Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-12

and was appealing to it. II 1t was about
Stephen! II her disquiet was about her:
then God bless her! He would be patient
and grateful. The Quakers voice seemed
to come through his thought, as though
she had continued speaking while he had
paused:
I'VE have all our own secrets. / have
had mine: and l doubt not that thou
Stephen hath hers! May 1 speak to thee
OF her?'
II shall be proud! Oh! madam. thank
you with all my heart for your sweet
feel: for she has always been very dear
to met! In the pause before she spoke
again the beating Of his own heart
seemed to re-echo the quick sounds OF
prised at the method Of her speech when
1t did come: for she forgot her Quaker
idiom. and spoke in the phrasing Of her
youth:
DO you love her still?"
with all my soul! More than ever!'
'Then. God be thanked: for 1t Is in your
power to do much good. To rescue a
poor. human. Hrieving soul from de-
spair! Her words conveyed joy greater
than she knew. Harold did not himself
sounds that seemed to answer every
doubt Of his life. He felt. understood.
with that understanding which Is quicker
than thought. The Silver Lady went on
INV Will n IUSu.
"See. have trusted you indeed! have
given away another woman's secret: but
I do 1t without fear. l can see that you
also are troubled. and when / look back
on my own life and remember the trou-
bic that sent me out Of the world, lone
ly recluse here in this spot far from the
stress Of life. rejoice that any act of
mine can save such another tragedy as
my own. I see that need not go into
detail. You know that 1 am speaking
fPlffh II 1ofnro mo IN horOfc-
ally on this new scene that she told me
her secret. At a time when nothing was
known of you except that you had disap-
peared. When she laid bare her poor
wise that for an instant.I feared that 1t
was a murder which she had committed.
Indeed she called 1t so! You understand
that I know all your secret: all her part
in It at least. And I know that you
you. 1 see it in your eyes; your brave.
true eyes! Go, and the Lord be with
thee!" Her accustomed idiom had re-
turned with prayer. She turned her head
away, and. standing up. leaned against
hand and said. simply:
God bless you! I shall come back to
thank you either tonight or tomorrow.
and hope that she will be with me-
He went quickly out Of the room The
woman stood for long looking out of the
window. and following with tear-dimmed
eyes the movement of his great black
horse as he swept across country straight
as the crow flies. toward the headland
whittier Stephen had gone.
Stephen passed over the wide expanse
without thought: certainly without MEM
DRY OF 1t. Never In her after-life could
she recall any thought that had passed
through her mind from the time she left
the open gate Of the windmill yard till
she pulled up her smok ng. painting
horse beside the ruin of the fishers house.
All the mechanical part of her brain
worked. of course. as usual; and her
horse knew. as ever. her guiding hand in
her mad gallop. and went fearlessly, as
though his rider and he were one.
There are such times in the lives of
passionate natures. though they come but
seldom. Lacunae in the scrip Of time;
when the individual IL oblit Grated: when
the Unseen Power holds the scales of
happiness. To have passed such an
epoch Is to have lived. and not In vain.