Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1894-07-26
HE greatest literary
success OF the present
lav IS Beatrice Har-
vadea 5 novel,
~ = oAkAk ~
THAT PASS
IN THE NIGHT
CHAPTER M.
4 IDN b1'TElr ..

Two days after Bcrnartlnc had LETT 70
tershof the SHOWS began to melt. Nothing
could be drCaricr than that process, moth
ing moro dcsol"tr than the outlook.
The Disagrceablc Man sat in his bed
room trying to read Carpenter "Anat-
omy" 1t failed to hold him. Then he
looked out of the window and listened to
the dripping of thciciclcs. At last he took
n pen and wrote rs follows:
LITTLE CoMRApE, LITTLE PLAYMATE
could not believe that you were really GO
ing When you first said that you would
soon be leaving, | listened with uncon-
corn because ii did not seem possible that
tho time could come when we should not
be together; that the days would como
and go, and that should not know how
you We're; whether you were better, and
moro hopeful about your life and your
work, or whether the old misery of indif-
ference and i'll health was still clinging to
you; whether your voice was strong rs of
one who had slept we'll and felt rrfrcshcd,
or whether it was weak like that of ono
who had watched through the long night.
lit did not seem possible that such n
time could come Many cruel things have
happened to me as to scores of others, but
this is the most cruel of all. Against my
wish and against my knowledge you have
crcpt into my life as necessity, and now
l have to give you up, You are better, God
bless you, and you go back to u fuller life,
and to carry on your work, and to put to
account those talents which no one realizes
more than l do, and, us for myself, God
help me, | am left To withcr away
You little one, you dear little one, ncv-
CT wished to love you. l had never loved
any one, never drawn near to any one. l
have lived lonely all my young life, for
am only young man yet ! said to
myself time after time: ] will not love
her. 1t will not do me any good, nor her
any good And then in my state of
health what right had to think of mar
riagc and making home for myself OF
course that was out of the question. And
then thought that because Twas a DOOM
cd man, cut off from the pleasures which
make n lovely thing Of life, 1t did not fol,
low that might not love you in my own
quiet way, hugging my secret to myself
until tho love became all the greater be
cause 1t was my secret l reasoned about
it too 1t could not harm you had loved
you. No ono could be the worse for being
loved. So little by little l yielded myself
up, began to flower again. Yes, little one,
you will smile when l tell you that my
heart broke out into flower.
"Whcn / think Of it all now ] am not
sorry that let myself AT least have
learned what l knew nothing Of before.
Now I understand what people mean
when they say that love adds dignity to
life which nothing else can give That
n iTrpi tu &c I'M fa1ya T.
from nc II is my own, You are my very
own love everything about you. From
the beginning l recognized that you were
clever and Sapablc Though | often made
fun of what you said that was simply a
way had, and when ! saw you did not
mind l continued in that way, hoping al
ways to vcx you Your good temper pro
vokcd me, because ! knew that you made
allowances for me being a Pctcrshof In
valid You would never have suffered a
strong man to criticise you us did; you
would have flown at him, for you arc fe-
verish little child, not quiet, woolly lamb.
AT first l was wild that you should
make allowances for me. And then ]
gave in, as weak men are obliged. When
you came, saw that your troubles and
FuiTcrings would mako you bitter DO you
Il.
/ have seen that often before That is the
one little bit Of good / have done in the
world have helped to cure cynicism
You were shocked at the things ! said
and you were saved did not save you
Intentionally, 50 | am not posing rs n phi
lanthropist i merely mention that you
came here hard, and you went back tender
That was partly because you have lived in
the City Of Suffering Some people live
there and learn nothing, but you would
learn 10 feel only too much ! wish that
your capacity for feeling were less, but
then you would not be yourself, your pres
ent self. mean, for you have changed even
since | have known you. Every week you
seemed TO become more gentle. You
thought me rough and qruff at parting
little comrade. | meant TO be So II you
had only known, there was whole world
OF tenderness for you in my heart. could
not trust myself 10 be tender TO you-you
would have guessed my secret. And l
wanted you TO 20 away undisturbed. You
do not feel things lightly and it was best
for you that you should harden your heart
against mc.
If you could harden your heart against
met But ! am not sure about that. l be.
iieve that-ah, well, IN foolish IelIom,
but some day, dear, III tell you what /
think. I have treasured many Of your say.
ings in my memory. | can never be as
though had never known you Many Of
your words have repeated to myself after
ward until they seemed 10 represent my
own thoughts | specially remember what
you said about God having made us lone
~ 50 that we might be obliged to turn TO
him, for we arr all lonely, though some
Of us not quite 50 much as others. You
yourself spoke often Of being lonely. Oh,
my own little one Your loneliness Is
nothing compared - mine. How often /
could have told you that
II have never seen any u your work,
but think you have now something 70