Ralph Henry Barbour

“ For the first time since the encounter at the gate he recollected the existence of the woman in the white gown. All day she had stood before his mind’s eye as Miriam Tregatha, but now it came to him with something like a shock that over there, where the light shone, beyond the high wall, beyond the dark beeches, there really existed in corporeal form the woman whose beauty and charm had ravished the artist in him.
At the thought his heart beat a faster measure; he was by no means all artist. ”

“ Page followed page, cigarette followed cigarette. The sun dropped toward the west and the shadows lengthened across the smooth lawn. Up the river came a white steamboat, dotted with passengers, and the strains from the band on the afterdeck floated up to the porch in a little burst of pleasantly subdued melody. Roger’s eyes left the sheet and for an instant he gazed unseeingly at the passing craft. Then they dropped again, and once more his pen went slowly across the white surface, leaving behind it a trail of small, neat characters. ”

“ Roger felt at peace with himself and the world. The work had gone swimmingly; the first cast of the first act was finished, and the balance of the play lay complete in his brain awaiting transference to paper. And it promised well; the character of Miriam Tregatha was proving to be even stronger than he had dared hope. That morning he had faced defeat; to-night victory beckoned. Yes, the world was going very well with him. ”