The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1895-08-10

hardSnlpS ana fagOfS OF service II ING
ARMY is noble one. l pray God that
your future may shine out all the more
Respondent from such a dark back
ground. There is, I hope, no shadow
of deceit in my nature, aud frankly
tell you that believe you to be true,
honest and upright man whose heart
is swayed by the most noble impulses,
even though you may wear the garb, OF
private soldier. lam glad l met you,
and 1 shall highly prize your friend
ship and will do all I can to tighten the
dark hours of your service, Yon must
call upon me at my home and" os,a=z
Pardon the interruption, Miss Sam
ford, but you have forgotten my station,
in life in your sympathy for the nnfor-,
tunate man: In your kindness OF heart
you lose sight of the fact that Col. Sam
ford would never permit private sol
der to enter his house, unless in the
line Of military duty
A shadow fitted over her bright
young face, and in a tender tone Of
voice she replied:
Eyes, had forgotten. In contemplate
ing the man my eyes were closed to his;
station in life. What you say is but too
true. Papa is unflinchingly firm in his:
ideas Of the impregnability Of the So:
cial barrier which separates the men in
the ranks from those in official life.
s. Yet hope to see you frequently when
you are out sketching. I feel q very
deep interest In you, Mr.. Thornton,
and do trust unclouded happiness
may dawn upon you and ever remain
with you at the close Of your army life. =:
''God bless you for your cheering
Words" he warmly responded. 'They
touch my heart with thrilling tender
ness, and the knowledge that I possess
one friend above the ranks Of the:
rough soldiers will be a cheering re-.
Fiction as plod on in submission to.
my self-imposed penance. ] shall look;
up to your sympathy as q bright star
illu1nining the dreary days Of my term
of service, and the knowledge that you
are watching me with friendly interest
will Tighten every uncongenial duty inn
posed upon me-"
.sYour term of service will soon pass,
: and it must be q cheering reflection to
you that you will then return to the
enioyments Of civil life and to the So
ciety for which you are so well fitted:
I feel that bright future lies before
YOU, Mr. Thornton, and you will appre-
ciate the blessings OF life all the more
with this experience to look back upon.
But must go now. Papa will become
uneasy TINY long absence. Will you
kindly assist me to mount my ponyp'
With his aid she sprang lightly into
the saddle, and once more extending
her hand said: On
j .ssGood-by thank you for the pleas
ure your sketch afforded me. You
must let me see 1t when 1t is COM
pleted. . s.. j. s r
81 would be only too happy it ron
would accept 1T as q gift. Good-by,
and may the Master above bless you
for the light you have brought into my
distastefull life ID. 3ss
With smile and farewell wave of
the hand she was off at brisk gallop,
but soon drew in her pony and per nit
ted him to walk leisurely toward the
fort
Private Brown. had strangely im-i
pressed her, and as she rode along
she endeavored to analyze her feelings
toward him and determine what it
was that caused her to feel such
deep interest in the handsome
young soldier. In her garrison life
she had met but. few young men, and
these were mostly officers Of the army.
True, they were polished gentlemen
and studiously polite in their demeans
or toward her, yet in the actions OF
each she could observe an air Of disci-
plined dignity that seemed to east g
chill over his social qualities, apds
even import an icy ring to his laugh
ter when cclled upon to do honor to q
refined joke o., sally Of wit: In Pri-
vate Brown she read noble nature,
unselfish and devoid Of aught but man
" pride, nature luminous with the
gold OF self-sacrifcing heroism ID his
battle with life. She saw in. him q
Rentlomnn sof cultnre--a man as great-
" out 81 place in his present position
J as "a diamond ii the filth of the gutter,
She recognized in his every action d
courtly nlien which. could not beshid-
den beneath the blue blouse of the
lower ranks. She found herself draw
ing comparisons between this man of
the ranks and the gaudily uniformed
officers whom her father had taught.
her were true gent lemen, and Prisate
Brown aid not suffer in the least. By
the comparison. BY the. time she had
reached her home the fact had fixed
itself in her mind that she had never
before met man who had SO favorably
Impressed iher as this private in the
ranks. She dismounted from her pony
and entered the house 81 eat b ing the
fervc1at wish that nil itary were,
blown away by the 50 she I'd q
meet her new friend on y terms; Ct
equa lily .
/. s. AS for BROWN his heart went away
with the fair eduestr ienne. He thought
her the NEST syvinseme creature he had
ever met, and as he gathered up his
ssketching ma teriaI and started toward
his cheerlesss quarters the bonds of
ituae cut into his IL
soul. u
II sCHA PTER q Il
tinas N betty Private brown
md Alice Sanford ~ aras
Il;
g
s slonf Ga sIsI'sa
az q l u q;
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