Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-07-03

WARD NONE; WITH CHART
JNTY, MINNESOTA, 7
II am not joking, my dear, replied
the husband.
if she had not rightly understood him.
Then she said:
"Why pretend what you do not
mean2 Surely, you, of I'LL others, have
most reason to be grateful to the tree.
Husn't all you dreamt under it come
truce"
"God knows" replied the husband,
when she had finished speaking-"Goi
knows 1 am grateful, grateful to Him
and to you. Yes, it was a beautiful
dream, and remember it like yester-
day; but everything is a thousand
times better than dreamt it, and you,
love, thousand times prettier and
dearer than the young woman who
appeared in my dream. But as regards
the tree, my darling, this is my opinion:
|
find the music to dance to, and echo
repeats the words that are spoken to
her. I had been for SO many years
wretched and miserable, amongst
strangers, it was no wender if once in
way I dreamt pleasant. dream"
But still it was strange that you
should dream you were to marry me. "
II never dreamt that! All I saw
was a young woman, with two children,
but she was not half as pretty as you,
or the children either"
Fie!" cried the wife; edo YOU
mean to deny me or the tree2 Didn't
you tell me the first day we metz 1t
was in the evening, ont there in the
arbor. Didn't you tell me you had
dreamt you were to marry me and be-
come the landlord OF the Crown Inn z"
Then the man remembered the joke
he had played his wife, and said
1T can't be helped, dear. wife. !
did not really dream of you, and if
said SO, it was only joke. I remem-
Der you were SO very inquisitive, and
wanted to tease YOU"
Upon this the wife hurst into flood
OF tears, and left the room. When he
followed her she was standing in the
court yard still crying. He did all he
could to comfort her, but in vain.
"You have stolen my love, and
cheated me out of my heart" she said.
81 shall never be happy again, no !!
never
Then he asked her if she did not love
him more than anybody in the world,
and if they had not been the happiest
couple in the whole village2
She could not deny this but, never
theless, she remained sad and miser-
able, notwithstanding all he could say.
So he thought. "Let her cry herself
out-to-morrow she will be herself
again." But she was not herself
again for the next morning, though
she certainly had ceased weeping, she
was sadder and graver than ever, and
pointedly avoided her husband.
Every attempt at reconciliation
failed nearly all day she sat gloomily
by herself, starting whenever her hus
band came near her.
This state of things continuing some
time, he also began to grow melan-
choly, fearing he had altogether lost
his wife's love. Silently he moved
about the house, thinking how to cure
the evil but no idea occurred to him;
so at noon he went ont into the village,
aud loitered carelessly through the
fields. The rich, ripe corn waved like
golcen lake, and the birds sang
sweetIy enough, but his heart was full
of sorrow. In the distance stood tho
old Dreaming Beech, queen of the
forest it lowered toward heaven. It
seemed to beckon him with its green
waving branches to come nearer, like
q good old friend. He went and sat
beneath it's shade, thinking of days
gone by. Five years had passed since
he, poor miserable wretch, had
rested there for the first time, and
dreamt that pleasant dream. How
pleasant for it-had lasted five years,
and now-all gone all gone: forever
and ever.
Then the beech began to rustic
again, as it had done five years ago,
and to move its mighty branches and
as they moved there fell, rs then, the
golden gl1ttering sunlight across it's
leaves, and through the boughs peepcd
ever and anon the deep blue sky. Then
his heart grew calmer, and he slept.
Soon he dremat that dream again of
five years ago. The woman at the
table and the little children ut their
play; but now, the faces were the
faces of his own dear wife and children,
ard she looked at him with her large
brown eyes 80 kindly, all, SO kindly!
And then he awoke, and found it was
| only, q dream More sorrowful than
before, he broke off q small green twig
from the tree, and went home and
placed it in his hymn book.
The next day was Sunday, and as
they went to church the leaves fell out
at the wife's feet. He turned scarlet
as he stopped to pick them up and put
them into his pocket. But the wife
had seen 1t and asked what it was.
''Only leaves from the Dreaming
Beech, which is much kinder to me
than you are. Yesterday was resting
beneath it and fell asleep. 1t wished
to console me, for 1 dreamt that you
were kind to me again, and had for
given everything, but it is not true.
The good old beech, though it is a
noble tree, knows nothing about the
future"
The wife gezed at him, and it was as
II q ray of sunshine had crossed her
face.
Husband, did you really dream
that 2"
"Yes," he answered, positively.
And she knew it was the truth, by
the twitclling about his mouth, like
one who has a difficulty in restraining
his tears.
"And was really your wlfe?"
"Really my own true wife !" and she
/ fell on his neck and half suffOcated him
with kisses.
"Thank God !" she said, "now it is
all right again! Hove you so dearly
how dearly You can never knowl And
oil these long, weary days, I have been
in such dread, lest 1 was wrong In
loving you, and that God meant me to
have another husband, and you another
wife; for you certainly did steal nv
heart, you bad man and there was
deception at first. Yes, you stole nv
heart, but it did not do you much
good, for you know things must have
happened just as they did, whether We
would or no." Then, after q pause,
she continued
"Promise me never to speak of the
Dreaming Beech again slightingly."
II never will, for l believe in it NJ
much US you do, depend upon it.
though in a different way, perhaps
And now let us paste the leaves in the
beginning of our hymn book, SO thai
they may not be lost"