Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1896-02-13
The Broken Wing

49, -~ee
ION in purple, making it seem more distant;
glazes the surfsce Of the ponds. doubling
their depth, and the night comes, with the
cold.
Al the foot Of the hill is I road A little
girl, barefoot and very poor, is leading !
flock, another's dock, along this road. She
Is the living image-though for her there be
50 little Of living-o misery and abandon
ment In her II short years her hands have
grown feebler, more weary, even than ore
those of the very aged. But in her deep
eyes the ideal sequences have prolonged
themselves; through days of silence, doubt
less, she has dreamed, and through the
nights, too, under the pale light of the stars.
The understanding of the lowly is some
times dcvine.
Suddenly, in the middle of the road, her
dog stops, as If transixed, and stands tremb-
ing and awestricken. Marie, advancing,
perceives, in the shadow of the thicket, 4
form half obscured, yet radiantly white, and
encircled with an aureole.
The child has prescience of a miricle and
is not astonished. She mutely considers the
mysterious being. Yes, 1t 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
mier is ineffably sad. Putting her hands to-
gether, palm to palm, she speaks to him
softly and in tones of prayer:
"Oh, beautiful prince Of heaven, l salute
you! wonld serve you. Since you are
come hither, it must be to bring Joy ON the
earth and ! thank you!'
But the smmortal answers with a great
sob and then quickly exclaims: .sWhere am
R On carte, in exile! Banished! Stricken
chastised! 1t is joy that l bring, hast thou
said, Q daughter of men7 Alas, behold me!
what am II
SIN the fall ordained to me l have lost a
wing! No more of heaven, nor yet aa l of
earth! Suspense and fear hold horrible
menace for me Of things unknown. On
high, it seems, l yesterday declared too hard
q judgement upon mankind, their passions
their v~ileness, rs it is called-upon crimes
whereof knew not. So, as punishment for
judgement tcmerarious, the King Of kings,
the power supreme, oath sentenced me to
test the the terrestrial life, a prey to those
temptations I 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 eternal glories, be restored to
me. But should / once fail l must dwell in
this thy world until the final judgement Of
men. l am afraid-of all things. And
thou-who art thou?'
II am only a poor, kinless child, received
of charity, who a farmers sheep must guard
that ] may live-sometimes hardy, some
times well, according to the weather-and
who an angel seeing, kneel to him in prayer,
that he will bear me hence to heaven.n
Then the angel wept yet harder.
"Alas! Heaven is closed to me, and this
one wing, that l must drag so painfully, but
deepens my affection, reminding me Of my
origiR, and nothing serving me upon this
earth where ] must walk. 1t is the last
warning that remains to me. At my first
fault this, too, will fall, and l shall be
bound to this neither sphere, inexorably de-
livered over to v~ileness, far from yonder
sublimity of space-I Cyriam the Magnih-
cent bearer Of light! Oh, these tempta-
tions of men! How I dread them, child
even as before | 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 nearer and dyed
with bloody hue the desolate countryside,
Weakened to horror.
Amid q troop or horseback Regina, the
courtesan, was returning to her dwelling
from . forest chase. The noisy cortege,
stopped in front of Cyriam end Marie.
"What's there? Some vagabonds7 Make
way! Make way"
The angel, circled by the scarlet torches,
looked whittier even than before. At sight
Of hmm there were bursts Of laughter.
tsWhat kind Of crippled fowl is here?
Loose ye the dogs, tine chase is not yet done!
It's . stork-or is il, perchance, q white
turkey cock?"
The angel, risen to his full height.
snatched . sword from one Of those who
were pressing upon him and laid him dead
at his feet.
A peal Of thunder resounded. The sec
ond wing fell, the white robe also. and the
anreole vanished. A voice cried:
1.-THE FIRST trial-anger!"
Already the coustesan, Regina, had
thrown herself into the combat, Now she
gazed upon the angel, struck by his super
human beauty,
.Come, / love thee!'' she said. ssThou
,didst wen to Stay this fellow. He insulted
thee, the drunkard! Follow me!D
Then Cyriam cried:
ssSince no longer l am more than man,
searth's pleasures shall be MINI I'll fol-
low thee-thou art beautiful-xnd IL
indeed nm lostis
And Is he mingled with the throng they
did homage to him for his valor and his
splendid presence.
Marie, left alone, wept In the highway,
knowing that I great evil had bcfallen, and
her dog, for PHYS sake, licked the tear
drops from her eyes, while her sheep grazed
where they listed.
Cyriam, Of origin divine, is great among
men, He Is the most beautiful, the strong
en-, the most beloved. He has wished for
gold-he Is rich; Tor land and titles-he has
them. In var he exterminates, and the OBJ
scure crowd Of combAtants give way before
him, lose their footing, terrified BY the So
pernatural. After Regina, who died for
love, others have adored him. The earth Is
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