The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-09-01
THE RAYS WORK.


sea. He and his comrades would play
by the hour together with the ripping
wavelets, darting from one to another
i'll dazzling, madflashes of light, spread
ing themselves over the waters, Il sheet
OF molten gold, till touch of the
winds light lips broke it up into Il thou
sand shimmering fragments. And the
waves loved their playmates, too, and
each, as the rays kissed it, became itself
little golden sun. sending forth it's light
into tho radiant air, for the sea, like
tickle, lovablo woman, answers back to
all i'll their own moods and is loved Just
because she cannot be trusted Then,
where the waves broke Oh tho golden
sands or round the clean, dark rocks,
the little rays would fill their foam with
light till it shone moro brightly white
than the Jungfrau S crest, and the music
of the waves breaking was a joy song
for their own loneliness. Laughing, they
ran up the smooth sand and embraced
with teasing play. the small pink feet
which scampered away before them,
while tho suns rays flashed from their
surface to meet the light, brighter still,
which shone from children's eyes. Oh,
those woro happy days, AND as the little
ray danced along over the waters he
hoped that they never might end.
But IA time came when the voice of
the wind sounded from afar. The sea
heard it and was troubled to It's depths
at the now life of power and strength
which was tearing within it, while the
wavelets far and wide raised their tiny
crests, and i'll ripples of white foam
whispered tho news one to another. The
clouds, too, heard the voice and gath
cred together Mt its bidding to spread
themselves thick, dark curtain over
the sea and hide from tho suns face
the things which were to be. And so
the little ray could visit the sea no
longer nor join any more in sport with
his favorite playmates. At this his
heart was very sad. and he took no de-
light i'll the other pleasures to which
his comrades called him. They told him
of the wild games they played with the
wind shaken leaves of tho forest; of tho
snow cold peaks which thoy crowned
with dazzling splendor of jewels; of fog
laden valleys filled with dream forms of
weirdest, strangest loneliness; of mys-
teries of beauty revealed midst the
worlds most squalid dreariness But it
was all i'll vain. The little ray longed
for his lost playmates and would care
for none of these things
AS no wandered sadly among the
heavy, driving clouds, losing himself
in their sullen masses, searching for
some crevice through which he might
penetrate, one of them pitied him.
"Sinco you will it so, said she, II
will let you through, though fear you
will find that dreams that are past can
never be dreamed again" Then she
shrank back from her neighbor, and
with ono swift word Of thanks the little
ray darted down through the opening
she had made.
Down he went to the sea below and
there lay quivering and lost in it's black
gulf Oh, what changed world it
was! Above him tho tempest hurried
along and shouted to the waves as it
went, and the waves threw their white
heads up and answered back in crashing
thunders. death, death, and the end
of all things!" passionately yelled the
tempest. "Ruin" roared the waves.
"Naught is that can withstand us!"
world OF darkness and tumult and
terrible unrest. The little ray lay where
he had lighted, tremulous and afraid,
now glimmering for an instant among
cataracts of rushing foam and then lost
again i'll the dark depths of the water.
Hal" cried tho waves when they saw
him. 80 you are here, little ray The
world Is changed since you saw it last. -
Changed indeed" said the ray. ooh,
why cannot you be as you were before,
my playmates?" But the waves laugh
ed, shaking spray from their crests till
the tempest caught it and whirled it
mountain high in the air. Give us
the winds for playmates {" they cried
and the mems lives for our sport Talk
to us not of the wretched spiritlcss
days that are past. The world is worth
living in now. I" but you were happy
then. You rejoiced i'll the earth's beau
ty and were happy" said the little raw
wistfully. Because wo knew no bet
ter, they answered. 1--WE have learned
since then that there Is something fairer
than beauty, more glorious than Joy.
Oh, the rapture of fury when wo raise
the ship high in the mir to hurl her
down on the rocks bcncath-the cruel
rocks whom we love and linger to kiss
and Unfold i'll our soft white arms even
then in tho joy of that moment of pow
or. 10 crush into pieces the mighty
vessel with all its wealth and labor of
workmanship; to scatter abroad the
heavy fragments, flinging them to and
fro in tho very scorn of our sovereign
strength; to watch men gasp in their
death agony as we lift ourselves above