Telegram-herald., 1889-10-25


sAy. Cisrs's voice spoke suietly a. heT
sits. Ma Miiboarne has an engage
EasBt VIII ms. hs sald. Il f~sT yoo raast
defer toe pleasure II Ainirinx TIE moon
Ia hsF soci~sy for = little vale, Nj.
Brent. Then - Els&noE, Shzu Ne &c
now
She asserted. aud they walked away.
Ar. Brent. thus left behiDd, naturally fell
skgrleved. aud turned . AFs Bfantley
With sons slight irritation stirring n
usually courteous Eepos0.
1T strikes ms that Maj. Cares man
ners decidedly l&ck POLISH. he sad With
an air u grave reprehensbon- Is ittrue,
IS l an tod, that he i going u sell that
hne cd Place v here Ne spent tie day.
and enigE2te u EGYPT
lie l. quite ready for iunatlc asy-
lun." said Nrs Lancaster. Who was
standing near. But. whatever his folly
may be, certainly DO lot agree with
you. Mr. Brent. IN thinking that his
manners need any improvement"
MeanW hile, Eleanor was saying, You
should not have spoken 80 curtly 10 NJ
Brent"
III can avoid it, shall never speak
10 him again." Clare answered Don't
let Us talk Of him did no, bring you
away 10 discuss anybody We have left
behind, or anything OF which we have
talked before. We are 10 be like immor-
tals-to forget the past and live only in
the present
Where are we goingT she asked.
Round 70 a point from whence We can
overlook Claremont.
She said nothing more, and he led her
10 the eastern side Of the mountain,
where, near the verge OF an almost pre-
clpitous descent, they sat down together
under the shadow OF a great gray rock.
From this point the view was more ex-
tensiye than any they had commanded
before. The rolling country, with the
sunset glory fading from il, lay 1ke a
panorama at their feet-shadowy woods
melting into blue distance, streams gianc-
ing here and there into sight. fields rich
with cultivation bounded by fences that
looked like spider thread. To the left
Claremont, seated above its terraces,
made an imposing landmark Behind il
the moon was rising maJestically in a
clOudless sky. After they had been silent
for some time, Clare turned and looked
at his companion. How beautiful you
are!' he said abruptly. II wish had a
picture of you as you sit there now. 1t
would be worth everything else in the
world 10 ne. But, perhaps, after all, the
best pictures are those which are taken on
the heart"
"You have forgotten" said Eleanor,
trying TO smile, that we are going 10
eat tho lotos in order to efface all pict-
.ues."
Nay" said he. 81 thought it was to
enable Us to forget everything but the
present, and this is the present
But it will be the past in a little
while" said she, land we must forget it,
like ali the rest. Victor, we must forgetl
They say that all things are possible to
resolution: let US resolve to do that"
For some time longer they sat silent.
Then Clare said, with something like a
groan, Would TO God l could die here
and now, or else that there was some
spell by which one could make memory
blankv'
Let us try the lotos,' said Eleanor.
"See, brought it as you told me-"
From her pocket she drew a paper
which, being opened, proved to contain
the dried petals Of flower, evidently an
aquatic plant. Yellow and lifeless as it
was, Eleanor looked at it with wistful
reverence. at came from Egypt, she
said; then she added, where you are
going"
1--WE will see if there is any magic in
it" said Clare.
So together they took the dried petals
and began to eat them, smiling a little
sadly at each other as they did so.
"Herodotus SAYS that when the Nile is
full, and all the grounds round it are a
perfect sea, there grows a vast quantity
of lilies, which the Egyptians call lotos,
| in the water" said Clare He adds
that this flower, especially the root of it,
/ is very sweet. If this is the same, il has
certainly changed its flavor since that
( time"
I at is not disagreeable." said Eleanor
"But fear we shall not find the effect
for which we have hoped. Il is Of the
lotos fruit that Homer and Tennyson
have written"
/ And the lotos flower of mythology
Is an East Indian, not an Egyptian,
aquatic; but since we desire to link our
fancy with the flower Of the Nile. we
will ignore the poets and the Brahmins
After all, we only desire it Us a symbol
of the remuneration of the past on which
we have agreed. Eleanor. what If we
should indeed resolve TO leave the past
behind US from this hour and face our
future together"
He looked at her imploringly and pas
sionately, but instead of replying she put
her hand TO her head. How strangely
dizzy amr' she said "Can lido you
think it can be the lotosy"
Dizzy" ne repeated. "Then I must
take YOU from the edge Of this precipice
Perhaps Il is that which affects YOU. IL
could not have been the lctos. or should
feel it. too. Come, let me lead YOU round
the rock"
But when he attempted 70 rise he
found that 10 him. too. sudden strange
dizziness came. A construction seemed
gathering about his heart. mist seemed
rising before his eyes Before he had
half risen he sank back against the rock.
"Do you feel il tooy she asked
quickly.
Yes he said slowly. putting his
hand also 10 his head what can IL
mcan2 Could there have been anything
--ro.-- q II th.t roLa..ta L. Lo--.s IL.alf 4