River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-04-21

make up my min to settle down an be
an old bach"
wal" observed his mother, grimly,
and with scornful lips, "p'r'aps you'll
be jest as we'll Off" She had never APP
proved of the city girl.
After this Elias felt that life was to
hold no new happiness for him. He
must be content with what he had. And
so his mother and the little home be-
came more and more 10 him. The years
slipped uneyentfully by, until he was
IS. The next spring his mother died,
and he learned what loneliness was.
Other springs, he remembered, had
been tumultuous with glad, new life;
insects, birds and animals had filled the
air with CHEEKY noises; but now he was
lence, which sometimes pressed with
actual pain upon his senses.
The responsibility of his position,
| too, appalled, him. His life seemed to
have lost its motive power. Nobody
cared now what time he got up in the
morning or how many days he worked
at the early blowing. He could be as
''shifless" as he liked. The thought
was a constant prick to his conscience.
But he struggled on stubbornly with
| his new duties and responsibilities; he
did the homework with scrupulous
care, and laid out the flower beds ac-
cording to his mothers long-estab-
| lished rules. But his brow was twist
ed in continuous scowl, and once he
threw down his tools, impatientIy, and
| walked away, muttering: II can't
work no longer 'thout boss. Pm sick
as death of doin' things jest as I'm a
min ter"
One mild June night he sat on the
doorstep, thinking somewhat bitterly
OF his lonely life. The honeysuckle
, above the porch filled the air with per-
fume. The pine tree sighed with ten
| der sadness. A flood of moonlight fall
tered about, scattering quaint, fanciful
/ siihouettes. Suddenly woman stood
before him. 1t was Mrs. Warner, his
! ueighbor. She was slim, little wom-
an, with a smiling mouth and great,
tender, gray eyes. Good evenin'.
'Lias," she said, softly; lonesome, amt
yeh?" She sat down on the step beside
him. Il know jest how it's, for, since
Siias died, two years ago, I've been so
lonesome over there alone, seemed s if
sh d go crazy, sometimes"
Elias looked at her with new interest.
1t had never occurred to him before that
she might DE lonely 'over there alone. :"
lie had known her from a child, when
they had gone to school together. They
had always been friends, but he had
never dreamed of any closer con-
nection between her life and his: for.
in the first dainty flush of her woman
hood she had begun 'keepin' com
pany" with Martin Green. A wear or
two later Green had suddenly left for
the west. He had never returned, and
folks said there had been lovers quar-
rel. Soon afterward she married Silas
Warner, and had lived ever since on the
farm near by.
Wal, yes, | be lonesome" drawled
Elias, slowly, lifting his blue eyes full
to hers: terrible lonesome. | can't
stan it much longer"
ITS ridiculous" went on the soft
voice, while the gray eyes met his rather
timidly, that both of us should be liv-
in alone, so unhappy"
Slow as Elias was, he could not mis-
take the meaning of her eyes and
words. Was it possible that this sweet
voiced little woman would be willing
to gladden. the rest of his poor, empty
life? All the wide, white beauty of
the odorous, moonlit night seemed to
creep into his very soul at the thought.
He took her hand with tremulous eager
ness. Mis- Warner" be said, huskily,
will you have me? l amt no great
shakes, but I'll al'ays be good t'yeh."
She laughed little, and leaned to-
ward him happily. Il don't bleve
you'd ever thought task me, if hadn't
limited" she said with gay petulance.
Like as not l shouldn't" answered
Elias, his lips very close to her ear now;
II al'ays was plaguey fool"
After the disappointments and final
emptiness of his past life, this new ro-
nance came to Elias like a dream of
Heaven. New hopes, desires and ambi-
tions sprang up within him. There was
nothing in life he had ever longed for
that might not yet be his. The loves
of other years seemed trivial to him
now, in the rapture of this great, I'M
sought gift that had come to him after
he had ceased TO hope for it. He worked
briskly and steadily, with an energy
he had never shown before. lie put
aside the threadbare blue suit he had
been wearing for best, and bought a
new black one. Everybody noticed the
change in him.
Have yeh noticed how 'Lias is
sprucin' up since he got to keepin' com
pany with the Wilder Warner?" people
would ask each other; 81 see he's got
a new harness, an had his buggy var
nished, an he's painted the house am
built a new frOnt-yard fence. He's
worked like a niger all summer, an
earnt a lot o money. l tell yeh, she's
smart, an like as not, she'll make quite
Teller outer 'Lias, yeti
The days slipped joyously by. They
were to be married in September 1t
was late in August, when, one morning
boy brought him letter from Mrs.
Warner. 1t was the first letter she had
ever written him, and he felt that some
thing unusual had happened. 1t was a
pitiful, detected, blotted and misspelled
little letter, with tears and heartaches
rewritten between its lines. Elias
spelled it slowly through
Dear Elias: I rite this because I cant
bare 10 look you In the face and tell you.
most wish ] was dead, / feel so mean
But l am awful happy for Martin Green
come back yeasterday. / loved him be-
fore l marrid Silas, but we had truble
and he went West. l never hurd nothin
of him and thought he wouldn't ever come
back but he has and he wants me. He
never has loved any one but me. Elias
forgiv me l love him and l cant marry
you now. You are so good and l liked
you and ptied you when you was lone
sum. l wanted TO maik you happy, but
have maid it wors for you. Dear met ]
cant do no other way. We shall go West
to live and / never shall come back hear
to maik you fele bad. Good-by God bless
you. MARY WARNER"
Elias sat motionless for some time,
looking vacantly at the letter. His blue
eyes looked dull and gray. He was try
ing to rally his thought from the chaos
of despair. His hope of happiness was
broken again, and he felt that it had
been his last hope. He had thought he
loved before, and now he knew that this
was the one enduring love of his heart
Tie ,,icturad m him off her faae with II