The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-29

esis to Leonore's. What Leonore vain ly sought in passionate excitement, he sought in study and solitude. and he sought equally in vain All the days matter all the nights as well, save whenIhe slept. He lived in his endless
 gloom. as the Prisoner of Chiffon might have lived The whole world was open to his feet, yet his blindness shut out
 everything like a prison wall He
 sought forgetfulness in the silence and found 1t not. Ana during that year he devoted vast
 sums of money to charity, but he was
 much hampered by his infirmity. and
 most of that real work which consti-
 tutes true philanthropy had to be lett
 in. the hands of his secretary. He tried to take an interest in the sorrows
 and necessities of others. but was only
 partially successful They seemed too
 far away from him, scarcely more than
 characters in some book, unreal phan-
 toms that cried out for help. He gave t freely, but he took only passing In
 terest in either his gifts or the recip-
 ients of them.
 He needed much to occupy his mind in those days of darkness, and he
 sought distraction in a thousand ways.
 He was a man who had read little. For
 during most of his life he had been
 generally too tired out with physical exertion to care for anything but nov-, els. Now. however, he set to work to cultivate his intellect. and he employed an educated man to read aloud and dis cuss works of real importance, books that required thought and careful study He listened to a long course of philosophical works, from Plato to Nietzche, but found no comfort in any of them.
 Laura Tankerlane. after that one z.n H-4 IA G~a. F~aE Esx~~w wxA to her good works and her religion and during that year many hundreds of people shad good reason to bless her name She was, indeed, the true Lady Bountiful type rare enough in these days, when most of the great ladies are so occupied with bridge and golf and the claims of society," that they have barely time to look after their own children, and certainly no time to spare for the children of others. Through all the wide area of the Tankerlane es- tates she passed like an angel with wings of light. The sick child, the surly laborer. the peevish housewife, the drunken thief of a gipsy all found friend alike in the beautiful Lady Tankerlans.
 No act of kindness was too trivial for her personal attention. no costly scheme of charity too great for her personal supervision. She had known deep sorrow, and could help others in their grief. She had known tempta- ton, and could help her frail sisters to fight against it. She had known love, and she could detect and cherish the spark of it in the hardest human heart.
 And of all the three who were try- ing to forget. she alone found some comfort in her work, and came nearest to happiness But she bore the marks of suffering on her white face. and her IL .-mA 4n<A 4anN Ia rough life. It was the opinion of the countryside that she was not destined to live to old age
 "'Tis the sperrit," said one old farm CT, "'tis the blessed sperrit within her as burns away the flesh. God bless her and bring back the roses to her cheek. I'm thinkin' she's frettin' away"
 He was not farN from the truth. Laura Tankerlane's health was break ing down under the strain. She had thrust all thought of John Shil aside, but the struggle had wounded her to the heart. The outward calm only concealed a fierce unrest, which prompted her to toll day and night for the good of others Like Leonore, who had flung all her soul into her art, she had flung all her soul into religion and charity But whereas. the one found no distraction in the delirious tri- umphs of the stage, the other found such peace as proceeds from the con- sciousness of good deeds. Yet this peace was won at the expense of her bodily strength, for the religious ex- eftement which had destroyed all earth ly passions. had proved too fierce for a constitution that had already been weakened by severe illness.
 Her attitude towards her husband had changed considerably during the past year. She no longer shrank from him. or showed any signs of resent | ment at his efforts to make her love | him. She treated him with kindness, | and even with respect. Tn the midst of l the various duties which she had i'm l posed on herself. she never forgot | those little details of domestic lite | which might ensure his comfort, But | there was a barrier between them | which nothing could ever break down. i It was invisible to the eyes of others, | but as solid as the wall of ice that ] cuts off the Antarctic Land from all | explorers. He tried to make love to | her, and she did not even rebuke him. She only listened in silence, and the | words died away on his lips single | glance at her face was enough to con vince him that she had placed herself | beyond the reach of all earthly pas- sions. and that Religion itself had set | a trench around her which he could | would start with a few passionate words of love and entreaty. Then he would pause and hesitate, stammer out | a few more words, and give up the task. Yet he never reproached her. He | took his punishment like man.
 (C0ntinued TOmOrrOw1