The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1860-11-21
GUARDED SECRETS.


w hat woman is there that confesses
not to the possession of n guarded secret ?
! School girls have their cherished lnyster-
les; but these pass from mouth to mouth,
till, like the witches ut seventh hand, all
their magic dies out. 1t is not Of such
we would speak, but of that sterncr a ID
more Stubborn secret which is the life in
life, which occupies the souls inner and
most secret chamber, and is the hearts
holy Of holes; "a joy, or n dread, or n
pang-most commonly the last-thr ugh
life: a thing that weaves itself, with more
or less intensity into every net of our daily
struggle on earth; is with MS when we
rise to new sun, and lies down with us
in the darkness; our a.companying shad-
ow, 90 where we may. and do what we
will; and Knocks us when we smile,
counterfeits all our agonies; and to lose
which would lie something like tAat loss
pictured in the we'll known Ger' an
legend. That tho constant presence of
our secret within US and around is las
It's meaning for GOOD, who shall doubt {?
! Our human woes would not be allotted 10
us-av, even rs r. daily bread-were
! that not necessary t. the nourishment of
higher life than that which perplexcs
us here. Our wandering spirits, even
/ lost and restless, must like the fabled
! children in the wood, gather their food
i from off the thorns. There is, in truth,
no teaching like the tea hing of a great
/ and master sorrow.
There are few places filed with more
startling materials for the romancist than
/ the much neglected secret drawer
Secret passages, hidden vaults, tapestry
yoiled door traps leading downward
through The floor, and escapes opening
upV ard through the skyIight, we have
! i'll n uudance: but the narrow and APP
parcntly insignificant receptacle that holds
within it, unseen by vulgar eyes, the
h0ar,.cd secret Of a heart and of n lifetime
nay, perhaps more--the darkening
presence of household, the Skeleton be-
hind the door seems altogether to have
escap. d the yigiIant research of the cur
ious. Rclics--some sainted, some pro-
fame enough-hang vi,bly about our
very doors We are all familiar with
relics of various kinds, from the sentimcn-
tai lovers hair filled locket ,wn to the re-
lgiouslv guarded heart of Montrose.'-
Some people arc essentially reIic-lovers
and will make far off pilgrimages for the
bare sight of M iron belt or knotted
cord youched for as the castigatorv badge
Of some mouldercd monk, and feel n
strange qualification in being permitted
10 kiss the worn stones trodden by the
feet of those once unhonored, grave cen
turics have since haIlowcd into some
thin akin to divine. From the mystic to
the real is wide bound, and few care to
take the leap. But, leaving to the star
gazer his moro dazzling horizon, let us
! gather round us for a br eft space the low
er interests of humanity; let US look with
reycrent eyes into the secret drawer
My grandmother ! al an oldfastioncl
! cabinet, portioned out, as was the method
of constructing such commodities i'll thoso
days, into suEdry small shelves. drawers,
and odd coverered boxes. The centre
compartment of this same old chest open
ed like door, having lock and key, and
within was long sliding drawer occu-
plying the entire depth Of the cabinet
That in this drawer something very pre-
cious was stored, all her children knew.
None, however dared pry into their
mothers guarded secret. Her husband
it was more than suspected, could have
thrown some light on the matter; but he
was never known to do so, and silence
rested on the unknown occupant Of the
drawer; the mystery remaining a
mystery up to the day to my good grand
mothers death. But the cold hand can
no more unlock the door through which
the warm, conscious life has passed and
when the pasied foot, lying stark. in its
dusty dwelling, no more mounts the stair
to the guarded trsasure-house Of all that
was once so dear-then mes the reveal
er; come perhaps in the form of prying
sick-nurse, one of those death watches
at the sight of which the living quake
Or it may be that hands more tender
deal in greater reverence with the depart
sd spirits cast-off apparel, holding sacred,
for the sleeper's sake. those forsaken re-
lies wcpt and prayed over by the waking
eyes that are never moro to weep and
pray on this earth again.
In the present case it was 90. The
contents Of the secret drawer were COM
mitted to the flames, in accordance witt
the expressed wish of the dying. But
somehow or other the secret oozed out.
1t would appear that like most other
crandmother's, mine had early in life a
love affair-as that deepest striking Il
WON ms experience is somewhat ir-
reyerontly termed. 1t was an old ste"y
the man she loved went abroad without
having spokcd that one word for which
her soul thirsted, and which. never; h.
k+, bal found thousand ettcranec