Zurich Herald, 1926-07-15, Page 7PERE DOMINIQUE'S WEDDING RING
By Claude Mareey
Translated by William: L, McPherson, was legYing no sueeess Flora, staid to
From the first day that the old boat- me:
duan rowed •me from one pier of the "'I know, Dominique, that you love
barber to another I had noticed his Pte. But it - is absolutely necessary
lying. 13ig and flat, embossed, corroded, that You take this ring off or I will not
carrying many file marks, it encircled believe you. The proprietor must have
'�. Pere pominique'e finger so tightly a file; I will go and ztek him for it.'
that two ridges -of Ileshhstood out "She came back with a file, I
along its edges. You might have said stretched my hand on the table and
that notkhuman power was capable of site set to work. But as soon as sh.e
separating this ring from thiss man. began I felt a strange pain. Each
Pere Dominique was talkative, a0 time that the steel bit into the iron it'
sailors are when they grow old. - wrenched my nerves, from my finger
"It is your wedding ring, is It not, tips to my shoulder, and even further, I
Dominique?" Yes, monsieur, you might have said
solid." was gradually paralyzing it. After i
"Ye, monsieur. And you see it is that a hand pressed on my heart an
"Undoubtedly, But it le not very,.some moments I could stand it no long -
elegant. Suppose . setae one shoulder. I imagined that this mysterious
offer you a gold ring." hand which was clutching my heart
He swore and spit out these words: was Flora's, that she : wished to
"I wold rattier jump •into the water squeeze out my blood and to *.ko my
than accept it!" life. At the same time I remembered
I was expecting this diepiay' of an- Phliberte's words:
ger, and in order to get him to talk- `aeofiron
onring you wll
ing I asked: beable sthis rt me no
leave inc.'"Why, Dominique?"
„Why?„ "I was not long in recovering my
The oars which. he had seized were self-possession, realizing my folly and
dropped. And he went on in his low, regretting it. .I" seized Flora's hand
singing voice: and said to her:
"I was twenty-two when I married "'Stop! I lied to you; I am mar-
Philiberte. She was a pretty blonde ried. And you can see my ring is
and I loved her. It was the first love stronger than your file. My wife is
of my life. Hut I can say it, now that not willing to let me leave -her'
I am an old Carcass, that I also, I was - "She stood there, believing that I
a good-looking fellow, well built and was joking. But I got up without say -
with pleasing manners. The girls ing more, took my cap and left the
looked at me. But I did not see them. cabaret. I ran to the ship; Next day
I had eyes only for Philiberte. I the captain weighed anchor. I never
thought only of her. returned to Bordeaux. I rejoined my
"Finally the great day came. The wife, and I found a way to earn my liv-
mayor, the cure, the wedding break- ing here, and we have been happy al -
fast, all the excitement. It was a fa-
mous wedding. But we were not rich,
and it costs a good deal to get married.
I had a beautiful silver ring for Phil Wase hssbig, callous hand on w
berte. But she, poor girl, had nothing
of the sort to offer me. So on the old iron ring was encrusted, and con -
morning of the great day she said to eluded:
me: • "You understand why I put so much
" `Dominique, I have kept my dead value on it. Look, it is still solid. It
father's ring. It is not pretty, for it will last as long as I do—and much
is an iron ring, and it is not large, be- longer."
oause my father was a small man.
Would you like to have it?'
"'Certainly,' I replied affectionately:
"When the moment came for us to
exchange rings it was'this iron ring
finger.It
ways, always.
Pere Dominique was out of breath : You who have fenced the whirlwind
from having talked so long. Before I And tossed your leafy plumes.
taking up the oars he put under my
which
CHARLES CARLILE
Who has been "on the door" at the Ontario Parliament Buildings for twenty
years. He passes about 70,000 tourists a year.
IHS 4F 'FLORAL MARYE�, AWES
SILENT" COST IN ANTWERP' GAt�DEIV
By Mrs, Walter Burritt More.
On my last day in Antwerp, a bit he bas waited for it so long and now,
to see it •die!
