The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1893-03-25

ed oward her. But she was gone--like
mist she fled before me. Over hills An,
hills | leaped, bruising my hands will
harsh branches and hazarding my life il
the mad chase. In vain. had lost her
When the realization of the fruitlessnes,
OF my search dawned upon me | sa'
down exhausted to collect my scattered
thoughts.
Good heavens. what had | been doing
l.. the hoary cynic, the irrepressible scoff
er of love and it's bold intrigues.
Was it not all u wild delirium. II
must be-. had been duped. enslaved
captivated by a mad, insane dream
Away with such boshl | will 20 and
eat a good dinner.
The is nothing like Il well cooked din.
ner to bring n out of the realms of 70.
nance into the cruelty sensible plane OF
realism.
The illusion has not been dispelled.
The same phantom came to me in the
night; the same thrilling eyes looked in.
terrogatlvely into mine; the same ire
slstlble smile challenged my daring, and
awoke-alone. | felt out of patience
with myself. With the desire to forget
this tantalizing witch maiden | resolved
to throw myself in the crowd of pleasure
seekers at the resort.
But oh, the resistlessness of fate, Pass.
ing through the flower stalls, | saw again
the form of my divinity. The eyes looked
worlds into mine and seemed entreating-
~ to draw me to her. | followed to
where she stood behind huge punches of
purple piolets; but, laughingly throwing
me a spray from a knot of flowers in her
hair, she vanished again like a will-o'-
the-wisp.
| passed my hands over my eyes in per-
plexity. Surely this was no delusion,
She was flesh and blood like myself. |
had seen her in a crowd of m~ortals.
Farewell. cynicism! Welcome. love! |
am conquered.
And so, day after day | continued the
search for my witch maiden. and day
after day successfully she eluded ME.
One night while sitting on the cool
verandas of the hotel, she glided past me
-spiritlike, radiant with the reflected
light Of the stars. l stretched my arms
toward her-she was gone And vet /
hoped increasingly. She had looked
upon me not disdainfully, but ever with
a teasing pleasure in her eyes. would
win her in the end.
Life took on a new phase. 1t was no
longer the dull, l~istless, half hearted
thing it used to be. but an eager, am
bilious, consuming fire. There was some
thing to live for-something besides the
mere qualification of my own selfish
desires. would live for her-for nv
beautiful witch maiden. To make her
happy-what a God given mission!
New aspirations, new ideals, new hopes
came surging through my being, filling
me with a strange ecstasy-an exquisite
yearning. Happiness! All. now knew
its meaning!
How ! laughed at my old time scorn of
love. my condemnation of womankind!
| was a fool then-now | am wise.
What d heaven is open to me! I'm
worthy that l am. | dare to kneel before
the throne and crave the love of its scep-
ter queen-my peerless witch maiden.
\
1t was the full of the moon. A calm
almost divine had settled upon the star
kissed tips of the hills, while all nature
slept. Only the fond, caressing murmur
the waters as they touched the shores
and again receded disturbed the weird
of the night.
| walked along the beach. Ny fancy
reveled in pictures of the future. | saw |
myself in d sumptuous home, surrounded |
by all the ~elegancies and ~luxuries of life |
my sweet witch maiden, the guardian
angel over all, the dear companion of my
joyous hours, the sympathizer of everv
thought, my solace in all earthly trials. |
A hidden splash in the water and a
cry of distress. | look up; | sea
nymph bathing in the moonlight. She
has dared too far into the deep; she is |
struggling to keep her head above tho
1t needs but a glance to reveal
her to me. 1t is the witch maiden. | |
make II desperate plunge; she is in my
own, my beautiful Undine; !
her to me with fierce ardor. The
long golden masses of hair, dripping and
sparkling with the spray of the lake, coil
about my neck.
But her arms hang limp: her face is
pale and expressionless. | lay her ten.
upon the beach. chaff her cold
and rain passionate kisses upon
The velvet lids that cover her purple eyes.
lmplore her to speak. B%reathlessly !
wait the return of consciousness. Slowly
he wondrous orbs open and look be.
vilderingly upon me. She rises-again
she is close in my ~embrace-my heart is
out its burden of love.
In a %parrotlike voice she exclaims, with
\ furious scratch at my eyes: Great
guns! Hain't you never got no mercy on
lobody?:'
| walk slowly back to the hotel. | am
'hivering with the cold and the shock Of
ZACH Colt! get to my room, mechan.
cally change my clothes. pack my lug
rage and walk down stairs to pay my
dill. AS the clerk hands me a receipt
he walks through the room, glancing
back at me over her shoulder with the
anne mischievous laugh in her eyes.
Ihave just enough energy. Just enough
curiosity to gasp. ''Who is she?"
Unfeelingly, unsuspiciously, comes the
Tread answer, Our d~ishwasher."
Farewell, love! Welcome, cynicism!
Ethel Soper in Detroit News.
Insurance for Workingmen.
A scheme for the insurance of work.
men against accidents has been drawn