England curate in the -village--I’m not particular.” - -“Also Taoist monks with masks and wheels. I’m not so very particular -myself about the form,” quizzed Adele. - -“Don’t keep me on the rack, my dear; just tell me which you prefer.” - -“Well, the Taoist ritual is the most spectacular, the Lepcha the most -thrilling, and the Church of England the most serious--probably, but -I have my doubts.” - -“I never was more serious in my life,” said Paul. “The English will -do; that is, if it suits you?” - -“Me! suits me!” she exclaimed, but her expression told him well -enough his allusions were clearly understood. - -“Yes, of course, you have the final say.” - -“To decide what? It was you who spoke about something you hoped would -happen before we left. You haven’t told me what it is, have you?” - -“But you guessed it at once, Adele, I’m sure; and better than I can -tell you. Would not this be an ideal place for our marriage? Just -arrange it to suit yourself.” - -Adele turned her face away--a little embarrassed, rather confused. - -“Oh, don’t be in such a hurry, Paul. I really must think.” - -“I am not, my dear. I’ve thought of it for a week,” said the ardent -lover. - -“A week! you don’t call that much time to decide for life!” Adele was -now as serious as her lover was ardent. - -“I decided at Olympus--oh, months ago,” said Paul, a little nervous. -“Didn’t you?” - -“Yes, but this is like a surprise, after all, when it comes to the -actual. I must have some time. Oh, Paul, you’re so--impatient; just -like a boy.” - -“Why shouldn’t I be? I feel as if we were really married that evening -when under the brow of Olympus”--and in one sense this was true; Paul -had felt so, conscientiously, as to the bond between them. - -“Do you? I don’t,” said Adele. - -“Why you must have thought so,” said Paul, very inconsiderate in his -ardor. - -Adele thought him too harsh to her, at such a time; and her manner -showed how uncomfortable he had made her feel. - -It took Paul some little time to quiet his own ardor, and appreciate -things from her point of view; finally he succeeded. - -“Adele, I suppose it is sudden; I had a wrong notion, an idea that -the suddenness was only read about in novels of impulse, written to -pass the time quickly. I know differently now; you see I never did it -before. Forgive me now, Adele; I never dreamed of hurting you in any -way--it is too serious.” Paul’s ardor had only taken another form. - -“Yes, this is real life; sudden and serious,” said Adele, “more -serious than when we were at Olympus.” - -“Tell me why you think so?” - -“A betrothal is truth in words; marriage is truth in deeds.” - -Paul put his arm around her and told her again how he felt and -thought and wished to act for the very best, for both of them. His -manner changed, however. It was less ardent and more devout. He -held her hand as if it were very precious to him, that to touch -her was a sacred privilege. Never before had she a realizing sense -so intense, of that manly virtue, which she then recognized in her -future husband; and for the first time she noticed he used a new -expression. His words were forcible, indeed. - -“Adele, I love you with all my soul and strength.” Then he bowed his -head as if overcome. - -From that moment Adele knew he was her husband both in spirit and -in truth. It was a complete answer to her prayers for Paul’s good, -when she had prayed in spirit and in truth for him; the natural -consequence of her prayers, her belief in Paul, and her sincerity -towards him. She might have reasonably called him her husband -in her own mind, in the presence of the Holy Spirit of truth in -nature and in religion; but she did not. If Paul had died suddenly, -however, before their marriage, she no doubt would have done so--in -spirit--and it would have been the truth. - - * * * * * - -A pause, yet not a rest. Thoughts active, although neither could -speak. There was nothing more Paul could say. He had spoken the whole -truth, in love--an ineffable divine experience. Youth’s foretaste of -“Love divine, all love excelling.” - -Adele was meditating as never before. Her thoughts flew as a bird -flies hither and thither, from possibilities to other probabilities, -future plans, future joys; flew outwards, then inwards, as a bird -among the branches of the Tree of Life; seeking to know the good -from the evil, the best from the better; wishing to pluck fruit -from the Tree of Life, and yet preserve the integrity of her own -conscious-self, her conscientious-self, as to what she ought to do. - -Conscience flew to her mother to throw her arms around her mother’s -neck and find sympathy, while mother’s love told the truth in -maternal affection into her daughter’s ear; conscience flew to her -father for consent and advice, to sit on his knee once more, and -look in his face, and press his cheek, and run her fingers through -his hair, and be caressed as “father’s little girl.” The thought of -separation from loved ones, in any degree, what might it mean?--a -leap in the dark? - -No, not into the dark. She could see that, positively, in Paul’s -character: then what?