The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-29
NEW hooks.
Charity and Hagar, and Their Soldier.


An excellent description OF the Nova
Sootian coast scenery marks the opening
Of Basil Kings story, an the Garden OF
Charity Marper q Brothers). Not a
land OF milk and honey, but stimulate
ing land TO look upon. The reader, II he
Ia OF our mind will have no fault To find
with the garden OF the title, which Is Char
ity Pennlands garden, on the top OF a hill.
A gorgeous spot In sombre surroundings,
dear to the cod fishermen, who could see
1t shining from afar. Delightful even 10
dwell upon the names Of the flowers bleed
ing heart, maHgold, sweet william, Prince
o Wales's feather, columbine, cherry pie,
Jumping betty, crown imperial, love lies
bleeding, peoples, peonles. hollyhocks.
sun flowers, dahlias. sweet peas, roBea.
Charity herself was very fair In her gar
den, pretty woman, only "a, and not look
ing it, with ripping fair hair, good gray
eyes, and ravishing dimples when she
smiled. She was waiting patiently and con-
fdently for the return Of her husband,
William Pennland. the handsome, relocated
soldier, who had been away now for eleven
years, and had not written. One OF the
neighbors had invented an aphorism meant
to be applicable to Charity's case. AS
for this waitin' for soldiers" it ran, its
like tryin TO hatch q china egg. You may
set and set, and never see feather OF
chicken But never doubt had Charity.
Her soldier was too glorious being to dwell
forever in one flower garden. 1t was not
to be expected that he would shine upon
her necessarily, but he would come back
as surely as Ulysses came back to Penelope,
or as Arthur returned from Avalon.
SO 1t was that she was always ready for
him. She never permitted the garden to
languish or the cottage to relax from its
nice order. In her pink cotton frock.
with u pink ribbon in her wide-brimmed
straw hat, and with gardening gloves on
her carefully kept hands, she would look.
as she stood in the sunlight among her
flowers, now back through the cottage door
at the shining coppers and tins, and now
through a spyglass. to see II her returning
William had yet risen above the sea horizon.
This she had been doing cheerfllly for
eleven years; and always broad red flag
flew from the top Of the tall fiagpole on the
hill. to enable William to determine his
exact direction from afar.
And in the last part OF this time Ulysses,
not so very far of, was wondering how he
could get away from Calypso. He had
vanished from the ken OF many Calypsos in
the course of the eleven years, but this
one presented unusual difficulties. Hagar
Levanti, with pansy-purple eyes and Port
uguese and Indian blood making In her
cheeks the color that the maple leaf takes
on in autumn It was not her fault that
she loved William. any more than il was
his fault that he was soldier with the
fatal gift OF beauty. There was Charity
among the flowers. her marriage lines
safely laid away In the cedar chest and
there was Hagar. with William temporarily
In hand Said Jonas Boutilier to Charity:
"You amt exactly lost him, ma'am. II
he've never been married afore he married
you. he's yourn for life. That's the law.
He may stray. but he can't be stolen,
That's the beauty O. husbands at the wor 1t
O. times. They can be borrowed, but
never kept"
Charity tore up her wedding lines, pulled
down the flag and threw her wedding ring
in the air, hoping that hungry gull would
seize it. But that temper was only for a
day For the rest we must refer the reader
to the story itself He will be we'll repaid
A story 80 sltilful and 80 effective does not
often come to hand.