J. V ,. l
VoL IX. No. 73.
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA, LINCOLN, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1910.
ricc 5-Gentirr"
t
I - i
V
"
THE LITTLE-BOY-
WHO-NEVER-WAS
A SHORT STORY BY A. MAXON
SPRAGUE.
no bitterness that ho hnd como bo late,
She lay very still, gazing botwuen
half eloped lids straight beforo her.
What was that Btrange glow? It re
minded her of a atar miles and miles
away. Many years ago, when she was
a little girl, sho had seen a great
golden star like that. There was a
heavy fragrance of Japauese honey
sucldo about her now, Just as there
had been then.
There was a sudden soft rustling.
Between her and the star a woman
stepped. Sho know now. The star
was the shaded night Innip In her
dressing room; tho woman Was her
nurse. Slowly she lowered her lashes
until they lay upon her white cheeks.
She felt the eyes or tho nurse upon
her. yet remained motionless. She
heard the door open, and then a man's
voice, curiouosly muffled.
"Well, .Misa Bingham?"
- "Still in the stupor, doctor. Sho
has been thiAvay since midnight'."
A I, I " '
" ; V.
She felt cool lingers toucb Her
wrist, yet she made no sign. She
smiled in her heart. They thought her
unconscious, but her mind waB as
clear as theirs. Clearer, perhaps, for
she felt strangely light and airy, as if
her body worn gone and only her
brain remained, comprehending abnor
mally every sound in tho room about
her, The mans-voice, sun muuieu,
broke in upon her thoughts.
"If she regains consciousness before
dawn, I thing there Is hope. There
will probably be no change for an
hour. It might be well" The nurse
and doctor passed toward the outer
room. For a moment she heard them
speaking in low tones, then the faint
click or a closing door.
Slowly sho raised her rashes. Tho
shaded lamp glowed like a golden
star; the nurse sat bCBlde it, her head
resting on her hand. Again tho wo
inair smiled -without moving her llpsr
They thought her still in that land of
shadows where Bhe had groped for s6
long. So long! It seemed years bo
fore she had heard the call and como
back. She remembored thoBO long,
dark hills with the cold wind on her
face and the sound of sobbing in her
ears the sound or her ,ovn aobs as
she hunted Tor the way 'back. Then
suddenly the voice in tho blacknoBB,
and sho had opened her oyea to the
lamp, and the great white bed.
Now she felt curiously strained 'and
eager, as ir she wore waiting for some
thing or someone. Y6t the heavy frag
rance of honeysuckles Bcemed to weigh
her, down; the light blurred, and sho
folt herself climbing tho hills again,
with tho wincl In hqr face. With an
effort sho struggled back, arid lay
watching tho light and tho drooping
head of tho nurse.
Sho muBt wait a little longer. Per
aps 'not very long; perhaps now
she turned her head until ner chook
lay In tho warm hollow of tho pillow.
Thenthen sho know why sho had
como back. How glad sho was. A joy
that was -passionate In Ub interest
leaped up In hor heart and glowed on
her smiling face. For there in thq
doorway stood tho Uttle-Boy-Who-
Slever-Was
only a great joy that ho had coine-at
all. He moved quickly toward her, j
MMt t.l... nnn, ...ill. M uiwl.lfltl tMiall t i
mill niiv aim niin v oiimiv;n i won '
tenderness, how lino and Blurdy ho
waB.' If he had only como In time to
grow up She Btffled the rising re
gret, and -her eyes wore clear and
beautiful as ho leaned against the bed
looking down at hor.
"You cailed- me back why?" Sho
lifted hor baud and touched his hair;
she wanted to hear his voice.
"You know," he replied, with quaint
gravity, drawing hor hand down to hia
cheek and holding It there. He nl
ways did that In hor dreams. "You
were to come with me. The lilHs wore
so dark and cold. I wanted to tako
care of you always."
You knew me 7" she queried. How
she loved tho way his hair grew on his
temples!
"0, yes." he replied Bimply. "I saw
you from Yonder. 1 chqso .you for
mine even beforo you thought of there
being a mo." He laughed sortly,
brushing his lips across her hand.
"I'm twolvo now."
Twelve! So she had dreamed of him
that long. Ho was a big boy now,
able to tako care of hor. It was so
Kood to bo takon care or. All those
years when she had struggled on
alone; when there had only boon her
lonely dreams ; j?jSt-
"'You inustn'tthlnk or that," said
the Llttle-Hoy-Whq-Novor-Was, read
ing aright the shadow on her eyes.
