The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1891-07-09
THE HEPERFECTLOVE
LOST JOY, OR A DREAM OF
LIFE,
An Exquisite Bit of Sentiment
from the Writing of Oliver
Schreiner.

L f-<f
" lF% All day tht
| ~ EkyNEp soft wind played
| w wv with her hair
w and the young
young face looked far out across the
water.
She was waiting
She was waiting but she could moi
tell for what
All day the waves ran up and up on
the sand, and ran back again, and
the pink shells rolled. Life sat wait,
ing ; all day, with the sunlight in hel
eyes, she sat there, till grown weary,
she laid her head upon her knee and
fell asleep, waiting still.
Then keel grated on the sand
and then a step was on the shore
Life awoke and heard it,
A hand was laid upon her, and a
great shudder passed through her.
She looked up, and saw over her the
strange, wide eyes of Love-and Life
now knew for whom she had sat there
waiting.
And Love drew Life up to him.
And of that meeting was born a
thing rare and beautiful-Joy, First
Joy was it called.
The sunlight, when shines upon the
merry water, is not SO glad the rose
buds, when they turn back their lips
for the suns first kiss, are not so
ruddY.
Its tiny pulses beat quick.
1t was SO warm, SO soft!
1t never spoke, but it laughed and
played in the sunshine: And Love
and Life rejoicing exceedingly.
Neither dared to whisper it to the
other, but deep in its own heart each
said
"It shall be ours forever.'
Then there came a time-was it
after weeks was it after months ? (Love
and Life do not measure time)-when
the thing was not as it had been.
Still it played still it laughed still
it stained its mouth with purple ber-
rles; but sometimes the little ewes
looked out heavily across the water.
And Life and Love dared not look
into each others eyes, dared not say,
"What ails our darling?"
Each heart whispered to itself, "It
IS nothing, it is nothing; tomorrow
it will laugh out Clear But to-mor-
row and tomorrow came.
They journeyed on, and the child
played beside them, but heavily, more
heavily.
One day Life and Love lay down
to sleep, and when they awoke, it
was gone only, near them, on the
grass, sat little stranger, with wide
open eyes, soft and sad. Neither no.
ticed it; but they walked apart, weep
ing bitterly, "Oh, our Joy! our lost
Joy shall we see you no more for
ever?'
The little soft and sad eyed stranger
slipped hand into one hand of each,
and drew them closer, and Life and
Love walked on with it between them.
And when Life looked down in
anguish, she saw her tears reflected in
the soft eyes.
And when Love, mad with pain,
cried out, 81 am weary, l am weary!
| can journey no further The light
is all behind, the dark is all BEFORE"
4 little rosy finger pointed where the
sunlight lay upon the hillsides. AL |
ways its large eyes were sad and |
thoughtful: always the little brave
mouth was smiling quietly.
When on the sharp stones Life cut
her feet, he wiped the blood upon his
garments, and kissed the wounded feet
with his lips. When in the desert
Love lay down faint (for Love itself
grows fainD, he ran over the hot sand
with his little naked feet, and even
there in the desert found water in the
holes in the rocks to moisten Loves
lips with. He was no burden-he
never weighed them; he only helped
them forward on their journey.
When they came to the dark ravine
where the icicles hang from the rocks
for Love and Life must pass through
strange drear places-there, where all
S cold, and the snow lies thick, he
ook their freezing hands and held
hem against his beating little heart,
md warmed them-softly he drew
hem, softly, on and on. .
And when they came beyond, into {
he land of sunshine and flowers, {
trangely the great eyes lit up, and
Iimples broke out upon the face.
Brightly laughing, it ran over the soft ,
rass gathered honey from the hollow j
rec, and brought it them on the palm s
f its hand; carried them water in the i
caves of the lily, and gathered flowers G
nd wreathed them round their heads, L
oflly laughing all the while.
He touched them as their Joy had
ouched them, but his fingers clung
lore tenderly.
So they wandered on, through the c
ark lands and the light, always with /
nat little brave smiling one between f
hem. Sometimes they remembered /
nat first radiant Joy, and whispered t
, themselves:
ooh, could we but find him also -
Al lact thar came RI where Penec- |