Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-06-14

\ y
sunny landscape. She answered some
thing that did not understand: but the
brightness was gone from her little face.
Then she took up the child, who was
stretching out his arms to her, and kissed
and caressed him before my eyes.
There it was when the first feeling of
jealousy was aroused in me; jealousy
truly, but what strange jealousy,
which could not make clear to itself who
was its object! 1t 'it" said mamma -
to her, there came pain In the heart;
and the caresses with which she over
whelmed him almost drove me wild. I
was jealous of both 1t panied me that
l had no part in this weaving of love:
that I was not the third in the union.
exerted myself to gain part of their
love. [ did it very clumsily. The child
persevered in a certain shyness, and she
had l not kept myself forcibly away
from her during these long, long years
One day at the dinner table, after a
skirmish of words, came a great still
ness between us, Stiffness more pain
| full than it had ever been. I glanced
down at the flowers on my plate of Saxon
porcelain, my displeasure showing in my
face; but 1 felt plainly that cit " had it's
eyes fixed on me, and also her eyes! 1t
was as if those four eyes burned on my
forehead. Then sounded suddenly in the
stiffness: "Papa!" and again louder
and more courageous: "Papa!" [
shuddered. cit sat there and stared,
now very much frightened, over at me,
wondering perhaps whether storm
would be raised by it's ''Papa." But her
face was sufused with glowing redness,
and her half-open lips trembled slightly
There came a flood of gladness over
my heart. Certainly no one but her had
taught him this ''Papa." Why did l
not spring up, bound toward her, and
with one word, one embrace, strike out
the loneliness of these last six years ?
One right word in this moment and all
would have been well. It remained I'M
spoken; / seemed to have lost all power
to act; but on certain page of my led
ger are still traces of the tears L shed in
anger at my own stupidity.
There was no doubt about it; another
spirit had stepped in with it's little curly
head, the spirit of Love; and that made
me stranger in my own house. A pre-
cious sunshine frightened the rooms,
even when the one in the heavens was
hidden by clouds. The face of the SER
wants and even inanimate objects,
streamed back this radiance. But me,
only, the sunshine did not touch.
felt myself always more and more
unhappy in my loneliness. Jealousy
grew in me; it gave me all sorts of fool
ish thoughts, [ wanted to rebel against
the little autocrat, but that would be
ridiculous. / wanted to give her the
choice between him and me. [, audac-
ious one, [ knew very well which side
her heart would choose. At another
time l was ready to take steps In order
to find the mother, and with the power
of gold, force her to take back her child,
behind my wife's back. That would
be cowardly.
[ could no longer fix my mind on bust
ness. I mistrusted even myself.
People asked what was the matter with
me. l feigned illness.
The sunshine would not let itself be
banished. and the spirit of love was
stronger than [. With his flaming sword
he drove me out. 6 must take long
journey, Martha" My voice trembled as
[ said this. Ny wife must have noticed
it; for something like moist, shining pity
trembled in her beautiful eyes. At my
taking leave, she held the little one to-
wards me and asked, in soft, caressihg
tones, CIVIL you not say adieu to our
child?" I took up the little one, perhaps
too roughly; at all events, he began to
cry and resist my caresses. Then [ put
him down and fastened away.
[ travelled in uncertainty through the
world and behold! after the first few DAYS
in addition to an ordinary travelling com
panion, bad humor, there came another
fellow who told me plainly that I was
fool. First it sounded like a whisper,
then louder and louder: You are a down
right fool" Finally, read it In the
newspaper before me; it was traced on
the blue mountains; the locomotive
shrieked it to me. Yes, believed it;
why did not then and there turn my
face homeward? Well, the fool must
first travel it all off before everything
would be right again.
At last, one day, with violent beating
of the heart, [ again entered my dwell
ing. What a solemn stiffness reigned
there! I could now hear the sound of
whispering voices; my wife came toward
me: cit is very sick, very sick, "moaned
she, "It will surely die!" 1 tried to
comfort her. Only short time, howev-
er, proved that her fears were but too
well grounded. During the night we
both sat by the little bed; she there and
here. Each of us holding one of his
little hands. Alb! those feverish pulse
beats!-every stroke sounding like an
appeal: Love each other, love each
other; be goodl" We felt eventually
these throbbings and we understood the
appeal. Our eyes met full and earnest
through the glittering tears, as in first
holy vow. Words would have seemed
sacrilege then.
Not long after, we laid our darling in
the warm spring earth.
When we again sat down at our table,
there was stiffness between us: but it
was not the same stiffness as that which
the little stranger had broken in upon
with his parting "Papa." Even by the
wall still stood his high armchair, and
on the little board before it lay his
spoon-scepter. NV wife reached her