THE HALLOWED MOON
They were to be married early in September--just a month from the day
when Smiles so nearly gave her life to save another's.
During the days which must pass before she became Donald's in
the full trinity of body, mind and soul, his family kept her at
Manchester-by-the-Sea and each hour bound her more closely to the heart
of each.
For her, Ethel planned and purchased, sewed and supervised, putting as
much loving thought into the making of her simple outfit as though it
was she herself who was to be wedded. The days were busy ones, the
evening hours rich in love and contentment, for Donald came down from
the city each night, and the two learned the way to many a secret
chamber in each other's heart.
Early in the week which was to bring to a close the separate stories of
the man and maid, and write the first chapter in the single history of
man and wife, Donald left them to make a brief, but important, trip
which, he said, could not be postponed; and oh, how empty life seemed to
Smiles during those few days.
But they were ended at last, and the marriage evening came,--still and
mellow, with the voices of both shore and sea tuned to soft night
melodies.
Below in the hall, hidden within a bower of palms, an orchestra of
Boston Symphony players drew whispering harmonies from the strings of
violins, harp and cello, and, at the signal, swept into the dreamy,
enchanted notes of Mendelssohn's marriage song.
Little Don, very proud and important--and somewhat frightened--picked up
the train which he was to bear as page, and down the winding stairway,
by the side of her new-found brother, moved Rose, gowned in traditional
white, made with befitting simplicity, her shimmering hair no longer
crowned with the square of a nurse cap, but by a floating, misty veil
and the orange-blossom wreath of a bride. Never had her warm coloring
been so delicate and changeful, her expressive eyes so deep, or the
fleeting sweetness of her translucent smile so wonderful.
At the foot of the stairs stood Muriel, and three other girl companions,
each with a woven sweetgrass basket--made years ago by little Smiles
herself--filled with rose petals to be strewn in her path, and the
bride's lowered eyes rested tenderly for a moment upon the child that
she so loved. Then she started, and paused. One of them, as tall as
Muriel and more slender, had hair of spun gold, and she was looking up
with an eagerness which she could hardly restrain.
With a low, surprised cry, Smiles hurried downward, drawing her hand
from Philip's arm and extending both her own.
"Little Lou. Can it really be you? Oh, my dear."
And, heedless of the cluster of waiting friends beyond, she caught the
flushing, bashful, happy child into her arms.
"Oh, Smiles, haint hit all too wonderful. Hit's like dreamy-land, an'
I'm plumb erfeered thet I'll wake up an' find hit haint real. But
_yo're_ real, my Smiles, an' oh, how I loves ye."
There was a suspicious moisture in more eyes than those of Rose, as she
released the child and moved forward again, following the flower girls
into the room where waited the man who was all in all to her.
Donald stood just to one side of a canopied altar made of white roses
and interwoven ferns, and before it was a tall, slender man in the
vestments of the Episcopal Church, whose thin, saintlike face was topped
by hair of the purest silver-white.
Smiles felt her heart swelling almost painfully with a great new
happiness; her lips parted, and she wanted to draw her hand across her
eyes and brush away the sudden tears which she knew were there. For the
rector was her own dear Mr. Talmadge.
Now Donald was at her side, and his strong fingers were returning the
grateful, loving pressure of her own. _He_ understood how full of
gratitude was her heart, and was repaid.
The low, clear voice, tuned to the winds of the forest, began the words
of the beautiful service. It was, indeed, all a dream, and she felt the
unreality of it until the benediction had been spoken, and the hidden
orchestra struck the first joyous chords of the triumphant march from
Lohengrin. Then, from her husband's arms she turned to the embrace of
the mountain minister, and of Philip, and little Lou, and Gertrude
Merriman, and Dorothy Roberts, and of all those other friends, old and
new, who were so dear to her.
No explanations were possible for many minutes to come; but at length
she heard the story of the secret trip "which could not be postponed,"
of how "the reverend"--now well and strong at last--had gladly consented
to leave his beloved mountain home, for the first time in many, many
years, and come north on this sacredest of missions; of how Judd had
yielded to the request that Lou accompany them, too; and finally of how
her mountain lover of the old days was now himself married--to none
other than the youngest daughter of the kindly agent at Fayville.
