The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-06-22

theless, for she had said IN tie. mean
; time: = am Helen Banks, from Say
brook,. and ,sas l wasTpassing throng
lbere, On my way to R0cbYille, where
o am to take the Office, thought it no
Improper that should call and renew
in prOprid persona, the acquaintanc
we had formed by wire
, - SlHaye burdeued you, bySinference
> witt N0neF exploded AtheeEy,- so dom
mind another" he continued, 81 fel
in love at first sight. She was a Lowell
4 ucreatureg sfnalla of -sssSure, bright. IN
\ tetigent, modest, t,~enchanting, and sh
appeaTed to meas suddenly and unex
\ pectedly as Diana appeared to Endym
ion. How readily l accepted Endym
ions role, and with what alacrity
awoke from my sleep of everyday life
20 new life of love and bliss, neeC
moi tell you. She staid only a few
minutes, and at parting, she said, gaily
expect to be intensely lonesome
down at Rockville, and that my only
recreation will be that derived from lis
tening to the birds, and TO your musi
cal sending. Think of me sometimes
and when the wire is idle, say WORD
TO poor me, won't youP' she went on
half loosely, half in earnest. eAnd,
she concluded, when you are too busy
to bid body good day, please imagine
that INF l.SsA7, .t.tinl E7.1
| 8 pretty and pale and tired
She sits in her stiff backed chair, .
While the blazing summer sun .r.H
| Shines on her soft brown hair, ,"aa ..
and all the rest of it. Good bye, and
she was gone. .-a i
"How dark and dismal the old office
looked as | resumed my duties. The
sunbeams which in my imagination
nestled in her hair and played round
the dimples in her cheeks, lending a
new and genial luster to the office,
blessing every nook and corner in the
dim old room like visible benediction,
went out with her. Iwasyery thought
ful and pre-occupied that afternoon,
and felt that / could afford to smile at
my companions who sought 10 tease me
by asking if that was the young lady
who inquired so often if Mr.. Sixty-siX-
! i-Sixty-siXes was in. Well, time passed
on, and what with chatting on the wire,
and corresponding by mail, we finally
reached that epochi in our acquaintance
when l dared to offer myself in mar
riage. A letter was the medium of my
propsal-I had not courage to make a
personal appeal
He paused, and drummed on the desk
with his fingers for little time, and
then said:
"a waited patiently three days for an
] l,.,4. / I
q week, month, and then she resigned
and went home. dared not make any
inquiry of her meantime, though | did
write cOn6dentially to the postmaster
at Rockville, and learned that he had
himself delivered the letter into her
hands. l saw how it was; she could
not accept me and was too kind to tell
me so. / went into the army when the
war broke out, but returned home on a
furlough in 1868. learned that Helen
had married her cousin a few months
before, and had removed to Iowa. l
was resolved to make the best of it and
be a man. You see how well ] have
succeeded," he said, smiling sadly.
80 Just before my Through was out, l
took copy of a morning paper pub
lished in the city where I had been
formerly employed, and started
an seeing Z my own name. At
first / thought had been accidentally
included in a list-o killed and wound
ed. I hastily turned the paper to read
the heading, and my heart sank within
me. Through hot, binding tears,
which l coEld not stay, read the sad,
sad story that made me what l am. A
Post-oflice clerk had been arrested for
robbing the mails; in his room were
found unendorSed, ,and therefore useless
checks, and among other things the
aceount said, personal letters to the
following named addresses Then
followed list of a hundred or more
names, among which was mine. l
took the first train 20 -, and apply-
ing at Police Headquarters, obtained
my letter. 1t was as | had .feared-it
was lher letter accepting me as
her husband. l crushed it in my
hands, ana crying, s0hI God, too
late, too latel' fell swoening On the
floor. A few weeks later, I went back
to my post in the army. My comrades
said | was the bravest man they had
ever seen. rushed into the thickest
of the fight, and feared nothing. l
courted an honorable death, but bullets
whistled by me, shells burst by my side,
killing men by the dozen. The fever
broke out in our regiment, and fifty
men died in one week, but | lived on.
Promotion followed promotion, and at
last, to please my neither, 1 resigned
my commission, stayed at home a
month, and finally promised to keep
out of the army on condition that L
should resume work at my old business
wherever l could find it. Since then
have been in Canada, and finally drift
ed here 10 be nearer home. Now, John,
let me tell you here that"
"Mr. Phipps, answer Washington for
specials, please" called out night-Man-
ager Marks, from the switch, and the
story was ended.
The thread thus broken was never
taken up again, and by some indefina-
bic understanding between US, l guard
ed his secret as jealously as if it were 1
who had loved and lost, and hencefor-
ward neither of us mentioned it.
/ left New York soon after this and
never saw George Phipps again until 1
stood one August day two years later
in a small Connecticut town, and look
ed down upon all that was mortal of
him as be lay in his colin. His sweet
face was as natural as in life,, and
scarcely any paler. His mother Stood
by and reverently kissed his brow again
and again, while the sturdy frame of
his grand old father trembled like a
reed shafen in. the wind as he gazed
funtlly and tearfully upon the dead.
There were not many particulars of his
death to be obtained. / doubted If any
one except the old pastor knew of his
love and the suffering he had under
gone. -r
"a" lie came home,'t said his mother,
:. about month ago looking no worse
than Hal, but he shortly began TO fail
pereep.i6lYg dSy by day. The doctor
came and prescribed a change of air,
but George said he would be bet
ter soon, and begged TO remain
quietly 4 where y he - was One
afternoon he walked ont under