Omaha daily bee., 1888-05-27
MORSE


sharply outlined against the s%plendor of
the sky.
She had been silent for a long time,
and when she spoke it was half under
her breath.
sit is like my life" she said; sail the
white things and the bright things have
gone from me-"
And then before either of us were
aware of it the barriers of convention
atty were down and she vas telling me
the story of her life.
| know not what words she used.
Sometimes she spoke very rapidly and
again there were long pauses and breaks
in her sentences, but l a w as if she had
painted her portrait, the young girl SO
cruelty ignorant of life, with all the IL
lusions and dreams of O sensitive, imagi-
native nature-a creature so warm
hearted and generous she clothed the
world in rainbow colors and could not
see beyond the veil her fancy wove; L
saw her full of faith and hope and trust,
marrying-putting her all on the throw
of one great stake and losing.
Yet he was not bad. this man. OF his
wealth he gave her freely, and of such
love as he had, but who is willing to
take base metal in exchange for gold?
AND as for the rest, he did not UNDER
stand. In his narrow brain there was
no echoof her boundless thoughts, his
dull intellect could not flash back the
lightning of her wit, [ could under
stand all the miserable disappointments,
the unending WEAKNESS =. when |
first realized" Mara was saying, in a
still, level voice more pathetic than any
sob could have been, when / realized
that all the companionship of which |
had dreamed could never be, that the
husband by my side in his dull sleep
was more separated from me than if the
grave had yawned between US; that all
my life, be it long or short, ! was tied
to what | loathed, / should have died if
God had mercifully pitied my agony.
There were weeks and weeks in which
| fought it out, prayed it out, wept il
out, this great relentless truth. oh, do
you believe we are aver punished for
our SINS as cruelty as we are for our
mistakes? | was so young II 50 ig-
norant / remember that it was sum-
mer and that a jessamiue vine climbed
up to my window, and how its heavy
perfume filled the room. Even yet that
odor makes me feel as if u dead hand
was n upon my heart"
There was a long pause. The incom-
ing tide beat heavily on the beach, the
dusk fell and the wind moaned above us
AAhS VII SAAio VI Io"s
Mara shuddered, and | took in mine
the hand that | held, dead last night,
and that was scarcely then less cold and
white.
1T is so sad a thing to be done with
the JOY and light of life at twenty" she
said. | suffered until at last respite
came, not because | had ceased TO care,
but because there comes a time when
the tired nerves are numb and no
longer throb and culver, and at last,
like many another woman, ! suppose |
grew indifferent and learned to inter-
est myself in other things. a Finally,
when | said to myself that | could suf-
fer no more, when l grew accustomed
to even golden fetters"-her white
hand buried itself in the loose sand
when | learned to wear out restless
ness in constant excitement, there came
another, and | learned anew all that
life might have held for me and all that
| had missed.
II wonder if many women's lives are
like NINE" she cried, ~passionately, IF
they know what it is to be heart hungry,
TO be as alone in the midst of society as
if they were the only beings in created
space, to thirst and yearn for a COM
partnership they know must always be
denied them. oh, il is cruei-cruel 81"
After awhile she again began speak