Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1897-10-07

huTtuf SOltiy-
Nina then" | said, with some effort,
as | lightly kissed her, Goodnight!
may your dreams be of mel She
responded to this with a gratitied
smile, and as | left the room she waved
her hand in a parting salute. My dia-
monds flashed on it like a small circlet
of fire; the light shed through the rose
colored LAMPS that hung from the
painted ceiling fell full on her eXquis-
ite loneliness, softening it into ethereal
radiance n delicacy, ana when |
strobe forth from the house into the
night air heavy with the threatening
glCCm of coming tempest, the picture
of that fair face and form fitted before
me like a mirage-the glitter of her
hair flashed on my vision like little
on hte-her 1.-THE hands seemed
TO beckon me-her lips lad left a
with the thoughts that tortured me, /
walked on and on for hours. The
storm broke at last; the rain poured
in torrents, but needless Of wind and
weather, | wandered on like a for
gaken fugitive. | seemed to be the
only human being lett alive in a world
o. wrath and darkness. The rush and
roar Of the blast, the angry noise Of
waves breaking hurr1edly on the shore.
he sWiTling showers that fell on my
CCfenseiess head-all these things were
uLfelt, unheard by me. There are
times in o mans life when mere phys
iCal feeling grows numb under the
pressure of intense mental agony
The Indignant soul, smarting with
the experience of some vile injustice.
fCIgets for a little its narrow and poor
house of clay. Some such mood was
upon me then, | suppose, for in the
very act OF walking | was almost I'M
conscious of movement. An awful SOL
20 de seemed to encompass me-a 81
lence of my own creating. fancied
that even the angry elements avoided
me as | passed, that there was moth
ing, nothing in all the wide universe
ont myself and a dark ~brooding horror
called Vengeance. All suddenly, the
mists OF my mind cleared; | moved no
longer in a deaf, blind stupor. A fash
OF lightning danced windy before my
eyes, followed by a crashing peal Of
thunder; ! saw to what end of a wild
journey | had come. Those heavy
gates-that underlined stretch of land
those ghostly glimmers of motOnless
white like spectral mile-stones emery
ing from the gloom knew it all too
weil-it was the cemetery | looked
through the iron palisades with the
FEY erish II teIest of one who watches
Of a tragedy. The lightning sprung
once more across the sky, ard showed
me for a brief second the distant mar
&C. g. time of the Romani vault. There
the drama began-where would it end?
Slowly, slowly there fitted into my
thoughts the face of my lost child-the
Young, serious face as it had looked
when the calm, preternaturally wise
smile of death had rested upOn it: and
then a curious feeling of pity possessed
me-pity that her little body should be
lying stiffly out there, not in the
vault, but under the wet sod, in such
a relentless storm of rain. | wanted
10 take her up from that cold couch
10 carry her to some home where there
should be light and heat and laughter
to warm her to life again within my
arms; and as my brain played with
ttose foolish f%ancies, slow hot tears
forced themselves into my eyes and
ag.FI,i ,-,. ,hra1-r nc thar foil UhlEa
tears relieved me-gradually the
- rt'v strung tension of my nerves re-
,axed. and | recovered my usual ON
posture by degrees. Turning deliber-
ately away from the reckoning grave
stones. | walked back to the city
through the thick of the storm. this
time with an assured step and a
knowledge of where | was going. |
did not reach my hotel till past mid
night: but this was not late for Ma
pies, and the curiosity of the fat
French hall-porter was not so much
excited by the lateness of my arrival
as by the disorder of my apparel,
All. heaven, he cried, that
monsieur the distinguished should
have been in such a storm all unpro-
tected, Why did not monsieur send
for his carriage" | cut short his eX-
carnations by dropping five francs into
his eyer-ready hand, assuring him that
I had thoroughly enjoyed the novelty
of a walk in bad weather whereat he
smiled and cor gratulated ne as much
as he had Just commiserated me. On
reaching my own rooms, my valet Vim
COMO stared at my dripping and dt
sheyeled condition, but was dlscreatly
mute. He quickly assisted me to
change my wet clothes for a warm
dlt ssing-guwn. and then brought q
glass Of mulled port wire, but per-
. formed these duties with such an air
of mbroken gravity that ! was in
varjly amused while | admired the
. 1, CLOVIS ~reticence. When ] was about
Co. retire for the night, ] tossed him a
napoleon. He eyed it musingly and
lu%luirinEly, then he asked,