The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-06-23

oV0EY OtGN
If The front door opened, and two other dgurel
Q place: Sir Charles Pelham, his rosy faoe com
!. sonething Important and business-like In The
q io0k o. ie and, leaning feebly on his arm,
{ Ellen DAILY. See he'd been very Ill since the
q night Of her fathers death, quite confined TO
i her bed; but there had been much snxious dis
c1ssion shat day daring luncheon. in which Sir
r Charles Pelham, his con Msrmaduke. Lesbia,
and John had all eagerly Joined, a. TO whether IL
? would be possibla to cosx hsx ont Of dooru
that that afsesnoSn.a long, over.eager discussion
; and now (having had that impatient fseiine IN
her hearty she somehow did not feel iust in eho
mood to encounter . full look into Eilen'ss sad
} pass her on the walk, and looked back towards
the house.
Well there was no lack of anxious eyes to
If she abstained from looking. The front door
had been left sjar, and in the opening stood
Marmaduke Pelham gazing intently after bis
one of their slow steps. Bride understood the
wistful, yesrning look that lot something of
pathos to the young mans heavy, healthy
"He hoped she would choose his arm for her
support during that fret walk" Bride said to
herself. Poor fellow; he very dull but he
should like to shake hands with him; but why
does he draw In suddenly and shut the door
with bang Ahi oomprehend-he sees
cautiously, and John putting ont his head to
| look towards the end of the terrace too. What
does he expect to happen TO those two that he
should watch them like thatf Surely one old
uncle is competent to take care of q girl walk
ing before her own honse; let her have lost her
father in ever SO shocking q way week be- |
fore; two other people are not needed to watch
II Ellen Daly's sad face was q Jar on Bride
Iho1nley's mood, John's anxious one was . |
it. She turned abruptly at the end of the |
house, scrambled up hill, over Soaked turf |
and aower-border, till she reached the high |
There, at all events, she should be alone and
yes. for once, just for once, grudgine self
plying thoughts should have their turn, and
should best see how ugly they were, and dis
cover q spell to lay them for ever at rest.
or course all pity was due to Mrs. DAILY and
Ellen they were the sufferers-and yet
there are SO many sorts of loss it is not only
death that takes away ones dearest, and /
leaves one standing alone. There are other
severing lives that have been closely knit to-
getheI; and thesevering is done so noiselessly,
SO gently, there must not be word said-not
can't be complained of are the hardest to bear.
NO warmth OF syWpathy comes to put o fresh
life in the numb, frozen heart it may turn
mean to grieve over the loss of the fret place
In heart to which one has only the righs of {
having paid away irrevoosbly all ones
peoted; and middle. aged, plain, unattraot-
i've woman, who has been struggling with h
the world for years, ought to have won b
claims by her strnggles, if she has gained g
nothing else; humility and plain sense as least
may be expected of her. It is not even called
Eortitude. if she stands still with o smiling 81
face, while one by one of those to whom abe c
has given all her love and her life work gradu- 8
ally take themselves away, to stand q little q
further off from her, till the space is too great x
or any warmth of love to pass between.
Yet surely people might know that it is not
% mooh less hard to see those you love best
crest and kind Of love to wbioh Won are
trange, than to see the golden gate of
leaven close behind them. The door is shut
sood to be near enough to hear she sound
II the festival songs and see the light of the
amps an . s:reaming g through, while you are
nto BRIDGE eyes as the thoughts to which she
lad so long refused to listen clothed them
elves In pathetic words, and one trickled
lad to etand still to wipe it awsy, and, with
he action: . sense of absurdity stole in and
battered the sentimental mood.
The wet cheek wrinkled up into a smile.
70 cry about herself, plain, middle aged Bride
:hornisy. prosperous now, healthy. content,
.hose life, rightly looked at. bad not rag of
'esten herself for being 50 absurd. So much
or taking constitutional walk alone, when
ne has been over rwrought and when there is
aiding the neighborhoodI She would 90 in
nd sew a white tucker into Lesbia's new
lack dress. and put jet studs into Johns
hirt, ready for the evening. When she had
one working for those two. no doubt some
ther work would open up, and with work of
ny kind, say it was scrubbipg floors or hem.
lipg, busters, self plying moods might be
At the end of the terrace, however, she
aused again. She found she was not ready
DE- the house just yet. IL was all very we'll
D reason 30, but work was not enough The
lost coDgenial work in the world might be
ome husks such as the swi inc eat, if offered to
ne heart as substitute for what the heart
raved 1t was mind food, not heart food
fter all. Bride's heart had been stirred and
Wsyed from its usual poise of calm content,
nd 1T needed something more potent than
earnings
In spite of wet feet and soaked skirts che
ood quite still on the verge of the turf-walk
ith her face towards the western mountains
nable to make up her mind to descend the
ope. There had coma q lnll in Aa Ind nnd