The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-05-07
THREE LETTERS.

| lily Nbttulc utltl hION ali lily secrets. i
must ease my burdened heart by telling
you the story of yesterday, full of pain
and mystery. l do not need here to tell
You of my love for Ida Dean You have
seen her and admired as l do the grave,
sweet face. so full of noble intelligence,
atoning in its expression of pure good
ness for the lack of regular features or
brilliant coloring. She has no doll-like
beauty, but vet she is beautiful.
And the sad expression that never
quite leaves her large gray eyes adds to
the power of her charms; it is so pleasant
| to call up a smile or a blush to hide it
for moment But, although you have
! seen her, you do not know what her
| life is.
Every day she walks nearly mile
from the lonely house beyond the town
| Where she makes her home, and about
which there hangs some cloud under
| whose shadow she SORROWS alone. She
! will tell no one what it is-let no comfort
come there to her. Her servant allows
no one to step over the doorsill. But
each morning Ida comes to the little
store where she is saleswoman and stays
until evening toiling for a mere pittance,
While every word that she speaks, every
| gesture she makes, proves that she has
been educated to a high sphere of life
You remember it was my good for
| tune once to render her service, and
attcrward. very gradually, we became
friends. 1t was long before we spoke to-
gcthcr. for We have no mutual acquaint-
ance. and she is very dignified and re-
| served, but one day l went to the store
with Amy, my married sister. and there
was some chattering over ribbons, in
which | joined. She must have known
then who | was. for Amy is quite little
queen i'll c., but she was still very re-
served.
Yet l loved her. Each time that l
saw her L was more deeply impressed
with the purity and sweetness of her
face Very respectfully, very gradually,
won some privileges. walking some
times beside her to or from the store
and talking pleasantly. Amy laughs at
me that out of all our fashionable cir
Gle of friends l can find no woman I
wish to make my wife, and then give my
heart to Il shopgirl. But I do not mind
Amy's jests. Tonight it is all over!
1T is nearly two years since Ida came
to G.. and this evening, walking home
with her. l told her my love-asked her
to be my wife.
''She was neither confused nor
startled. Her only thought seemed to
she blamed herself. But she was terribly
agltated. We were in the grove that
skirts the town Oh the east. and she
sat upon Il fallen tree. trembling vi0-
| lently
AFTER I had given her time to re-
cover calmness l begged my answer.
shall never forget her face or her voice
| as she said
"'You must forgive me if you can.
did not know our friendship was love
until you spoke. I cannot play the coy
maiden to you. for it is too earnestly sad
that you love me-that I love you We
must part here and each bear the bur-
den as patiently as possible. cannot be
| your wife. l have sorrows and duties
| l cannot cast aside. nor let you share
| II implored her to take me into her
confidence, but she steadily refused. l
urged her by every lovers plea to let
my love sustain her in her sorrows and
share her burdens, but it was all in vain
Her last request left me no resource but
to leave her. for she said:
you still seek me. My only hope of
peace is to go back to my lonely, unlovcd
life
What could do then but leave her?
saw her safely to her own gate. and
turned heart broken homeward. But
could not go home to that great empty
house. where there are only servants to
meet me. l went into the town and killed
| the hours with the theater and supper
| 1t was after midnight when l turned
once more to the road that leads me
| home.
1T was showing. the first snow Of the
season. and it fell thickly. 1t hurried
sharply. when right across my path /
saw woman insensible upon the ground.
1t was impossible to judge who she was
i'll. the darkness, and [ made the servant
who opened the gate assist me to carry
her up to the house. Mrs. Hill, the
housekeeper. was abed, but came bust
ling i'll presently to the room where we
had carried our unbidden guest.
'She was quite old. with struggling
gray hair and face deeply lined. But
her dress was a com Portable house dress
of purple nlerino with lace at the throat
and sleeves and her feet were covered
with fine kid shoes. She wore no shawl,
no bonnet and her feet and clothes were
wringing wet.
AT first l thought she was dead, but
Mrs. Hill sent me to get hot spirits while
she and one of the maids took off the wet
clothing and put the insensible. woman
between hot blankets. Day was break
| the. patient was speaking and wandering
in her mind.
You best have doctor, sir she said,
for she is very i'll, and queer us she talks
she is lady
THE doctor came and shakes his head.
Our patient is very low and the wander
| ing is not the effect of cold and exposure,
but settled insanity.
But, Joe, the strangest of all have yet
to tell you. Through the house rings a
wild, shocking cry from the sick room,
ever the same:
"'Half a million Of money; Half a
million of money! And all for Ida! 1
may starve, but Ida will have half a mill
! lon!'
Il will write again tomorrow and tell
you more. Mrs. Hill has just come in to
say the patient is worse.
Half an Hour Later-Our patient is dead.
| going to Ida! 1t may be the
| sorrow and the burden are here under my
roof. Tomorrow will write again.
WILFRED.
My Dear Friend TO you alone I dare
| confide the sorrow that has come in ad-
dition to all that have so long crushed me.
Wilfrcd loves me!
| Was l blind or mad that never thought
| there must be an end to that friendship
| that has been my only comfort since we
| came to G.? When l left my cottage in