The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-18

breeze"
 T almost envy you. my dear" said the elder lady. T went out for a while;
 but I was only in the rock garden and
 in the fir wood. There wasn't a breath
 of air, and the heat seemed to rise out
 of the ground; a damp. moist heat with
 the smell of decaying leaves. It Is cer-t | tainly not cool down here, even in thef | shade of the trees. But hadn't you bet-s
 ter get ready for lunch? It Is just on
 the stroke of two."
 Luncheon was a sore trial. To eat
 at all in her condition of mind was
 a sort of martyrdom.
 | The day wore on for Stephen in torturing obedience to exact routine. ! She dared not change from her usual
 attitude on her way of doing things: she dared not hurry lest haste of any kind should evoke comment or even curiosity. stephen, however, had pass i've as we'll as active courage: she could endure. And at length the long day and evening came to an end. When her maid had =lefts her and she,s-.had completed her toilet for the night she softly locked her door, a thing she had never in her life done before.
 And then, for the first time in all that long. agonizing day, she breathed freely. The. reaction after a little be- gan to trouble her more than the high
  after while there came a third mood, one of stern introspection, of Rhada- mainline self-examination, of merci- less self-reproach. All the spiritual suffering of the day seemed to become Insignificant when compared with the torture which she now endured. Shame seemed to let loose upon her soul all its torments. All the pride of her na-, ture. all the self-suppression of her life. all her high hopes and ambitions seemed to turn to opposing forces to rend her. She could not endure her self Even her own image reflected in her mirror became in a sense loath- some. With an impulse which did not give her time to think she blew out her candles. and for a little while found relief in the dark. For in the room it was now pitch dark.
 Normanstand was i, an old ia shioned house, and ;itssways were sof a past generation. Amongst them was the habit of closing windows and shutters and pulling heavy curtains across.
 The relief of darkness did not last long. Stephen had lain down on the sofa--she could not endure at present the idea of getting into bed; and. as she lay. the darkness itself became quick with fancies. Every torturing event and feeling and thought of the day seemed to take shape. She had not
  was strong. still she was only girl. and the weaknesses of both her sex and her age were against her. Her heart began to beat wildly. She covered with her hands her burning eyes and cheeks. But nothing could shut out the haunting memories of that awful time under the treesr on the hilltop. Again, and again came back to her the shameful moments of waiting for the footsteps that did not come; the agony of trying to utter the shameful words of proposal that despite all her efforts would not come as she intended them.
 How the hours of that night passed | stephen never knew, never could re. | call. Wave after wave of despair, of | shame. of apprehension seemed to roll | over her, each leaving her in a poorer | condition to battle with the coming one. 1 At last she could bear the darkness | no longer. She sprang from the sofa, | and going over to the window raised | the blind and looked out. There was a | monentary cessation of pain; the mere | beauty and peacefulness of the scene | was spiritual anodyne. The soft light | of the high-hung moon bathed the | spreading lawn and garden in a silver | glory. The woods beyond rose, an un- dulating sea of greenery whose outline was broken here and there by the | spreading branches of some tree more stately than his fellows. The, leaves, moving in the high exposure where the night wind had full play, seemed as though here the light was of gold. Her eyes uneonsciously followed the outline of the woods, till they lit on the high line of Caesar Hill.
 As her eyes took in the spot. she shuddered as though she had touched something loathly. Letting the blind slip back into it's place, she stood still and silent as though waiting for some new, overwhelming. irresistible terror to assail her.
 How long she stood there she knew not. By slow degrees she became con- scious that the easements were being lined with streaks of grey; the more penetrattve light of the day was upon tary pipe. of some bird 9Tnore eager or alert than its fellows; then more pip Ing. till the woods became awake with clangour. and the myriad sounds of the coming day became merged in the hum of the dawn.
 With a great effort Stephen regained her self-control. She felt that she n any unusual condition. A new day was before her, and she would need Ill her courage and all her ability to lace 1t. She must school herself to he obedience to the routine which had ,een her external habit. for here only ay security from .prying eyes. She would have given worlds to have been Lble to weep; but this solace was de- lied her. Her burning eyes might weep blood. but not tears. In dazed fash on she unlocked her door and got nto bed There for hours she lay waiting, waiting for the day. and what t might bring forth. Mechanically she saw things change The windows became sharper and harper oblongs; the darkness of the oon turned to silvery grey through which familiar objects, one by one. wan into view. Then the silver be- anne gold. and there was a red tinge round the. easement edges. The day lad come. ~t- Breakfast went on in its usual curse. When finally her release came she trolled out into a beech grove, some ittle distance from the house, which rom her childhood had been a favorite launt of hers. When she had reached ts shade she felt at last she was lone.
 AETER