"I'm here now that 1b all. You nuiat
come It's almost dawn. Come." Ho
smiled as he slipped his sturdy arm
beneath hor head.
Suddenly, where she had been
weak she was strong. She had been
too tired to move Tor so long; at
times It had been an effort hardly
worth the trouble to lift her heavy
eyelids. Yet now sho felt light and
airy and full or eagerness, as ir her
body were gone, leaving hor soul burn
ing like a clear flame. Sho felt as
young and strong as that night long
ago when as a little girl sho had seen
the golden star. She was glad, glad
that tho years had slipped away leav
ing her a lit companion for tho Little
Boy.who'had come at last.
AVith his hand In hors Bhe roso.
Hand In hand they went to the door.
There she stopped and looked back
In the ontor room tho shaded lamp
glowed faintly; tho nurse still sat with
drooping head.
"It Is almost dawn." Banl-the Uttlo-Boy-Who-Nover-Was
again. "Wo must
go."
So hand in hand thoy passed down
the broad staircase. Tho hall door
stood ajar, allowing a heavy fragranco
of JapaneBO honqysucklo to como
stealing In. Without in tho garden,
where a faint light was beginning to
glow, there waB a rustling and Btlrrlng
as of myriads of tiny wings fluttering.
The dawn waB coming fast, yot tho
two lingered a moment bororo an open
door. Standing on the. threshold they
gazed silently. At a long table U a
man with his head sunk upon his'
breast; the flngors of hla outstretched
hand clasped a half empty glass. Tho
woman shivered. Tho long, lonely
years Then sturdy Angora closed on
hera and 'alio met tho gravely tender
eyes of tho Uttle-Boy-Who-Had-Nover-Been.
It was very good to bo takon
care of. Together they turned and
passed down tho hall.
With this issue "The Dally
Nebraskan" presents its first
LiteraYy Number under the su
pervision of the English Club.
I
J rjf 7 p Ti T Tl T
MACEL WAVES
FEW TIPS ON VERIFICATION
WITH 'ILLUSTRATIONS.
When a rollow Is out or college; ho
ruiiB across a bunch or things tho pro
rcssors do not teach him in school.
Thoro'B tragedy and comedy and ro
mance lots or romance! And you
know they don't teach those things
here at school. Ho also bumps up
against barriers or facts solid, re-en
forced concrete facts!
For Instance: In the onjctnlnan art
or verification, he learns that, in addi
tion to the proverbial f7 varloUt-s of
rhyme schemes and motors, lie must
"produce goods" 'hat will suit the cc
cnBloh, regardless what the occasion
may bo. Like tho girl from Nuckolls
county, Who had been proposed to, en
gaged and disengaged from hor
twelfth to hor twonty-ilfth birthday,
he must bo prepared ror any emer
gency when It comes to rurijlshlng
the "linoB."
To illustrate: An amateur actor,
aspiring for vaudeville notoriety,
places an order with you for tho lyric
or a song to be sung In a merry little
sketch, entitled, "Aly Wife; or the
Hunch of the Hon-Pecked Husband."
Ho will call for It tomorrow. Now,
you are tho poet In the case. You
smoko three dozen cigarettes (all
poots smoko cigarettes!) throw your
self Into an hynotlc state of inspira
tion (some poets substitute Porunn!)
then, hair racing your stenographer
(no poet Ib without one!) you Im
pose upon tho unsuspecting public
something like this:
When a rellow's working hard, work
ing hard all day.
Trying to pay the landlord and keep
the woir away;
Tho nurBo rose and entered tho
AVhal'r the use or nagging him, nag
ging him, I auy-"-Just
because ho happens to h" a
husband.
Refrain.
Why should a rollow linger? Why
should a rollow stay?.
Why Bhould a rollow tarry when It's
peck! peck! peck! all day?
I don't belleVe In single llfo, but 1
think you'll all agree
That when a wife begins to peck' it
should be
Strike 1, 2, 3.
That when dear wlfby starts to peck
Strlko 1 Strike 2! Strike 3! '
(Note: You supply verses by the
yard.) ""
Had the customer been an embry
onic Mary Chatman Catt, you would
liavo talked thuBly to your 'Stenogra
pher, "lines" to bo chanted to soft
music:
The WJfe-Worshlpper.
