The west shore., August 01, 1889, Page 451, Image 44

THE WEST 8H0RE.
til
you surrender yourself as if you knew not the moan
ing of possession.'
" Muoh of what you say,' she answered, ' I do not
understand. You speak of love, I cannot telL
When I am hungry, I eat; thirsty, I drink; cold, the
fire warms me. When I saw you first I foil warm;
you touched my hand I folt music in my arms and
limbs; then you looked into my eyes so doep I al
most fell down. Since then I have followod you
everywhere ; I have given mysolf to you. What
more can you ask than that? ' "
" Well, is that the end?" I asked, as Winthrop
made a longer pause than UBual, while he gated stead
fastly upon the decaying brightness of the sansot
lie started at the Bound of my voice
" Do you want me to drink the dregs of this cap
of woe?"
" No, Cousin, no; if there is any bitterness in it
that you have not already experienced, I pray you to
avert it if you can."
" I talked with Olive a long time, and she told me
all she knew about her early life. It is a sad story,
a most pathetic history, for a child of twenty, and ex
plains much. Do not ask me to repeat it now, for I
am hart-sore, and my brain is weary. Let us re
turn." I would have detained Winthrop longor, for I was
roused to a high pitoh of exoitement by his narra
tion; but the precious liquor of life which for a short
time had flowed so freely as from an inexhaustible
fount, seemed to have suddenly receded, leaving the
heights of life arid and painful to behold. We walk,
ed Blowly homeward, arm in arm, conversing little.
The glory of the western hemisphere had paled to a
dull yellowish streak along the horrizon. A light
wind had sprung up in the south, and made itself less
felt than heard in a murmur and oonfused whisper
icg, seeming to foretell a storm. The street wo were
on, which was the main street of the town and be
came a country highway as it oontinuod on either
side, led past my hotel, two or throe blocks beyond
which on a side street stood Winthrop's boarding
house. When we reached the former place I could
not stop. I felt singularly attracted to my cousin;
my doepest sympathy was awakened in his behalf,
for I saw without anything being said by bim how
profoundly his nature was affected by his unusual ex
porienoe; and I went unsolicited with him to his
gate, whenoe, upon his invitation, although the hour
was late, I accompanied him to his room. It wiu
still in some disorder, and bore traces of the struggle
which Winthrop had recently pictured to w viv
idly. The canvas which I longed to sec wm as usual
closely veiled. Our conversation became less person
al, and as we chatted about various tepu-s WinlLrop
apparently grew more cheerful and his rare smile
now and then lighted up his face,
It was nearly midnight when on rising to go, he
interrupted my impulse to bid him good night by
taking his hat and saying
" I will walk home with you, Arthur; it will do
me good."
I deprecated his going out again, but he gently
insisted, and I yielded easily, because I secretly dotir.
ed to have him with mo. In a moment we emerged
into the night again, which in the interval we had
spent in Winthrop's room, hail deepened in its in
tensity, and tho sephyr-like wind had become an ol
vious breeze. Clouds had also crept stealthily up
the horizon, and now and then a faint Hash of light
ning outlined their obscure masses in various direc
tions. As soon as we entered my room Winthrop flung
himself into a chair, and his face assumed a more
cheerful look than it had borne for many days. I
proffered him a cigar, and although I knew he seldom
smoked, he accepted it; and while the smoke curled
upward onveloping his head in a grayish halo in the
dim light of the lamp, ho began one of those wonder,
ful monologues whioh he indulged In only at rare in
tervals. For more than an hour tho rich volume of
his speech flowed on, touching lightly uon those
subjects which are of paronnial interest to thinking
persons. I listened and remembered Speaking of
the progress of humanity through the ages, the de
velopment of ideas respecting our future destiny, and
the irrepressible conflict between man's aspirations
and his limitations, he said
" The Bphinx-riddle has been a subject of pro
found study for all nations and classes of people,
from the earliest period of hlstorlo time. In the
dim ages anterior to Egypt (the generally acknowl
edged birthplace of the famous riddle) there were
people who carved on blocks of stone the impassive
features and bust of a woman, with cruel eye and Ira
placablo as fate, signifying thereby tho inseparable
nets of pain and pleasure. To this grim imago In
the oouaso of development tho lion's fore arms are
added, implying the active strength of tho elemental
foroes. Ihe Egyptians adopted this rude method of
adumbrating inexpressible longings of tho soul, but
with their profounder philosophy, they gave to It an
alluring beauty, but divested it of sight; seeming to
indicate that nature is impartial, and that beauty and
happiness were within tho reach of all who had the
ikill to seine them; soma, however, bold that it is an
rvioVnce of their belief In a blind cbanoa. As knowL
! g of the nit'iiUl constitution of man and the phys.
i icAl laws of nature Increased, and a loftier religious
J thought drains more common, tho belief In future