and Fulkerson put the two books in his lax hands. "Take these along,
Michelangelo Da Vinci, my friend, and put your multitudinous mind on them
for about an hour, and let us hear from you to-morrow. We hang upon your
decision."

"There's no deciding to be done," said Beaton. "You can't combine the
two styles. They'd kill each other."

"A Dan'el, a Dan'el come to judgment! I knew you could help us out!
Take 'em along, and tell us which will go the furthest with the 'ewig
Weibliche.' Dryfoos, I want a word with you." He led the way into the
front room, flirting an airy farewell to Beaton with his hand as he went.




VII.

March and Beaton remained alone together for a moment, and March said:
"I hope you will think it worth while to take hold with us, Mr. Beaton.
Mr. Fulkerson puts it in his own way, of course; but we really want to
make a nice thing of the magazine." He had that timidity of the elder in
the presence of the younger man which the younger, preoccupied with his
own timidity in the presence of the elder, cannot imagine. Besides,
March was aware of the gulf that divided him as a literary man from
Beaton as an artist, and he only ventured to feel his way toward sympathy
with him. "We want to make it good; we want to make it high. Fulkerson
is right about aiming to please the women, but of course he caricatures
the way of going about it."