Los Angeles herald., 1905-04-16
BY Harriet Prescott spoHord


ss melancholy as the wind that
sighed in the bare boughs.
"But the light grows stronger" said
Stella, and her voice had that ring
which makes a dark day bright. In
deed, besides that of years the differ
between rallegro and la ensarosa-
the one, dark and pale, but still beau
tiful in the way twilight Is; the other
with eyes blue as April skies and a
smile like April sunshine chased by
tears.
ut Is so much more to endure" said
Mrs. Burton. while It is day one is
awake and suffering; but when IT Is
night one may sleep"
"I don't want to sleep" said Stella,
life. want to be dreaming with my
eyes open about Geoffreys coming
home"
when you know he never will!'
THE sun comes back, the spring
omesback-Geoffrey will come back"
"stella, what strange reasoning!"
"Oh, not reasoning at all just GER
tainty. Mother, mine, what If l had
a telegram saying he would be here
tomorrow
s"You are cruel to Jest so. AS If we
would have a telegram now, when we
haven't heard for years and years!"
4. 1T would take Fine Ears himself to
hear voices from those islands Of the
far seas where you are persuaded the
yacht was cast away But suppose a.
last he had been taken off, had been
brought to these shores, would be with
us presently, only bidding us ask no
questions of the life 1t is so sad to re-
member -
.'"Oh, it would be absurd the way you
talk if it wasn't mockery. You ought
to be crying, you ought to be in the
depths. you ought to be sympathizing
with me If you can't mourn for your
self; you ought to be thinking what he
has suffered and what we have to SUI
fer in all these weary years. What
in the world are you doing, Stella?"
Getting down the cups he brought
home once from the China seas. To-
morrow is Easter, you see," she said.
smiling down from the perch she had
mounted like an angel in picture.
"And we'll make a little festa of it.
Well have the silver out-what is left
of it-and the old cut glass. Ard
nd al
wheat, and scrambled eggs, and but
tered toast, and a rod to crumble fo:
the birds. and waffles and syrup-the
lucent sysup tinct with cinnamon
and coffee made by your old rule
You are out of your head. Why un-
der heaven should we make any feast
in this house of mourning?'
Just because we are under heaven,
little mother And, then, who knows
it will be Easter, the day they rise
from the dead-we may have company
at breakfast"
"Well," said the mother, Il shall go
to bed and leave you to your dreams.
! wish you could dream them, too.
81 wish you would. Don't you see
that l.
Good night. dear child"
Yet, after all, they were strange
dreams with which the younger woman
was left. The whole world just now
was in glory in her mind; but as far
as recollection went it was a sequence
of light and shadow-bright sunshine
ending in black gloom. The sunshine
was that morning in the garden when
she trained the roses and an arm
reached over her and bound them on
the wall; was that noon when to
breathe the air full of the fragrance
of ripened grape and plum was like
drinking some unknown wine, and she
strolled down the garden walks with
Godfrey, the yellow leaves drifting
around their feet and giving a gust of
being too dangerously sweet; the sun
shine was that afternoon when the
thunderstorm came up and they were
hurrying to the house, and a great
bough crashed off the old oak, and
Godfrey with a quick exclamation
sprang to snatch her from it's blow and
caught her in his arms, and she knew
that at last he loved her; the sunshine
was that day year later when they
all walked to the little village church
together, few rods down the lane, her
white veil fiuttering about her. her or
ange flowers making the summer air
a deeper summer still, her hero. her
lover at her side; and as they came
back they paused in the vine-covered
pergola. and heaven could hardly have
a moment more rapturous than that In
which her husband held her in his
arms.
And after that it was all sunshine for
a bewildering, delightful space, and
then on sudden gloom, black gloom,
despair. The horses, the yacht, the
sumptuous life had all vanished. A
man who had been his friend had
robbed Godfrey ptiessly of nearly
every penny of his property. and