Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1897-06-17

Of FATE:
By LOUIS COUPERUS. :
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TRANSLATED FROM THE DUTCH. -
By LOUIS COUPERUS.
TRANSLATED FROM THE DUTCH.

~~~~~~.~~

uUNH W SAttD III IL 10 oSlki u
"Eva!"
Together. You say Yourself that
everything in you fails Of happiness,
and that. nevertheless, happiness must
come from within. Well. IL Is the
same with me. And yet. we love each
other. do We not?"
Yes, yes"
"'Then why should we remain awake
in this weariful life? 1t is always, al
ways raining. Give me a kiss, Frank.
A goodnight kiss, and let us sleep
while IL rains. Let me go to sleep in
your arms"
Eva, what do you meanf' he asked.
hoarsely, for he did not understand
her.
she went Oh. wildly. But you a al
ways get anothar?r An icy chill shot
through his very marrow like a sud
den frost.
God In Heaven, Eva. What do you
mean!' She smiled at him calmly,
with a soft light In her beaming eyes,
and she threw her arms around him.
ITO die with you, my dearest she
whispered, as in an ecstasy OF joy.
What good car life do US? You were
right. You can never be happy again,
and l can never be happy with you.
And yet, | will not leave you. for you
are all in all TO me. Then how can we
live. OF why? But. oh, Frank, TO die
together in each others arms. That is
the greatest bliss. A kindly poison,
Frank, nothing painful. Something
easy TO take, that we can take togeth-
err, and clasp each other, and die, die,
die" Frank shuddered with horror.
mo, Eva" he cried. You must n o
wish that, you cannot wish that! I
forbid it."
"Oh, do not forbid it," she said, per-
suasively, falling on the floor and en-
bracipg his knees. let us share the
same fate; that will be bliss. All
about us will be rose-color and gold
and silver, like Il glorious sunset. Oh,
can you imagine anything more beau
tifui? Frank, that is happiness-the
happiness We have looked for-which
everyone in this world is looking for.
1t is Paradise. 1t IS Heaven"
He was not carried away by her
rapture. but her words tempted him az
with the promise Of a brief Joy In this
life and an unutterable, peaceful rest
in death He could say no more to dis
srade her, TO check her in the heaven
ward flight of her fancy; but still he
reflected that there We're no mean at
hand. since the phial was broken.
Eva had risea, lrresistibly attracted
10 the spot where the phial had fallen.
She stopped and picked Ii up. 1t had
fallen into the lrapery of a curtain: it
was not broken, only cracked and
Clipped. Not n drop had been spilled.
"Frankg' she screamed, with fren-
zied gladness. 1T Is not broken,
Look. 1t is whole. 1t is Fate that
would not allow ii to be broken"
He. too, was standing up. quaking
with an icy chill. She htd already
forced 0ut the stopper and half-empt-
led the phial with a mad, esctatic
smile.
Eva" he shrieked.
And. quite calmly, still smiling, she
handed it to him. He looked at her for
n moment, feeling as IL they two Were
no longer Of this world; as IL they were
floating In a sphere Of unknown natur-
al laws, in which strange things must
come to pass. The world, as 1t seemed,
was about to perish In that deluge of
pouring rain. But he saw that she
| stood. waiting, with her strange smile,
and he drank
1t was quite dark. They lay on the
sofa side by side, In each others arms.
He was dead. She raised her head in
an agony Of alarm at the storm which
was raging outside, and that other
storm which was raging In her dying
body. The lightning glared white and
the thunder was close overhead. But
louder than the echoes In the air the
thunder came rolling on toward Eva,
nearer and nearer, louder and louder,
a supernatural thunder, on the wheels
Of the spheres.
"It Is cOming!' she murmured, In the
anguish OF death. "Great heavens, the
thunder again.
And she sank convulsed on the body
Of her lover. hiding her head under his
coat to die there.
Then came a shutting step in the
passage outside the dark room. An
old mans thin voice twice called the
name of Eva; and a hand opened the
door.