--a rising upwards, an ascension into the -brighter light of a new life. - -Nature indeed took its course, and with the experience came the -comforting voice speaking in nature where the Tree of Life grows. - -She looked towards the chancel of her Cathedral; and how exquisitely -beautiful was the scene! The place was decorated as for a wedding; -and she saw spiritually, “as in a dream,” Paul standing at the -chancel rail, waiting for her to come to him. - -That was enough--the dream became real. - -She looked up, to speak to Paul; putting her arm on his shoulder -their faces met. Like as a bird, which had flown from branch to -branch in the springtime of existence, returns to build a nest of its -own among the beautiful foliage of life, so she returned in spirit -and in truth to him who loved her and was willing to give himself for -her. - -Only a word was uttered: - -“I am ready; I will go with you, Paul;” and in her own thoughts, “I -am yours.” - - - - - XLV - - RITUAL OF THE HUMAN RACE - - -Thus it came to pass that Adele and Paul were to be married in the -most majestic and impressive Cathedral upon earth. Under the canopy -of heaven, in a domicile as well as edifice, constructed by the -forces of nature from designs by the Supreme Architect, their own -Father-Creator; married in a sacred place, purposed expressly for -the Creator’s own service, and their own use; where all the rituals -testified in ways practical yet mysterious to the Way of Truth in -Life. - -If they had chosen the ritual of the nature-worshipers they would -have found themselves in harmony with the most ancient of all, from -the beginning; and the most widespread upon the surface of the earth -as historically known. - -If they had chosen that of the Taoists considered as a peculiar phase -of Buddhism, they would have found themselves in harmony with the -most numerous, including both gnostic and agnostic, and the most -devoted to expediency as the goal of existence, where the knowledge -of human nature took the most practical forms of application to be -found upon the globe to-day. They would have had the majority with -them. - -They chose neither; for truth progressive had taught them to ignore -naught in their own past experience, nor in the experience of others; -and to seek “the greater things than these” which enlightenment is -ever revealing through religion, philosophy and science. - -The Christian ritual of the marriage ceremony as it was then -performed in the open air, differed greatly from that of the -Lepchas, in that it was not held in a thicket partly screened, as -if it were a quasi-secret to be seen darkly by both natural eye and -spiritual sense: nor like the Taoist, in which are prayers in endless -repetition, perfunctory effort as if by machinery, prayer wheels and -decorations of the curio order. The Christian ritual as given in this -Cathedral under the auspices of the Creator himself, ignored none of -these; but showed that the truth had made men free, freedom in the -individual, freedom by co-operation--for in union there is strength -and propagation, proselyting truth. - -Strange to say, it was only those who officiated in strait-laced -garments of the local form of ecclesiasticism who appeared awkward, -stiff and unnatural in manner, and uneasy in mind when they found -themselves administering in the open before a public which had thus -become free in spirit. - -The wedding took place upon a grassy hill-side, a beautiful location -where natural flowers bloomed, and crimson rhododendrons hung in -bouquets and garlands overhead, framing in the Peaks of Eternal -Whiteness (purity); a marvelous symbolic landscape, symbolizing that -humanity must pass through and under the crimson of suffering in -order to attain the pure whiteness beyond. - -The wedding took place where the Celestial scenery was ever before -them; fleecy clouds hanging like wedding draperies in the azure blue -around the Cathedral spires--the spires rising heavenwards, ever -pointing upward. - -But at this particular time it was not so much these everyday -manifestations of natural facts in this Cathedral which impressed -those who officiated, as the astonishing cosmopolitan aspect of the -crowd which came to see and be seen. Representatives of all sorts and -conditions, racial and religious, which the region contained, engaged -in various occupations, yet all now actuated by the same spirit, to -share and rejoice in the happiness of others. Many among the crowd -of witnesses had gone through the marriage ceremony themselves; -others looked forward with rejoicing to the time when they would. -Some, a limited number chiefly from the Latin races, spoke of it as -of very serious “sacramental” character; but the enormous majority -did not; and very many did not know what such a word meant; yet -every individual present knew it was a “holy” condition to live in, -for mortals. To all, the tenor of it was to induce mankind to be -happier, to gain strength by co-operation in personal experience; an -experience never to be forgotten in this case, for natural methods in -religious ceremonial were about to take their course, and make it the -most interesting wedding any of the guests had ever attended. - -The first impulse of those asked to officiate