The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1897-03-06

A deed of gift. An anonymous deed
of gift-that would be the thing, the
girl decided. She would not keep one
! penny of il back. There seemed some
thing calculating and merccnary in set
ting aside part for herself; besides, it
would be all the same in the end. 4
decd of gift of G 500 a year to BERTHE,
1t va worth all the waiting and the
/ pain and the work. This was her re-
ward.
So the girl carried out her secret
plans with n light heart and a happy
brow. and the joyful message went
across the sea to the man, in the copper
plate caligraphy of the lawyers clerk;
while the girl herself-in the wilitul-
ness of near bliss-scnt over the sea
also just a scrappy little letter, the
most matter-of-fact she had ever sent,
cheerful and friendly, telling of outside
pleasures and daily t%riies. of a little
picnic in the wood and a village concert
"A little letter which would bring back
a loving remonstrance in the midst Of
lI dIC VI SOOh tuliCs dliu WHICH
would be a joke against her aEsrward
when the happy secret was known to
the full. And she smiled as she sealed
and sent it on its way. And then she
waited.
There were -four and twenty days OF
the waiting, and the girl never forgot
them-never quite lived down the strain
of the painful joy. the ]rapturous N
guish, rs she pictured her lovers pleas
ure and endured all the minutes which
were bound to pass before she would
receive n sign.
What will he say? VIII it be Won
der? VIII it be only happiness? Will
it be-himself?"
At last it came-the first sign of her
sacrifice. 1t was a letter, rather short,
because written in a hurry by n busy
man; and the girl was able to read it in
the ten minutes which were hers before
morning lessons:
Dearest Ursula: This letter will be only
n rcran, In afraid, but l know that you
Will forgive that. and I will make 1t up
next tine. Truth TO tell. l am d~rcadfully
pressed for time. I've had a little vindfall
left me in rather an odd way, and I've &C
cepted 1t. Some one has taken a fancy to
me. l suppose. (You can understand that,
can't yOu0 So I am going off IN a good,
long tour, to see all the places I've wanted
SO long to see-Italy, Greece, and l don't
know where else. It's jolly to have a
little money at last. Rather a large party
of us are goinS-the Gleesons, the mother
and daughter I've written about sometimes
a-I ---- E-sz-I- % .L-s-- I I---- Eog-1v
well: so / expect we shall enjoy ourselves.
So glad You are having such a good time,
my dear. Picnics and concerts are pleas
ures which seldom come my way. l will
write again as soon as 1 can. but am TN
certain when and where we halt. Yours,
in haste, BERTHE"
"A little windfalI!" "And 1 have ac-
it,"
The woman's limbs shook and her
face became awful rs she read. Then
she shivered; and then the children
in to lessons.
One more letter crossed the sea from
the woman to the man on his wander
The word 'good-by' was writ
ten across a bare sheet of paper, and
the man considered that he had been
uncivilly treated, and he felt very sor-
~ for himself; but he never looked on
the woman's face again.
The silly tale leaked out in time,
and the world laughed at the comedy
it. But the woman failed to see the
humor. and it was the tragedy which
at the back of her eyes in all the
long years till she died.-The Sketch.