Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1898-12-15

10 solve IL Tor you, aul will do thai
To make matters short. however.
will say that l found that he was my
Paul FISCHER. II was just one month
from the time | met him until we were
married. On our wedding day Paul
brought out a portfolio and asked me
to look through II and tel: him what
I thought OF his drawings. The first
sheet / picked up showed q portrait o.
myself. l was represented sitting a.
table sketcAing a man head. and fh'
date was the same on which ] ha'
done my first and only drawing six
years before. But Iaul must tell you
the rest"
when | was little boy, In the
old country q was born in Alsace-Lor-
raire). reonle regarded me as bein'
very peculiar I would wander OF
by myself for hours where no one
could find me. carrying my harp along
md when | returre ed ! would have
"icture in my mind of little. brown
eyed brown-haired girl, who listene'
to my music and reproduced every
thing which | played upon an instrn
ment different from any | had ever
seen. ! know now i was piano. Oh
hen | had no knowledge concernin'
II. Sometimes 1 would have lon
faintirg SPELLS, and while was IN
confc Gus would babble away ahon
the little maid who could not under
stand what said. because she talked ?
different language from my own
FINALLY It began 10 be whispered abou
th9t | was possessed ~ devil ann m
father was forced TO send me away II
or~er to protect me
81 came to america when ] was !
wears old. ard. going to the far wesi
I amasscd quite fortune. | did no
see the friend Of NV childhood so ire
1uent'- ~ ~~ew oIuer bee? use In
creas,ng wealth BROUGHT increasin
cares ID I'D no time TO make tn
customary visits. Stlil. once in aw
the old 'fainting spells would com
over me and when | returned to con
seriousness would bring with me thu
memory Of a SIN Hing face and gentle
brown eyes-a face that seemed to
grow older with my increasing years.
Zone night l sat in my room late
AS | supposed | fell asleep, but wher
| awakened found before me the por-
trait of young woman who was sit
ting beside a table sketching. and the
portrait she had finished was OF my
self. put the picture carefully away
taking it out at long intervals In ordei
to familiarize myself with the fea-
lures. for | felt that some time, some
where. | should meet her.
lone night about six months ago
was late in leaving the Office and upor
reaching my home | hurried down t.
the dining room. In the hall | camt
face to face with Margaret, the frienf
OF my childhood. the sweetheart of my
dreams | could not eat-I was toe
eycited-and l begged Mrs. Porter tc
call the newcomer into the parlor tc
Introduce us. The longer / talked
with her the more convinced / became
that she was the one woman in all tn
world whom | could love. was curl.
Gus to find out whether she had any
cor ception of the peculiar circum.
Stances which drew me to her and
questioned her adroitly in regard to
the matter.
Then, she, who had puzzled he,
lear little head in vain over the mat
ter, told me all her experience ant
when we compared notes we decide
hat as heaven had meant us for eacl
)ther from the beginning, there was NJ
~eason why we should wait for oul
happiness. so We were married ant
lived happily ever after as they say
IN the fairy stories.
Now, / myself do not pretend t.
give an explanation of this, but Mar
'aret, who has studied these matter
closely. says that my astral body mus
have dete ched itself from the materia
form ard sped across the sea to joir
her, drawn by some inexplicable, in.
visible attraction. That may be thu
case. IL Margaret says so am willin
70 accept ii as truth. But this I d.
know. She is a dear. sweet little WON
an, the sweetheart Of my waking anf
sleeping hours my alter ego, the cen
'er Of my universe"