THE SUNDAY OKEGONIAN, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 15 1912.
J
OJV every one finds that wlcked.1
ffV I say, sophisticated urban centres
II I are the most childlike of any sec-
tion of the country. Theattention
V of their crowds is caught and held
S by a twirling mechanism in a shop
.vlndow, by the passage of a street car of
lew design, by a fleeting glimpse of lux
urious beauty : as Milady whisks from . her
tutomobile across the pavement into the the
atre. There are men and women who linger
nightly in the main streets with no other
purpose than to watch the crowds enter and
leaTe the theatres
. This interest is not alone for those who
And a Tegular amusement in watchfng the
theatre crowds. The chance passenger, if
he keeps his eyes open, may see the hurrying
crowds pause suddenly and form a narrow
lane from the curb to the lobby of a play
house while a dainty woman, enveloped in
furs hurries into the building. A limousine
chugs to the curb, the door opens and the
n Glomerate mass of humanity in thei
streets is crystallized for the moment by the
one hantment of beauty.
The waif of the street, and the swagger,
well dressed man who was elbowing past
Mm stop abruptly, side by side, and breath
iposIv watch. The tired clerk and the flashy
,mwpr touch elbows as they stand trans
fixed, and both are gazing at a wisp of a girl
,h for a eecona wuisjvh ueiure meir eyes.
It is automatic, magic none mean to do it,
but they pause involuntarily, and when the
vision has passea iuey iiuti j ou Kguui. eacn
Hth his own thoughts which no man knows.
Yet in all these faces one scarcely ever
ees a trace ol envy or a jeaxous iook. xney
are drawn by the glimpses of beauty they
may catch," and whatever thoughts are stir-Jping monotonously on the pavement
ring wiuiiu mem, Iroiu tueir lacea, wou.
seem to be kindly.
One night last week two young men wen;
in the watching throng and I overheard a
part of the conversation.
'Look, there's Miss Blank," said one. "She
IS stunning."
"She is," replied the other, crossly, "but I
wish I hadn't stopped here. She's with that
Martin, and I had asked her to go to the
opera with me to-night."
And with that this young Romeo gave
vent to a sigh, the sound of which would
have rent the heart of the perfidious young
woman who was "with that Martin." To his
way of thinking the disappointed young
chap had sounded the depths of woe.
Not ten paces from them a man and
woman past middle life Lad paused to catch
the glitter of Jewelry and the Joy of smiling,
beautiful faces. The woman wore a shabby
shawl about her head and the man shivered
a little in his too light overcoat, which was
worn threadbare.
And to think we lost all that, Emma," he
said to the woman, who clung closely to him.
And It was all my fault. If It wasn t for my
mistakes we would still be over there, and
I'd be helping you into your own car while
the crowd over nere.watchsd you. -I-re
member bow they used to"
Toe woman interrupted him. She wae
looking Into his face with a smile that is not
to be described, and she patted his arm
gently with her free hand.
"But that was before we knew what hap
piness was," she said. "I only half knew
you in those old days, and it is the new days
which bold the greatest happiness lor us.
Will you tuck my shawl about me?" -
He lifted the shawl closer about her throat
and they moved slowly away, his can tap-
as Page toy am Artist off Mot
.:. ' - y
kA Christina