Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-01-08
LQUARlTCH,V.c.
By H. RIDER HAGGARD.

Indeed. he always found . wonderfully pleas- mt object of contemplation. Ida was play inK without music-ths only light in the room was that of low lamp with q red fringe tD 1t. Therefore, he could not ses , cry much, being only with difficulty able to trace ths outlines of her features; but if the shadow. thus robbed him, 1t on the other hand lent her beauty of its own, clothing her face with an atmosphere of wonderful soft ness which it did not always possess in the glare of day. The colonel indeed Two must remember that he was in love and that 1t was after dinner1 became quite poetical in- formally, of course, about 1t, and in his heart compared her first to St. Cecilia at her organ, and then to tho Angel of the Twilight He had never seen her look so lovely. At her worst she was . handsome and noble looking woman; but now the shadow from without, and though he know nothing of that, tho shadow from her heart within also, aided, may be, by tho ,nusic's swell, hsd softened and purified her face till 1t did indeed look al- most like an angels It is strong, powerful faces that are capable ot the most tenderness, not the soft asd pretty ouss. and even In . plain person., whom such face ia in this way seen, it gathers Q peculiar beauty ot tts own. But Ida was not plain person, co on the - certain effect was produced upon Harold Quaritch.
 Ida, te outward appeaNnce at any rate, all unconscious Of what was passing in her admirers mind, went on aingtng almost without break. Sha had . good memory and . sweet voice, and really liked music for its own sake, so 1t was no great effort to her to do %.
 Presently she came to song from Tenny- son,s "Maud, ,n the lander and beautiful words whsreof will Do familiar to most of the read CTS sf her story. It began:
 Oh, lee the solid ground
 Not faN beneath my feet,
 Before my heart hAs found
 What some have found % sweet.
 The song Is 2 lovely one, and it did not suffer from her rendering. and the effect pro duced ppon Harold by 1t was of most pc cuhar nature. All his past Life seemed tq heave and break beneath the magic of tAe music and the magic of the singer, as . northsrn dsld of ice breaks up beneath ths pvthVFpt Of the summer sun. It broke up, and alnk. and vanished into the dspths ot bis naturS, thoss dread unmeapursd depths that roll and murmur il the y4stnsas of each human heart, e the seA rolls bsnsAth its cloak pf ies, that roll and murmur here and set toward . shors of which ws have no chart oF kqowledse. The past was gcns, the fFoseq yeas had msltsd, and aRos more the sweet strong air of youth blsv 4eros bis heart end ancs mors there ves blue sky above wberein tho angels aeiled- Under ths inhu: @ee ef that song thp barrier pf self hFoka down, and bis bstRg went out to meet has bsin& end III tho possibilities of life sasmsd to hrpsths AtFssh
 He aat and listened. and, e he listened trsmbled In his agitation, till the sweet echos. of the music died upon ths quiet air. They died, and were gathered into the emptiness which reosives and records all things. th. osth aud tho prayer. the melody and tha scream of agony, the shout ot triumph an6 tho wall ok woo. aud left him broksn. She turned to him, smiling faintly, for tht song had moved her also, and he felt that h> must speak.
 ''That is . beautiful song." hs said; ''sini it again, if you do not mind."
 'tOh, let the solid ground
 Not fail beneath my feet,
 Before my heart has found
 What some have found 90 swesAs and then suddenly broke on
 ::Why are you looking at mer' ehe said .:I can feel you Hooking at me, and yeY. n,ak ms nervous.s
 He bent toward he< aud looked her in th eyez
 II love you. Ida, ," he said; "I love you vitl sll my heart"- and be stopped suddenly.
 She turned quite pale-even in that ligh he could ses her pellpr, and her hands fel heavily on the keys.
 TAs echo of tho crashing notes rolled roun, tho room and died slowly away-but stln sh s4id nothing,