El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-10-17
GRANDMoTHER'.S
ROMANCE.

xhe had chosen long ago. and after the
sad ceremony we returned to the old
house. Here were memories for all OF u.s.
For three generations she had held chill
dren in her arms. soothed their sorrows,
listened to their joys, and now they were
MI met to mourn her absence from the
old place so dear from its associations
with her.
I p.oInted the great staircase and en-
tered the room from which they had just
taken her. Here were my earliest recol-
lcctions Of her. / recalled how. as a lit
tie girl. 1 would come in in the morning
rs soon as 1 was dressed saying Good
morning, grandmother" / always found
her dressed, for she was an early riser
She would leave her chair by the window
and go 20 the big. old fashioned ward
robe which looked so immense to me,
and take from il the expected dainty
With what awe and respect had this
wardrobe filed my childish heart, 1t
seemed to me a perfect treasure house
for all that child holds dear. On my
birthdays my presents came from this
storehouse. and imagined it always full
OF delightful things and regarded grand
mother as almost a fairy.
With these remembrances in my mind
I opened il now. 1t was full OF fragrant
linen scented with lavender, except for a
little shelf al one side, where lay several
papers. i picked up n roll OF yellow
writing paper tied with a pink ribbon and
carried it TO the light. Had l any right
To read the pages? They were discolored
By age, but I knew the writing. Could
grandmother have any secrets which she
would wish to keep after death? Even
~ i debated / had united the ribbon
and discovered that held a diary in my
hands, and the first words in it were of
low. sweet, pure and tender; the first
love of a young girl 1 could not resist.
and i read the pages as I stood there in
the fading light, which laid before me
the romance of my grandmother.
II was in the month OF June, 1872, on
q beautiful evening, when even the flow
ers eKhale more strongly their subtle per-
fumes and the human heart has n desire
to open Here in the twilight of the old
garden grandmother heard the first words
Of love.
Beneath the deeper shadow of the
trees. wrapped in the sweet odor of the
6owers. two figures. young girl and
young man, walked side by side with
, show steps
-Yes. Clarisse, I am going" said the
young man. And what difference does
It make? Suppose I never return from
the war? Who would care? am
alone in the world
You have friends, Horace"
None"
-And II" said she very low.
''Youy' cried he. You would care
least OF any"
There was a long silence. The gravel
sounded beneath their slow tread. The
night fell little by little. Horace heard
. stified sound and turned
You are. crying. Clarissew'
You hurt me soi'
'sDo you love me?"
She faltered, and his arms caught her
and held her against his beating heart |
Unresisting. she raised her face to his, |
and their lips met in n long kiss-the first |
Horace left the next morning.
She waited long for him. The remains |
Of the grand army returned without him. |
Still she hoped on. Years passed, and |
the war ended. Many who had been i'm |
prfsoned returned. but still he delayed. /
She pictured him buried beneath the |
snow with numberless others who had |
dropped exhausted along the line OF the |
terrible march.
Her parents urged upon her the duty |
Of selecting n husband from the suitors |
who surrounded her. She resisted as |
long as possible, then yielded, vanquished |
By their insistance and by the certainty |
Of his death. She gave her hand to Count |
dEstrarville. |
1t was ten years since the kiss given |
beneath the trees. She was sitting on a |
bench in the garden when a stranger ap-
preached her along the path As he
neared her she recognized him. 1t was |
Horace.
He came toward her with outstretched |
Arms. then stopped. as though surprised |
NJ the GOODNESS of her greeting.
1T is too late" she said; 81 am already |
narried-
He explained the reason of his long
ahsence- Captivity, Siberia. the mines.
N the frightful sufferings he had gone
through. sustained always by a belief in
her love and her loyalty to the unspoken
VOW made in the twilight of the garden.
Never had he lost the hope that he world
some day return to find her waiting for
hfn-that their lives, so long divided,
would be at last united forever.
''You lied to me that night when you
said yon loved mer' he cried, the bitter
ness OF his disappointment making him
cruel
NO" she said. 81 loved you, and !
shall always love you 1t is just for that
reason that you must continue dead to
me i cannot trust myself with you"
And he left her
This was the story of grandmother's
life ! read it from the old diary. 1 re-
Rcmbered old man who lived in the
ndEhborhood and whom we children call
ed The Chevalier." / identified him
With Horace. When grandmother be-
cane,a widow and when she was an old
lsdy to u.s. he came to live near her, and
dry spent many long hours together in
De sweetest and purest companionship.
L understood that the two old friends
were dear to one another because their
affection had been founded upon some
ding more than friendship. They were
Zoe old to have aught to fear from gossip
sa< tongues. and they had so much time
she.rselves the saddened pleasure of daily
intercourse