It would not be fair to record the adventures of Father Brown, without
admitting that he was once involved in a grave scandal. There still are
persons, perhaps even of his own community, who would say that there was
a sort of blot upon his name. It happened in a picturesque Mexican road
- house of rather loose repute, as appeared later; and to some it seemed
that for once the priest had allowed a romantic streak in him, and his
sympathy for human weakness, to lead him into loose and unorthodox
action. The story in itself was a simple one; and perhaps the whole
surprise of it consisted in its simplicity.
Burning Troy began with Helen; this disgraceful story began with the
beauty of Hypatia Potter. Americans have a great power, which Europeans
do not always appreciate, of creating institutions from below; that is
by popular initiative. Like every other good thing, it has its lighter
aspects; one of which, as has been remarked by Mr Wells and others, is
that a person may become a public institution without becoming an
official institution. A girl of great beauty or brilliancy will be a
sort of uncrowned queen, even if she is not a Film Star or the original
of a Gibson Girl. Among those who had the fortune, or misfortune, to
exist beautifully in public in this manner, was a certain Hypatia Hard,
who had passed through the preliminary stage of receiving florid
compliments in society paragraphs of the local press, to the position of
one who is actually interviewed by real pressmen. On War and Peace and
Patriotism and Prohibition and Evolution and the Bible she had made her
pronouncements with a charming smile; and if none of them seemed very
near to the real grounds of her own reputation, it was almost equally
hard to say what the grounds of her reputation really were. Beauty, and
being the daughter of a rich man, are things not rare in her country;
but to these she added whatever it is that attracts the wandering eye of
journalism. Next to none of her admirers had even seen her, or even
hoped to do so; and none of them could possibly derive any sordid
benefit from her father's wealth. It was simply a sort of popular
romance, the modern substitute for mythology; and it laid the first
foundations of the more turgid and tempestuous sort of romance in which
she was to figure later on; and in which many held that the reputation
of Father Brown, as well as of others, had been blown to rags.
It was accepted, sometimes romantically, sometimes resignedly, by those
whom American satire has named the Sob Sisters, that she had already
married a very worthy and respectable business man of the name of
Potter. It was even possible to regard her for a moment as Mrs Potter,
on the universal understanding that her husband was only the husband of
Mrs Potter.
Then came the Great Scandal, by which her friends and enemies were
horrified beyond their wildest hopes. Her name was coupled (as the queer
phrase goes) with a literary man living in Mexico; in status an
American, but in spirit a very Spanish American. Unfortunately his vices
resembled her virtues, in being good copy. He was no less a person than
the famous or infamous Rudel Romanes; the poet whose works had been so
universally popularized by being vetoed by libraries or prosecuted by
the police. Anyhow, her pure and placid star was seen in conjunction
with this comet. He was of the sort to be compared to a comet, being
hairy and hot; the first in his portraits, the second in his poetry. He
was also destructive; the comet's tail was a trail of divorces, which
some called his success as a lover and some his prolonged failure as a
husband. It was hard on Hypatia; there are disadvantages in conducting
the perfect private life in public; like a domestic interior in a shop -
window. Interviewers reported doubtful utterances about Love's Larger
Law of Supreme Self - Realization. The Pagans applauded. The Sob
Sisterhood permitted themselves a note of romantic regret; some having
even the hardened audacity to quote from the poem of Maud Mueller, to
the effect that of all the words of tongue or pen, the saddest are 'It
might have been.' And Mr Agar P. Rock, who hated the Sob Sisterhood with
a holy and righteous hatred, said that in this case he thoroughly agreed
with Bret Harte's emendation of the poem:
'More sad are those we daily see; it is, but it hadn't ought to be.'
For Mr Rock was very firmly and rightly convinced that a very large
number of things hadn't ought to be. He was a slashing and savage critic
of national degeneration, on the Minneapolis Meteor, and a bold and
honest man.
