Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1883-04-01


imagination like the mighty Homeric
heroes or the courtly warriors OF NAL
ary's immortal story; while Lee and
Beauregard and Stonewall jackson
were foes Of "a no less majestic grandeur
than Diomed or Stbeneleus or Sir Tur-
uuine or Sir Peasant Of indie. Even
when be went TO school his dreaming
spirit was strong enough TO invest the
practical animalism Of the school life
and the school sport with the unreal
wonders of the Greek and Romanstory.
He traced q resemblance between his
boyish adventures and the fortunes OF
the pious Eneas, and be endowed his
COMPANIONS in the base ball field with
the attributes Of Theban warriors. Har-
ward gave him new ideas; taught him
TO temper his fancy with all philoso-
PIXIES, mingiing Plato and Fichte, Sene-
ca and Schopenhauer; read him strange
lessons of life in the illimitable king
dem of fiction. 1t was unfortunate for
him that he never seemed to see the
world as it was. He was ever peering
at it through glazed windows; true, the
glass was prettily colored with all the
gorgeous hues of heaven, but there was
glass there all the same.
He pleased himself with playing at
being poet; he pictured to himself an
ideal life in some fair spot, some Van
cluse or Arqua Of his own, where he
might read his Petrarch and write his
verses and be happy. Actual business
life be had none and needed none.
"Half of what i have is yours, his
uncle had told him when he came OF
age. at is your fathers share, and
YOU eau do IS you please with it." Ham,
flton found himself unable to make up
his mind what he should do with his
money and life. At last he resolved
that before coming TO any decision he
would travel, would see Europe and all
the places he had dreamed Of in his
youth; and old Reuben applauded his
decision. "See the world, lad, see the
world; and when you come back you'll
know better what to turn to-" he said,
and so Hamilton set off tOsee the world,
Ikea German youth on his Wander.
jahre. He went to England first and
wandered all over 1t. 1t was the moth
er land Of his beloved Republic, and
every rood Of its earth was dear to
him, and then he turned to the great
European continent, where the mar
velous kingdoms and countries of his
dreams lay grouped together. Weeks
glided into months, and months ex-
tended themselves to years, as he stray
ed from place to place as his fancy list
ed. Now he was stopping in some
quiet French cathedral town; now in
some hill city of the Alps that LOOKS
down on hOlp Thrasymene; now in
quiet Saxon Weimar, graced with more
than Attic glory by the name Of Goethe;
now in Golden Rome, and now immor-
tai Athens; now floating down the
Nile; how crossing the desert and gaz-
ing with reverentIal eyes at the distant
domes of Jerusalem.
At length he tired of wandering, and
resolved to return to America and make
good use of his golden harvest of rich
experiences, little thinking that his
stTangest and saddest experience was
vet TO come. He had wintered in Rome
and passed the early spring in Florence,
where he had met Blanket lounging,
a. was his wont, lazily, a careless camp
follower on the march Of pleasure. The
dreamy young American and the idle
Englishman formed one OF those ALT
ances which are SO common in travel,
and are so seldom carried beyond 1t.
Hamilton came to- London for some
summer weeks. With the beginning
of the English autumn he would cross
the Atlantic in time for the melan-
choly beauty of his own Indian sum-
mer. His days in London were gliding
pleasantly away with unheeded rapid
ity. One night he dined with friend,
who took him to the theatre after
wards. The play was poor thing. a
burlesque of one of the ARABIAN
knights" stories; and Hamilton would
have soon wearied of it but for the
beauty of the woman who played the
heroine. Hamilton found himself
watching her with eager delight. She
had only to dan a little and look
beautiful, but she did both perfectly.
Hamilton had seen the tarantelle
danced by dark-haired Neapolitian
girls along the sleepy shores of Bai@,
and had looked with curious wonder
on the fantastic agility Of the women of
the East and been disappointed. Now
for the first time he understood the
magic of dancing. Her exquisite grace
gave to all her actions the careless case
of one who dances for the very joy of
dancing; she seemed to be entirely alb
sorbed in the voluptous gladness of
moving to music, to. have forgotten
everything save the passionate enjoy
ment of her art. He thought her face
the farest he had ever seen. All that
night and all next day her face and her
1.-the loneliness haunted him. He
went to the theatre the next night and
the next. Truly her eyes had over
looked him and divided him from
peace.
To be continued inert Sunday.