"Die!" 1 breathed; ""now, that gor.
genus flower?"
satiated with Rubens and_not averse
to losing for a few hours the full re-
sonan0e of the cathedral chimes, I dei,
tided on a visit to the Judie Bota-
ntque. It was a. Saturday in late May
—the height of the season, golden sun-
shine, soft sea -bronzes, everything
green, everything rosy in full effiores-
°once, all life at its gayest in this p10-
turesque old Belgian capital.
Once within the wide gates of the,
garden, I noticed the crowd taking ale
Branches.
We cut you into kindling,
We bind you up in brooms
the A tree must know compassion
In every outstretched arm
To welcome little children
And keep them safe from harm.
Open Your Windows.
Everywhere I walk in these -pleasant Summer brings you armfuls
summer days and evenings I am faced Of green leaves to hold,
by open. windows. From out of one end winter, snowy blankets
which Philiberte put on my window that had often attracted me For nights are long and cold.
was very small, in fact, and we hada I heard this morning the happy sound
good deal of •difficulty in pushing it on. of childish ..laughter. All through the I love yon all the year through,
"'That's all the better,' my wife cold weather that house had remain- But I love you best of all
whispered. 'This way you will not be d dark and silent that I YCad won- When1 shed your burdens
able to forget me nor to leave me.'
"We had a •littl•e house, very neat
and clean, near the sea, and a garden.
behind it. Philiberte sang all day
long. And since, at that time sardines
were abundant off shore it was easy to
• make a living on the fishing boats.
• It seems that everything was too
easy for us. Those accursed fish went
away, I don't know where.. The ship
captains said that they were wasting
their time. One after another they
had to tie up or to go elsewhere. One
morning I found myself en shore with-
out a sou in my pocket and without
any employment. -seemed to say that the last thing it
"Ah! the terrible weeks which we would want to do would be to open its
passed half fasting. ' Philiberte tried' windows and let anything out or any -
to
encourage me, but T• saw that she thing in by fraternizing with anybody. 11
had no faith in her encouragements. It is the same with some of the peo-
Chance brought us relief. I met a for- ple I meet. Some who in the wiuter-
nier comrade He belonged to the time passed me by regularly with
Some of you are knotted
From wrestling with the wind,
Others in sheltered places
Are fair and satin -skinned.
"Not eo i orgeone :as an hour age.
See the placard near platform." Trans-
lated, it read:
A variation of the Agave AtnarY•.-
lidaceae; first blossom in tviwentY-four
years. It bloomed at noon today; it
will die about 5 o'clock.
My watch marked five and t'w'enty
•
arently one direction along minutes of --and, as I scanned the long,
the creamy petals, I saw them shrink --
smooth., wide pathway, bordered with
waving palms and drooping pepper
platform, within
pa-
vilion, stood a large tub and, within
the tub, was a tall plant with long,
pointed leaves and crowned by one
magnificent flower—cream white, lily -
like, with orchid suggestions; violet.
edges to the long, curling petals; pur-
ple in its richly folded heart. This
one flower. It was all, but it held the
stage.
A silent, unsmiling crowd, genteelly
French, prosperous looking men, pret-
ty women, some sturdy Flamands, a
1 hili awed curious
shrink and droop. Men held hheir
watches and waited --•one young g'ir'l
trees. in front of me touched her eyes fur-
On a raised ithi the tively. A11 eyes were fixed upon Beauty
P
—Beauty passing, dying. ^»..
One thought of the long years, win-
ters, summers in the dark earth; the
brooding, reaching up toward the sun'
and air and then this tardy realization,
this short fruition in the glory of.thi5,
May day—now only the .remnant of at
blossom, a wilted, twisted spiral bend•'
ing low, Was it 'the end? Then, stir-
red perhaps by a vagrant zephyr, the
pale Sower swayed, its petals opening,'
few beautiful children,
disclosing the long, trembling stamens,
the musicians, in the distant orohestra the purple calyx—only, in a moment,
chairs, silent also. One elderly man to shrivel and fall on its bending stem,'
stood within the rope that guarded the inert, prone amid the enveloping green.
platform, or sat in the one chair, al-
ways watching the Sower—swaying
slightly on its long, slender stalk.
