Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1884-02-02

NUlte SHOW, tuaU l1leIldDlt uellcdcy Vi
fume, calls her before me like revelationl
There are times when this eternal smooth
ness Of things in my life pals me--tnes
when cannot bear the sound of evening
bells coming across the water 1t so renews
for me that evening-that evening when l
lost her-when lost her if found Rosalie"
"You lost her thenr l said, to break the
silence that followed.
separable If walked or rode or
sailel with one, the other was not far
away Rosaie was little gay, tormenting
sprite. Alicia was pensve saint. 1t was
Alicia's home; her father was man of
wealth, and Rosale was visiting her. Ros-
allie had no home, no fortune; she hal just
finished school and was to be governess,
Greading it as a butterfly might dread being
broken to harness, dreading it all the more
for this glimpse of luxurious life in her
friends home since school. l myself had a
fortune in my own right, and had been
guilty of the follies of most of the jeunesse
doree of that period, which, if comparatively
innocent, were troublesome enough to the
authorities Of my college to need discipline,
and was passing year of most unhappy
rtistication in the place adjoining Alicia's
home Never shall forget the first moment
i'm which saw Alicia running down one of
the orchard asies with her white garments
fluttering about her, and her fair head bent
over the branch of apple blossoms in her
hand. If lightning had fallen, the revolu-
tion that seized me could not have come more
quickly. l seemed to be changed in
twinkling, to have been borne into
another planet. felt as il sun
shine had pierced and penetrated once inn
penetrable gloom. When J fell asleep in the
grass of that orchard, and woke with that
heavenly creature bending over me, rose
only to walk on air The little brown face
of Rosa'tr with its carnations, with the CLINT
and glance of its great brown eyes, with its
food of brown curls that had touch of gold
on them, with the glittering teeth Of its
beautiful laugh, was just over her shoulder,
but merely know 1 saw it by remembering
it afterward She was only shadow to me
i'm those days; and as for me, was only
Alicia's shadow myself. She lived and
moved in some exalted atmosphere, to my
perception. She does now. Her father wore
the front of Jove; could not say that he did
not carry the thunders. felt myself mote
in the broad beam of their sunshine, as
though were something hardly visible in
their large range Of vision, as IL It required
an effort to make myself perceived by them.
hesitated to make the effort-I worshiped
from afar When she spoke to me my heart
beat so had hardly voice to answer; when
she touched my hand it thrilled me through
and through. And l asked no more
thought Of no more for while than just to
continue so forever; to see her from my win
dow walking under the long aisles
of the low-branched orchard, like
some medieval picture; to walk
besides her sometimes; now and then
to venture reading from the same page with
her; now and then to be her partner in the
dance. That Rosale should be about with
me, riding here, strolling there, walking to
church, reading with the old pastor, in whose
charge there was fiction that was, and so,
In a way, studying with me-that was all a
matter of commonplace; she was sweet, she
was fresh, she was charming. But what
was all that when an angel was in the rooml
''One night was ON the gallery just out
side their. drawing-room, looking in at the
long window, and Alicia was singing. All,
how delicious was that voicei The cherubim
and seraphim who continually do sing, IL
ever hear them, will not sing so sweetly.
wonder to whom that voice is singing now! I!
Besides her, that night, was this scamp who
had come to tho place more than once, a
proud, commanding fellow in his undress uni
form, a man whom her father plainly in
tended she should marry. can see the scene
now--the rich and dimly-lighted room full
Of purple shadows, the air laden with the
scent of flowers; Alicia Ia her white drapery,
more mystical, more beautiful, moro
holy, as she sang, than il revealed In the
glow of her beauty; outside the violet depths
of the sky, and the moon just falling, like
some great golden flower, low in the west:
and as Alicias voice became silent choir OF
bell tones coming far and fine and free across
the water, like echoes of her song in heaven.
My heart swelled with fullness of rapture;
life seemed too rich too sweet, too sacred;
and then saw that man stOop and kiss her
brow. The action turned me to stone for a
moment till he came sauntering to the win
dow, and knew no more what was doing
than that bronze Perseus in the corner would
IL he moved. l lifted the hand that had
seemed stone, and as he passed me struck
him OH the mouth, the mouth that had done
the proclamation"
And Mr.. Fernalde was quiet little while.
Sand that was the end of all things" he
resumed. "The fellow laughed at me for q
mad boy. Her father launched one Of tho
thunderbolts and forbade me the house.
What a stricken day and night Of wretched-
nessl What week of hopelessness, Of amir
hilationl But perhaps Alicia felt otherwise.
Why should not discoveri Why should l
suppose she had any other sympathy with
that creature than the sympathy of the star
and the worm9 And if my glad hope peradven.
ture were true, why then we could fly from
these places that should know us no more;
the world was before US, heavens gates were
open to us. And wrote, my hand trembling
at its sacrilegious daring, just dozen lines,
without address, without signature. She
would know what it meant. And sent It
by the parsons boy. And waited for her,
lying on the grass beneath the orchard trees,
in the deep gloom just gilded by the influence
Of the unseen moon. There came the rust
ling Of garments, the tripping Of foot; my
heart beat, my eyes grew dim Was it she
coming up behind me, as lay lifted on my
elbow, kneeling and putting her arms about
me, rain ing swift kisses on my facea-wild,
sweet kisses in that shadow; wild, passionate
whispers in that silence! And then great
pang smote me, and rose and went out with
her into the less dim darkness-and it was
Rosalie.
"She never knew" said Mr. Fernalde, "she
does not know to-day that died that night.
can't say how l lived through those mo-
ments even. They were but moments she
had stolen away. She had to return at once.
We parted at the foot Of the mock-orange
walk, and went to my bed and lay there in
trance Of despair. Perhaps sunlight
brought some relief The parson told
at the breakfast-table tho news that Alicia
x.,., I,a<roxl,ad IN tho arvnu ofF3cor had Soa,,