The Globe-republican., 1902-04-03

Joseph Major said the little man
IN the gray serge suit, to the clerk in
side the postof1ce window, who. tax
ing a second glance Of kindly inquisi-
tlyeness at the gentle face outside,
handed him several letters.
The little man hustled away handling
over the letters until one of them
caused him to stop in his steps 1t was
scared and yellow envelope. bearing
in its whole appearance, in the cramp-
ed handwriting and in the stamp up
in the corner, look of years, as if 1t
had dropped, ueteor-lil1e, from the
far-away past .
The man stood, turning it over in
his hand, regardless of those passing
and repaSsing him, many of whom
turned curious glances toward him
On his face expressions of amazement.
pleasure. sadness and CONSERVATION
succeeded each other with ka1eido-
scopic rapidity- A moment afterward
he walked away from the postoflce.
and, crossing the street. to a small
triangle of grass adorned with shrub
berry and seats and decorously named
a park. he seated himself in a retired
spot and with trembling fingers and
fast-going breath, opened the envelope
AS he glanced at the first lines his
face grew white and drawn and he
stared at the contents as if he We're
looking at a ghost He leaned back
and his hand sought his forehead as
if seeking to brush away cobwebs from
his brain. This was what the letter
was, written in an uniformed and
gtrlish hand:
Dear eanss ten You a1
y hen came home and found that You had gone
to the war ana nag not seen e VEN s9n But
found geur fetfer TO xsftin for me and ep1anng
it all. and that was something. though don't
other ones. OF course you. did right to enlist
Eut. ohl Joseph. When think that I may
now you may be Wounded and "s suirerins and
IL Ana losing poor mamma. too, Just at his
and you haa he OF IL 'us 70
home LAID her to rest IN the little Cemetery
upon me You need never have doubted it.
III and fei4 tat mE nrst w dnty Mnn to heT
5 b move sSu fb n1t she fy IS Seio1 who to
S9u when read WI u
F e the Long Long lists of dead wonnded and miss
Your loving swee st ear PRESTON
His eyes fingered over the signature
All those gentle, loving words he had
so 1onged to hear and never had they
reached him during all the weary
years The words rang in his ears.
His heart beat them out in its pulsa-
lions, and his eyes saw them wherever
he looked. The bitterness and sad
ness of it all filled his heart with ach-
ing, and seemed to crush his very soul.
He sat gazing at the green grass,
the trees, the singing birds and the
children playing about him, but he
saw none of these-only the tragedy
of his 1ifeI
Thirty years before he reflected and
saw himself boy, just entering man
hood, hard at work on the farm with
a Step-father who had little use for
him except as working machine,
with mother, sister close kin to
look to in those years of longing for
companionship; but with one friend
the sweet, black-eyed girl, to whom
his sensitive nature had turned for
sympathy
Again he heard the roll of the drums
and felt the thrills that went through
him when, as a boy, he heard of the
countrys danger and the call for men
and yet more men. Again he drilled
to the war, the one pang at his heart
being that f-The girl he left behind
him was not there to listen to his
last goodbye She had gone with
her mother in search by the latter for
relief from the dread disease which
had blighted her life and in the hur-
rying changes from one place to an
other, he did not know where to address
her And so he had left a letter for
her at her home, to which she was
soon to return
He recalled the weary weeks and
months of war and of waiting for the