The National tribune., 1906-08-23

| gOIc,
I'll not call up their shadowy forms;
I'll say to them. Lost years. sleep on.
| Sleep on. nor heed Life's peltins
storms
"The story OF the past, Lorena,
| Alasi / care not to repeat:
The hopes that could not last. Lorena
They lived. but only lived to cheat.
/ would not cause e'en one regret
/ To rankIe in your bosom now,
| For If we try, we may forget,
Were words of thine, long years ago
Eyes, these were words of thine, Lo-
rena;
They burn within my memory yet:
They touched some tender chord. Lo-
rena,
That thrills and trembles with regret
Twas not thy woman's heart that
spoke
Thy heart was always true to me;
A duty, stern and pressing. broke
The tie that linked my soul to thee.
at matters little now. Lorena:
The past is in the eternal past:
Our heads will soon lie low, Lorena:
Life's tide is ebbing out so East.
There is future, oh. thank God.
or life this is so small parti
'Tis dust to dust beneath the sod.
But there, UP there. it's heart to
heart
Capt. Nelson w. Evans. Of Ports
mouth. o., has recently given his recol-
lection of the circumstances that called
out this song. as follows:
These words were written by the
Rev H. D. L. Webster. born in Stam-
ford, Conn.,, educated in Columbus, o.,
and preached at GAINESVILLE, O.. for some
years.
"Lorena' was Miss Ella Blocksom.
of GAINESVILLE, o. She was a member of
Mr.. Webster's church. also leading
| member of the choir. with beautiful
and highly-cultivated voice. She was
as lovely In face and person as her
voice was sweet and touching. and it
was but natural that the intellleent
fine-looking young divine should be at
tracted to the face that was each Sun
day opposite him and listened SO inter-
estediy to his preaching.
zone describes her as 10. short in
stature and petite, with blue eyes and
light brown hair and features that took
hold upon the poetry of heaven
'tShe was the sister-in-law of one of
the pillars of the church, a success
full manufacturer and, of course. the
preacher found he must often consult
this brother about ecclesiastical matters
and see his pretty, charming sister-in-
law.
What real love affair ever ran
smoothly? This one did not. for Lo-
rena's sister had better game for her
to bring down than poor. though
handsome. intellectual preacher; so.
like many another worldly-wise elder
sister, she, after repeated efforts, made
'Lorena' see that she and Paul Vane,
as he called himself in one of his songs.
must part.
ION a certain cloudless day In May
these two lovers walked 10 Hamline
Hill, and fingered until twilight was
dropping her mantle over the valley,
when Iorena' told Paul Vane' fare
we'll
THE next day she wrote him a letter,
in which she said, If we try, we may
forget and he knew twas not thy
woman's heart that spoke but her sis
ter's through her.
Finding that this world was blank
to him without Lorena's' loving look
and smile, he resigned his charge.
where as minister he had been so sue
cessful and as a lover such failure,
and left for parts unknown.
"Time went by, and he was heard of
in the West. He developed the poetic
fire. and in 1860 his song Iorena' ap-
peared.
"The song was famous before the
subject of the song realized it was a
tribute to her from her old and loyal
lover. She Is accused of having no SEN
timent. or of being a 'namby-p pamby,' as
she never wrote him even a line of
thanks for the song or for his con-
stancy to her. Three years later he
wrote Paul Vane.' the answer one
would think Lorena' would have made.
"'Paul vane.
"'The years are creeping slowly by,
dear Paul:
The Winters come and go.
The wind sweeps past with mournful
cry, dear Paul.
And pelts my face with snow.
But there's no snow upon my heart,
dear Paul;
'Tis Summer always there;
Those early loves throw sunshine over
all,
And sweeten memories dear.
Z" I've kept you ever in my heart, dear
Paul,
Through years of good and i'll.
Our souls could not be torn apart, dear
Paul;
They're bound together still.
I never knew how dear you were to me
Till / was left alone;
L thought my poor, pocr heart would
break the day
They told me you We're gone"
"'Lorena' married young lawyer of
Ironton, o., who later on became a