Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1884-12-06


went and did his WORK. aud the sss
oee scowlci ~ him. yet gave hls
lfe'a blood ~ save him, though b. lay like q
dead man and saw tbrm not, nor heard them
nor even felt the naele In the flesh, his mind
WA not idlr, htrangr doubts and fears, Wild
ipngings aud regrets, sweet thoughtA ~ long
forgotten happiness. and fair Visions ~ tho
future, busted hia brain Memory uuruilrd
hot nrrpll and bfuathad upon thu letters ~ his
story that LAPSE " time aud pfuas u uifuum.
stan - had made dim, tll they gfaw clear
AMI win himself he liyud HE iife again, aud
nothing was Lost oui " II ~ fofgottad thurp
was his mothers face again, with tho Oh. Old
ipeing smith upon bat lifa sad the tender
mother lnyo In The depths " bot beautiful
blue eyes There before him bright and dnnr
~ cyor worn the soeno7 81 hi boyhoul the
school forms defnced with many y rude cut
ting " names and dates tho nastrr knitting
hia shaggy bfowH mud tapping mpanngiy with
HE ruler upon the awful losk while sons
whitf imirad urrhin founderp1 through an
III learned task nnd his classmates Uttered al
his plumbers
Then The college days now by with all
thnir romance nnj delight Commencement
with Its 'puiup aud circumstance iui toll
ous ceremony and scholarly display Once
more ho trembled a. he fosa tn make hia COM
mencoment speech ilo tho nriatocfnt Ut his
class, had chosen 10 Apank against Caste, ~
aud though he spoke with tho enthusiasm of
an untried man, 10 was with devoted hunuaty
~ purpose, IT which his earne.tneaa was Wit
ness, and " which his future was a. give
ample proof Through the bowildormont ~
applause that greeted him NJ he finished ha
saw only tho glad, smiling face ~ Alice
Wentworth nodding APPROVAL ~ tho reit
l..... a.
Her congfntulntion wnh enough
Then came tender rcones, aud Alice Went
worth was 30 be his wife. Another change,
aud ho Ia In the midst Of r,idor scenes There
In war, oiyll war, and ha In n soldier once
more he seems "a bo IN Virginia, mud thoru
ara marohcsnnd counter marches, camps aud
barracks, battles and rkrcnt-, nnd all tho
great and little misorios Of long campaigns
Tho silver leaflets of u MA Ior aro exchanged
for tho golden eagles ~ n colonel, aud all tho
time, amid stefncr duties he Anda time to
write 10 Alice Wentworth, and never n mail
comes into camp but he Ia sure OF letters
dated Home and full Of words that make
him hopeful aud brave,
Negro troops ara raised, and, true 10 his
principles aud to himself, hc resigns his com
mission 10 take n lower rank In n coioroj
regiment Now the scenes grow dim: con
fused sounds far Oft disturb him, low music
familiar yet strange, now distant, now Mt his
very enr, attract, him; a wierd, shndowy
mist onclosos him, conrcaling even tho thinga
which were visible 10 the mind'a eye, and
memory and thought have almost con.cd
Thus he feels himself drifting away drift
ing away like n boat that has broken itn
moorngs and drifts out with tho ebbinR lido
--whithcri
hut the rich, warm. Iusty blood OF tho
African quickly does Ia work The heart
which had almost ceased 10 beat, because
there was not blood enough for II to contract
upon, reacted ~ tho stimulus, and as II
revived and sont tho now life pulsntng
through all the body, tho whole man ro
vivcd.
Fouinicr, under one protoxt or another, but
really 10y force Of his relentless Will kept his
victim by him for years after their oscnpg
from tho south He noted from time to time
certain curious changes that took placc In
his physical nature, aud recorded his obaer.
vatlons with scientific precision in "A book
kept for the purpose. for tho renewal OF HE
hal ontailcd results uf AN extraordinary
character, as the reader mny have already
anticipated At length ho wrote: "My nv.
pothcsis is verified; II has become theory.
My thcory Is proved; II Is n physiological
law Climatic influences, acting upon man
bring about physical changes exceedingly
slowly, because they arc resisted by nm In
veterate habit OF assimilation which pertains
TO tho blood
That day Shirley was free His i-ycucr
had finished his experiment
Alice Wentworth had never believed that
her lover wns dcnd She hnd heard all with
a troubled heart, but while his distant kins
men, who were heirs.at-law, put on tile
deepest mourning aud grow impatient of tho
laws delay, she simply said Il viii wait m
I'll thcro Is some proof before give him up"
And In nor heart she said, "He Is not dead
Even when years had passed and the war
was over, and her agent had searched every
where and found no trace OF him, she did not
ccnsc TO hope that he would yet appear So
when at length letter came. II was wei
come and expected Not surprise but joy
made her start and treinble as tho old tamil
Such a letteri--iilled with tho spirit of his
love, breathing in every word the tendon,
passionate devotion Of an earlier day
and yet so sad Tears dropped down
through hor smiles or joy and blurred the
lines she read at first. but smiles and tears
ceased us she read on. He hoi written
many, many times, but he know sho had
not got his letters. He had boon u prisoner
net only prisoner OF war, but aftorward
prisoner TO a man whose will was iron. II
could hardly DO explained This man had
not only saved his live, but he had also
rescued him from the horrors Of a southern
prison-would God hc had let him dic,--and
they had been living together In ranch In
far-oif Mexican valley
ihcH iettcT went On.
"ln my heart l am unchanged: my love for
you is ever the same; yet am no longer the
Robert Shirley whom you know That has
come upon me which will separate me from
you for ever; l can not ask you now 10 he
my wife You are free. II Is through no
fault OF mine. 1t is my burden, the price OF
life, and must bear IT, God bless you and
give you all happiness
"RoBERT SHIRLEY
When she had read it nll she bowed her
head and wept again, and the face that had
grown more and more beautiful with the
years OF waiting was radiant Who can
fathom the depth Of q woman's love, Who
can follow the subtle workings OF u womans
thoughtsi Who can comprehend womans
boundless faithi Her course was clear. II
misfortune had befallcn him, II he were
maiined. disflgured crazed, even If he were
loathsomo to her eyes, she loved him, and she
must SEQ him; she would see him and speak
to him, and love him still, even IL she could
not be his wife. What would she have done
II she could have guessed the truth, As 1t
was she wrote upon her card, "lf you love
me, come to me-" and sent II TO him. And
in answer to the summons he stood before
her--not distgured, not MANNED not crazed,
not loathsone in any way, yet irrevocably
separated from her, for DR. Fournier's ex-
pertinent had succeeded, and Robert Shirley
was muiattol
t.,..s .lt..A urt... III.