was to robe themselves, -each to put on his own official cassock, stole, or academical gown. -Lo! there was no robing room--positively no place suitable, not -even an enclosure to screen a change of garments; all must be done -in the open before God and man. If the officiating prelate had not -brought his vestments in a grip-sack he would have had difficulty -in assuming, as custom required, his usual official aspect. One -unfortunate who laid great stress upon his official garb, his robes -of office, found himself exposing a very soiled undergarment, much -less decent, really, than the occasion required. Never was mortal man -more ashamed of his personal underwear than this unfortunate who had -previously been covered in public by outer sacerdotal garments. - -Another, profiting by his experience, sought a little briar bush he -had discovered at the last minute, behind which to robe himself; and -ere he had assumed his wedding garments, the bridegroom came. - -Paul approached, and stood waiting for his bride. He was dressed -as often before when freedom of life and thought had characterized -his actions; in fact, very nearly as when he won his bride and told -her of his love. He and Adele had chosen to commence their future -life by identifying it with the very freest and happiest of past -experiences; hence Paul wore a spotless suit of white flannels, with -an inner white waistcoat for the occasion; his necktie of light -blue, which suited his complexion admirably. Verily new garments in -one sense, but such as preserved his own sense of freedom just when -he wanted it most. Some cigars had peeped out of one of his pockets -just before he came forward, but the Doctor concealed them at the -last moment. The lapels of his coat were thrown back upon his breast; -his athletic frame was vigorous and active, and his countenance was -sincere and truthful; his dark hair natural in its folds, and his -eyes more forcible, energetic, intense than ever before. - -“I want you just as you are,” Adele had said to him, “without one -plea, not dressed up for an occasion;” and the healthy groom came so, -fresh, and clean, and free--a true man. - -Other lovers of nature present said he was “a splendid fellow--he -looks it! Any girl ought to be proud of him”--the truth. He was -indeed much more a veritable nobleman in appearance than when clothed -in black. - -He waited for Adele. - -The bride, “arrayed in fine linen pure and white,” wore orange -blossoms because symbolic among her people, the emblems festooning -the bridal veil upon her shoulders. Her forehead was uncovered; -and naught in her hair but a spray of blossoms held by a diamond -cross--Paul’s gift. The cross glowed and sparkled in the sunlight, -not unlike a flame. Some of the natives called it a “tongue of fire.” -It was so, a flame of affection from Paul to herself. Her blonde hair -like her mother’s, and intellectual dark eyes from her father, gave -an alluring and mysterious beauty; a combination which appealed to -the Orientals as angelic, and to many others as fascinating; human, -yet spiritual. - -Adele at first looked upwards, but not in assumption--it was her -natural attitude when moving freely without fear; then bowed her -head as in the presence of God whom she loved, and because she was -with her beloved in human experience. - -Upon her father’s arm she came forward, leaning in submission to -him from whom she had received her life (_bios_); and embraced her -mother, kissing her with arms around her neck, before the Creator -and men, in token of that mother’s love she had received, namely her -creation and preservation in this life; which she considered were -divine attributes, divine gifts to be bequeathed to her own hereafter. - -To Paul she seemed as one looking towards the Celestial regions from -which she must have come, and to which he felt sure she was destined -some day. And the Orientals present looked on rapturously, and some -drew in their breath between their teeth with admiration and respect; -their manner of doing this seemed to say that they wished to imbibe -some of the happiness which her presence near them suggested. Another -voiced the sentiment of all mankind: “She is too lovely to live, she -will be taken;” but on the instant a twig in the grass caught the -skirt of her gown, and as she felt inclined to pause and loosen it, -the Doctor stooped to detach it, and the bride passed on. - -Her father’s dignified presence, markedly paternal, was also -suggestive--of what research after higher knowledge in systems may -accomplish when Christianity is recognized as the great incentive to -knowledge and ultimate unity. Truth was the one goal in Professor -Cultus’ scientific investigations; but he was not one to accept -mere knowledge as adequate. _He must have the truth also._ His -intellectual head stood upon his finely proportioned shoulders, -witness to the honesty and thoroughness of truth as he saw it; an -honest man--God’s noblest work. - -Mrs. Cultus, Carlotta Gains Cultus, the bride’s mother, was by -heredity a positive character, practical, active and worldly-wise. -She was the embodiment of that womanly knowledge of the science -of social