The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1906-11-15

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clearly traceable to him. He spoke
of you in such a way as good men
speak OF heaven, A~loysius!-of your
magnanimity, your greatness OF
heart"
Yes" said Aloysius. Il make no
claim, but ] understand all that from
his point of view. But since you have
gone so far, dear, let me hear his case
quite out. | should not like you 10
feel that you had done him less than
justice, or that you had failed in your
good embassy from any omission OF
own"
But must | fail?" she asked him;
must | fail?'
Let me know ALL" he answered.
II think | have told you all" said
Lillian, but | know that | have told
IL poorly, and that ! have not conveyed
10 you a 1.-THE of the grief and agony
of heart he feels. But. dear Aloysius,
let me add something for myself. Am
| to lose my friend? Do you remem-
Der how you carried me in your arms
and ran with me on your shoulder
when | was a little child
All yes" he answered. with a pa
tient sigh. Il remember. But we both
know that we are best apart. You do
not know it as well as | do, but you
do know that any ~comradeship is i'm
| possible for us. This much | can say.
You will never lose your friend. You
have my heart, my hopes, my prayers.
If ave- | can serve you, you may com
mand me. There is nothing ! have
which is not yours. dear, and | have
no power and no wish TO change
But Alexis?" she asked, appealing
~. Il told him | should lay his case
before you, and he answered with
tears that, though you We're the best
OF men, - had so wronged you that
YOU would never take his hand again.
He is quite broken, Aloysius. He is
quite resigned to your continued en-
nifty"
Il have no enmity. dear" hs said.
Il bear him no ill-will. | would nc
exact from him any r~eparation or add
a straw TO the load he has laid upon
himself. He has lone me no irrepara-
BILE wrong. He has given me a bitter
grief to carry, and | shall bear it with
me to my grave. but that grief is not
the consequence of any wrong that he
has done to me-"
OH" she said, "if you knew the
regret he feels for those foul suspi-
cions!"
Il can measure the regret, dear" he
answered, quietly. Il have not known
him from his birth for nothing. But
you must accept his own version OF
the case. For us two to meet is as
painful for the one as for the other"
1T is not like you to be i~mplacable,'
she said, laying a timid hand upon his
arm.
1T is not | who am implacable," he
answered. But n pretence at a
reconciliation between my cousin and
myself would be a mockery. He
knows 1t and | know it."
But this open breach between the
only two surviving members of so old
a house.
Sad" Aloysius broke in. Sad,
but inevitable-inescapable."
Can nothing move you?"
Dear and dearest" he made an
swer, IF anything in the whole world
could change me, your lightest wore
would do it. But no change in m
would give you what you wish. Do
you remember, l wonder, the day you
brought me a poem to ask me il
could tell you the writer's name? 1t
had an awful thought in it, you said:
And still a voice cries on-will no n
hear it?
Not God himself can call back yester-
day!
What is done is done. No prayers, no
tears, no agonies a wipe 1t out. 1t
is not L. | said just now, who am i'm
~placable.' Not I, but that past, which
not God himself can change. Good
by, dear. All good be with you. All
blessings light on that dear head, all
peace make it's dwelling place In that
pure heart. Good-by!"
He kissed her hand reverently for
the second time hat day, and she
knew that her task had failed. She
let him go upon the last good-bs, and
sat for a long time immersed in
thought. And the longer she thought
the more the words grew. There was
something behind 1t all. That which
in the mind of the man who had in
nicted 1t was an objectionable wrong
was no objectionable wrong at all In
the eyes of the man who had suffered
under 1t. The cousins were divided
and forever. But why? Lillian had 9
trust In Aloysius's truth and honor
which she had not in the truth ant
honor of her plighted husband. He
trust In the one and her faint mistrus
In the other were alike instructive ant
unconscious.
She turned over and over in hel
mind the words Aloysius had used. :"
would not add a straw to the burdel
he has laid upon himself. He ha'
given me a bitter grief to carry and
shall bear 1t with me to the grave
bat that grief Is not the consequence