Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1910-12-28

the old instrument, the young girl re- sembled the statue of Melancholy. The light of the lamp illumined her classic profile and blond hair: her eyes pre- sented peculiar appearance as if they were covered by q veil; she seemed to be blind; in her attitude and features there were tokens of sorrow and resig- nation, but in the light of her forehead faith and hope shone with rays of di- vine purity and sweetness. All the sur roundings of this young couple betok ened poverty, even misery, but mis- cry bravely borne, a life of toll marked by decency and pride
 "Yes, I remember" said the young man. "It was on Christmas eve, on that adventure, an adventure that would bring pitiful smile to the face of any but a poor person, and yet I cherish and bless it because it brought a ray of sunshine into the dark shad ows of your life Tell me once more, dear Alice, the story of your adven ture. l love to hear you in the deep silence of the night relate the story in your slow and gentle voice, which seems to come from above, while your fingers lightly caress the keys of your old friend.'
 She resumed her place before the in strument and dreamily played few chords
 "Oh, yes" she said, "that was a di- xyiy,o 1o1r nothing of it but this one air, but that simple air is as broad as the winter sky and as deep as the ocean. Every time 1 play it the whole scene returns to my memory. You remember, Fritz, you had taken me that night to Aunt Gertrude, who was very i'll in her little attic in the Platz Roemer, and as you had some work to finish you left me there for several hours Sitting at the side of the invalids cot, I could hear her breathing, and, although I could not see her. imagined the appearance of her poor face. yellow. wrinkled and emaciated by age, privation. illness and suffering. A profound silence reigned around me. My habitual darkness ap- peared to be deeper, heavier and more cruel than before, and I trembled as 1 thought how sad and burdensome this life was to the poor and unfor- tunate such as I.
 Suddenly some one began to play a piano in an adjoining room. The mu. sic commenced with a soft prelude like the beating of a birds wings in the distance or the approach of a cohort of angels, and as the rhythm expanded and increased I imagined I saw the seraphim, all white and dazzling, de scending from the stars and illumining the darkness that surrounded me Then l was seized and inundated by an overwhelming harmony which open. cd to me the gates of paradise. Ah how can 1 express the torrent of in- effable sensations and delicious pleas ures that submerged my senses in those enraptured moments! Inspired by the wonderful notes that were ere ated by the fingers of that magician, ev- erything around me vibrated and lived Radiant visions greeted my new found sight. Beautiful saints, brilliant with light and glory, pointed out to me the heaven whence they came and whither they returned-without me, alas, the cruel ones. Suddenly all this world of dreams faded away and disappeared in the night; then. vast, profound, reli- gious, consoling and inspired, the an- dante that have retained and learned arose majestically in the midst of the mysterious darkness"
 "Yes," said Fritz, land when l re- turned I found you trembling and weeping, and it seemed to me that the features of our poor old aunt were i'm pressed with an unusual degree of serenity. In fact. I imagined that Fa- ther Christmas had paid visit to both of you during my absence But on our way home you related to me that strange adventure. Next day I made inquiries and learned that Aunt Ger.