The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1892-05-26
Memorial Day..
A STORY OF THE HOUR
Vow MEMORIAL DAY REL N1TED LOVERS
EsTEANGED BY THE WAR.

the war they We're 50 common that even
the romance of the lhlug failed to APP
peal very strongly To the imagination.
A young southern girl, visiting relatives
in the north, had become engaged to a
Young nOrtherner. and in the first flush
of their happiness i'll each other war
was declared the girl was summoned
home by her parents and the young man
went into the northern army. OF course
to them both it seemed that there never
had been sorrow like unto theirs. TO
the old, sorrow is sorrow; to the young
sorrow is despair it has been truly
said and i'll the breasts of these two
lovers hope was almost dead As time
went on the spark grew feebler and
DINNER, and when Albert Forrest and
the brother of Grace Lea met on the
same field of battle and both were
wounded, the horrible possibility which
this fact suggested 'Yidened the distance
farther yet between those two hearts
which had loved each other so truly and
tenderly. Both men recovered and Went
back to the field; but later ON. i'll one of
the last battles of the war, Colonel Lea
the man who led the charge ON the
northern side was IL gallant young cap
tain named Forrest. the elder brother of
the man WHOM Grace Lea felt-eNen in
her moment of fiercest suffering over
the mutiated body of father She
adored-she vet loved with the strongest
passion of her heart
Captain Forrest was killed, too, in that
engagement, and for the second time it
was made clear that, between these two
families. fate had issued her sternest
fiat OF scpara ion. When the war ended
and peace was declared, the lovers
thought each of the other; but it would
have seemed like sacrilege to them both
if there could have been word or sign
between them. There WAS no human
soul To whom the Young man could
speak and put in words the faithfulness
Of his hopeless love; but Grace was II
woman. and her need of self expression
was greater. and therefore to her moth
cr she spoke freely and found her only
comfort in declaring that the love of
her life had been given to one man, To
whose memory the years to come should
be sacred Youth and its passionate ro-
nance WAS long since past To Mrs. Lea,
and she tried Ia reason with the girl and
even to persuade her that her lover had
by this time quite forgotten her. 1t WAS
absurd, this worldly wise mother said
to measure a mans consistency by Il wOm-
ans; and lie her opinion ii was not only
probable. but almost certain, that Al
bert Forrest was by this time engaged
TO some one else, and she predicted that
the next news they would have of him
would tell them of his marriage. This
was the last conversation mother and
daughter ever had upon this subject
but Grace kept all these savings and
medita1el on them i'll her heart
The war had been over several years
and Grace Lea. who mt its beginning
had been Il blooming girl Of seventeen
was now Il woman of twenty-five ma
tured and thoughtful even beyond her
age and handsomer than ever. Her face
was superbly calm. and her figure
nodded To the beautiful completeness Of
womanhood, had II repose and dignity
that contradicted any idea of the rest
ing. She was more and more reserved
and self contained to every one. No
one got near To her. and she never made
the least effort to be understood by any
one. Once only Il warm glow of pas
sionate gratitude had come into her
face, when an older woman whom she
encountered somewhere, in an almost
casual way. hearing her envied by some
friend for her admirable repose of mind
and heart, put her hands on Grace's
shoulders, and looking into her eyes,
said quietly:
Il know the secret of this deep repose
can quote you IA line that describes it
utterly. And in my heart, if calm at all
if any calm, calm despair.
And Grace had answered nothing, but
she had thrown her arms about her and
kissed her-an impulsive thing for her to
do. She lost sight of this woman after
that, and without regret.
What does it natter" she said to her
self. We'll be friends in heaven"
Colonel Lea had been buried in sol
diers cemetery, situated i'll that common
battlefield between north and south,
where so many on both sides had fought
and fallen that stones throw apart
there was 4 vast, farreaching field of
graves, over which the flag Of the Union
hoated continually, and another, whose
conquered banner was forever furled
Grace had never visited her fathers
grave, Luc ii was IA pilgrimage she had
long desired to make. She knew his