The Point of View

nce upon the arm of a perfect stranger, and a foreigner to boot, Stella had returned to the fold of her relations' group with a demure and radiant face, and when

ar child," he retorted sternly. "I cannot allow you to

ined to laugh, he looked so cross and amazed. Then she turned and ta

ncle was a crotchety and unknown Lord, patron of two fat livings. But Stella, with a rebellious little curl loosened on her snowy neck and a rebellious pout upon her cherry lips, was so very alluring a creature to call one's own, the desire of the flesh, which he called by any other name, fought hard with his insulted spirit, though to give in would be too igno

ak to you," he said in the voice in which h

black velvet train on to the lift and at that same moment a d

uld be sending him a note at

ir [it

r of making your acquaintance to-night at your Embassy. If you will grant me this favor I will wait upon you immediately in the hall, or, if you pr

ROUM

ed of his ministrations and perhaps advice. He would go to his room, certainly, there

tting-room. It was luxuriously appointed and represented every appearance of manly comfort. There were quantities of books and papers about and the sm

mantelpiece and looked very tall a

t offer to shake hands. "It was certainly my duty to have called upon you, my only apology for getting you to asc

-growing more surprised each moment. "A

by the mantelpiece and he kept still as a br

e. I will state the facts immediately. I understand that for a short while you have been engaged to

cidly, "but I do not see how my private

in turn int

tiently, you will find that this matter

hat more could he do?

u or great desire for this union-so what I have to ask now is, if you, a

to his feet, "by what authority do you say these preposterous things? You

s Rawson myself, and I am deeply honored by believing that in return she loves me-not you at all. Therefore,

ment as he listened, and now broke in hotly, forgetful of

the faith of my betrothed, may I ask? Supposing you ar

intelligent men discussing this affair together-there has been no question of undermining. Miss Rawson and myself found we understood each other very soon after we first met. Surely, you must realize, sir, t

ascetic face, emaciated to extreme leanness, now reddened with passion, while the veins stood out upon his hig

said angrily, "you a

to try and kill me, did your calling permit of that satisfaction of gentlemen, because there is a psychological and physiological reason involved in that case, producing the instinct in man which he is not perhaps co

restrained himself from interr

ises, for the most part, which no man or woman can honestly engage with any certainty to keep, because fee

ed angrily, "when men and women make promises to one an

"In a case where the happiness of both is involve

ds convulsively but he did no

d gifts when her spirit is unwilling-just because she has made the initial mistake of affiancing herself to a man, often through others' influence, who she discovers after

t a foreigner had insulted him and appeared to have stolen the affections of his betrothed, and his sacred calling precluded all physical retaliation-which, at the moment

nsulting words to me, that they may guard her from further importunity upon your part. But I should like to

ou would give yourself time to think calmly you would see that, however unfortunate the fact may be for you of Miss Rawson's affections having become fixed on me-these things are no one's fault a

emnized immediately, and try, if there is a word of truth in your preposterous assertion that she loves you, to bring her back to a proper sense of her duty to me and to God, repressing her eart

s eyebrows once more and

so, you would begin by asking yourself what God gave certain human beings certain attributes for," he blew a few whiffs of smoke, "whether to be w

the case?" asked Mr. Medlico

ble to expound your Deity's meaning than I, a layman-but you have evidently not the same point of view-min

man interrupted, trembling now with anger, so that he fiercely gr

things; you have just announced that you would constitut

t, I insist," the

this lady we are both interested in-pray, try to listen to me calmly, sir, for we ar

oment that you have the

ned, but his advers

e attributes? Did you or I-or even her parents, consciously? Or did the Supreme Being, whom you call God, endow her so? Admitted that He did-have you, then, or anyone else, the right to crush out the result of His endowment in a woman; crush her joy of them, force her into a life where their possession is looked upon as a temptation? Seek to marry her-remember that marriage physically means being certainly

a moment; he then picked up a book and threw it

ter able than you to save her soul, and she owes me honor and obedience-it is most unseemly to even mention the aspects you have

y and to procreate children, which is the law of God and nature. Men added arrangement and endowment of property, and the church added spiritual sacrament. But God and nature invented the vital thing. If it were not so, it would have been possible for th

into one of whether a priest should marry or not. It is a question which has agitated me all my life, an

self to be just a warped atom of the great creation, incapable of anything but ignoble narrowness. You cannot even examine your own emotions honestly and probe their meaning or you would realize no man should marry, be he priest

silent, almost choking

umovski

s to exalt and ennoble them to their loftiest good. He does not, in his puny impotence, quarrel with

n to such an argument," Mr. Medlicott flashed, his anger now at white he

lty interpretation which man grafted

ic force of the Russian's blue ones-he turned away abruptly. He was too intolerant of character and too disturbed now

her," he said in a raucous voice. "I have told you I will give no freedom upon your request-

was no longer one of suave, detached calmness, but sharp and deci

obliges me to use my own way without further consulting you for assisting her wishes. I will again thank you for coming

e open window and puffed his cigar meditatively for

her spirit is with another? Of what use to talk of offended honor with high-sounding words when, if one were truthful, one would own it was offended vanity? Of what use for this narrow, foolish clergyman to protest and bombast and rave, underneath he is actuated b

hority of a guardian might go, to feign some fatigue and keep her room next day and on no account whatever to be persuaded to leave Rome or the hotel. He told her that in the morning he would endeavor to see her uncle and aunt, but if they refused this interview, he would write and ask formally for her hand, and if his request were treated with

ew emotions to be thinking of sleep, and when she heard Ivan's gent

is th

ck to her wide window and looked out on the darkness after she had read it. She saw there would be trouble ahead, she knew Eustace Medlico

entences again and thrilled and quivered there in the warm, soft night. Sasha Roumovski's influence over her had grown so strong that not a questioning speculation as to the s

with violent suddenness. Was she quite safe? Heavens above! and he turned quite cold-foreigners might be capable of any outrage-but presently he dismissed this fear. People always locked their doors in hotels, and Stella, though she had apparently shown herself sadly unworthy of his regar

remely unlikely to allow Stella out of her sight in any case, he could not imagine how his fiancee and the Russian could have found a chance to speak-and even a foreigner could not persuade a woman in

isten to against his will which had hit some part of his inner consciousness usually impregnably protected by his self-conceit. And it was an hour or two