And when this news was told, Donald cried, "Why, Smiles, for shame! I
actually believe that you are jealous," and she replied, "Of course I am
... horribly." Whereupon every one laughed at her, and her husband
punished her with a kiss.
It was ended at last, the lights, merry voices and laughter; and, as the
two ran the ancient gantlet, the orchestra, prompted thereto by Mr.
MacDonald, struck up a lively popular air, and the guests caught up the
words.
They paused a moment on the path below the veranda, to quiet their
hurried breathing, and look into each other's happy eyes.
"Where do we go from here?" _They_ knew. There had been but one spot in
all the world whose name both their hearts had spoken, when Donald first
mentioned the honeymoon to be.
* * * * *
Evening again--twilight on the Cumberland mountains. The moon had not
yet risen; but, through the black lacework of the forest trees which
stretched above Big Jerry's cabin to the mountain's summit, shone the
beaming radiance of the evening star.
Within the soft shadow of the doorway stood two figures, close
together--one tall, broad of shoulder and heavily built, the other of
medium height, slender and very graceful--and their arms were about each
other's waists. A man and a woman,--as it was in the beginning.
For a long time they stood thus, without speaking,--there was no need of
speech, for their thoughts were one.
"So old and well remembered; yet so new and strangely beautiful,"
whispered the woman, as she let her gaze travel over the broken,
far-stretching skyline of the forest-clad mountain side, now fading
into the sky, where a memory of the sunset's afterglow still lingered,
as though loath to depart and leave the world to darkness.
"Like love: as old as the hills, yet ever new," answered the other.
"Yes. I cannot yet understand, Don, how this new life can be so
strangely natural to me. We have been married only three all-too-short
days, yet I can scarcely think of the other life as real. Some people
speak of their honeymoon as a golden dream. To me it is the sweet
reality, and all that went before the dream. Isn't it odd?"
"All of nature's laws are inexplicable, dear heart. But we should not
forget that the Almighty's plan for the world did not deal with man and
woman as separate entities, but man and woman as counterparts of a
single unit, in which His laws should find full expression, if the two
were truly mated--not merely married. You remember what Mr. Talmadge
said that night."
"I know. We have found, not each other, but the other part of
ourselves--ourself. Dear, when did you first realize that it was so?"
"My mind, not until it was free to face the truth; my subconscious soul
the first moment that I saw you, I think."
"I know I loved you from that moment too," she answered simply, lifting
her lips for his kiss.
There followed another spell of enchanted silence, broken only by the
low lullaby of the night wind in the trees, and then the man spoke
again.
"Smiles, are you still greatly afraid of the sea?"
"No, dear, I should not be, if you were with me. It is strange; but I
lost most of the old, unreasoning fear the moment that I made up my mind
to jump into it that afternoon. But, why do you ask that now, Donald?"
He did not reply at once, and she continued, "I think that I know, and
the same thought was in my own mind. Is it that you want to go to France
again, to renew the saving work there,--and want me with you?"
He nodded slowly.
"If you hadn't suggested it, I should have, Don; for now I am doubly
prepared for the work I began to long to do, so many years ago. I am not
only trained for it, but I have you beside me, to comfort and strengthen
me, always.
"Yes, dear," she went on softly. "Some day, God grant, we shall have
little ones of our own to care for; but, until that beautiful time
comes, there are no less precious babies throughout all the world--and
there, especially--crying for us to help them. We must give of our best
to them, for, weak, tender and helpless as they are, the hope of the
world is in its babies."
Through the dark tree-tops the new-born moon appeared on the breast of
night, around it a misty halo like that about the head of the Infant
who came nineteen centuries ago, typifying the hope of all mankind.
"Look," said Donald. "Our honeymoon wears a halo."
"Because it is a hallowed moon," answered Rose.
The soft white radiance floated in, flooding the little porch and
illuminating the wife's sweet face as she lifted it again, now touched
with a smile, more meaningful and more ethereal than ever before.
