The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-05-01

nlty, py the hint of hidden significance
in these words.
is he dying now?" I cried.
He ought to detach his thoughts
from this earth; and if there is no
other way"
What way? What am expected
to do?"
My son, had observed your emo
tlon. We, the appointed confidants Of
mems frailties, are quick to discern the
signs of their innermost feelings. Let
me tell you that my cherished daughter
in God, Senorita Dona Seraphina Riego,
is with Don Carlos, the virtual head of
the family, since his excellency, Don
Balthasar is in a state of, / may say,
infantile innocence"
What do you mean, father?" fall
tered.
"She Is waiting for you with him."
he pronounced, looking up. And as
his solemnity seemed to have deprived
me of my power to move, he added,
with his ordinary simplicity, why, my
son, she is, l may say, not wholly in
different to your person.
/ could not have dropped more sud-
denly into the chair had the good
padre discharged a pistol into my
breast. He went away; and when I
leapt up, / saw young man in black
velvet and white ruffles staring at me
out of the large mirror set frameless
into the wall, like the apparition of a
Spanish ghost with my own English
face.
When / ran out the moon had sunk
below the ridge of the roof; the whole
quadrangle of the Casa had turned
black under the stars, with only a
yellow glimmer of light falling into
the well Of the court from the lamp
under the vaulted gateway. Two tiny
flames burned before Carlos door at
the end of the long vista, and two of
Seraphinas maids shrank away from
the great mahogany panels at my ap-
proach. The candlesticks trembled
askew in their hands; the wax gut
tered down, and the taller of the two
girls, with an uncovered long neck,
gazed at me out of big sleepy eyes in
sort of dumb wonder. The. teeth of
the plump little one-La Chica-rat-
tied violently like castanets. She
moved aside with a hysterical little
laugh, and glanced upwards at me.
l stopped as if I had intruded; of
all the persons in the sick room, not
one turned head. The Stiffness of
the lights, of things, of the air, seemed
to have passed into Seraphina's face
She stood with a stiff carriage under
the heavy hanging Of the bed, looking
very Spanish and romantic in her
short black skirt, a black lace shawl
her arms. as low as the waist. Her
bare feet, thrust into high heeled slip
pers, lent to her presence an air of
hight, as If she had run into that room
In distress or fear. Carlos, sitting UP
amongst the snowy pillows Of elder
down at his back, was not speaking to
her. He had done; and the flush on
his cheek, the eager luster of his eyes,
gave him an appearance of anima ton,
almost Of JOY, sort of consuming
hame-like brilliance. They were wait
ing for me.
Seraphina's unstirring head was
lighted strongly by a two-branched
sconce on the wall; and when / stood
by her side, not even the shadow of
the eyelashes on her cheek trembled.
Carlos lips moved; his voice was al
most extinct; but for all his emacia-
ton, the prOfundity of his eyes. the
sunken cheeks. the hollow temples, he
remained attractive, with the charm of
his gallant and romantic temper worn
away to an almost unearthly fineness.
He was going to have his desire be-
cause, on the threshold of his spiritual
inheritance, he refused, or was unable,
to turn his gaze away from this world.
rather Antonio's business was to save
this soul; and with q sort of simple
and sacerdotal shrewdness, in which
there was much love for his most noble
penitent, he would try to appease its
trouble by romantic satisfaction. His
voice, very grave and profound, ad-
dressed me:
Approach, my Son-nearer. We trust
the naturel feelings of pity which are
implanted in every human breast the
nobility Of your extraction, the honor
of your hidalguidad, and that mex
tnguishable courage which, as by the
unwearied mercy of God, DISTINGUISHES
the nf fnyrfITnofo
py nation" His bass voice, >deepened
in solemn utterance. vibrated huskily.
There was rustic dignity in his I'M
couth form, in his broad face. in the
gesture of the raised hand. "You shall
promise to respect the dictates Of our
conscience, guided by the authority Of
our faith; to defer to our Scruples, and
to the procedure of our church in mat
ters which we believe touch the welfare
of our souls. You promise q"
He waited. Carlos eyes burned
darkly on my face. What were they
asking of me? This was nothing. Of
course / would respect her scruples-
her scruples-if my heart should break.
She had already all the devotion of my
love and youth: the unreasoning and
potent devotion. without a thought or
hope of reward. was almost ashamed
to pronounce the words they expected.
II promise"
And suddenly the meaning pervading
this scene, something that was in my
mind already, and that / had hardly
dared to look at till now, became clear
to me in its awful futility against the
dangers, in all its remote consequences.
1t was a betrothaL The priest-Carlos,
too-must have known that it had no
binding power. To Carlos it was SYM
bolic of his wishes. Father Antonio
was thinking of the papal dispensation.
/ was a hereto. What If it were re-
fused? But what was that risk to me.
who had never dared to hope? More
over, they had brought her there, had
persuaded her; she had been influenced
by her fears, impressed by Carlos.
What could she care for me? And / re-
peated:
II promise. 1 promise, even at the
cost of suffering and unhappiness,
never to demand anything from her
against her conscience"
Carlos voice sounded weak. II
answered for him, good father" Then
he seemed to wander in q whisper,
which we two caught family, He re-
sembleS his sister. o Divine
And on this ghostly sigh, on this
breath, with the feeble click of beads
In the nuns hands, a silence fell upon
the room.
Seraphina had given me a quick
glance-the first glance-which / had
rather felt than seen. Carlos made an
effort, and, raising himself, put her
hand in mine.
Father Antonio, trying to pronounce
a short aIlocrti0n hrolro doxryy, r,a;x,a