The Quiet Coner
THE QUIET CORNER / counsel thee, shut not thy heart nor thy library.—C. Lamb. "Oh, goody, goody," cried Tittivillus from his post at the window, "here comes Dr. Angelicus in a cream and rose...
...asked Miss Brynmarian...
...establishment of a minimum age limit and minimum qualifications for the profession of chauffeur...
...For instance, I have one driver who can sing or whistle any aria from any opera ever composed...
...Enter Dr...
...My dear Britannicus...
...Six writers have dropped in here today to borrow what books we have on the poet, and our shelves are sadly depleted...
...asked Miss Brynmarian, as she rose to leave...
...I am afraid he won't have time...
...traffic regulation affecting parking...
...The new spring shades in taxis are most intriguing...
...Let me see," exclaimed Miss Brynmarian, rushing to the window...
...Last evening he musically drove me home to the strains of Le Coq d'Or, supplemented with Carmen, Lohengrin, and The Barber of Seville...
...warning signals at grade crossings and crossroads...
...Have I lost all my dignity...
...No," said Angelicus...
...I have long made a serious study of taxi drivers, and have come to the conclusion that they are quite our most worth-while class...
...I shall need a taxi tonight...
...You forget that I am talking about literary men," said Miss Brynmarian with a cold glance...
...asked Britannicus...
...Moreover, I find them, on the long journey to and from my home, delightful companions...
...But why are you so in sympathy with taxi drivers...
...Put the Dante contestants in training for perspective haloes...
...It was, I assure you, as I lolled back in comfort in the depths of his pale blue cab, a delightful journey...
...Doesn't he ever run out of gas...
...What are you trying to do...
...Ahem—we have drifted somewhat away from the subject, haven't we...
...One should be, even in the choice of taxis, aesthetic in one's taste...
...What has won you over to the League...
...Angelicus in a cream and rose taxi...
...Why, Doctor, haven't you always been a church-goer...
...The younger ones could wear their wreaths cocked rakishly over one eye—the older ones, more sedately— and our long-haired poets would have the advantage of being able to use hair-pins to keep the laurel on straight...
...No," replied Angelicus, "The taxi drivers...
...adoption of wind shields and other means of protection against the weather...
...This was indeed a change of heart for Dr...
...And the Doctor dropped into his chair...
...He is the one I select to take me on long drives in the country, where I can enjoy at once a feast of fresh air and intellectual stimulus...
...To what...
...Angelicus, who had always referred to the news of that august body as "Geneva gibberish...
...But surely it is not necessarily in the general nature of taxi drivers to be musical...
...As I entered the library today," he continued, "I heard some comment about the corporal beauty of the taxi which had driven me here...
...When we arrived, I discovered that I had only a large bill, and just change enough to pay him his fare without the customary tip I always give him...
...My driver was sure that the League would act favorably on the resolution...
...He is a college graduate, and well versed in the classics...
...Take the chauffeur of that Nile green cab I sometimes use...
...You misunderstand me," said Dr...
...Hereafter, I shall take none other...
...But you must also hear about my intellectual driver...
...I am at last converted," he remarked as he hung up his hat...
...I explained the unfortunate circumstance to him, whereupon he smiled, and nodding toward the church said: 'That's all right, sir...
...asked Britannicus...
...asked Britannicus...
...The others were astonished...
...But I find that when they lack the musical quality they possess some other of equal value...
...They are, for instance, frequently quite spiritual...
...Why, it just matches my new spring costume...
...You're not thinking of entering the Dante contest, are you...
...He drove me to church last Sunday...
...I will heartily sponsor any organization which will be their champion—even the League of Nations...
...Just what are you converted to, Doctor...
...arrangement of driver's seat on motor vehicles...
...But I don't believe I have yet seen a cream and rose one...
...foundation of state and municipal schools for chauffeurs...
...He can discourse for hours at a time on political economy, science, literature, and the arts...
...The Librarian...
...asked Miss Brynmarian in surprise...
...To the League of Nations," announced the Doctor...
...I said nothing about religion...
...I thought they were still busy trying to crack the Brazil nut...
...You do me wrong to suspect me of conversion to such...
...inquired Miss Brynmarian...
...The driver of the cream and rose taxi which you so admired, told me," he continued, "that chauffeurs, recently meeting in international conference at Rotterdam, adopted a resolution on a series of questions affecting their profession, and have submitted it to the League...
...asked Miss Brynmarian...
...Of no importance at all, my child, in comparison to the welfare of our cab Jehus...
...I am in favor of making every contestant for the essay prize wear a duplicate of the laurel wreath that always crowns Dante's head in the pictures...
...It would limit the number of contestants to only real Dante enthusiasts, and now that spring is here they would run no danger of taking cold in leaving off their usual felts and derbies...
...But is the League really working on taxi drivers' problems...
...I merely said I had been converted...
...Vitallic breathing, the Charleston, Yogi philosophy, the Automat, silk pyjamas, patent breakfast food, golf, whiskers, flappers, or what...
...asked Miss Brynmarian suspiciously...
...The improvements they demand would affect light and instrumental traffic signals in use at night...
...Ah," said Dr...
...What saddened me, but did not surprise me, was that I heard nothing about the most important feature of that taxi —indeed, of any taxi—the chauffeur...
...suggested Britannicus mildly...
...You see I have him engaged permanently for every evening...
...They take my life in their hands every day," replied Angelicus, "and thus far they have preserved it (though I must admit they have given me one or two narrow squeaks...
...Look in more erudite fields...
...I would much rather have you say a prayer for me in there than give me a tip/ " "What is his telephone number...
...The smoothness with which it created the Iraq mandate...
Vol. 3 • May 1926 • No. 26
