Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-08-16

and kissed again the flashing circlet ar
her wrist.
The woman in gray looked at her
and the sight was branded on her
memory. When she spoke again, il
was in lower tones. Her eyes were
fixed on a ring-a loose, loose ring that
she was turning around on her finger.
Perhaps we were mistaken about
having loved each other" she said
absently, as though she were talking
to herself I'VE were both so young,
and so ignorant We were married
earlier than we had intended-because
my mother died, and 1 was left alone,
and was such an unprotected child
and so we were married, and we
agreed that we were TO study together,
because We were both so ambitious
for him. And perhaps l couldn't have
kept pace with him, at my best, but
had TO take in sewing to help him
along, so l hadn't much time-and in q
little while he was away beyond me.
have never caught up with him since,
but have always gone on studying, so
that l wouldn't quite disagrace him
when he became a distinguished man."
The woman in gray stopped to put a
delicate and tremulous hand TO her
throat.
when he was studying law" she
went on presently. ''his eyes were trou-
bling him, and so l read aloud to him
for many hours every day. Sometimes
| almost wished his eyes would fail a
little more-a great deal more-so that
he could be more dependent on me,
for 1 was very young and ignorant
then, and, you see, 1 thought I loved
himw
The woman in white did not speak.
She was sitting quite still, as though
she were a marble woman.
"And even away back at the first,
the woman in gray went on in that
desolate self communing, when we
were ignorant boy and girl together, we
had quite settled Ii with ourselves that
he was to be distinguished man. We
even made a little play of 1t, telling
| one another that people would one day
point out with pride the poor little
house where we had lived and where
we had SO much trouble paying the
rent, and then we would laugh so mer
| rily. oh, where has the laughter al
| gone? And so we went on looking for
| ward always to the day when he would
| be famous and working and planning
| for 1t, and I always pictured myself 81
| proud-so proud Of his triumphs! W.
| cold blooded women feel very deeply
sometimes and think long thoughts
| And now he has won the honors VIZ
dreamed OF, and tomorrow | am golns
on long journey"
| She slowly rose, and the marble wo
man In white saw for the first timt
that she had a little package in The
thin hand.
| 81 have something to leave will
| you," said the woman in gray, some
thing to give you. See, it is LITTLE
bundle of letters. He wrote them dur
ing my mothers illness. They are thu
letters of an undeveloped and ignoran
boy to a poor little girl I have cher
ished them long time, but l give then
to you now, because-because the!
have already gone out Of my life"
| An hour afterward the woman ii
white found that she had been alon'
for long time and that the last Of thu
poor little letters was open in her hand
A withered rose had dropped from !
and lay in her lap among the folds o.
fluffy white. The air was filed will
the fragrance of the little old TIM
rose, which seemed to be part OF th
old time boyish love that was dead a
the rose. Once, long ago, in her lif
also
The radiant face of the woman il
white was pale and old and wear.
looking as she tied the letters in th
packet again and laid this pencile'
line upon them:
"Do not go on the long journey, TO
l go on journey of my own" Thel
she slipped the bracelet into its velve
case and sealed and addressed 1t ant
called a servant to go on two errands.
81 am going away tonight, John,
she said as his foot hesitated on tn
stair. "Send Susan up to pack"
And then she stood in the middle o
the room, her head dropped, pressing
back something that tried TO come t
her eyes.
"And now for new fields" she SAT-
despairingly, "and the life in them
st. Louis Globe-Democrat.