The Republican journal., 1876-11-30

e a perfectly healthy life had sprung from
s chat union too intense and too absorbed
\ ct / had often noticed that the chile
! seemed to wear the temperaments or
! both her parents as a kind of playful dis
guise, and to peep at you, now out OF the
one, now from the other, showing that
she had her own individual life behind
AS if by some iniantine instinct, the
darling turned in her sleep, and came an
/ consciously nearer me. Aith a half feel
ing of selt-reproach, | drew around nv
neck, inch by incn, the little arms that
tightened with a delicious thrill and So
: | hall reclined there till myself dozed,
and the watch!ui Janet, looking in, warm
ed me away. Crossing the entry to my
own chamber, | heard kenmure and
Laura down stairs, but | knew that |
should be superiluous, and elt that | was
!. sleepy
| had now, indeed become always su-
perfluous when they We're together, thoHgh
never when they were apart. Even they
must be separated sometime, and then
each sought me, in order to discourse
about the other kcnmure showed me
every sketch he had ever made Of Laura.
There she was, in all the wonderful range
OF her beauty,-ln clay, in cameo, in pen
ell, in water-color, in oils He showed
me also his poems, tnd at last, u longer
one, for which pencil and graver had
alike been laid aside All these he kept in
a great cabinet she had brought with her
to their housekeeping; and it seemed IL
me that he also treasured ever flower she
had dropped, every slender glove She had
worn, every ribbon from her hair. could
not wonder. " Who would not thrill at the
touch OF some such memorial OF Mary Of
Scotland, or Of llei0iSe and what was
all the regal beauty ot The past to him ?
Every room always seemed adorned when
she was IN it, empty when she bad gone.
| save that the trace Of her still seemed
left on everything, and al appeared but
rs a garment she had WON. 1t seemed
that even her great mirror must retain,
| film over film, each reflection of hrr least
movement, the turning OF her head, the
ungloving OF iler hand. Strange that
with all this intoxicating presence. she
| yet led 4 life SO free from self, 80 simple,
so absorbed, that all trace Of conscious
ness was excluded, and she seemed unSo-
| phisticated as her own child,
AS we were once thus employed in The
studio, | asked kenmure, abruptly, il he
| ilNhFI Hil tllih II'iIl itit IiuDlltltN Ilc Va
! thus giving Laura "Madome Reramier
was not quite pleased | said, " that
Canoya had modelled her bust, even from
imagination DO YOU never shrink from
permitting rreverent eyes To- look on
| Iama's beauty? Think OF men as YOU
know them. Would you give each OF
them her miniature, perhaps to 60 With
them into scenes Of riot and shame p
"Would to Heaven could" said he
passionately. What else could save
them, il that did not God lets his sun
shine on the evil and on the Good, but the
evil needs it most "
There was a pause and then Nenturcd
to ask him a question That had been many
times upon my lips unspoken
Does il neger occur TO you" | said,
that Laura cannot live on earth forever ~
"l ou cannot disturb me about that,
he answered, net sadly but with u set,
stern look, n if fencing for the hundredth
time against an antagonist who was fore
doomed to be his master in the end ''I.au.
ta--Will oUtiiv" me am 90 eprp 0t Il
that | may not be parai}Zed, and t!le out
side her arms Yet. IN any event, what
can do but what 1 am doing, devote
my whole soul to the ptrpetnttion OF her
beauty, through art 1t is1ny only dream
What else is worth doing? 1t is iot THIS
/ have tried. through sculpture. through
painting through verse, to depict her rs
She is Thus far have failed. Why have
| failed? Is il because | have not llYed
in lie sufficiently absorbed in her. on Is
it that there is no permitted way by which
| after God had reclaimed her, the tradition
Of her perfect loyelnesS may ne retained
on earth ~
The blinds of the piazza doorway OPEN
! ed, the sweet sea-alf came IN, the low ana
| level rays of yellow sunset entered softly
rs il the breeze We're their chariot; and
softer and stller and sweeter than hight
or air, little Marian stood on the TIRES
hold She had been in the field with
Janet. who had woven tor her breeze
blown hair Il wreath OF the wild geradla
blossoms whose purple beauty had re-
minded the good ScotchWOman ot her
own native heather. in her arms the child
| bore, like n little CLEANER, a great shcat OF
graceful goiden-rod, as large as her grasp
could bear In all the artists visions he
had seen nothing 50 aerial, SO lovely; in
all his passionate portraltures OF his IDOL,
he had delineated nothing so like to her
Marian's cheeks mantled with rich and
| vine lined tints her hair took n halo from
the sunbeams, her lips parted over the lit
tie milIl-whte teeth; she looked at US with
her mothers eyes | turned to kenmure
to see If he could resist the influence.
He scarcely gave her Il glance. go,
Marian" he said not impatiently, for he
was too thoroughly courteous ever to be
ungracious, even to Il child-but with Il
steady indifference that cut me with more
pain than if lie had struck her.
The sun dropped behind the horizon.
the halo faded from the shining hair, and
every ray OF light from the childish face.
There came in its place that deep, Won
dering sadness which is more pathetic
than any maturer sorrow, - Just as u chlld's
illness touches our hearts more than that
of man or woman, it seems so premature
. and so plaiutive She turned away ii
t was the very first time had ever seen the
little face drawn down or the tears gath
ering in the eyes. BY some kind provi-
t dence, the mother met Marian on the
piazza, herself flushed and beautiful with
walking, and caught the little thing in
} her arms with unwonted tenderness. II
was enough tor the elastic child Attel
( one moment of such bliss She could 90 tC
, Janet, go anywhere; and when the same
graceful presence came III to us in The
+ studio, we also could ask 40 more
We had music and moonlight, and wert
: happy. The atmosphere seemed more
human, less unreal. Going up stairs AT
. last, looked in at the nursery, and founC
my pet seeming rather flushed, and
= fancied that she stirred uneasily. 1t passed
: whatever it was for next morning SHE
e came in to wake me, LOOKING, as usual. a
t if a new heaven and earth had been coin
d ed purposely for her since she went t.
:. sleep We had our usual long and mn
q portant discourse. this time tending t
= protracted narrative, Of the Mother-Goos
J. description, until, if it had been possible
/ for any human being TO be late for break
fast in that house, we should have beel
e the offenders. Bnt she ultimately wen
II down stairs on my shoulder, and as zen
l. mure and Laura were out rowing, tn
e baby put me in her own place, sat III he