Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1895-05-16

He saw him in his young manhood,
being so sanity that his very pres
ence seemed to Danish the possibility
of unholy thought; a lover, the purity
Of whose ardent love seemed almost
to rebuke passion; scholar, Il priest:
he thought of his many gifts and ut
talnments, and all the beautiful prom
Use Of his early manhood. In such q
nature, weakness and errors, the com.
mon heritage of humanity, might be
expected; but there was an incredible
horror in the thought that thiS man
was stained with vice and crime
Surely, Everard thought. as he had
thought so many times in the lonali-
ness Of his cell, such things were ut.
terly alien to this pure and noble nat
ure, and utterly alien and incongluouS
they were. Surely, if there were Il soul
fitted to resist the importantly of mans
lower nature, here was one; and here
indeed was one.
Then he recalled the anguish of Cy-
rils words almost the last he ever
spoke to him-"IIenry, | am man"
and reflected that to human being
there is no moral descent impossible.
Yet from what Il height had this man
fallen, And what Il career he might
have had, who now lay dead of Il
broken heart before him; and what
anguish unspeakahle might have been
spared to others, had this gifted and
noble nature had thc courage to be
true to itself! He thought of the ter
rifle strength of those master-paSsion
ambition, pride and sclf-loye. in that
otherwise weak soul, and shuddercd.
They had thrown Il rich Indian cloth
over the library table, and upon dis
they had laid the dean, ROBBED again rs
Ne had been ut the moment oil his
death. Tie still room, With its Studj-
Gus gloont and its rows Of learned
tones of divinity, was decked Witt
flowers, and wrcathS an | bouquets Gov
cred the feet of the dr3> /, and lay upon
HE QUEER folds of the white robe. In
be pal" hands Lillian had placed some
UlOud-rcd roses, which she had brought
from Melbourne, pluck2d from two
jrccS they planted Hn their twenty
FIRST birthday an uhacknoWlcdgcd in
Stnct made her shrink from the white
flowers 50 usual in the dcatE-chambnr
and these and the scarlet d)s'tUr'S
hood gave a strange luStcr to the sol.
cmn scene and strongly emphasized
the paran Wilderness of the fac" and
hands NhoSe who SiW Cyril die had
seen the agony pass from his face,
which was, rs 1t were, TRANSPORTED 1T
the close y! his sermon by Il look of
inriIahlc serenity, Il look that never
left ii The dead face was chat Of the
young ideal Cyril of lIcnry's youth,
the man his Maker il,Gcndrd him to be;
the man he ever lIved afterWald in his
friends thoughts. Both features and
expression now had the strong likeness
to Llian'S which had been so marked
in their childhood.
The door of the silent chamber was
opened more than once that afternoon,
and softly closed again, unnOtiCcd by
Henry; and those who thus forbOre to
intrudc on his grief never forget the
scene the dead man lying in his aM-
full quiet like some Sculpturcd riligv
on a tomb. but not more StaturSquc
than the living friend seated in the
chair 10y his side, facing him, with his
gray head supported on his hand, aEd
his eyes riveted upon the unSeeing
face.
Pleasant summer sounds of bird and
insect, and even the far-off laughter of
children, fell deadencd upon the
huShed silence Of that darkened room;
the silvery cadenccs of the cathedral
chimes entered it from time to time,
and at the hour of cvcnsonG the dis
tant thunder OF organ-muSic broke
Solemnly upon it's calm.
The lines of Strying sunshine stole
slowly from point to point; once the
end of Il broken shaft fell upon the
pale hands and gilded the edge of u
paper claSped in the unconscious fin
gers-Eveard knew that it was his
own letter which had been so clasped
ut the moment of death, and which
those who found ii in the nerveless
hand ON seeing, had again shut in the
Slittcning clasp-the wuver'ng shadows
"f leaves and boughS played in vary
ing dance over the closed blinds of the
easements; hour after hour went by,
and the living man seemed to change
into the Scmblancc of the still form
he SaZcd upon.
He Thought many many thoughts,
such rs no words can express, and eX-
perienccd feelings such as no speech
may render thoughts which arise
only when the intellect is quickened by
the stir of unwontcd feeling; thoughts
of life and it's deep meaning. death and
its dark mystery; of the StrangeneSS OF
mans destiny; of the purpose of his
being; of the limits of human will. and
Of The eternal consequences of human
action; of the glory and beauty of
moral reCtitude, and the nnrhingneSs
ot all human achievement besides.
Through all his thoughts there ran
thc deep, strong underurrant of unut-
tcrahlc pity for the man who lay be-
a. "a ~, ~ h,-t Wa, ia,