Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1870-02-02
THREE DAYS In A woMAN's LIFE.
Fnom oEoE4 WEEK. 70 1sE-


To melt in tears again. '
Yes, thus twas written in the sky, -- s. .
Twas thus the stars decreed.
And we, far parted, wander on s-F-r r----s
Where er these stars may lead.
But there's happy distant land --a 6
Where the bonds OF fate are riyen,-
And there weztwo shan n1eetagafn
Beyond the starry Heaven
Translated from the German
Yes, it IS very true, though life be long
yet as one looks bsc.k,. few days onI
stand out from it's menotonous level an,
give their color to ones existence. On
such day-divided from me by forty year
rises on my memory now in undiminlsh
ed brightness, and neither time, nor space
nor any other thing, nor death itself,
sometimes think, shall quite do away witt
its influence npon my soul
/ had risen early, and as [ threw opel
my bedroom window and breathed tn
dewy freshness of the morning, I turned
away in discomfort at its cam brightness
for to-day he must go away -
This thought t.had repeated itself in m,
uneasy dreams and troubled waking, till
5elt angry, but neither pride nor reason
,an avail against the pain that wearied N,
leart that morning. l dressed myself and
wandered out into the garden. I stopped
~ little sparkling fountain and gazed alb
tractedly at it's shining waters and thu
Taving trees, and the brilliant flowers :
azed and thought. To-day he is going
way. I sat down by the fountain 8 brinl
nd dreamed pest scenes over again, mixed
18th vague fancies of what the future NIGH
ave in store.
Suddenly | was aware of shadow be
7een me and the sun. I looked up
alph Trafford stood before me. With q
oppressed cry I started to my feet, for q
cam that changes to reality, thought
at becomes bodily presence, has some
tng awful in it; my face
lst have. expressed as much, for with an
lused smile he said, I'm sorry | frighten-
you-but what makes me so vefv alarm
this AoruingP' All my hearts blood
ie to my face-I tried to speak and could
{, but tears came instead, tears thai
shed away the last slight defenees that
ot our hearts apart; and ah what echoes
heavenly music did the voice [ listened
awaken in my heart, what strange glory
ised over the face of the earth ! Then
the shadows, and the drop of gall from
ich no earthly happiness is free, and
lgled itself IN my cup of bliss. His
k eyes were looking into mine with
der pity, and the tone of his voice was
almost remorseful, as be said, For
me. Alice, did not mean this"
How? lido not understand YOU"
have been weak, base selfish What
It had to throw the smallest shadow
ny own trials on your bright young life? :?
Nv more hours of silence and forbear-
e. and |, with my wretched fortune,
lld have been out of your way forever
lould speedily have been forgotten, and
le one with home to offer"
oh, Ralph p
My poor love, do not look as if meant
sproach; hut my prospects are so little
,eful. God knows whether it will ever be
nv power to claim thee as my wife. It
1ld be the very height of selfshness to
rifce your future to vision that pos
ly, nay probably, would never be real
d; better be nothing to you than a vain
TetP
Stop, Ralph. It is you who do not un-
tstand me now. Cou'd it have been bet
for me to believe that you had made it
day's amusement to win my heart and
ne away to play the same careless frolic
rhaps with another? To have both my
Prospect and trust in others poisoned by
e harrassing doubt whether l had been
isled by my own silly vanity or your cruel
.ceit No henceforth come what may, /
u bear it. l may never see you again,
1t | have your love. You may forget me;
ay even transfer your loveto another; but
shall know had it once. You cannot de-
rive me of that comfort now
His self-blame was chased away, at least
)r the moment, and we sat together by the
)untain, silent and happy-the nast for
often, the future unthought of, the pres
mt all in all. We made no vows, pIighted
40 trCth; but we loved one another, and
We knew it. A few more hours, and he
was gone away into the wide world, the
deep sea between us, and barriers tar more
impossible dividing US from each other
foreverl |, too, returned to my own
home, and no trace remained of the day
that had SO great an influence on my life,
save in the de pths of my own heart.
have never seen that garden again; but
once ince have been old dreamed that
l was there. Once more the fountain spark
led in the sunshine, the trees waved, the
birds sang, the very scent of the flowers
all, all was on that day so long ago. For
one moment was young again-It was a
strange sensation; the next there was a
pang of something lost or misiaid, doubt
as of my own identity, struggle to think
and recollect; and 1 awoke. 1t was only a
the shadow of shade.
The mists gather over the magic glass Of
memory. They clear, and another picture
forms itself to my minds eye.
l am in my old room at home. The
shadows of evening are darkening in the
autumnal sky, the large heavy clouds DRIFT
about like uneasy spirits. l raise my eyes
TO the easement window and watch the
faded, falling leaves futter by and vanish
like the hope and promise of my youth.
The moaning of the wind sounds IN my
ears like the wailing dirge of the past, and
the fast darkening heavens seem the
emblem of my future. With heavy sigh
I stirred the snouldering fire into blaze,
and stopped to read by its light those sen
tences of the letter, l held, and which
were already imprinted in fiery char
acters on my brain. It was nv sister Ell
eanor's kind, unconscious hand that had
given me this mortal blow yes, mortal
blow for that which had been for three
wears the life of my life died out as l read
- died and made no sign. Her story was
merely this: DO you remember Ralph
Traford? Perhaps not, it is so long since
YOU met him; though you ought. for, by.
the-bye, he used to be a great admirer o-
YOURS, dear Alice. Well, Mr.. Lewis has
been at Munich, where he saw q good dea
of him. Just before he left, it came out
that Ralph had been priya ely married fol
some weeks to the widow of Count 49,,
who died not above six months ago. There
had been some scandal about Ralph and
this woman last year, so Mr.. L. says, but
whether the reports were true or not, Of
course he could not say; but, at all events,
1t was not the first scandal she has been the
heroine Of My husband is vexed, for he
has always had great regard for Ralph
and what makes the matter more annoying
Is that his elder brother is now quite given
over, and only sent to Madeira to die, SC
that we may soon expect the bride anc
bridegroom to take possession of D
Hall, and | must decide what to do about
calling on her," &c, &c.
NoC l. then, but another, was to share
ms nome, when he had one to offsr.
crushed the letter together in my hand
ana hong 1t into the fire. Phe feelings O
my heart, as L watched it shrivel and per
ish, am as unable to describe as to FORGET
l mad answered quietly and colIectedI,
when asked, What does Eleanor saw ~
remember, as | put down the let+a,, -, -