The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1902-01-31
THE FIREFLlES' WEDDING.
BY CATCLLE MENDES.

ullHldlule cdtueuTdl IN plaster. / nave
often wondered who buys these hideous
productions Of ecclesiastical architecture
| with such square, ungraceful outlines,
! surmounted by a tall steeple and illu-
minated with candle end placed on the
| altar. A sensation Of pity seized me
| when l gazed upon the poor little mer-
chant. who must have spent the entire
evening trying to sell his church, and,
hndlng no purchaser, had fallen asleep to
dream, perhaps, Of the beating which
| awaited him at home.
Ragged, dusty and tanned, he was as
picturesque as he was dirty. / awakened
| the lad. gave him some money, and to
cepted the plaster cathedral.
It bothered me a good deal as l car
rled it off under my arm. l walked
faster, being anxious to relieve myself
of the burden, which intended to leave
in a corner Of the garden where it would
serve as a scarecrow for the sparrows
which were already beginning to steal
my cherries.
[ must have looked like one of those
persoonages you see in religious paintings
bearing the resemblance in miniature of
the chapel which they have dedicated to
st. Timoleon or st. Ildevert in explation
of their sins.
Midnight sounded; I was still awake
in my bed, with eyes half closed. But it
was an insomnia without fever, vague
ana delicious, refreshed by the soft moon
night entering through the wide-open win
dow close by. which also bathed the
winding paths Of the garden below, the
beds OF flowers and the velvety grass in
the pale enchantment of fairyland.
Perfectly happy in my semi-conscious
state, without the sensation of existence.
yet enraptured with the joy of living, l
was rather thing ecstatic than a man.
so suggestive of solitary wastes, drowsy
hooks, of leaves unstirred by any breeze,
were deepened by the almost arrested
throbbings Of my heart, by the dispersion
IN a dreamless peace of all my dead de-
s;res.
Suddenly slight noise startled me
scarcely sensible of some delicate object
with feebly resisting surface. The
sound was rythmica1. too. at equal inter.
walls, suggesting the idea of bell inf
nitel " distant among the clouds.
The noise continued hardly audible, yet
seemingly to gently importune me.
Fancy my surprise!
,~.-a ;,1o VI m n HarrU@ pa ii
like church at the end of an avenue
the cathedral whose candle end inside
had long been extinguished-now radiat-
ed illumination through all its tiny red
windows, and as | leaned forward to ex-
anime more closely I perceived that the
inclination of an adjacent woodbine
caused the steeple to he capped by al os.
cilating bell flower in which 4 bee per
formed f the office Of ,clapper or ringer
beneath the mystic light Of the moon?
softly stepped over the window sill
and knelt in the shade Of an acacia. In
the wall Of the little church, just behind
the choir, was crevice, through which
| now peeped. More than hundred fire
flies attached either to the shafts OF the
columns or pcrched before the altar in
lieu Of candles filed the euifce with
light, and in the top Of the steeple the
industrious bee tolled his bell in the
woodbinc. as if calling the deyout tc
some important ceremony.
A constantly increasing and innumera.
BILE throng of insects was entering the
portals. Crickets and grasshoppers from
the fields jostled each other eagerly in
the. van; a lady-bug, to avoid being
pushed in the crowd, was posed on tht
wing of dragon-fy; tiny insects vested
in black and white, presumably the cler
gy, followed a gorgeous cochineal in pur
pie. The whole seemed strange con
fusion Of murmurin~s from countless
creepin" things Of every color.
When. at length, the entire colnpa ny
had taken their places in proper order
! large fly flew up to the organ loft "->i
presently a humming sort Of music joy
! basi]ica, so brightly illuminated by the
| frehies.
a ceremony, indeed. of some sort was
on the point OF commencing.
When I heheld two minute creatures
proceed toward the choir, the one will
confident air, beating it's wings victori
ously, the. other hestitating and timid
And Of this l was sure when I saw a
the high altar a magnificent BEETLE Will
green and gold cha suble, assisted by two
| lesser bugs as acolytes, approach the
| bridal. party with gesture seemingly OF
! benedictiOn.
| My eyes glued to the crevice, I lost moi
single detail Of the august ceremony
| With eager curiosity l watched the
crowd as it gradually dispersed. while
! the frehies extinguished their lights on;
by one. Then nolseiessly I turned te
trace on. the moonlit path the course OF
| ing themselves from the tumultuous
| throng.
| Where would they go? Would the,
| fly away for their honeymoon toward
some distant nuptuil flower, under &
| warmer azure, beneath more arden,
stars! Or would they content themselve.
with the first convenient corolla inviting
" open under the discreet curtain of :
leaf?
wherever fancy leads you, oh. gentle
| bride and bridegroom. may the God OF
insects ephemeral, and flowers quickl,
fading, to you be kind! May you have
much happiness in the few hours of YOU
| brief springtime!
"Never may the sabot Of peasant O,
! the slipper of woman who perchance
seeks repose under a tree cause YOU feal
as you. wing your fight so close one tc
the. other, over moss-clad bank, from
| bush to bush! May the dewdrops that
you sip together be ever perfumed t.
your taste! May the chalice preferred
| never refuse an odorous lodging! And il
you should fall into the clutches of some
cruel child, may it be the same little hand
that seizes you both, so that you may
suffer and die together!''
While l was breathing these heartfelt
wishes for their happiness the two in.
sects had not flown away; they had
climbed up the length OF Bengal rose
bush, the topmost rose of which sur.
mounted the ledge of my window, and !
saw them disappear inside the flower.
whose petals, half gone, closed softly over
the tender pair.