, 1889-01-02

badly clad and dirty, with thorny, cal
loused hands, burned by the sun,
tanned by wind and rain, and smell.
ing Of fish from a rod awayi AND
she so soft, so smooth, so dainty,
dressed and perfumed like a Madrilena-
II is true hat il the poor fisherman
was i'll dressed this was to give finer,
better raiment TO Carmen; that il the
husband should labor less, TO the end
of sparing his hands, the wife would
have worked far harder, with the re-
suit Of spelling her white ones; true,
also, that those eels, which were in
deed i'll smelling, paid for the sweet
scented soaps in which Carmen de-
lighted. But who makes such obser-
vations to "A womanf above all, If that
woman is 10 years old and pretty. airy.
and graceful as the rainbow with its
sever colors. All, yesl gratitude may
well be IA sentiment too sober for a
young woman, and justice-fairness-
an uncomfortable idea for a joyous
Imagination. These virtues are born
OF suffering, and Carmen was almost
quite happy.
Given these conditions, it was not at
all inconsistent that the thoughts and
interest of the fsherman's wife should
urn TO Don Jamie dc Mequinenza,
from the day that tho news of his re
turn 10 his baronial halls came to the
village at the cliff foot. And in eff
feet, when she set eyes upon his wor-
ship, Carmen's butterfly brain and her
unloyal heart alike sung to her that
this wns a lord, a fine gentleman, and
n herO-here was n man worthy of
beauty and charm like hers.
AS for the lord of the manor he was
already in love with her species, and
as the greater includes the less, he was
undoubtedly sinitten with Carmen. 1t
was not long before they told each
other, by the ~telegraphic code of looks
and signals, their mutual and respec-
tive sentiments, but this platonic sys-
TEN became TO both alike insupport-
able.
In the meantime Damian went on
fishing.
Now. whether it came to pass that
the people of the hamlet, failing to
realize and appreciate their abject con
temptibility, came TO criticise the do
ings of their feudal master, or whether
the fisherman CHANGED to remember
that his wife was n pretty woman and
Don Jaime n hot blooded gallant, and
that the castle and the cabin were not
so widely scpaIated-there came u
time when this worthy husband dis
played less than his usual eagerness to
make his frequent rounds Of his eel
traps. lie developed. also, certain
rheumatic twingcs in his left knee,
that impaired his agility in walking,
and 50 he hired a stilppiug lad. whom
he made his substitute in conveying
the eel baskets among the purchasers
Of the vicinity, This procedure of
the fisherman was far from meeting
with the approval Of Carmen and Don
Jaime.
One beautiful May evening the two
spousos sat at the door of their cabin
and watched the sinking sun-the
same sun in those days OF n century
and "A half since that we soc now above
us. That evening il was sinking as
slowly and maicstically as if it cx-
pcctcd Y to rise again. IL was n
Of those splendid and solemn moments
III which it seems that the world has
reached for the first time its apogee of
beauty a melancholy hour in which
the soul appears TO assist at the tragedy
of the days death us at n new occur
renee, which will not be repeated.
Carmen and Damian, regarding that
sun, whose rays dyed the horizon with
II strange, prophetic light, felt their
very souls stirred within them. I'm
cultured and rude of nature as they
were, they could but feel that this was
n critical hour, full of doom, of mys-
terry, Of fatality.
When the sun had set entirely both
b-eathed heavily, as those who have
completed n long and severe task. The
tacit compact was signed between
them, each TO his own crime, not to be
renounced, but irrevocable, as the
death OF the day hat was expiring.
They looked at each other full and un-
~reservedly. Damian lifted his eyes to
the castle, on whose topmost terrace
stood the Baron of Mequinenza, whom
he saluted. The lord had his ewes
fixed IN Carmen, who also saluted him
easily. Damian stretched his rheu-
matte leg, and, turning to his wife,
said, dryly; Il think my leg is well
again. / feel the pangs no longer. l
think | will go down to the village and
stay the night there. There is a fel.
low owes me some money; he will be
in with his pay near midnight, and l
VIII catch him before he spends it. /
will come up in the morning in time
to take out the fish of to-night's fish.
Ea, Carmelita, God be with thee"
"Good-by, Damian," said Carmela,
mechanically.
They had never before parted in this
way, but to both it seemed quite nat
ural. Damian took his hat and his
staff and crossed the walnut wood
bridgeway and the fosSes Of the castle.
sun was still gliding the peak of
a distant mountain.
Twelve hours later tho sun once
moro shone over the cabin. All the
sadness and foroboding of the day be-
fore had been pure farce. There was
the sun again, red and joyous as ever,
climbing up the heavens as blithely
rs il this was his first journey there,
and shedding life and movement
wherever his rays reached. This was
the sun that, in those hours of alb
sence, had crossed the ocean, had
called the MONDAY in the Americas,
had served as a god for. the idolators
of the Pacific, had lighted the way for
mariners in China, had gilded the
gnfna1 Or lI,~1,4