Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1905-12-06
A HERO'S
COWARDICE?

| away in the ranks TO the war group
Of girls stood on porch waving. On
all the faces save one was a pleasur-
able excitement. That one waved sad
ly, languidly, as If bidding adieu to in
visible spirits. She was blind.
During the four years of campaign
ing that followed he never forgot that
face. When rain or snow beat upon
him, when the bullet sang its melodious
yet terrible song, when shells walled
above or solid shot showered him with
the soil Of the south, his eyes were
fixed, not on the "colors," but on that re-
membered face-sweet, melancholy, EN-
| during.
| When he returned he was riding at
the head of the column, distinguished
soldier. The line of march led past the
porch where he had seen the blind girl,
but she was not there. In his disap-
| pointment he forgot his honOrs, the
| clamOring throngs, the shouts that ran
| abreast of him like an incoming tide.
| Then farther ON his pulses quickened
/ at seeing her at window. She was
standing between two friends. AS he
approached he saw her say something
which he could not but infer was re-
quest to be told where was the hero
/ of the hour, for one Of them directed
her hand, in which she held small
flag, so that when she waved 1t 1t was
| to him. He reined in his horse, faced
toward the window and reverently
raised his hat. Then when he had seen
her friends tell her what he had done
and saw that he had given her
pleasurable emotion he turned AMI
moved forward.
The excitement of that emotion gave
him his first fixed purpose In life. He
had been eminently fitted for a soldier.
whose career is like the wind which
blOweth where it listeth. He had felt
pleasure In the roar of battle, In the ac-
complishment of achievements In pro-
portion to the hazard of the undertake
ing, but this human delight was to die
away before his newborn spiritual pur-
pose as a storm that has passed gives
place to the soft sunlight The inspira-
ton that had been kindled In his heart
was to comfort bereaved soul.
But his time was not his own. There
was much to do in closing up the work
| of the war and In disbanding the
armies, and he was retained even after
this had been done in an important
command. Weeks passed into months
and months into years, and the object
Of his life seemed as remote as ever.
One summer while suffering from the
! effects Of an old wound, DESTROYS of
| change and rest, he assumed the plain
| garb Of citizen and went incognito to
an unpretentiOus summer resort. AS
he mounted the steps Of the porch he
saw sitting In wicker chair the blind
girl. He had purpOsely chosen this re-
mote place where he would not be rec
OgniZed, and after he had seen those
who were staying In the house he was
pleased that there was none who knew
him. He did not ask for an introduce
ton to the glrl-he did not need one.
No one needed an Introduction to her,
for her blindness caused her to be al
ways dependent. He waited one morn
Ing until he saw her rise from her chair
and grope her way into the house, then
asked IL he might assist her. Never be-
fore had he experienced the sacred
emotions as when he took the hand and
directed the steps Of this stricken girl.
From that moment he was her con-
slant companion. Perhaps 1t was her
weakness that led her to admire the
stern duties Of soldier, and when he
admitted that he had been In the strug-
gle Of the states she begged him to tell
her Of his experiences. But he, like
her, valuing his counterpart, dispar-
aged war and led her into more en-
nobling topics. She grew to love the
tones Of his voice, the unexpressed
sympathy apparent In his every word
and action.
Then came a time when, having pre-
pared the way, there was nothing for
him to do but tell her that from the
moment he saw her he pitied her and
Of the desire that had been born In him
to devote his life to that which would
be some recompense for her misfor-
tune. But when he faced this an
nOuncement a sense of his own un-
worthiness doomed up before him. Tell
her that he wished to give her comfort
when he felt that he would be honored
by the right to do so! He shrank from
such position.
| This was not all. He must drop his
incognito and become known to her as
hero. The incident Of her waving to
him on his return from the war and his
stopping to salute her must be made
known to her. What reason would he
give for all this secrecy? He thought
Of dozen ways In which 1t might be
| misconstrued. He who had stormed
! Notifications shrank from telling
blighted girl that he was hero. Again
and again he started In to make a
breach In these imaginary ramparts,
always to make an inglorlous retreat.
| And what was the result? He threw
up his command-and that In face Of
the enemy-and shifted the RESPONSE
bility to another. He went to the girls
mother and begged her to speak for
him words that he dared not speak.
| There is poem In which a peri Is
described as gaining admittance to
heaven by carrying there the most val
ued gift, tear of repentant sinner.
In similar way the soldier won an
entrance into the girls heart. To de-