Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1895-12-20
THE BROKEN WING.

distant; glazes the surface of the ponds
doubling their depth, and the nigh
comes, with the cold.
At the foot Of hill is road. A lit
tie girl, barefoot and very poor, is lead
ing a flock, another's flock, along Thu
road. She is the living image-thougl
for her there be SO little of living-o
misery and abandonment In her Il
short years her hands have grown fee
bier, more weary, even than are those
of the very aged. But in her deep eyes
the ideal sequences have prolonged
themselves; through days of silence
doubtless, she has dreamed, and through
the nights, too, under the pale light Of
the stars. The understanding Of the
lowly is sometimes divine.
Suddenly, in the middle of the road,
her dog stops, as if transfxed, and
stands trembling and awestricken.
Marie, advancing, perceives, in the
shadow of the thicket, form half OBJ
scured, yet radiantly white, and encir-
cled with an aureole.
The child has prescience Of miracle
and is not astonished. She nutely con-
siders the mysterious being. Yes, it is
an angel-with flowing robe, with
abundant locks, with visage severely
pure, such as one sees in the frescoes Oh
the walls of churches. But this angel
has only one wing, and his mien is in
effably sad. Putting her hands together,
palm to palm, she speaks to him softly
and in tones of prayer:
"Oh, beautiful prince of heaven, I
salute you! I would serve you. Since
joy Oh the earth, and thank you!''
But the immortal answers with a
great sob and then quickly exclaims:
"Where am I? On earth, in exile!
Banished! Stricken! Chastised! 1t is
joy that I bring, hast thou said, O
daughter Of men? Alas, behold me!
What am I?
''In the fall ordained to me have
lost a wing! No more of heaven, nor
yet am I of earth Suspense and fear
hold horrible menace for me Of things
unknown. On high, it seems, yester-
day declared too hard a judgment upon
mankind, their passions-their vileness,
as it is called-upon crimes whereof I
knew not. So, as punishment for judg
ment temerarious, the King of kings,
the power supreme, hath sentenced me
to test the terrestrial life, prey to
those temptations erstwhile regarded
as beneath contempt Should I resist
and prove the victor in these successive
trials, then will the azure and the gold,
the Interchangeable armament and its eter-
nal glories, be restored to me. But
should I once fail I must dwell in this
thy world until the final Judgment Of
men. / am afraid-of all things. And
thou-who art thouP'
''I am only poor, kinless child, re-
ceived of charity, who farmer sheep
must guard that I may live-sometimes
hardly, sometimes we'll, according to
the weather-and who, an angel seeing,
kneel to him in prayer, that he will bear
me hence to heaven
Then the angel wept yet harder.
"Alas! Heaven is closed to me, and
this one wing, that must drag SO pain
fully, but deepens my affection, remind
ing me Of my origin, and nothing serv-
ing me upon this earth where I must
walk. 1t is the last warning that re-
mains to me. At my first fault this,
too, will fall, and I shall be bound to
this neither sphere, inexorably delivered
over to vileness, far from yonder. sub
Unity Of space-I, Cyriam the Magnifi-
cent, bearer Of light! Oh, these temp
tations Of men! How I dread them,
child, even as before l scorned them
What is that dreadful noise?''
Strident songs disturbed the stiffness
Of the night, and the lurid glare of
torches, tossed by the wind, drew near
er and dyed with bloody hue the DESC
late countryside, wakened to horror.
Amid troop Gu horseback Regina,
the courtesan, was returning to her
dwelling from a forest chase. The noisy
cortege stopped in front of Cyriam and
Marie
"What's there? Some vagabonds?
Make way Make wayp'
The angel, circled by the scarlet
torches, looked whittier even than before.
At sight Of him there were bursts of
laughter.
"What kind of crippled fowl is here?
Loose ye tie dogs, the chase is not yet
done! It's stork-or is it, perchance,
white turkey cock?"
The angel, risen to his full height,
sDatched a sword from enc Of those who
were pressing upon him and laid him
dead at his feet.
A peal of thunder resounded. The
second wing fell, the white robe also,
and the aureole vanished. A voice cried:
''The first trial-anger
Already the courtesan, Regina, had
thrown herself into the combat. Now
ai,e gazed upon the angel, struck by his
superhuman beauty.
"Come, I love thee!'' she said
"Thou didst we'll to STAY this fellow
He insulted thee, the drunkard Follow
mel"
Then Cyriam cried:
''Since no longer I am more than
man, earth's pleasures shall be mine.
I'll follow thee-thou art beautiful
and I-I-indeed am lost!'
And as he mingled with the throng
they did homage to him for his valor
and his splendid presence.
Marie, left alone, wept in the high
way, knowing that great evil had be-
fallen, and her dog, for PHYS sake.
licked the teardrops from her eyes,
while her sheep grazed where they listed.
Cyrian, Of origin divine, is great
among men. He is the most beautiful,
the strongest, the most beloved. He has
wished for gold-he is rich; for land
and titles-he has them. In war he ex-
terminates, and the obscure crowd OF
combatants give way before him, lose
their footing, terrified by the supernat-
ural. After Regina, who died for love,
others have adored him. The earth is
illumined by his brightness. And his
adventures are numberless. He has sue
eumbed successfully to all human temp
tations. The seven capital sins are his
best companions; by all his immortal
force, which multiplies the evil tenfold
and prolongs it indefinitely, he surpasses
the worst human culprit. He acknowl-