Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1900-01-06

ened, when their own hearts were
nearly breaking with the pain of
hope deferred" Others in anticipa-
tion of the annual feast and frolic, pre-
pared for day of quiet, pensive enjoy
ment. Still others, whom the festive
season but served to remind of the
rapid fight of Time, thought mourn
fully of the coming New
Year and that the "Buena-
ventura" OF their hopes still
colony of miners on the South Fork of
the American river sat in his cottage
| on Christmas Eve beside the sick bed
of little child, whose wasted frame
was racked with fever and whose tide
of life was at ebb. For five nights and
! days this unhappy parent had lowered
round the child's dying bed. trying to
anticipate his every want-trying to
| fight OFF the approaching doom--for
five nights and days he had not slept
had scarcely eaten or drank in his anx-
| roy anu INV, Nliu-tgtu, dlclts anu
every sense in full action, he listened
to the quick gasping breaths, and
marked the rapid yet weak pulsations
in the thin wrists; and the
season of feast and festival
was a terrible mockery to him,
for the doctor. on whose words he
hung, hoping that by some happy
chance his fears might prove to have
been but fathers anxious fancies,
had said at his last visit, in his
kindly, impressive, manly way:
II wish could help you, but, my dear
fellow, but he cant last till morning;
there is no hope; there has been none
IRON the first; try and bear 1t like
man." and he had shaken the fathers
hand and gene away with some blur
ring moisture in his eyes that was not
caused by the rain, and after the doctor
had gone and the parent glanced
around the room, with what despairing
bitterness his eyes rested on the bright
green pine trees that reached to the
ceiling and filled one corner of the
room, hung with unlit tapers and
bright with gilded ornaments and
heavy laden with toys and trinkets
whose purchase had taken almost the
entire worldly wealth of the father
heavy laden, but for eyes that could
never see the gifts, and for Christ
mas mat would never dawn. "Oh, my
little lad-my little lad" he moaned,
as he bent over the child's bed, "if you
could only rouse to know me once
more" The midnight hour chimed
and the bells rang joyful peal and
the boom of anvils, and short, sharp,
barking sound of revolvers, and the
. echoing reports of musketry, startled
the air. At the sound of the first gun
Clancy had stepped to the window
with some vague, half-defined idea of
compelling silence, but turned again
to the sick bed, conscious of his own
impotence, and saw that the child's
large eyes were gazing at him, and
with the blessed light of reason in
them for the first time in two days.
Papa" he said family, what day is
it?' Christmas, dear You know
papa, don't you?" Yes" Then. af-
ter moments silence, he said: Il
want mamma; | want to love her."
She has gone away, dear; ! can't call
her now" The child tried to raise
his head but could not. Papa, will
you kiss mamma for me when she
comes?" Yes. yes, my darling,
win" kiss me goodnight, papa, I'm
. going to sleep" he gasped, and closed
his eyes YEARLY. The father bowed
, his head in his hands in painful rev.
erie. When he next looked at his
chilu the eyes were open but the film of
} death was over them-"he had floated
, out on the great ocean" Tenderly the
: man closed the lids and crossed the
E thin arms over the breast and washed
and robed for burial the clay that had
. been dearer than life to him. Then
! he turned down the light in the room
and went out with nOiseless steps and
closed the door softly after him, as If
, he feared to wake the sleeper, and sat
down by the freside gazing into the
: red embers, and oppressed with such
desolating sense of loss, and filed
: with so poignant a grief that it was
fearless The gray dawn WAS inst
breahing-there came a timid knock
at the door and he rose quietly and
opened it, A woman, pale, thin, and
beyond description wretched, stood on