Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-03-25

to her cheerlIy, ana sne nodoeu TO me anu
laughed aloud, and / laughed in return,
and all went on again as before.
Then came a dark and dreary time, for
it became necessary that l should undergo
treatment that confined me absolutely to
my bed for many days, and I worried and
fretted to think that the little maid and l
could see each other no longer, and worse
still, that she would think that had gone
away without even having limited to her
that / was going. And 1 lay awake at
night wondering how could let her know
the truth, and fifty plans fitted through
my brain, all appearing to be feasible
enough at night, but absolutely wild and
impracticable in the morning. One day
and it was q bright day indeed for me
the OLD woman who attended me told me
that a gondolier had inquired whether the
English signor had gone away or had died;
and so I learned that the little maid had
been anxious about me, and that she had
sent her brother to inquire, and the
brother had no doubt taken to her the
reason of my protracted absence from the
window.
From that day, and ever after, during
nv three weeks of bed keeping, flower
was found every morning on the ledge OF
nv window, which was within easy reach
of any one in boat. and when at last a
day came when | could be moved | took
my accustomed place on the sofa at the
window, and the little maid saw me and
stood on her head, so to speak, and clapped
her hands upside down with a delight that
was as eloquent as any right end up de-
light could possibly be. So the first time
the gondolier passed my window | beck
oned to him, and he pushed up along
side and told me, with many bright smiles,
that he was glad indeed to see me well
again. Then | thanked him and his
sister for their kind thoughts about me
during my retreat, and then learned from
him that her name was Angela, and that
she was the best and purest maiden of all
Venice, and that any one might think
himself happy indeed who could call her
sister, but that he was happier even than
her brother, for he was to be married to
her, and indeed they were to be married
the next day.
Thereupon my heart seemed to swell to
bursting, and the blood rushed through
my veins so that | could hear it and
nothing else for while. / managed at
last to stammer forth some words of
awkward congratulation, and he left me,
singing merrily, after asking permission
to bring his bride to see me on the morrow
as they returned from church.
"For," said he, my Angela has known
you for very long-cver since she was a
child, and she has often spoken to me Of
the poor Englishman who was a good
Catholic, and who lay all day long for
years and years on a sofa at a window,
and she had said over and over again how
dearly she wished that she could speak to
him and comfort him; and one day, when
you threw a flower into the canal, she
asked me whether she might throw an
other, and / told her yes, for he would
understand that it meant sympathy with
one who was sorely afflicted"
And so / learned that it was pity, and
not love, except indeed such love as is
akin to pity, that prompted her to interest
herself in my welfare, and there was an
end Of it all.
For the two flowers that l thought were
on one stem were two flowers tied to-
gether 0but I could not tell that, and they
were meant to indicate that she and the
gondolier were afIianced lovers, and my
expressed pleasure at this symbol de.
lighted her, for she took it to mean that I
rejoiced in her happiness.
And the next day the gondolier came
with train Of other gondolers, all decked |
in their holiday garb, and in his gondola
sat Angela, happy and blushing at her |
happiness. Then he and she entered the |
house in which dwelt, and came into my |
room land it was strange indeed, after SO |
many years Of inversion, to see her with |
her head above her feet, and then she |
wished me happiness and speedy restor- |
alton to good health (which could never |
be-, and l, in broken words and with tears |
in my eyes, gave her the little crucifiX |
that had stood by my bed or my table for |
SO many years. And Angela took it |
reverently, and crossed herself, and kissed |
it, and so departed with her delighted |
husband.
And as l heard the song of the Condo
liers as they went their way-the song |
dying away in the distance as the shadows |
of the shutdown closed around mel felt |
they were singing the req uiem of the only !
love that had ever entered my heart.-W.
8. Gilbert.