Produced by Jim Adcock and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) THE "GENIUS" BY THEODORE DREISER SISTER CARRIE JENNIE GERHARDT A TRAVELER AT FORTY ****** A TRILOGY OF DESIRE 1. THE FINANCIER 2. THE TITAN 3. * * * * * * * * THE "GENIUS" BY THEODORE DREISER NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD TORONTO: S. B. GUNDY MCMXV 1915. By JOHN LANE COMPANY Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A. "Eugene Witla, wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour her, and keep her in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?" "I will." BOOK I ------ YOUTH THE "GENIUS" CHAPTER I This story has its beginnings in the town of Alexandria, Illinois, between 1884 and 1889, at the time when the place had a population of somewhere near ten thousand. There was about it just enough of the air of a city to relieve it of the sense of rural life. It had one street-car line, a theatre,--or rather, an opera house, so-called (why no one might say, for no opera was ever performed there)--two railroads, with their stations, and a business district, composed of four brisk sides to a public square. In the square were the county court-house and four newspapers. These two morning and two evening papers made the population fairly aware of the fact that life was full of issues, local and national, and that there were many interesting and varied things to do. On the edge of town, several lakes and a pretty stream--perhaps Alexandria's most pleasant feature--gave it an atmosphere not unakin to that of a moderate-priced summer resort. Architecturally the town was not new. It was mostly built of wood, as all American towns were at this time, but laid out prettily in some sections, with houses that sat back in great yards, far from the streets, with flower beds, brick walks, and green trees as concomitants of a comfortable home life. Alexandria was a city of young Americans. Its spirit was young. Life was all before almost everybody. It was really good to be alive.