The Bacillus of Beauty Part 5

"You agree vit' me?"

"It seems reasonable; the subject is one that you have deeply studied."

"Ach so! T'e perfect organism must haf t'e perfect beauty. T'e vorld has nefer seen a perfectly beautiful man or voman. Vat vould it say to von, t'ink you? But perfection, you vill tell me, is far to seek," he went on, without waiting for a reply. "Yet people haf learned t'at many diseases are crimes. By-and-by, we may teach t'em t'at bat organism is t'e vorst of crimes; beautiful organism t'e first duty. V'at do you say?"

The fur-capped girl pushed back her chair.

"Prof. Darmstetter," she said, "will you be good enough to look at my sections?"

"He's stirred up the hornets' nest," whispered Helen. "But come; perhaps they will show us. Those girls are so clever; they're sure to have something interesting."

CHAPTER IV.

THE G.o.dDESS AND THE MOB.

As we descended the stairway and pa.s.sed groups of students in front of the bulletin boards in the hall, Helen said:--

"I am afraid you shouldn't have called for me. It isn't usual here."

"We'll introduce the custom. How could I help coming--after yesterday?

Helen--"

"Have you seen Grant's tomb?" she inquired hastily. "It's just beyond the college buildings, hidden by them. You mustn't miss it, after coming so far."

We had issued on the Boulevard, and a few steps brought us in view of the stately white shrine on Claremont Heights. But I looked instead at her brilliant face against the velvety background of black hat and feather boa.

The sun's rays, striking across the river, played hide-and-seek in her s.h.i.+mmering hair, warming it to gold and touching the rose of her cheeks to a clear radiance. Her eyes were scintillant with changing, flas.h.i.+ng lights.

"Well?" she challenged at last, half daring, half afraid. "You know me to-day?"

"You are a sun G.o.ddess. Helen, what does it mean?"

"New York agrees vit' me," Her laugh was irresistible--low and sweet, a laugh that made the glad day brighter. "How not? It is vun fine large city."

We laughed together to the memory of _Actinia_.

"I am a goot organism. T'e bat organisms vish to scratch me; but t'ey are not so fery bat. In time ve may teach t'em gootness."

"If Darmstetter doesn't think you a perfect organism, he must be hard to satisfy. He's a peculiar organism himself. Has he true loves among sand stars or jelly fish, or does he confine his affections to sea anemones?"

"Prof. Darmstetter is a great biologist. It's a shame he has to teach.

Don't you think such a man should be free to devote himself to original work? He might in England, you know, if he were a fellow of a University.

But we're proud of him at Barnard; and the laboratory--oh, it's the most fascinating place!"

We came slowly down the Boulevard, looking out at the sweep of the Hudson, while she talked of her studies and her college mates, trying, I thought, to keep me from other topics.

I scarcely noticed her words; her voice was in my ears, fresh and musical.

The new grace of her s.h.i.+ning head and wondrous, swaying figure, the beauty and spirit of her carriage, filled my consciousness. A schooner with a deck load of wood drifted with the tide, her sails flapping; I saw her in a blur. When I turned from the sheen of the river, the bicyclists whizzing past left streaks of light. A man cutting brush in a vacant lot leaned on his axe to look after us. The sudden stopping of his "chop, chop"--he too was staring at the vision of beauty before his eyes--brought me out of my revery.

"Nelly," I said, "your father will expect a letter from me. What shall I say?"

"Tell him I am studying hard and like the city."

"But about us--about you and me?"

"Must we talk of that here--on the street?"

She spoke almost pleadingly, with the same soft clouding of her loveliness that I had seen the day before?

"But I must speak," I said. "You were right yesterday, I won't ask anything of you until I have made a start; but I must know that you still love me; that will be enough. I can wait. I won't hurry you. That is all, Helen. Everything shall be as you wish; but--you do love me?"

"Oh, you great tease! Why, I suppose I do; but--so much has happened, I don't know myself now; you didn't know me when you first saw me here. Why can't you wait and--don't you hope New York vill agree vit' you?"

She laughed with tantalizing roguery. "You _do_ love me!" I cried.

"And we shall be so happy with all our dreams come true--happy to be together and here! If you knew how I have looked forward to coming, and now--yesterday I thought myself insane, but I wasn't! You are the most marvellous--"

"Am I? Oh, I'm glad! So glad!"

I was confused, overjoyed at her sudden sparkle; the soft, flas.h.i.+ng light of her was fire and dew. She made visible nature sympathize with her moods. The sky smiled and was pensive with her.

"But see," she cried with another of her bewildering changes; "we're at Columbia."

We had left the Boulevard, and were approaching the white-domed library.

"Look at the inscription," Helen said, as students carrying notebooks began to pa.s.s us. "'KING'S COLLEGE FOUNDED UNDER GEORGE II.' Doesn't that seem old after the State University? Ours, I mean."

Our inspection was brief. Before the open admiration of the students Helen seemed, like a poising creature of air and suns.h.i.+ne, fairly to take wing for flight.

"Tell me about yourself," she commanded, when we were beyond the flights of terraced steps. "You are really in Judge Baker's office? You--you _won't_ say anything more?"

"You--darling! You have almost said you love me; do you know that? Well, I'll be considerate. I will work and I will wait and I will believe--no, I'll be certain that some day a woman more beautiful than the Greeks imagined when they dreamed of G.o.ddesses who loved mortal men will come to me and, because it is true, will quite say 'I love you.' But I may not always be patient; for you do. After all, you are Nelly!"

I was almost faint with love of her and wonder; I adored her the more for the earnestness with which she lifted her flushed, smiling, innocent face to say:

"But tell me about the office, _please_. You wouldn't want me to say--would you, if I wasn't sure? Isn't the Judge the most delightful man?

So--not pompous, you know; but so good. Don't you like Judge Baker?"

"I love you! Oh, yes, the Judge says, 'if we are confronted with an ugly duckling we must congratulate the swan.' Were you ever an ugly duckling?

I'm sure you love me, Helen."

"Did he say that? Well, even when I last saw him why that was nearly two weeks ago--I--oh, I was an ugly duckling!"

We laughed like children. In the suns.h.i.+ne of her joy-lit eyes I forgot the miracle of it, forgot everything except that I had reached New York and Nelly, and that the world was beautiful when she looked upon it.

We came down from Cathedral Heights; and as we boarded a train on the elevated, eyes peered around newspapers. An old gentleman wiped his gla.s.ses and readjusted them, his lips forming the words, "most extraordinary," and again, "most extraordinary!" A thin, transparent- looking woman followed the direction of his glance and querulously touched his elbow. Two slender girls looked and whispered.