The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-08-24
aBEATRICE.' >
Fl New and Fascinating Story.
BY i. RIDER HRGGHRD.

She left the teachers lodgings, and was
about to go down to the beach and sit there
till it was time, when she was met by the IA
Their of the poor crazed child Jane Lleweilyn
''Oh, Miss Beatrice he said, II have been
looking for you-ever ywhere. We are in sad
trouble, miss Poor Jane is in a raving fit,
aud talking about hell and that, and the doc
tor says she's dying. Can you come, miss,
and see If you can do anything to quiet her?
It's a matter of life and death the doctor
SAYS miss
Beatrice smiled sadly; matters of life and
death were in the air. ~ will come" she
said, ''but | shall not be able to stay long"
How could she better spend her last hourl
She accompanied the man to his cottage.
The poor child, dressed only in a night shirt,
was raving furiously, and evidently in the
the last stage of exhaustion; nor could the
doctor or her mother do anything to quiet
her.
'sDon't you see," she screamed, pointing to
the wall, .'there's the devil waiting for me?
And, CD, there's the mouth OF hell where the
minister said should gol Oh, hold me, hold
me, hold meln
Beatrice walked up to her. took the thin
little hands in hers, and looked her fixedly
In the eyes.
Jane" she said "Jane, don't you know
mcin
Eyes, Miss Granger" she said, 81 know
the lesson; will say it presently"
Beatrice took her in her arms, and sat
down on the bed Quieter and quieter grew
thechild, till suddenly an awful change passed
over her face.
''She is DYING" whispered the doctor.
sHold me close, hold me close!' said the
child, whose senses returned before the last
eclipse ssOh, Miss Granger, sha'n't go to
he'll, shall II am afraid OF hell
.sNo, love, no; you will go to heaven"
Jane lay still awhiIa Then seeing the pale
lips move, Beatrice put her car to the child's
mouth.
''Will you come with meq' she murmured;
81 am afraid to go alone"
And Beatrice, her gray eyes fixed steadily
on the closing eyes beneath, whispered back,
SO that no other soul could hear except the dy-
ing child:
YES, will come presently
But Jane heard and understood.
Promise said the child.
s'Yes, promise, answered Beatrice in the
same inaudible whisper. "Sleep dear, sleep;
will join you very soon"
And the child looked up, shivered, smiled
and slept
Beatrice gave her back TO the weeping par
ents and went her way. what a splendid
creaturel" said the doctor to himself, as he
looked after her. ''She has eyes like Fate,
and the face of motherhood incarnate. A
great woman, if ever saw one, but different
from other women.
Meanwhile Beatrice made her way to old
Edwards boatshed. rs she expected, there
was nobody there, and nobody on the beach.
Old Edward and his son were at tea, with the
rest of Bryngelly. They would come back
after dark and lock up the boathouse.
She looked at the sea. There were no waves
but the breeze freshened every minute, and
there was long low swell upon the water
The rollers would be running beyond ths
shelter of Rumballs Point, five miles away.
The tide was high; itmounted to within ter
yards Of the end of the boathouse. She opened
the door, and dragged out her canoe, closing
the door again after her. The craft was light
and she was strong for woman. Close tc
the boathouse one of the timber breakwater
which are common at seaside places ran dow
into the water. She dragged the canoe to it
side, and then pushed it down the beach til
its bow was afloat Next, mounting on tn
breakwater, she caught hold of the it'll
chain in the bow, and walking along the tim
Der balks pulled with all her force till tn
canoe was quite afioat On she went, drag
ging it after her, till the waves washing owe
the breakwater wetted her shoes
Then she brought the canoe quite close
and, watching her opportunity, stepped int
it, nearly falling into the water as she did 50
But she recovered her balance and sat down
In another minute she was padding out t
sea with all her strength.
For twenty minutes or more she paddle
increasingly. Then she rested awhile, onl
keeping the canoe head on to the sea, which
without being rough was running more an
more freshly. There, some miles away, wa
the dark mass of Rumballs point She mu:
be of it before the night closed in. Their
would be sea enough there; no such craft q
hers could live in it for FIVE minutes, and til
tide on the turn. Anything sinking
those waters would be carried far away an
never come back to the shores Of Wales.
She turned her head and looked at Bryl
gelly and the long familiar stretch of elf
How fair it seemed, bathed in the quiet light
of summer afternoonl Oh, was there an
afternoon where the child had gone, an
where she was following fast?-or was it a
night, black eternal night, unbroken by I'll
dream of dear remembered thingsl
There were the Dog Rocks, where she ha
he vision of her coffined mothers fac
Surely it was a preSage OF her fate. Thel
beyond was the Bell Rock, where i'll Thu
nme hour Godfrey and she had met, an
there behind him was the Anphitheatr
where they had told their love- Hark! VIII;
was that sound pealing family at interva
across the deep? 1t was the great ships be
that, stirred from time to time by the wash
the high tide, solemnly tolled her passing sou
She padded on; the sound of that deaf
kneil shook her nerves. and made her fe
easier had she been as she was year ago; b
fore she learned to love, and. hand in han
had seen faith and hope rearise from Il
depths OF her stirred soul. Then, being but
heather, she could have met her end with G
a heathcn's strength, knowing what she los
and believing, too, that she would find b
Sleep And now it was otherwise, for in b
heart she did not believe that she was abo
utterly to perish. What could the body lii
on in thousand forms. changed, indeed, b
lndestructible and immortal, while the spir
ual part. with all its hopes and loves al
fears, melted into nothingness2 1t could n
be: surely on some new shore she should on
again greet her love. And if it was not, he
would they meet her in that under worl
coming self murdered, her life blood on b
handsa Would her mother turn away fro
her? and the little brother, whom she b,
loved, would he reject her? And what vol
Of doom might strike her into everlastil
hopelessness2
y.--L L. = Il -