El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-10-18
THE UNDEL|VERED LETTER

They were tearing down the Center
Vile courthouse. One of the workmen
found a letter upon which was the faded
address Daniel III. Carter
| why, it's to old Preacher Carter!'
said some one.
How do you know" asked another.
"Why. it's Daniel III. Carter and his
names Daniel Henry. 1t must have
been sent years before he went to preach
ing. Let's open it
Open it, said the second speaker
els that letter addressed to you? No,
sir. It's addressed to Daniel III. Carter
and he's the only man who has any right
To its contents. That envelopes got n
United States stamp on it. and l don't
care how long it's laid there. 1t means
protection To whatever it carries. That
stamp would hold good Il day after judg
! ment"
| The upshot of il all was that the letter
, was sent across to the building which
had been fitted up and was doing service
as postofiice in lieu of the old one and
sent out by the carrier who had the Rev.
| Daniel H. Carter upon his route.
| The Rev. Mr. Carter was an easy, good
natured bachelor and had been pastor at
/ Centerville for almost all the years since
he returned from credita BILE service as
chaplain OF a regiment during the civil
war. 1t was true that he had passed by
! all the religiously inclined spinsters and
| Charitable widows in the town, but in
! spite of this almost objectionable offense
| he WAS well loved and deeply revered.
and the church. with the experience OF
many years. had grown used to its bache-
Tor parson.
That morning when the postman rang
his bell he went to the door and received
his letter with his usual smile and
THANK YOU
To him the envelope seemed rather /,
dusty on one edge and n bit old fashion |
ed, he imagined. but, then, some years |
had passed over the Rev. Daniel Carriers |
head and his sight was not good as it |
had once heen- So, without curiosity. he |
laid the letter down on his study table |
and went down to breakfast.
The bread. buffer and eggs par
ticularly good that morning. and the ten
was just to his taste. so perhaps the min
lister fingered a little longer Mt his morn
Ing meal than was usual. II was at any
rate rather long time for a man who
had on his study table letter which had
been on the way for nearly - years.
Rut at last the pastor made an end of
eating and again sought his study. He
picked up the letter and adjusted his
glasses with leisurely care. He glanced
at the postmark and let HIS eye roam
over the address, but he did not seem to
see well, so he took off his glasses, rub
bee and polished them and set them on
his nose again.
He looked at the handwriting, and rs
his hand went up to smooth hi brow a
fash of recognition came int" ''S eyes.
His hand dropped quickly, an Lr looked
at the postmark again. Thou. with a
sudden gasp and the perspiration stand
ing ont upon his brow. he dropped into
n chair Only for moment he sat there
staring into vacancy. and then with tren-
hliup tps-er.S ha no pniSSiye M ,
devoured its contents with his eager eyes. |
When he had finished it. the letter
dropped from his grasp, and he put his
hands over his face. His frame shook
with s"hs and the tears trickled between
his fingers. When his paroNySm Of grief
had about subsidized. his voice came mur-
fed from behind his hands in these
words:
''Grcat God. l thank thee that thou
hast revealed To me this thing
He picked the letter up and read il ,
again. II ran:
Ny Dear Daniel-whar. Ashamed to come and
tell yourself. Timid 10y. Have you not seen !
that love YOU? Il shsrnes my maidenhoOd TO
writ" thus: hut. as you say. one can write 50
mucii moro boldly than one can talk. Yes, l will
be your wife. Come to when you WILL it
canno' t,r ELIZABETH DEERISG.
"Eiiz~ both Eliza beth cried the min
lister. How have paid for my coward
L
with scorn and deemed il unworthy even
Of on answer, and / was glad to go into
the heat of battle and care for the suffer
ing and dying, to bury the dead and-to
try to forget But in all these years l I
have not forgotten
Then suddenly thought occurred to
him. and he sat bolt upright in his chair.
A moment nfter he had his hat on and 9
was out of the house. Had any of his .
met him as he went wildly
flying down to the station they would
sadly have considered the ACCESSIBILITY of 4
such a pitifully demented crea I
ture as the pastor. His hat was set far
back on his head, his hair flying and his
coat open wide and an open letter far ,
ing in his hand. He took the train for =
Belmont. The two towns were so much
nearer than they were 30 years ago. G
They had grown. and he was hardly ,
nut of the suburbs OF one before he was q
INTO the suburbs of the other. I
In the middle of Belmont they set him r
iown. Could any one tell him where Il '
Miss Decring lived? He asked the ques- I
ion with trembling and failing voice. s
L had been past 30 years ago. you know.
Miss Dcerinc-whatI Miss Lizzie G
DeerinG? Why. any one can tell you I
where good Miss Lizzie Deering lives. v
Is right at the end
But the Intercepted Belmontain stood s
taring at the man who had dashed off in a
he direction pointed out before he had
lad time TO finish his sentence. 4
Who shall tell what subtle instinct /,
rev the minister to the right door? A S
vest faced gray haired woman was ~. n
ing near a table sewing At the unan- b
bounced and impetuous entrance of her q
'isitor she bali rose and turned very I,