Gratia's Trials — page 118: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

GRATIA’S TRIALS. 109 Yes, it was little Raymond ; but how changed—how altered ! The yellow curls still shadowed his forehead, but the blue veins showed plainly through the pallid skin; the blue eyes shone with the fire that is reflected only from another world, and the cheeks were hollow and sunken, ‘*Raymond !” she cried, in a gasping, choked voice, ‘‘oh, Raymond !” And then she fell sobbing on her knees beside the bed. It was too much. ‘‘T knew you would come, sister,” said the child, putting’ his thin arms round her neck. Child and woman seemed for the. moment to have changed places. She was excited, wild, agonized with the impending defeat of all her fondest plans—that downfall of the castle in the air she had built with such fond yearnings, such a limit- _ less depth of love! But little Raymond stood too near the shores of the other world to feel the shocks and thrillings of this All these things were past for him, | ‘‘Did they tell you I was going to die, Gratia?” said the little fellow, wistfully stroking the cheeks down which the scald- ing tears were running. ‘‘ Don't cry, sister. I am going to be with my mamma. _ I prayed God to let me live until Christ- mas, because I knew you would come back to me then.” Gratia lifted her wet, wild eyes to his face. ‘‘Raymond! Raymond! you musn’t die. Oh, darling, I cannot let you die zow/ Ihave come to take you home with me—to such a home as we used to talk about, dear, when all should be sunshine and brightness.” He looked smilingly into her face. ‘© T would rather go to heaven, sister, because you see, mam-_ ma is there waiting forme. And you will come too, by and by. Let me lie down now, for I am tired—but don’t you let go of my hand, Gratia !" The poor girl’s pleading eyes sought the face of the kind comicbooks (E(0)