The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1896-12-25
srangen.ents could not be made for haunt

Il
But these precious words about Min,
ME had sent hahn into my tortured spirit,
SO that my incorporate heart thr0bbed,
shaking the yenetians, and Tom asked
where the draft came from j would 90
| TO her at once, so / trayersed the closed
door again, passing them all as the sigh
not what, or whence 1t comes, or whittier
It goes---a breath from--Well, no matter
where; don't exactly know myself.
nus l went upstairs and into Minnie's
room, where | found the poor girl still
III bed, her cheeks pale, her eyes red
With weeping, all the signs upon her OF
y q, sleepless night Of sorrow. and pressed
ness of my unworthy self, which had
given her once long ago. And this was
the girl who never spoke save to ridicule
anu poke fun at me, whose dislike for
me was almost prOverbial i'll the family:
and yet the girl whose loye-with usual
human peryersity-I would have given
all the world to win. IS .@ze ,s.ss,S ,szz 5
All, this knowledge of her hearts se-
cret was sweet to me! 1t gave me cour-
pour forth my love. / would tell her
stay what could tell her? Was I
not forgetting again that l was only d
poor ghost-merely the shadow of a
shade? Was I not unseen by her? And
even were it possible for me to make my
self visible for few moments, should
only succeed in terrifying my poor love
out of her senses. -
/ Alas! was this the realization of a here
after: the punishment of early yanities
and sins! To see things just as they are,
ana yet to be SO miserably impotent
to alter them; to see, too, what might
nave been, and to beat out my weary
spirit on into entcrnity in vain longing
for fruition that can never come! :
MY funeral was appointed to take
place the next day. It was u very grand
affair altogether, and cake and wine had
been laid in the parlor to entertain the
guests upon this festive occasion. / dare
say ], should have done the same had I
been bhrying relation, .btt somehow It
hurt me to see l1y best dry sherry being
put away: =,
AS l accompanied the mourners down
the steps, l suddenly perceived my friend
the demon by my side. Vainly | sought
coach, but could find no room. turned
to him somewhat angrily, and remarked:
Il say, you promised l should 20 to
my own funeral. but I don't seem to
have been considered in the arrange
ment at ALL
You forget that corporeally you hold
the place of honor at the head of the pro-
cession, but in the spirit you can get in
here. There's only the doctor and the
clergyman"
Between the doctor and the parson!
Really, my dear demon, you are remark
able for most sardonic humor."
Well, the men of medicine and religion
talked politics all the way, which
thought inapprOpriate; but as they were
both Conservatives they did not disagree.
l am Liberal myself, and began vocif-
erously expounding Mr.. Gladstone's pol
icy. quite Oblivious that my gesticulutiOns
were unseen, my words unheard by
them.
""Go9d JOB for yourself you are dead"
said the demoh. "Ybu're just the sort
to get into jolly row with redhot poll
ticians!'
The cemetery was soon reached, and I
looked down and saw my coffin lowered
into the open grave.
earth to earth"
few Jumps were thrown, and fell
upon the lid with a grewsome rattle,
and
l awoke with start. and my eyes met
those of my brother Tom, who asked,
cheerily,: well. how do you do now, old
could not help thinking of him as I had
seen him last, reading my will down in
the parlor-turned away and encountered
my darling little Minnie, who sat unob-
served in remote corner of the room,
and l felt, oh! so grateful and happy at
seeing her there. l felt then that it was
not all dream.
l have used feigned names in this
veracious tale, because think she would
not like to know the strange experience
which led me to take courage to WOO,
and, by and by, we'd her.-Spare Mo