Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-08


down the high chair from the garrett"
Lucy changed it for me-, SAID ms
wife. pa!lidly smiling Children nova
days are not brought up so badly as we
been up at 10 o'clock in his whole life,
and should not begin now"
Il helped her put him in the crib.
softly said Lora. the one-time big sister,
who had done that service for them all.
He looked SO cute in his little feety
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS., he reminded me so
much of Rod at the same age.
Il was going to say" broke in George
eagerly-.do you remember that night
when Rod was little chap and was put
to bed the same way when party
was going on-your coming-out party
'Oh. yes. 1 should think do remem-
Der! He ran down these very back
STAIRS pointing to the door communi-
eating with the rear passageway, Kitchen
and all humber regions-'with his little
quilt wrapped about him. and came right
in among the people and asked for some
ice cream, saying The smell of things to
eat always woke him up Dear boy! he
was always such quaint baby and
never shy.''
ITS of no use.'' said Philip in an TN
dertone. as Lucy bit her lip. They can't
we can't talk of anything else. And why
should we? 1t seems to make him less
less gone from US. And really, every one
seems more cheerful, and the whole at
fair less of trial. than l had expected
-
It was true. As, after the constraint OF
the first few minutes, the conversation
became more and more natural. 1t be-
came, by very reason of its naturalness,
fuller and fuller of Rod. How could it be
otherwise. when the undercurrent of every
mind was, "Oh, that he we're here with
us!' when. with the warp and woof of
every intimate recollection, every reminis-
cence or allus.on. was woven the thread
of his life? Never, perhaps at any time
had they spoken of him SO fully and UNI
reservedy; never during his life with
such tenderness; never since his death
with less poignancy of grief. quiet
ness of spirit fell upon them as they sat-
sense Of touch with all the businesses OF
the universe, beside which both life and
death are but incidents. Lucy forgot TO
be practical, and joined quite simply ana
gently the general trend of the tax. Inc
men spoke without awkwardness out OF
their deeper natures-a hard thing for
men at most times. The dullest of them
We're conscious of an atmosphere they
did not always breathe The very serV-
ant. O'Neill, who had carried so many
OF them in his arms in bygone Christmas
times, stepped softly around the table
in his deft ministrations to their wants
as though something precious lay under
foot which might be broken. Only the
judge among them sat taciturn, his
troubled eyes half bitterly following each
speaker who SO easily named the name
Mothers a marvel" whispered Kate
to her husband. Look at her face.
Mother dear, are you ill?'
She had sunk back in her chair. white
to her tremulous lips. her thin hands with
their thin pale rings tightly pressed to-
gether. her light body quivering in its
black sheathng as with the shock of
some sudden uncommunicable emotion.
cd ArOnnpd nafhetlc
shriveled lily-petals over the worn blue
eyes, Speech seemed to be an impossible
ity for her. AT their anxious Inquiries
she feebly shock her head. and Miriam,
more peremptorily, shook hers. and. rec
ognizing that 1t was better to leave her
unnoticed, they scrupulously withdrew
their attention. Then. and only then. she
shyly. almost stealthily, lifted her eyes.
and flashed a startled and startling glance
past all the others to her husband.
~
Not faded, for that moment: deep lu-
minous with some mysterious exaltation
he could not share, electric with some
tremendous revelation, some message of
the souls telegraphy he could not COM
prehend. imperatively demanding SYM
patty he could not give, they held his
for one eager. supplcating moment. He
looked at her Observation-Disclosures
do you not understand" she wistfully
asked, in all but speech; and, wistfully,
in all but speech he replied. What
should ! underestimate"
The glow dimned a little, and half
timidly she looked at Miriam. One glance
only-and they both dropped their con-
scious eyes. scarce daring to let them
meet again; but each knew the other
knew. The mother bent her head to hide
the light in her face: Miriam had turned
with her calm smile to answer some ques-
ton of Philips. when beneath the table
she felt her bare arm grasped by young
cold hand.
Annals wide awed child eyes were star
ing into her own. Back they turned to
the next seat but one. and then. dilated
with joyful amaze. returned to Miriam's
Her breath seemed afraid to pass her
soft, parted, still babyish lips. Had these
opened to speak. had her shaking hand
pointed, her meaning could not have been
more clear. Gently. half-warningly, Mir
lam returned the pressure of her hand.
shoulder But now Mriam's heart was
beating in a wild. whirring way.
THE pure in heart. the pure in heart."
she thought. exultantly. They are not
mistaken, they are not morbid and un-
trustworthy, as might be said of mother
and me. But If only some Of the
others! some of the men then
1 would know it was no dream .
though 1 know it anyway
Her piercing glance swept the table,
beginning with the judge whose BROOD
ing eyes she found already fixed on hers
in grave, puzzled scrutiny. With little
sigh she turned from him. But the other
faces told her nothing. Philips was bent
low over his plate. Georges was averted
from her. as he talked to his wife in un-
wontedly low tones. The same spell
seemed to have fallen on all their voices
Nir;o NV thofr
-Lucy's metallic accents. the mems gruf-
fer bass-seemed involuntariy to take it's
note from her hushed. emotion-thrlled
tones, dropping softer. tenderer, as
though all whom they addressed were sick
persons or were very young: until. by
gradual degrees they dropped inaudble,
and the conversation grew less and final
ly the last voice died-and yet none SEEM
ed to think 1t strange that they should sit
there at meat, and not be eating; family
assembled, and yet without desire to
speak. Yet 1t was not constraint that
held them, so much as an exaltation.
Still the judge sat in silence that was
not their silence. His watchfulness marx
ed how they turned their gaze to the seat
that had been called vacant as though it
were the torch at which they lit their
eyes.
OF sudden Sylvester. Hates husband
let fall the knife, with which he had been
unconsciously playing, upon his plate with
a clatter. The judge started. almost ir-
ritably. Sylvester. something Of his fresh
color lost exchanged a significant. swift
half-furtive glance with Philip which set
Miriam's heart whirring again. The