The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-01-31


ity. ....-..*
At that moment the heather about Kill
gour was in full bloom, making the air
distilled essence of honey, and the bees,
with the drowsy song that had so often
been a soothing melody in my ears, were
thriftily preparing for winter, and shep-
herds were whistling and calling from crag-
tops, their voices blending in farofr mu-
sic with the barking of dogs and the bleat-
ing of Sheep and sparkling streams were
leapng down green and purple hillsides,
and over all was soft blue sky with masses
of cool white clouds.
How vividly it all rose before the eye of
imagination Many and many time in
the languorous summer days l have layed
my bare limbs in those pellucid waters and
watched the flashing of slvery fin and
scale as che trout darted under bank or
stone, and lain on my back in some shady
place looking up at snowy fleets, touched
with pink and rose, sailing on an inverted
ocean. And to think of all that nowl Ii
was as the vision of Dives when, raising
bis eyes from his place of torment, he be-
held the felicity of Lazarus. Peace brooded
like a guardian spirit over kilgour and The
Elms, amid their quiet enclrcliug hills. and
the atfectionate souls there were the blither
because they thought l was happy and
prosperous. Would no sympathetic spirit
tell them of my condition. But their igno-
rance was part of my punishment. i had
once been in paradise, too, and fell by rebel
lion. As we make our beds, so must we lie.
In the midst of my dream ] remembered
that my pipes and some other things | cher
ished were with Tabal and my mare But
luckily all the relics of past happiness were
not lost. Undoing the folds OF my dress, |
drew forth my mothers Bible, and with it
the two white roses (now sadly withered
and crusheD that Isabel had given me.
The roses put carefully back with as
tender caress as II they were sentient
beings capable of feeling affection.
When | should have ceased from trou-
bling, they would be found next my heart,
evidence OF at least one faith kept to the Bit
ter end; and, who knew some good angel
might whisper to Isabel in a dream that
far off and in his last dire extremity some
body's thoughts had gone forth to her.
And sometimes In the pensve cleaning,
when the mind roams, she might think, in
spite of the grandeur and happiness that
We're sure to be her lot, OF one whose lonely
grave she could never know. and whose
love was no more than guess to her
Futile and boyish, yet strangely comforting
| reflections
The Bible opened at random and, 10!
there lay before me the woDdrous story of
Job:
And now my soul is poured out upon me:
the days of afiiictlon have taken hold upon
me.
So my dim eyes read But knew the
moving drama by heart; long ago amid
! ha al in hul lau ,nl
by my mothers side. And l thrilled eer-
ly at the thought that it was in this
scorched land where was now lying, un-
der these very skies that were burning my
life out, that Job had groaned in bitterness
OF spirit. .-.... .=....... ....=
! All mankind are one in distress, the Jew
and the GENTLE, the civilized and the bar
barian. Immediately there was established
a mystic brotherhood between me and the
man OF Uz. Uncounted ages had rolled by
since he had suffered. In the interval
things Of vast and vital moment had come
and gone aud been forgotten, but the TRACE
\ dy of the race went on. With a triiling
outward difference, "A mere matter of time
and circumstance, jobs case was mine
| Well, his Affections were over long ago;
mine also would soon end And so, moral.
i2ing and turning the leaves, came to the
gracious promise;
There shall be tabernacle for shadow in
the daytime from tho heat and for place of
refuge and for Gcovert from storm and rain.
And again;
Then shall the lame man leapas an hart and
! the tongue OF the dumb sing, for in tho wilder
ness shall waters break out and streams in the
| desert.
And yet again:
IL. H.. =
| will be with thee, and through the rivers they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest
through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, nei-
ther shall the flame kindle upon thee,
And once more:
The Lord will be refuge in time of trouble.
He shall call upon me, and | will answer
| him. l will be with him In trouble, I will de-
liver him and honor him. | will not leave thee
/ nor forsake thee.
II was surely enough. A prayer, o
douhting heart, and courage, even nowi
The courage was urgently needed and
sorely tried not less by physical than by
mental ills Every inch of my body was a
burning ache. My wound pained me more
and more. My head throbbed like n steam
boiler and lips and tongne were as if flaye,l
and laid on smoldeling ashes. Not so
much as the remnant Of spittle was left
tomoisten them. | opened my mouth and
rush of blistering air went down my
| thfoat scorching my lungs to their roots.
/ closed it, and the dry flesh cracked so that
| the blood spurtcd out. Let the man who
| would feed fat his revenge have his enemy
sent out and baked alive under an Ara
| bian sun in the full blaze. The inquisition
/ never invented torture half SO cruel as
/ that slow process of broiling by the i'm
| mitigable heavens.
My poor horse was likewise in far gone
condition. The foam was crusted hard
| about lis mouth and Hanks, his nostrlls
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