The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1890-10-26
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ter from him. But Ivan soon turned my
course of thoughts by saying that no
doubt Olef's duties at home had crowded
/ upon him so fast that he could find no
time to write, and especially while
watching ut the bedside OF q dying ta-
! ther. And this argument, together with
the stimulating hope Of winning the
/ prize, won me over.
t tBide your time, Cesca, ivan went
on. "The next steamer may fetch good
news
l waited week, and in the meantime
my sorrow had been somewhat assuaged
by my receipt Of the first prize for vocal
honors at the institute.
One morning Ivan handed me a letter
/ postznarlKed Stockholm. 1t was in
Olef's handwriting and yet it did not
seem the same turned it over and
over again, upside down and then held
I it between me and the light Of the sun.
Here is a double cross made with a
/ pen upon the lid of the envelope. |
wonder what he could have intended
that to mean?" / asked, showing the
cross to Ivan.
ssHc might have made it to reveal to
you any attempt that should be made to
open the letter" he suggested, looking
at the mark.
tore off the envelope and read:
'sDo not let your heart split upon the
rock of this, my final adieu. Brevity
must be my parting message. Cease to
hope. Ny heart is lost to you.
ssYou will ask why have not kept
my troth. l can but say that my fa-
/ theirs will, opened after his death, has
reversed my life, into which now shines
the beam of new love-
II am to marry the daughter of Lieut..
Bodine tomorrow. OLEF OLSEN
Ny heart, torn with the anguish Of my
own sad life, could only sob and weep
over it, And then, as often woman
will do, | tried to hull my sorrow to
sleep by the strains of melody. And as /
played softly followed the lines of that
plaintive song, Drifting Apart, +" that I
remembered having read in Broken
Barriers:
Drifting apart as the cruel shades
OF the years rise up twixt you and mel
Drifting apart 1.-TWO separate tides
Carry us out Ger the wide wild seal
Drifting apart. for unother's love
Hath blinded you TO the love planned.
Drifting apart. for that alien love
Hath frozen your heart and chilled your hand.
Drifting Drifting and further astrayl
My Godt will we ever again one day
Meet IN the passion OF iife's hottest fray,
And love, as We did in the good old wayf
For the first time since my arrival in
America nearly one year now-lny I'm
Gle Ivan began to show me warm atten-
ton. And embittered, weighed down,
( CALLED by Olefs cruel letter, had let
myself drift into closer communion with
Ivan, and pes, ! confess ito avenge
the past I had givcn him to understand
that his ministry was not wholly re-
jected. He was not too old-thirty
/ seventeen.
| From the moment of Vera's sad death
Ivan had taken every precaution to
throw about me the barriers of protec-
ton, in order that any possible attempts
to criticise my abode at his house might
be set at rest. He had engaged an elder
| 1y housekeeper, in addition to whom |
had induced one of the young women
from the Conservatoire to make her
home with me.
| We walked good bit, Ivan and l.
And by this time his affection had
grown to fire. It was no mere assump-
ton, that love of Ivan's. He was deeply
! in earnest am not the woman to read
a mans heart amiss. The name of his
wife, Vera, had faded into mere mem
DRY now, and received certain proofs
that Ivan would have stripped his heart
of all else in the world for me. What
were those proofsY you ask. Oh, that
! is but for woman to understand
must say that returned the passion
measure for measure. | had come to
honor, respect and love Ivan. His image
| grew daily brighter and holier in my
heart. And as we walked together,
wrapped in one anothers confidence, the
very soul of JOY lighted our pathway.
Of course Irene, my companion, had no.
ticed it. She seemed astonished at our
mutual affection.
''Why, you are uncle and niece-blood
! relativesp' she exclaimed one day
"Bless you, no; not blood relatives.
| Ivan is my uncle by marriage, and only
| great-great uncle at that, his wife hav-
ing been great aunt to my mother"
One night and once again, as we
walked beneath the heavy screen of the
park trees, shadow fell in front of u.s.
the figure of woman, it appeared to
me-and as quickly did it fit away
again. remember having twice re-
marked it to Ivan. On the second occa-
sion the shadow came just as we were
replighting our troth and naming the
day. started, considerably frightened.
Ivan Gained me.
sit was nothing he remarked; ''only
a branch of that tall tree swinging
across our path"
"But if it had been-if it could have
understood-if it could have spoken
that shadow would have heard our
pledges!"
"And you are ashamed of them, my
darling?'
"Nol oh, no, Ivan. Only am a crea-
ture of such silly suspicious. My nation
my dear Swedish people-are some
how imbued more or less with belief
in 'eerie things, as the Scots say. 1t
may be a fault, but it was born in me.
Even when was a child my old nurse
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