Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1895-12-18
MY MISTAKE.

State street at lively gait,
bound for the club, and
all that that implies. My mind was
turning sem!-occasionally to the twenty
or mere most important" commissions
entrusted 20 me by my blissful young
relative. the date of whose wedding was
fixed for Thanksgiving Day and was
wondering which Of them would nave
the phenomenal luck TO be attended TO-,
when | was brought 70 a standstill and
held fast by a smile-a woman's smile.
Alice. Alicer / exclaimed, grasping
the hand OF the woman who smiled
an emaciated. narveless hand, that chill
ed even through her glove. And, l grieVe
to say. there was more Of interrogation
than rapture in my tone.
Heavens, how she had changed!The
Alice Of pleasant memory, the Alice
whom had known and loved, was girl
of maryelously delicate beauty and in
fictitious gaieJy; bright, airy, bewitching,
with an apple-blossom face.
While the woman whose hand held
depressed a sigh and pang Of re-
morse shot through me as | silently con-
templated the wreck Of so much lowell
ness.
She had been rather given to fl.rta-
ton, it is true, and the winning Of many
hearts for which she afterwards had no
use
l recalled the night was on the point
of telling Alice Of my love for her. of
exposing my heart TO the pitiful opera
ton so many others had undergone,
when something happened that prevent
ed my doing so. Something disagreea-
bic and sudden and bitter Il shall not
'nOw relate IT'D, which sent me spinning
AT the rate Of a mile a minute TO the far
West. There L gained consciousness
after a while and a well developed for
tune IN the interval between the mem
cradle evening and the day ] met the
sp.ritless, pulseless apparition of the
sparkling, yiyacious girl of the apple
blossom face and effervesc:ng spirits.
The change in her appearance was
startling. But what had caused It?
Was iL my-why not put it plainly,
though brutally? Was il because had
not asked her to marry me that she had
faded and pinned away to a mere shadows
that was scarcely suggestive Of her for
mer enchanting self?
The answer | was forced TO give my
self was disquieting. but I believed it to
be the correct one. The god of love has
looked forth from her eyes that Thanks
giving night years ago and beckOned TO
me, but /, in my Jealousy, had misun-
dersJOOd him and repealed him; in my
madness l had fed from him.
How I mathematical myself for an
egregious, shortsighted blunderer.
But one thing was clearer than all
else. had done her great wrong: | was
/ blind no longer Through the suffer
ings had caused her she had lost her
rich inheritance Of far young beauty.
and what can a woman lose that is a
greater loss to her than her beauty?
Il knew YOU at once, she said, frank
". You look as good as new. But
YOU wouldn't have known me-" Her
voice dropped to a low passionate tone.
You had forgotten me-"
She would have withdrawn her hand.
but l frightened my clasp upon il.
No, cannot say I would have known
her or noticed her had she not greeted
me with her distinguishing smile of rec
/ ignition. And l must confess in pass
Ing that it gives fellow a comforting
| thrill 10 be so readily recognized after
the deprecating fight of thirteen raw
aging yearS-years which generally use
man pretty roughly and leave many
marks upon him in evidence Of the
wres,le
But as to forgetting her-neveri And
sr Z
f0rcible and truthful as I could COM
mand, concluding with the convincing
declaration that she all the happenings
connected with her and that sweet old
time were as clear and vivid 10 my
memory as the events Of Yesterday.
She laughed That's tit exactly.
Who thinks Of yesterday? You GER
ta!nly weren't, coming down the street
Tor the thoughts of yesterday are sell
dom happy 0nes'-
Then perish the thoughts of yester-
day! Let us be happy, by all means
Alice. Come where We can talk at our
ease and tell me how YOU have been
amusing yourself lately"
She hes.tated, but | insisted. The
nasty little east wind. coming ND thin
and damp from the lake. was making
her look still more pinched and peaked.
while my heart seemed to be chugg.ng
around in a slough of icy water. So 7
guided her over the thronged pavement
10 a place 1 knew near by-a little place.
quiet and retired, whose patrons were
well-bred aud not too observing.
When l spoke of the recent past or Of
the present, particularly of my return to
town and the cause Of it (the marriage
on Thanksgiving of my little sister Eff
tie), her face lit up with interest and
something Of the charm of its aDple-
blossom beauty. But let me 90 back 10
that blissful period with tender reminis-
cenCeS of Il. and a look of perplexitv
and bafiied memory would come into hes
eyes, which grew strangely dark and
sad. Had she forgotten all but the sor-
row and pain the bright hopes and an
ticipaCons Of that time had brought to
her?
Watching her as she absantly smooth
ed. over and over. single spot of the
table cloth. with the tip Of her little fin
ger. her thoughts ages away. apparent
ly. l wondered whether the cloud on her
melancholy though still sweet face could
ever be dispelled Could the benumbed
heart ever be coaXed to beat again wish
the throb of ardent love?
Poor little woman she had been gr!ev-
ously hurt. Had / not faith in the fut-
ure I would would have been over
wheimed with TemOrse
concluded as l closed the cab door
upon her and repeated her directions to
the driver. that the work Of resuScita-
tloa would be more difficult than I had
at first fancied; but even so, the situa-
ton was not a hopeless one.
The next dav | BEGAN bv sending Al