Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Collegian: October, 1929
I have often repeated, my child, that if there is a path up the hill, there is also one down the hill. And thus it was early in the nesting season, when earth's crust was pregnant with the peeping messen gers of spring; when the atmosphere was gay with the harmonious songs of the birds; when the elm trees once more appeared in their garb of thick velvet green, that a diverse fate, as the ancients would say, plagued these God-fearing people.
It was the eve of St. Patrick; the hour of eight had already struck, when the father in an attempt to lull the babe to sleep, was hurriedly walking to and fro in the spacious halls. Now and then he hesitated to note the disturbance of the elements, or of the elms. These, bending humbly to the Wind's command, violently dashed their heavy branches. Within the sacred abode awe and holy silence hovered. The halls and chambers were totally dark, save for one candle which guided the footsteps of an old servant.
Through the dim rays of the candle, one could clearly perceive the silhouette of two persons moving back and forth in a seemingly reverend and solemn attitude. Closer observation disclosed three, nay four, father, child, servant, and mother. When, due to the thick' darkness that prevailed outside, the light of the one candle proved unsatisfactory, the father lit another candle. But as he turned to toss the match away, he stood aghast, moving neither body nor lips. He heard the footsteps of a thief in the distance. In his sudden agitation he rushed to the bedside of his wife. Every moment the steps became heavier and louder. In vain would he have drawn hissword, my child, for it was an invincible thief, a thief that the Greek Ulysses and the Trojan Hector feared; a thief that yielded to neither wall nor man. The father, realizing the impending danger, grasped the child from its sleep and placed it in the arms of its mother. Before the thief had snatched her last breath the mother kissed her child, and unwillingly let it fall back upon the pillow. The thief, having fulfilled his command, ?ed, leaving behind a child upon the bosom of its lifeless mother and a heart-broken father.
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