The Plastic Age by Percy Marks (best fiction books to read TXT) 📕

Insult To The Fraternity.

Parker--Every One Called Him Norry--Was A Slender,  Delicate Lad With

Dreamy Gray Eyes And Silky Brown Hair That,  Unless He Brushed It Back

Severely,  Fell In Soft Curls On His Extraordinarily White Forehead.

Except For A Slightly Aquiline Nose And A Firm Jaw,  He Was Almost

Effeminate In appearance,  His Mouth Was So Sensitive,  His Hands So White

And Slender,  His Manner So Gentle. He Had A Slow,  Winning Smile,  A

Quiet,  Low Voice. He Was A Dreamer And A Mystic,  A Youth Who Could See

Fairies Dancing In The Shadows; And He Told Hugh What He Saw.

"I See Things," He Said To Hugh One Moonlight Night As They Strolled

Through The Woods; "I See Things,  Lovely Little Creatures Flitting

Around Among The Trees: I Mean I See Them When I'M Alone. I Like To Lie

On My Back In The Meadows And Look At The Clouds And Imagine Myself

Sitting On A Big Fellow And Sailing And Sailing Away To Heaven. It'S

Wonderful. I Feel That Way When I Play My Fiddle." He Played The Violin

Beautifully And Had Promptly Been Made Soloist For The Musical Clubs.

"I--I Can'T Explain. Sometimes When I Finish Playing,  I Find My Eyes

Full Of Tears. I Feel As If I Had Been To Some Wonderful Place,  And I

Don'T Want To Come Back."

"I Guess I'M Not Like Other Fellows. I Cry Over Poetry,  Not Because It

Makes Me Sad. It'S Not That. It'S Just So Beautiful. Why,  When I First

Read Shelley'S 'Cloud' I Was Almost Sick I Was So Happy. I Could Hardly

Stand It. And When I Hear Beautiful Music I Cry,  Too. Why,  When I Listen

To Kreisler,  I Sometimes Want To Beg Him To Stop; It Hurts And Makes Me

So Happy That--That I Just Can'T Stand It," He Finished Lamely.

"I Know," Hugh Said. "I Know How It Is. I Feel That Way Sometimes,  Too,

But Not As Much As You,  I Guess. I Don'T Cry. I Never Really Cry,  But I

Want To Once In a While. I--I Write Poetry Sometimes," He Confessed

Awkwardly,  "But I Guess It'S Not Very Good. Jimmie Henley Says It Isn'T

So Bad For A Sophomore,  But I'M Afraid That He'S Just Stringing Me

Along,  Trying To Encourage Me,  You Know. But There Are Times When I'Ve

Said A Little Bit Right,  Just A Little Bit,  But I'Ve Known That It Was

Right--And Then I Feel The Way You Do."

"I'Ve Written Lots Of Poetry," Norry Said Simply,  "But It'S No Good;

It'S Never Any Good." He Paused Between Two Big Trees And Pointed

Upward. "Look,  Look Up There. See Those Black Branches And That Patch Of

Sky Between Them And Those Stars. I Want To Picture That--And I Can'T;

And I Want To Picture The Trees The Way They Look Now So Fluffy With

Tiny New Leaves,  But I Miss It A Million Miles.... But I Can Get It In

Music," He Added More Brightly. "Grieg Says It. Music Is The Most

Wonderful Thing In The World. I Wish I Could Be A Great Violinist. I

Can'T,  Though. I'M Not A Genius,  And I'M Not Strong Enough. I Can'T

Practice Very Long."

They Continued Walking In Silence For A Few Minutes,  And Then Norry

Said: "I'M Awfully Happy Here At College,  And I Didn'T Expect To Be,

Either. I Knew That I Was Kinda Different From Other Fellows,  Not So

Strong; And I Don'T Like Ugly Things Or Smutty Stories Or Anything Like

That. I Think Women Are Lovely,  And I Hate To Hear Fellows Tell Dirty

Stories About Them. I'M No Fool,  Hugh; I Know About The Things That

Happen,  But I Don'T Want To Hear About Them. Things That Are Dirty And

Ugly Make Me Feel Sick."

"Well,  I Was Afraid The Fellows Would Razz Me. But They Don'T. They

Don'T At All. The Fellows Over At The Delta Sig House Are Wonderful To

Me. They Don'T Think I'M Wet. They Don'T Razz Me For Not Going On Wild

Parties,  Though I Know That Some Of The Fellows Are Pretty Gay

Themselves. They Ask Me To Fiddle For Them Nearly Every Evening,  And

They Sit And Listen Very,  Very Quietly Just As Long As I'Ll Play. I'M

Glad You Told Me To Go Delta Sig."

Norry Made Hugh Feel Very Old And A Little Crude And Hard. He Realized

That There Was Something Rare,  Almost Exquisite,  About The Boy,  And That

He Lived Largely In a Beautiful World Of His Own Imagination. It Would

Have Surprised Norry If Any One Had Told Him That His Fraternity

Brothers Stood In awe Of Him,  That They Thought He Was A Genius. Some Of

Them Were Built Out Of Pretty Common Clay,  But They Felt The Almost

Unearthly Purity Of The Boy They Had Made A Brother; And The Hardest Of

Them,  The Crudest,  Silently Elected Himself The Guardian Of That Purity.

