Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-03-07
p Bride Of a Day.

My ufSL udEfldSS, Salu jacques or
veuse, was of but a few hours dura-
ton, and did not break my betrothal
10 her who afterwards became my
true wife. 1t was nevertheless a legal
wedding, and without doubt the best
action of my life. l have pardoned
myself for many faults on account Of
the happiness that l gave to her who
was my bride for a day.
At the time of which l speak l used
sometimes to dictate notes Oh a philO-
sophical work to an old cOpyiSt who
lived in the Rue de ~rEstrapade. He
but had been brought to poverty by a.
unusual series of misfortunes which
he had a weakness for recounting to
all Corners, | used to listen to him
willingly, for his voice was charming
and his words we'll chosen. While he
spoke his daughter, a timid blonde,
would sit near us copying papers. l
found her alone two or three times
and could not help remarking that
she seemed greatly agitated in my
presence. AS she was quite pretty and
| saw a look of infinite tenderness in
her beautiful eyes when they met
mine, l felt some vague inclination
toward her, but l quickly stifled it.
Yet [ often spoke kindly to her that
she might see 1 did not think her
displeasing. My gentle words i'm
p. essed a soul so profound that 1
would have shrunk back affrighted
could l have guessed its depth.
We had known each other for some
time when l was suddenly called away
from the city, and during my absence
[ fell in love ard became betrotbed.
The very morning of my return to
Paris some one knocked at my door,
and my poor old copyist entered. His
thin figure was yet more meager, his
face pale, his temples hollow and his
eyes red with weeping. "Sir," said he,
81 trust you will excuse my coming
thus, but you have always been so
good-my daughter-she-I fear she is
about to die
Indeed" 1 responded, with more
politeness than emotion.
''She is at the hospital, sir, 1 have
come to ask you-tO say to you"
He interrupted himself, stammer.
ing, incoherent, his eyes full of n
treaty, and said abruptly, without fur
Their prelude:
MY daughter loves you! Before her
approaching death I believed you
might be able"
And without oi vipr n +iroo 10 no
cover from this strange declaration he
commenced a story of love which,
though proliX, was so strange and pa
thetic that, when he ended, my eyes
were wet with tears.
''Vill you see her? 1t would make
her so happy! She has but a few
weeks to live
Three-quarters Of an hour later I was
at the young girls bedside. Her face
shone with that ineffable beauty with
which coming death sometimes trans
figures the features of the young. At
seeing me her great dark eyes lighted
up with a joy that touched me to the
heart.
Almost at once she guessed that her
father had revealed her girlish secret,
and she commenced to tell me the sad,
sweet story Of her love; the pathetic
romance of a pOOd little maiden re-
signed to death-a tale of infinite ten
derness; how first she had known she
loved me, then her fear that her
love was not returned, then her illness
and her wish to die.
For an hour she talked thus, her
blond head Lying upon the snow white
pillow, her beautiful eyes gazing into
mine. Finally she asked in a tremb-
ling voice:
"And yCu-Did you e~yer-ever?"
What should l say? Should l play
truth or mercifully console her with a
lie? Pity moved me:
II? 1 have loved you longr
'Is it true?"
st is true indeed"
A look of joy such as 1 will never
see again in this ~world-the joy of the
despairing-oyerspread her face, and
in that moment, if 1 loved her not
there was something very sweet in my
soul-an atom of that boundless COM
passion which is the closest kin to
love.
But will you ever marry meF"
l swore to her that l would. She
smiled up at me with alteration. She
prayed aloud, thanking God for his
& great goodness. One day I was so
i moved by the depth of her love for me
/ that [ wished to give her yet more
! happiness, it would cost me SO little.
! Alas! was she not ~irremediably con-
demned?
81 am going to publish the banns,"
I cried.
Her joy was almost terrible in its
intensity. Her face shone with a
marvellous splendor, and while she
! drew down my face to hers, while she
laughed and cried in reciting to me in
broken words the prayer of her love,
while she spoke to me as fervent de-
voices to God, 1 felt that L had given
! to one human being the equivalent of
a lifetime of happiness.
l will not tell you how l arranged to
obtain the consent Of my guardian. l
did not ask that Of my fancee-I
knew she would pardon me afterward.
The banns were published, and l
made all preparations for a regular
marriage.
During the weeks which followed she
lived in pcStacy. Her maladv seemed