The morning call., 1894-08-12


as she heard tie whistle of the boat which
was coming down with the morning mails
for the village of Four Corners.
"It's come down for more than a week
now, since the breaking of the ice" she
said. "and it hasn't brought any news.
Somehow I feel there's letter for me this
morning"
Miss Calista looked doubtful at her un-
flushed row of potatoes. "They want
hoeing up, whether l get letter or not"
she said, irresolutely, "but DON, seem to
take any pride in potatoes this morning.
There's the Judge. now" she went on,
meditatively, leaning against her hoe.
He allows he's the only man in this sec
ton who can grow potatoes. Why, what
are they when you come TO look at them p
as small as Hiram's jokes. and as hard to
see."
She went On busily hoeing ben cath the
shade of the bIossoming trees and wines"
The morning glory of the sun lit up her
beautiful eyes, her trim figure in its neatly
fitting print gown, the snowy white apron,
with its suggestions of lavender lost in the
odor of the fresh spring flowers around.
Miss Calista was 80. but there was an inde-
scribable atmosphere of purity and peren-
NAL youth about her-an eXpectant look
too, as II she had been waiting for years
! for something 10 come 10 her--somethiDg
which should be the blssful reward of
steadfast taitb-sOmething which should
| lend an added beauty to her forget-me-n OF
eyes, and gid the glory of her golden hair
with halo of intenser light. The little
garden in which she worked was beauti-
| fully kept, the pr0digal wealth of
its blossoms Systematically restrained
within bounds: and she had put a
barrel hoop around the dclytra to
prevent its heart-shaped flowers from wan
toning riotously over the fragrant portu-
| lacca and purple pansies. Her one apple
tree had burst into delicate blossoms dur
| ing the night, and was now the home of a
host of busy bees, who rif1ed its sweets
with little ecstatc murmurS. A gilded flash
of ighf, the first hummlng bird Of the sea-
son, spread itself on swiftly waving wings
above Miss Calista's fuchsias and sucked
the honey from the yielding flowers. In
the currant bushes which fri9ged the path
leading down to the Ottawa River, pair
of yellow birds" were weaving and wind
ing their little nest, and the Virginia
creepers round the veranda formed dense
leafy screen which hid the gray stone
walls of Miss Calista's one-storied cot
tage, and clambe over the shingled
roof-a roof dyed deep with lichens of
orange and red and yellow. The cottage
itself stood some twenty yards back from
the Four Corners main street
In the estimation of the world Miss
Calista was pitifuIly poor. She had given
the matter but little thought herself until
the advent of Hiram Wayne upon the
scene some fifteen years ago. The little
bay at the bottom of the garden brought
her sufficient drttw0od for her needs
She owned the small cottage and grew
garden truck" to keep The wolf from the
door. Miss Calsta also drove that I'M
scrupuluus Quadruped further away with
the assistance of little dressmaking
All the young girls in the village loved
her, the young men of the place thought
her a saint, and Hiram Wayne, mad with
despair at her rejection OF him, would
stand leaning over the little gate in the
moonlight, his heart going out to Calista
with unutterable tenderness. There was
no other woman in the world for him.
There never would be any other woman.
She was woman, saint and angel in one.
They had played together as little chill
dren, drifted apart as man and maid ana
had come together again only 10 find their
lives marred by two obstinate facts-what-
ever Hiram touched nrned to money,
he could not fail in anything, and all that
Calista had was her little cottage and
some dubious expectations. She had prom
ised her dying father that she would never
marry until these expectations were real
lied or proved tn be frultleSs. For fifteen
wears Hiram had waited and lived lonely
life; for fifteen years mis- love had robbed
him of all household joys anC made him a
saddened, solitary man; for fifteen years
he had come to the little railing Of her fra
grant shrine. and, leaning over il, resolved
to free himself from her spell. But ever as
she gided down the walk, Gods peace
within her holy eyes, the flowers bending
to her feet in summer, or the bare branches
int Nrlrr l.<r ,, -f.a
passed, the words died upon his lips, a
thrill of joy possessed his aching heart.
Not yet, not yet" he would murmur TO
himself. "Not yet, not yet. Some day
she'll come to me; some day therell be no
more tossing and tumbling about through
restless nights; no more watching the
morning light creep slowly through the
window and touch MY face with gray,
ghostly fingers" He felt that this
great joy was withheld from him until
he should In some measure be worthy of
il. At dawn he would rise, go down to
the village and stand al Callsta's gate until
she came out, lifted her sweet lips TO his
and cOnsecrated them anew. -Four Corner
folks could not understand how matters
stood between them. TWAS just foolish
ness" There was no valid reason why
Hiram and Calista should not marry. The
expectations from English kinsfolk in
which "Old Man Crane" had INDUCED
were looked upon as the dreams OF mere
visionary. and Calista'S refusal to marry
hiram was regarded as the one weak spot
in her character. Calista, however. went
serenely on her way. Ii she suffered her
fair, pIac d face never revealed the fact.
When Hiram ielt the light of her slow
smile the pain went out OF bis heart. Once
he had seen Calista standing beneath the
apple trees holding a little child in her
arms and pressing kisses upon its rosy lips
and cheeks. He hurried up to her and took
the child, placing it carefully upon bed
ofIflowers, where it lay kicking and crow
ing and laughing up at her. "Why-why?"
he said. and pointed TO II.
CalIsta explained that 1t had been felt in
her charge for the day. Hiram could not
bear TO see her touch it-wase n world of
thing. "You-you never-showed me such
love-" be said brokenly. as he leaned
against the apple tree. ~ cure breaking
my heart, Calista."
But as he looked into her face there
came a glance from the blue eyes that sat
isfed his heart-hunger and made him fall
among the flowers at her feet. He picked
up the child, gave IL back TO her, and went
away, bewildered. yet happy.
The only ground upon which Calsta's
expectations rested was the solitary fact
that her fathers English brother had
promised to provide for her some day.
Callsta had faith that the promise would
ultimately be fulfilled. but Hiram had not
Fifteen years of his life had been passed
in solitude. and he was now wealthy
man, The more wildly he speculatei the
more successful he became. People
touched him in the street for good luck;
and vet the one thing for which he prayed
and suffered and yearned and spent rest