A Struggle for a Ring — page 264: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

260 AN AMAZED HUSBAND. first impulse was a sigh of unutterable content; how long it seemed since she had stood in the silence, in the sweet fragrance of a summer’s night! The moon was shining bright and clear, the stars were all golden in the dark depths of the blue sky; the dew lay on the flowers and the leaves, the rich heavy heads of the roses were drooping, the white lilies stood aloft, pale and lovely—it was so sweet, so fragrant, so still. | | _** The smile of Heaven lies on it,” she thought; ‘‘I pray that same kind Heaven to help me.” Then she walked across the lawn; the moonlight lay on it, clear as silver, the trees threw strange shadows, the wind whispered sweet, half-sad stories. She looked down the broad paths where the crimson rose leaves were scat- tered, and the white lilies gave out their delicious perfume. There was no sign of him; she crossed over to the broad, deep lake where the water lilies slept, and the green banks glistened with dew—he was not there. To the left there stretched a grand avenue of chestnuts, which were in the full beauty of their thick foliage, so thatyin the grove one could not see the sky, and the darkness was solemnly beautiful. She was afraid as she looked down—the tall trees stood like huge giants, their branches swaying gently, the green leaves rippling with majestic content, as though they would say: ‘‘ Pass under, mortal! you live to-day; to-morrow you die, while we stand for centuries !” The wind made strange music in those swaying boughs. She listened; there was no sound, no hasty footstep, no half-careless song ; he could not be there. Yet surely that same wind, redolent with the breath of flowers, that same wind brought with it the faintest odor of a cigar. He was there, sitting perhaps on one of those pretty rustic seats where she had so often sat to think of him. , co comicboc KS m