The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-06-11
HER CHOICE.

BY LUCY LAkGDA-
STRANGE, strange. 10 herself if seemed fora mo-
Ashe turned to smiie from his plow N sight OF
And she smiled back, and went in under the
And sang at Der Tork with the bird that wove
nest In the caves.
IL was not the man Of her dreams, out there in his
coarse farm-irock,
sturdy and firm on the earth as tree or a Ilchen-
ci rock.
With an eye sun-clear in is health and a check
red-hrpnzea wiiItan. EHs
Mo- that shadow sir4r'k into mist andfea from
this iiyinglnan. eE s-fHtE
She had shaped a pretty ideal as A child n,ioI,f
fashion a DOH:
She had clothed him with such perfection as never
Heaven let fah
On tn shoulders OF mortal wight; but slowly,
one after ore.
From Der idol nuitercd away the shreds by phan-
tafyspuns "a GFE
And what Of him then was len? There seemed
n scatter in air
An eyebrows curve, weak mouth with a deli
cate fringe Of hair. - q -
And a iown-hresl curl Of conter1r,t INV. fl ,oors
who till the land
she shudd-rcd o. think bOyy eronyy sor,atir,es is
welded hand.
I-TT- Hrrra rTra.
Yes, once She had pictured herself hat pitiul
strirling' tnlde; ..I- lFl IlL
n
doinrdl
For the first commands Of the ten all maidens are
prone ~ brtsk, M ~
In bOwing down 60 such gods rs 81 cir own crude
fancies make.
And this had been her first love! To her forehead
rushed hsmc,
As mcmor, tauBtci and laughed-- the blush Of a
mair0n > shame
At her rirlhood's shallowness. Ah the poets
falsely sing
That III, loyeliest blossoms Of all are gathered in
early spring.
Many May-day past she had found under Leaf
A crowfoot, perhaps, or a tuft OF pallid ane-
moncS,
Could these compare with the rose, grown shape
ly In summers heat
Or the lily's lafe-brimmed cup, or the spice Of
the meadow sweet2
The high sun deepcns the scent and color Of Slow
blown flowers:
Intense with the white warmth Of Heaven glows
earth m her mid-nOOn hours
The more life, richer the love, else life itself il
And aspiration and faith on the gusts Of April
die.
And--there the furrow be turned--her husband,
whose cheerful years
Looked ont ~ his eyes with light that conquer
ed her foolish fears
OF the coming loneliness when the world would
be chill with rime--
Staunch friends and honest were he and his elder
held-mate, Time.
And Time, laying by his scythe at their hearth,
in the evenings long,
Would read from his ancient scroll, would charm
them with noble song,
And life would mellow with love, and the future
would open fair -
And grand, as the silver OF age feiI softly upon
their hair.
For she had not welded clod, whose heart was
earthly of earth,
Whose cattle and acres and crops were the mea-
sure of his worth.
He knew the ring of a truth and the shape of a
royal thought,
And how at integrity mint the wealth Of a land
is wrought.
lie labOrcd with mind and strength and vet he
could wisely rest;
He toilrd for his daily bread, and ate it with
wholesome Zest-H- 49, .-r-
At the world wide human board the brother and
friend OF all
With whom he could share hope on whom let
blessing fall.
She had chosen a wOrking-man; never idler's
tastes had she.
And her possible fate had been the fate of
HON sick bee
In a buttsTny's leash. driven on amid scentless
and Il eless bloOm--
What druigery were not bliss to inanities Of that
doom?
Woman's lot at the best is hard; but hardest of
all 10 share
No growth into larger Thought, no struggle, bur
den or prayer.
And again she caught his smile, and silently,
proudly said:
" This man, with the love Of my heart and the
life Of my soul, wed. -
--IndeperdeHt.