Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1893-06-01

tnlnS DeCter. NGtt -.
The woman was perhaps twenty y4odf
She was not quite beautiful, yet she was
more than pretty. She was of good size
and figure; and the short plush coat that
she wore, and the manner in which she
kept her hands thrust In the pockets
thereof, gave to her dauntless air
which the quiet and affectionate express
sion of her face softened.
She was a brunette, her eyes being
large and distinctly dark brown, her
face having that peculiar complexion
which is most quickly affected by any
change in health.
The color of her cheeks, the dark rim
under her eyes, and other indefnable
signs indicated some radical ailment. In
the quick glance that had Of that pair,
while the woman was smiling, feeling
of pity came over me. have never de-
tected the exact cause of that emotion.
Perhaps in the woman's face | read the
trace Of past bodily and mental suffer
ing; perhaps subtle mark that death
had already set there.
Neither the woman nor her husband
noticed me as they passed. The dog re-
garded me cautiously with the corner Of
his eye. probably would never have
thought of the three again had | not
seen them upon the bridge, under ex-
actly the same circumstances ON the
next Sunday.
So these young and then happy people
walked here every Sunday, thought
This, perhaps, was an event looked for
ward to throughout the week. The hus-
band, doubtless, was kept prisoner and
slave at his desk from Monday morning
until Saturday night, with respite only
for eating and sleeping Such cases are
common, even with people who can
think and who have some taste for luxu-
ry, and who are not devoid of love for
the beautiful
The sight Of happiness which exists
despite the cruelty Of fate and man, and
which is temporarily unconscious of its
own liability to interruption and extinc-
tion, invariably fills me with sadness.
And the sadness which arose at the con-
temptation of these two beings begat in
me strange sympathy for and interest
In them.
On Sundays thereafter would go ear
ly to the bridge and wait until they
passed, for it proved that this was their
habitual Sunday walk Sometimes they
would pause and join those who gazed
down at the black river | would, now
and again, resume my journey toward
the hospital while they thus stood, and
would look back from distance. The
bridge would then appear to me an
abrupt ascent, rising to the dense city,
and their two figures would stand out
clearly against the background.
1t became matter Of care to me to
observe each Sunday whether the health
of either had varied during the previous
week. The husband, always pale and
slight, showed little change, and that in
frequently. But the fluctuations Of the
woman, as indicated by complexion.
gait, expression and otherwise, were nu-
merous and pronounced. Often she
looked brighter and more robust than on
the preceding Sunday. Her face would
be then rounded out, and the dark cres-
cents beneath her eyes would be less
marked. Then found myself elated.
But on the next Sunday the cheeks
had receded slightly, the healthy lustei
Of the eyes had given way to an ominous
glow; the warning Of death had re.
turned. Then my heart would sink, and
kghing, would murmur inaudibly;
"This is one OF the Lad Sundays."
/ There came y time when every Sun
/ day was q bad one.
What made me love this woman
Simply the unmistakable completeness
and constancy Of her devotion TO he
{ husband-the absorption Of the womai
In the wife Had the strange ways o
! chance ever made known TO her IN.
feeling, and had she swerved from tina
devotion even 10 render the back Low
, for love. then my own alteration for be
! would surely have departed.
Yes, loved her--if to Gil ones III
! with thoughts Of woman, II in fanc
, 10 see her face by day and night, II :
have the will 10 die for her or 70 bca