For, to the smile of courage, hope and love, had been added the quality
of rich, deep contentment.
THE END
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARK GRAY'S HERITAGE
A Romance
By Eliot Harlow Robinson
Author of "Smiles: A Rose of the Cumberlands," "Smiling Pass," "The
Maid of Mirabelle," etc.
Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90
"What is bred in the bone will never come out of the flesh."
Mr. Robinson's distinguished success came with the acclaim accredited to
his novel, SMILES, "The Best-Loved Book of the Year," and its sequel,
SMILING PASS. With delicate humor and a sincere faith in the beautiful
side of human nature, Mr. Robinson has created for himself a host of
enthusiastic admirers. In his new book he chooses a theme, suggested
perhaps by the old proverb quoted above ("Pilpay's Fables"). His setting
is a Quaker village, his theme the conflict between grave Quaker ideals
and the strength and hot blood of impulsive Mark Gray.
Here is a book that is worthy of the reception accorded SMILES by all
readers who appreciate a story of deep significance, simply yet
powerfully built upon fundamental passions, wrought with a philosophy
that always sees the best in troubled times.
The enthusiastic editor who passed on MARK GRAY'S HERITAGE calls
it--hardly too emphatically--"A mighty good story with plenty of
entertainment for those who like action (there is more of that in it
than in any other of Mr. Robinson's novels). The reading public will
unquestionably call it another courage book'--which they called the
SMILES books, you know. The language is both strong and smooth. The
story has a punch!"
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POLLY THE PAGAN
Her Lost Love Letters
By Isabel Anderson
With an appreciative Foreword by Basil King
Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90
Isabel Anderson, who heretofore has confined her literary talents to
writing of presidents and diplomats and fascinating foreign lands,
contributes to our list her first novel, POLLY THE PAGAN, a story of
European life and "high society." The story is unfolded in the lively
letters of a gay and vivacious American girl traveling in Europe, and
tells of the men whom she meets in Paris, in London or Rome, her
flirtations (and they are many and varied!) and exciting experiences.
Among the letters written to her are slangy ones from an American
college boy and some in broken English from a fascinated Russian Prince
(or was he disillusioned, when after dining at a smart Parisian cafe
with the adorable Polly he was trapped by secret police?); but the chief
interest, so far as Polly's _affaires d'amour_ are concerned, centers
around the letters from a young American, in the diplomatic service in
Rome, who is in a position to give intimate descriptions of smart life
and Italian society.
The character drawing is clever, and the suspense as to whom the
fascinating Polly will marry, if indeed the mysterious young lady will
marry anybody, is admirably sustained.
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UNCLE MARY
A Novel for Young or Old
By Isla May Mullins
Author of "The Blossom Shop" books, "Tweedie," etc.
Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75
Since the great success of POLLYANNA there have been many efforts to
achieve the "GLAD BOOK" style [Trade Mark] of fiction, but none so
successful as Mrs. Mullins' UNCLE MARY.
Here is a story, charming in its New England village setting, endearing
in its characters, engrossing in its plot, and diverting in its style.
The PAGE imprint has been given to many books about beautiful characters
in fiction,--Pollyanna, Anne Shirley, Rose Webb of "SMILES," and Lloyd
Sherman of the "LITTLE COLONEL" books. To this galaxy we now add "Uncle"
Mary's protege, Libbie Lee.
Mrs. Mullins is an author gifted with the ability to appeal to the young
in heart of whatever age. Her characters are visually portrayed. Her
situations have the interest of naturalness and suspense. The reader of
UNCLE MARY will become in spirit an inhabitant of Sunfield; will
understand the enjoyment of the sudden acquisition of wealth, a
limousine, and--an adopted child (!), by the sisters, "Uncle" Mary and
"Aunt" Alice; will watch with interest the thawing and rejuvenation of
"Uncle" Mary, the cure of Alice, and the solving of the mystery of the
wealth of sweet little Libbie Lee.
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THE RED CAVALIER
Or, The Twin Turrets Mystery
By Gladys Edson Locke
Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90
Here is a mystery story that is different! The subtlety and strangeness
of India--poison and daggers, the impassive faces and fierce hearts of
Prince Bardai and his priestly adviser; a typical English week-end house
party in the mystery-haunted castle, Twin Turrets, in Yorkshire; a vivid
and contrasting background.
