The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1905-09-07


farm horses.
Uncertain they were, stumbling they
were, but for Elspeth they somehow
had the sound of heartbeats.
Down the dusty road, whose purplish
shadows had taken on the tints Of the
blazing sun, loath to set behind the
dark green hills and leave the world
and its people, there came steadily on
ward the two white horses, back Of
them the wagon piled high with hay.
and loftily poised thereon. contentedly
whistling a joyous Dutch roundelay,
Heinrich.
His hat was of, and the great gold
sun sent its mellow rays lovingly slant
wise to light up bis yellow hair.
The big white horses halted. Hem
rich threw back his head with a laugh,
flung the reins to the ground. leaped
lightly down and looked straight into
Elspeth's face with beautiful eyes that
were OF the dark blue color Of corn
flowers.
Il am here" he said.
It seemed nothing strange to Eliza
beth that this son Of the soil, clad In
old garments that had taken to them
selves the restful color of that dust Of
which we are made and to which we
must return, should say to her with
something the regal air Of one accus-
toned to command, who having ar
rived must be served with haste. II
am here"
She FASTENED to serve him, for was
she not the maid Of the dining room.
the servant girl?
There were times when she won-
dered II it could be true that she had
ever been anything else.
His dinner was over. The dishes
were washed and put shiningly away
in the tall china closet, and Heinrich,
lighting his pipe, had whistled to the
dog and gone on down the twilit road.
leaving the world for the moment Z
little lonelier for Elizabeth.
Frau Weisenbe-ger had also disap-
peared. She no longer called to her In
her hurrying Dutch voice: "Elspeth,
Elspeth. Do this! Do that! So II
happened that she had this breathing
shadowy space between twilight and
dark to sit and dream.
She sat on the step Of the old back
porch In wreath Of vines, rested her
elbows on her knees. her chin in her
hands, and looked out on the beautiful
world.
The red sun, dying. had left the twi-
light softly tinged with delicate pur-
pie. A streak Of orange cut the dark
OF the hills from the sky. Past the
range of the prim old garden, sweet
with marsh marigolds and bachelor :
buttons, set out with Dutch precision
with rows Of peas, potatoes, lettuce
and butter beans, there showed
glimpse of meadow shadowy with
daisies, ghosts OF daisies lifting star
like faces to star sprinkled sky.
The firefies twinkied among these
daisies, now here, now there. now scat
tered, now swarming.
Beyond the meadow was the apple
orchard with It's rows Of great. green
rounded heads, giant heads. belonging
apparently to Invisible bodies Of buries
giants.
There were the chirp of crickets, tn
croak of tired frogs and the peep o
birds getting ready to 60 to sleep.
Peace pulsated.
Elspeth no longer troubled to thinl
out the problem Of her life. She mere
!, ly lived 1t.
. Formerly she had suffered frou
. brain fag. 1t no longer troubled hes
After the heightened summer day o
work under the tireless commands Q
, | Frau Weisenberger the brain reste
. right willingly, too tired to think.
, And, after all, was that not best
{ work through the long. long day, to tir
/. oneself into sleeping well that dream
; less sleep that knits up the ravele
; sleeves, then wake again and work?
| At first she had rebelled against TIL
i scheme Of fate which seemed dete
{ mined to lose her the prestige she owe
: to the power Of the brain, prestie
r which classed her with the only ari
e tocracy Of our republic, the aristocrac
J. Of brains Then she had said to herse
/ that the world Is wheel which In !
d turning brings one ever back to one
q native level, that great families soon'
d or later degenerate Into ordinary far
d lilies, then through the unwonted br
liancy Of some son Of genius once mo-
n arise.
= Originally she was the daughter
Y pioneers who were sons Of the soil.
d was time. then. that she. too. return
e the soil, and she did 50 ut last wiliin
l. ". II she remained to the end Il
e serving girl of the old Dutch farr
n house, then well and good, but wi
d one proviso-that she serve Heinrich.
Her thoughts returned to him,
l. they ever left him-to the splend
n build of him, to his Dutch stolidit
. through which appeared at times
Is gleam of rare intelligence incompl
y hensible to her, to his broken Engli
II sraught with mistakes which it to-
" some biting Of lip to refrain from &
of recting; but, above ali. to his beaut
n- a beauty to be found, she reasone
only in sons Of the soil unspoiied
L culture, untainted by the vices Of I
n very rich.
"a The star eyed daisies beckoned
I'd
"a her from the meadow: the lampl