Hugh Found Real Happiness In Norry Parker'S Companionship,  And Such Men

As Burbank And Winsor Were Giving Him A More Robust But No Less Pleasant

Friendship. They Were Earnest Youths,  Eager And Alive,  Curious About The

World,  Reading,  Discussing All Sorts Of Topics Vigorously,  And Yet Far

More Of The Earth Earthy Than Parker,  Who Was So Mystical And Dreamy

That Constant Association With Him Would Have Been Something Of A

Strain.

For A Time Life Seemed To Settle Down Into A Pleasant Groove Of Studies

That Took Not Too Much Time,  Movies,  Concerts,  An Occasional Play By The

Dramatic Society,  Perhaps A Slumming Party To A Dance In Hastings

Saturday Nights,  Bull Sessions,  Long Talks With Henley In His Office Or

At His Home,  Running On The Track,  And Some Reading.

For A Week Or Two Life Was Lifted Out Of The Groove By A Professor'S

Daughter. Burbank Introduced Hugh To Her,  And At First He Was Attracted

By Her Calm Dignity. He Called Three Times And Then Gave Her Up In

Despair. Her Dignity Hid An Utterly Blank Mind. She Was As Uninteresting

As Her Father,  And He Had The Reputation,  Well Deserved,  Of Being The

Dullest Lecturer On The Campus.

Only One Event Disturbed The Pleasant Calm Of Hugh'S Life After His

Argument With Tucker. He Did Not Attend Prom Because He Knew No Girl

Whom He Cared To Ask; He Failed Again To Make His Letter And Took His

Failure Philosophically; And He Received A Note From Janet Harton

Telling Him That She Was Engaged To "The Most Wonderful Man In The

World"--And He Didn'T Give A Hoot If She Was.

Just After Easter Vacation The Nu Deltas Gave Their Annual House Dance.

Hugh Looked Forward To It With Considerable Pleasure. True,  He Was Not

"Dragging A Woman," But Several Of The Brothers Were Going "Stag"; So He

Felt Completely At Ease.

The Freshmen Were Put Toeceived A Letter From You By Friday'S Post,  To

Satisfy Us Where You Was. This Idea Of An Epidemical Disorder At

Turin Has Alarmed Lady Carlisle,  And I Have Caught Some Of The

Fright Of Her. March Returned Yesterday From Lord Spencer'S,  And The

Usual Company Supped At The Duke Of Grafton'S.

Mrs. Horton(60) Sets Out For Nice With A Toad-Eater And An Upper

Servant Of The Duke'S This Next Week. The Night Robbers Prove To Be

Soldiers In The Foot Guards,  Which I Suspected; We Have Not

Recovered Our Terrors,  And Still Go Home,  As They Travel In The

Eastern Countries,  Waiting For Convoys; It Ruins Me In Flambeaux'S.

Lord Clive Will Not I Think Live To Go To Nice,  But I Hope He Will

Get Safe To Paris,  And Then Sir J. Lambert Will Take Care Of All The

Rest. The Badge Is Pretty,  Excepting That The Shape Of It Is Too

Long,  And The Whole Seems Too Large For A Young Person. But That Was

The Fault Of The Sardonyx.

The Duchess Of Bucc[Leugh](61) Is Very Far Gone With Child; But I

Believe I Told You So In My Last. I Will Write The Rest When Lady

Sarah Is Gone From My House Tuesday After Dinner.

Tuesday Night.--My Dear Lord,  I Have Waited Till My Foreign Letters

Came In before I Would Finish This,  Always In Hopes Of One From You.

I Have Received One By This Post From Charles Of The 6Th Of This

Month; And He Says You Was Answering One Which You Had Just Had From

Me. This Gives Me Hope That I Shall Hear From You On Friday.

Lady Sarah Dined With Me,  Miss Blake,  Sir Charles,  Lord March,  Lady

Bolingbroke,  And Crawfurd. Lady S[Arah],  &C. Went To The Play Soon.

She Received A Long Letter From Lady Holland While We Were At

Dinner,  But Only Said That Lord H[Ollan]D Was Well,  Which I Was Glad

To Hear. We Were 16 Yesterday At The Duke Of Gr[Afton'S],  A Very

Mixed Company. He Enquired Very Kindly After You.

I Think I Shall Have Both Trouble And Expense At Gloucester,  As I

Have Had Heretofore,  But That Is All I Apprehend,  And That I Have

Been Prepared For A Great While,  By Expectation. I Am In Great Hopes

From Charles'S Letter That You Are Still At Nice. Not That I Think

But,  Being So Near Turin,  If There Was Anything To Be Feared From

The Distemper,  You Would Certainly Hear It,  And Not Go. Perhaps

There Are Letters From You In cleveland Court; I Shall Send To Sir

Wm.(62) To Enquire.

The Great Event At Almack'S Is That Scott Has Left Off Play; He Is,

I Suppose,  The Plena Cruons Hirundo. I Am Not Quite Satisfied That

Sir J. Lambert Is Punctual In Forwarding My Letters; Pray Let Me

Know It. Those Who Have Been To