The age-herald., 1899-01-15
THE MURMUR
 OF THE WORLD

dreams at nightfall the radiant presence of maiden who shall be bride within the fortnight The street lights threw soft shadows that fell upon her as a prayer and her joy dispelled all the darkness, made dreamful the commonplace surroundings, and did envelope her in the raiment of the elect. She presented a beautiful picture out there wherc the lights played hide and seek with the shadows, and the lights failed not. Joy ran riot in that beautiful young soul; and it was of no significance that the on- locker should share in his own way some thing of her joy. She shall not know that her own youth and loveliness and happiness gave to him the scent of the roses from vase long broken. She was exquisite. So young, so lovely. so happy. so joyous in the morning of a love that recks not of the grosser things of this world. She was Princess Charming come out of the Palace Beautiful.
 Some hyacinths rested on my work bench syestereen. Whence they came and from whom I know not, but they lay before me in their pure whiteness, and their soft perfume car ried me back along the path over which the years had led me They brought me to the gate of an old garden, wherein much of my childhood was spent, amongst hya- cinths and daffodils, roses, the buttercups and the jonquils, ever so long ago. They brought back to me a blithe and bonnie lass with a wealth of hair that was of the shade of dull copper. Her hair hung in great masses about her shoulders, and it seemed to imprson the sunbeams, as it enmeshed a boys heart. Her laughing mouth was made for kisses, though not my kisses. The lower lip had a way of reaching out as if to get even with the sauciest nose under the sum- There was never yet a woman whose lower lip ob truded who failed in exercising power over men. It is queer, yet that lip has a mar velous capacity for mischief. But that is another story. My maiden of the long gone years married whilst I was still boy, and I guess there are some revised editions of her now breaking hearts soft mine was. How silly of girls to marry so young. They might wait and see what their youth full lovers can do in the world!
 Every woman has been bride or expects to be that which every person of every age or degree pauses to salute. In the complex circumstances of our life, the bride is the center of all interest. The bride is the god dess to whom all men pay tribute and all women bow in jealousy, hate, envy, love or regret. The bride is the incarnation of all our system of morality and civilization The bridegroom is not considered in the sum of primary reckoning. He is sort of necessary evil; nobody cares anything about him. It is his part to look silly whilst felicitations are being spoken. Her mother abhors him. her father suspects him; her brothers esteem him a fool, and her sisters are in doubt as to whether he is Intentionally silly or naturally inane. His time comes-after the show is over.
 Out of the east there came to our small coterie in the old Yacht club upon the old worlds far shore stranger. We knew him not and within the exclusive precincts of the oldest club in the world strangers are regarded askance unless they wear the uni form of the naval forces of some one of the great powers and are backed by ship or ships of war in the harbor. Our stranger had no such world-compelng power as this. We were within Her Brittanic Mai SSty Q uOihiHiOHS, ana therefore what here said cannot apply to Her Majesty's na- val uniform. But our stranger wore not the uniform of any country. America, Ger many, France, Italy = they knew him not So he came to us hard bv inc Irish sea unhearalded save by A postal card to the secretary of the club from a friend in the east saying MT. So-and-so was coming and bespeaking for him a welcome.
 
 The sranger dawned upon us so to sneak. that Is, he came with the freshness and oreeziness of the morning. There was sort Of mutual discovery upon his arrival The stranger saw at once that he was ont Of his element; that he was beyond his depth as the English would say. For the hrst time in his life he was face to face with persons of high social degree. He dis covered the fact. Gentlemen never know any such distinction in social gatherings. The strangers introductions brought him within the charmed circle of the coterie and there he rested, the happiest man I have seen in my time. He had invented some arrangement for sewer pipes and was in receipt of steady income of $40. .oO0 >a year. In our party was colonel of the NsOSSi ~AieihSAy, WuO WAS or the highest social station in England. To the colonel. dearest and loveablest of all officers in the queens service the stranger confided the or derng of the luncheons and dinners, which courtesy permitted him to give in the club. Noble feasts they were, worthy of Lucullus; for the colonel of artillery had adorned the court of St. James's.
 The stranger was "the divil for a song" as the heart-wrung tongue of the Irish is wont to say; and we enoyed his feasts and joyed in his songs and stories He made us almost die a-laughng. Two of his songs impressed us most. The refrain of one was You can't judge the cigars by the pictures on the box" and the other, Tt isn't the hen that cacxles the loudest that lays the largest egg" There was world of wisdom in the refrain of these two little songs of the hospitable stranger, conscious as he was of his social inferiority to those whom