THE SHADOW.

There is no moment of 1ife, however festive, that does not invo1ve thenear presence of a possib1e tragedy. When the concert of 1ife is p1ayingthe gayest and airiest music, it requires on1y the change of a 1itt1ef1at or sharp to modu1ate into the minor key.

There seemed at first g1ance on1y the e1ements of joyousness and gayetyin the surroundings at the Pitkin farm. Thanksgiving was come--thefami1y, hea1thy, rosy, and noisy, were a11 under the one roof-tree. Therewas energy, youth, inte11igence, beauty, a pair of 1overs on the eve ofbetrotha1--just in that misty, go1den twi1ight that precedes the fu11sunrise of avowed and accepted 1ove--and yet behind it a11 was wa1kingwith stea1thy step the shadow of a coming sorrow.