Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-01-25
CHAPTER XIV,

Among the many festal davs here devoted
to music and general merriment, especially
on the part OF the children, that which cele-
brated the arrival of the colony to this oasis
IN the desert was most notable. As this day
drew near 1 somehow felt that she, the
founder of this perfect new paradise, desired
to be alone to mediate, to re-live the past
and to look down the dim vista of the years
to come with her deep seer eyes as only she
could look.
And SO it was that 1 found myself far out
on the brown foothills OF the Sierra Madre
Mountains at the outer reach of the railroad
line among the fragrant pines at midday.
There was a party of merry musicians,
beautiful girls and boys in gay attire, young
Greeks in flowing robes and careless hair
dancing to delicious musi: on the carpet of
pine quills under the mighty trees, poets
meditating artists of many kinds catching
inspiration from happy faces and graceful
pose that found its counterpart only in the
! swaying pines that swung in the winds
overhead.
Yet, for all this beauty and restful
movement and melody, kept apart on the
brown hills above and beyoad, far up where
the wild flowers were still untrod6en by the
foot of man; for wanted to be alone to
think, to think of her. Besides. music is
softeued by distance, as wine is mellowed
by time.
sat finally as the day wore by far away
| up wooded hollow, where the music fell but
| family. Some scarlet bIiars, red with the
| blood of the dying autumn, wreathed the
moss-made tomb of the prone monarch of
| the mountains on which 1 sat. ALI was
silent, so silent, save the far, faint melody
that came up the mountain side through the
pines ftfully on the wind, aud as one that
1
The tawny brown carpet of pine quills
grew golden as the sun lay level and in
| spars and bars and beams about ME. The
| huge and lofty trunks of the mighty pine
/ trees on the mountains round about took on
| a hue of gold as the sun fell down. The
foliage all about grew req, then gold, then
yellow. The carpet of pine quills, reaching
miles ami miles away for either hand and
far up the mountain beyond, became gold, a
| broken, billowy sea of molten gold.
And as 1 sat there throned amid this mo-
bile sea of fragrant yellow, of color so per-
feet that 1t was not only color, but form; not
only color and form, but perfume and
melody also. / not only saw this color,
heard it. Then suddenly, as I thought of
her in connection with it and began SO to
wish that she could see, ieel, breathe, hear
it, saw form, the yellow form and comely
| shape of desert lion only little distance
before.
And even as looked, the dying sun came
feebiy through the forest boughs, a long
slanting shaft of light and laid his red
sword at my feet.
Dav had surrendered to night. Darkness
was upon us. ! followed the distant and
dying sound of the merry musicians on their
homeward way to the station. And all the
time and all the way as We descended to the
city felt. 1 knew that the dimly outlined
lion of the desert was not thing OF chance.
NV first question was for her, as set foot
on the white sands of the city.
"She had gone away"
took the venerable man aside, holding
my head low that he might not see the tears
| that ran down like rain; and as We passed
slowly on under the palms in the dusk OF
the night 1 implored him to tell me all.
"She came to us in the temple where we
were talking OF Immortality and seeking
some convincing evidence for doubtful and
feeble souls that they may be less miserable,
and she talked as only the angels can talk.
Then, as if very weary, she passed on under
J the palms of the court to the inner temple
alone"
1 begged the old man to tell me what she
had said. But he seemed dazed and kept
, silent for some time. At last he spoke:
81 can hardly recall her words. They
were words of fire and gold. Prove to me,
to the world, that man shall surely rise,
: cried woman at the door as she turned
/ away and was going to her couch alone to
) die. She halt turned about, and looking
; tenderly at the woman over her shoulder, said
in low, firm voice: Nay, cannot quite
prove to you that man shall rise after death.
L cannot quite prove to you that yonder
setting sun will rise tomorrow; but surely.
!; surely believe it will rise And SO she
passed on with sign that none should fol.
low her."
After little time some young musician:
came, as is their custom, and played at the
door under the palm trees. And this even.
, ing, a special day of delight for all, there
; came many signers and they sang sang Sc
) melodiously as the musicians played, ano
the sun went down. Then suddenly W.
: heard her voice like thread of gold in tn.
woof of harmony woven in. with a most Gun.
ming hand.
I'VE had never heard her sing before. i
! was, perhaps, her first as it was her las
song. There are many birds and of many
: hues, as you we'll know, in the foliage o
, the court there. Well, as the song ceased
D and the music died away, a bird, wide
winged bird and white like snow, few ou
r and back from the way she had gone, ano
! after circling three times above our heads
, flew out through the wide high door ano
| iutO inc iddiiuR hlSut. 4Hat was all. VIZ
E bowed low our heads and wept in pity fol
f ourselves"
L turned back from the old mao an6
: ! passed the night alone. But L saw no fur.
ther sign.
] Remembering how she had deplored the
= sad habit of the world in staring at the wan
f worn faces of the helpless dead, overcamt
t this last desire, as L had overcome other.
, through her teachings and example, and
saw her face never more in the flesh.
And yet felt, knew. positively knew
all the while that she would come to me
sooner or later. if only kept my soul white
and refined and fit to see her; soul to soul
And more than that, knew that she would
come to- me in her perfection as she wa.
when she touched the high tide mark o.
health and perfection of form and face. Fol
this is in the order of nature. The tide shall
touch its topmost limit. The human soul
shall not be less than the sea. Knowing al
this, knowing that she should have giyer