The Forrest City herald., 1896-04-04

on which she was passenger had an
chored in the beautiful Bay of Palermo
Dressing herself with hurried care, she
went on deck and saw the CITY ot inc
Sun, with its great gateway hlgher
than the highest houses, and the white
marble marina outside with its greaF
length stretching towards Pellegrlnl
and the picturesque boats dancing Ill
the harbor, besieging the steamer lor
custom.
The chaporon of the party, Mrs For
tune was also the aunt OF Marion, ana
she engaged one of the boats aitei
much haggiing with Il fisherman i'll
red shirt, whose sunburned face was
Ike the pirssres Of Scriptural type, and
who wRs lazy enough to be Il survivor
OF hls 4allillean prototypes. AS the
party landed they were greeted every
where with the Easter salutatlon:
"Sur1exit" Gle is risen)
And they joined in the antiphonal
response.
"Vcre surreXit" Ole is risen, indeod)'
For this was their Sunday of Joy, the
queen of festivals. Eclls were ringing,
salutes were fired in the streets, the
flowers were in full bloom and the JOY
of resurrection was in the air. it was
the day the Sicilians had honofeu tor
nearly 1000 years, and Marion, who
had visited St. Marks ON n similar oc-
casion, felt that this union of elements
in such an atmosphere Of symbolic
Worship, combined with an intense,
rant devotion, had in it sincerity
/ which the service of the great ca
thedrals lacked.
In Palermo, Easter seemed enshrlhed
as in her own stronghold, and when the
little party entered the Old English
church embowercd in its tropical verdi
ure, with roses and oranges clustering
together, Marion felt an ndescrihablc
peace steal into her heart, as if she had
reached the summit OF happiness.
If anyone had whispered to her that
| like the tabled bird of the Persims she
was about to find the winged mate OF
her wingless soul, henccforth TO sau
through all the heavens wide in per-
feet union, she would have believed;
! therefore, when devotional man, an
| American like herself, moved TO make
room for her, then shared his book with
Ler and chanted musical second to
| her responses, she was not surprised
she seemed to have been waiting for
| him all her life. Her aunts frowns of
propriety did not disturb her. The good
woman had not noticed the proximity
of the agreeable strange was ready
to frown HIM down, and was as tactlcss
in her methods as the head OF the school
procession who turned to her young
ladies with the command:
Don't look! Shut your eyes and
keep them closed. There's horrd,
handsome man coming this way"
The man was really not handsome,
hut he had the strength, the magnet-
ism, that is more than manly beauty;
he was almost another Sir Launcelot,
Was Marion to he Elaine, and love HIM
with the love that was her doom" We
hear of such fatalities in the comedy Of
life.
Mrs. Fortune, the aunt, was really
obliged to recognize the stranger Tor
/ the clergyman was a toNnsmdu OF her
own, and ne introduced him ON the
strength of being compatriot And
he was a charming man TO know-ilnc
manners and u devotional spirit, so he
won both aunt and niece. There was
only this day TO see Palermo and its
wonders, and Philip NClt accompanied
them 20 the steamer and SAID good-by.
And they did not know whether he was
n single or Il married man, ard Mariol
had only u bunch of flowers and Il lava
ornament which he had bought for Il
trinc, and dropped into her lap with
Che flowers as an Easter Offering
"lou have made n joyful Easter for
me-" he had said, and asked permission
to call upon her when he returned IN
n ycar'g time to his home in Amcrlcn,
which was in the great city where she
lived herself.
81 will expect you ncNt Easter" she
had SAID, gajl ly, aud with that they
parted.
a ycar-how short! "Why, 1t was
only yesterday" we say, and now Il il
Easter again. And we are sorry, with a
transient human pain, for some who
have missed IT, as If the more typical
keeping of Easter could compare with
shat Easter which they have entered
upon.
" our lilies bloom and pass away,
But theirs shall live and bloom for aye"
Marion had made very curous DIS
coyery after the steamer hal left Pal
ermo. She had found in the folds Of her
dress, as IL it had been dropped there,
un antique rlng-a curious arrange
ment Of ancient gems, set in silver
which she had noticed ON the hand Of
the American, Mr.. Neil. Her irgt inn
pulse was to snow II 10 her aunt, her
rext, to keep it as II bond between them
until she could forward ID . him, Then