Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-10-30

uiph how shall I begin? As I sit here to-
haseLle' = prematurelv agel man, / look |
va Dacn through the long years-so long. |
~ INV "eary to me-and sea myself in the
with ~ lion ~ q young man OF twenty five,
my command. Riches and friends-vouth
that n t;'ala as l fondiy hoped at
sLae Time, love that, sooner or later.
would be mine. Here l sat, 1 remember
one winters evening, with my fayorite
pnnlons even then, my books. Was
might be! know not.
My servent entered and handed ma n
eara-'Mr. Gerald Gordon 1 snail feel,
e von y my grave, your heart throb as
you read that name. Gerald Gordon had
zen one of my earliest and dearest
,r.en n and, If lost sight of for some
TO find him under nv roof md hasfeneI
10 greet him. He had prospered in the
world, both having made and Inherited
money, and had recently returned to Eu.
slanu, alter some years. profitable work
abroad. Affairs had called him to nv
n1ey he had come a little out of his wav
times. -"
were u~nfeignedly glad to meet,
ana: as our hands clasped, many recol-
tecelons of happy, boyish days rose be-
tween us, and the pressing Invitation I
gave him to stay some time with me was
accepted as freely and heartily as it was
given. 80
For you, Gertrude, least of all, need I
pant his portrait; but we'll I remember,
as he sat with me that night, looking at
ms handsome face, with those straight,
clear cut features, bronzed by the south.
ern sun; his crisp, brown hair and stall.
wart, manly frame, aud thinking one of
the greatest gifts, after all, was personal
appearances.
Our conversation after so long q sep
aration naturally Icopsisted of questions
and answers of a personal nature. and /
soon asked him:
ald?.
"'Been in love, I suppose you mean?'
he replied, laughing. 'Well, you see, 1
have just come from parts where a fellow
must make love. or pretend to, to get
along at all; but I can not plead guilty
to m grand passion, as vet.'
But how aboutsyou? he continued.
Have any bright, rustic eyes come be-
tween You and your booksg
"Fool that l was not to open nv heart
to him then and there! Not to tell him l
shy and proud. l could not say that my
love was viewed favorably. A withered
flower, given half in jest-io you re-
member it? A little preference, it might
be, over my rivals, and that bestowed for
the sake of friend ship, not love-this
love 1 had given and which I knew must
ever give through life. So l laughed
as he questioned me and answered as in
jest:
81 am heartwhole as you, Gerald, and
certainly invulnerable against the attacks
of rustic maidens h~ereabouts.'
~ hoped and expected TO be introduced
to VOnr fut1ra wife. in the parsnp ne tho
only daughter OF some neighboring
squire, and would have done you a good
turn by sounding your praises while l ad.
mired his fat oxen.'
"'Well, 1 will present you to all the
eligible daughters hereabout, and you can
praise their papas' oxen on your own &C.
count
"'Thank you-although. seriously, l
am tired of living alone, and want q wife
and a home; so l am quite ready to meet
my fate when and wherever she appears
lido not hesitate, my wife, to record
seem to you as sweet echoes of a long
stilled voice.
'Gordon and I sat talking nearly all
that night, and parted at last, happy to
find the others friendship the same as of
old.
.The next day, with little regret, l
tossed my books aside, and did all in my
power to make my guests visit a pleasant
one to him. We shot, die v and rode
together, and the short and wintry days
seemed even shorter with my l~ight.heart-
ed friend at my side. I took him to visit
say the reason for that omission. Too
well l knew that, had I beon a girl, Gorald
Gordon was the man who might have won
my heart had he chosen. Too we'll l knew
that, if the eyes of love enhanced,
they did not imagine your charms,
could scarcely fail to be reused. So 1
dreaded to bring about a meeting between
him and you. 1t came at last. would
have summed that gathering could I have
found a decent pretext. but the whole
countryside was hidden to the ball, and
my absence from it would have bean re-
marked. Besides, Gerald would have
we drove over, at!the.ex pensepf the i,nag-
mary persons we should meet; but I said
nothing. The moment we entered the
room I saw his eyes fail upon you. saw
his look of surprise. of admiration, as he
comprehenled your regal beauty at one
glance, and before the evening was over !
felt that what 1 dreaded was afoot, and
that my friend would probably be my
rival. 1fhis attentions to you that even
ing were no more thar man might prop
erly pay to the most attractive woman in
the assemblage, they were sufficient to
| make lie l6dI Vuo WI CtOA oS L WliUo
This I can see his tall figure bending over
you, and heal him whispering words,
which, spoken with the easy, self-conf-
dent manners OF a man of the world, ]
knew, intuitively, must have been sweet
to any young girls ears.
eat last, that night, gay and enjoys able
to all save me, ended. You had departed,
and after that it needed little persuasion
on my part to draw Gerald from the
scene. We started on our drive home,
with the stars shining pure and clear
through the frosty skies. I was sullen
and unhappy; my companion brimful OF
curiosity to learn all l could tell him con.
corning his late partner.
SIS Mss Howard a friend of yours?'
was his first question.
"Ihave known her for some years. Do
you admire her? Although Ineed scarce
" ask added. bitterly.
"'Admire her! l should think so. !
have seen some of the most beautiful
women in the world, but never one l ad
mired more. She was not very well
dressed, of course, but that Is only a mil
liners business
$50 he talked on and or as we drove
that six miles of road, and my heart sank
within me, and l cursed the friendship
which had led him to visit me and induced
me to press him to prolong his stay. lie
spoke of nothing but you, ringing your
praises in various keys, until l relapsed
into a sort of moody silence, or only an
swered his eulogistic remarks by mono
. IT, D.oIohJx, ho nnfiooh INV