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. Midsummer Eve : a fairy tale of loving and being loved . herwith Love. Love: rubbish! answered Honeybell, pettishly— the source ofwomans misery. And happiness! I would gift her with beauty, wealth, and spirit; the worldstreasures: that she may subdue the world. A FAIRY TALE OF LOVE. 23 ♦ Let her mother determiuc, said Nightstar ; let her mother deter-mine. Do you offer your gifts, and I will offer mine! The pallid mother trembled in every limb while the Queens performedtheir spells above her couch. At first, her vision was perplexed : she saw,floating around her, those animated atoms of the
. Midsummer Eve : a fairy tale of loving and being loved . herwith Love. Love: rubbish! answered Honeybell, pettishly— the source ofwomans misery. And happiness! I would gift her with beauty, wealth, and spirit; the worldstreasures: that she may subdue the world. A FAIRY TALE OF LOVE. 23 ♦ Let her mother determiuc, said Nightstar ; let her mother deter-mine. Do you offer your gifts, and I will offer mine! The pallid mother trembled in every limb while the Queens performedtheir spells above her couch. At first, her vision was perplexed : she saw,floating around her, those animated atoms of the mysterious world that■have so much power over our destinies—without recognising what or whothey were. At length she singled out the two Queens—ISTightstar, as aliving thing of light—Honeybell, as only a creature, beautiful and Nurse saw that Geraldines eyes were fixed, and that she seemedentranced ; this, she fancied, was but a wile to get her to take her eyes offthe child. Presently, her ladys lips moved, and she spoke softly and. slowly, as if she were replying to certain questions, which the Nurse didnot hear. * Whatever will give her most happiness, and make her mostbeloved—no woman was ever happy who was not beloved, she was a pause after she had spoken these disjointed words; and theNurse observed that her soft eyes wandered first to one side, then toanother. She tried to call Handy, but her tongue refused its office ; sheclutched the infant firmly in her arms, and kept her eye steadily upon words came faint and wearily from the mothers lips. ** Thankyou, thank you—if you cannot prevent the world from assailing her—itis well to teach her to endure—we must all do that—the more love, the 24 MIDSUMMER EVE: more endurance—riches, honours, and beauty, are fine things —but LovkIS TUE PERFUME OF LIFE ! There was another pause, and the youngmothers eyes were illumined by an expression of tenderness, resignation,and joy, suc
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookidmidsummereve, bookyear1870