The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1890-01-02
A SOUTH AMERICAN NEW YEARS STORY, BY
HENRY CLAY LUKENS.
copyright 1889, by American Press Association

approaches, grow luminous and assume
shapes that are startling in their fidelity.
From the diary of q good woman's life, l
have torn two pages. One was written in
mist of Doubt; the other beneath the glorious
ly radiant arch of Delight. After years of I'M
certainty, happiness has become to her a per-
enniai bow of promise.
What these two pages reveal of truth, only
guessed at before, intensifies a memory that
will abide with me until the graves impene-
trable shadows are lifted and dispelled.
The scenes of this narrative are ION for
eign station"
Almost simultaneously had reached my
thirth-seventh year and the thirty-fifth par
allel of south latitude. The turtle back, pc
ninsuar city of Montevideo very comforta-
bly, housed me among its one hundred thou
sand inhabitants. There were, probably,
that many of us at that time, although l
never had whole opportunity to verify the
local census. One afternoon, as l stood at
the portal of the hospitable English club, I
somewhat idiotically tried to count the peo-
pie going back and forth, crossing and re-
crossing the Plaza Constitution; but I soon
grew weary Of the monotonous tramp and
arm swinging bowling and ogling, the car
riage sweep and street car rush. So, resign
itSSu ehDouo, "chU uSIOoi hOSly uP
stairs, and gossiped with some genial brother
cosmopolites who had been born before that
quarter of the world was quite ready for
them.
l could not speak the every day language
of my temporary fellow citizens; yet friends
were plentiful, skies fair, the society charm
ing, and December's pulse beat warmly at
eighty degrees or thereabouts.
The previous month, and, in fact, the last
week in it, found me lettering at the Brazil
ian capital There | had awaited the arrival
of steamer comrade. His mercantile en-
gagements detained him at Pernambuco and
Bahia. Thus he escaped q genuine bowling,
sail splitting pampero, which had given me q
toss and tumble idea of what hard blow
Off shore usually is in the vicinity Of Cabo
Frio.
When we We're again together, l quickly
detected n change in George Hamilton. He
seemed preoccupied-his mind far removed
from either business or pleasure. l had
marked out grand plan for sight seeing In
his company, but he took little or no appar-
ent interest in the detailed programme. IT,
juca, the magnificent, failed to lure him, and
Pao Assucar and lofty Corcovado shared
with the renowned Jardin Bosanico and its
avenue of palms a neglect that was surprfs-
ing. On the voyage out from New York he
had talked so constantly of these freaks and
wonders of tropical nature that was now
completely nonplussed by his indifference.
During his youth he had spent several years
in the Atlantic provinces of Brazil His
father has been one of the first and most
successful railway contractors in that opu-
lent empire. Besides having thorough &C
quaintance with the coast cities of South
America, no native spoke Portuguese or
Spanish more fuently than George Hamil-
ton AS | had depended upon his oft re-
1eated voluntary promise to be my guide in
and around Rio, the disappointment was not
hid from. him
Aboard ship our Gkings had been mutual.
Hour after hour gazed from the steamers
deck at the marvellous luxuriance of eternal
summer lands Threading its way between
the superb clusters Of islands, known to all
West Indian sailors as the Caribs, our vessel
had, i'll succession. passed the immense deltas
Of Oriaoco and Amazon. From Braganza
shoals TO tie celebrated Magellan straits,
every bay and headland was an open book to
George Hamilton; and none of them were
blank books
incidentally, he had told me that he was
married, but made no further reference to