intercourse, the ethics of society; one, who after -encountering men and things, learns to appreciate them at their -real value--a value not set by fashion, but by the true commonsense -standards. Mrs. Cultus was one not always properly appreciated by -others, but ever active on principle whether appreciated or not; not -solely in intellectual lines of various heterogeneous clubs, but -also in the humanities when the appeal to her seemed reasonable, -and therefore natural. Mrs. Cultus had learned through severe -illness certain truths in life which appealed to her personally -with practical force and significance; an avenue to conviction very -different from that of her husband. Her presence now manifested that -other dignity of truth and worldly wisdom which did not repel, but -attracted all who really knew her, for confidence, aid and affection; -her husband and daughter most of all, for they knew her best. Being a -mother who had suffered, she had learned to feel a mother-tenderness -for all--that divine affection for humanity ever characteristic of -Him who took even little babes in His arms and blessed them. So did -Mrs. Cultus, in this way, now strive to follow Him. Devoid of either -hypocrisy or guile, she was ever “true to the life”--her natural life -as God had made her. - -And the bride’s friend, the friend of her own age; Adele and “Frank” -Winchester, intimates; the one with whom her youthful thoughts and -pranks had been unrestrained and free. It was this friend who had -arrayed her in fine linen, pure and white, for her bridal, and by -working faithfully, almost without ceasing, had embellished her -wedding garment with an exquisite vine embroidered in white floss -silk, encircling her bosom, trailing down to the hem. Affection -and artistic skill guiding the willing fingers had produced this -simple vine and branches. The art of loving simply, yet constantly, -entwining truly, was in that vine, for there had been neither time -nor place for elaboration; yet the vine was finished in season, and -decked the bride at her wedding. It was a secret between these -chums, how the worker had added clandestinely a small bunch of thorns -embroidered in among the folds near the hem of her garment, where -Adele could tread upon them if she chose. “Merely to remind you, my -dear,” said Frank, laughing, “what a thorn in the flesh I’ve often -been; these are the last--all future thorns are for Paul.” Adele -cherished those precious thorns as if they were jewels; she would not -have trod on them--no! no more than she would have wished her friend -a pathway of thorns. - -And the Doctor, the inquisitive, sincere Doctor Wise--he asked no -further questions when he stood aside as the groom’s best man; no -questions about things in the heavens above and the earth beneath, -nor even about the spirits of just men made perfect, here or anywhere -else. The Doctor would have much enjoyed wearing knickerbockers as -when he went outing with Paul, particularly so since Paul appeared -in white flannels, and if need be he could be ready for tennis or -cricket as soon as the ceremony was over; but propriety forbade. -Proprieties were apt to be a wee bit inconvenient from the Doctor’s -point of view; and just at present he was more nervous than the -groom, nervous to get the thing over and have done with it. Such was -the Doctor as he appeared on the surface; fundamentally he was the -very personification of congratulation and joy. He knew that nature -had taken the true course with these two, both so endeared to him. -He rejoiced in being able to witness and appreciate so much that was -good in nature and in co-operation. He was supremely happy too, but -from yet another cause in nature; that the Creator in kindness had -thus made him, a very ordinary man, able to see so much clearly, and -yet not himself be lost in the mysterious maelstrom of life. - -The ladies gave the Doctor precious little opportunity to do anything -whatever on an occasion when bachelors-on-the-shelf do not count; -but he did search the country from Calcutta to Nepaul to obtain some -flowers which he knew were desired by Adele, the bridal bouquet. -A very simple one after all, white rose-buds amid cultivated -heliotrope. It seemed at one time as if every sort of flower and -shrub flourished in the Himalaya region except what he wanted. He -had parties hunting heliotrope as if it might grow on berry bushes; -and when from a lofty tree mistletoe was brought him by mistake, -he nearly sent the bearer to the foot of a precipice. But he got -it. It was finally obtained, near by in a private conservatory, -much to his relief and Adele’s delight. The bouquet held attached -an exquisite lace handkerchief passed through a ring; the ring was -set with a sapphire of purest quality, that peculiar shade in depth -and delicacy which in the Orient is supposed to characterize the -plumage of the Bird of Immortality. This gem, ever constant day or -night, responsive to every ray of light, symbolized the true blue -of precious worth--truth in purity and love. This was the Doctor’s -gift. Adele had heard him speak of such a stone and its significance -among sapphires of so many colors. She read