"Le pouvre homme, la belle fieur,
c'est le dentin," murmured a voice be-
anging
To those who do n,ot know that stars, upon the fine, sensitive ace. "Yes," chords long drawn out, the slow rhythm of a solemn m:,rint
even as. jewels, have individuality, the she whispered, "the supe 1
various colorings will come as a spe-
cial surprise. Vega, for instance, is
large and most wonderfully blue. rising
in the far north-east during the first
of May; Arcturus, appearing at the
same time near the zenith, is tinted
like a King Midas' rose. On the first
of June, Antares glows like a scarlet
shaded lamp hung low in the south -
Nell "I am as
east, while in the northeast, creamy While wandering through London's ten we hear a person say:
hue Capella scintillates like the elec- less -known streets good as you are"; or, "I am as import
trifled cross-section a where Completely happy in the gentle spell ! ant as she is." It may be true; but)
the case of a double star where the The very mention of your name re- such phrase are alway indirect cora-
colors are sharply contrasted—gold i pests. j Aliment to the other person, and they
and blue or scarlet and green—the ef- I love them all—Micawber, Chuzzle become direct ones as soon as we turn
fact is startling and very beautiful. wit, 1 them about.
Weird -looking purple stars and wan Miss Betsy Trotwood, David Copper -1 There is a whole world of difference
lavender ones may also be found, but field; when we say, "You are as good as I
all these lovely tints and shades are Beside a blazing log I love to sit am," and that is really what the orig-
final phrase means, though the speaker
leaves.
The gray-haired watcher on the plat
form shut his watch with a snap. Was
it a signal? From flutes and violins
slow, sweet music as the audience;
Star Music. side me. I turned an inquiring look drifted quietly its diverse h way into
To Charles Dickens.
I owe so many happy hours to you:
So many joys your pen has given me:
The homelike English rooms I've wan -
dared through,
The hours I've spent in eager ecstasy
With Oliver, old Scrooge and Little
Try the Reverse.
We all know the joy o1 light after,
a dark night, health after sicltnesse
possession alter poverty, and so on.•
To value anything aright we need to
know the tendency of its reverse.
Let us apply the idea to one or two
phases of life. For instance, how of
hidden among the bests of more com- And to their old-time invitation yield., h he •utters it
e so ar you have does not intend it w en
dered who inhabited it, and had ter- And are freest—in the fa1L mon yellow and white stars, and it Dear friends they are, comrades be-
tainly never suspected children. `Fanny de Groot Hastings d not know just where to find loved d true Perhaps it is one of the best ,ways off
The open windows are at their best tiering another's worth and our
in the evenings just after dark when
the family circle has gathered to-
gether for a few minutes before going
to bed, and their chatter and laughter,
mingled with the music of a piano or
a loud -speaker, come floating to the
shadows on waves of gold or crimson
light.
How different it all seems to the
dark, dismal appearance of the streets
down which we used to plod our way a
few months ago, when every house
one
nes vet an
----� them it is like hunting for treasure And all their constant charm I owe appre
1 without a chart. to you! own foolishness.
When the world was young, people —Eleanor G. B. Young. We speak of some ether fellow
gazed in never-ending wonder as the whom we have known for years and
! darkness, of the heavens filled up with he's a. s� lestdid felow, but
y' 1 the lights or stars. . . Our modern
n ? music of the spheres is no more and-
' ible to our dulled ears than the music
! of those ancient days, yet its silent
song of light and color . . . des-
cends in the same sweet way to all
hearts lifted to receive it.—Florence
Armstrong Grondal, iu "The Music of
j the Spheres."
I Cleopatra Was Certainly
Extravagant.
