THE HESPERIAN
i
PICTURES.
Sho stood at the door of the history room,
and waited. Sho could hoar the professor
talking and talking. Sho .wished ho would
got through. Sho played with the long,
slender chain about hor nock, and then sho
played with the little gold lockot at hor
throat, thon sho opened hor French book
and looked at it. It was a now French
book with a protty little frontispiece. Sho
took out from between tho loaves a patont
Van Evoron adjustable book cover in four
pieces. She looked up and down tho hall.
No ono was in sight. Then sho put ono
gummod edge up to hor small mouth. Ono
corner covered. Tho corner turned up, and
her little nose turned up immediately. Sho
put it down tho book-cover with ono gloved
finger. Thon sho put another piece on.
Tho boll rang. Sho placed tho unadjusted
pieces between tho loaves of tho book, and
walked slowly down tho hall. Tho class
camo out in a rush that overtook hor liko a
sudden wind coming round a corner. Sho
did not look round. A young man, fasten
ing his history note-book in his book strap,
touched her arm. "Just going homo?"
"Yes." "May I?" "I suppose so." And
they walked down tho street.
II.
'He sits by tho open window, facing tho
back row in tho class. The seats are all
filled. Ho does not caro. He prefers to sit
thoro, in a gloomy a-3ido, scowling as his
fiugors fool his chin and go on furtive ex
ploring expeditions up his cheeks. His hair
wuvos in tho breeze wildly, luxuriantly.
Ordinary men cannot wear such hair. It
bonds down and caresses his spectacles.
It sweeps down around his lofty temples,
and, encircles his ears. Ho loans his massive
brow upon his hands. Ho crosses one foot
upon his knee. Thon he lifts his head,
crosses his hands over his foot, and gazed
gloomily out of tho window. There is an
animated discussion in progress.
"Does a waiter who romombors eight or
Ion orders have a good memory ! "
uDid Homer havo a good memory? "
"Did Homer havo a copy of tho Iliad on
his cuff?"
It does not disturb him. He shuts ono
eye, and looks out of tho window.
HI.
Sho was danciug. Her light, wavy hair
fluttered with tho movement. Pale, color
loss hair it was, but tho want of color hero
was more than made up by tho color in hor
gown. It was a dazzling pink. Not tho
sunset glow, nor tho delicate rose, but a
shade unique, "warranted not to fade," and
shining in tho added splendor of grass-green
sleeves. There were splashes of groon all
about tho horn of fluffy pink. It was a study
in the impressionistic stylo. About hor palo
white throat was a fluffy ruff of pink that
resembled nothing so much as tho the tissue
paper decorations of a Swedish church at
Christmas time. From out tho dazzling
glow her colorless face looked, like a scrap
of white paper blown upon a tulip bed, as
sho whirled by.
IV.
"Gentlemen," he said, and his hand
clonched with tho ardor of his convictions,
"I believe that tho chief cause of political
corruption is tho spoils system. Show mo a
man who has ever boon helped to an honor
able or useful life by tho spoils system. I
know a man who was torn from his family,
from his wife and littlo ones, and is to-day
behind prison bars through tho spoils system.
It was ono of tho saddest sights I over
saw. Tho man was honest ho did not in
tend to fall but someono showed him an
opportunity to make a littlo money, ho yield
ed, and to-day he is only auother victim of
the damnable spoils system. I might cito
hundreds of cases. I read in tho World
Herald yesterday of a police judge who had
boon corrupted by tho abominable spoils
system.
"Therefore, gentlemen, in my belief, the
choif cause of political corruption is tho
spoils system," M,