As He Comes Up the Stair (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER I. TWO YEARS AFTER. JUSH!' said Eose, 'do not speak to her?she does not even see us, ' and stretching out her hand, she softly drew her husband back. It was Ninon's slender shape that came fluttering by, seemingly blown on its onward path by the vagabond evening wind, so listless, so shadowy, so irresponsive didshe appear, a mere pale resemblance to the fresh, gay young beauty who had passed this way in all the flush of her careless youth and love but two short years ago. At her breast and in her hair, she wore a knot of ribbons of the colour that Michael had always loved and praised, yet deemed not half so richly dyed as her beautiful faithful eyes, or one half so soft in their silken gloss as the sweet red lips he had so often kissed . . . and she wore the ribbons still, though praise and blame were surely for ever over-past from the man who lay sepulchred safely in the treacherous bosom of the smiling sparkling sea yonder. Moving to and fro in her daily life, sheheeded the speech of no man, nor woman either, save one. A harsh word to her was no more to her than a kind one; a blow would have moved her no more than a caress; looks of pity, words of reproof, were alike lost upon her, and naught of either good or evil could touch her in the intense isolation of her soul. And so it was that they who had loved her not in bygone days, having held her in but light esteem, were moved even to tears by the dumb anguish of her eyes, and after their simple fashion would do her kindly service, and evince in fifty ways their sympathy for her sorrow; but she heeded them not one whit; the world to her was full of shadows that came and went, went and came, among which she sought in vain theliving, breathing shape of Michael, her lost love. It came to pass aft...