The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1896-01-17
THE BROKEN WING.

distant; glazes the surface Of the ponds,
doubling their depth, and the night
comes, with the cold.
At the foot Of a hill is a road. A lit
tie girl, barefoot and very poor, is lead
ing a flock, another's flock, along this
road. She is the living image-though
for her there be so little of living-of
misery and abandonment. In her 10
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 transfixed, and
stands trembling and awestricken.
Marie, advancing, perceives, in the
shadow Of the thicket, a form half OBJ
scured, yet radiantly white, and encir-
cled with an aureole.
The child has prescience Of a miracle
and is not astonished. She mutely on
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 on
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,
salute you! I would serve you. Since
you are come hither, it must be to bring
Joy on the earth, and l thank you'll
But the immortal answers with a
great sob and then quickly exclaims:
"Where am 1? On earth, in exile
Banished! Stricken! Chastised! 1t is
JOY that l bring, hast thou said, O
daughter Of men? Alas, behold me
What am l?
lin the fall ordained to me l have
lost a wing! No more Of heaven, no,
yet am l Of earth! Suspense and fear
hold horrible menace for me of things
unknown. On high, it seems, l yester'
day declared too hard a Judgment upon
mankind, their passions-their v%ileness,
as it is called-upon crimes whereof
knew not. So. as punishment for judg'
ment temerarious, the King of kings,
the power supreme, hath sentenced me
to test the terrestrial life, a prey tc
those temptations I erstwhile regarded
as beneath contempt. Should l resist
and prove the victor in these successive
, trials, then will the azure and the gold,
the Interchangeable armament and it's eter
nal glories, be restored to me. But
should l once fail I must dwell in THU
thy world until the final Judgment o.
men. l am afraid-of all things. Ant
thou-who art thou?'
II am only a poor, kinless child, re
ceived Of charity, who q farmers sheel
must guard that l may live-sometime
! hardly, sometimes we'll, according Il
the weather-and who, an angel seeing
, kreel to him in prayer, that he will bea
me hence to heaven
Then the angel wept yet harder.
"Alas! Heaven is closed to me, ant
this one wing, that l must drag SO pain
fully, but deepens my affliction, remind
lux lIC vi lily oLlSlb, IL I'LL Sol '
ing me upon this earth where l mus
walk. 1t is the last warning that re
, mains to me. At my first fault this
too, will fall, and / shall be bound t
this neither sphere. inexorably delivered
over to vileness, far from yonder sub
Unity Of space-I, Cyriam the Magnifi
5 cent, bearer of light! Oh, these temp
tations of men! How 1 dread them
child, even as before l scorned them
What is that dreadful noise?'
!, Strident songs disturbed the stillnes
of the night, and the lurid glare c
, torches, tossed by the wind, drew neal
= er and dyed with bloody hue the desc
late countryside, Weakened to horror.
Q Amid a troop ON horseback Regina
the courtesan, vas returning to he
n dwelling from a forest chase. The nois
cortege stopped in front Of Cyriam an
Marie.
whats there? Some vagabonds
Make way! Make way!
The angel, circled by the scarl'
torches, looked whittier ever than befor'
At sight Of him there were bursts
laughter.
d What kind Of crippled fowl is herr
D, Loose ye the dogs, the chase is not y
done! It's a stork-or is it, perchanc
q white turkey cockr"
The angel, risen to his full heigh
~ snatched q sword from one Of those WI
were pressing upon him and laid hi
=, dead at his feet.
H. A peal of thunder resounded. IT
% second wing fell, the white robe ais
lie and the aureole vanished. A voice crie'
n 1.-THE first trial-angerv
to Already the courtesan, Regina, hi
ak thrown herself into the combat. Nc
she gazed upon the angel, struck by b
:. superhuman beauty.
Come, / love thee!' she sal
~ "Thou didst we'll to slay this fello'
as- he insulted thee, the drunkard! Folk
ne me-"
mis- Then Cyriam cried:
in. "Since no longer I am more tn
,an man. earth's pleasures shall be mir
I'll follow thee-thou art beautiful
ndI-I-indeed am lost
IuO - -s--1~l .u:kI Al 49,