Universal Brotherhood, Volume XIII, No. 11, February 1899: A Magazine Devoted to the Brotherhood of Humanity, the Theosophical Movement, Philosophy, Science and ArtVarious
Philosophy
Universal Brotherhood, Volume XIII, No. 11, February 1899: A Magazine Devoted to the Brotherhood of Humanity, the Theosophical Movement, Philosophy, Science and Art
Various
Theosophy -- Periodicals
Phœbe sat quiet for some time. The voices of the other children sounded
farther away until they scarcely reached her. She saw Tommy’s little
figure far down the glen, beside the Still Pool. “I wonder what he is
looking at,” she thought, “he has been standing beside the pool such a
long time.” She called, “Tommy, Tommy,” but he did not turn his head.
She waited a moment and then started toward him. As she came near him
she saw that he was gazing into the waters of Still Pool as though he
saw something very wonderful in it.
Still Pool was a beautiful little well of water at the northern end of
the glen. It was formed by water from the brook which had some time gone
out of its course and left here this deep, clear pool, all surrounded by
ferns and water cress. It was almost always so clear that you could look
right down to the bottom of it and see the white pebbles there. The
children had always called it the “Still” pool, because it seemed so
very quiet in this part of the glen and the pool was the stillest of
all.
Phœbe came up to Tommy. He did not hear her; he was looking into the
pool. So she came behind him very softly and laid her hand on his
shoulder.
“What are you looking at, little Tommy?” she asked.
“I have called and called you, but you never turned your head. I don’t
believe you even saw me as I came up here.”
Tommy turned around and looked at her. His big, dreamy eyes looked up
into her soft brown ones. “Oh, Phœbe,” he said, “I suppose I must have
been dreaming. I’m hardly awake yet. I saw something so wonderful in
Still Pool.”
Phœbe looked at the child with deep interest. “You saw a beautiful Face
there, didn’t you?”
Tommy looked at her with astonishment. “Why, how did you know? Then I
must really, truly have seen the Face.”
Phœbe laid her cool hand on his hot forehead and brushed his hair back.
Then she took his hand and said softly:
“Come to my chestnut tree before the other children come back and you
can tell me all about it. Or, if you don’t feel like talking, we will
just rest under the tree awhile, and when the others come we will all go
home together.”
Tommy grasped Phœbe’s hand tightly and walked along. Neither said
anything until they had sat under the tree for some time. Tommy’s eyes
still wore their far-away look. He laid his head on Phœbe’s lap, and the
young girl stroked his yellow hair and waited until he should be ready
to talk.
At last the little boy sat up and said:
“I saw a very queer thing while I was at Still Pool. I was just looking
into the water and thinking how white the pebbles were, when all at once
I couldn’t see the pebbles any more. The water looked all gray, and
then, while I was looking and wondering, I saw a beautiful, beautiful
face! I really did, Phœbe, honest and true!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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