The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-08-12

torted from him a promise to join
them there.
She left the diningroom and walked
up the hallway 70 the paTlor. her head
dropped. anxieties gnawing at her.
The little room was flooded with sun
shine, and she parted the lace cur
tains and, throwing up the window,
leaned out. The rich, enveloping
warmth surrounded her, clasped her,
seemed TO sink deep into her and
thaw her apprehensions that were so
cold at her heart. She drew in the
sweet, still air, that did not stimulate
but that had in 1t something Of a
crystalline youth and freshness, like
the air of an untainted world, con-
cerned with nothing but the joy of
living. The scents Of flowers were in
it; the mellOwness Of the earth and IFS
fruits. Peace was the message OF this
tranquil Sunday morning, peace was
in the sunshine, in the sound Of bells
with which the air was full, in the
fall Of feet-light, joyous feet-On the
pavement, in the voices OF passers-by
and the laughter. sweet and broken,
of children. II was not right for any
one 10 harbor cankering cares on such
a day. The earth was happy, aban-
dOned TO the sunshine, irresponsible,
care free, rejoicing in the perfect mo-
ment. The woman felt the restoring
processes that Nature, in its tireless
generosity, offers to all who will take
them She felt eased Of her troubles,
soOthed and cheered, as though the en-
wrapping radiance that bathed her
held an opiate for tangled nerves.
Blinking in the brightness she leaned
On the window-sill, immovable, quoted,
feeling the warmth suffuse her and
dissipate those alarms that half an
hour earlier had been so chill and
heavy.
AS she dressed, the sense of well-be-
ing and confidence increased. She
looked very we'll this morning. Since
Dominick's return she had looked
haggard and thin. Sometimes she had
seemed to see, showing shadowy
through her reflected face in the mir
ror, the lines and hollows Of that face
when time should have put a stamp on
/ it that neither massage nor pigments
would efface. A sudden moment of
revelation showed her herself as an
old woman, her nose pointed, her
mouth a thin, tight line. This morn
ing the glass gave her back none OF
these disconcerting hints. She was at
her best, and as she dressed carefully
and slowly, she had the satisfaction OF
seeing that each added article of ap
parel increased her good looks. When
she finally put on her new hattie
one she had bought in celebration OF
| Dominick's return-and over it tied 6
white and black dotted veil, she was
| so gratified with the picture she pre-
scented that she was reluctant to leave
| it and pirouetted slowly before the
glass, surveying her back and side
views, and finally lifting her skirt thai
! she might see the full effect Of hel
lilac petticoat as it burst into sigh
in an ebullitiOn of pleats and frills.
! Walking up the avenue she wa:
| bridlingly conscious that her brilliant
appearance drew it's tribute of chances
Many people looked at her, and theil
sidelOng admiration was an even more
eXhilarating tonic than the sunshine
She walked with a light, elastic step
spreading perfume on the air, he
| progress accompanied by rich seduC
tive rustic. Once or twice she passed
members of that exclusive world from
which she had stolen Dominick. Sh'
swept by them, languidly Indifferent
her eyes looking with glacial hauteu
over their heads. The sound made b.
her brushing silk petticoats was graft
fyingly aggressive. She impaired t.
them a slight disdainful swing, AM
lifted her dress skirt daintily higher
conscious Of the impeccable amplitud
of her emerging lilac frills.
The habit of dining with her owl
people on Sunday had been one sh
had never abandoned, even in the frs
aspiring days of her marriage. 1t wa
q sort of family reunion and at frs
Dominick had been a not unwillin
participant in its domestic festivitie:
The solid bourgeois responsibility c
his wife's relations appealed to hin
For all his advantages in money an
education he was Of the same elias
himself, and while Berry was, if not
beloved spouse, a yet endurable one
he had found the Sunday gathering
and subsequent hejira to the park nc
entirely Objectionable. For over a yea
now he had escaped from it, pleadin
the need of open air and exercise, an
: his sisters-in-law, who had at first prt
. tested, had grown used to his absenc
: and accepted it as something to bea
uncomplainingly
, The day was so fine that they hu
| ried through their dinner, a heart
: and lavish meal. the chef d'Oeuyre {