Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1912-06-20

But there must be witnesses, there
must be ceremony. else there is no mar
rage" she went on. Her woman's
brain chung to the safe. sane groove
which alone can guide progress and
civilization and society-that great,
cruel, kind. imperative compromise of
marriage without which all the adj
yancement of the world would be as
naught. l loved her for it. But for
me, I say had gone savage. was at
the beginning Of all this, whereas 1t re-
manned with her as she had left it.
Witnesses? ~ 1 said. look at those!
pointed to the mountains. Marriages,
many of them, have been made with no
better witnesses than those"
My heart stopped when / saw how
far she had jumped to her next speech.
'Then we two are all the people left
in the world, John Cowles? When l
am old will you cast me off? When
another woman comes into this valley,
when / am bent and old and cannot
see. will you cast me. off and, being
stronger than / am, will you go and
leave me?"
could not speak at first. eve have
talked too much" said to her present
". But now it was she who would not
desist.
you see, with woman it is for
better, for worse. but with man
with a Saxon man." said, "it is
also for better, for worse. 1t is one
woman"
She sat and thought for long time.
Suppose" she said, that no one ever
came"
Now with swift remOrse | could see
that in her own courage she was feel
ing her way, haltingly, slowly, toward
solution of problems which most wo-
men take ready solved from others.
But, as l thank God, filmy veil, soft
ening, refining, always lay between her
hold upon my arm, her two hands
cIasping.
Suppose two were here, man and
a woman, and he swore before those
eternal witnesses that he would not
go away any time until she was dead
and laid away up in the trees, to dry
away and blow off into the air and go
back"
Into the flowers" I added, choking.
Eyes, into the trees and the flowers
so.that when she was dead and he was
dead and they were both gone back
into the flowers, they would still know
each other forever and ever and never
be ashamed-would that be mar
rage before God, John Cowles?"
What had / brought to this girls
creed of life, heretofore always so
sweet and usual? / did not answer.
She shook at my arm. Tell me- she
said, but j would not tell her.
Suppose they did not come" she
said once more 1T is true, they may
not find US. Suppose we two were to
live here alone all this winter, just as
we are now, none of my people or
yours near us. Could we go on?"
"GOdl Woman, have you no mercyw
She sat and pondered for yet time
as though seriously weighing some
question in her mind.
But you have taught me to think,
John Cowles. 1t is you who have be-
gun my thinking, so now l must think.
/ know we cannot tell what may hap
pen. l ask you, John Cowles, If we
were brought to that state which we
both know might happen-if we were
here all alone and no one came, and
If you loved me-ah, then would you
promise forever and forever to love me
till death did us part-till was gone
back into the flowers? / remember
what they say at weddings. They
cling one to the other, forsaking all
others, till death do them part. Could
you promise me in that way? Could
you promise me, clean and solemn?
Because I would not promise you I'M
less it was solemn and clean and un-
less it was forever"
It seemed that saw into. her heart
] dropped my hands from my eyes and
looked at her strangely, my own brain
in a whirl, my logic gone. All / knew
was that then or elsewhere, whether
or not rescue ever came FOR us, Wnetn-
er we died now or later, there or any,
where in all the world. would, indeed,
love her and her only, forsaking all
others until. indeed, we were gone
back into the sky and flowers, until we
whispered again in the trees, one unto
the other. Marriage or no marriage.
together or apart, in sickness or in
health-so there came to me the stern
conviction-loye could knock no more
at my heart, where once she had stood
in her courage and her cIeanness. Rev
erence, | say, was now the one thing
left in my heart Still we sat and
watched the sun shine on the distant
white topped peaks. turned to her
slowly at length.
ELLEN said, do you indeed love
meg