The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1878-05-14
his lips; and he stared at her, astonished,

a moment, and then kissed her finger
tips. Redolette,' said he, you've beel
imprudent; you've get chilled through
your hand is as cold as ice.' That wa
Just ali he thought about it, but womal
) is more keen; and says to myself, tina
very minute, Yes, she's caught a chill
and she's caught fever, that fever ma,
last or it may not; but the chill She
caught III last her the rest Of her life
There comes into almost every expe
rience night that, for its very distinc
tion Of darkness and gloom and binding
fright, is counted ever aGterward as eth
night" o. "-
Such a night came to Redolette. |
was The hour that Willie had anticipate,
when he made her make solemn prom
Use " for her good.''
A night of storm, Of wild wind anc
drenching rain. But wind and rail-
seemed feeble elements in comparison
with the cruel anger, the passionate up
braiding, and pitiless threats that formed
the actual dark pre-eminence of the
eventful night.
One bright scene stood out in relic.
against the stormy background-tht
opening Of door in answer to faint
despairing knock; a beaming home
room, with warm freight and gay with
cheerful lamps; kind faces, kind voices
sympathy, encouragement, help. Sc
1 every dark night-even the darkest
has its friend.
Before morning dawned Redolette
urged with all the gentle and firm aid OF
| which she had need, was speeded forth
on journey that was to cast into a
higher plane'her whole future life. By
the time night had glimmered into day
Redolette had made her escape.
Examination week at the famous girls
school of N had reached its closing
act Compositions were to be read in
the afternoon; prizes were to be awarded
and at evening collation. would be
spread at half-past ten in the not spacious
but particularly attractive grounds of
the N seminary, to end in the garden
party style, with a band of music and a
merry dance, the arduous exercises of the
week.
Intense interest gathered about this
closing afternoon. Indeed, when one
considers how small part of the great
world the female seminary of N,
with all its fame, actually was, it was
wonderful how intense this interest be-
came. One would say, who happened
to peep into the greenroom of the COM
position-readers, waiting with cold fright
or with hectic agitation, each for her
turn to be called upon the stage, that
the result Of this evening would be
something momentous enough to cause
an alteration in the course of our planet,
or, at the very least, trembling in it's
onward step.
This impression would not have been
lessened by reading the titles of the COM
positions: "Women of our Century,"
"The Dead Past Burying It's Dead !"
"The Future of the American Repub-
lie "a very fine thing, and winner of
the first prize; Spiritual Tendencies of
Astroniical Research" "Darwin's De-
velopment Theory confronted with
Argyie's Reign of Law" as Genius
Hereditary, and if so, from the Paternal
or The Maternal Side? wit statistics from
Gallon, carefully complied" and so on,
and so forth.
Very simply, after this array, came
the announcement given by the princi-
pal of the seminary, A Mountain
Brook" by Miss r. Kane.
Closing exercises had been heightened
beyond their fixed time, and daylight
was departing as Miss Kane made her ap-
pearance from the greenroom, compost
ton in hand. A side window had to be
opened to give sufficient light, and
through this opening came rosy glow
that almost atoned for the want Of floral
tributes such as had overwhelmed the en-
trance of every other reader. Not a
single flower was thrown to welcome the
coming of Miss Kane. GA friendless
girl" many of the audience thought. But
no one in the world is friendless girl, so
the suddenly opened window said; for
the sunset glow poured in and enshrined
her feet, and illumined her garments,
and crowned her young head with flowers
of light.
And in timid, but clear voice the
composition was read. CA Mountain
Brook" not scientific or erudite, but a
theme of action, and taking as smile of
useful life the trite figure of river
bearing from its rocky solitude, through
wood and through field of grain, and
over mill-wheel and by the town, it's
ever-augmenting stream of refreshing
and compelling force.
The trite comparison was treated with
a novel grace. And one thing was quite
noticeable about the composition-a de-
scription of the scenery in which the
Mountain Brook was supposed to receive
from high authority its mission through
the thirsting earth. This description
was so wildly accurate that anyone
familiar with certain mountain local
lty would have recognized at one that
the " Brook" sprang to light under the
fern-fanned cavern of Block Height.
No one among the audience, however,
vas familiar with that particular nook
OF upland scenery. No one, excepting a
handsome young man who had drawn to
himself during the afternoon the shyly
admiring glances Of very many of the
girls. He had been restless, like the
watcher who impatiently awaits the
striking Of the hour. When Miss Kane
entered he became still and satisfied,
like the watcher when the hour has come
"Redolettel She has fulfilled her
promise"
These two unspoken sentences ex-
pressed the mental impression, COM
plete. For to this young man, through
the five years, including his senior year
at college, his law study, his energetic
establishment of law practice, Redolette
had been the embodiment of all that. is
sweetest in a girl. And "she had full
filled her promise" referred not so much
to the fact that this sweetest girl had
kept her word to him as that She had
KENT her word to tiua l,o,n& A. .