The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1885-02-28
A Summer Idyl.

swift course to the blue sea The
calm depths Of the fathomless sum
mer sky, where only a few soft cloud
fiOated, smiled wistfully down at it,
longing to WOO the restless water to
II moments pause, that they might
mirror themselves in its bright bos-
ON; the graceful willowy trees on its
banks leaned over and sought to
I find, but in vain, smooth, nruf-
fled spot where they might trace
their green outlines. But the waves
/ gurgled caressingly round their roots
and fled on; the arrowy sunbeams
! coquetted with them; leaping from
crested billow to billow, glittering,
shimmering, dancing over the whole
surface, till it cleaned as if lit by
innumerable gems; and the amor
Gus summer wind, fresh from frolics
with new-mown hay, kissed the wa
tiers, and, in II low, soft, signing
whisper, seemed asking them to stay;
but the river threw back laughing
defiance from each snow-tipped
wave, and still sped on-on-over
every obstacl6-through all difficult
ties-never pausing-never resting
till, with a glad, exultant shout, it
threw itselfin the arms of its grand
old mother. And the girl, with
white arms clasped over her brown,
sunlit curls, watched the water with
grave, earnest eyes. "It typifies
life" she muttered, aloud. $50
should we battle and struggle, never
forgetting the great end for which
we were made, not stopping to rest
by the way, not shrinking from the
weariness and pain, but through all,
over all, press straight on to the
goal. So should my life be. will
weave into verse these beautiful
thoughts that crowd my brain.
will toll and work and, in time, l
will become great and honorable. I
will sway those around me-nay,
the worldly the witchery of my
pen. will be the Corinne of my
land-the priestess of poetry and
the gentler arts-and, when ! die, |
my name shall not go down to dust |
with me- The noiscless sunbeams |
quivered down through the dancing |
leaves, played over her face, and |
woke a new sparkle in the hazel |
eyes; then they kissed coyly the |
sensitive lips, and rippled carress-
ingly over the brown hair Ro-
guishly they wove their drowsy |
spell across the busy brain; the
white arms relaxed, the fringed lids |
slowly shut out the smile her am
bilious reverie had brough to the
hazel eyes, the bold wind, unnoticed |
futtered the leaves of her book: the
day-dream had melted into sleep.
Day after day, through the ripe
summer time, the girl sought her old
haunt by the river side with her pet |
books and sometimes her pen. But
the lusty sunbeams would still |
throw their golden glamor over her;
the wooing winds would wrap their
slumbrous arms around her; the
blue sky, with its eternal suggestion
of peace and reposc, would spread |
its boundless dome above her and |
the girl would dream by hour of all |
things harmonious and lovely, un- |
til the material objects around her |
would blend with the beautiful but |
baseless visions of her brain, and the |
same lovely picture of the sleeping |
maiden would wake the love-caroIs |
of the bird choir around her. But |
while she slept with the unread book |
theidle pen beside her, the riverhowed |
on, the hum of the bee on its busy |
round never ceased, the sun trod his !
unvarying path in heaven, the
noiseless, but wonderful develop
ment of animal and vegetable life
went ON. Each was fulfilling its
God-given hest" while day by day
ON the blank pages of her life his
tory was being written by the re-
cording Angel, Nothing accom-
plished; time and talent wasted"
And SO the years came and went,
and her beautiful youth, with wist-
ful, lingering feet, looking back
yearningly, departed, and the dream
er dreamed still of high hopes to be
realized, of battles for truth to be
fought and won, of laurel chaplets
to bind tired brows. But dreams
are more intangible now than of old /
the heavenly visions of beauty are .
less frequent. The mind, So often
cheated in its vaVlting aspirations, /
and called back to wait for another
"A more convenient timr-loses its
old longing to soar, and contents it. .
self with food that. in Its younger,
pureF days, il would have turned I
from imloathing. And the Recording
ANGEL WOODS MS thn nnnn rrnu.s n,nrn