Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1878-03-12

tie had been III love, once IN MS lie
this tatterod prodigsl. and tho ventur
had not been what could be called com
, plete success. He told me all about II
OF his own accord, one resliuI night a
we sat on the bridge al the loot oil Kan
sss avenue, listening to the qulyer OF lh'
cotton. wood foliage, and watching th'
river slowly gather the shadows to 1T
tawuy bosom. He was rcligiously sober
that night, for wonder, and fell thai
it must have been some subtle witcbcrsi
OF the atmosphere, rather than The TO"
$3.50 remarks we had just been exchang'
ing about Phil Resde's marriage with the
wnsOme little singer, Minnie B0ais, that
So suddenly drew his eyes away from The
water and out into the vague perspective
beyond the opposite shore, aud sent his
thoughts backward with bound, hs il
we're, to the rich days when every sky
was blue u tim and every sound rap
ture VI harmony.
"Sle WAS a good, solemn girl" he be-
! gan, land think her inteDtions were
/ honorable ali the lime. l know, now. that
/ she was not handsome, for her eyes were
crossed slightly, and her cheek-bones
we're high, and her chin had retiring
turn,-the face didn't Justify you I'M
dersland, d,-and her hair inclined TO red
ness; bat she was osauli,u. 10 me, then
a. tlower, aud loved her very dearly
was holding the 'sd. cases on the
Quincy Herald, in Illinois, a, the time,
and saving some money every week. l
was expecting 10 hs nan OF family, You
know. | had EXed in mY own mind
what kind OF house We woaid have,
where we would buy oag groceries, bow
the children would look Gad what NE
would name them (,here wtro 70 be SOW
ersl OF them, all gIris) aud a hundred
other things that | am ashamed TO think
OF now. But i, was all very real to me
then, tell you Not that J ever spoke
TO Isaoei-prolty nsme, wasn't h?-
abgu. such matters. GA, no. We were
very sensible pair ol lovers, | can as
sur9 you. and our coartship was painful
" correct. There was none OF The your
bright orr nonsense about US. We
weren't bit spoouey. We didn't turn
the light down. nor hold each other ;
hands, nor say darling Not any.
Once. only once. l pat my arm around
her waist, and might have Ai5sei hor,
may be, but she looked squareiy into my
lace, and said. you forget and that
was all there was OF il. used to WISH
sometimes, that sho would bo . little
more demOnstralivG one gets tired OF
mere words, you know IN takes VI that
kind but perhaps-perhaps ! was ovI-
ter as it was
he paused and pressed has hands ia
his forehead, ss if be feared tho swce,
memory would slip away from bin ~
MS talk; and sat waiting Tor bJ, 20
proceed, busying myself meanwhile T'LG
thoughts OF certain Jono- checked jul
ct 10 whom had myself played Romeo,
and whose hAli-iorgOlten image bis 'dI !
had strangely restored to me there 10 INC
ensiye starlight.
well. he continued. directly, "wc
we're very hsppy-ioo happy. Cap. loo
happy. II there hadn't been quite 80
much of 1t. il would have lasted longer
PROBABLY. The truth is, | was so happy
that | had to do something 10 tone It
dowo,-to loosen the quoini, you might
y,-Aud took TO drinking like fish.
| couldn't have helped ii to save my
lite. Perhaps it she hsd scted liule
warmer to ~ ard me. and could have
car, ssed ner,-been n little more anbrO.
sial, YOU understand, it would have
made difference with me. Bu, don''
know-I don't know"
He reapsed into silence again. and
there was Cnly the dull trettiug ol iae
waters abou, tho pior beneath Us TO dis
turb the stiffness until, after several
minutes, ne resumed-rapidiy, nov, and
with apparent anxiety 10 hsve done with
the subject:
She bore with it month after month
as patiently as nun; but she couldn't
stand it always, oil course, aus 50 she
told me, at last, not in anger, or binnuy
but with trmnesS. aud yel sadly,
thought, thu! the time had come for u!
10 part. II would have choked me tC
speak, even ii speaking could have done
any good, which it couldn't; SO | simply
took her hand moment,-it trembled
calm as she wss,-snd bowing, wen
away"
He paused once more. aud was upoI
the point OF rising, sapposing he had salt
all no desired 10 sag, but be mo loned M,
to remain, aud went on talking. Ate
that, lag sick long time, eight week
they told NE, With some internal sort o
fever. and lAy money l had saved wen
to the doctors. l pulled through, o
course. Men have died, from time t,
time, and worms have eaten them, bu
not for love- cont know how it was
but when | got up again, my braii
,ooroad IN ha kind of incoherent. -'pied