The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1907-11-01
THE LADY AND The LAKE

You SEEM" she said little resent
mood"
I've been thinking" he replied. "of
beautiful spot on the shore of far
of lake. | can seem to see Ii as plain
ly as If We stood there now. A high
promontory jutting out into the clear,
blue water; the far-off hills across the
lake; the wind blowing across the
wide expanse, ruffling the surface OF
the water and causing the whitecaps
to sparkle in the sunlight; the waving
branches overhead the soft grass UNI
der foot; the never ceasing splashing
on the pebbles below; the great soil
tude, and the realization of natures
magnificence."
1T is a splendid picture. l wish l
might see it.
Il wish you might | wish | might
have the privilege OF showing 1t to
you
THAT would be jolly-but-but, OF
course, if it is away off in a lonely
place 1t would not be proper for you
W lCuh W IL 1AlO NhCiN nv hCNSNS
there?"
mo. 1t is as yet uncontaminated-
1t is all just as God made it. | can al
most fancy that l hear your eXclama-
ton Of delight as you stand upon the
high point of land, looking out across
the blue water, with the breeze toss
ing your hair and swishing your skirts
and the sunlight sitting through the
branches, turning your soft, brown
tresses to Furnished gold"
rs il very, very far from here?"
Not so very. About a days ride"
Il suppose it would not be possible
for a glrl-for me-to go there alone,
would ito"
1T might be possible, but it would
hardly be advisable You might got
lost, or you might find that somebody
else had wandered in there. A hun
dred things could happen. And then
you wouldn't enjoy standing there all
alone, would you, even if you knew
you were absolutely free from dan
ger?"
"Of course, / should prefer to go
there with-with-but then, we could
mt go there together, you know. We
might have mother with us IL you
dear me, what am | saying? There Is
no reason why you should want to go
there with me or to be bothered with
mamma. She is so uncertain on her
feet when she tries to climb hills or go
about where 1t is necessary to step
over stones. | suppose | shall never
be able to see it,
There might be such a possibility
if-if-'
IF party were organized perhaps.
But | should not want to go there with
a crowd"
you would want to be all alone?"
We'll, practically alone"
81 wish | might hope Toto"
81 suppose you intend to return there
some day and see it again-just as it
was-with no one to break in upon
your reverie or spoil your pleasure by
asking silly questions"
Some day l hope to go back-to
see it just as it was the first time it
lay spread out before me. But | do
not want to be absolutely alone. /
would enjoy it a thousand times more
if some one else were-that is, if |
dared to-to-but why should | think
OF such thing? 1t might not seem as
splendid TO others as it seemed TO me.
1t might not even seem as glorious to
me again as it did the first time l
ever stood there. My mood may have
had much to do with it. | can never
get back into just that mood again.
Something has happened since then
which makes it impossible for me to
look at anything just as l looked at
things before"
ooh, I'm so sorry. Has some great
bereavement come to you? | have
never heard you mention anything OF
that kind. You must be brave; you
must try to blot it from your memory"
1T is not a bereavement. 1t is a
great happiness that has come to me
yet it is a happiness that must end,
and when it ends | shall be the most
wretched man in the world.
How sad. Is there no way in which
you can make it last? Why must it
end?"
81 wish | might tell you, but-but-
no, shall not be able to make it last.
| have no right TO hope for that"
But things seldom turn out TO be as
bad as we expect they are going to be,
you know You may go back there
some day and be happier, as you stand
on that promontory, looking across the
blue water, than you ever were be-
fore"
There is only one thing that could
ever produce such a result"
What is that?"
IF you knew what 1t was you would
not ask me to explain"
Then, is It something that-that Is
wicked, or that | would not approve
off"
ut is not wicked-far from that. IL
would be Enthusiastically! But
you would not approve of It,"
Am / the only sirl who would not
approve Of it?"
IL wouldn't care whether any other