ANOTHER "DREAM" BY OLIVE SCHREINER.

Bush Advocate, Volume VII, Issue 475, 30 May 1891, Page 6

ANOTHER "DREAM" BY OLIVE SCHREINER.

"GOD'S LIGHT ON THE MOUNTAINS." " And God said, Let there he light. And there was light." One by one the clouds lifted, and the dense drooping veils of mist were slowly withdrawn. The great mountains became visible, clearly defined against the heavens' ethereally faint blue. Eternal snow layfrozen white upon them,, and their cold high peaks seemed very far away. Bufc one wide bar of luminous gold lightened their slopes towards the east ; and in that warm and tender haze the hard snow melted, and the purple violets opened into bloom. •«**** Two dark figures of men advanced into the light. They bad climbed for many hours. They had seen the radiance from afar, and now thoy entered it together. They were brothers in their common lot and creed, but es they stepped into the golden glory their brows grew heavy with distrust and wrath. "Whatdoest thou here?" said the one. " Tho light is mine ! " " Nay, feol," said the other, "thou liest — the light is mine ! " And the evil frown deepened on their faces, and they forgot their brotherhood and fought — fought with a merciless blind fury for every inch of that wondrous light that was not theirs; fought till the violets on the turf sickened and died in the torrent of blood that was shed. But suddenly between them a Shadow fell. And tho Shadow'snamo was Death. Then those contesting twain shrank from each other's grasp in fear, and covering their eyea they fled swiftly ; and the Shadow went with them. And their blood sank into the cool, brown earth, and the violets bloomed again. And God's Light lay still upon tho mountains. ***** Two women came into the Light. They were great Queens, brow-bound with prold and burdened with a weight of gems. With them they dragged a fainting feeble creature liko a child with wings, an almost dying thing that wept and wailed aloud and shuddered as it came. Reaching the Light, the women paused and faced each other. " Loose thou thy hold of Love," said tho one — " for 10, we have reached the goal, and, by the wonder of my beauty in the Light, both Light and Love are mine." "0 traitress!" cried the other. "What hast thou to do with beauty where lam ? I am the mistress of the world ; love is my servant, light my heritage. Dispute no more, for love and light aro mine 1" And again the shadow fell. Then those two rival Queens grew pale and thin, and melted like frail ghosts into the darkness. But the winged child remained alone weeping. And God's Light lay softly on the mountains. ***** A solitary wayfarer advanced into tbe Light. Bare-headed and with uplifted eyes, he paused and looked and smiled. Hia limbs i were very weary, hia handa were hard with unrewarded toil ; but, though his face was i pale and careworn, ifc was beautiful. His ', lips parted in a siarh of rapture. " This isthe Light !" he said, "My God, I thank Thee !" And the winged Love, who wept alone, drew near to him and kissed his feet. "O, who. art thou?" ifc questioned him sobbingly. " Who art thou that has toiled so far to find the Light, and hasfc v no word of envy on thy lips, but only peace and [ praise?" ' And the Stranger smiling, answered, 1 "I am known as the Despisedand Lonely. In all the world I possess nothing — not even a blessing. Alone I have been from the first Beginning — alone I must be to the last End. But I have sought the Light and found it, whorefore I praise the Giver of the Light i who hath not suffered me to be dismayed. For I bear the name mosfc hated among men — the name of Truth." And again the Shadow fell. Only it was no more a Shadow but a Brightness, brightening into tbe Light itself. And tired Truth drank in the golden Glory, and grow strong. Love dried its childish tears, and afar off . there was a sweet sound as of the singing of angels. And God's Light widened on the mountains. [This poetical allegory is sent to us by a correspondent as having originally appeared in an old. number of an African missionary magazine, now extinct. It was there unsigned, but no one who reads it (says our correspondent) oan doubt that it is correctly attributed above. If not by MiBS Schreiner, it is certainly a very happy attempt in the same style.]