River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1875-06-04
MISCELLANY.
AN ALOE BLOSSOM.

expression is denied. We pity those
whose bodily speech is wanting, but no
one pities the spiritually dumb. Their
affection is incomprehensible to us, and
we treat its victims as though in some
way they suffered through their own
fault. No cruelty is meant by this. 1t
is next to impossible for frank and out
spoken persons to comprehend that all
cannot speak, and that much suffering
sometimes lies locked in this enforced
silence.
Helen Miles was one of these speech
less souls.
As child she was pale and still. The
aunt who brought her up, and did not
love her, suspected her of ''slyness," ard
openly quoted the proverb about "still
waters" At sixteen she was called "shy,"
at twenty-five stigmStized as cold. Tall,
with a good figure and features,
thick light brown hair without the
least gloss or curl, fair,
colorless skin, graceful hand and
arm, she was entitled to pass for a pretty
woman. In fact, women no prettier rank
often as Bellies. But she was not beauti.
full enough for statue, and as statue
her acquaintance persisted in regarding
her, which certainly vas not fair. She
had some dim consciousness of this, and
it made her uncomfortable. Her eyes
looked out at times with pitiful, inquir-
ing look-the look we see in dogs eyes
or does; look we cannot quite read.
Nobody read Helen's. Two or three
people, attracted by this odd face, made
little experiments, fumbied at the lock of
her impossible reticence, but it was in
vain; all the incantations, the ''open
sesames, failed; nothing came Of it,.
'''Cold as a stone, my dearf' women said
of her, and by general agreement she was
set down as a person without enthusiasm,
faithfully faultless, icily regular" "a
person who said little because she felt
nothing, 70 whom generous impulse was
unknown. With such a Judgment are
some women judged, and will be to the
end of the world.
just one erevice existed in this armor
Of ice, THROUGH which at times the real
Helen looked out and revealed herself
Did say that she sang! Her voice was
low and rich, rather soprano than con-
tralto; its range was limited to a few
pathetic quality. She sang no songs that
other people sang, but took scraps from
this poet and that-Arnold, Tennyson,
Rossetti, Landor--and set them to weird
little harmonies of her own composition.
Nothing of the limit Of her own nature be-
longed to this unique musical faculty, ex-
cept that she could not always sing, or to
all people, and that there were persons be-
fore whom she could not sing at all. OF
course this only made every one more
eager to hear her. Happy and light
hearted people find certain luxury in
being made miserable. 1t waSa fashion
able excitement to sit in the twilight and
have Helen Miles break your heart with
her pathetic voice, and she was greatly in
request; in fact her music constituted
her chief hold on society.
Reginald Thurston remembered long
afterward the night when he heard her.
Mrs. lie Clerc's drawing-room was dim
with fire-light as he went in--the light of
a Pickering wood fire, which sparkled on
the sofa where Rosalie Lie Clerc lay, and
sent long sudden shadows across the
floor. From the inner room came the
sound of singing.
Ii now you saw me you would say,
"Where is the face used to prize ~
And would answer. "Gone before,
Il tarries yelled in Paradise"
When once the morning star shall rise,
When earth with shadow fees away,
And we stand safe within the door,
You shall lit up the veil that day.
Look up, look on Tor far above,
Our palms are grown, our place is set
There we shall meet as once we met,
And love with old familiar love-
So Helen sang, her deep notes conveying
woful passion, which changed Reginald's
mood, and made him all at once feel sad
dened and chill. He stood in shadow till
the music ended, then moved forward.
GLOW do you do - said Mrs. lie Clerc,
her gay, friendly voice coming like relief
after that other. "We are keeping blind
mans holiday, as you see, and Miss Miles
has been singing to us. Can you find n
chair in this darkness, Mr.. Thurston
Here's one. Oh, Helen, don't stop 60
on"
But Helen had left the piano and was
moving toward them. Reginald, who was
shaking hands with the invalid Resale,
was glad of this. He did not care for
music as music, and he hated to have his
feelings drawn upon in society. Besides,
he had some curiosity TO see the singer.
She came forward steadily, made an
icy little bend on introduction, and sat
down by the fire.
"Please, Misc Miles, sing something
else"
Excuse me, Resale not tonight"
"Well" said Mrs. lie Clerc, "if you
won't be persuaded to give us more music,
we will have the gas" She lighted il as
she spoke. Reginald glanced at the cool
pale face, framed in its lustreless hair, but
he was not attracted. He liked lively.
yiyacious women, women who chatted and
entertained him, and with whom he was
not forced to exert himself. Intensely re-
served. he hid the fact under an easy,
iovial manner. Anecdotes, repartee,
great bursts Of Homeric laughter, these
made up his coat Of armor. People gen
orally did not suspect that he wore any
Out Of the pulpit he was just like other