Two thousand years ago pearls were
1 rather common jewels and it is said
1 that pearls are now worth ten times
, what they were then. This fact gives
n
n
fl
Pre No Student.
crew of a big coasting ship, one of never a word, now greet me • just as
those which go from Brest to Bor- "He's no student you say?"
deaux and then td Spain. He got inc a fall in step_ ,
place on the ship. The pay was good.
We were saved. But, on the other
hand, I had to leave my little house,
my pretty garden and Philiberte. It
was hard and I wept that day, like that, to those who aro not 1 One of the e t e pa a toast
"On the first part of the voyage old sas : and ton your windows nws! Go be knctvn as taueensto�vu; stow it is whole
thingas
in oldenttitnestlused as i the ruffling gallants of the eighteenth' and note how it reads. It ceases to
when I was off watchlein the heat ham- home and open the windows of your , Cobh.. Cobh is- easy to pronounce,
sio' medicine. Mostcancient pearls were
,century, who thought boxing only fit be a theory and becomes at once a
mock, uncks, to id nothingep the b k house to let the sunlight in. Go home that doesn't cause much i trouble. ub But the "size.iof a sherry," but earls were I for stable boys, and a sword the only definite accomplishment. The ono Is
n . and I. did but think and open the windows of your soul to , whet. Dun Leaogbairo others as "big as a walnut."
I fit weapon fora "gentleman!" { done though we are not sure whether
of home and of her whom I had left let the sunlight of human sympathy for Kingstown—we beg to be excused. """..'�` (people are glad we have done it. So
behind.- But in this world such wor- and the winds of fresh experience' ,.--
ries take care of themselves. I did not we make the excuse. There
cleanse you o1 the encrusted cobwebs
forget Philiberte and each time that I of the winteryears.
Do you think your house would be
half so nice to live in just now if it
had not received some weeks ago the
shook of a spring-cleaning'? It was
turned thoroughly upside down. If
you went to enjoy the best of summer
(•�ANOvC�
}' `splendid fellow." It makes a big di&I
- -� t I Terence, •doesn't it?
lsay: Yes, esP ,
he has a bad temper." We are always-
putting in the "buts." You can damn
! a man's reputation and career by a
"but."
I Why say anything about the "but"
I at ail? Would it not be just as well to
! finish the phrase with the word "fel-'
low?" Or, if we must use the word
"but,' how would it be to put it thus
1 "He has a bad temper, but he is a
otea We talk of being "sorry"; having
Looked That Way. We
and so on. The words
Little Bird (to pouter pigeon)--"SaY, , are frequently superficial, empty. In -
mister, did you swallow a balloon?" stead of talking so much it would be
as well to do
a bit at these things.!
regularly with a smile, and will even "No—just attends college." Time Brings Changes. 1 True sympathy never moves about
with me and discuss the _ _- -- interest to the statement of the his
weather, our gardens, and the Test Irish •Names. torten -naturalist Pliny that one night Two Parisians who felt that their empty-handed.
Matches. They seem eager to know •
is still being experienced ata banquet Cleopatra dissolved a injured honor required them to fight { In order to ease our conscience
the and to let me know them. But Difficulty I earl valued then at p375,000, mixed it a duel surprised their friends by agree- sometimes, we say: "T would lend a
everybody I meet these days is not about some ; i the names
Ireland.
in a goblet of rare wine and drank the' ing on four -ounce gloves as the weap- hand, only I am not sure whether I am'
g that would have shocked wanted there:' Now just reverse it
{Drew my. pay I sent it to her. Each
time I said to myself:
"'With this money she can pur
chase some comforts. We shall see
each other soon again. So it is not
worth while to be melancholy.'
"Besides, I was young, On my sec -
and or third voyage, I don't remember In your mind and soul you should have.
which, we made a stop at Bordeaux given thein the shock of a good shake-
up. It is not too late to do it now.
and I went ashore withta myrhe s. Once the windows of your_.aoul are
In a sort of cabaret near the port— open,,see that they are kept open.
when I close my eyes 1 can see again Obey your that th ;mak If you
that dingy front and the black room feel you r rteld like to lyes. If you
filled With smoke- -T made the acquaint. with anyone do not let a false shyness
stand in your way. Suppose you have
wore sober -colored clothes all your life
and you suddenly think you would like
bright colors; don't be afraid! They
will do you good.