1100833025
admitting that he was once involved in a grave scandal. There still are
persons, perhaps even of his own community, who would say that there was
a sort of blot upon his name. It happened in a picturesque Mexican road
- house of rather loose repute, as appeared later; and to some it seemed
that for once the priest had allowed a romantic streak in him, and his
sympathy for human weakness, to lead him into loose and unorthodox
action. The story in itself was a simple one; and perhaps the whole
surprise of it consisted in its simplicity.
Burning Troy began with Helen; this disgraceful story began with the
beauty of Hypatia Potter. Americans have a great power, which Europeans
do not always appreciate, of creating institutions from below; that is
by popular initiative. Like every other good thing, it has its lighter
aspects; one of which, as has been remarked by Mr Wells and others, is
that a person may become a public institution without becoming an
official institution. A girl of great beauty or brilliancy will be a
sort of uncrowned queen, even if she is not a Film Star or the original
of a Gibson Girl. Among those who had the fortune, or misfortune, to
exist beautifully in public in this manner, was a certain Hypatia Hard,
who had passed through the preliminary stage of receiving florid
compliments in society paragraphs of the local press, to the position of
one who is actually interviewed by real pressmen. On War and Peace and
Patriotism and Prohibition and Evolution and the Bible she had made her
pronouncements with a charming smile; and if none of them seemed very
near to the real grounds of her own reputation, it was almost equally
hard to say what the grounds of her reputation really were. Beauty, and
being the daughter of a rich man, are things not rare in her country;
but to these she added whatever it is that attracts the wandering eye of
journalism. Next to none of her admirers had even seen her, or even
hoped to do so; and none of them could possibly derive any sordid
benefit from her father's wealth. It was simply a sort of popular
romance, the modern substitute for mythology; and it laid the first
foundations of the more turgid and tempestuous sort of romance in which
she was to figure later on; and in which many held that the reputation
of Father Brown, as well as of others, had been blown to rags.
It was accepted, sometimes romantically, sometimes resignedly, by those
whom American satire has named the Sob Sisters, that she had already
married a very worthy and respectable business man of the name of
Potter. It was even possible to regard her for a moment as Mrs Potter,
on the universal understanding that her husband was only the husband of
Mrs Potter.
Then came the Great Scandal, by which her friends and enemies were
horrified beyond their wildest hopes. Her name was coupled (as the queer
phrase goes) with a literary man living in Mexico; in status an
American, but in spirit a very Spanish American. Unfortunately his vices
resembled her virtues, in being good copy. He was no less a person than
the famous or infamous Rudel Romanes; the poet whose works had been so
universally popularized by being vetoed by libraries or prosecuted by
the police. Anyhow, her pure and placid star was seen in conjunction
with this comet. He was of the sort to be compared to a comet, being
hairy and hot; the first in his portraits, the second in his poetry. He
was also destructive; the comet's tail was a trail of divorces, which
some called his success as a lover and some his prolonged failure as a
husband. It was hard on Hypatia; there are disadvantages in conducting
the perfect private life in public; like a domestic interior in a shop -
window. Interviewers reported doubtful utterances about Love's Larger
Law of Supreme Self - Realization. The Pagans applauded. The Sob
Sisterhood permitted themselves a note of romantic regret; some having
even the hardened audacity to quote from the poem of Maud Mueller, to
the effect that of all the words of tongue or pen, the saddest are 'It
might have been.' And Mr Agar P. Rock, who hated the Sob Sisterhood with
a holy and righteous hatred, said that in this case he thoroughly agreed
with Bret Harte's emendation of the poem:
'More sad are those we daily see; it is, but it hadn't ought to be.'
For Mr Rock was very firmly and rightly convinced that a very large
number of things hadn't ought to be. He was a slashing and savage critic
of national degeneration, on the Minneapolis Meteor, and a bold and
honest man.
