Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-12-01
III.

What excuses he put forth in his let
ter [ never knew. They would not, [
am quite certain, have answered for any
love letter [ migh6 Lave sent about that
time after two years silence though, to
be sure, eve" taking the reader into
confidence for a moment) were both
younger at that time, while Jackson was
80, if day. He may have urged that
he was a poor letter-writer. That was
true. [ have yet to see his equal III
power to wreak really appalling ven
geance on words which, many are now
only equaled by their inexcusably be-
wildering arran gement of the same. And
his way of making up sentences was
something wonderful. He may have
urged, too, that he had worked early
and late with scarce moment of relaxa-
ton. That was true Of both of us. and
had written many times.
Whatever he may have said in that
letter, to which he brought SO many
pains, fear he did not hit on the true
reason for his long silence indeed, it is
possible, even probable, that he did not
know of it himself. For my part, it
seemed then, as it seems now, that he
had not written, simply because he had
not at any time, or for any pur-
pose, found in letters so ready a
means of communication that he
turned to them without effort. And,
more than all, he had lived by her side
in daily thought since the hour in which
they parted. His memory of her many
graces was as fresh on the hundredth
day as on the second and, had it been
four years of silence instead of two, her
face and form would have been as dis
tinct in his mind at the end of that long
time as though daily letters had passed
between them. A contemplation almost
constant had brought her to him to COM
fort and console him at any moment.
Then, too, he had s'hitched on" and,
though man grown, had conceded to
ne every right that was his in the man
agement of our small business Honest
himself almost pitiably honest, for it
came from an innocence that had been
| kept fresh by ignorance Of more than a
| quarter of century he placed the
| fullest faith in the man he had chosen
to work with. So he felt much at ease,
with little thought of the future, except
when long droughts, under a sky like
brass, made us despair Of profit from
farming in Texas. He rested in the love
| he was sure of, and did not once think
that the fame he had somehow famed
into sight-miracle though it must have
seemed to him, for he knew that he was
homely-would need any further care to
be kept alive and at a fervent glow.
All this passed in my mind while
riding five miles the following evening
to post the precious letter, which ]
dreaded to let out of my hand. Sc
much depended on it that it seemed
impossible that it should go aright III
the usual prosaic way, in common mail
bags.
Once away from town, however, and
on the upland prairie, the matter looked
differently.
"Heaven be praised for that screech.
owl" said aloud. "Bill will have tc
take one for his coat of arms-adding 6
steel pen and holder. perhaps.
It's pity, though, that the owl waited
so long. It was tardy reminder"
I mentioned the coat of arms to him
when he dropped his violin for a mo-
ment as came In, and he took it good
naturally. So far as / could see-and
Jackson concealed nothing, he was like
child in that-every thought of the
wrong he had done had gone away with