The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-12-18

DllGQ Win tears.
Looking up at the blazing candle
crown she beheld her father, mother,
sisters and nieces at the solemn feast.
The big oblong room rang with the
speechiess clatter Of knives, forks ana
plates. She saw heaps of cake of which
the women had baked enough to last tho
family three or four weeks after the hcli-
days All was quiet and grave. If ono
of the girls could not Restrain gigsle
Regina's father was sure to check it.
Hush, our Lord was born this even
ing"
He frowned as ne said this. but there
was gentle. a festive ring to his voice,
and Regina, seated at her work table
thousands of miles away, was throbbing
with the breathless silence that followed
his words.
Supper was over. The candles were put
out to be relit at O'Clock in the morn
ing. so that people on their way to
church might see the house in the full
glory of its holiday attire.
Regina heard the tinkle of distant
sleighbells. The moon was out The snow
was hard and crisp and white, and
again a sob choked her breath. She took
down her pen and ink and began to
write.
Dear mother" she wrote. 'I hope you
are all well and that you passed pleas
ant Christmas Don't grieve on my ac-
count. beg of you. Barring the fact
that 1 can't embrace you now and kiss
you and tell you by word of mouth how
love you, [ have no reason to regret
anything. So don't grieve on my ac'
count; pray don't, mother darling.
Her mother doomed more real more
tangible than ever, and as Regina wrote
pray don't, mother darling she was
thrilled with a new flood of tears, which
it cost her some effort to repress. She
did not know exactly what she was going
to say next. All she did know was that
she " as dying to reassure her mother, to
relieve her mind of all the worry or
yearning anxiety she might feel with re-
gard to her. She wrote page after page,
and before she knew it she was writing:
He is a wealthy American gentleman
He is very, very wealthy, and he cannot
live without me, he says. He is contln-
ually sending me letters and flowers
You chide me for writing in riddles. You
have it all unriddled now He is SO
lovely and sweet, mamma dear! A
dark-cOmpleXioned. handsome American
gentleman, so tall. so manly, so noble.
He simply cannot exist without me. He
Is a very rich American gentleman
Her imagination broke loose. Hen
heart palpitated with the joy the letter
would give her mother.
He is of excellent family. His
brother is one of the best known citizens
in New York. Do you remember the
beautiful street called Fifth avenue,
which I described in one of my letters :
Well, his parents live on that street.
1t IS a perfect palace, and you should
his mother and the fOOtman.
There is big, beautiful park in New
York, and the rich people take a drive
there of an afternoon so thousands Of
people come to see their carriages ana
their fOOtmen. You should see the Stil
1t makes when his turnout passes along.
1t was there he first set eyes on me. I
sat reading one of your sweet letters,
mamma darling. The breeze in the park
was so delightful and there was so love-
~ smell of fOwres all around me. I
sat rea ding your dear lines deaf to the
rumbling noise Of the carriages. when
suddenly something told me to look up.
[ did, and behold. a young gentleman
with long blond locks was looking at me
out Of his machine carriage. He paused
in front of me and getting out of his
machine carriage he bowed to me ana
took off his hat. He was rather short,
but so manly, so fair so noble, with the
sweetest pair of blue eyes and fairest
complexion you ever saw. He asked to
be allowed to speak to me, and then ne
told me how charmed he was. This was
the way we became acquainted
1t was about midnight when Regina
left the house, her heavy letter in hand,
stamps. She never thought she was
really going to mail this ponderous lie
OF hers, and when drug store after drlS
store was found closed or proved =
glad of the respite. And so she went
from place to place without either in
tending to send the letter to her mother
or being able to return home with it.
Finally she did get her stamps. She
| then passed letter box after letter box
telling herself that it was rather out OF
the way and likely to be overlooked BY
the mail collector and knowing all the
while that she was trying to deceive
herself. Size dropped the letter into q
mail box when she least expected to
do so
Next morning she rushed into the 20.
lice station, gesticulating and pleading
with the sergeant to take pity on he I
and to see to it that her letter was re-
turned to her The sergeant. who did
not understand a word of Swedish sent
o'clock when she reached the inquiry
window at the general office and fhcr,
she was told that her letter had sailed
for Europe an hour or two before. She
was Mortified.
When she found herself in the street
the holiday air that hung over Park
Row told her that it was Christmas. and
that on the evening when the Lord was
porn she had written a huge. ugly lie
The ensuing year doomed black, ignoble
terrible.
Wien the janitress of the house in which
sne hlred her parlor met her in the hall
with a merry Christmas to We" Regina
felt as though the Irishwoman were mock
ing her. When she entered her eyes avoid
GU tHt DiDie on the manteIpiece.
She locked the door and flung herself
down on the lounge, a heap of black de-
spair. Then she prayed heaven to forgive
her This brought her some relief. and she
hoped she would gradually get over it ali
but so far from fading down her misery
became keener every Gay. She had desc
Grated her Christmas by an elaborate by
a diabolical lie. and the consciousness OF
It was growing on her with ruthless per
tinacity. She neglected her business lost
her appetite. grew pale and haggard. Her
Christmas lie haunted her like the phan-
| tom of bloody secret
One night after she had lain in bed for
hours NainlY STRUGGLING with ner feveri u