New-York tribune., 1881-09-11

nothing dreadful nothing or fear-in-
spirng In s quality. 1t was simply voice, and 1T
sadly. with light pause between each two words,
Your brother your brother your brotherp.
ttensely. poignantly, still unaccountaby without
fear; but there was nothing more. There was no
intervened between me and the easement square
h ! 40 not not know for how long | listened; it might
spoke can hardly believe @ @ now that dared ten e do
IT; were such voice to come to me again--which
God avert!-l am very sure that should have no
sSss d said s sttas p e
bed and staring stranngly out into the dim but
my own voice as it broke upon the dumbnsss round
me: My brothers what about my brotherf
perhaps have counted ten rather slowly and
then the voice came again. exactly the same
to %a
S|;rowa |;S and iSsn you VIII fSoWy That vas all
The words that had heard kept ringing and echo
ing IN my head, without my attaching any meaning
yeOw lily striped With brown and then you will
the cocks were just striking one-alone-(for the
H, idea Of waking anybody never occurred to mel
if should be able to draw the heavy bolts Go
into the garden in dressing gown and bare feet at
one O'clock in the morning. had never done such
was sure. 1t was not so large in extent that /
could not have an intimate acquaintance will each
blossom; and recollectcd no such flower. In
what border could it beY l ran over in my head
some red and some yellow. There were Mary
lilies; h bnt they were white and as yet only in
and whimsically painted and streaked that there
might be among them yellow one striped with
but then are not lilies sezed Ell by
still inexplicahly free from fear-w alled bare
footed to the window. There lay the gardcn-not
| nul sri annf fhn fnnp nato
and the hammock, but overspread with dusky
veil, tnat hi ndred strange lilies might he hid
or detect them. There was nothing for it but to
60 down and search, l could not resist the appa-
dress ing,gown and slippers, and not lighting any
candle trusting to the lenity of the summer night
a aSns the the bright SD%S 1s ssr and bas
every step | knew SC. we'll as to be able safely to
race tlindfold down them. l had recoIlected that
and had no bolts. In effect, / opened it without
more noise than the slight unavoidable click that
outside ''">~' - '' '''' e anu ''''" vi '"' '""''
Al How strangely , strange the familiar gar
worn bare by our feet-this solemn silent space
Coul this be the pink horsec at whose rosy
towering mass of darknessf How in this universal
gloom that spread one coorless shade over ALL
could l distinguish the tint OF one flower from an
other | walked alongside the borders stopping
as ! went to peer at the faces of the blossoms both
those that thriftily close at advancing night nor
and those that still hold up their chalices to the
stars: 1t was perfectly useless. | was stepping
hopelessly across the grass, 10 large oval bed of
mixed shrubs and heIbaccous plants which occupied
the space Immediately in front of the drawing room
Windows and & of which well knew as thought
grew no such dower as sought: when suddenly the
moon, who to-nigho rose late. looked over The belt
of girdlng forest trees that hedged us in At once,
directly before me, as plainly rs if it in the
very eye of noon. saw can see it no va large
tall yellow lily, with lines OF brown streaking its
petals. That there had been such lily there
when last-late on the previous evening-I had
ALWAYS called this part of the pleasure groundsl
l was thoroughly convinced. Growing there
straight and stately unlike also of our lilies it
was absolutely impossible that | could have over
looked it. II was still more absolutely impossible
that 1t could have sprung up IN its strength and
optical delusion Could be suffering from some
strange halluciuation bent down low and touched
ell into the great orange-stamencd vase of its ex-
panded flower. For, like other lilies it was as wide
noon of night. Into their pure cups the constela-
tions look as freely as does the sun II certain
the words that the voice had uttered echoed back on
my mind: Go into the garden, and Won will find
yellow lily striped with brown. and then you will
the lily and knew more than before. No raw
OF enlightenment pierced my darkness The moon
had sailed up above our ems and was raining down
her white and dreamful radiance. | gazed long
and earnestly at the mystic blossom eagerly trying
to vile its secret from it, but 1t was in vain. The
answer to the riddle the key of the puzzle ESCAPED
me: After long, or what seemed long, and hopeless
waiting ! had to turn awav balficd. and retraco
my steps across the ehostly white open spaces and
through the ghostly black shadows TO the house
Up the dark starr climbed to my room 1t was
empty. The shadow Of the window frames Law in
cross-bar pattern, black and white upon the fioor
There was even patch of wan radiance upon the
bed-qnilt. looked out of the window, trying if at
this distance and by the aid of the now powerful
moon, could distinguish the strange new lily. but
1t was too far of. So at last / unwillngly threw
of my dressing gown, and again Law down, meaning
to await in bewildered wakefulness the coming
of the morning when ] could correct by the help OF
daylight the errors and delusions of the night But
strange to say, almost before my head was we'll
laid on the pillow, ] was asleep again. For how
long, who shall sayY There is nothing more dini-
cult to measure than the periods of sleep | had
been too preoccupied to ascertain at what hour
even occur to me TO think of the length of my
slumber For l awokc again, precisely az / had
done before without start or Jump or h"art-throb-
bed and listening listening TO the same voice
mon"tonously mournful, that had spoken to me
before, and that was a second time addressing
me in precisely the same words: Your brother =
yonr brother!-your brotherp
The room, winch before had not been really
moon. which still sailed high. the dawn was
breaking-in June. there is virtually no highland
of any kind in the room, must have perceived it,
But in this case hearing drew no aid from sight 1t
was quite as impossible as before for me to decide
above nor below, nor did it seem to proceed from
any one po int Of the compass more than another
1t was voice that was all. 1t was neither loud
nor low, it was neither soft nor harsh 1t was
voice and IL was sorrowful. That was all you
could certainly say Of it. It repeated the words
brother your brotherH And i as before, still
strangely stout-heartcd but in passion of haste
as had let elapse on the former occasion. staring
out the while vaguely for did not know in which
direction tc look into the still and vacant chamber
where the two lights-the one that must wax and
the one that must wane-were contendng: NV