The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1881-02-23

shall be better alone"
He wrung my hand, and tear
stood in his eyes.
promise me-" he said, shat yo,
won't think of doing what yol
thought of just now. i don't wan
to preach, but remember. He wht
sends the trial sends the strength te
bear it too"
l have never seen him since, ant
have often wondered who he was
should like to sec his kind fac,
} and pleasant dark eyes again.
!, l promised what he asked; ant
those few earnest words did NOR,
to quell the desperate thoughts tina
were maddening me than any ser
mon.
Staggering like one just recover
ed from long illness, l walked III
the platform and asked when the
next train would be passing down
| suppose there must have beer
something strange about my ap
pearance, for a little group soon con
gregated about me, and someone
asked me if | was ill.
'The next train down, SIR" sale
the station master, hurrying up
"2:15, sir"
1t was only ten now-morc thar
four hours to wait Was he sure thai
was the only train ? / could never
wait four hours in the state of mind
| was in.
"Can drive ?" asked, needless
of distance, eagerly scanning the
little crowd rround. Il will pay
any money to get back to Nor ey at
once"
The station master interposed
again.
Couldn't l get a vehicle Of any
sort to-day, sir, if you were to pay
thousand pounds-all off to the
races"
SIS there no luggage train, or any
thing must get back at once"
"Sure there will be cattle train
at one, sir" volunteered a porter.
"If your honor is in a great hurry,
maybe they would give you lift
on the en- gine.'
In the relief of mind this intelli-
gence gave me Iastonished tae IRISH
man by putting five shillings in his
hand ; and he was profuse in his
thanks and blessings. All, but could
the honest fellow have known the
pang he gave me when, in his burst
of gratitude, he called down Heav-
ems blessing on my wife, if 1 had
one My wife +! Oh, Nelly, Nelly !!
l turned away hastily, and com
iaenced pacing up and down the
platform. Three long hours How
was | to get through them Up and
down l tramped, with no compan-
ion but my own thoughts, under
the fierce glare of that July sun
that rose higher and higher in the
cloudless blue sky.
One hour dragged slowly by.
Eleven o'clock Only three hours
since had kissed Nelly and locked
into her clear loving eyes She was
dead now, and l should never feel
the touch of her soft hand again,
nor hear the sound of her voice. 1t
seemed an eternity since We had
parted, yet it was only three hours
since we had stood side by side on
the bridge looking down into the
water. Ah, Nellie little guessed then
that river would so soon be her
grave, and that the cruel weeds
would pitilessly cling round her and
drag her down intothe depths below
till the pale face of my darling
would rest cold and still in the ooze
of the river bed ! Oh, would that l
had clasped her tightly to my heart,
and never parted, even for moment,
from my love
Only three hours-and l seemed
to have begun a new life Was this
the beginning of the life that was to
be without her-only the first of
many DAYS that would dawn and
bring me nothing but sorrow and
misery No; all my life there
would be nothing for me but the
memory ofa white stone in church
yard-the grave where l would lay
my broken lily.
Up and down l paced, up and
down in the blazing sun, till the
very sound of my footsteps on the
tagged platform seemed to be driv-
ing me mad. At last l stopped, and,
pushing back my hat, pressed both
hands to my aching, throbbing
head. | would not think What
was the use of thinking Nelly was
dead, and / was going back to her
funeral. l shut my eyes and tried
not to see the white face with the
awful look of agony imprinted on it;
but it was of no use. l saw it yet
the horror stricken face, the arms
stretched out for help that never
came. Oh. could l live with the
memory of that sight to haunt me ?
The time crept on slowly every
minute seemed to be an hour, and
the hands of my watch seemed
scarcely to move. The heat was
dreadful. There was no shade
nothing but the dazzling sun, which
was now high in the heavens but
still l walked backward and forward,
unable to rest, trying to keep calm
outwardly, to withstand the awful
temptation that would come again
and again when / contemplated my
lonely heart-broken future. Would
one o'clock never come
Suddenly caught sight of the
poor little bunch of flowers that
Nelly had given me-her first
thoughtful, loving act. l broke
down then. Hot tears rushed to my
eyes and leaning my arms on the
low wall bounding the station, /
gave way entirely, kissing the un-
flowers passionately, and
realizing how much l had loved and
priced the treasure / had lost, while
the merciless sun shone down hotter
and fiercer, scorching and drying up
everything.
With swelling heart | placed the
fading flowers carefully in my pock-