Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1903-12-11


pathy. and there was none to heed he
and bring peace to her SOUL
With quick sigh and ,passin
tremor of her sensitive lips she averte,
her dark, brilliant eyes from the sar
cophagus standing grimly forth In tn
fare of the torches and withou
thought or intention turned them full
upon those Of an attendant.
He was young, handsome, pure typ,
Arab, with clear, pale skin, clean Gu
features. tall, sinewy, silent, gentle
mysterious. suggesting an intensity o.
repressed passion. In that Pickering
light, down In the gaunt chamber Of
death, his soul looked straight through
the glowing eyes which cleaned be
meath his straight black brows and
grasped that of the girl with sense Of
its desolation and hunger. 1t was q
river Of cool refreshment to her parch.
ed being. Life thrilled through her
The shackles. whose tightening con-
strictions numbed her by their viselike
grip, fell off. She breathed with the
JOY vi u Iticdseu pIlsOueI.
Her soul in that first impulsive mo-
ment spoke back with all the eloquence
which can be uttered by the eye. 1t
was heart answering heart. Time Is
measured by intensity, not mere dura-
ton. The whole length of that encoun-
ter--perception, bestowal, acceptance
and grateful relief - could not have
been full minute. But it was mile
stone from which life was TO be meas
ured. When Clarice Bonvale left the
tombs of the Apis bulls and returned to
Cairo she was not an alien woman
alone in Egypt. A friend was with
her. kinsman of her heart-her proud,
hungry young heart. The memory of
him In the long wanderings up the Nile
was tiny, bubbling spring in her be-
ing from which welled solace and
strength. The rancor of loneliness had
departed. the wasting touch of aridity
was gone, the eager stretching forth
for something on which to lean felt
prop and support The image of that
Arab youth, the strong gentleness Of
LIE pdssiOidtC 6kdHP ieo iuio hpoh
her, haunted her with a soothing sweet
ness.
She seemed to feel it especially at
Phila. The soft charm of the little is
land and the graceful peace that brood
ed over it-she felt her new kinsman
more in them. With - smile it oc-
CURED to her that here was where Osi-
ris the Benefcent wasAlaid to his rest;
that to the old Egyptian there was no
mightier oath than that sworn by
him who sleeps at Phila." 1t was at
the solemn tomb that guarded the
stately bull which he had possessed to
be again with his adorers that she had
met the one who had led her out Of
Egypt, the dark land of her heart long
ings that could find no rest. When
would she see him next? Would she
ever see him again? And, if she did,
could he say more than he had said in
that first. quick, close, magnetic fusion
Of their souls? Well, Osiris the Benefi
cent, the struggler against evil, had
been good to her. 1t was enough.
They were returning after their long
leagues up the Nile. At last their feet
we're set homeward. There was not so
much charm in that as that they were
eaving Egypt, the place where she had
'or the first time realized Lucien Bon
Yale
One night at Luxor she stood on the |
wharf, waiting to embark on the little
steamer which puffed with impudent
Impotence to be gone. Bonvale had left
Ter for few moments on one of his
ussy, suddenly thought of quests.
Around her was motley crowd. with
of many nations in its NOV
ng mass. In the noise and confusion
md small babel of Earring elements
trong fingers suddenly slipped smooth
y, possessively, into the hand which
lung listlessly at her side. A fiutter
an through her. Her own fingers, .
With an instinct of sympathy, closed
pon those which had been so gently
ushed into her warm palm. She
)oked up with soft welcoming of
hildlike eagerness.
There in the flooding light of the
loon stood her hearts kinsman. the
trong young Arab of the Serapeum.
powerful. with repose that
lie west knows little of, his dark eyes
ndcr the strong brows burned with
re which told of his intense feeling.
His eyes bent on her unwaverngly.
[e murmured softly: Il have brought
Oh my heart and something to remem-
pr me By when you are gone so far
way to your country. Do not forget
e in the long years to come or that l
We you"
The crowd pressed He was gone. +,
e had melted into it and was lost.
larice raised her hand and with a
emulous smile looked to see what
.tIess souvenir he had left with her
ges of Osiris and Isis. such as are {
,und in the tombs; Osiris the Benef- !
ent!
by him who sleeps at Phila," she {
lid to her heart.
Come, are you ready" asked Bon 9
ale, reappearing.
YES" she answered quietly. slipping
lie figures into her pocket. 9
Ten years later, on Christmas day
gain, a beautiful woman in black
God in the drawing room of her home
Philadelphia before small cabinet.
er eyes were fixed upon something in
Her air was pensive, resigned. pa
uafica LIZ Suroaf as she Stnad there lnSf | 4,