Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1896-01-20
FORGET lIENOT.

| in spite of the pallOr of her che I; and
brow. Her hair was golden and hunr in
| tangled masses about her shoulders. I.cr
eyes, blue as the sky above her, were be-
dimmed with tears that dropped one Y
one on bunch of forgetmenots which she
was holding in her hands and on which
| her gaze was fastened.
A mingled feeling of pity and curiosity
| took possession of me. "Who is she:''
''Why does she grieve?'' ''Why is she
| here?''
ask her yourself said the keeper
| who had thus far accompanied me, and
| approached her.
At the sound of my footsteps she started
| and shrunk to one side, as one who expects
| punishment, but when she ventured to
| look at me all fear and grief seemed to
pass from her face, and with look of
| hope and happiness she said, with smile:
81 know. You have come for me- You
have come to rescue me from pain that
is slowly, slowly killing me. Oh you are
SO good, SO kind! And, you see, must
leave here today-now, for must be there
tonight
"Where?'' asked in a voice trem bling
with compassion.
"Where?' she repeated, with q wonder
ing look from those heavenly blue eyes.
"Whcre but with him?''
''With him?''
"Daniel-Robert Daniel Oh but you
know
"Nay, but do not know Tell me who
is Daniel. Your husband, your lover per-
haps?''
ooh, no. There was a look OF sweet
innocence on her face. "Not my lover,
surely, for he belongs to Joanna"
"Joanna?" I repeated astonished.
eyes, - she gently replied, mot mine"
Az>J L,oo to- To- +oh
eyes, for six long months has he been
waiting for me day by day"
''And where does he wait for your"
CAT the Pere La Chaise, that's where he
is. And do you not know that he is dead?
And his grave; have you not seen it? Oh,
it is so white and beautiful, and so rest
full. His name on the marble shaft and
on it stands the marble urn from which
the little birds drink when the water has
gathered in it after rain. They futter
round and round it and sing and sing, and
that is beautiful-oh, so beautiful! All,
but you have not been there and you cam
not understand. I see you, too, believe
that all is over when one dies. But it is
not so. After death you live and think
and hear and feel. You smile and shake
your head You do not know. You have
mover put your ear close to a grave and lis
tened. I did not know until that night
came-that night They had put flowers
on his grave SO many, SO many, and they
were white as snow and shining, shining.
They drew me nearer and nearer, and
put my hands into them, and my head
rested for q moment against the cool mar
bic shaft, when-do not laugh at mol
heard q muTmur, Il soft singing, voice
that reached me at last and softly spoke to
me. Joanna, is it your All fear passed
from me. l read his name on the stone
shaft Daniel Robert, aged 90 and I'M
derstood at once. He who spoke then was
calling for her he loved, and is there not
saying that loves fire burns fercest at the
age of 90? She whom he called Joanna
had sworn to visit him after death, and
she had broken her promise. But he wait
ed and waited and whenever he heard steps
above him he longingly called, joanna is
il your oh, the pity Of it. No one ever
heard; no one ever answered. But l, l
could not leave him there alone. 1 an
swered him. and lied to him, for l said
1T is I, joanna Was [ wrong in doing
that? Yet he did not know, he believed it
to be his Joanna, who had come to him at
last And he spoke to me in q language /
had never heard before. He told me of the
happiness of love; of those bygone mo-
ments of bliss, of the cup of delight that
only lovers are allowed to taste Of and 1
answered him as Joanna would have an
swered, for how could [ tell him the truth
and break his heart, when he was SO alone
down, down in the cold earth.
'sAnd so I came again, day by day, and
sat above him and listened to his words of
love and happiness. But one day VIC were
parted. The stiffness around me was
broken by the footsteps of many people,
and I felt that they had come to take me
away. L put my arms about the pillar
with his name and cried aloud in the an
guish of my heart, but they were stronger
than 1, and they tore me away from his
grave and brought me here. And they are
so cruel, for they will not let me go to
him, and I know that he is waiting for
mo and counting the hours, the days, un-
til I RETURN
With low cry of despair she had flung
herself at my feet pleading, ooh, take
me to him, take me to him, or he will
have to die out there alone without me!''
envy child, I said as gently as 1 could,
st cannot take you with me. cannot
help you
The terrible helplessness and misery ex-
pressed in her face actually startled me.
Still I felt forced to repeat, "My poor
child, 1 cannot help you
''Then all is over, and shall see him
nevermore' And in paroxysm of grief
she fell sobbing on the stone bench, still
tightly holding the little bunch of forget
menots in her right hand. Suddenly her
sobbing ceased, and rising she addressed
me, speaking hurriedly:
"Ah, very well. cannot CO. but you
will go in my place. Take these forget
menots and go to the Pere La Chaise You
will soon find his grave with his name en-
graved on the marble pillar, and the urn
above it. And when you have found it
you will place these flowers on it and say
to him, Joanna sends these forgetmenots.'
You will do this for me?''
'tI WILL
81 thank you, oh, thank you'll" And
after tenderly kissing the little bunch Of
flowers she handed them to me.
lof+ hon, and or no cI- Of hoiy