The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-11-06

SHS g. oh eioS ioiihhiS I'm Wy az tHI &
tides and winds too boldly to have the serene beauty of
the Mediterranean towns; and the discordant clang of
business life breaks early into the soft hymn of dawn.
But these two, young husband and wife, had caught
the invitation from the spirit of the outer world while
Morning was just shaking herself awake. In pleased
excitement with the unusual, they had stopped an
empty t%rolley-car bound for out-of-town fields.
People are still human at five O'Clock" whispered
Mrs. May, as they exchanged good-mornings and
happy explanations on the fairness of the day with
motorman and conductor.
And now they were in a great field of tall grass
reaching down to the wind-ruf1ed waters of Lake
MERGED.
"Oh, the poppies and lupines!' cried Mrs. May.
ut seems as though a new sky and sunshine were
pushing themselves up through the earth"
Spring had painted the field with great splashes
of orange-colored peoples and deep-blue lupines; and
youth and happiness had colored the wife's face
rosy and her eyes a glowing blue like the lupines.
She was straight and slim. and as fresh as the dewy
morning. Her husband, though only a few years
older, matched her impusiveness with a quiet reserve.
He had the slightly STOPPING shoulders, the near
sighted eyes and the high forehead of a scholar. His
pocket bulged with a packet that one guessed to be a
book.
But flowers make us all into children. and they
began at once, as people will, to gather the beautiful
things, and to wish they had brought baskets that
they might carry more of the country home to the
little flat. Mrs. May plucked the flowers with long
stems, and uttered a little cry of dismay when she
saw her husband breaking off the stalks close to the
flower heads. She held a waving bit of the field in
her arms. and he a little, cramped bunch of close
cropped blossoms. But a second thought checked
the remonstrance on her lips. She flew to her hus-
band. and impetuously kissed his hand and the flowers
together.
My dear, dear, stupid professor she cried, her
face glowing with happiness and her voice trimming
with love. Isn't it nice to be married. SO we can
come out here alone in the early morning? We are
King and Queen of the whole world!'
AS she left his side she saw his bulging pocket. and
a rueful look clouded her face. He wondered why
Oh. IRON hacIy h, III. oatberipu Of Hourarr co aooarIv
Ethel, dear, don't you think we have gathered
all we can take home?' he asked.
"Oh, mol" she answered gaily. Il can carry a lot
more. Besides, l like to go on gathering them, even
if | throw them away. | guess I'm like Rockefeller
and Carnegie and the other men who keep on making
money even when they have more than they can
spend" She was ~recklessly ~plucking fresh flowers
and scattering the old ones while she talked.
Mr.. May looked at her through puzzled glasses.
He was learning that his wife had many strange moods
"a surprise and something of a shock to his own
even nature. He knew now that she was making
time; otherwise. why all this talk on such distant
subjects as plutocrats? But student though he was,
he OWNED no connection between her mood and the
book in his side-pocket.
They were near a sunny fence-corner. where a
bank of dry grass was saved from the morning breeze
by a clump of eucalyptus trees.
Come, dear; lets sit down"
She came like a reluctant child, the corners of her
mouth drawn into a pretty pout. He took the volume
of Browning from his pocket and opened its pages
lovingly. His near-sighted eyes became luminous
with intellectual joy.
"Oh, Harry she exclaimed. my shoes are out
rageously wet! wonder if ii will hurt patent leather
He paid no heed to her fippant remark. She
could not jump up, for his hand held hers closely.
This was the way he delighted to read Browning
the woman he loved by his side, and the spirit of the
great man he loved speaking to him from the book.
WHO will. may hear Sordello's story told:
His story, Who believes me shall behold
The man, pursue his fortunes to the end.
Like me"