The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1872-10-09


bered to have seen it beforc-he was
conscious of strange and almost ir-
resistible longing to put it on. II
seemed to him that it woulh protect
him, as nothing else could, from the
chill of the east wind which was al
ready beginning to whistle around
the cottage He even felt as if ii
would in some way bring back to him
the comfort OF his mothers .preseEcc
and love. SO he approached and
lifted the heavy mantle ffom the
chair. As he did so dreamy, encr-
waiting sensation began to steal over
him; his strength and vigor seemed
to ebb away, and the noise Of the sea
waves on the shore sounded in his
ears like the voice Of one sobbing in
her sleep-likc the voice of his own
motherl
But ere the dusky cloak could de-
scend over him he heard his sister
Rose calling to him loudly: LILO
mel brother Lionel where are you p
Lionel started, and let the cloak
fall back upon the chair. In a mo-
ment all his mother had said to him
rushed over him. This, then, was
the enchanted mantle of which she
had spoken-this the effect of the
spell it had already begun to cast
over him. Even now he could
scarcely shake it off; but summoning
all his strength he rushed from the
room, and ran to find his sister, who
sat shivering on the door step; and
for there were tears in her eyes. In
his anxiety to cheer and comfort Rose
Lionel forgot all about the dusky
mantle.
"What makes the sea so gray and
angry?" asked Rose tearfully; "why
is the wind so cold? and where is
our mother gone? 81
"The last / saw of her." replied
Lionel, "she was standing On the
furthest edge of the sea, close by the
sun; and | think she must be gone to
him, so that whenever he shines we
NAV know that she is smiling upon
us. And then we shall not mind any
more about the cold winds and the
angry sea-"
SO Lionel took his little sister back
into the cottage, and brought wood
and built warm fire in the fireplace /;
and the light danced and fiickered
about the room, playing all sorts of
pranks with the chairs and tables and
the ornaments on the mantlepiece :
and Rose and Lionel sat looking into
the fire, her little hand resting in his.
1t seemed almost as if the sunshine
had come back to them At last Lilo
mel cried out:
"See, Rose, in that red-h0t coal is q
perfect picture of the sea, and sun
resting on it; and in the sun can you
not see our mothers face smiling on
us?n ss~4-ssaz
"Yes! Yes!" cried Rose, clapping
her little hands for joy; land now
we need never fear the cold and
darkness out of doors, for we can al
ways have our mothers sunshine in
the cottage!" So that night they
both slept soundly, and Rose dream
ed that the warm weather and soft
winds had come back, all the more
delightful for having been lost. But
Lionel thought he was standing by
his mothers chair, on which hung
the enchanted mantle, and wonder
ing if the time had not yet come when
he might put it on Then he heard a
voice calling him, and awakened
with start; he saw Rose standing
over him, looking scared and puzzled.
The ground, she said, had become all
white and soft, and oh /! so very cold;
and the water had turned into a hard
transparent stone, and the air was
full of little cold white feathers,
which were blown about so thicklv
that one could hardly see across the
garden.
So Lionel gave up all thought of
the mantle for that day, and, SPRING
ing out of bed, he kissed his sister
good morning, and set to work to
make things warm and pleasant for
her indoors. When he had kindied
another roaring fire on the hearth,
he put on his talIest boots and his
warmest coat, and plunged boldly
forth into the cold, white snow-storm.
He gathered together all the sticks of
wood he could find in the neighboring
forest, brought them in great armfuls
to the house, and piled them up un-
der the shed, until there was enough
to last for many days to come. Then
he took the spade and shoveled path
ways all around the house, and out
to the barn, for Rose to walk on, so
that when the evening came around
again, everything about the cottage
was quite comfortable and cheerful,
and Rose declared 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 gradual
ly into glowing embers they fancied
from time to time, they caught the
g;impses of their mothers smile. At
last, when the fire had died out, and
Rose was sleeping quietly, Lionel
stepped on tiptoc to his mothers
room, opened the door, and looked in
at the dusky mantle hanging on the
chair.
Perhaps he whispered to him.
self, 81 may be allowed to wear it to-
But even as he spoke he
heard Rose turn uneasily in her bed,
and thought she murmured some
thing in her sleep. So he closed the
door with half sigh, because he
felt that he must wait yet longer ere
the time should come.
The snow lasted a long, long while
until the children almost believed
that the summer had been a dream,
and there never had been ANYTHING
else than ice and snow. The sky |
was almost always covered with |
gray, heavy clouds, which hid the
sun; but in time the children grew
fond even of the clouds, they looked
down upon them so softly and tender
", and piled themselves into such
strange, fantastic shapes. And once
IN a while, when the day closed and
he sun sank below the ocean, the