Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1901-05-16

Il cannot tell" replied Violet.
Since I have been old enough to I'M
derstand, l have lost no one by
| DEATH
! Quite suddenly. as it. seemed to her,
a great storm of emotion swept over
her heart and soul. What if che.
died, the one man who had so COM
pletely changed the course of her life?
Would she care to sit by his grave
that she might be nearer to him?
Il am always asking myself ques-
tons that l cannot answer" thought
Violet
She had poetry enough and SYM
pathy enough to note the beautiful ex-
I preston on her companions fine old
face as they drew nearer to the
churchyard.
my husband has been buried
twenty years" said Mrs. Ingram, "yet
each time / go to his grave it seems
, to me that I am nearer to him; and in
my fancy, as I grow old, my memory
Of him grows younger. When he was
buried, remembered him as old
and feeble; now 1 find myself think
ing of him as young, strong, vigorous
and handsome My dear, which 81 III
l find him in heaven? Will he be the
old man with white hair who died
full Of years and honors. or will he be
the handsome young fellow who never
gave me any peace from the moment
he met me until the hour he married
me? I often wonder which it will
be-"
Heaven seems to me the home of
eternal YOUTH remarked Violet,
reverently.
i Think of the old and the feeble,
! the weary and aged, who find refuge
/ there" said Mrs. Ingram.
Death gives back youth and
vigor," returned Violet.
How little we know. child. even
the wisest and cleverest amongst
u.s." said Mrs. Ingram.
And then they came to the pretty
old churchyard.
"The Ingrams have a grand family
vault under the church" said Mrs.
! Ingram; 'but my husband could not
endure it. He loved the bright sun
shine, the fresh air, and he prayed
always that he might be buried here
under the trees. My husband loved
all nature. especially all outdoor
nature. He was so bright and CHEEKY
he took sunshine with him every
where"
| And, as they walked together to the
J 70; FL I'D
had been SO true to one love and one
husband leaned on the arm of the
! beautiful young wife who had so i'm
pulsively and impatiently flung aside
| her obligations and duties. A large
white marble cross stood at the
! head, great elm-trees shaded it, birds
sung in the green depths, the fresh,
sweet wind swept over it bearing the
breath of many flowers; it was a
grave that seemed to take the bitter,
ness from death. On the marble
cross was the simple record of the
mans life and death.
''You see, my dear" said Mrs. In,
gram, there is space left for me-
and we shall sleep together there
| L.
Of doom. We shall stand together
then, face to face. and there will not
be the sound of an angry word be.
tween us. If ever you marry, my
dear, marry as 1 did-from love-"
Violet in her simple honesty, was
about to cry out 81 am married."
But she remembered in time that
she had annulled her marriage, that
she had taken off her wedding-ring.
Mrs. Ingram sat down on one Of the
iron seats scattered about the old
churchyard
Il am at the end of life!" she said
slowly, and you child. are at the
beginning You Will love and marry
some day: you are too beautiful for
men 70 pass you by. Love and mar.
riage, the two great crowns, the twa
great mysteries of wpman's life, viii
come to you. Think, when they do CT
all that l say to you now. My hus-
band lived with me thirty years, and
when we meet face to face there WIZ
not be the sound of an angry word
between us. Think of that, my dear
think of that"
And Violet did think. She remem-
bered her fiery denunciations, her
hot anger, her burning pride, her
resentment against her husband
there would be far more than the
sound of an angry word between
them.
ga marriage such as ours was. is
heaven upon earth" said the old
lady. For thirty years my husband
and l lived in the sweetest peace and
harmony, and during all that time
we never, Heaven be praised, had one
angry word! But there was a secret
in this, one that all sensible wives
soon learn"
What is it?' cried Violet, eagerly
''Forbearance," she replied. THAT
is the secret of happiness in married
life-to bear and forbear, not to have
wide open eyes for each others faults
and, what is better still, to love with
grand, generous, noble love thai
loves in spite of faults
'Is there such a lover" asked
Violet
May Heaven send it to you some
day" said Mrs. Ingram. THAT ::
the grandest love of all-not thu
love that idealizes and believes tht
? object beloved to be perfect-tha
kind Of love always ends in disap
pointment-but the grand, generou:
, love that is not lessened by faults
5 My husband had faults: loved him IN