his very thoughts as she -pressed his hand when accepting this significant and beautiful gift. -The fragrance of the flowers direct from nature; the handkerchief a -work of art; and the gem a true blue symbol--all brought memories of -their search after something worth knowing in many fields. Never did -Adele appear more idyllic, poetic, aye, pastoral in the higher sense, -than at this moment; and the Doctor blessed her--in spirit. - -Thus, when Paul advanced to meet his bride, they stood among their -own; the bridal party among their own race and nationality, together -with cousins from their Mother Country, England--their faces radiant -with hope and pleasure. A choral of mixed voices, volunteers from the -Christian Colony, sang the processional; and the anthem was heard -upon earth as it ascended heavenward. This near a chancel rail of -natural growths, the line suggested by a carpet of wild flowers with -cultivated beauties placed at intervals. And there were tree-ferns -and palms, fountains of foliage at either end; the freshness of the -fountains springing from the centre of the plant, its life within, -not from near the exterior bark. Adele had expressed a desire for -these plants with their heart-life in the centre; also because their -significance was simple in nature, their natural beauty artistic, -and their natural meaning too exalted and widespread to be affected -seriously by passing fashions or fads. And the crimson rhododendrons -decorated the background, while before them the Delectable Mountains -and the azure blue. - -The ceremony was first directed towards the world at large, for each -individual to learn, mark, and spiritually digest that which this -couple manifested of truth in humanity. It was a solemn period, while -the people gave heed, each reading his or her personal experience -into that of the new couple; to each (such was the condition in -nature), from his individual point of view. As a matter of fact Adele -felt as if the minister was speaking of some other than herself, and -Paul felt as if all eyes must be turned on Adele. - -Then the Servant of God turned towards this man and woman who would -be one; a sacred moment when he pronounced them husband and wife. -They knelt together, her hand in his--their first united prayer to -“Our Father who art,” for this, from Him, unto themselves--as also -One. - -And when they arose, and together turned to face the world, behold -a cloud of witnesses, out in the nave of the Cathedral, a multitude -upon the hill-slopes and skirting the forests, every vantage ground -occupied by natives drawn hither by the world-wide desire to see “a -bride adorned for her husband;” actuated by countless motives which -primitive and natural curiosity suggested; curious to see what the -dominant people, English or Americans, would do when worshiping -in the outer air like themselves; curious to see what a Christian -marriage was like. Would it be gay and festive like their own? -what sort of a dress would be worn by the bride? and would all her -belongings and presents be carried along the road so that all could -see that she was rich? and would there be a real feast? Thus many -had been attracted by very practical reasons which they considered -suitable to the occasion. - -And who were these in bright array after their fashion? a little -group not far from the bride herself. As if they had been especially -invited, they stood before some bamboo wands, decorated for a -gala-day; not before a thicket as once before, but with their bright -signals in the open, the prayer-signals floating in the wind to -attract the Good Spirits of the air. - -And who were these in yellow robes? with trumpets and bowls in their -hands, and outlandish masks pendant from their girdles; yet cheerful -faces withal, and wearing fillets and earrings of turquoise and coral -taken from the “curio-case” in their Temple. And one poor decrepit -native priestess with her good old prayer-wheel and bean rosary, -twirling the wheel and rattling the beans regardless of all else; one -who knew her wheel and rosary were good, because they were very old, -like herself--she had used them from childhood. Who were they? - -Because they were not arrayed in modern dress, some thought them -intruders, sheep of another fold gotten astray. Many thought so, all -except Paul and the Doctor who knew what Adele herself had done; -how she had gone out into the highways and hedges to compel them to -come in and take their place near her. They were surely entitled as -members of the congregation of the original Primate of the Cathedral, -these poor Lepchas now Adele’s friends, to a place very far front. -And the gay Taoists, also her Himalaya friends, whom she had met, -and with whom she had worshiped in their own chapel, learning to be -with them and of them, in spirit. Although crude and tawdry now, -these Taoists, they were the professed followers of Laotze, a highly -spiritual man who had given to the world one of the most abstruse, -recondite, metaphysical forms of religion ever known to humanity. -“Oh, what a fall was there!” thought Adele as she saw the Taoists -of to-day; but she invited them just the same, she wished