And the plot! Who is the mysterious Red Cavalier? Is he the ghost of the
ancestral portrait, that hangs in Sir Robert Grainger's strange library?
Is he flesh and blood, and responsible for the marauding thefts in the
neighborhood? Is he responsible for Prince Kassim's murder? Or is it
only coincidence that one of the guests at the masked ball happened to
wear the costume of the Red Cavalier?
Miss Locke has been able to weave a weird and absorbing tale of modern
detective romance, the strangeness of India in modern England.
There is Lady Berenice Coningsby, a bit _declasse_; Ethelyn Roydon, more
so; Princess Lona Bardai, "Little Lotus-Blossom," sweet and pathetic;
Mrs. Dalrymple, the woman of mystery; Miss Vandelia Egerton, the
spinster owner of Twin Turrets. There is dashing Max Egerton and the
impeccable Lord Borrowdean; Captain Grenville Coningsby; Prince Kassim
Bardai, with the impenetrable eyes, and Chand Talsdad, his venerable
adviser. Which of them is the Red Cavalier?
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Selections from The Page Company's List of Fiction
WORKS OF
ELEANOR H. PORTER
POLLYANNA: The GLAD Book (510,000)
Trade Mark Trade Mark
Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90
Mr. Leigh Mitchell Hodges, The Optimist, in an editorial for the
_Philadelphia North American_, says: "And when, after Pollyanna has gone
away, you get her letter saying she is going to take 'eight steps'
to-morrow--well, I don't know just what you may do, but I know of one
person who buried his face in his hands and shook with the gladdest sort
of sadness and got down on his knees and thanked the Giver of all
gladness for Pollyanna."
POLLYANNA: The GLAD Book. Mary Pickford edition
Trade Mark Trade Mark
Illustrated with thirty-two half-tone reproductions of scenes from the
motion picture production, and a jacket with a portrait of Mary Pickford
in color.
Cloth decorative, 12mo, $2.25
While preparing "Pollyanna" for the screen, Miss Pickford said
enthusiastically that it was the best picture she had ever made in her
life, and the success of the picture on the screen has amply justified
her statement. Mary Pickford's interpretation of the beloved little
heroine as shown in the illustrations, adds immeasurably to the
intrinsic charm of this popular story.
POLLYANNA GROWS UP: The Second GLAD Book
Trade Mark (253,000) Trade Mark
Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90
When the story of POLLYANNA told in The _Glad_ Book was ended, a great
cry of regret for the vanishing "Glad Girl" went up all over the
country--and other countries, too. Now POLLYANNA appears again, just as
sweet and joyous-hearted, more grown up and more lovable.
"Take away frowns! Put down the worries! Stop fidgeting and
disagreeing and grumbling! Cheer up, everybody! POLLYANNA has come
back!"--_Christian Herald_.
MISS BILLY (93rd thousand)
Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color from a painting by
G. Tyng, $1.90
"There is something altogether fascinating about 'Miss Billy,' some
inexplicable feminine characteristic that seems to demand the individual
attention of the reader from the moment we open the book until we
reluctantly turn the last page."--_Boston Transcript_.
MISS BILLY'S DECISION (78th thousand)
Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color from a painting by
Henry W. Moore, $1.90
"The story is written in bright, clever style and has plenty of action
and humor. Miss Billy is nice to know and so are her friends."--_New
Haven Leader_.
MISS BILLY--MARRIED (86th thousand)
Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color from a painting by
W. Haskell Coffin, $1.90
"Although Pollyanna is the only copyrighted glad girl, Miss Billy is
just as glad as the younger figure and radiates just as much gladness.
She disseminates joy so naturally that we wonder why all girls are not
like her."--_Boston Transcript_.