A aero llttlo mink of a man
Haa a mook .modest maid of a wlfof
And their days are as droama, at leaat
ao it seome '
To tho'&e who know not their home
lire.
m
But ah; 'tia not thus, for wo know
How thoy fuBs, spat and quarrel
every day;
"The stuff's horn but gad! how. It's
mndo!"
When sho displays a now gown, ho oh
, serves with n frown:
"Whew! Cost enough! But Say,
won't It fade?"
In tho wlntor he rails at the gas bill:
"Great heavens, woman, that's
high!"
Eastertide. It's the hat bills:
"You might break mo up ir you try!"
When Bummer comes then tho Ice
man: "I am no millionaire, do you hear?"
But his wife is yet sane, and as there
Is naught to explain,
She smiles: "1 know; and I am sor
ry, my dear."
Sometime, w suspect, he will sue hor
For, divorce oil the grounds or abuse,
Then to him frlonds will say, "Well,
It's always that way
When you worship your wife, you
gOOBo!"
Your Cuddlln' Babe.
Suaphruillu Johnson was a bashful
man; Saspharllla Johnson was
in love;
Saspharllla Johnson was a bashful
man; Punic Llctus was ills tur
tle dove. V y
Now Sasphrl being very wise, went
courting by degrees;
Read to Punlo much poetry or kings
and goldon seas:
But Punic tho a patlont girl, was anx
ious to bo wooed,
So she cuddled fcloso to Saph ono
night ami cuddling coftly cooed:
Rofraln.
Call me your Cuddlln' Babe, .dear- .
('all mo your Cuddlln' Babe.
Call mo your Cuddlln' Babe, doar
Call me your Cuddlln Babe.
There are times I will admit
When It loqks like a sort of an epi
leptic fit,
But Call mo your Cuddlln' Babe,
doar!
Call mo your Ctuldlln' Babe.
If you aro aifked to wrlto tho rag
time hit of tho musical year, you will
probably digest threo volumes of
George Ade or something like thut
tako a sovero Turkish bath, then penj
Tour CuddlInT3ab6. "
THE NATURE OF OUR
ENJOYMEOT OF TRAGEDY
80ME CONCLU8ION8 DRAWN
. FROIvl PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
" Sho had never seen him beroro, but
always, always, her hoaHt had known
him. There could bo no mistake. She
know ho would have just such curly
blaclf hair; just auch,gravo blue eyes.
Then as Bhe watched him ho smiled
and Bhe knew, before sho aaw it that
thero would ,bo the little three-cor-nored
dimple in hia cheek.
As ahe lay with hor oyea upon him
all tho lonely yoara which were bo-
hind hor, tho years when ho had only
lived in her dreams, passed in Blow
procession beforo her. Yet' she folt
inner room. For a moment alio paused
beside tho groat white bed. "How
beautirul sho lsj" she. murmured. "To
think that sho can smllo so!" Thon
somethlpg In tho attltuSe of the beau
tiful figure struck hor. Sho bent for
ward. The jqy in tho white faco held
hor Hpollbound and silenced .tho cry
on hor Hps
Out in tho, fragrant garden, tho -Lft-s
tle-Boy.Who-Neypr-Was said, softly, ak
thoy turned tholr faces to tho dawn,
"I shall take caro of you alwaysIiit!
HO . Ul 13 11 III HIVlHCli ' f i
When you go In ror tho flrBt prize
offered by some musical comody pro
ducer for a collego refrain that will
get tho boys "whistling It In tho gal
leries," you muster up tho courage to
mail him lines that run somewhat Uko
those:
When Friends Must Part.
Boys
Days have como and days" have gone;
the years have fluttered by:
At last tho hour, dear friends, la here
when wo must say goodbye.
Aflhotlio years will roll along until
this life Is oor,
Tho memory of these dear old days
we shall chorlsh for evermore.
' i
. GIrls-r
,It'8 sad to leave our dear old school
the parting of tho ways: .
It's sad to leaVo our doar old friends,
frlonds of our collego days.
But there are times when frienda must
part, tho host of friends thoy bo,
And nil that la left of the olden times
is frond sweot memory.
Refrain.
Olden times Oldon times
In future years Uko silvor chimes.
Echo Boftly from afar Echo!. Echo!
from afar!
