The Opelousas courier., 1899-01-28

me Wnen 0 fedu Ill IulS. 1ou Cdlr
not condemn my brutality more than
1 do myself. Don't judge me toe
hardly, Harry. I did not know how
short would be my opportunity.
Half past ten came. Our trap drove
up to the door. The station was near
ly three miles off, and Alice, who gen
orally was waiting for me, did not ap.
pear.
For a few minutes I stood tuning
in the hall. delighted with my rash
grievance. Then / shouted
"Alice!."
"Coming" was returned from the
room above, and Immediately after,
my wife hurried down stairs, fasten-
ing on her hat as she descended.
Alice got ins1 the trap and took the
rcins, as usual. / seated myself be
side her. The man got up behind, and
so we started on that last miserable
expedition. Neither of us said much.
/ looked at her once or twice, sSbN"
ways. Never had she seemed so hand
some, or in such glowing health, but
there was an unnatural deep flush up
on her cheek, and her lips were tightly
closed together,
When we reached the station the
train was already in it. I rushed to
the ticket office. bought our two tick
cts Il have them now, for they were
never used, seized my change, and
hurried my wife off the platform.
reaching the train just as it was be
ginning to move.
"Get in, for goodness sa&e" I cried
pceyishly, opening Il car door, and
thcn-God forgive mel gave her. a
push. and you know what happened
next.
My poor wife never spoke again, but
lated and dying. she just opened her
eyes and looked at me. Then a sad,
sweet smile came over her face. and,
raising her arms toward me, as / bent
over her in an agony Of remorse, she
put up her dear face. for a kiss, Just
as she had so often done in happier
days.
l stopped down, and then-somehow
l could not give her that last kiss.
Something held me back-a feeling Of
utter shame and unworthiness. A
shadow of pain crossed her face, the
arms fell back, and in a moment the
opportunity had passed forever, and
our span of welded life and love had
ended-so.
Do you remember that awful in
quest. Harry? You were good to me
that day, old fellow. No n could
have proved himself a truer friend.
You remember that, when 1 gave my
evidence, I said that / tried to assist
my wife into the carriage. Well. you
know now that l was playing with the
truth, and you will probably despise
me for it. 1 almost hoped that there
would be a verdict Of manslaughter-
that I should be sent to prison.
There is only Il thing more to tell
you. When the accident became
known, l received many kind and
sympathetic letters from my friends
and hers, hardly read them, for each
one Of them was a fresh stab to me.
eff they only knew my conscience
kept saying to me. She knows. She
died cursed by my ill temper, without
a parting kiss, and if we meet in an
other world, what will she say to me
or I to her?
But there was n letter that ar
rested my attention and caused me
far more pain than all the others put
together. 1t was from the lady whose
had caused our fatal quar-
rel. Perhaps" it ended, "it may be
some comfort to you to keep the N
closed letter from her. I received it
after her death-probably the last she
ever wrote"
Dearest May-Thank you so very
much for your most kind invitation.
should dearly love to come and see
you again, and have a good talk over
old times. But Charlie cannot well
spare me at present, and he is so good
and kind to me and so nice about ev.
crything that I do not like to be away
when he wants me.
We are just off for a jaunt to cele-
brate our wedding day, and Charlie
is calling for me to start. Your low
ing friend, ALICE.
That is what she was writing while
[ bullied in the hall. That is what she
had written, when she silently lis
tened to my grumbling on the way to
the station. Oh. the irony of it all!
Now you can understand, Harry,
why it is that I take so long getting
over my loss. One thought, and one
alone, sometimes arises to comfort me.
Perhaps that last movement Of hers
meant forgiveness and perhaps -
when her attempt at reconciliation
she sent me that letter as a
message from beyond the grave.
Seeking Something Appropriate.