Evening star., 1925-09-28

pursue his profession in London. he
had sent to New York-his last abode
before the war-for his few belong
ings. These had arrived. and were
now in his lodgings. His books had
been unpacked. but he kept many Of
his things in big American cabin
trunk that he had covered over with
silk blanket much like Pans. a
blanket he had bought because it was
Italian. Now he rummaged through
mass of papers and pulled out a
parcel done up carefully in water
proof cloth. This he opened, spread
ing 1t fiat on a table and gazing at
the contents: quantity made little
waistcoat of a size to fit a child Of
or years old. 1t was made of
scarlet cloth, had four mother O. pearl
buttons down the front. and was lined
with black-tufted, white cotton fan
mel that crudely initiated ermine.
Beside this he laid the tiny cloak
which had enveloped the baby left at
the Hastes' door. The red cloth. the
cotton flannel, and even the buttons
were precisely the same.
My God, I felt It. 1 knew It,"
Dagon cried aloud. His mind rushed
back to a picture which he often saw
In dreams. especially If he were tired
or depressed, or if he feared failure in
some undertaking. He wondered.
whenever he walked from this dream,
which always happened suddenly. with
a start, whether the picture were not
really something remembered. some
thing earlier in his life than any of the
more assured memories. They--the
catalogued memories which formed a
more or less connected chain-began
In a street. He was crying because he
was hungry. 'Vanno, povero Vanno."
he had walled. for he was "Vanno,"
a pet name for Giovanni, or John
How he had got into that street he'd
never known; but he thought he had
been on a ship. and there had been
very big man who seemed a giant
sometimes cross and sometimes kind
to him. In the street much smaller
and very different man had spoken to
the crying child: but Dagon had not
been able to understand English then.
This man had taken his hand and
they had walked to a house not far
OF, where the man had apparently
wished to keep the wanderer: but a
woman with a loud voice would not let
him stay. Out he and the man had
gone again, and they had ridden in a
tram to a big building where a great
many children lived. 1t was found
ling asylum. and there the boy had
spent several years.
The grown-ups had been good to
him, and when he was old enough to
go away and work on a farm, they
had given him the red waistcoat with
imitation ermine lining. 1t had evil
IDENTIFY been made at home by some
loving hand. and might possibly help
him to find his lost family some day
who could tell?
The dream-picture was connected
with this queer little garment. and
the oldest thing about it was that he
had had the dream before the waist
coat had been returned to him-before
he had recalled its existence. He saw
himself in a garden with a beautiful
woman who was weeping. In her
arms she held a baby wrapped in q
red cloak exactly like the red waist
coat he had on. and OF which he was
very proud. The woman's face was
clear as a cameo before Dagons eyes
In the dream, and he knew that he
loved her dearly. He liked the baby.
too, but only as If 1t were doll, and
he was not thinking Of 1t at all in the
garden, except that 1T had a cloak
like his beautiful waistcoat. There
were lovely tall. straight trees, almost
black against blue sky, and there were
many flowers hanging in festoons over
a low. pink house. The group stopped
at a gray gate and looked back at
the trees and the house. And the
dream stopped there, too, with a feel.
ing Of loss and sadness as Dagon
walked.