The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1893-02-03

100000 $780, "
| clothed in pure white, with a single
bunch Of wild violets at her throat. Her
features wern startlingly classic; the
neck and shoulder, partly barred, were
like Parian marble, so spotless in their
dazzling Wilderness; her hair, unconfined.
fell in shimnlering waves below I-r
waist-'golden meshes to entrap the
hearts of men, her eyes, rivaling in
color the violets at her throat, were
Drumming with a heavenly light, while
a bewitclling smile played about the cor
ners of her perfect mouth.
And l? Awed, inspired by this glimpse
of an Eve i'll paradise, | could not move,
until, my divinity turning to go, l bound
ed toward her. But she was g~one-l;l1c a
mist she fed before me. Over Hills and
hills | leaped, bruising my hands with
harsh branches and haZarding my life il
the mad chase. In vain! | had lost her.
When the realization Of the fruitlessncss
of my search dawned upon me l sat
down exhausted to collect my scattered
thoughts.
= 4 l. II = X
Good heavens! what had l been doing!
l, the hoary cynic, the irrepressible scott
er of love and its bold intTigues!
Was it not all u wild delirium? It
must be. | had been duped, enslaved.
captivated by a mad, insane dream.
Away with such bosh! I will go and
eat a good dinner.
The is nothing like a well cooled din
ner to bring one out of the realms of re-
nance into the cruelty scy@A5.1 --e OF
realism.
The illusion has not been dispelled.
The same phantom came to me in the
night the same thrilling eyes looked in
terrogatively into mine; the same ire
sistible smile challenged my daring, and
l awoke-alone. l felt out of patience
with myself. With the desire to forget
this tantalizing witch maiden l 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 entraating-
ly to draw me to her. | followed to
where she stood behind huge lunches of
purple piolets; but, laughingly throwing
me a spray from a knot of flowers in her
hair, she vanished again like d 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 Il crowd of mOrtals.
Farewell. cynicisln, 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. | stretched my arms
toward her-she was gone. And yet
hoped increasingly. She had looked
upon me not disdainfully, but ever with
a teasing pleasure i'll her eyes. | would
win her in the end.
Life took on a new phase. 1t was no
longer the dull. l~istlass. half hearted
thing it used to be, but an eager, am
bilious, consuming fire. There was sorlo-
thing to live for-sometlling besides the
mere qualification of my own selfish
desires. / would live for her-for my
beautiful witch maiden. To make her
happy-what a God given mission!
New aspirations, new ideals, new hopes
came surging through my being, filing
me with g strange ecstasy-an exquisite
yearning. Happiness. All, nowI knew
its meaning,
How I laughed at my old time scorn Of
love, my condemnation of womankind.
| Vas a fool then-now | am wise.
What a heaven is open to me. I'm
worthy that | am, I dare to l1neel before
the throne and crave the love of its scep-
ter ~queen-ny peerless witch maiden.
: * < : :
II 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 mur1nur
Of the waters as they touched the shores
and again receded disturbed the weird
enchantment of the night.
walked along the beach. Ny fancy
reveled in pictures of the future. l saw
myself in a 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 every
thought, my solace in all earthly trials.
= 5: K X Il =
A sudden splash in the water and a
cry Of distress. l look up; I sea
nymph bathing in the moonlight. She
has dared too far into the deep; she is
struggling to keep her head above tho
waves 1t needs but a glance to reveal
her to me. It is the witch maiden. |
make one desperate plunge; she is in my
arms-my own, my beautiful Undine; l
clasp 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 e1pressionless. lay her ten
| derby upon the beach, chaff her cold
hands and rain passionate kisses upon
the velvet lids that cover her purple eyes.
L implore her to speak. Breathlessly l
wait tho rat1rn of consciousness Slowly