Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1865-11-23
Esther SearIe's New Year.
By MISS z. STUART PHELPS.

day that went singing It's way over the WOrld,
laden with its beautiful bright blessings. OF
the blessings, there was one more beautiful,
more bright than all, and that it left for
Esther.
It was the year after he died-the first New
Years day since Robbie died, so you see how
she shrank from its coming. For God had
not told her about the blessing. Neither in
the silence of the twilight, nor the hush of
the star-lit skies, nor the voice of the low,
cool winds that crepT in at her little window
had ever told her; nor in the chime of the
church bells, nor in her evening prayer She
knew nothing about the blessing, and so she
shrank from the day.
She would have been Robbie's wife by this
time, if God had not taken him. Robbie
wife
She was thinking of this, over and over,
over and over, while she stood there at the
door, watching the chilly pale-red sunset,
the last sunset Of the sorrowful year. Rob
bie's wife, Never to be Robbie's wife
Never to be Robbie's now, till death should
take her to him, and that was so long-so
long to wait. Thinking, too, of the tear
stained letters and the little picture, which
were all she had left of Robbie now; and of
the nameless, pitiful grave away on the
foul prison grounds That Robbie should
ever lie there. Such a brave soldier was
he, and would have been so proud to die in
battle. SO tender was he in his memories of
home, and would have been go glad to lie in
the old church yard, under the daisies and
buttercups, where he walked softly when he
was a little child. Well it could not be-
There were no daisies and buttercups for
Robbie now; hot tears dropping down among
Them none to come at nightfall, and whis-
per to his poor dumb resting place little
word of love. 1t could not be. Only He
who had decreed it knew why. Esther some
times wondered why, but she never doubted
that there was a very tender reason hidden
away somewhere. She never doubted that
he was always wise and tender Why he
had smitten her she did not know; but
because he had smitt en- her, she never once
let go her trusting hand from his, or hid
her upturned loving face before him.
You see she was no thinker-this girl !;
from the flower in the garden, up to the
mysteries of eternity. she never philosophical
about anything. She simply accepted it,
/ hope you will not think her quite unworthy
Of your notice. Is it, or is it not, blessing
sometimes to have the soul Of child-a soul
that shall never grow old? In other words,
a soul that is too crystalline to hold doubt.
/ do not know. Do you? Esther used to
think sometimes, in her little appealing way,
that it was hard indeed it was hard, tbs
living quite without Robbie. AS tonight,
locking far away into the sunset, thinking
how that bit of letter came, one year to-
morrow, with the beautiful wish: ga happy
New Year !" How beautiful it was to her
and to him how bright with its coming
home pictures how dear with its sweet
prophecies of untried, golden days, only they
two had known. Only they two knew now.
For he must know, Robbie must He could
not forget she felt sure he could not for
get.
Who was there to wish Esther happy New
Year now? What wishes of plying friends,
tender and true as they might be, could ever
make New Year happy to Esther now
But it was coming, the lonely, pitiless year,
that could not be warded off or turned away
from, or entreated to stay its footsteps; the
year that must be met, and faced, and lived,
hke-God only knew how many others. 1t
was coming. Tomorrow it would be upon
her. The days would creep into nights, and
the nights would fade into their mornings /;
the weeks would come and go, and so-God
only knew how long-her I" vacant days go
on" and on. Oh if she need not have to
bear it, the merry year If she need not
hear the glad, gay voices, and watch the
happy faces, and feel her way along in her
own darkness through the great light world,
through the long, long year If she might
lie down under the snow in such sleep as
Robbie slept in the prison-yard, and that
none should call her back to 1.-THE bare,
blank year!
But who sent the year? If Esther ever
forgot, it was only for a moment The cup
which had been given her, she had not drank
with childish cries. Albeit she was no
thinker, she was wise enough to know that
He had said unto her, Live" had said !:
For the night cometh wherein no man can
work" Until the night came, she had no
right to wrap herself in darkness that might
be felt. Life meant work: yes, and sunlight
too, however pale and thin it fell through
rifted clouds. Turn TO your philosophy, if
you choose. Do systems piled upon systems
ever strike deeper depth than this?
So Esther had tried to live. in her patient
way, and tried to be thankful for such mer-
cies as God had left her, and tried-oh she
had tried very, very hard to look upon her
future, and say that it was we'll She thought
of it, this night, going over the old argument
with herself, and turning her face. touched
into stiffness by prayer, toward the dying
brightness of the west
She made picture just then-such pic
ture as you would have taken into your heart.
think, if you had seen it, and kept little
while, very tenderly. She stood Just within
the doorway of the old brown house, her
dress-Esther did not wear mourning (her
mother thought it was silly)-futtering "a
little in the wind, her hands thrown down
and folded into each other, her face, with
the low brown hair upon quiet forehead,
fall in the chilly red light-the lonely, pale
light that fitted the face. The mouth might
have been girlish mouth the eyes might
have been merry eyes. There was nothing
there now but that stiffness of prayer. a:
if the girls being, agonies and joys alike,
had resolved itself into that stiffness of q
prayer. The dying light died out of the west
at last, and left the lonely face in shadow.
Esther" called her mother then from
the house.
Esther stirred little, the peace and the
worship fading out of her eyes, momentary
pain sharp in them. But it was only for a
moment She turned then, and went in; and
tie prayer went with her. Her mother sal
BY the fire knitting she looked up care
lessly 1865
81 want you to get supper, child. You'll
catch your death out there"
Eyes, mother; did not know it was
time"
She laid aside her shawl, and put on her