The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1904-12-28
AN ILLUSION
tOriginal.l

4
tive Imaginative, romantic. My moth )
er was very much troubled for fear l !
would marry some girl with nothing to
recommend her but a pretty face. | /,
used to think that she wished me to (
marry Margaret Deane, who knew how
70 sew and cook and do lot of practi-
cal things in which took no interest
I rather admired Gwendolin Germain.
| Gwendolin was a tender flower, just
such Il girl as man likes to take UNI
| der his protection. Her cheek was not
round and rosy, but there was a little
| pale red in it's center like a rosebud
| painted on a china cup, with lips of the
| same hue.
The time came when l made up my
mind that unless could win Gwendo-
lin my life would be failure. l was
but twenty, and that's very young for
man to feel that his happiness is
/ bound up for life in one person How |
ever, l proved my consistency by years |
of devotion to the image had set up |
In my heart. Fearing that ! could not
express myself with sufficient delicacy
to impress one SO young, SO modest, so J
tender. wrote my proposal in a letter.
was several days composing it, and
when finished left it for another day
on my desk in order to read it once
more before posting it,
was suddenly called away, and
when ! returned the letter was gone.
I asked my mother what had become
of it, and she said that it had been
posted with batch of letters that had
been sent TO the mail while l was
}, away from home With this I was
content and confident that Gwendolin
had received it and waited anxiously
Cor a reply.
When l met my love again l was
much embarrassed. My imagination
; made her seem to me cold, even of
81 9ended. and as she made no reference
TO my letter it occurred to me that for
, some reason-I imagined a dozen-she
was displeased with my PROPOSAL. l re-
TnaiLed with her but a few moments
vainly endeavoring to converse on tri-
1es, then left her.
did not call again, and within year
5 her family left the place where | lived
y and she went with them. My heart
"a went with her. lived on bachelor
Ny mother frequently invited Mar
garet Deane to our house, and | could
see that she was Intentionally placing
4 her in my way. Margaret accepted
q whatever attention gave her which
. was not much, but when was un-
mindful OF her she did not seem to
d notice it. AS the year passed 1 made
y q friend of her, but it did not occur to
= me to make love to her.
I" When l was thirty my mother died
Before her death she made me a con
Session
"Nly dearest boy" she said, before
a, die l wish your forgiveness. Ten
of years ago / saw that you We're about
as TO choose a companion for life who
would not make you happy. / kept the
- letter YOU wrote to Gwendolin Ger
/, main, hoping to gain time to direct
y. your attention to Margaret Deane. Ter
A. years have passed, and every year
Of have intended to send your letter t.
Gwendolin. have never done so til
today BY tomorrow morning she viii
m know for the first time of your pro
IS. posal, but by that time l shall have
Ike left you free to choose for yourself"
tn And so my mother, to whom 1 wa:
Id SC devoted, had caused me ten years o
aa misery. l forgaye her and did no
!, utter word of complaint. Indeed TIL,
= pain | suffered at her loss neutralize(
any feeling of regret for my long sui
ty 9ering.
all The day after I laid her in the grav
to took up Il number OF letters that hat
Gu accumulated mostly of coincidence
and among them was one from Gwen
dolin. 1t brought the first of ditferen
- sensations from what L had experience,
since the beginning of my mother
Use illness But with 1t came the remenl
brance of what my mother must hay
endured from her distaste for m
choice Margaret had been with he
m constantly in her last days and ha
comforted her as If she had been he
own daughter
! felt an inclination to complete til
sacrifice my mother had brought abor
by acceding to her wishes and giyin
ip, Margaret the option of being my wifi
up, But | was bound in honor to Gwendt
se' lin as well rs by love. In her letter sl
asked me to come and see her if fe
SO inclined, since she would talk to N
rather than write.
A few days later l went to see he
She still lived with her family, WI
Were wealthy more so than when
ere had parted from her-in a stately MAJ
tie sion. 1t was evening when | calle
lis. and | was ushered into private pa
Gu. lor. In few minutes bcny, salloy
ia, ecrawny woman came into the roor
~ ~ dressed in the height of fashion. b
d. decked with jewels, her hands coyere
sed with rings. l barely recognized Give
.ch dolin and would not have done so hs
tile she not preserved the rosebud in h
'ug check by touch of paint
t. so your poor mother has gone" 81
us. said. What silly thing to keep 20,
iis letter from me! Just as if l we
!