SIX STAR RANCH (95th thousand)
Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated by R. Farrington Elwell, $1.90
"'Six Star Ranch' bears all the charm of the author's genius and is
about a little girl down in Texas who practices the 'Pollyanna
Philosophy' with irresistible success. The book is one of the kindliest
things, if not the best, that the author of the Pollyanna books has
done. It is a welcome addition to the fast-growing family of _Glad_
Books."--_Howard Russell Bangs in the Boston Post_.
CROSS CURRENTS
Cloth decorative, illustrated, $1.50
"To one who enjoys a story of life as it is to-day, with its sorrows as
well as its triumphs, this volume is sure to appeal."--_Book News
Monthly_.
THE TURN OF THE TIDE
Cloth decorative, illustrated, $1.50
"A very beautiful book showing the influence that went to the
development of the life of a dear little girl into a true and good
woman."--_Herald and Presbyter, Cincinnati, Ohio._
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NOVELS BY
ELIOT HARLOW ROBINSON
Each one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90
A book which has established its author in the front rank of American
novelists.
SMILES, A ROSE OF THE CUMBERLANDS (29th thousand)
E. J. Anderson, former managing Editor of the Boston _Advertiser_ and
_Record_, is enthusiastic over the story and says:
"I have read 'Smiles' in one reading. After starting it I could not put
it down. Never in my life have I read a book like this that thrilled me
half as much, and never have I seen a more masterful piece of writing."
SMILING PASS: A Sequel to "SMILES," A Rose of the Cumberlands
The thousands who have read and loved Mr. Robinson's earlier story of
the little Cumberland mountain girl, whose bright courage won for her
the affectionate appellation of "Smiles," will eagerly welcome her
return.
"Applied sociology, mixed with romance and adventure that rise to real
dramatic intensity. But the mixture is surprisingly successful. The
picture impresses one as being faithfully drawn from the living models
with sympathetic understanding. The book is effective."--_New York
Evening Post_.
THE MAID OF MIRABELLE: A Romance of Lorraine
Illustrated with reproductions of sketches made by the author, and with
a portrait of "The Maid of Mirabelle," from a painting by Neale Ordayne,
on the cover.
"The spirit of all the book is the bubbling, the irrepressibly
indomitable, cheerful faith of the people, at their very best, against
the grave Quakerism from the United States standing out grimly but
faithfully. The tale is simply, but strongly told."--_Montreal Family
Herald and Weekly Star_.
MAN PROPOSES; Or, The Romance of John Alden Shaw
"This is first of all a charming romance, distinguished by a fine
sentiment of loyalty to an ideal, by physical courage, indomitable
resolution to carry to success an altruistic undertaking, a splendid
woman's devotion, and by a vein of spontaneous, sparkling humor that
offsets its more serious phases."--_Springfield Republican_.
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THE ROMANCES OF
L. M. MONTGOMERY
Each one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, $1.90
ANNE OF GREEN GABLES (364th thousand)
Illustrated by M. A. and W. A. J. Claus.
"In 'Anne of Green Gables' you will find the dearest and most moving and
delightful child since the immortal Alice."--_Mark Twain in a letter to
Francis Wilson_.
"I take it as a great test of the worth of the book that while the young
people are rummaging all over the house looking for Anne, the head of
the family has carried her off to read on his way to town."--_Bliss
Carman_.
ANNE OF AVONLEA (259th thousand)
Illustrated by George Gibbs.
"Here we have a book as human as 'David Harum,' a heroine who outcharms
a dozen princesses of fiction, and reminds you of some sweet girl you
know, or knew back in the days when the world was young."--_San
Francisco Bulletin_.
CHRONICLES OF AVONLEA (45th thousand)
Illustrated by George Gibbs.
"The author shows a wonderful knowledge of humanity, great insight and
warmheartedness in the manner in which some of the scenes are treated,
and the sympathetic way the gentle peculiarities of the characters are
brought out."--_Baltimore Sun_.
ANNE OF THE ISLAND (68th thousand)
Illustrated by H. Weston Taylor.
"It has been well worth while to watch the growing up of Anne, and the
privilege of being on intimate terms with her throughout the process has
been properly valued. The once little girl of Green Gables should have a
permanent fictional place of high yet tender esteem."--_New York
Herald_.
FURTHER CHRONICLES OF AVONLEA (20th thousand)
Illustrated by John Goss.
