Constance and Lillie were nearly always together. Now, as they
tripped, onward, they were as happy as the birds in the trees above
them, and their voices as pleasant to hear. Having turned the corner,
they began to meet a company of children, who came along, sometimes in
groups, again in detachments of twos and threes, all clad in white,
with white veils upon their heads and floating about them as they
passed joyously on, as if keeping time to the music of their own happy
hearts. Poor children they were, most of them, with plain, ordinary
faces, but upon which now shone a light that made one think of old
sweet stories,--of St. Ursula and her throng of spotless maidens; of
Genevieve, the child-shepherdess of Nanterre. Who that has ever
witnessed such a scene can forget it!--this flock of fair, spotless
doves amid the dust or mire of the city streets, that by their very
passing bring even to the indifferent spectator a thought above gain or
traffic,--a memory perhaps of guileless days and noble aspirations, as,
looking up at the blue, calm sky, perchance he likens them to the snowy
cloudlets that gather nearest to the sun and are irradiated by its
brightness.
Pages:
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166