Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 124, No. 3 — page 82: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

456 be much astounded if you performed any- thing with distinction. You follow me?” ‘“H-m!” said Patricia. ‘You will attempt to remedy. this defect ‘since I have called it to your attention, but after a few years you will see that I am right about it; a woman never varies, except in degree. You will abandon the effort to create.” She was beginning to forget what the man looked like. She was hearing only the light, smooth voice. She was drifting away into the sea of the discussion. “There are other things,” said Patricia desperately. ‘‘ There are other things I can do. There is a world of action.” ‘““A world of action,” said the little man serenely. “‘ You can give birth to children, love your husband because he provides the food for yourself and your offspring, and rock a cradle. Within whose limits there is almost nothing to which you may not aspire in the world of action. That must be quite clear to you.” ‘“H-m!” said Patricia. ‘‘ But after all,” went on Goggles, “ what is the world of action? What becomes of it? What do we know of the great finan- ciers and bridge-builders and lawmakers and statesmen? You can number on your two hands the few to whom certain poets have deigned to give immortality. No, your practical man, your man of action, rots away into oblivion as rapidly as his name rots away on the headstone of his grave. ‘What is left of Egypt? The mind that conceived the Sphinx and the author of the story of “‘ Cinderella.” What of the heroes of Greece, her captains of industry? They are gone except as some poet names them on a random page. And the poets of Greece? You can run the list into scores. We read them as we read Milton and Shakespeare. Well, to get down to modern days, consider Shakespeare. Now, can you tell me, off-hand, who commanded the Eng- lish fleet against the Armada?” “No,” said Patricia, “ I can’t.” ‘It was a certain Lord Howard, I think. But ‘surely in his day he was considered much greater than the obscure fellow who pushed a pen and acted the part of a ghost ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. and finally settled down in a pleasant little village to die like a commonplace farmer. Yes, in those days no man would have hesitated to choose between the fate of a Lord Howard and that of a Shakespeare. But time is the acid test. Time rusts away all your strong iron and leaves only the gold untouched—only the gold—only the beauty. It is the one thing you cannot re- sist. ‘For instance, I called you out of a distant part of the house with music. Be- cause I play that Etude in a certain way you have to listen to me although you de- spise me, d’you see? And after I’ve gone on you'll think over what I’ve said, though you're too proud to ask more questions now.” She slumped into a chair. “Tm not too proud,” she said. despise you—but I want to listen.” “Well,” said Goggles, ‘I like to talk, for that matter. Almost any audience will do for me when I get started. Even my horse!” He smiled, and, musing upon this ab- surdity, he drew out a monogramed cigar- ette-case, and offered it to her. She refused sharply. , | : ‘““ Ah,” said Goggles, withdrawing the case and selecting and lighting his smoke, “you don’t smoke? Now, that’s rarely stupid of you. You miss a great opportu- nity; nothing like smoking to set off hands like yours.” She folded her arms to conceal those hands. “Now!” he said. ‘ You wish to seem angry, but secretly you’re a little pleased, aren’t your” “ Yes,” said the girl, “I like apprecia- tion, no matter from whom it comes.” ‘““ Not so well said,’ answered the dic- tator of tastes. “ Injudicious appreciation is worse than useless. It clogs the mind with inaccuracies. The common herd, for instance, thought much of both Tennyson and Browning in their day.” . “But you dislike them?” ‘Dislike them? No. When I was a boy I rather enjoyed them. Then I dis- covered that Tennyson has nothing to say and knows exceedingly well how to say it; “1 do we fl (GO) SS ElOO® (CO