Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-03-27
CHAPTER XI.


wonder if many married couples are
quite as happy as we found ourselves.
Cynics, growing class, declare that few
| illusions can survive a honeymoon.
Well, do not know about it, for only
married once, and can but speak from
my limited experience. But certainly
our illusion, or rather the great truth
of which it is the shadow, did survive,
as to this day it survives in my heart
across all the years of utter separation,
and across the unanswerable gulf of
( doom.
But complete happiness is not allowed
in this world, even for an hour. AS our
marriage day had been Swallowed by the
scene which has been described, so our
married life. was Swallowed by its own
sorrow.
Three days after our wedding Mr.. Car
son had stroke. 1t had been long i'm
pending, now it fell. We came into the
center hut to dinner and found him ~
ing speechless on the couch. At first 1
thought that he was dying, but this was
not so. On the contrary, within four
days he recovered his speech and some
power of movement. But he never re-
covered his memory, though he still
knew Stella, and sometimes myself.
Curiously enough he remembered little
Tota the best of all three, though occa-
sionally he thought that she was his
own daughter in her childhood, and
would ask her where her mother was.
This state of affairs lasted for some
seven months. The old man gradually
grew weaker, but he did not die. OF
course his condition quite precluded the
idea of our leaving Babyan kraal till all
was over. This was the more distress
ing to me, because had nervous pre-
sentiment that Stella was mourning
danger by staying there, and also be-
cause the state of her health rendered
it desirable that we should reach civ
ilized region as soon as possible. How
ever it could not be helped.
At length the end came very suddenly.
We were sitting one evening by Mr.. Car
sons bedside in his hut, when to our as
constituent he sat up and spoke in
strong, full voice:
81 hear you," he said. ''Yes, yes,
forgive you. Poor womanl you, too,
have suffered" and he fell back dead.
l have little doubt that he was ad-
dressing his lost wife, some vision of
whom had flashed across his dying
senses. Stella, of course, was over
whelmed with grief at her loss. Till
came her father had been her sole COM
panion, and therefore, as may be imag-
ined, the tie between them was much
closer than is usual even in the case of
father and daughter. So deeply did she
mourn that began to fear for the eff
feet upon her health. Nor were we the
only ones to grieve; all the natives on
the settlement called Mr.. Carson STA
ther," and as father they lamented
ing of women, and the men went about
with bowed heads, saying that 1.-The sun
had set in the heavens, now only the
Star (Stella) remained" Indaba-zimbi
alone did not mourn. He said that it
was best that the Inkoos should die, for
what was life worth when one lay like a
log?-moreover, that it would have been
well for all if he had died sooner.
On the following day we buried him in
the little graveyard near the waterfall.
1t was sad business, and Stella cried
very much, in spite of all 1 could do to
comfort her.
That night as 1 sat outside the hut
smoking-for the weather was hot and