Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1901-05-27

the little gate, her trembling hand
sheltering her dim old eyes as she
peered down the stretch of yellow
| roadway. 1t was memorial day and
she was watching for the procession,
which, on it's way from the village,
must perforce pass her tiny cottage.
She had risen early and hobbled about
| feeding the chickens, watering old
Sandy in the pasture and preparing
her own breakfast of milk and oat-
meal Then she had exchanged the
faded calico wrapper for her best
gown-a rusty, much mended cash
mere carefully combed out her gray
locks, tying their short, curly ends
with a black ribbon at the back of
her neck, and now she had been wait
| ing full hour.
A lonely person with little human
society thinks more, feels more, sor-
rows more and joys more than those
whose hours are full of the presence of
others and whose thoughts are con-
tinually distracted by the happenings
about them. Melvina Sinclair had had
| her birth in the great house on the
! hill, the chimneys of which were
visible from her windows She had
been a quiet home body, with heart
and hands full, for there were many
children and much sickness in the
family, and she, by virtue of being the
oldest, had many cares; but she was
where she was planted and drinking
in the sunlight and dew as it was
vouchsafed, she was happy in her
quiet way.
She was pitied by some, respected
by all, but laughed at by the girls Of
her age and called an old maid. Yet
she had her love affair and it meant
as much, aye even more, to her than
1 all their fiirtations and ro-
mances to them; and the ending ah!
/ that was what made memorial day a
memorial indeed to her. He had been
/ the son of a neighbor-a, handsome
jovial youth much sought after by
his companions. He had ridden,
| danced and flirted With all the gay
girls Of his acquaintance; but ofttimes
late of an evening, when he knew
| that Melvina Sinclair's work was
done, he would go there for a quiet
hour, and in his serious. moods hers
was the face that haunted him. More
than once he asked her to go with
him to some merry making, but she
was too shy The girls would laugh
and then, though she did not put the
thought in words even to herself, she
felt that she could not endure it to be
seen with him once and then have
him take another the next time; and
as to any real love making in the com
mon acceptance of the term, there had
been none.
i And so it came about that no one
knew Of his quiet cOurtship outside
the family; nor did any Of the gay
| girls guess, as one by one he babe
them goodbye after he enlisted, and
they waited and hoped for some word
that would bind the young soldier to
! them on his return, that that word
4 was whispered in the ear of S'Melvie'
Sinclair the last night Of his stay, and
that the handsome ring adjoining his
little finger, that each in turn had
Il
about her white neck.
No, nobody knew, and she bore her
mingled JOY and grief alone, though
some of the girls thought her color
i unaccountable as they babbled of
Race Wardle and what he had said
and done
Il can't imagine who it is, but he as
Oh in o.
that he is engaged, Patty True, the
/ belle of the countryside, pouted.
"And his ring is gone, that lovely
ring, and it fitted my finger perfectly.
! II must be that girl over at the Bend;
anyway it isn't Lola nor Kit nor me-
! The effect of this frank confession
4 to Melvina-no one thought anything
Of telling her secrets to dear old
| Mel as the girls said-Was to flush
|her usually pale cheek and make the
little circle of gold at her throat al
most burn her.
o! it was beyond the possibilities
of being true that handsome Race
Wardle whom She had secretly
adored from childhood, had selected
her from all the girls of his acqualn-
lance to wear his ring now and bear
his name and share the nice house he
was building when he came home;
but it was the fashion in Delhi town
ship to- keep engagements secret, and
i she, of all others, would guard the
precious truth jealously
4 Six months or more passed, each
/ week bringing letter for Melvina,
enclosed in an envelope addressed to
her father-her own suggestion, as
the country postmaster was a detect
i've of no mean ability and even one
letter from the front to girl was
seed enough for a bountiful harvest
when once it had fallen into his
Ihands,-and then indeed the girl
| tasted the sweets of love, for, far
i from home and friends, the young
man let his pen say even more than
his tongue had dared, and then she
/ learned indead how dear she was to