The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1898-01-21

know what possessed me to sacrifice my
self to smallpox. Perhaps merely only to
crafty my own vanity. Now. to-day. when
II Is all over. l rush TO write to you and TO
make an idiot OF myself. When 1 nave
posted this ! shall get into a rage and wish
l hadn't. But write 10 met oh. do write:
write ~folly-anything: you can't think the
charity II would be-
Poor little woman" he said, musing-
ly. "She's got lots of pluck in her! I'll
write and tell her she'd better get mar
ried."
Life and death went in and out Of the
hospital. and the workers came and
went. The house physician left il in his
turn, and II months after he was sta
toned at Alden, where, perhaps, he had
less work than he desired. One after
noon the English mail brought him
"A letter from Ruth. The writing on the
envelope set him thinking-sadly, may
be-of the old busy life in London, and
Of the possibilities in her character for
which, at this distance Of time and
space, he imagined he must have loved
her. He laughed at himself presently,
and opened the letter:
You said once ! was always fond OF do
Ing something sensational: then you ad-
vised me TO study Mrs. Beeton' / have
studied 1t. for ! have often done what you
told me. But | don't think ! shall live long
to dispense the good things may learn
from that world-famed cookery book. You
know there is an old proverb: 'Toujours
perdrixT Well. # IS this with me. "Tou-
jours parson.' He has driven me to take
more OF your advice serlously-and / am
ain . - Ia .rf.I CaRa4tnng 4 fhfpu \
must be mad to contemplate domestic bliss
with religion! l would gladly give any
thing-three years of my llfe-to really
enjoy things now while / am young and
could be gay. It's awfully hard to be just
a nurse and to have TO worry and wear my
self 10 death. and get thin and old and
cross and savage. lille / see other women
with everything they want and all the fun
Of life. Dear mel what nonsense i am
writing! Tear II up. but write to me. Oh,
do write to me once more. | am so miser-
able. weary and lonely, and tired. dread
fully tired. of mechanically doing my duty"
Poor little Ruth. jolly little Ruth"
he murmured, as he settled once more
comfortably into his lounging chair.
He rolled up and lit another cigarette,
and pondered for a few moments over
his attraction to this woman There
had been others Well, it is usually
with this kind of excuse that men re-
member their hirtations; and, OF
course, hold themselves blameless. Per-
haps there may have been a vague re-
greet in the doctors mind. Alden is not
a place where old fiirtations or platonic
friendships can be buried without re-
gret. 1t is a place where the memory
of either grows tender, and recollection
chances back through them on England
and home, on green fields and young
: LEAKAGE quiyering in the spring sun
light; while the seeing eye is turned
|, ever on mass upon mass OF lava and
brown rock. As he looked out the dreaI
mountain that rises almost sheer from
the placid sea was glorified by the Grim
, son fire of sunset, and, though its clear
outline was cut grandly against the
. rich light, il had become hateful to him
With this thought on his mind he ended
, his reverie, and went on opening hi'
mail letters. There CHANGED to be some
: Christmas cards among them, full o.
good wishes and sentiment. One OF
these had a pathetic little verse that
suited his humor, so presently he pu'
/. II in an envelope and sent it of TO Rutf
with the outgoing mail. This was no
/. fair. for he knew that at the time sh'
received IL she would be married, ant
this. so far as he was concerned. CLOSED
the correspondence.
Once more she wrote, n little more 50
!. berly perhaps:
, Thank you so much for that card yo'
u sentl After all, | am only Nurse Ruth u
your thoughts. and you are In mine-weli
IL is hard to say what you are. have MAD
up my mind never TO write again, becaus'
n does me no good to be thinking OF you
This is the beginning Of the new year. ant
| am full OF resolution TO try TO DO bette
in IL than l have ever done In any otne
; year. Not long ago ! was more than mai
in love with you, and | was awfuliy miser
able on New Years day because had Jus
found out what a mistake Ii was 10 be II
love with the moon and to cry In vain 10
1t. / really believe | am growing sehu
mental. Cornish men and Cornish man
ners are affecting me strangely. Dut Gan
bear 10 think over old days al the hospi.ai
and l can't bear thinking OF the future De
cause | hate thinking Of being an old WON
an with dropsy. or cancer. or some horri'
disease. was married three weeks age
\ II IS deadly dull In the village. l can't De
gin all at once to c~riticise and nnd pleasur
IN the sins of the poor. as the sources VII
does. AT times / Ions TO be back In the Oh
surgical ward. or for the excitement OF
big operation. where, with all the hurr'
and rush, things had to be done, and don
well. At times ! long to be tired as ! use
TO be at the end OF day duty. when ther
had hardly been a moment IN whlch !"
curses could take our meals. At times
wonder how | could have left 1t! That wa
life. And this-is a homer
Black and White.
} Are Diamonds DecominGf