The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-01-20

Q the altar. where he would kne.l to-

Udf -kl<lTcQ uSuXe III q i1.2c GOV II VIII a
pink band across the hem,
Hayden CROPPED with his hand, and
ciutching a pew door closed his eyes II
a despairins faintness. His bondage was
10 be relentless. When he loxed again
the figure was gone. Theg iris at the
pillar had turned from their work to
speak to another. Unseen in his misery,
Hayden tsoie out ct the porch. stunned
and cold in the sunshine
Hayden never forgot the night which
followed. as he lay. unnerved ard hope
less. waiting for his wedding cay. and
facing in all their details the TWO years
past and the many years to come, from
the day when he had played summers
game with the heart Of a girl. to I'll the
days when he should live close to the
girl he loved, and feel himself a muir
derer.
It was foolish. it was wrong, he argued.
TO count himself so biameworshy. But
ne had no choice. Kate Moon Insisted.
Toward morning he began to take a
more ordinary view OF the matter. This
was his wedding day. sunny. happy. glo-
rieus. He had been in an excited. unnat-
uraI state of mind yesterday He had
srooded so long that his remo-se was
abnormal. He had thought and grieyed
so much that the poor drowned girls
form was on the retina OF his eye. 1t
had been Authorization.
He threw of his hateful night thoughts
and prepared to meet his bride
The prettiest wedding the village had
ever seen" the people said afterward.
Thee hurch was a bower OF trailing green
and summer blossoms. The pews were
packed and a subdued buzz OF comment
played about Haydens ears as h. waited.
He had not allowed himself much time
to Kill; but, supported By his best man.
he took his place about Eve minutes be-
fore the bride was expected. His heart
was lighter than it had been for months.
He determined to throw of useless self
reproaches and do his best in the future
After the first moments of nervousness
her aised his eyes and looked down the
church The hrishtly-colored crowd was
an undistinguishat bic whole to him; but ct
the end Of the aisle was a shaft of bril-
liant light; K streamed through the porch.
and into and through It walked a double
line of beauty. They came on in the sun
shine and halted til the end of tie lines
was insiie the door; then they wisened
the space between them and lined the
lower half of the little aisle.
Hayden gazed at them with tender
pleasure and admiration. Her bride
maids he thought, SYPHILIS Bridesmaids
and re smiled
The srniie on Hayden's face snapped of
. sud IL
features became stiff and ashea-celored:
q roar seemed to be filing the church
ard hurting his brain, the building itself
heaved about him.
But the time on which his eye had first
srsl-iingly rested stood motion!ess. She
stood neareststo him, as first briaemaid.
her back slightly turned. a drooping hat
almost hid her features, but she was
oark-hairad and splendiGly poi-ed. ard
her gown was OF lilac with q pink band
about the hem, Lilac. among the white
gowns beside her,
This time Hayden could not close his
eyes; some power held them wide and
staring
The lilac color seemed to deepen under
MS horror. the pink bard glowed as if it
were living fire
My God"' he uttered hoarssly "Oh.
my Cod
Then he felt a hand grip his arm
firmly. Keep up. old man. she's coming
some one said
Then hush, then a stir filed the
church. and between the waiting bride
raids, shutting from his sight that ter
r.fyirg form. came Syb:l toward him:
and chilled, horror-alied, as one in a
dream he stepped to meet her
Tell her, j say-tell her was Il,
his ears as the marriage service besan.
strange VOW mingled with Hayden's
marriage vows. Tel here II Will" II
VOW IT."
On his wedding day he would tel her.
II it was an awful story to him. what
would It be to her. blaaeless and unsus-
pect.ng. But h would tell her ana abide
by the consequences.
go he told her
There was no lilac gown among the
hrieemaids surrounding Ter when he took
her away. He<could see TO one Ike Kate
Noon. But he told SybT all the story as
they drove toward their new life; and she
listened with flushed, averted cheek
Butw hen he had finished. and 4 mo-
ment's silence like a concrete block of
despair had followed. she turned to Kin,
snd wept upon his shoulder And How
you must both have suffered were her
first sohbing words But because she was
frightened by ths new suffering the tell
ing of the tale had cost him she did not
say that she haa known the story all
along, and that the silence had been az
an avensiag ghost Between them.
One day. long after, when HAYDEN and
his wife strclled into tic old church, he
noticed curious thing
Sybil had walked toward the chancel
while Hayden halted by the aoe- ard as
she stood a moment in the aisle ne saw
her white gown turn TO laac in tire sun
light. ard a band OF rose-ccior fsl across
the hem.
For moment th~b lood flushed into his
face. and all the Rliseratle past rose be-
fore him.
Then. IS he Looked sybn moved for
ward ard her Soxn was white again
snS again as she moved it was spIashed
with eclor.
Then. in swit. enlightenment. he looked
Up at the famous Widowed story OF Jos
eth and lie understood
IL was all fer the best. though" he
said to himself at last; and in rnutter-
able relief he followed his wife. ard stood
again beside her before the altsr.-Lil:ar
oGiilsr-Ceuch in Black and White. Lon
den
REMARKABLE FEASTiNG.
When a dinner was recently given in
Sfr-a y,ore IN hoos- % ~ ,e+,-t>~ 49,