Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1907-09-20
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SHOCK VI diulooS h""SN 1900
full of tears. He could say no more,
but only wiring the dry, chapped hand
in his. Then he was gone and might
have been seen little later hurrying
with bent head toward Temple Bar or
later yet spread at full length in that
green asylum of his homeless days, the
southwest corner of st. James park.
And here he read the letter from his
friend. 1t began on one side Oh the
large white paper and ended on the
next. The girlish handwriting was
pitifully tremulous, but yet instinct
with self reliance then uncommon In
young English ladies. The letter ram
Avenue Lodge, Regents Park, April 26.
Darling = What does 1t mean? was
picturinG you In Calcutta when saw you
this afternoon IN Piccadilly! l had been
thinking about you just then-I always
am-and there you were! Oh. my dar-
ling. what can 1t mean? Tell me quickly,
or / shall go mad with anxiety. as l near
ly did on the spot this afternoon. Come
here, as you love me, and tell me all!
Darling, what can II be that has kept
you here and 80 silent all this time, or
did you go out and come straight back?
No; there has not been time. The~Jumna
sailed on the last day Of September, and
/ have prayed for her safety all these
months. was 80 sure my love was on
board!
Oh. If only I dare have stopped to speak
to you few more seconds The groom
was so close behind. But. Tom, you
seemed not to want to give me your ad-
dress! I would not have left you without
It, And now. l shall come to you there
unless you come to me. You looked 30
sad and I'LL, my sweetheart! Il can see
his poor face still!
Come and tell me all and let me help
YOU or my heart will break. You are In
trouble. / know 1t and must help you
II is my right. We are In the new Ave-
nue. road; you will easily find It, The
house is far the largest on the right hand
side as you come from town. There are
fields behind, and our garden goes the
farthest back-that Is, we have field or
our own walled in with 1t, and there is
green gate In the wall. 1t ls Kept
locked, but l. will be there at o'clock
tomorrow (Thursday) night, and SO must
you. Be there for my sake and tell me
all.
I have written the moment got In. /
will post 1t myself Dear Tom, do not
be hard on this girl II you think her over
bold, for she loves you, she loves you and
would give her life to make yours happy!
Your own true CLAIRE.
Twenty-eight mortal hours to wait. I
shall hear my heart beating-as hear 1t
now, as l have heard 1t ever since / saw
that sad, sad face-until / see it againl
When Thomas Erickson came to the
.~1 20 +Atc ,,occiorofo Y,,1ro fnvo 1nftor
he buried his face in the sweet spring
grass and lay immovable with grief
| too great, for tears. The sounds OF
London louder then than now BOOM
ed and ratified in his ears. To those
Of his soul brave soft voice was
whispering the last godspeed, while
| his own, the more broken of the two,
was vowing not only eternal con-
stancy, but eternal goodness and an
| honest life for her sake.
He could see the steady gray eyes
filed with tears that never fell and
shining into his with the love that
| knew no shame He must never look
| In them again nor ever more defile
with his the brave lips that had trem-
bled, truly, but yet spoken comfortable
| words up to the end.
And here Tom lay In culpable pow
erty and dishonorable rags, fallen al
ready to an ultimate deep. So now,
too late, as through the gates Of hell,
must come this message Of angelic
/ love!
He read 1t again, tore off the clean
| half sheet and, sitting cross legged,
wrote as follows In pencil upon his
knee:
| 1t means that 1 am BLACKBOARD and
| no longer worthy to be even your friend.
| The Jumna was ten days behind her
advertised time Of sailing, and was
miserable. You might have pitied me
! then; l neither ask nor deserve any pity
now. l had vile thoughts. Even II
made my fortune, your father would nate
my fathers son forever-and i him-so
| 1t could never be. You would marry In
due course. How could you help your
self? Those were my thoughts. And
| then met a friendi
| He showed me the town. He helped
me to forget. He won most of my money
and took the rest by fraud. l never even
booked my passage. And now l only live
to spill the fellows blood.
| But that's all he did. He didn't dis
grace me. disgraced myself and broke
all my promises to the noble girl of whom
/ never was worthy and must therefore
! see her no more. 1t would be no good
| Why should / insult you too? I have
| done so enough in coming to this. Simply
forget me, for am not worth your scorn
Forget me utterly. l am too ashamed te
sign my name.
This be folded up, addressed with
his pencil and sealed Qn fashion,
with the waters which had been used
already. Her lips had touched them
before his. Then he sat where he was
and noted the other moral cOrpses
stretched upon that daily battlefield
and wondered If any, of them had
wrecked their lives as willfully as hs
| his. And then he thought Of his ia
theirs white hairs and thanked Coz
they had won to the grave without TIL
to bring them there.
Then he lay down again and wres
tied with hunger and anguish alter
nately and both together. 1t was even
1 ing when he left the park heavil.
laden with a fact remembered on tn
way. He lacked the price OF a tw'
penny stamp. Not farthing had h
left nor thing to pawn save his ionl
silk purse so ignobly emptied, and tina
had been his fathers before him. l
should not go even for this, yet TN
letter must. Then how?
He sat down again on a bench, TO
he was weak for want Of food, and II
his weakness came d temptation tina
was indeed more like an inspiration, 81
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