The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1896-07-09

Jupiter lttHN liht "a NlnllhullNt moon,
sailed in calm majesty under the milky
way. The snow sparkled and glittorcd
with myriads Of frosty diamonds. and
the hollows and undulations were filed
with clear, blush shadows. 1t crackied
under the horses hoofs Ii flew like
rifle balls past their ears, flung up
by the animals hoofs. Ii drizzled in
iaint, spasmodic showers TrOm the pine
boughs when the wind Of their speed in
vaded the still and silent forest. In the
vast, solemn. moonless void the jingle
Of their sleighbells sounded fat and a
trihe frivolous II was like a trivial
dancing tune played upon an organ
Hulda listened to il with a slight am
noyance until by its ceaseless iteration
IL became absorbed in tho silence, and
she heard It no more. She half forgot
her comranion, too, and her thought
went careering through the boundless
space with a blissful sweep and buoy
ancy. She was sensitive, easily attuned,
as is cry artistic temperamcnt Tho
newls q severed delight Of sympathy
which hor intercourse with Brun had
yielded Ter had somehow impaired a
tensity TO her mood, quivering sus.
cept,bility TO the influences of nature.
ooh, isn't it glorious?" she cried as
they plunged into the gloom of the pine
woods with their endless colonnades
Of frost silvered trunks, upon which the
starlight sparkled.
'Tsch-tsch-tsch," said Mr. Falck,
chinuping to the horse and cracking
his whip sharply.
She felt rebuffed and lapsed into an
offended silence. She had not been
acutely conscious Of Mr. Falck until
that moment, but had only felt an en-.
thusiastic need to pour her rapture into
a sympathetic ear. She would not trou.
bic him again surely. But at the end of
10 minutes during which the sleigh
bells had been jingling monotonously,
the forest suddenly ceased, and the fro
zen riven like vast blue shield studded
with countless flashing gems spread
out before them. The unexpectedness of
the scene and its dazzling splendor quite
took her breath away
"Oh, God, F" she exclaimed ecstatical
ly, "how transcendently gorgeousl How
gloriousl How sublimer
"Tsch tsch-t -tsch," chirruped Mr. Falcb
again and cracked his whip once more.
He felt always u trifle awkward when
anybody raved, and strong language
made him i'll at ease. He was disposed
TO make IL as unnoticeable as possible
and his cracking Of the whip was there.
fore mere instructive movement ex
pressive Of his discomfort. He would
have liked to talk seriously with Hulda.
and had, in fact, planned this sleigh
ride for the express purpose Of affordine
him the opportunity. But how could ht
talk sensibly TO her as long rs she wa
in this overstrained, lyrical mood?
They had now swung out upon the
ice, which rang under the hoof beats Of
the horse with a sharp, metallic reso-
nance. Tho wind sang in their ears.
though there was not a breath of aii
stirring except for the conn jtion Of
their speed in the still, kee .old.
There was sense of delightful exhil.
aration in this swift and steady motion
over the vast, star strewn surface, and
Hulda, forgetting her resentment, burst
out once more in rapturous accents:
How pitiful must be the lot Of those
who live in lands where there is nc
winterl"
eyes, " said Mr.. Falck, quite pitt
full. "
Here was q note of prose which hs
was anxious TO hold fast and emphasize,
as it might afford him transition tc
the topic which he had at heart Bui
unhappily he was not imaginative
enough to invent his transition before
Huida was again miles away. "Thert
is nothing more sublimely poetic tc
me, ," she went ON without obvious
connection with her preceding remark.
than the movement by which Beetho.
ven in the Moonlight sonata expresses
the mild radiance of the moon, the soft
and sweet rain Of tempered, nocturnal
light The mere initiative noise Of thun.
der showers and cavalry charges anG
convent bells are crude devices, but the
genius that can interpret in sounds of a
deep and subtle affinity tho quality Of
the light and the moods Of the soul il
rare and in the noblest sense imagina.
tive -
Falcl; opened his eyes in wonder at
this extraordinary speech, in which he
recognized the echo Of Mr. Brun s TRADES.
This was the way he was wont to dis.
course at the piano in the glow Of exhil.
aration after having finished an i'm.
pressiye composition. 1t was all the
sheerest nonsense to Mr.. Falck, and he
was at loss to comprehend how Hulds
could find it so entertaining, It seemed
70 him that she had, without fault Of
her own, been deluded and ensnared by
the guileful stranger, but never had she
been to him so enhancing, so adorable,
so 'deliriously" lovely and alluring.
As She sat there at his side in the soft
illumination Of the night, with he
sweet face turned to the stars, Mr.. Falck
was conscious of a thrill, warm suffu.
sion Of feeling which enveloped him like
a glowing current and set his blood
throbbing hotly in his veins He scarce.
ly recognized himself as the sedate cler.
gyman Of an hour ago, who lacked com.
prehension Of every impulse unsanction.
ed by the decalogue And yet though
these gusts Of emotion shook him they
did not take him off his feet. He did
not lose himself completely. The voice
Of reason. though momentarily maud.
bic, was not silenoed, and when Hulda
burst into her next ecstasy the insidious
echo Of his rival instantly sobered him
and made him bitterly regret his infatu-
alton.