The Scandal of Father Brown
It would not be fair to record the adventures of Father Brown, without
admitting that he was once involved in a grave scandal. There still are
persons, perhaps even of his own community, who would say that there was
a sort of blot upon his name. It happened in a picturesque Mexican road
- house of rather loose repute, as appeared later; and to some it seemed
that for once the priest had allowed a romantic streak in him, and his
sympathy for human weakness, to lead him into loose and unorthodox
action. The story in itself was a simple one; and perhaps the whole
surprise of it consisted in its simplicity.
Burning Troy began with Helen; this disgraceful story began with the
beauty of Hypatia Potter. Americans have a great power, which Europeans
do not always appreciate, of creating institutions from below; that is
by popular initiative. Like every other good thing, it has its lighter
aspects; one of which, as has been remarked by Mr Wells and others, is
that a person may become a public institution without becoming an
official institution. A girl of great beauty or brilliancy will be a
sort of uncrowned queen, even if she is not a Film Star or the original
of a Gibson Girl. Among those who had the fortune, or misfortune, to
exist beautifully in public in this manner, was a certain Hypatia Hard,
who had passed through the preliminary stage of receiving florid
compliments in society paragraphs of the local press, to the position of
one who is actually interviewed by real pressmen. On War and Peace and
Patriotism and Prohibition and Evolution and the Bible she had made her
pronouncements with a charming smile; and if none of them seemed very
near to the real grounds of her own reputation, it was almost equally
hard to say what the grounds of her reputation really were. Beauty, and
being the daughter of a rich man, are things not rare in her country;
but to these she added whatever it is that attracts the wandering eye of
journalism. Next to none of her admirers had even seen her, or even
hoped to do so; and none of them could possibly derive any sordid
benefit from her father's wealth. It was simply a sort of popular
romance, the modern substitute for mythology; and it laid the first
foundations of the more turgid and tempestuous sort of romance in which
she was to figure later on; and in which many held that the reputation
of Father Brown, as well as of others, had been blown to rags.
It was accepted, sometimes romantically, sometimes resignedly, by those
whom American satire has named the Sob Sisters, that she had already
married a very worthy and respectable business man of the name of
Potter. It was even possible to regard her for a moment as Mrs Potter,
on the universal understanding that her husband was only the husband of
Mrs Potter.
Then came the Great Scandal, by which her friends and enemies were
horrified beyond their wildest hopes. Her name was coupled (as the queer
phrase goes) with a literary man living in Mexico; in status an
American, but in spirit a very Spanish American. Unfortunately his vices
resembled her virtues, in being good copy. He was no less a person than
the famous or infamous Rudel Romanes; the poet whose works had been so
universally popularized by being vetoed by libraries or prosecuted by
the police. Anyhow, her pure and placid star was seen in conjunction
with this comet. He was of the sort to be compared to a comet, being
hairy and hot; the first in his portraits, the second in his poetry. He
was also destructive; the comet's tail was a trail of divorces, which
some called his success as a lover and some his prolonged failure as a
husband. It was hard on Hypatia; there are disadvantages in conducting
the perfect private life in public; like a domestic interior in a shop -
window. Interviewers reported doubtful utterances about Love's Larger
Law of Supreme Self - Realization. The Pagans applauded. The Sob
Sisterhood permitted themselves a note of romantic regret; some having
even the hardened audacity to quote from the poem of Maud Mueller, to
the effect that of all the words of tongue or pen, the saddest are 'It
might have been.' And Mr Agar P. Rock, who hated the Sob Sisterhood with
a holy and righteous hatred, said that in this case he thoroughly agreed
with Bret Harte's emendation of the poem:
'More sad are those we daily see; it is, but it hadn't ought to be.'
