Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-10-21

est stiffness, bound in sleep. Domes and
crosses glimmered family in the peaceful
light; a gray.white road ran still and
straight as an arrow from one end Of the
city and vanished still and straight in the
dim distance among the moHotonous fields.
"What is the city ?" asked.
Sow"
SOW is in the -scheu province,
is it not %
yes
"Then we are a long way frcm home ~
For us distance is not"
TRULY" A sudden recklessness awoke
in me. ''Take me to South America,
then"
$40 America-there cannot There It
is day"
$50. we are birds O. night, then, both of
| us. Well, wherever you can, only let it be
right far"
"Shut your eyes and hold your breath"
| was Eliis's response, and we began to move
| with the swiftness of hurricane. With
stunning violence the wind whistled past
my ears.
We stopped, but the rushing sound did
not cease. On the contrary, 1t increased
to a frightful roar, like thunder peal.
Now you GEL open your eyes" said
Ellis.
obeyed. Good heavens where am 1?
Over the heavy clouds are hurrying
across the sky like herd of angry beasts,
| and below is another monster, the sea, in
widest rage. White foam is spouting and
seething madly, waves tower mountains
| nigh and dash themselves with hoarse fury
against gigantic pitch. black reef. Every
| where the bowling of the tempest, the icy
l 49, r 1. i Al L IL
| roar of the breakers, through which at
| times | caught something ike loud lamen.
| tations, distant cannon and the peal of
bells; ear-splitting CRATE and crunch of the
chalk cliffs, the sudden cry of an unseen
gull, and against the gray horizon the out
| line of a Keeling veseel-everywhere con-
| fusion, horror, and death. My head swan,
my heart stopped. closed my eyes anew.
"What is that, and where are WEI"
"Of the southerly coast OF the Isle of
Wight, before the Blackgang Rock, where
so many vessels are lost, replied Ellis, this
| time with great distinctness of tone, and,
AZ I fancied, shade of joyous excite
ment.
Take me away-away from here
home"
l shrank into myself and pressed my
| hands over my eyes. l could feel that we
were moving more swiftly than before al.
ready the wind ceased to howl and shrek
it blew evenly in my face, but so strong
that could hardly breathe
Take your foot-hold," heard Ellis
| say.
made a mighty effort to regain my full
| consciousness and the mastery of myself.
felt the ground beneath my feet but
could hear no more than if everything
about me lay dead /; only on my own tenn
Piles the veins throbbed violently, une-
| venly, and with little inward ringing;
was still half fainting. But l stood up
| and opened my eyes.
We were on the bank of my own pond.
Straight before me could see through the
slender willow leaves the CLASSY surface of
the water, dappled here and there with
mist. On the right was the ye.fsld in
tremulous motion, on the left rose steady
and dewy-we the trees of my garden. The
morning had already breathed on them
In the empty gray sky pair of narrow
| clouds hung like snow-wreaths they were
russet; the first faint hint of dawn had
reached them the eye could not as yet dis
| tinguish any spot on the wide horizon
where the daylight should break. The
stars were gone there was no stir yet in
the magical half.light; everything drew
consciously to its awakening.
Morning, morning is here !" Ellis muir
INJURED in my ear. 9 Farewell till to-mor-
| row."
turned to her. She rose, lightly sway.
ing, from the ground, and lifted both arms
| above her head. Head, arms and shoulders
were suddenly sutfused with warm, rosy
| flesh tint, the fire OF life glowed in the
shadowy eyes, smile of secret Joy played
| over the scarlet lips, it was a charming
| woman all at once who stood before me-
But almost instantly she sank back as il
exhausted, and melted away like mist.
l stood motiouless.
When things about me had re.assumed
the aspects of ordinary life, looked
round, and it seemed to me as if the rosy
glow that had irradiated the form OF my
shadowy companion had rot faded, but
still permeated the air and surrounded me
on every side. Il was the Dawn. An ir-
resistible languor crept over me, and |
went to the house. AS l was passing the
heunery my ear caught the frat morning
gabbie of the young geese (of all winged
creatures these are the earliest to stirl
and l saw the jsCkdaws perched on the
ridge pole busIly preening their feath-
ers against the milky colnred sky. From
time to time they all few off simulEa.
neously, and after a short flight settled
again silently in their old places. From
the wood at hand sounded twice or thrice
the shrill cry of the mountain cock that
had alighted in the dewy grass to seek for
berries there. Vita slight chillness in
my limbs | reached my own bed and at
at once sank into profound sleep.
On the following night as l neared the
oak tree Ellis glided to meet me as toward
q familiar friend. Nor did l experience the
horror OF yesterday in her presence, in.
deed / was almoss glad to see her; did
not even speculate on what might happen,
but only desired to be taken to some great
| distance and to some interesting places
Ellis placed her arms about me and our
fight began.
Our flight was less rapid than usual, and
l could follow with ny eye the unfamiliar
| aspect of the familiar ground as it unrolled
| like an endless panorama before me.
| Woods, bushes, fields, ravines, streams,
| occasional villages and churches; then
| fields, woods, bushes and ravines again. l
/ had a feeling of sadness and also of indif.
ference, almost of ennui but not in the
| least because it was Russia over which we
| were taking our fight. No; the earth in
and for itself this fat plain that spread
before me, the whole planet with its short.
| lived, helpless races, oppressed with poverty,
| sickness and care, chained to clod of dust
this rough and brittle crust, this sediment,
upon our planets fiery core on which
mold is grown that we call by the high.
sounding title of the vegetable world
these men flies, hundred times less USE
full than the flies themselves, with their
dwellings of clay and the fugitive trace of
their little monutonous lives, their eternal
strife against the inevitable and the i'm
mutable-how it shocked me My heart
beat heavily in my bosom the desire to
contemplate any longer these unmeaning
pictures had entirely left ne Yes, it was
enEui as well. Not once did l feel pity
for my fellow men; every other thought
was followed up in one that | hardly dare
TO name /; it was loathing, and the pro-
foundest, deepest loathing of all was-for
myself
80 cease" brea.hed Ellis, " cease your
| thoughts, elss it woul6 be impossible for
me to carry you. You are too heavy"
| Home y l cried to her with the tone
in which had summoned my driver once
when at o'clock in the morning l took
leave of the friends at Moscow with whom
| had been discussing Russia's future.