The San Francisco call., 1905-04-16
CHAPTER xxx.
The Peace OF Padre SomaIian.

The Peace OF Padre SomaIian.
All night Gordon's gondola 1oated
over the dark lagoon. All night the
star-silvered dip of the oar broke into
ripples the CLASSY surface. All night
Gordon sat silent gazing out across
the low islands that barred the sea.
Something had touched his life
which. sooner met, might have made
existence a boon. A woman's soul had
reused him-but only to- a rayless
memory of what burned and ranked,
as the touch of hand wakes pris-
Oner from nightly lethargy to sense
IF bolt and chain.
Lines from his poem which she
loved-which had called forth her
prayer-recurred to him:
\ light broke in upon my BRAIN
II was the carol of q bird:
Il ceased. and then it came again,
The sweetest song ear ever heard;
And mine wss thankful till my eyes
Ran over with the glad surprise,
And they that moment could not see
/ was the mate Of misery;
But then by duh degrees came back
Ny senses TO their wonted track.
/ the dungeon walls and moor
Close slowly round me as before.
so she had come and gone. and his
hands touched only walls of a6amant,
his ears heard only an echo rolling
across blank infnitiesi
The moon sank. The great, linked
lamps of the heavens burned brighter,
faded at length, and a breath Of sea-
breeze. harbinger Of the dawn, struck
coldly on his cheek. Night became
soft twilight, twilight grew to warm
amethyst. Little milky clouds dappled
the zenith. slowly suffused by d flush
Of rose that grew to vivid splendor
gray-streaked, as the suns climbing
edge touched the humid horizon.
The occupant of the gondola stirred
IL. n
full of mewing swallows, and a sandy
island lay before him from which rose
clumps Of foliage and the dim outlines
of brown stone walls, gilded by the
growing light. The gondolier's voice
broke the long silence:
1t is the Armenian monastery Of
Saint Lazarus, Excellence"
The island lay Tapped in quiet Not
q sound or movement intrenchsd upon
its peace. Only the swallows circled
shrilly about slim bell-towers, lifting
like fingers pointing silently. A mar
row causeWay through an encircling
dixie led to the wharf, and beyond, by
a gate, to an orchard where gnarled
fruit trees shifted the salt air. From
a chimney at one side q strand OF
smoke sheered slenderly.
Gordon drew a long breath. "Put
me ashore he said.
The gondola shot alongside the tiny
wharf, and he stepped on it's stone
flags. He stood silent a moment, feel
ing the calm upon him like a tangible
hand. Far to the north, half a
leagues distance, glowing through the
blush winter haze, shone the towers
and oomes Of Venice. a city of white
and violet, vague and unsubstantiaI as
a dream, a field of iris painted upon a
cloud
Go back to the city"
The servant was startled. "And
leave you. Excellence? ?"
Yes. shall send when 1 need you"
The boatman leaned anxiously on
his oar. When they question. Excel
lence?"
Tell no one but Fletcher where 1
am. Say 20 him it is my wish that he
shall not leave the palazzo.''
He watched the gondola glide away
over the Tightening waters. till il was
only a spot on the dimpling lagoon.
He took a black phial from his pocket
and threw it far out into the water.
Then he turned his gaze and walked
up the wharf toward the monastery,
still soundless and asleep.
At the corner of the seaWall. the
stone had been followed with the
chisel into a niche, in which, 1t face
turned seaward, stood a small leaden
image of the Virgin. He noted II Gu
riously, with the same sensation of the
unartificial he had felt at sight of the
wooden shrine at La Mira And yet
with all its primitive simplicity, what
a chasm between such a concrete en-
bodiment of a personal guardianship
and that sgnostic altar his youth had
erected ito the unknown Cod"
He looked UP and saw figure near
him.
A man Of venerable look stood there,
bareheaded, with a wide gray beard
which swept upon his coarse dark
robe. HIS eyes were deep and pleas
ant and his countenance spiritual,
gracious and reserved. An open gate
in the wall showed the way he had
come.
For a moment neither spoke. The
lucent gaze confronting him seemed to
Gordon to possess a strange familiar
atys 1t was the same expression Of un-