For Mr Rock was very firmly and rightly convinced that a very large
number of things hadn't ought to be. He was a slashing and savage critic
of national degeneration, on the Minneapolis Meteor, and a bold and
honest man.
admitting that he was once involved in a grave scandal. There still are
persons, perhaps even of his own community, who would say that there was
a sort of blot upon his name. It happened in a picturesque Mexican road
- house of rather loose repute, as appeared later; and to some it seemed
that for once the priest had allowed a romantic streak in him, and his
sympathy for human weakness, to lead him into loose and unorthodox
action. The story in itself was a simple one; and perhaps the whole
surprise of it consisted in its simplicity.
Burning Troy began with Helen; this disgraceful story began with the
beauty of Hypatia Potter. Americans have a great power, which Europeans
do not always appreciate, of creating institutions from below; that is
by popular initiative. Like every other good thing, it has its lighter
aspects; one of which, as has been remarked by Mr Wells and others, is
that a person may become a public institution without becoming an
official institution. A girl of great beauty or brilliancy will be a
sort of uncrowned queen, even if she is not a Film Star or the original
of a Gibson Girl. Among those who had the fortune, or misfortune, to
exist beautifully in public in this manner, was a certain Hypatia Hard,
who had passed through the preliminary stage of receiving florid
compliments in society paragraphs of the local press, to the position of
one who is actually interviewed by real pressmen. On War and Peace and
Patriotism and Prohibition and Evolution and the Bible she had made her
pronouncements with a charming smile; and if none of them seemed very
near to the real grounds of her own reputation, it was almost equally
hard to say what the grounds of her reputation really were. Beauty, and
being the daughter of a rich man, are things not rare in her country;
but to these she added whatever it is that attracts the wandering eye of
journalism. Next to none of her admirers had even seen her, or even
hoped to do so; and none of them could possibly derive any sordid
benefit from her father's wealth. It was simply a sort of popular
romance, the modern substitute for mythology; and it laid the first
foundations of the more turgid and tempestuous sort of romance in which
she was to figure later on; and in which many held that the reputation
of Father Brown, as well as of others, had been blown to rags.
It was accepted, sometimes romantically, sometimes resignedly, by those
whom American satire has named the Sob Sisters, that she had already
married a very worthy and respectable business man of the name of
Potter. It was even possible to regard her for a moment as Mrs Potter,
on the universal understanding that her husband was only the husband of
Mrs Potter.
Then came the Great Scandal, by which her friends and enemies were
horrified beyond their wildest hopes. Her name was coupled (as the queer
phrase goes) with a literary man living in Mexico; in status an
American, but in spirit a very Spanish American. Unfortunately his vices
resembled her virtues, in being good copy. He was no less a person than
the famous or infamous Rudel Romanes; the poet whose works had been so
universally popularized by being vetoed by libraries or prosecuted by
the police. Anyhow, her pure and placid star was seen in conjunction
with this comet. He was of the sort to be compared to a comet, being
hairy and hot; the first in his portraits, the second in his poetry. He
was also destructive; the comet's tail was a trail of divorces, which
some called his success as a lover and some his prolonged failure as a
husband. It was hard on Hypatia; there are disadvantages in conducting
the perfect private life in public; like a domestic interior in a shop -
window. Interviewers reported doubtful utterances about Love's Larger
Law of Supreme Self - Realization. The Pagans applauded. The Sob
Sisterhood permitted themselves a note of romantic regret; some having
even the hardened audacity to quote from the poem of Maud Mueller, to
the effect that of all the words of tongue or pen, the saddest are 'It
might have been.' And Mr Agar P. Rock, who hated the Sob Sisterhood with
a holy and righteous hatred, said that in this case he thoroughly agreed
with Bret Harte's emendation of the poem:
'More sad are those we daily see; it is, but it hadn't ought to be.'
For Mr Rock was very firmly and rightly convinced that a very large
number of things hadn't ought to be. He was a slashing and savage critic
of national degeneration, on the Minneapolis Meteor, and a bold and
honest man.
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The Scandal of Father Brown
The Scandal of Father Brown
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940013682412 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | WDS Publishing |
| Publication date: | 01/21/2012 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 165 KB |
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