Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-01-12

WanderlnSS n his lifelong quest.
Now" he concluded, II am facing
those cleaning hills. and not before
] reach the topnost of them, all aglit-
ter there in the sun, shall l know
true freedom or happiness, or feel my
task fulfilled"
INC strange smiled appreciation.
Ihat,' said he. "displays Il spirit
dear to every heart; but. my friend" he
aoded after "A brief silence. II have in
lne scrip lying here on the grass the
means of saving YOU much toll and
WEAKNESS. of rewarding YOU for ain
your effort And or Il sudden, as the
ora man began to tumble with his wal
Jet lSflatluS realized that the unknown
was speaking as no mere everyday pill
grim. nut as one having authority.
from his wallet the aged man took
'lofth "A pebble n gingerly held it to
We" as II 1T were a jewel. Could he.
IShatius reflected, be after all touched
with madness? But no sooner did he
open his lips han again Ignatius felt
his Influence.
This stone said he, II give thee. my
TREND. VI comes from the topnost OF
the peaks, where J culled ii. Rub but
your eye with il gently and the light
ana freedom you seek will be YOURS.
Even though you stood on the highest
peak You could not make them more
your W than by the means of this
edible And the old man laughed
softly as he rolled the pebble in his
fingers Clearly he was not TESTING, yet
the laughter remained in his genial old
eyes. And now, BROTHER he added,
give me a draft of thy Water flask
lgnatlus handed him the flask and eX-
perlenced a strange pleasure i'm the
giving. All his life he had been ac-
customed to receive.
He then took the pebble and uncer-
talnly, as though inwardly protesting
his unbelief of such childishness,
passed it over his eyelids. The old curl
OF his lips, that had not endeared him
to his brothers at the Certosa, was once
visible, but only for an instant.
Fol no sooner did he open his eyes and
gaze about than a great wonder filled
him. like that i'm the eyes of a child.
or was ii sorcery? Surely his senses,
unusually acute, had not ON a sudden
begun to play him tricks? All things
were the same as of old, yet a subtle
difference %pervaded them all.
The old wayfarer. first of all, with
the ann threadbare cloak and the
same visage, seemed bathed in a soft,
we'll have been an effect of he lanting
sun. But friendliness and love shone
from his eyes, so that Ignatius could
not choose but owe him. 1t was as
though he had found a brother. But
that perhaps was the upshot of a little
the plain and the hills, however, had
suffered the same subtle change. They
were bathed in a radiance that made
them all inimitably precious to him. He
found himself lingering fondly upon
that new and satisfying feeling. Some
how he knew to a certainty now that
never more would he be oDsessed by
the quest for freedom. He felt himself
free of all things and of all conditions
by reason of an invisible bond that
now bound him to all things, to the
dust in the road as to the most distant
stars. The old man ~intently watched
him and chuckled pleasantly.
You speak the truth" Ignatius ire
mulously addressed him. No need of
faring to the peaks on the horizon, for
To- l nave found what | was seeking;
all things are one. You are as my
brother and J. w you more than my
self, and I see now that hill and dale.
field and peasant, dust n stars. are
one, even as you and L. He was be-
Lord" he suddenly burst forth in the
query by which every loving soul is
troubled, how have Thy creatures be-
come SO long and so widely separated"
The stranger smiled and tenderly
laid his hand upon that of Ignatius.
"That question. my brother. no man
may answer said he slowly, but this
day we ave come one step nearer the
remedy. Let US rejoice in that"
81 must take the news to my peo-
pie firmly declared Ignatius. pre-
pairing to gather up his staff and his
scrip for the return journey: Il must
go back to my brothers of the Certosa
and to Florence" The aged stranger
nodded ap~provingly.
.vNbny, y pot tho first ny hrothors
he said reflectively. ito return to the
people with his news, nor art thou
like to be the last. But that that is
thy bounden duty there is no doubt at
all. Many will yet discove and redis-
this truth until, at last. all the
world shall know that the sufferings of
one are the sufferings of all. Mean
while the great cycles will revolve to
their own high destinies. Joy unto
thee, my brother he added with out
stretched hand. Il will walk a space
with three on thy journey" More than
ever now the stranger spoke as one
with authority.
On they walked under the azure
heavens m "A glowing silence OF broth
erhood. A veritable light OF human
love shone from both their faces.
Go. M brother the stranger
finally said when it came to a parting
OF the ways. Now thou must walk
alone, for | must bend my footsteps
elsewhere" Tears of love and graft
tude blinded the monks eyes at the
parting, and when he wiped the dim
ness from his eyes n gaZed back the
stranger was no longer visible. The
radiance that had fallen upon the earth,
however, persisted, and not a peasant
or a child on the way, not a beast or a
hillside, but was bathed in the radiant
new light. And he who had been
scarcely aware of a children's epidemic
in Forence-who had e in every
peasant and laborer a fOol-now, de-
spite his haste. stopped to pat all the