Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1889-02-21

Fairfax looked up
A brilliant path of glory lay Frightening
across the sea, from the moon to the beach,
and, just where it ended, lay little VOW
boat at anchor, rising and falling on the
long, lazy swell 49, that boat in which
the two had floated over the moon-lit
waters, and dreamed the happy hours
away.
Languidly he arose with a sigh, and,
closing the door behind him, passed down
to the shore.
With thoughts still far away, almost
mechanically he loosed the boat, took the
oars, and slowly pulled out to sea-that
vast plain which bore upon its surface his
hopes, his heart, nay his very life Though
far apart they were, did not the same
waters wash their boats keel We're not the
same stars smiling down upon botha
On, on he passed, not needing nor car
ing to shape his course, oblivious to every
thing but his own melancholy reflections.
The moon rose higher and higher. BY
| little and little, the shores of the island
passed into the distance.
How much farther out to sea he might
have gone, or how much longer rowed, none
can say; but sudden EARRING of the boats
keel harsh grating Of pebbles against its
bottom betokened the fact that his onward
career was ended.
Yearly raising his head and giancing
about, without surprise, as If it were all a
matter Of course, he slowly stepped ashore
with the rope in his hand, half-eon sciously
making it fast to a large stone close by.
He looked around.
Where and what was this placei He did
not know and scarcely seemed to care Per-
haps an island in the harbor; possibly even
the mainland. What mattered it, Either
was all one and the same to him.
Onward he walked, head down, the pict-
ure of self-absorbed sorrow.
A lonely pine-tree stood back, some dis
lance from the shore. Seating himself be-
meath it, he buried his face in his hands.
Wearied and worn out in body and soul,
was it any wonder that he should pass
from these gloomy day-dreams into. the
kindly realms Of sleep. And so it was, for
he slept; yet. ever and anon, moaned, or
sighed in his sleep.
Stealthily the sea-tide rose. The careless
knot slipped from its anchoring stone and
the loosened boat slid gradually back from
the shore and drifted far out to sea.
A snow-white owl whirred softly over the
head of the sleeper and, by and by, startled
the quiet night with her weird ''Tu-whitl
Tu-whuv' that echoed far among the pines
of the wood.
Afterwards, large red fox came boldly
up but seeing the alarming spectacle of q
human figure crouching down under the
FIR, turned quickly about and scurried back,
in fright, to the forest.
Last Of all, when the moon reached the
zenith, a strange, dark bird came flying
YEARLY toward the pine and, as If exhausted,
sank down to rest on the topmost boughs
OF singular form and plumage, it looked
and acted as if lost on unfamiliar coasts.
Then all was silent, until the dreamer
moaned. Startled, the bird looked down
and, finally, flew to lower branch whence
it could see every thing below.
Again the unhappy man moved in his
sleep and sighed.
The bird turned its head to one side with
half-human look, and with wholly-hu-
man shrek, wild and shsill, spread its
wings and flew back in the darkness to-
ward the wood
Awake sleeper, awake and follow