The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1899-12-15
Ny Fellow laborsr.
sAces
BY q. RIDER HAGGARD.


cause for reflection. Making all allow.
ance for the natural disappointment
and distress OF woman who was, I
suppose, warmly attached to me at
the time, could not help seeing that
her conduct threw a new and altogeth-
or unsupported light upon Fanny's
character. 1t showed me that, so far
from understanding her completely, as
I had vainly supposed to be the case,
her. There We're depths in her mind
chat I had not fathomed, and in all
probability never should fathom. I
had taken her for an open-hearted wo-
man of great intellectual capacity that
removed her far above the everyday
level of her sex. and directed her am
billions almost entirely toward the goal
OF mental triumph. Now l saw that
the diagnosis must be modified. In all
her outburst there had not been one
single word of pity for my heavy mis-
fortunes, or one word of sympathy with
the self-sacrifice which she must have
known involved a dreadful struggle
between my inclinations and my con-
science. She had looked at the matter
from her own point of view, and the
standpoint Of her own interest solely.
Her emotion had for a few moments
drawn the curtain from her inner self.
and the new personality that was thus
revealed did not altogether edify me.
Still. J, felt that there was great excuse
for her, and so put by the matter.
After this unfortunate occurrence, l
made DIP my mind that Fanny would
take some opportunity to throw up her
work and go away and leave us; but
she did not take this course. Either
because she was too fond, OF my poor
boy John, who, as he grew older, be-
came more and more attached to her,
or because she saw no better opening
not being possessed of independent
means-she evidently made up her
mindEto stop on in the house and con-
tinueto devote herself to the search for
the great Secret of Life. / think my
self that it was mainly on account of
the boy, who loved her with an entirety
that&at times almost alarmed me, and
to whom she was undoubtedly devoted.
But from that time a change came
over Fanny's mental attitude, towards
me. which was as ,palpable, as it was
tndednable. outwardly there was no
change. but in reality a veil fell be-
tween us, through which could not
see. ID fell and covered up her nature;
nor could Z guess what went on be-
hind it. Only I knew that she. devel-
oped a strange habit of brooding silent
ly about matters not connected with
our work, and that, of all this brood
ing, nothing ever seemed to come. Now
I know that she was building up far
reaching plans for the future, which
had for their object her escape from
what she had come to consider was, a
hateful and uapfohtable condition |of
eervitude. -
slowly. I could. take ANYBODY, who. is
curious to the. big dre-proof chest in
the corner of this very room, and show
him'two o. hnndred-weight or more paper
covered with ,abortiye, calculations
worked by Fanny, and equally abortive
7etter-press written by myself during
these years of incessant labor. In vain
we toiled; Nature would not give UP
her secret to us! We had indeed found
the lock, and fashioned key after key
to turn, it. sBht,: do what We would,
and file as we would. they would none
of them fit, or, even if they fitted, they
would not turn. And then We would
begin again. again, after months of la
hor, to fail miserably.
/; During these darkssyears worked
with the energy of despair Aantl Fanny
followed, doggedly, pStiehtIy. and nm
complainingly in my stepsj Her work
WAS splendid in It's sM lning Aopeaesg-
ness. To begin with, so far as was
concelasi, though 4nK disease,made but
little VI 5ibls pia9@sssI feared that
my sand wiz running 'put; End that
none wshld sbe saEesso,.takasup the,
Broken ShFeadx HhsFefbrs 4, worked
as those Sc work whose time IS Short and
who have much to do. Then, too. /
was, haunted BY the dread Of ultimate
failure. Had !, after ali, given u is my ny,
life to 4 qteam?I '1h'' ''ss'''f'.'t l!'E. ~
At last, however. a ray Of light came
as 1t alwaysAyes, always to those
who are strong and patient, and watch
the sky long enough. .'>''' T''"%z' ri
I Was sitting in my armchair, smok-
ing, one night after Fanny had gone to
bed and fell into a sort Of doze, to.
wake up With a start and-an inspira-
ton. Itsaw ttall now; We had been
workifg atsthe wrong end, searching,
for the roots amShg the topmost twigs
of the tressH I think that I was
really inspired that an angel had
breaShed on me Ia my sleep. At any
rate.:i sat here, at this same table at
whichSI ana writing now, till the dawn
crept fl. through. the shutters, and
eovdea sheet AFTER sheet with. 1.-The ideas
that rose one after smother in my brain,
In theSmost perfect order and continu-
aty. When at lastsm hand refused to
hold the peFr4yhlenges fstumbled OF
to bed, leaving behind HE a sketch 81
tht s;lsttar+preas .of ali the essentiaf
prbblemS finally dealt with In the work:
4