Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-06-04

AllllOSt NllnOul DtlIlS dNhlN " Iltll Nv
was doing, Bcrgmunn offered Ada his
arm. which she accepted, leaning
against him with gentle, clinging
movement OF her whole figure. There
they stood, letting their dreamy eyes
wander over the woods, the river and
the city. They would have forgotten
the castle and the entertainment had
not the suhducd notes of the dance
music reached them from the ball
room, whose windows opened upon the
balcony on the opposite side OF the
facade, filling the night with low har-
monies which we're continued IN the
vibrations of their own nerves.
At this moment the clock in the
Marl>tbrcit stccpie struck 10, directly
after the sound of a night watchman's
horn was heard, and wailing voice,
rising in the sleeping streets Of the
city. called IA few unintelligiblc words.
what was that? ." Ada whispered.
"Thc night watchman, according to
the custom of the country, called the
hour with verse" replied Bcrgmann
\ few minutes later the call was re-
Ieated, this time nearer, and so dis.
tinctly that it could be understood
The night Waterman, with mournful
emphasis, sung:
Twelve strokes Times limit do teach
Man. think OF thy mortality"
"Life in your Germany is like fairy
tale, said Ada, nfter repeating the verse
TO herself; "evcrything is so dreamy
so pcryaded with poetry"
"Then stay in our Germany, stay
with us" he pleaded, softly, his voice
expressing far more than his words
She shook her little head sorrowful
ly. Il came five years too Late
$40 not say that replied Bcrgmann
pressing the bare arm which rested
on his closely to his side. "llow old
are you now?"
1t did not occur to her to smile at the
question or to answer it, according "a
the ordinary custom of women, with an
affected reply. She said, instead, IA
simply as child:
"Twenty-thrcc.'
"And at twenty-thrcc would il be too
late TO seek and strive for happiness in
life? When sorrow has been experience
ed so young, it can surely be regarded
as childish disease, and there is nothing
To be done except TO forget il as quick
Is MS possible"
Ada gazed hxedly into vacancy, say
ing. as If lost in thought:
mo, no. That is not so. There are
injuries which are incurablc. The
l1other of two children is old at twenty
three. Since she can no longer offer q
man the full happiness of love, she has
40 right 10 expect it from him."
He was about to answer, but with Il
hnsty movement she placed her slender
finger ON her lip, saying:
'Iiush. Not another word on this
subject. Look"-and her hand pointed
down to the park,
From n bow window in the castle n
powerful apparatus was sending II
broad stream of electric light into the
darkness. 1t often changed and moved,
being thrown now here, then there.
In its course it illumincd the tops of he
trees with faint, livid phosphores-
'NH'', iiittlNpNt 'iit Slli ubbtly Will
fantastic gliding spots of light, and
gave the turf, wherever it WINS visible,
the appearance of strip Of Il glittcring
glacier. In the distance, where the
light was lost in the dense groups OF
trees, it produced the illusion of indis-
tinct shapes cleaning out there for n
moment and then vanishing. 1t recmed
us if one could see something mysteri-
GUS moving or standing, perhaps hui
man form, wrapped in floating robes,
perhaps n white marble statue hidden
behind the foliage, pcrhapsa mist, gath
oring and scattering. Night moths
and bats, fluttering across the bar of
light out of the darkness into the dark
ness, shone brightly during the brief
period of their passage, then suddenly
vanished again like moss blown through
a flame. The electric light seemed to
make road through the park, spread
silver carpet over it, and invite the
two who watched lis course to walk
along this shining road ia the distance
where the shadowy white shapes how
cred in the shrubbery, appearing and
disappearing.
The temptation was irresistible
"Let us go down." saish Adn, and a
few minutes later, with aiight mantilla
ever her shoulders, she was walking
by his side over the creaking gravel of