The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1893-05-25
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE WASHINGTON D. c. THURSDAY q

/Geh|1IAhA dI n 1Ctcs
| the horses just ran all the faster, and they
nearly upset us two or three times, and folks
! tried to stop them, bat they couldn't till, by
| and by, when we were most up to Park Square,
| that man up stairs just dashed right at them.
/ and held on-well, guess you know the rest,
papa"
YES" said her father, shuddering. al know
| he rsked his own life for Aunt Alice aud my
/ darling"
81 guess he was soldier continued Dora.
| It's always the soldiers who do brave things,
| Aunt Alice says. And. anyway, after he'd
stopped the horses and had dropped right down
| in heap, aud the folks were carrying him into
! the drug store. heard Aunt Alice give little
! cry and say. Oh, my soldier. my soldierD So
! guess he was real brave soldier, papa; and
aren't you glad Aunt Alice went into the store
and made them bring him here?"
Yes" said her father, tenderiy; for bis
| sake and for Aunt Alices sake l am glad little
| one"
Two weeks later Alice sat beside large
| easy chair N the library, Wherein popped by
pillows, reclned the man who had saved her
| life that bright May day.
''Teil me-" she said gently stroking the thin
hands she held between her own, q" tell me how
| it is you are alive. II thought
NO." repeating the tale both knew so well,
it was my cousin-he who bore the same
/
! wounded, and | lived, and l-I-soon after
| got your last letter. All that was a cruel let
! ter, my love! Well, I-I"-
You married the woman who loved you,
who, for love of you, went into those dreadful
! hospitals and nufsed the sick" said Alice, ten
! derry. " She nursed you back to life, and II
| honor her memory"
| well" said the invalid after moments
| silence, "you know the rest, my Alice You
| know that she-she died, my poor wife, and
| that, after the war. broken in health,
without property, without friends with only
| my little motherless girl to comfort me, went
| to California"
YES" said Alice, 81 know you were too
| proud to seek me. How could you have be-
lieved | could do as l said in that dreadful let
| ter, or ask me to share your broken fortunes?
Alb, yes, know how you buried yourself out
| there, and how you only came back to New
York in order that your Marian might find a
| friend in her aunt"
IL thought-if"-
al know You did not want to leave her
alone and unprotected. But you to live to
be well, strong man yet, please Godi"
"Aye!" feebly carrying her hand to his lips,
"lOve will make me young again"
Both were silent for moment the memo
ries of years filling their hearts too full for
speech, and then Alice said, huskily, "Those
years in New York, when you fancied
rich woman married heartlessly to some rich
man Ab, cannot think of them!"
"Nay," interrupting him, "you are not to
bamei How could you think All, we'll we
will never again mention that dreadful letter,
will we? For now, at last, together!
But it is strange, it is more than strange that
you should have come to Boston; that We
! should find each other here-and On that day
the soldiers day!
'Ah !" she went on, it is stranger still, that
/, knowing your middle was Winter,
should not have known why it was your
Marian's face and voice and accent brought
you so constantly to my mind. Poor child !
hope she will learn to love me-"
"She will love you," he answered quickly"
she needs only to know you She will love
YOU Havo no fear of my little Marian. She
has warm, true heart, my child, but
butt
81 understand 1t is her aunt, who has
still the strong Southern prejudces-who has
i'm bued her with them, until she has felt that
we were all her enemies. Poor child L un-
derstand those strange glances now. 1t was
hard indeed to take bread from the foe. But
all is changed now. She loves our Dora
she"-
"She will love you. Have no fear. When
you are her mother she will love you."
blush rose swiftly to Alices cheeks, and
tears filled her eyes as she listened to the
earnest confident voice. Assuming lighter
tone, she began to speak quickly, with smile
upon her face. "And so, when she told you of
me, you knew directly that it was /, Alice
Vandegrit, and you begged her to confscate
my picture, did your and my prayer book
your prayer book-the only comfort l had
after was left alone. And so, after she told
you where we lived, you walked before the
house every evening, did you, thinking you
would catch a glimpse OF someone? And
one night dropped my roses when | got
into the carriage, and you picked them up, did
a,,1 ~ Ehar
now, sir?"
Cleavance smiled as he threw back his coat
and showed her the faded bunch of white
roses, withered but fragrant still, fastened
securely to the inner lining
"You wore white roses the night / left
you," he said. "You gave them to me, and
wore them next my heart until that day-the
day of the battle. Someone took them from
me then. But you had them at your throat
and in your hands that day | saw them. l
knew it was you, dear when tried-to-to
save you and they were the first things / saw
when l opened my eyes; even before 1 saw
you | saw your roses"
Alice leaned forward and kissed him sud-
denly upon the forehead.
II saw these poor faded roses-next your
heart-that day." she said, brokenly. "I-I
knew-then."
She waited moment to steady her voice.
I" / had some news to tell you" she presently
continued, but Edward shall tell you himself.
1t is abOut-mines-on your old plantation.
He will expain it. And-and he will tell you
that rich bachelor-uncle of my father has just
died. leaving his money to us. But-but we
do not care for riches, do we? Not when we
think of that day-of what might have been.
1t was Memorial Day, you know, and-if you
had not-saved US, my poor Edward-might
have had-our two graves-his little Dora's
grave-and mine-to-to decorate-next year"
Cleavance drew her face down to his and
kissed it with a tender reverence. Next
year." he said, "we will go together you and ].
and lay white roses on the Southern soldiers
graves. You have forgiven the Southern SOL
diers have you not, sweetheart"
Her eyes met his and she smiled. "Whers
thou goest, / will CO." she said 4" and thy
people shall be my people, and" in a lower,
cnftar voica thv God nv Cod