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158
Adventures in Contentment
·
David Grayson
83
So
I
have
mused
since
my
tramp
came
in
for
a
moment
out
of
the
Mystery
(as
we
all
do)
and
went
away
again
into
the
Mystery
(in
our
way,
too).
There
are
strange
things
in
this
world!
As
I
came
around
the
corner
I
saw
sitting
there
on
my
steps
the
very
personification
of
Ruin,
a
tumble-down,
dilapidated
wreck
of
manhood.
He
gave
one
the
impression
of
having
been
dropped
where
he
sat,
all
in
a
heap.
My
first
instinctive
feeling
was
not
one
of
recoil
or
even
of
hostility,
but
rather
a
sudden
desire
to
pick
him
up
and
put
him
where
he
belonged,
the
instinct,
I
should
say,
of
the
normal
man
who
hangs
his
axe
always
on
the
same
nail.
When
he
saw
me
he
gathered
himself
together
with
reluctance
and
stood
fully
revealed.
It
was
a
curious
attitude
of
mingled
effrontery
and
apology.
"Hit
me
if
you
dare,"
blustered
his
outward
personality.
"For
God's
sake,
don't
hit
me,"
cried
the
innate
fear
in
his
eyes.
I
stopped
and
looked
at
him
sharply,
His
eyes
dropped,
his
look
slid
away,
so
that
I
experienced
a
sense
of
shame,
as
though
I
had
trampled
upon
him.
A
damp
rag
of
humanity!
I
confess
that
my
first
impulse,
and
a
strong
one,
was
to
kick
him
for
the
good
of
the
human
race.
No
man
has
a
right
to
be
like
that.
And
then,
quite
suddenly,
I
had
a
great
revulsion
of
feeling.
What
was
I
that
I
should
judge
without
knowledge?
Perhaps,
after
all,
here
was
one
bearing
treasure.
So
I
said:
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
