Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1906-08-15
THE BEGINNING
OF A HONEYMOON


could not see each other except every
few weeks. / was not tied down to
business and would have gladly re.
moved my residence to be with her Of.
tener, but her hard hearted father said
that i ! did he WOULD withdraw bis
! Consent to our marriage.
We were thus obliged to pass long
/ days, weeks, months, apart, and the
separation was well nigh unbearable.
In March we fixed the 10th of June for
the day on which to end this agony,
and from the time of settling upon II
at the top Of every letter l wrote to
Corinne, morning and evening, l gave
the arrival of the happy day. The
number decreased with provoking
slowness. as minutes drag to one look
ing at the face of watch.
We were influenced by this distress
ing separation in the selection of a
place in which to spend our honey
moon. / owned or would own on com
Ing of age in few months an island
In the st. Lawrence river, on which
was nicely furnished country house.
There was no way to get to and from
it except by boat, and the nearest land
ing waS a mile away. We determined
to spend not only our honeymoon, but
the whole summer, at this place, not
returning till November. There, with
no one to interrupt our continued as
ISOLATION, the happy days would drift
along like the water of the beautiful
river surrounding us.
We were married at my father-in-
laws country place on the Atlantic
coast. A suit Of rooms was reserved
for us in case we could be later pre-
vailed upon to spend some time with
the family, but we begged them not to
refrain from inviting other guests on
our account, since whole summer
spent alone would not be long enough
to make us forget the cruel separation
we had endured.
confess that on reaching the island
with my bride I was somewhat dis
concerted to find there something akin
to the spirit Of loneliness. or course
this was in the place and not In me.
How could feel lonely with Corinne?
Corinne said nothing, but I Judged
from the expression Of her face that
this weird something which hung ever
the place had also affected her. We ar
rived at 8 In the afternoon and sat
down to dinner at Z. There didn't seem
to be anything to amuse us while wait
Ing, and we were both glad when Ii
was announced. At table Corinne look
ed sober.
you are thinking Of your mamma,
dear" | said.
mo; think it is the transition from
so much excitement"
"That'n wear off. You will soon be-
come accustomed to more natural
existence"
She made no reply to this, but spoon
ed her soup as though her appetite was
not of the best. / glanced out through
the window and the river looked sort
of desolate. / rarely drank wine, but
now / concluded to open a bottle of
claret. was relieved when the maid
brought 1t in and sorry when she left.
iohS pCCh piSNuiih6 LIZ" We
would sit after dinner together in the
long twilight in hammock swung on
the piazza, the beautiful st. Lawrence
rolling past us, the scene occasionally
enlivened by passing boat. l had
thought how delightful ii would be not
to have to part at certain hour, and
I was surprised that that spirit Of lone
Illness which had pervaded the island
ON our approach overhung the river.
For fear my feelings would be COM
municated to Corinne / reused myself
to remark enthusiastically:
What beautiful scenev'
Beautiful" came the reply 1t re-
minded me of an echo, repeating the
form without the spirit Of the original
sound.
We were taking our first lesson in
the universal principal that blessings
cannot be appreciated without oppo-
sition, or, stated differently, anticipa-
ton is better than reality.
At any rate we had never before in
gether.
The next morning a rowboat APP
preached We were delighted at any
interest in us from the outside world.
A messenger brought us a telegram
from my matter of fact father-in-law.
If you find it lonesome, come back.
/ read the message aloud to Corinne
and looked up at her. There was
wistful look in her eyes, which were
gazing at vacancy.
"Well," asked, what do you think? p
1--WE might give them the month of
September"
1.-THE days begin to shorten in Au-
gust"
81 didn't think of that" REFRESHING
something like a shudder
II fancy June and July will be all
Wen care to stay here"
'It grows hot In July. That's the
time for cool sea breezes on the coast"
you're right. Better make 1t the
LIST Of July. Shall send reply to
that effectT'
"Oh, no. / can write"
At luncheon I saw that my bride
was preoccupied and asked her for her
thoughts.
81 wa7 thinking how delightful the
seashore Is at the full moon. That will
be In week from now"
1--WE might start in week."
'Or In few days"
How much time would you need to