Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-09-14
MY OLD FRIENDS WIFE.

After all l am going to marry LII
Gle. 1t is more than year since poor
RObethOn died, and-perhapS | am q
donkey to do it. at my time of life
but she is unquestionably a charming
woman. She made him happy, and
| am afraid / am a fool. / feel how
ever, as though L owed it almost to
! his memory, and something to her, too.
Yes there is no doubt, owe her some
thing in that line-and yet, good
heavens? 1 am not doing it on that
account. l love her-desperately, down
to the ground.
Dick" she said to me yesterday,
looking straight at me with her wonder
full blue eyes-''Dick, why do you ask
me-now?"
Better late than never" l answer
ed.
She began: Five, six years ago you
-" and stopped.
L know l was a fool, Lucille.
never once thought of it. You see, the
idea was foreign to me- 1 never in
tended to marry"
And now?''
with your kind assistance, l do in
tend to-"
WHY"
| Her question almost bOwled me over.
[ gaZed at the carpet, wondering how
l could best put it to her. Presently
looked up, and as our eyes met I
blurted out, Because l love you, of
&C urSe."
| | did not mean to say that just then
! the truth is that the idea of "repara-
ton had got sole possession of my
brain, and how to express it graveled
| me.
Lucille laughed lightly. THAT, Dick,
! is a second thought, and not a bad one
| for a man who is offering himself as
a husband. Still, want you first"
Il was thinking that love apart, you
have moral claim upon me-"
A great wave of color rose and fell,
leaving her beautiful face pale as mar
Why moral? Why not material:
When l turn huckster, Dick, | will
traffic only for gold
I saw what she meant. Loves gifts,
being no impOveriShment of love, en-
| tail no Indebtedness upon the recipient.
Love is paid for it's gift in the giving.
This, | thought, was a counsel of per-
lection and better suited to angels and
angelic loves than to men and women
in an earthly, highly conventional and
British society.
"And that is why yon wish to marry
me?" she added.
I felt that l was on thin ice. mo,
darling, it is not. | love yOn. There S
no harm i'll that, hope"
mo, not bit. 1t is a very good rea-
son. Genuine, Dick?"
"Quite, OH my honor"
THE honor Of an English general
more of an English gentleman-mOre
enough for me. Here's my hand on it,
! Dick
That was only yesterday; it seems
twenty years ago. Poor RObethOn-
| he knew little. | do not think | was
to blame. l acted Loyalty enough by
| him. 1t was like this, you see. Ro-
bethon and | were pretty close friends.
I spent much Of my time at my clubs,
and at one or other Of them l was
always coming across RObcthon. The
| taste for chess was mutual, and was
! the ground for our first acquaintance.
! We were about the same age, heading
| fast for fifty; he was short and stout,
L was long and lean. I had been all
over the world, while he had never
been outside of England; sometimes l
| fancied he had never been outside of
| LpdOn. If he had he was careful to
conceal the fact. We were both bache-
| lors: his chambers were close to st.
James street, mine to Piccadilly; we
never visited each other, though. He
was partner IL a well-knOwn firm of
| bankers, but lad not entered their
place of business for twenty years.
He had read I. world beyond me and
was a gentle, sympathetic, clean-souled
| gentleman.
| I wish I could say as much truthfully
of myself; no false modesty should
keep me from writing it down. Still
/ Robethon cared for me and am deuced
sure I cared for him. His retcence
was characteristic of the man, it was
like a suit of steel armor covering
him from head to foot. Sometimes l