New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1901-02-13

/
Remember?
Does a man ever forget his first
childish grief, his first childish joy,
the unfading ecstacy of his hearts,
earliest dream, the last cold touch of
loves dead lips?
DR.. Mansfield said nothing as he
strolSed his sweetheart's shimmering'
hair with a dull hand.
"That night couldn't sleep, dar-
ling, thinking of herand you,'' the
| girl went on, sweet and tremulous
under his touch. But after that I
never worried, because I saw that
you didn't care. All, you didn't know
how watched you, sir!"
did you, Puss?''
"And this morning when Aunt Belle
said that Mrs. Charters had never
failed to win any man she had set
out to conquer, I didn't say a thing,
because [ wouldn't even mention her
name with yours, Leonard; but oh!
you don't know how proud of you I
was in my heart. Oh, Leonard, I
don't think you begin to know how
much I love you.''
With an exquisite yielding of her
self. she lifted her suddenly wet eyes
to his, and the young man gathered
her close in his arms, while he muir
INJURED those 1ove-worn words of
which the ears Of women have been
covetous since that time so long ago
when the first two souls discovered
themselves in flesh.
| 'sBut I can't understand it, Leon
ard. Aunt Belle says she's so clever"
| She waited for him to speak.
eyes,
"And awfully good-hearted.'
eyes"
sBut she isn't what you'd call a
beautiful woman?"
s'No.''
"And children just adore her. I
think that's so strange, because, you
know, they always say children judge
character correctly by instinct
eyes"
s'But she's not good, Leonard
'sNo.''
ssAnd she didn't care snap for her
own poor little baby
s'No?''
"She's cruel woman"
Undoubtedly
s'Then how can she be l1ind-hearted,
too?"
81 don't know
ooh, what an uncommunicative
boy!' the girl exclaimed, petulantly
''You're as prickly as burr tonight.
r
"My DEAR he said, deliberately
widening his arms, eff this is what
you want
But she beat him into silence with
q sofa cushion. Then she studied
him with an elusive frankness which
might have charmed him had he only
eyes to note it.
Leonard" she asked suddenly, ''do
you like Mrs. Charters?''
Far away in the big house cuckoo
| clock struck II in cadences which
rose and fell in mournful unison with
the wailing wind.
DR.. Mansfield rose abruptly.
"Dora, you will lose your beauty
sleep. I must go, DEAR
But she stood in front of him, her
little hands clutching the edges of his
coat.
''Do you, Leonardo" she repeated.
| His clear blue eyes looked steadily
into the soft, appealing brown Of hers
as he answered calmly: 81? Like
her?"
He paused a moment, considering.
sWhy, Puss, I think I hate her, he
said, deliberately.
A sob broke from the girl.
'Why, darling, what is ?" he asked
| in the tenderest alarm.
ooh, I don't know, Leonard. I'm
tired, and you've BENCH, such a
funny, funny boy tonight"
sDora, I'm going to lose patient y
he said, gravely. Every physician
| hates that, and I've fought for this
woman's life.'
eyes, I know. I'm sorry. 1 was
naughty" she said, smiling winsome-
ly at him through her tears.
| It seemed as if she could hardly
| let him go. He kissed her good-by so
many times that at last he said, with
| the merest shade of impatience in his
voice: "Oh, my dear, ought really
to begin to say good-by to you as soon
as arrive
| She did not see him again for sew
eral days, so that when she was finally
summoned one evening to receive him,
there was piquant frost upon her
girlish charm as she entered the
drawing room and futtered close to
him like timid bird. But he drew
away from her.
ssLeonard!"
The smothered reproach in her
voice stirred him.
Don't, Dora,' he said, huskily. 81
have come to tell you something. If
you look at me like that T can't. And
[ must. I have tried for days to per-
suade myself that I needn't tell you
now.''
ooh, I understand it all.'' Her long
strangled intuitions had sprung full
/ HaHUnd into birth an1u s..