them to be -with her now on an occasion she considered sacred. - -And more surprising still, in this region: - -Who were those two men, splendid examples of physical manhood, men -of darker complexions? They had been engaged in distributing corsage -bouquets and boutonnières among the bridal party, and they now stood -side by side as the bride passed by. They saluted her, in a polite -manner and with a style quite their own, and the bride recognized -with sincere satisfaction their presence. Who were they? Verily -of the race she knew best, next her own. Originally from Nubia in -Africa, where their near ancestors had worshiped in the forests, they -were now, already, by the will of the Creator, full citizens of her -own beloved land. Adele had found them in the bazaar, where they had -drifted in from God-knows-where in “God’s Own Country;” but to Adele -they represented the colored people of her own United States. They -were men who had shed their life-blood for the cause of Truth in -Freedom, and the Truth had made them free. They were true men as God -had made them such, in His own way, but young in the experience of -civilization. They were now educating themselves by knowledge of the -world for greater things to come; educating themselves with an energy -and rapidity never before excelled by any race. Adele had determined -to help them along; for woe betide anyone who dares ignore or impede -the way of the Almighty in nature, where the progress of the race is -in unity with the progress of religion itself. She said afterwards, -that there was no feature more home-like among the incidents -connected with her wedding, than to have these Freedmen from “God’s -Own Country,” from home, to distribute the cultivated flowers of -civilization which they themselves, that very morning, had helped to -collect, to arrange, and to give to others. - -Thus to some few of the native witnesses to this wedding, to some -few whom Adele had met personally, she became known as “The Lady of -Loving-Kindness;” and no doubt they would in time, some of them, have -erected a shrine to her memory, for they well remembered her beauty -and the Flaming Cross Light which sparkled upon her forehead. And -still later their descendants would have bowed down to an image of -her, saying they did not worship the image, but the Loving-Kindness -which she represented. - -As a matter of fact, to the majority of the Orientals actually -present, but to whom she was not known personally, strangers to her, -the effect was very different. To them the bride was now as one -separated from them more than before: this because she had become -subject to the will of her husband, and must hereafter walk behind -him, not beside him, when she went abroad; and in time must present -him with a son, or else perhaps it was better she herself had never -been born. Such were the actual facts with regard to some of the -witnesses. Yet, how natural, yet unnatural, are such conceptions; -natural to man in the primitive or childhood period of his spiritual -life, yet truly unnatural when taught otherwise by more matured -civilizations, when mankind has become enlightened further by the -brighter spiritual Light of the World. - -To Paul and Adele, now as one, it was just the reverse. They stood -side by side, with their religious consciousness turned to One whose -bride was the Church Spiritual, of whom all nations of the earth are -blessed. - -As the bridal party returned homewards through this throng of -sympathetic spectators, it was as if all had been invited to this -Marriage Feast. - -The Spirit and the Bride had said, “Come.” - - - - FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Phillips Brooks. - -[2] See frontispiece. A view from near Sundookphoo. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation such as “hill-side”/“hillside” - have been maintained. - - Minor punctuation and spelling errors have been silently corrected - and, except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the - text, especially in dialogue, and inconsistent or archaic usage, - have been retained. - - Page 26: “Semple opened with some of Brahams’” changed to “Semple - opened with some of Brahms’”. - - Page 73: “fire-opal of true Indian irridescence” changed to - “fire-opal of true Indian iridescence”. - - Page 108: “had the courage of her convicions” changed to “had the - courage of her convictions”. - - Page 117: “consequences as this; but if unsucessful” changed to - “consequences as this; but if unsuccessful”. - - Page 163: “the true union, earthly, heavenly, etrenal” changed to - “the true union, earthly, heavenly, eternal”. - - Page 226: “and all the essentials for majesty domnating” changed to - “and all the essentials for majesty dominating”. - - Page 275: “fluttered a message of thanks, or propitation” changed - to “fluttered a message of thanks, or propitiation”. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TWENTIETH CENTURY IDEALIST*** - - -******* This file should be named 64612-0.txt or 64612-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/4/6/1/64612 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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