The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1901-03-15

All this was said with a definite pur-
pose. Ii was TO let Gretchen know
that / knew her secret Gretchen,
you are an embryo socialist chrysa-
lis, as 1t WERE"
mo, herr" sadly. 81 am butterfly
whose wings have been clipped"
had not expected this admission.
"Never mind" said l. Gretchen, /
do not want you to call me herr; call
me Jack"
"Jackp she said. 1t became an I'M
common name now.
"Whatever your true name may be,
| shall never call you anything but
Gretchen"
"Ah, Jackw She laughed, and the
lurking echoes clasped the music OF
that laughter in their wanton arms
and hurried it across the river
"Sing to me-" said l.
Then imagine my surprise-I, who
had heard nothing but German fall
from her llps-when in heavenly con-
tralto she sang a chanson from LA
File de Madame Angot," an opera for
gotten these ten years.
"Elle est tellement innocentei"
She had risen, and she stood there
before me with halo Of moonshine
about her head The hot blood rushed
to my ears. Barmaid, socialist or
whatever she might be, she was low
able. In n moment l was kissing her
hand, the hand so small, so white and
thousand fti nI a
words came to my lips, from my heart!
Did the hand tremble? l thought So
But swiftly she drew it from my clasp.
all the Joy ADD gladness gone from her
face and eyes.
'No, nor she cried. "This must not
be- 1t must not be!'
"But ~ began eagerly.
"You must not say it; | command
you! If you speak, Gretchen will be
Gretchen no more. Yes, the king seeks
Gretchen, but will you drive her away
from her only havenY" with a choking
sound.
Gretchen, trust me. Shall / 60 to-
morrow? Shall leave you in peace|
Somehow | believed myself to be in
danger Speak
There was an interval of stiffness,
broken only by the beating Of hearts.
Then:
Stay. But speak no word of love.
1t is not for such as l. Stay and be my
friend, for | need one. Cannot wom-
an look with favor upon man but he
must needs become her lover? | shall
trust you as | have trusted other men,
and, though you fail me in the end, as
others have done, still l shall trust
you. Herr, | conspire against the king.
For what? The possession Of my heart.
All my life | have stood alone-so
alone!'
Il will be your friend Gretchen. I
will speak no word of love. VIII that
suffice?"
at is all l ask, dear friend. And
now will you leave me"
Leave you" l cried Il thought
you babe me stay"
"Ah," putting out her hand, 'you
men do not understand! Sometimes a
woman wishes to be alone when-when
she feels that she-she cannot hold
back her tears!
Gravely | bent over her hand and
kissed it. 1t seemed to me, as | let the
hand fall, that l had never kissed a
woman on the lips. | turned and went
slowly down the path. Once / looked
back. saw something white lying at
the foot Of the tree. Heaven knows
what a struggle it was, but ! went on.
l wanted to take her in my arms and
tell her that | loved her. When |
reached the inn, | turned again, but |
saw nothing. | sat in my room a long
time that night, smoking my pipe till
the candle gasped feebly and died in
the stick and the room was swallowed
in darkness
l did not know, / was not sure, but
l thought that so long as | might not
love Phyllis, it would not be a very
hard task to love her image which was
Gretchen. You see, Phyllis was so
very far away, and Gretchen was so
near!