New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-10-20

/ cold: and the water had turned into nara,
transparent stone, and the air was full OF
little cold, white feathers, which were
blown about so thiclzly that one could
| hardly see across the garden.
| So Lionel gave up all thought of the man
! tie for that day. and, springing out Of bed,
| he kissed his sister good morning, and set to
| work to make things warm and pleasant Tor
| her indoors. When he had kiHdled another
| roaring fire on the hearth he put on his tall
| est boots and his warmest coat, and plunged
| boldly forth into the cold, white snow
| storm. He gathered together all the sucks
! Of wood he could find in the neIghDorlng
| forest, brought them in great armtuls TO the
| house and piled them mp under the shed,
/ until there was enough to Last tor many
| DAYS to come. Then he took the spade, and
| shoyeled pathways all around the house,
! and out to the barn, for Rose to walk on, 50
! that when the evening came around again
/ everything about the cottage was qulte
/ comfortable and cheerful, and Rose de-
| olared she was almost as happy as before
| the winter began. And again that night
! the children sat hand in hand before the
! blazing, cracking fire; and, as it fell gradu-
| ally into glowing embers, they fancied, from
time to time, they caught the glimmer Of
! their mothers smile At last, when the fire
had died out, and Rose was sleeping qui-
city, Lionel stepped on tiptoe to his moth
the dusky mantle hanging on the chair.
Perhaps" he whispered to himself" Il
may be allowed to wear it tomorrow" But
even as he spoke he heard Rose turn unea-
silly in her bed, and thought she murmured
something in her sleep. So be closed the
door with half sigh, because he felt that
he must wait yet longer ere the time should
come.
The snow lasted long, long while, until
the children almost believed that the sum
mer had been dream, and there never mad
been anything else than ice and snow. The
sky was almost always covered with heavy
gray clouds, which hid the sun; but in time
the children grew fond even Of the clouds,
they looked down upon them 50 softly and
tenderly, and piled themselves into such
strange, fantastic shapes. And once in
while, when the day closed and the sun
sank below the ocean, the clouds would
gather round him, all dressed in magnificent
robes of gold, crimson and purple, and
stand waiting in solemn and superb
array until he had disappeared, and the
gorgeous vestments vanished with him. At
such timGs LionePs mind would revert, he
knew not why, to the enchanted mantle in
his mothers room, and he wondered
whether it would be transformed into SPLEEN
did cOlors like the gloomy clouds. And
sometimes he maryeled that the sun should
make those very clouds that str0ve to OBJ
scure his beauty the means of making that
beauty more grand and magnificent than it
could otherwise have been. Then he would
ask himself whether he should be able so to
gioTify the magic mantle when the time for
him to wear it arrived And often it would
seem to him he could no longer wait, he so
lODged to cover himself with the dark folds,
and feel again the drowsy influence Of the
spell, and look once moro upon his mothers
face. But whenever the longing was most
irresistible the voice of his sister Rose
would come TO him, and something in his
heart would whisper that his duty was yet
unaccomplished, and the mysterious mantle
must still remain hanging on his mothers
chair.
So the days went by, and the months, and
gradually the years, and still the children
lived together in the cottage. In their out
ward guise, to be sure, they were children
no longer, for Lionel was tall and strong
and stately, with deep, tender eyes, and
grave, determined lips; and Rose was love
", womanly and graceful, with sweet, con-
fding eyes and soft brown hair, But all
this was outside;- there was nothing old
about their hearts#and in each others eyes
they were children still. Rose always
looked up to and trusted in her brother, as
in the summer days so long ago; and Lionel
protected and cared for his little sister just
as lovingly and tenderly as when they we're
first left alone together. And because the
time had never once come FALL these years
when l could say, "NOw all is done for her
that / can do, and there is nothing to pre-
vent my giving myself up to the spell of
the enchanted MANTLE" therefore it still
remained undisturbed in his mothers room,
ana many years had passed since he had
even opened the door to LOOK al it. But
once in a while there would be whisper
in his heart, "The time is coming, Lionel,
wait and be patientw 1t seemed to him
like his mothers voice, and he would enter
with renewed hope and courage upon an
other day-another year.
Still the time went on and on; and now the
winter, which had seemed so endless began
gradually to pass away. The winds grew
warmer and gentler; the heavy clouds broke
up and hoated about in Titanic forms; the
sun came forth again, moro glorious than of
yore, and soon all the snow had vanished,
except that little Of the purest asd whitest
always rested on the heads of tho bow
Lionel and his sister Rose, as m5ment0
of the long winter they had spent to-
gether in the cottage. AS the summer
more beautiful, and the children, in
stead OF sitting indoors by the fire, spent
much Of their time in the porch of the cot
tage, looking ont to the sea. Every even
ing there was wonderful sunset each more
perfect than the last. Every evening. also,
the vision of the golden path ex-
tending from the island shore to the utter
most brink Of tho sea, and when the sun
sank down and rested a moment, all GLOW
ing, on the waters edge, the children would
gaze and wonder whether they should not
now see their mo theirs face looking out.a
them.
At last, one evening there had been the
most glorious sunset of all. The loveliest
clouds in the heavens had collected together
to see it, and each reflected and multiplied
the splendor. The sea was calm, and painted
the wondrous picture on its bosom so mar
YeIously well that it was hard to decide
whether the reality or the copy were the
bettre. The souls of the children were |
filed with JOY and love, and for a long time
they had been sitting beside each other 81
lent, but hand in hand, as ever.
80 long did the silence last that finally |
Lionel reused himself from his revere and |
pressed his sisters hand. When she did |
not return the pressure or move, he thought |
she must be asleep. and spoke to her gently, |
fearing to waken her too suddenly. But |
she slept on, and did not answer him |
Then he looked in her face; it was all rosy |
and gloritied with the parting splendOr Of |
the sun, and in the shifting light sweet |
and happy smile seemed to hover like q |
dream about her mouth. A great and |
solemn awe fell upon LiOnePs heart, for he |
Knew that the beautiful and reverend |
figure, in the chair was nothing but the |
mage of the sister he had loved SO long
and faithfully. But turning his head, lice
yazed at the brightness across the sea; and |
n the midst of it he saw his mothers face, |
md beside it another, which was Roses,
JnIy far fa1rer and l0ve1ier than it had
,ver been before. They both smiled radi-
lntly on him, and SO faded imperceptibly
away.