The daily sentinel., 1904-05-05
AN OLD SWEETHEART.

Dickens never penned anything
more pathetic than the life history
of an Auburn, N. Y. convict which
follows. The woman he calls his
sweetheart is his sister. who had been
mother and sister in one to him.
Her loving counsel was not needed by
the reckless brother, but the seed, she
planted and watered with her tears
carries sweet blossoms even into the
repelling environment of felon's
cell.
There are many young men who
have sisters like this one and who fail
to appreciate them-dear, self-sacrific-
ing souls who wear their lives out for
rough, needless brothers, who hardly
honor them with thought. Very of
ten we never find any one else's sister
able to quite take the place of our
own:
Il began life as farmer-my first
recollection of anything in particular
dates back to time, now dimiy re-
membered. when 1 found myself sit
ting in a daisy covered field wonder
ing what it was all about. who was
and where came from.
There is someth ing mysterious
about first reccllections. One can't
quite decide which is really the first
and which is not. Howsoever. just
about the time L first discovered my
self. discovered another. This 9TH
~. has, hn f,,+ g.
nothingness, gravely informed me
that her name was Ban.
LAS 1 grew older l discovered fur
ther that / was of sex locally known
as byes and Ban of sex categorically
placed in the local vernacular as gals
also that Ban was my sister.
LAS the time continued to go on. as
time will, 1 discovered further that
lacked something that most OF the
boys that L knew possessed, that is, an
adult gal.
How ever got into this world
without having that which all the
other BOYS seemed to have 1 couldn t
understand. 1 don't believe that
thought great deal on the sbujeot
during those early eventually
l discovered that l had mother. but
that she had entered into eternal rest,
as was beautifully EXPIRE ssed in the
old Bible Ban used to show me, upon
the same day that my personal history
began. Poor dear Ban. she filled that
void as much as she could with her
frail figure and immense love. Both
mother and sister was she. and so ]
grew and grew, like Mr.. Phinny's
turnip. until 1 was in knickerbokers.
then into cowhide boots, and then in
to mans estate, ana all the time there
was Ban who, after my eighteenth
year seemed to cease being larger than
lin fact seemed to shrink. Then
came the time when l discovered how
foolish it was for man to be dictated
to by woman, and that woman a
sister. AT twentyone the disgrace of
receiving even hint of what was
con sidered my path OF duty, coming
from this now somewhat frail woman
graveled me. So had my own way,
and landed here, And then-well,
you all know WHO it is that sticks. 1t
is mother. sister, or wife; nobody
elsel never
And so as L sat here thinking over
the past and its mistakes. the face of
frail little woman. her hair slightly |
tinged with gray kept coming before
me. Then 1 Thought of the years this
woman had wasted for me. And then
- 4 I Al. Il:
haired woman Was the dearest in the |
world to me-my mother and my sis
er in one, and as have averred in my
long ago childhood-my sweetheart. |
So when this bit is over. here's lit
tie bov that goes back to the farm and |
tries to repay some of the old love |
given him by his old sweetheart,