The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-10-31
By the Lych.Gate.


! erdale, after the place OF his birth.
Down in Coverdale there is d beau
/ tIful old church, set Ike a Jewel IN its
/ surrounding Of stately trees and blossom
ing hedges, with the quiet greatness Or
/ Gods acre lying stretched about It.
There is a quaint Iych-gate at the e T.
trance 10 the holy spot carved, halt
/ ing-place of oak, set tenderly BY some
! good man of the dalespeople-a squire
| Of the olden days who loved his home,
/ and his neishbors, and his God fun vel,
I think. and sought to beautfy the
church in which ne and his had worship
1 cd so long.
And down the fair avenue Of trees
| within the precincts and past the quiet
! church lie the remains Of what vas once
/ the proud Abbey Of Coverdale, where the
( monks said masses and cultivated Their
/ garden, and tended the souls and bodies
/ of the poor and needy ia the dale.
It is a beautiful spot in a beautiful
/ countryside, and so thought a man who
/ viewed it lovingly, and pointed out all
/ its changeful lights and shadows. all
/ pretty peeps of field and river, 10 his
| wife
They had only been married q little
/ while, a few short weeks, and had elect
( ed to spend their honeymoon in some Of
I the quaint corners Of England-hence
/ tered nook among the hills and the far
/ stretched moorlands in their yelling Of
! regal purple. The man loved it already
with the artists love which sees the
4 beautiful so quickly and feels it 50
! strongly; and the woman-weI she saw
/ the beauties, too. but she was growing
! little weary Of pretty sights, and she
! was very pretty and spoilt herself and
/ perhaps a little jealous Of admiration
/ Cd 4rs7A feF
/ homeward
/ So she stood by the quaint relics of the
/ abbOts and mailed knights at Coverham.
/ where two quaint forms guard q door
/ way, as perchance their originals guard
/ ed some stronghold in the old fighting
/ days long gone, and her white gown fell
/ over the gray stones and cleaned against
/ the red and orange nasturdums.
''I am rather tired of admiring places
/ she said to herself a little impatently-
/ And, then, I never can remember who
/ lived in the castles and abbeys How uu-
/ comfortable they must have beenp'
And then-for she was only a very
! young bride too-she felt sorry for hay
/ ing been impatient. even in her thoughts,
/ toward her husband and she turned 10
/ speak to him with an even sWeeter smile
/ than usual on her pretty lips. For her
/ husband was a genius in his way, a
3
1 envied her when she married him, n
/ spite of her wealth.
/ All there was a pit1ful ring IN the
! story-pOor and nameless, but clever,
/ beating himself to pieces in his eager at
| tempts to win fame single-handed; and
rich and beautiful the woman with the
I fairy-lil1e figure and exquisite face, who
had given the man her gold.
And ali. a more pitiful note still-and
! Lo
/ once long ago talked OF this very spot
with its quaint surroundings and its old
world atmosphere, in the time that might
/ have been and is not.
He closed his sketchbook with q sigh
and turned to the white-rObed Ioveliuess
Of his wife with murmured apology for
having kept her waiting. and then to-
gether they passed down the avenue that
leads to the road again.
But he was very silent, and his wife
felt tired and just a little cEoss She
| liked to be petted and coaXed and fat
tered, and latterly Wilfred had been too
serious to suit her gay fancies and too
absorbed in new ideas for his book 70
pay her the attentions she loved SO dear
~ to exact from every man. and es-
pecia1y from her husband.
Let us go home to town" she said,
suddenly. ct am tired Of roaming in
there is still so much going on. I hear.
You must have lots Of ideas now, I am
sure" She laughed gleefully as she
spoke. The murmur OF the streets seem
ed already in her ears. and the fash Of
silks and Jewels came over the sunlight
on the grass.
He paused a moment. "Win you not
come on a little further?" ne asked,
kindly, yet a little wistfully There are
-.r-.-
would be interested in them I think"
But she shook her head until the dia-
monds in her little ears twinkled Ike
dewdrops You know I am not inter
ested," she said. petulantly. II hate
those old people who perched castles on
the top of hills and expect you to climb
up to see them. DO let us go hack2'
They had reached the lych-gate now,
and q girl was entering it from the
other side where their carriag-his
wifes carriage-with its beautiful bays
stood waiting. The sunlight fell on her
quiet black gown and her soft hair as
she passed under the quaint oaken struc-
ture, and then she lifted her eyes. and
a sudden light flashed into them and
then died very gently again.
The mans face grew white in the
shadow Of the leafy eIms. but his wife
chartered on in her high, pretty voice
and noticed nothing of his pallor And
then as they met he advanced quietly
TO meet the girl-ss quietly &c n they
had never parted IN bitter bitter s0r-
row-the one brave and ready to sacrifice
herself for his sake the other. as ne
said 10 himself bitterly enough. q coward
and a craven. And now they met again
IN the soft sunshine n the autumn day,
with the first few leaves falling. golden
tinted. from the trees around with the
blue bright sky overhead. and she pur-
ling of a little stream somewhere near. +
under the Old gateway that leads TO tha
house Of PRAYER
She spoke TO him VERY calmly ard
quietly and he introduced her IN his
lovely wife. and she told the stranger
at once in her pretty pafuant voice Of
her wish 10 60 back 70 town and its
sayeties only Wnfred wouldn't he was
SO cross
But the girl smiled SO gently ana spoke
So soothinglv thai the uttls 1alr's wrath
melted away. and she laughed Ike Il
meTry child ard straightway invited her
new friend 10 pay them a visit 81 Lon +
don
eve viii 20 tomorrow. won't we. WI
fredG She said. lauEhirgly and the
erare-1acs6 man answered that her XIII
was law
"Yas. We wm 60 tomorrow" he said.
w1en the girl had answered that she
never went a. towu new hr fsthsr was
old and needed her care and -hat she
was quite content vita her Hfe Sir th
stu. countryside
II have him. ard he has me sh a7.
with her peacefui sme and fha iaEh
inF woman before her could not geese
ana would never nave razE trEf fiji
gen-Is-facad eri had loved the man
SIDE her vth ~ hs~ heart and ul n3