WhlBpprlng tales of thoao we knew
For, tho charming' to meot at church,
on tho street, '
At homQjiUHbjuiilJs not quite that
In tho morning, ho finds fault with tho
" pancakes' ;
Whjr can't we- have waffles In
stoad?" At lupcheon 'he makes war on f tho
beefsteak; ' 1 v- ' " ' "v t (
"You know that I wanted sweet
bread." '"-t't
'jn.tho evening he besieges the' omelet:
Tales or friendship,' AUI so truo
Bringing visions of those we loved
In Uio dour old goldon days. ,
But there aro times you fprget to
smoko your cigarettes "and half-faco
your stenographor. For example, you
seo some poor damned nigger getting
it' rubbed Into him from nil Bldeg sim
ply and jtolely because he is black.
You seoiii to hear him Bay:
Must 'the. Dark Couds Hang?
Dark clouds hang over tho mountains,
i Dark cloudtf hang ovej tho soa
."''' Continued oil Pago 3
MIsb Ethol Puff or, In "Tho Psychol
ogy or Beauty," summarizes her ex
planation or "tho-phonomonon or our
aesthetic reaction on the drama" in
part as follows:
"Thoro Is an undoubted emotional
oxporlonco or gront intensity; and yot
that emotion turns out to bo not the
omotion in the drama, but rathor the'
emotion from tho drama a unique in
dependent emotion of tonsloh."
"ThcTo must bo a very vivid emotional
effect, but it is tho spectator's own,
and not a copy of tho horo's omotion,
because it is a product of tho essen
tial form of tho drnma Itself, tho con
frontation of forces.'' .Tho tragic situ
ation "nuiBt bo inovltablu, and it must
have movomont, because only so is
tho confrontation reinforced."
Miss Puffer's theory rathor appealed
to me as I ilrst grasped it. I can dlo
tlnctly recall that feeling of tension,
and of detachment at tho Bamo time, v
that flows underneath tho moro or loss
ecstatic sadness I havo experienced
in tho reading or hearing of tragedy.
I can agree equally with the statbmont
that tho more Inevltablo tho tragedy
tho more ovouly matched and well jus
tified .the contMidlng forcoa tlioT -greater
the motional effect producod.
But as I thought It ovor I rebelled at
tho notion that wo do not feol with
tho herof or even for him, we simply
feel with ti tin. A weak and watery
sentiment that, to break down tho cul
tured roBorvo of educated play-goers
and flbtion-readcrs! I cannot speak for
others, of courso, but I want to ga
Into a somowhat lengthy analysis of
ono particular "aesthetic experience"
that Ktands by Itflolf, n Hlnglo com
ploto nnd vivid plcturo, in my unun-
ory. It novcr occurred to mo before
to try to explain tho oxporlonco; It
was enough just to havo folt It.
Two years ago r was a momUor of
a ,class In clomontary Gorman, which
was studying Wilholm Moyor-Forstor'B
tale of Gorman studont lifo, "Karl
Helnrich." It is a story told in an es
sentially direct, dramatic stylo, and
has boon staged with omlnont succoss
in several Europoan countries. Rich
ard Mansfield mado a distinct hucccss
of it lu tho eastern part of our own
country. Tho critics do not call it a
great book, hut thoy do ascribe its
popularity, not to any shallowness,
but, on tho contrary, to tho genuine
sincerity of subject and Btylo. Well,
wo of tho class stumbled along me
chanically through thd- first pages of
the book, paying llttlo attention to tho
story while wo tussled with tho un
familiar medium that convoyed It. But
'one night, na I sat in tho-honio H
biary dutifully toiling through my
next day's assignment, I reached tho
place where tho lonely, shy young
prlnco, attending his first bauquot of
tho "Corps' ac old' Heldolberg, dlscov- f
ors for tho first tlmo In his llfo what
it meuns to havo froe, equal, human
rotations with his kind. Tho youthful,
reckless .Joy of tho festivities goes to
his head, and he. is Intoxicated, be
side himself, carried up Into a sev
enth heaven of bliss. . . s
Here w,as something I lundorstood.
T hiul pnwqpfl through ft fnlntly almllnr
oxperlenco myself, and ,tho . romom-
brance was fresh in my mind. Eager
ly. I oil owed thci adventures of the en
raptured boy. Hla love-affair , with
charming'littlo waiting-maid Kathie at
flrBt made mo Jfrown disapprovingly.
But what ' could you expect? Tho
prlnco, during his twenty years pr,o"
In hla grandfathor's gloomy old castle,
had 'seldom eVen soen a woman.rbon"
the childish nnturalnoss .oMneYr ;ovo
J '. ... .I'lU i'.
won my ueart compieieiyr- ij rojpicoa
In their sanguine, ingenuous plans tor
Continued on Page 4 '
V 1
-v O
t
&
