Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1881-12-29

full of wisdom. He had wonderful
learning and wonderful power. Hewas
a doctor, you know, and he could do as
much for the mind as the body. l
will show you his papers sometime
his diary-and then you will know him
better. [ can't bear to look at them
myself, but | long for you to know
something of hin. And he died-oh,
so suddeDly-in moment p
l could not feel such an intense in
terest III the dead doctor as my dear
girl seemed to expect, but I feigned it
for her sake, and a few days afterward
took the package of papers as rever-
emily as she gave them, promising my
self that I really would look through
them some time. But [ know l
thought more at that moment of the
knot of lilies valley at my darl-
ing's throat-and how virginia. and
pure she looked-and [ wondered if ever
on Gods earth a saintlier soul had
looked out of the eyes of a women.
And yet, som etimes, l seemed to catch
vanishings of world of thought and
feeling remote from me-a region
where had not entered, where [ did
not belong. One day | suddenly re-
membered Nests confidence to me,
and it occurred to me to test it.
Were they very much disturbed in
Heidelberg that summer the war broke
out ?" [ asked.
She flushed and hesitated.
You were home-weren'ty you ??
CT can't remember" she said, in
a constrained voice.
why 1t Is only five years ago, my
pet; don't your memory go back for
five years o.
cob, further than that" she said,
quickly; but Malcolm [ have been
puzzled about it very often. I will tell
you, there is just that one year l can
not remember anything about"
Great heaven could it be that she
had lost her reason during that time
and been in an insane asylum? The
thought came to me like a flash of
electric light, and thrilled me with pain.
Was there the faint of insanity in my
darIing's blood? The doubt stung me-
How else could she have lost a year
out of her life?
Were you sick or sad when you re-
member your life again"
ooh, no; we were full Of hope about
the new country, for we were coming
here"
"And did you ever talk to your IA
Their about it?"
"My dear Malcolm, would you believe
it that [ never discovered till lately that
a year had slipped out Of my life in
such mysterious manner? 1t was
fixing dates about the war that did it,
and then poor papa was in the church
yard"
And she looked SO sad that [ kissed
her, saying;
Never mind about that lost year,
darling. | will make the coming years
so bright that you will soon forget it."
81 don't care for it now, if you
DON'T" she whispered, with her head
upon my shoulder; " only it makes me
strange, unlike other girls"
$50 you are unlike them" [ ex-
claimed, in q lovers rhapsody; $50
much sweeter and purer and saint
Her." and so on through the rosary of
love.
But still, once in a while, like dis
cord among the sweet notes, the thought
of that year would recur to me. knew
all my darling's life, all her pure, sweet
thoughts, and grew jealous of those
closed and sealed pages in a very un-
reasonable way.
One night, week before our we'd
ding day, which was fixed in the rosy
month of June, [ sat at my window idly
looking out into the mOonlt garden,
L,
why had I not thought of it before?
Surely that would throw some light
upon this year. | own I did not take
it up without thrill, as if | were dis
turbing some dead and buried sorrow.
had very curious sensation about it.,
cold chill creeping over me, as if [
were entering a grave. And was [ not
about to interrogate the dead about the
living? | turned over the pages with
out interest till | came to certain
date, and even then [ was not thorough
ly interested till | saw Hilda's name as
follows:
Gully 12.-Tm glad Hilda likes her
school. 1t was a struggle to let her go,
but best that she should not spend her
young life with an old man so absorbed
in science. She is out of the way of
lovers, too, and will be better guarded.
[ began to fear an interest in young Won
Observation-Disclosures young spendthrift
as he is-has just the kind of romantic
appearance, with his large, melancholy
dark eyes, that would fascinate my fair
little girl But Madam Gerhard will
look after all this-the child is only six
teen-too young to think of love, and |
would rather lay her in her grave than
give her to Won Eberstein-she knows
it, too.
august Il am drawing near to q
wonderful discovery, and tremble as
one who stands on the shore Of the in
finite at this new shell of knowledge
that have picked up. Why should it
not be that one might learn to forget.
Oh, the torture of memory to the sim
ner, it is the hell that is the penalty of
his sin. If one could"
'Well, [ did not finish on this topic.
[ was so eager to go on about my dar-
ling, so [ hurried over the leaf, till l
saw her name again, and then | dropp-
ed the book paralyzed with terror, for
this is what read:
September 30.-God in heaven have
mercy My child is gone She went
out on some little shopping expedition,
they write me; she was seen walking
under the trees with a young man
Ach. Himmel! | know who he was !!
may God Almighty punish him forever
and that was the last. Oh, Hilda !!
oh, my little white dove On, my