The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1888-04-13

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E.,ten- and a current Of passionate long
ing seemed To roll through her soul.
Perhaps the thing of all others that
morning brings surely, and that ono nj
oncc most drcads and prizes, i reaction,
AMI - IT. sa4uenc. reelection. The cbb
o. feeling always comes iu the morning
thc high ti'ic II night; and 50 the morn
IL" after the night in which Victor iIcy-
ward told Amy Fortescuc that he loved
her, brought TO her 4 sense Of fear AMI
doIht, dwLricd her fancicS and nlgnifiel
hcT srasc of the working law world. and
mIt- Its briarS seem thicker thln ever
And the morning brought her top a let
ter, her iirat letter from ltIlph since his
departure, an il seemed like his pres
elce, and cpnstrainei her To b. tf-JI. 10
his prpmis For all his writing and
speaklngs hal a flavor OF himself therein
IL toll her OF his plans and hopes The
letter ended with few words oi strong.
cgbn, possessing love that made Ia
shrink inyoluntarily, rs ii the hanl OF
Fac had been Laid on her wrist AMI wai
leading her away from the path into
which her feet had Strayet that night.
But the question, the great question that
comes 70 Us all in some sii.IDc or 9th p
AM Which makes or breaks uS as W,
answer II truly or falsely, the question OF
being l.rs ii, fulfilling her natures in
ANa4AAp4Af 44hAAa-S btAl llft illt', OF 0l lAlnE
down in some ProcruStcan bed OF her
own making or another'S, and then being
stretched or lopp-d to ill som. other
souls idea Of lie and perfection, Was
upon her; and although si. WAS no ac-
compliSh"d sclf-anllyst, she i,.lt The press
ure a. plainly as ii she had been able 10
express it in clear terms. And every
avenue OF escape was closed the want
of her accustomed occupations. the a
lssHlg mn
unceaSIng "resame" whispered at her
hearts door by Nictor's voice. and pres
ence- all combined against her viii. The
days wrat by, ami as they fed she un-
consciously glided into sort OF lamguid
drifting dream, which even the mornings
clear sun I'D not serve 10 disS,',ate For
it grew deeper and deeper Victor had
judged her rightly when he spoke Of the
possibilities of her nature and with in
finit" t-ict, that exquisite, elaborate, and
vi lnipcrt-cpti5lc tact given only by love
when II tran>iigurcs nature Ike his, he
niinistcrcd To her vague longinr~ till they
grew bJldcr and gained strength from
the only source whence strength should
ever come, by nouriShmcut He never
spoke one word OF love 10 her from the
nigh; IN which his first strange. violent
outbur-t hal seemed Ia utter itself almost
against his will. But lac filled tn. air
A'ltftll 4lt-i wan lis l4Nl>ltalt ltiI llOfcnt
spirit. The earth was charmed beneath
her f,ct, and, ike Ariel, he did his spirit
inc 80 gently that she never mistrusted or
feared II.
They were ofnccessity thrown much to-
CcthcI, for Mrs. HcyWard treated AMY in
all r,ePr . rs IN equal and companion;
and tn hesitation which might have uc-
Cured to her in throwing her eldest son
with an attractive young girl, who was a
the same time an undesirable match fora
man of his position, was of cpTIrs. put ont
OF the question by the fact OF Aniy'S en-
gsgcmcnt To MIR. IIolcombe. 1t was but
natural that Victor, who tendeTly loved
his mother should be constantly with
her; and what more natural than that
they should form part OF one daily life,
Isolated as they were from society from
without And Victor seemed a prrvading
spirit. The beautiful nature about Amy.
the woods and flowers and streams AMI
birds, all spoke oi him and pleaded for
him, and their voices were part of the
same harmony with his own. II was not
for Victor, but for passion and youth and
love, that they spoke. He was but the
embodiment OF the spirit that inspired
them all. But Wordsworth tells it best:
"Nor less, to feed voIuptuous thought,
The beautcous forms Of nature wrought,
Fair trees and gorgeous flowers,
The brcczes their own langUOr lent,
The star hai feelings which tn sent
Into those favored bowers"
The very stars in their courses fought
against her. Surely she had never known
what the Influence of the heavens at
night could bc till she felt il reflected
from his eyes.
And Victor was no mean representa-
tive oi the spirit of love and youth nj any
time least Gf all now when hc loved ar
IDENTITY and with his whole Soul for the
first timc. Every gift seemed doubled in
power - no bent himself 10 make Amy
love him-or rather not love him, for
love between them was thing of simple
recognition, but accept his love; not
merely let him rule, but crown him king.
This hc found hard - DO, but the sum-
IL = new by and they dreamed on, and
Ralph still wrote but n time went by,
AMY wrapped and clothed in love ~
with garment, was not touchel by his
letters rs formerly. The divine intoNicl-
ton OF passion was on her; she was her
self anl IN 5re than herself, and vet
merged in Victor. Hitherto when with
Ralph she had felt that he dominated
her, absorbed her; but now she felt that
silr was herself, only gloritied, llluni-
mated self, and vet she lived only III Vic
tor. Size hIl lost nothing, and gained, it
seemed, another life which blended with
4iVi pNH "'ti4'', 49, ~ CfST!ldDNlll4 IL
"a hafm5ny OF c?lor and melody
brighter and sweeter tnan Snf oI winch
she hal ever dreamed. But time wen
by ruthlessly, and Ralph wrote of the
approaching return, and spoke of their
speedy marriage and fitting for the West
Marriage! the word was not a joyous
chime but dull kncll in Amv's ear and
Shr PIT u away from her mind. In the
intcns, reality of her new life the past
CT " dim to her; this new existence, in
which - s,c-l Il to walk on a;r, was n
thpa inl fold more rtal than the barren
commonplace of the days she had plod-
d"l II. ugh before Victor came.
II il a common mistake to confound
reality and prarticality; the reality of 4
thing depending almost altogether on
what il Is To Us, and its practicality being
basel on what il is in itself. The mo-
mcats when our ideals tread the earth
and walk hand in hand with US are the
most real moments OI our lives but they
are i'll no wise practical. Victor, ON his
side. shut out all thought OF the future /:
ii would be truer to say that the future
was shut ont by the very fulness OF the
present. When he knew that the eve
ming would be spent with Amy, he
thought,
50 one day more an lened.
W no knows bur the world may end to-n ght ?-''
lik" Browning's lovcr-and saw no NOR
row. OF llolcombe he thought but little,
AMI that little was full OF bitter antagon-
ism. They had never been in sympathy,
aid RIlpil'i nature had acted on Victor
rs II iii on Nictor's counterpart Amy,
with tins essential dIlference, that instead
of crushing IL only excited the stronger
mas u.ine organization t. revolt, and there
had been war between them during most
oi the time that I1olcombc's influence had
bccn cNerted upon Nicior's character
ANY one who has ever been swept away
by = great passion Will know how OF itself
IL seems tD suffice ibr everything; for the
tim: il takrs the place OF memory and
hopr, it does Jhe work of thousand
taSt = and fmcies all turns all desires