Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-02-21

dead. She had some means of her
own and frequently came into the
city, where she had friends, We met.
and believed in her; but this officer
came between u.s., She thought him
rich, and I was deserted for him. She
belonged to that class of women who
esteem wealth the foremost object of
life, women WING go deliberately to
men they do not, cannot love, or even
respect, and say in effect Here, we
have beauty, youth, freshness, for sale.
Take us, dress US, give us jewels and
line clothes to wear, carriages to ride
in; give us a chance to command the
homage of men, and all that we have
is yours Watch for them upon your
streets; all men know them at sight.
God, but they pay at last! Look in
when the excitement mas passed and
see upon their faces the frozen de-
spair; see in the heaviness of their
step, the weight Of a dead youth, and
In their eyes eternal hopelessness.
Child, child, be not deceived; love is
the only gold that pays a woman,
Shun them, these wretched advertise
ments of dishonor. Let no man come
into the holiness of your life until love
has sanctified the sacrifice" He ceased
abruptly, and the next instant was
kneeling by her side. forgive mel"
he cried. "Have I not told you I
hold you blameless?" Suddenly he
felt her arms about his neck, drawing
his face to hers. Her hair enveloped
and almost smothered him in sudden
storm. Holding him thus. she broke
into such an agony of grief and tears
as to render him speeches. and help
less. She held him in such frantic
embrace that each effort he made to
free himself was defeated. When her
strength was exhausted she sank
back among the pillows, breathless.
He bent above her unnerved.
How lonely, how barren must have
been your life, that little kindness
-another's sorrows--should touch YOU
so deeply!"
Lonely! Speak of the persecution,
the brutality, the infamy-!'
Hush" he whispered. mo more
to me. Come, you must sleep" Rising
abruptly, he left her side. When it
was that she fell asleep he could not
| discover, but presently he seemed to
hear her deep, regular breathing, and
was thankful.
And SO the moments passed. The
girl started up once or twice and
spoke his name; but always at sound
of his calm, reassuring voice sank
back again upon her pillow. From
zine to time he went and stood above
her-a spell upon him new and
strange, a spell that filled him with
uneasiness and vague alarm. He was
no longer lonely. In some mysterious
| way a burden seemed to be slipping
away. from him, and in it's place came
a sense of companionship sweet and
comforting. Most men discount mar
ried life in their dreams, and few ever
| realize the fullness of those dreams;
but with him it had been different,
This strange experience preceded the
dreams. Without days warming he
had been plunged into the privacy of
a young and modest woman's life, had
become the guardian of her honor and
in measure of her future; and in a
mysterious way the divine sweetness
of her soul had issued forth and en-
veloped him. In the chiaroscuro of
the still room he could just determine
the outlines of her bed and upon it's
whiteness the outlines Of her slender
figure. He was glad that she slept;
in that quiet falling asleep was for
him the finest tribute ever paid to his
manhood. A glad, quick pulse leaped
from his heart as he realized this
truth, and the words of the girls
mother SO artlessly repeated, came
back to him.
Then in the desert of his life a
stranger came before his tent and
asked for shelter. He babe him enter.
| Why should not this scene be fixed
and real and lastingY Would it be
possible? Would the girl some day
accept it as such, yielding still the
trust and tenderness she had brought
to the counterfeit? Was she trusting
Brodnara Or was she trusting him :?
The trust was in him. He felt it in.
stinctively: and her little white hand
| SSSHuSu 10 Stedl IOTIn TO MS again,
her arms to enfold him What a.
child she was! And yet-and yet
An Irresistible impulse seized him to
be near. her, to touch her hand, her
hair, and to pass within the electric
radius of her presence again, If but
| for moment. He was her guardian
whether she slept or awoke.
A strange curiosity to be near a
sleeping girl, to enter further into
her life and absorb the sweetness of
its innocence, possessed him. She
would not know, she would never
know, perhaps; and why should he
not snatch from fate this one brief
moment of happiness? A doubt as
sailed him and brought hesitation;
but, with an impatient gesture he
threw aside the hesitation. He would
not let even himself doubt himself.
And so he came and stood above the
sleeper, and presently, entranced, he
| kneeled and saw her lying there,
vague, dim and unrecognizable, but a