Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-12-05

warmed my heart, and resolved on
the spot that his confidence should
not be misplaced. Come what might,
the secret of that old mans life
should never be betrayed by ne. 9th
erS might make it subject OF club
gossip or tea-table tittle-tattle, but
no word OF mine should add one DROP
to the cup of bitterness that had beer
placed at his lips. There are pas
sages in the lives of all of us which
we would wish to have buried in OBJ
Iivion-the tLoughtless follies of youth
the unworthy ambitions of manhood,
and the selfish jealousies of old age;
who is there shat can stand up and
say, there 10 no episode in his life
he would not have expunged, forgot
ten or condoned:
We had turned into a restaurant
for a bit of dinner, and those thoughts
passed through my mind as we ate
our fish. My companion pondered sad
ly for a few seconds, and then, shak-
ing himself together as though to
throw off an unpleasant train of
thought, said:
"Now. tell me about yourself, your
wife, and family"
Before l had time to reflect upon
what might be the result of my dis
closure, l blurted out the simple
truth:
81 have no wife"
He looked intensely surprised, as
he said: "AIy dear fellow, l am very
sorry. l never heard''-He paused,
inquiringly and again I blurted out:
Il never had one"
A look of extreme pain spread over
his face as he heard this. He leared
across the table, and laying his hand
on mine, said, with infinite SYM
pathy:
81 see it all; 1 ought not to have
asked you. Forgive me, old fellow,
and forget that 1 have said those
words"
l gave him a clammy hand and
turned away. lest he should detect the
conscious outlines of my face. had
become confirmed in suspicion that
had been gradually dawning upon my
mind. that / had never set eyes upon
my host before that day, and that
had been carried away by some in
applicable chance resemblance to
some remote acquaintance, and by
his own apparent cordial recognition
of myself There was no blinking the
facts, however. Everybody that he
mentioned was a total stranger to
me. while every incident that l men
toned with a view to drawing him
out seemed to find his mind blank.
My sole object now was to extricate
myself from my false position with
out detection. I got absolutely and
hopelessly involved in fable and false
hood, and after having thus lightly
taken away the good name of the
suppositious mother of my children,
a sort of despair took possession OF
me, and a wild resire to avoid eX
posure or explanation at any cost.
The dinner was good, the wine eX-
cellent, and my host geniality itself
We sat late and drank freely, and
over our cups l blush to think of the
people I married, the old friends l
buried and the characters I took
away. But he would have news, and
what was 1 to do? Much of my in
formation seemed to afford him mat
ter for establishment, and often he
calculated:
"You don't tell me So" as l con.
veyed some specially startling piece
of personal news.
However, the time for departure
came at last, and my mind was torn
with conflicting desires to escape de-
lection and to ascertain his identity
You'll come and see u.s." he said
cordially, as we shook hands pre-
liminary to leaving.
yes, certainly I replied; "but
where are you putting up now?"
ooh, the same old quarters" he re.
turned.
what is the best way to get
there?" l asked, as last and alto
gether desperate hope.
you can't do better than take a
cab he said; and we parted never
to meet against. James Gazette.