Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-04-22
SOLDIER LOVERS.
LEY NJ. c. W

fByM. .c.v.i
Ida Rowe was gay, bright
girl, one OF a type not at all un-
common, and favorite in the
circle of society in which she
mingled. She thought no evil,
and intended none. Staid, crit
ical, carping people called her
wild. BY another class she was
sometimes named "gay"-with a
look and tone that implied that
the word meant something much
worse than its very harmless die
tionary Specification.
Fond of fun and frolic, and en-
dowed with a fund OF romance
that made her often covetously
grasp an opportunity, or, in fact,
create one, to do an out-of-the-
way thing, or mingle in some racy
act sure to set the tongues of gos-
sips wagging, make gray heads
shake with disapproval, and seri.
GUS, friendly faces take a new
shade of gravity.
"Those that know nothing, fear
nothing" a wise old aunt of mine
was fond of saying. Sometimes
the Clearing nothing" is cheaply
earned by the protecting igno-
rance, but, alas! it costs dear at
others, and a pure soul shrinks
and shudders in the presence Of
baleful knowledge and willingly
breads the penalty.
Then there is a fascination in
daring mysterious danger for
some characters, and Ida was one
of these. She wanted to test the
danger which vaguely menaced
her--"to see the folly of it" for
herself, and 80 was apt to do
hazardous things, Drawing what
she did not understand and half
despised.
In this spirit, during the war,
she answered one of those adver-
tisements purporting to come
from soldiers, and representing
the writers so stationed with their
commands rs to be shut out from
the comforts of home and the
privilege of female society. 1t was
a touching complaint, heart-rend-
ing in its effect, and really made
others beside Ida, older and sup.
posed to be endowed with some
Of the valuable knowledge which
life stands ready to bestow, feel
great sympathy for the poor
youngsters who had 30 touchingly
sacrificed 80 much on the altar of
their country,
1t was, as Ida said, very little
to write a few letters just to cheer
those poor fellows, and what pat
rjotic maiden would withhold so
small a contribution to the com
fort of her country's defenders,
who probably had no books to
read, or pictorial papers, and
very little better to tempt their
delicate appetites than pork and
hard-tack. From her point of
view, writing such letters from
such an intention was certainly
right. When she represented the
case she, for some reason un-
known, left out all reference to
3he "fun."
1t was in the brief interval in
which Ida was engaged in testing
the success of her quasi patriotic
plan, that her little period of
thought took place. Some advice
and some reproof reached her,
but she passed them both by
without attention. Both, l am
sorry to say, were wasted on her,
though not more so than was
generally the case, on this occa-
sion.
She wrote her letters of
them-mixtures Of fun, patriotism
and romance, in about equal pro-
portions. On both sides the per-
sonnel of the parties was de-
scribed. Manly beauty, angelic
loveliness, bravery, devotion to
country. Hearts, lives, feelings,
all were brimming with the most
ecstatic devotion to-love and
county. Ida felt sure she needed
to hear, to know, no more
Nothing was necessary but to fix
upon the supreme object Of her
affections, and, her choice once
made, to "let the other down as
speedily and as softly as possible;
to send her photograph to the
favored one, and for the sake of
justice and kindness, to suggest
another object for the rejected,
who seemed very "accommodat-
ing," and quite ready to love to
order, or not to love at all, it
mattered very little which, a thing
for which Ida was thankful,
though, it must be acknowledged,
not exactly we'll pleased.
At length she made her choice,
principally decided by remark
ably handsome picture, with a
radiant smile cleaning through a
fine mustache.
She liked the other very we'll
in fact, | believe that she would
have chosen him in the absence
of the "other dear charmer"-
idea very refreshing, since it
proved that love and heart had
not suffered But believe, still
she was better than she seemed,
for-to her credit be it spoken
when she read the note of her
accepted, which bore his warm
thanks for her goodness, and
bore also the awful tidings of the
sad, early fate which doomed the
other to death upon the blood
stained field where "his brave
young life had met its fitting
close, she felt very sad
But she dried her tears, looked
at her handsome lover as set forth
by his picture, and smiled. For
at least twenty-four hours she
wearied heaven with thanks for
the sparing Of his life
She became miracle Of COZ.
staucy. | believe she Thought so
handsome lover would never be
found agmn, and worth aud
beauty were for her contained III
the same words Perhaps she
was not then tired Of flirting, or
of her new idol; at any rate she
was both constant and devoted.
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