The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1894-04-26

psso1s W lOIRAVee again no answer.
Then / knew that the silence Of death
in life had fallen upon us two For
days was like q mad creature. I
could neither eat nor sleep. Days
long days of suffering, and nights of
anguish, during which I only saw his
face-his grave, noble face, with the
proud fash in the dark eyes, and the
sweet curves of the firm lips. If
could have had him back again, bv
the sacrifice of my own life, I would
have laid that life down gladly But
we were parted forever. His love was
dead, and my hand had slain it.
Years have rolled by We have
never met since that night when
gave him back his ring and threw into
his face words of scorn and reproach.
We have never met-until to-day.
Passing down the street, on my way
home from the Office, where, as stem,
ongrapher, 1 earn my daily bread, I
came face to face with my lost love.
Little May chung to my hand. Dear
child-my dead sisters little one-left
to my care, and all I have to love and
cling to in the world-all shall ever
have. Not for me the crown of moth
erhood; not for me the love and pro-
lection of one, whom I could Glove,
honor and obey until death do US
part" All that is over with for me.
1t is dead, for killed it. But if ever
there lived a penitent sinner on Gods
earth-a bowed, heart-broken woman,
whose one mad cry to heaven is, ''Par-
don my sin! knew not what did,
then I am that sinner.
And so, we met once more-my dead
love and /. I marked the look of sur
prise in the beautiful, dark eyes,
glancing at me with a swift look; a
slight recognition, and he had passed
on.
Will he never forgive me? Must
his heart be harder to me than mill
stone-forever? How can he hope for
forgiveness, when he will not himself
forgive? Ny heart contracts with a
fearful pang; for, looking into those
dark eyes-so calm and cold-I know
that it was only a ghost that saw to-
day. I bow my head, and weep Bit
ter, binding tears. All my life is des-
olate; my own hand has slain his love
his beautiful love, which once made
earth heaven to me.
l open my eyes and stare vaguely
about me. In the rosy lamp-l light a
tall form looms up against the back
ground of shadows. Some one is stand
ing before me, holding in his hand
the written lines, which I had lust
penned, before consciousness had left
me. Swiftly the dark eyes glance
over the words that I have written;
then he turns to me and opens his
arms. | creep silently into their
shelter, and life instantly becomes
paradise-no longer bowling wilder
ness, but garden of Eden.
Little by little, the whole truth
comes out. After our quarrel and
parting, he had left Immediately for a
foreign land. He had not received
one ine-one word from me- All
these years he had remained away,
filing the position of foreign agent
for the mercantile house with which
he was connected. All this time he
had been true to me, and the memory
of the love of his life. Then-his
bronzed face fushes a little as he
speaks of 1.-THE had returned to his
native land and found that I lived
still in my old home. He saw me many
times-unsuspected by myself-and ]
was always accompanied by little
May. With strange inward shrinking
he forbore to make Inquiries, and
fully believed me to be another mans
wife.
To-day, we had met face to face
Something in my eyes had made him
believe me true; and little Mays voice,
addressing me as auntie, had torn
aside the vail, and he had made his
way to my home and me. Soon we
will be united. never to part in life.
"Darling,'' he said, in low, trem
bling voice, 81 have confession tc
make. When I believed you the wife
of another man, I was madly jealous
I know now what jealousy is-all the
bitter, bitter pain we never know unit
we experience it. And forgive anG
excuse your past doubts. know now
the anguish of it all. And we vii
never again doubt each other while
| we live.''
Longevity Among the Federal Employees
( The longevity statistics of govern