The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-06-04

"Dop' he answered. 81 shall bring
you glad tidings. Success Is too near fol
me 10 miss il now. Good night. gsoC
night NV sweetheart - and so speaking hc
passed from her into the shadow of his
awaiting doom.
After that night of storm the day
dawned clear and cool. At ST. Paul's the
Choral Society, just then in first flush o
enthusiasm over a new oratorio, gathered
early. 0ne-Two-Threel the great
! bells chimed the hours and the singers
waited impatient for their leader. Some
thing had detained him most likely; he
would come soon! The hour struck FOul
and he had not come, and Hester Heath.
ersleigh with a heart heavy as lead in heI
| bosom fell on her knees in an agony o.
prayer. ''Oh, my God!" she cried, reck
/ less of who might hear her. "He is dead
My Robert is dead He has been lost in the
cruel stOrm!' ~
Some one pitying. touched her arm. II
was her cousin, Conrad Charters he was
! looking down at her with pale face-s
face paler far than that with which he haC
spied upon her yesterday from behind the
gallery curtain. Her piteous cry had
touched even his stony heart.
Hush ~ he whispered, ''here is news
from him-frOm Robert; come and hear
what it is.'
A note had been brought by a swift
running messenger, and a shudder ran
round the waiting circle of listeners wher
its contents were made known. 1t was
signed by leading physician of the city
and stated that Robert Field had beer
picked up that morning at the foot of the
cliffs and taken home for dead. He was
now. at the date of writing, lying in an in,
sensible condition, and it was impossible
to tell what the extent of his injuries
were, or if there were any hope of his ul.
innate recovery.
A hOrror-stricken silence followed the
reading of the note, broken at last by {
low, sObbing cry from Hester Heather.
sleigh's white lips.
81 must 90 TO him-Oh, | must go tC
himl Who will take me? You! you y
and she caught Conrad Charters by the
arm.
He shrank away from her with a ges.
ture much as if she had pierced him with {
knife. His black eyes dilated horribly.
81? | go with you to see him? Z" he
cried. What are you thinking of! What
do YOU take me fOr?'' Then noting heI
astonished look he made fierce struggle
for composure; but his hands shook like
withered leaves.
"Why do you wish to go to him - he
questioned angrily. "He would not re.
cogniZe yOu-and it is no place for you
Let me take you home"
She snatched up her shawl and bound il
with trembling fingers about her shoulders
:" tell you l shall 90 to him." she answer
ed. @ was to have been his wife, and
living or dead, my place is now by his side
You can come with me if you like ~ And
she flew down the steps.
1t seemed an age to her, that short time
she was on the road leading to the lonely
house of Robert Fields widowed mother
and when at last, by dint of her prayers
and tears, she was suffered to approach his
bedside, she looked down on a very differ.
ent Robert Field from the one with whom
she had parted in such high hope the night
before.
The bruises were chiefly about the head
the physician said gravely, and even if he
recovered it was doubtful if his mind
would ever be sound again. Hester heard
him. and with great sob fell on her knees
by the bedside. Where now were the bril-
liant aspirations, the tender hopes, the gay
courage and stout-hearted faith of one
short day gone by? Lost! losti Success
so near to him. and yet to fail. Triumph so
nearly won, and yet to pass by on the other
side.
"RObert, o my Robert Look up Speak
to me, or |. too, shall dier'
All! but love remained. Love unchanged
and unfaltering. This then was left-the
blessing of love which believes all things
hopes all things, and endures all things
unto the end.
The drawn white face on the pillow did
not change at Hester's cry, but under the
half-cloSed lids the dull eyes CLEANED
feebly and the slender hand outside on the
cOverlet groped helplessly. Hester took
his hand in hers and then, quick as light
ming, by some strange, subtle instinct
rather than by any demonstration of his
she felt that the poor, stricken senses were
trying to break through the darkness thai
enveloped them and make their unknown
want understood.
Robert. Robert! what is it?' she cried
"What is it that you want to make us un
derstand?"
The helpless moving his lips, the help
less cropping of his fingers, were enough tC
make one weep. Hester bent her ear to his
mouth.
"What is it, Robert, dear? Tell me
what is it you want"
The stifened lips strove with terrible
effort to move, and this time one word was
feebly articulated:
"MuSic!"
Hester looked up with a startled eXcla,
nation:
Music! He calls for his music. Dc
YOU not hear? Where is it? Who knows
about it? Is it lost?" she questioned
eagerly.
Again that terrible attempt at speech
The dull eyes opened wide, the feeble fin
gers clenched themselves on Hester's hand
and, with last mad effort of expiring des
perate strength, he raised himself anc
shrieked:
my music! Find it, Save it," And
then he fell back on his pillow like one
dead.
q You have killed him." said the physi
clan. angrily, and at the words Hester, with
moan, dropped down insensible.
Not dead But when, after weeks and
months of painful illness, he faced the
world again, he looked like shadow out
of the past. But bent and aged, with
| SCARED forehead and whitened locks, the
wreck of his body was not the greatest
evil that had befallen him; for of the bril-,
liant genius of other days no vestige was
left. Saddest of all, the miserable
ghost of his lost hopes haunted
him, and in the ruined chamber Of
his darkened intellect he was forever
cropping, trying to gather up the mystic
chords of tuneful thought which no long
er vibrated to his magic touch. The lost
manuscript music had never been recover
ed. and though his feeble mind failed tC
take in the greatness of his loss, the
shadow of something beautiful which wal
to have been, but, somehow, failed to be
Law on him, and gave his face a wistfu
| look, which was sadder far in its mute en-
durance than any wall of speech could
have been.
Music was TO him now something akir
to the sound ef 90 sweet bells tangled, ou
of tune and harsh"
One day in early spring he went to The
church for the first time, leaning on Hes
ter's arm. The old familiar look of thu
place struck him forcibly and reused hi
dormant wits. He sat down TO the organ
and glided his hands over the keys; few
iangling discordant chords followed, wan
dering and disconnected; then his fac'
changed. and. with terrible cry, he tuns
his head down on his arms.
"0h Hester! tell me what it is | hav,
! lost: Sometimes | almost reach tit i