The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-08-19


the four others accompanied it as a guard of
honor. So altogether, i'll regular order,
like a iiue squadron, they floated slowly
along urged by the breeze through the
whole leugGh or the sea until they reached
tine shores of Sicily.
Augelique was fimr believer in miracles.
In her ignorance she lived surrounded by
wonders The rising of the stars, or the
opening of violet; each fact was a sur
prise to her. 1t uid have appeared to her
simply ridiculous to have imagined the
world so mechanical as to be governed by
fixed laws. There was so many things far
beyond her comprehension, she felt herself
SO weak and helpless in the midst of forces
wno,e power it was impossible to measure,
that she would not even have suspected they
existed, had it not been for the great ques-
tioning breath whica at times passed over
her face. SO, trusting, and ms thoroughly
christian as il belonging to the Primitive
church, spiritually fed 10y her readings from
the Golden Legend, she gave herself up en-
tirely into the hands of God, with only the
spot of original sin to be cleaased from her
soul She had no liberty of action, or free
dom of will; God alone could secure her
salvation by giving her the gilt of his
grace. That grace had been already mani
tested by bringing her to the hoSpitaole
roof of the Huberts, where, under the
shadow of the cathedral, she could lead a
life of submission. of purity and of faith.
She often heard within her soul the grum-
blings of hereditary tendency to evil, and
asked herself what would have become Of
her had she been left on her native soil
Without doubt she would have been bad
while here, in this blessed corner of the
earth, sho had grown up free fiom tempta-
ton, strong and healthy. Was it not grace
that had gwen her this home, where she
was surrounded by such charming histories
she had so easily committed to memory,
where she had learned such perfect faith in
the present and hope In the future, and
where the invisible unknown, or the mira
cles of ages seemed natural to her and quite
on level with her daily life? 1t had armed
her for all combats, as heretofore it had
armed the martyrs. And she created an
imaginary a perience for herself almost I'M
knowingly. 1t was, in fact, the inevitable
result OF mind overcharged and excited
by fables, it was increased by her ignor-
ance Of the life within and about her, as
well as from her loneliness. She had not
had many companions, so all desires went
from her only to return to her.
Sometimes she was in such a peculiar state
that she would put her hands over her
face, as if doubling her identity Was she
herself only an illusion, and would she
suddenly disappear some day and vanish
into nothingness! Who would tell her the
truths
Ono evening in the following May, on
this same balcony where she had spent SO
much time in vague dreams, she suddenly
broke into tears. She was not low-spirited
in the least, but it seemed to her as if her
anxiety arose from vain expectation of
visit from someone, yet who was there to
comet
1t was very dark; the Clos Marie marked
itself out like great black spot under the
sky filled with stars, and she could but
vaguely distinguish the heavy masses of the
old elm trees of the bishops garden, and OF
the park of the Hotel Voincourt Alone
the window of the chapel sent out a little
light. If no one were to come why did her
heart beat so rapidlys 1t was nothing new,
this feeling of waiting, or of hope, but il
was dated from the long ago, from her early
youth it was like desire, a looking for
ward for something which mad grown with
her growth, and ended in this feveriSh anXi-
ETY. of her II years. Nothing would have
surprised her, as for weeks she had heard
the sound of voices in this mysterious cor
ner, peopled by her imagination. The
Golden Legend had left there its supernat-
ural world of saints and martyrs, and the
miracle was all ready to appear there. She
understood well that everything was ami
mated, that the voices came from objects
hitherto silent, that the leaves of the trees,
the waters of the Chevrotte and the stones
of the cathedral spoke to her. But what
was it that all these whisperings from the
invisible wished to explaing What did
these unknown forces above and around
her wish to do with her as they floated in
the airg She kept her eyes fixed upon the
darkness, as if she were at an appointed
meeting with she knew not whom, and she
waited, still waited, until she was overcome
with sleep, whilst it seemed to her as ii
some supernatural power were deciding
her destiny, irrespective of her will or wish
For four evenings Angelique was nerv-
Gus, and wept a great deal in the darkness
She remained in her usual plaza and was
patient. The atmosphere seemed to envelop
ner, and as it increased in density it or
pressed her more and more, as if the hori-
ZOn itself had became smaller and was
shutting her in. everything weighed upon
her heart. Now there was a dull murmur-
ing of voices in her brain; yet she was not
able to hear them clearly, or to distinguish
their meaning. 1t was as if nature itself
had taken possession of her, and tho EARTH
with the vast heavens above it, had pene-
trated into her being. At the least SOU q
her hands burned and her ewes tried to
pierce the darkness. Was the wonderful
event about to take place, the prodigy she
awaited! No, there was nothing vet Ii
was probably merely the beating of the
wings of a night bird. And she listened
again dJUtllJlNtl1 uIlLli SIG Gu Il
the diffe, ence OF sound between the eay,
of the elms aud tie willows. At least
twenty times she trembled Violently when a
little stone rolled in the rivulet, or prowl-
ing animal jumped over the wall. She
leaned forward; but there was nothing
still nothing.
At last, after some days, when at night
a warmer darkness fell from the sky where
no moon was visible, chang. began. She
felt it, but it was so slight, 50 almost inper-
ceptible she feared that she might have
been mistaken in the little sound She
heard, which seemed unlike the usual noises
she knew so well. She held her brea h, as
the sound seemed very long III returning.
At last it came again, louder han before.
but equally confused. she would have saiu
it cane from great distance, at il was a
scarcely defined step, and that the trembling
OF the air a .nounced the approach of some
thing out Of sight and out of hearing.
That which she was expecting came slowly
from the invisible sight movement of what
surrounded her. Little by little it olsen
gagged itself from her dream, like a reaiiza-
ton of the vague longings of her youth.
Was it the Saint George OF the chapel
widow, who mad come down from MS
place and was walking on tho grass IN 81 ence
toward herr just then by chance the altar
light was dimmed, so that rho could not
distinguish the faintest outline of thu
figures on the painted glass, but all seemed
like q blue cloud of vapory mist That was