Then, if yon keep the windows open
often enough and long enough to let
so Many beneficial things blow in,
dent that ,I .pleased .her. inc more soon your inner house will be so full of
she stood me off the more I loved her. brightness and breeziness that you rJill
• One day 1 said to her:
' "'You know,. Flora, that I cannot do
.without you..Do you wish rife to leave
everything else and stay here with
you? .
"'I do. Only you are married!'
"She had guessed this• from -my ring,
But I, monsieur, I was like a Mad man.
I no longer knew what I was saying
'When He Mleded it.
and I lied, to her: Mr. Miller, a gentleman of whom
"'It Sox not true, Flora. I am not
married. If this ring were it wedding Good Hardware tells us, has the men-.
ging it would. be of gold er of silver, tat characteristics of a truly absent -
But YOU tied it of tx*n. It fe a ring minded man.
which eons nethls„' dd �a, And to "I forgot my umbrella this morning,
prove I tt lo til; • It off.' dear " lie told his wife the other day.
"I triedt, ,1t o11, but ']k o ` did YOU conte to remember
!• r ' 1, it having loot it?" she asked. -
the Xnole �. d.. S: ,�� ", , it„
as big "Well, 1 shouldn't have missed
stuck on my y i re d%gbeas• ei;,pmaipdd Miller, "only I raised my
then, arid, eMs, ttyy, bead, to shut it when the rain stopped:'
sf flesh do ath: e•o': hid` that I
ante of a: girl of eighteen, not more,
with rod .lips and such eyes! Ayl
what eyes the girls down there heave!
I thought no longer of my little house'
or of my garden or of Philiberte. L
was fascinated, bewitched and held
spellbound by this Fiore. That was
her name, monsieur.
"And she, the little devil-- et was ev9-
be radiating' it out again. •
There ere.people like gardens, al-
ways radiating a pleasant, inviting at-
mosphere. There are also people like
those houses with the open windows.
It does you good to pass then! and to
be allowed to take a peep into the
charmed circle of'their lamp -light.
ADAMSON'S ADVENTURES
THAT ADAMSON
WER SAID He
AS�GOING. TO HELP
ME
$UT I4E AINtT
NOWHERE
IN SIGHT;
iI
well! i'Ll. HAVE
TO C0 IT
tNYset.F!
;• ••tr_srfeetGoy y Fh� �y,�b, „ILhn Ste8 �':atdege
He fooled Her.
many a good thing is omitted just be-
cause•is
an old Greek saying which runs:—
Swift kindnesses are best, a long de-
lay "
In kindness takes the kindness all
away.
Any bright thing can be blackened
according to our use of it. Equally so
the drabness can be polished away.
Tlfere is nothing In the world so inl-
portant in dealing with character as to
Ifind the best.
We are not always aware of the
Iscars and we don't see the wounds of.
, man;; a life we are tempted to eon-
� detnn. 11 we knew all we might tor-
' all. We think we know, and die.
1 cover that touch has been hidden from.
: us. Ila:d we the trials of some it 1*
i quite possible that our achievem'en'ts
would he fewer than theirs.
'''here may be a score of unpleasant
things about a man, but so Mug as
1 there is cane gond feature it is worth
our while to find it. Try for one week
Ito put the one good fact of another's
Ilife by the side sof the many things
which you dislike :and you 'will be sue
prised how happy you'll be:—
There
There is still far more good in the
world than badness, As we' look
round we tau find many . a gem in
rough places and marry a flower among
the weeds.
Talkative Chickens.
A man, hearing a noise in his
chicken roost, walked out on his porch
and hollered, "Who's there?
No answer.
"Who's there?"
Stall no a':ewer.
"Answer or I'll shoot, Who's there?"
Then a shalty voice answered, "No.
body- -jet' us chickens."