The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1867-02-15
THE TWO KISSES.

H.
| am an old man; So old am | that,
looking back, life seems very long, and
yet so Short, that do not know whether
many things did not happen i'll dream.
| am hale, and hearty, and merry for
the matter of that; and when laugh,
my laugh rings out clearly and loud,
they say; so much SO, that it makes the
people around, especially my grand
children, and nephews and nieces, laugh
too. And when l laugh the old times
come back when others, who are silent
now, laughed with me, and then am
suddenly still, and the laugh dies away !;
and when | think of it, its empty echoes
fill my brain just as if it were sleep
laughter in a dream.
Vixen / stop laughing SO suddenly,
for the merriment and enjoyment, and,
for the matter of that, the griefand pain
of old men, are short and sudden, like
those of children-my grandchildren,
and nephews and nieces, have great
difficulty to stop too; and they choke
and nudge each other, and say that is a
good story, uncle; almost as good as tie
story you told us yesterday.
Told yesterday; let me see. what it
was l told yesterday. How long ago it
seems ;a it must be longer ago than the
time when L was only twenty years old,
a stalwart, brave fellow in yellow breech-
es, black leggins, a heavy, brass bound,
leather helmet with a plume tipped, with
red, and clanking sword which + now
could not lift with my two hands. l was
royal volunteer then, prepared to re-
sist the French; and | and some Of my
companions were encamped in white
tents on the coast of Kent.
Z Yes, people think me very merry
And SO, thank Heaven, am; for | try
to stand upright, four-square to the
world, as a man should; but being al
old man, l have blank places in my
heart now, where no love grows; bar
rem spots in my memory, and chilled
and numbered parts in my feeling
whereto | cannot look back, and where
on | dare not tread and touch lest sud
den pain should come back, like th
shooting Of an old, old wound.
Been in love! Yes, | should think
have; how else could | have grand
children, those people who laugh S
hearty when l laugh, and make me tel
how old am score of times, aud sa
| how well | am looking.
| Been in love! think was talkini
of that, was l not9 Yes, been in love
Well, we did love when | was youni
fellow, and recollect my Alice, and
recollect her as l loved her when sh
was very young, and as | love her nov
| | think she could do anything but drin
and smoke or tell an untruth, or do
wrong action. Her face was a swet
loval face; her hair very dark brown
nearly black; and her eyes were dee
| blue, fulIsof merriment at one momen
lay, at all moments, except when Sd
Heard sad story or was touched wit
pain for any one else, and then the
grew deeper and deeper as they file
! with tears. Not for herself. She ne
| er cried for herself that know of, fC
she never had days illness. But 81
was terribly cut up when her broth'
died, and that you see was how | kne
her. Her brother was my right-han
man in my company. Many's the tin
he stood shoulder to shoulder to IN
good at drill, good at soDg-good
anything. He used to live near tt
coast; and, indeed he joined us, and
was one of his tent-fellows, and b
! chum.
Well, he knew people that l kne'
and we were soon friends; and he to-
] me home to show me Alice. He was ;
ways talking about her, and she abo
him; and when he was there, scarce
look did she give Inc. Her brother
# his name was Joe, and mine too-cou
do everything, and was the be'all al
end-alt of the world, | used to thin
and so one day l tried to run with Jc
and Joe beat me, and Alice laughe
ii and then | shot against Joe, and he be
. me too, and she laughed the more; al
[ wreslled with him aud threw him, S
/, didn't laugh then, but ran to see whet
er he was hurt, and said it wasn't f;
!. for Joe to tackle big fellow like n
:, although he was nigh AT inch tall'
In short, l could not please her an
: how.
Well, it was one day when we hea
that the fiat -bottomed boats of old E
new were not coming over, and that t
. ARMY of Boulogne had melted, bit
! bit, away like snowdrift, that we ma
a night of it. Ay, it was a night, to
: and, being hot and in the summer, '
must need keep up the fun till the s,
came up ever the seacoast, looking r.
and angry at our folly. Well, Joe al
/. the two Joes, as they called us r
I down to the beach and washed our b
faces, and plunged in the fresh, s.
. waves, and were in minute as fre
and merry as larks. And after Dire
ing Joe must needs take walk wi
: me, who was nothing loath, you mi
:. know, along the edge of the cliff. I
y seas for centuries have been washi
y that chalk-bound coast, and at interv
there stand up pillars of chalk, with Sc