Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-02-24
TOLD IN THE SHADOWS.
BY JAMES FRANKLIN FITS.

4 My dead had been buried two hours
i had returned home. Tho servants
respectfully awaited my orders. TOLD
them to open the shutters and draw
back the curtain; they did so. and
Gods sweet sunshine came again into
the desolate house. Surely, it was bet
Ter so; when the heart is darkened with
the unutterable woe of bereavement,
let Nature console us if she can.
Within fifteen years three, darling
children had ct long intervals been
carried from this house to the cemetery.
This day my husband had joined them.
Kind friends had come back with me
to my dwelling, Offering to stay and
comfort my crushed spirit I sent them
away. preferring to be alone with my
thoughts. Luxury and comfort were
around me, wealth was ct my COM
mand; but my heart was heavy with it's
losses and wished to bear in solitude its
aches.
There was another reason why
wanted to be alone. How it is with
other widowed hearts, I know not; butI,
in that hour felt an overpowering desire
to commune with myself about him who
had gone.
Had ! loved him? All, yes; no need
to ask myself that question. He was
my first, my only love.
Had lie been kind-had our married
life been happy? Yes-always. yes.
He had surrounded me with his de-
votions, he had given me riches, posi-
tion, beautiful home, and after our
children were taken, he had given me
lredoubled affection. How, then, could
u regard his memory with anything but
rthe highest honor?
Because I knew that he had locked q
secret from me in his heart, and had
carried it to the grave, because the
conviction that something was kept
back from me, haunted my wax
: ing hours and troubled my dreams
while he lived; and now that the turf
! was being placed upon his grave, the
knocking thought rose up before me,
and would not down.
Never was it named between us; for
how could I bring so indefinite an &C
*cusation against him? So for fifteen
years had labored, and labored in vain
to discover the truth. But the secret
could never grasp, though the evidences
that lie had ono were plain enough. A
great change came upon him with his
marriage. He was often distracted;
often found him looking intently at my
face; he was strangely forgetful, espe.
cially as to things that had happened
before we were welded. Sometimes, in
the early months of our union, he
would surprise me by processing igno.
rance as to important affairs OF people
with whom he had been very intimate;
and once. in particular, I became
,gretiy yexed at his forgetfulness. II
was in one of those moments of endear.
ment that make married people lovers
again, that put my arm around his
neck and said:
Nov show me, Charles, that you,
memory is not SO poor as you pretend.
Tell me what time of day it was that
you kissed me good-by when you wen,
to Europe, the year before We were
married? 2"
He hesitated, and then replied
AWhy, about midnight, of course"
The time was. in fact, at noon. How
could he forget such things?
I have spoken Of his conduct that
lied me to think that he. had secret
Such things cannot be concealed from 9
lowing wife: they will tell their story
ssf coneealment Had any further, evi
sdenoe been needed. lhis death-bed would
have supplied il. A fatality Of sudden
and unexpected death, ] had been told,
vas one Of the peculiarities Of the fam.
lily from which he sprung; his owl
children had dropped away With ap-
palling swiftness; when he came to die
it was within the hour sitter he had
walked in at the door. His tongue was
tied in those last dreadful moments
none but ! knew how be struggled Ia