The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1876-02-12
Tho Dream Pictures.
by HENRIETTA L. PAGR.

On the outskirts of the fair city of
Florence, in days lang syne, little cot
tage nestled amid flowers and vines, in
the shadow Of the great Appennines, rs
if it would fain hide itself from all in
truding eyes.
There Santa Montalti, the painter,
brought his pretty yellow-haired, blue
eyed English wife; and there they lived
and loved for five sunny years-years
OF happiness unspeakable; in which
time Heaven had blessed them with two
sweet children, Stella and Claude, with
whom this story is mostly connected.
Claude was his fathers counterfeit,
with crispy curling hair, and eyes as
black as a midnight thunder cloud, and
skin as tawny as any of his cOuntrymen
But Stella, beautiful Stella, partook of
her mothers fair beauty, snowy skin
and golden hair; but there the likeness
stopped, and the eyes which should
have been heaven-blue to make the re-
semblance perfect changed to melting
languishing brown, shaded by brows
and laslles OF dark gold.
Her beauty us child was almost an
gelic, promising richer fullness as the
years passed.
After five years of unalloyed happi-
ness blow fell upon the family home.
Camilla, the idolized wife and mother,
sickened, and after lingering for the
better part of year died of cons,lmp-
ton, leaving her petted children moth
erless, and her husband almost insane
with grief.
Years fled apace, and the little home
showed the loss of the woman's hand
the mothers care.
Santa Montalti had become gloomy
misanthrOpe to all but his children, on
whom he lavished more than fathers
tenderness.
As Stella grew to mOmanhOOd his
greatest pleasure was to instruct her in
all the branches OF his proud art, in
which she reached fair standard of
perfection.
Claude too became an artist of no
mean standing, but his pictures were
crude and lacked power, and worse than
all would not sell.
The fathers eyesight began to fail at
first, and then his strength, and soon q
lingering illness brought poverty to
their door. Then death came with sure
but noiseless step. and Santa Montalti
slept with his departed kindred.
Stella's grief was so great that her
brother feared for her reason which
often seemed lettering on the brink of
destruction. She grew thin and pale,
her great eyes seemed too large for the
rest OF her features, her appetite failed,
and want gaunt and grim, was added to
Claude's other troubles.
His sister was his all, and faithfully
did the poor youth guard his only treas
IRE, robbing himself of food and rest
that she might he fed and rested-ever.
begging for her, though his pride re-
volted at the degradation.
At length came "A fearful night. No
food had passed their mouths for forty
eight hours; every thing worth selling,
that they could possibly spare, had been
disposed of, and they were standing
face to face with hunger. Stella was
wandering and feverish, and Claude
bathed her face and hands in cool limpid
water, and made her drink of the blessed
fluid of which at least there was no
dearth. He helped her to her humble
couch, and watched her with his eyes
dropping tears, and his heart full to
bursting.
Stella kept muttering in her sleep, as
though she were holding a converse
ton with some invisible person, and
tossed and turned in evident distress.
It was in the heat of Summer, and
Claude thought it was the warmth
which troubled her, for her flesh burned
to his touch. So he bathed her again
and famed her; all the time praying