I 



The Realm of the Commonplace 



I SAT at the window of a hotel chamber, 

 musing at the panorama that comes and 

 goes in a thousand cities. There were hu- 

 man beings pouring in and out, up and 

 down, as if moved by some restless and relent- 

 less machinery. Most of them were silent and 

 serious and went quickly on. Some sauntered, 

 and returned again and again as if looking for 

 something that they did not expect to find. 

 Carriages went up and down in endless 

 pageant. Trolley-cars rushed by, clanging 

 and grinding as they headlonged into the side 

 streets. Meretricious automobiles with gor- 

 gon-eyed drivers whirred into the crowds, scat- 



