Wichita eagle., 1888-09-20

my shoulders-it b q square block--
She closed her eyes, and carried her up
| stairs.
The world did not end think it limped
little for q time. In the back hall stood
half packed barrel Of clothing intended fo1
the Navajo Indians I finished packing it
putting In few extra things that fell in my
way, and started it for Mexico engaged &
! colored boy by the day to carry notes.
! filled out 100 Bohemian" postals, thereby
notifying the club concerning the neIt plact
OF meeting. / met the managers of the St
Margaret Orphan Asylum Of the Old Ladies
I home, and Of several minor associations
/ and made over to them small Accommodations
! OF money found in IS many envelopes labeled
and locked In Helen's desk. / sent a message
to Elisabeth Stubs Sunday school teacher,
begging her to excuse cur maid from prepar-
ing elaborate lessons, as we needed ell her
mind at home. In the meantime Aunt Char
lotte fell i'll from anxiety, and in search of Q
nurse went from Morning street TO Vesper
street A. the last house on Vesper street !
found a Mrs. Newman, an accommodating
woman, who did not object to sitting behind
a screen when Aunt Charlotte was rot feel
ing strong enough to see her in the room. As
for Helen, she remained during several days in
stupor, thereby giving US an opportunity to
arrange her affairs; then she opened her
eyes and said she wished to have sentence
fixed on her forehead, this being, she e1-
planned, the custom of the dwellers on the
Euphrates before the fall Of Babylon She
wished Mildred Smith to print it with char
coal on brown wrapping paper.
Mildred Smith began to cry when asked
her Tn do this and ha IptS
her hand trembied so, and that she didn't
know what sort of a sentence l wanted, and
that perhaps Helen was going to die
Aunt Charlotte thought we might find
something in Helsn's note books Mrs. New
man, behind the screen, suggested tinlidly q
verse Of Scripture Print something"
said, going back to Mildred; at doesn't much
matter what" Mildred printed in trembling
letters the word Helen" aud we fastened it
upon her forehead.
"Helen7-nany a time we looked at that
name, wondering if the Helen we knew would
ever come back out of the nlultitudinous
forms and fancies which seemed to replace
her. Throughout all those strange weeks
my sister would not allow the removal of
this bit OF brown paper. 1t was as if she
wished to preserve some clew to her own
identity. As Aunt Charlotte said, Poor
Helen was always taking notes, and now
she had taken note on herself" Aside
from the one continual feeling that her
head was square block Of wood, my sis
ter seemed to suffer no pain, and her tenn
perature and pulse were unaffected. She
talked incessantly-not wildly-but IN q
quiet, low tone, as if she were reciting.
Sometimes she described herself as a
Chinese pagoda, with bells on every story;
sometimes she was a large paper bag, con-
tanning ounce packages and pound packages;
then she would suddenly become a bass VOL
or Polish exile; and remember at this stage
she tod me that she wished to play Chopin
well, and therefore she must be filed with the
suferings Of his country
Helen had taken tremendous overdose Of
mental food, which the brain. in self-defense.
was gradually throwing off. As long as she
continued TO talk we had only to wait pa
tiently: but there would come a moment when
this great supply Of thought would be SO di-
minisbed as 20 leave a great emptiness, and
this emptiness must be at ones tenderly
treated and judiciously fed, or the difference
between extreme high pressure and want of
pressure would be fatal.
The delicate question was, Of what should
this mental Cruel consist 1t must be simple,
soothing, and not likely to excite any train of
deep thought.
One day there came a sudden silence in
the room. Helen had ceased talking. Her
eyes were fastened upon ne with a hungry,
eager look sat down by the bed. and said
quietly and gently, in a matter OF course way,
and feeling very sure of myself
Sing song of sixpence, pocket full of rye
-Four and twenty blackbirds baked in pie
When the pie was opened the birds began To
sing.
It was an unfortunate selection. Helen. to
my amazement, instead of being gradually
lulled TO sleep, interrupted me in a startled
way, with a touching weakness in her voice,
as if its strength were spent.
@Ihe pie represents the earth; the top Of
the pie is the sky; when the pie was opened,
means the break Of day, and then the birds
begin to sing; the king is the sum And
thus she rambled on from Mother Goose
rhymes, by way Of German fairyland and
Morse legends, TO the mysteries Of ancient
mythology.
The doctors came and went. Mildred, Aunt
and / sat helpless in Helen's bright
little sitting room. Mrs. Newman waited be-
hind the screen. That strange atmosphere
which creeps over house in supreme mo-
nents crept into ours. The light that fell
shyly in through the half closed blinds did
not seem like light; the childrens voices
coming up from the street were not
ike childrens voices; we were in q
FAR away, shut OF place Of suspense
and drAd. We seemed unknown to
ourselves. Mildred sat pale and motionless
looked at her, and wondered would she also
nave this strange affection Would all Of
Helen's set have iti Must they also pay this
errible price for their love of humanity and
human Advancement
Was it love, pure and simplei Was it not
/ folly, a fashion! A verse ran through my
mind, Whatsoever thy hand fndeth to do,
10 1t with thy might" What did that meant
Had il any connection with the philanthropic
women OF the day! Helen had worked with
III her might She had lived two DAYS in one.
do not think she did it from ambition or
rom fashion; she did it from a sort Of neces-
ity. She was in the whirl Of the time and
he customs of the time Il would have bean
Useless TO stop her, for she could not stop.
l went back in my thoughts to the DAYS
when gooI Queen Bertha spun among her
naidens. Was that wiser and better time
Ehen women spun, when women gathered st
be village fountain, morning and evening.
We're they happier than the women who
ather today around celters Of art and Of
ciencet Physically they were stronger. Was
OF that tine of quiet, simple life a time of
hysical development, Is today Is tine Of
rental Development Might there not be
eriod coming later in history when both de-
elopuents would be united and perrectedi
r was something wrong, was it all wrongl
r was nothing wrongi