Nathan Haskell Dole compares Avonlea to Longfellow's Grand Pre--and
says, "There is something in these continued chronicles of Avonlea like
the delicate art which has made Cranford a classic."
"The reader has dipped into but one or two stories when he realizes that
the author is the most natural story teller of the day."--_Salt Lake
City Citizen_.
ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: The Mary Miles Minter Edition
Illustrated with twenty-four half-tone reproductions of scenes from the
motion picture production, and a jacket in colors with Miss Minter's
portrait.
Cloth decorative, 12mo, $2.25
"You pass from tears to laughter as the story unfolds, and there is
never a moment's hesitation in admitting that Anne has completely won
your heart."--Joe Mitchell Chapple, Editor, _The National Magazine_.
"Mary Miles Minter's 'Anne' on the screen is worthy of Mark Twain's
definition of her as the 'dearest and most moving and delightful child
since the immortal "Alice."'"--_Cambridge Tribune_.
KILMENY OF THE ORCHARD (52d thousand)
Illustrated by George Gibbs. Cloth decorative, 12mo, $1.90
"A purely idyllic love story full of tender sentiment, redolent with the
perfume of rose leaves and breathing of apple blossoms and the sweet
clover of twilight meadow-lands."--_San Francisco Bulletin_.
"A story born in the heart of Arcadia and brimful of the sweet and
simple life of the primitive environment."--_Boston Herald_.
THE STORY GIRL (46th thousand)
Illustrated by George Gibbs. Cloth decorative, 12mo, $1.90
"It will be read and, we venture to predict, reread many times, for
there is a freshness and sweetness about it which will help to lift the
load of care, to cheer the weary and to make brighter still the life of
the carefree and the happy."--_Toronto, Can., Globe_.
"'The Story Girl' is of decidedly unusual conception and interest, and
will rival the author's earlier books in popularity."--_Chicago Western
Trade Journal_.
THE GOLDEN ROAD (28th thousand)
Illustrated by George Gibbs. Cloth decorative, 12mo, $1.90
In which it is proven that "Life was a rose-lipped comrade with purple
flowers dripping from her fingers."
"It is a simple, tender tale, touched to higher notes, now and then, by
delicate hints of romance, tragedy and pathos. Any true-hearted human
being might read this book with enjoyment, no matter what his or her
age, social status, or economic place."--_Chicago Record-Herald_.
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NOVELS BY
ISLA MAY MULLINS
Each, one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75
THE BLOSSOM SHOP: A Story of the South
"Frankly and wholly romance is this book, and lovable--as is a fairy
tale properly told."--_Chicago Inter-Ocean_.
ANNE OF THE BLOSSOM SHOP: Or, the Growing Up of Anne Carter
"A charming portrayal of the attractive life of the South, refreshing as
a breeze that blows through a pine forest."--_Albany Times-Union_.
ANNE'S WEDDING
"Presents a picture of home life that is most appealing in love and
affection."--_Every Evening, Wilmington, Del_.
THE MT. BLOSSOM GIRLS
"In the writing of the book the author is at her best as a story teller.
It is a fitting climax to the series."--_Reader_.
TWEEDIE: The Story of a True Heart
"The story itself is full of charm and one enters right into the very
life of Tweedie and feels as if he had indeed been lifted into an
atmosphere of unselfishness, enthusiasm and buoyant optimism."--_Boston
Ideas_.
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NOVELS BY
DAISY RHODES CAMPBELL
THE FIDDLING GIRL
Cloth decorative, illustrated $1.65
"A thoroughly enjoyable tale, written in a delightful vein of
sympathetic comprehension."--_Boston Herald_.
THE PROVING OF VIRGINIA
Cloth decorative, illustrated $1.65
"A book which contributes so much of freshness, enthusiasm, and healthy
life to offset the usual offerings of modern fiction, deserves all the
praise which can be showered upon it."--_Kindergarten Review_.
THE VIOLIN LADY
Cloth decorative, illustrated $1.65
"The author's style remains simple and direct, as in her preceding
books."--_Boston Transcript_.