St. Landry democrat., 1884-06-21

I house had given way, and the stack O
chimneys opposite had fallen.
eff it had been these!" said she.
They crouched nearer together, each
still holding to the other. The fear in
each mind now was the fear of being
divided, of losing all human compan.
ionship. The waters were rising faster,
rising. as it seemed, with a malignant,
hungry JOY.
ut can't be long now" said the man,
No." said She
There were a few more long mo.
ments in which they sat silent, breath
ing hard The wild gust of wind abat-
ed; the moon found wide, open arch
way among the clouds; the face of the
waters grew by comparison still again.
''And so,'' said he, sit was for me
you staid, and even at the end can't
go away in peace without pulling down
some one else. And you, who staid,
are a stranger, and we shall die here
! together, strangers. Oh, the irony Of
this world All nv life l have been
solitary and deserted. 1t has been my
fault; and now life is over. It's all too
late, and there's no time.'
She remained silent, and the monoto..
nous pulse of the water throbbed be-
low.
"Do we9 Well, the depths, perhaps,
of each other, but not the shadows. II
we were to be saved we should feel like
friends till we came to land, and then
you would go your way and / mine;
and if we were to meet once a week
for a tWelve-month we should speak to
each other at first, and then we should
nod and smile, and by and by we
should pass and take no notice. No,
what knowledge or friendship we have
does not belong to this life!''
) 9" You believe, then, in another?''
eft is hardly that believe in another
life, SO much as that can't believe in
death. We could not be capable of so
much, and DESTROYS of SO much, and
nothing come. We have not half
enough. / feel SO much, much more.
No, | am not afraid. There's more
He in. his turn was silent. Perhaps
he forebore, out of pity, to put forth
word against her hope; perhaps, in his
soul, too, like hope, which he had
taken to be long dead began to stir
and murmur.
The moon had put on, minute by |
minute, fuller glory; it was illumin-
ing an arch of clouds, and beyond the
arch lay measureless, liquid, lucid |
depths She looked and pointed up
ward. The full glow shone on her
face. He saw in her dark eyes a slow
lnetfable softening; in all the lines of
her features breathed spirit of ex-
ultant reception.
THE open doorway of infnity," said
he, fitting to this radiance its apt poetic
description, but without anything of the
poets rapture or belief. Her lips moved
% a recognizing smile.
"And can you look up to that and
lespair?" she asked.
THAT has no voice for me. 1t is
90 far of, too silent, too unmoved.
That glory may come back, as serene,
o look down on my drowned face. But
7ou have to die with me- What hope
here is in life or death you have shown
ne. | don't know that it is lasting or
hat it is good for much; but such as it
8. it comes from you.
Again the waters came rushing over
he fallen chimneYs, and they looked
ut in momentarY apprehension. But
he sudden torrent subsidized, and the
Faters went on rising again slowly as g
efore.
He then quietly proceeded: 'sOne
Kinks of life as the lie one has known.
o-night q glimpse has come to me OF
0mething that seems to make life
-orth going on with. 1t may be life
the other side of division; / can't
Ills l don't want to be carried back
ITO the old life, but do want life=-the !
fe that nearly saw Just now, when
e thought that our time was upon us. 8
nd have. found you, standing with a
e upon The brink. We do not know e
lch other, you say; we are notfriends, t
Id we can't be. / don't know. only 4
loW that l would neither go on nor S
lck, alone. n
Her hand, which still chung to his arm, t
embed and was withdrawn, and in
9 next moment stole softly into his. t,
They sat quite silent, and the endless o
ght drew on. Memories rose before q
CHI Of them of hopes and dreams that o
ID once been all in all, and now were il
1all and faint and immeasurably d
slant. Around them, rising always, 81
rged the persistent waters. Nowand ii
ain gusts of wind awoke suddenly v
q brought q sweep of waves over the
Emerged masonry. w
Presently, oozing drops began to :.
eep between the chimneys behind 81
EN-. "
1--WE must 60 up higher, !" said the ri
IN. se
Phey quilted their sheltered nook. M
d, mounting, stood upon the platform cl
brick-work. The wind flung itself m
on them in fury. They. chung to the c.
mneys and to each other, and for a few