Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-06-06
FOR LOVES SAKE.

after the sods were heaped over
mothers facet Such sense and ute
loss andvacancy cIung to every thing
| often used to go up TO the church
yard and lie down on her grave ant
(, tell her all abou. it, and it alwav
seemed that che heard me, and CON
forted me, in strange, silent way
The peace in earth and sky and al
would steal into my soul, and it wa
as il her hand had touched me will
a blessing
In those days of childish sorrow
John Earle was the truest, kindes
friend | had. He understood me al
no one else did. He never tried t.
comfort me by trying to forget wha
had lost. He always spoke O.
mother as one just out OF sight, bul
knowing, as of old, every trouble ane
grief that came to as, and tina,
thought was inexpressibly sweet
with comfort to me.
DO you know, Ruth he said, one
day, always fancy she is looking
at me out of pansy-blossom 2 She
loved pansies, you know. My mother
loved no other blossom as we'll OF
lilacs, and in lilac time am always
happy, for l can't help fancying she
is near me then, and that in some
strange way her soul and the lilacs
are 80 much alik3 that | can't tel
theS difference between them, and
often l catch myself talking to the
blossoms as if they could understand
Perhaps they do Every time q
breath of their fragrance comes in a,
the window, nights or mornings, !
think mother has tender thought
for me. 1 wish Iilacs lasted the year
round.'
The next morning, when Robbie
and | went to mothers grave, there
was a great bunch of pansies growing
there, and ! knew where they came
from. When / bent down and kissed
them, as if | were kissing mothers
face, l fancied something whispered
to me that had o sound in il like her
voice. But it might have been the
wind.
Robbie and l woke up, one day, to
the fact that we were children no
longer. We had grown out of our
childhood unawares.
You are a man now | said to him.
"a man Do you comprehend what
ha
| hope So he answered. / mean
to be man that you will be proud
of, Ruth
AS if he could ever be anything
else No one can know how l loved
my brother. 1t had seemed to NJ Q,
after mother died and left us alone in
the world, that all the love had to
give out should be given to him. To me
he was more than the world ; besides
him l had few friends. With him to
love wanted no one else. Looking
back now to the days when we drift
cd dowr the river from childhood to
man and womanhood, only one other
face looks wildly out of memory by
the side of his and this is John Earle's
1t is blent With all my remembrances
of those happy days, for Robbie and
John were always together. | used
to feel something like paog of
jealousy, often, when Robbie would
come back from some walk with
John, or some row on the river, full
of enthusiastic, boyish demonstra.
lions of his friendship for him. |
kept my love for my brother, and |
wanted him to keep his all for me.
| have thought it all over since, and
| believe my passionate love was
wrong, because of its selfshness and
intensity. 1t kept me from giving
to others that which they had right
to expect from me. The blossoms in
the meadow may have one bee that
it cares for most of all, and keeps its
sweetest sweets for him but because
of that, 1t does not close its cup to
every other.
/ do not know how / came to find
out that John Earle loved me.
think from some hint of Robbie's, GER
tainly not from any words OF his own.
When l did find it out, felt little
fiattered, perhaps, as any woman is
likely to do when her first lover comes,
but / told myself that had no love to
give him. 1t was all for Robbie.
There began to be signs in the
heavens of coming storm. But
was so happy that / could not, or did
not see them at first.
One day Robbie came home from
the village with pale, excited face.
'Oh, Ruth he cried, you won't
believe it, but its true They've fred
OH the flag down South, and there's
going to be war;
/ cried out sharply, and then sat
down on the door-stone, white and
faint. 1 shut my eyes, and saw a
grave, low, green grave under a
pine-tree, on hillside sloping to the
sun.
Then he sat down beside me, and /
drew his brown head down into my
lap, and smoothed the soft locks over
my fingers, thinking in slow dreamy
way of what l felt was coming. l
think I knew how it would be from
the first.
'Ruth,' he said suddenly, lifting his
face to mine, you wouldn't have me
stay at home tiff felt l ought to
go?'
'Oh, Robert, you're all have 7 l
cried, and all my heart was in the
cry, 'and / canno. let you go!' All,
me! from how many other hearts,
North and South, that same cry went
up In those long, sunny days when
the nation seemed to hold its breath
in suspense-,caitingl
While we sat there, John Earle
came up the path. We made room
tor him on the doorstep, and he sat
down beside us. Before a dozen
words had been spoken, l knew that
he was in the right mood to sympa-
tEize with Rob5ie's excitement, and |
got up and left them to talk it over
together. | did not care to listen. 1t
would come soon enough.
l shall never forget the day when
they enlisted. sat in the garden
alone. listening to the bees in the