The Snowflake herald., 1915-10-22

pressed the hope that he was not given
to worldly ways, and above all, that he
Stunned the use of intoxicants. The
letter closed with an earnest prayer
for his worldly and spiritual welfare.
1t was seven weeks before this letter
reached the recipient, then lying in
the base hospital recovering from a
wound. He had been struck by a
/ fragment of shell while leading his
company to the attack, and he would
never lead it again, because a tendon
in his leg had been severed and Corp
Richard Barton" must go limping
through life thenceforward.
True, the limp was not a very pro-
nounced one, hardly visible, in fact
wnen the soldier walked, but it is
one thing to walk across a drawing
room floor and quite another to charge
a line of trenches at full speed across
barbed wire entanglements, laden
with ones accouterments.
A second letter reached the two
ladies in due course. Miss Mary, who
was romantically inclined, opened it
in the presence of her sister with a
thrill of delicious wiz :.edness. Miss
Lizzie, however, was inclined to think
Greet. She intended to tell her that in
her opinion the correspondence must
| be brought to close.
But as the ladies read it they looked
at each other in dismay.
"He has been wounded" exclaimed
Miss Mary, tremulously. THE poor
man! I hope it is not a serious
wound"
HE says it will prevent his going
back to the ranks again." Miss Mary
announced, as she read further on.
"And-Oh, Lizzie, what do you think?
He says that some day he may come
| to America for a visit, and that il he
does he will take the opportunity to
pay a call upon those who were so
kind to him!"
The letter f1uttered out of her hands
and she sat down in a chair breathless.
"Mary!" said her sister severely,
'this is what comes of carrying on a
] Irritation with strange mani"
"Sister!" gasped Miss Mary How
can you say such a dreadful thing?
Did you ever know me even to think
| of a man."
"A common soldier-just a cor
poral!" continued her sister, reprov-
ingly. you know, my DEAR" she went
on, relenting, 'the lower classes in
England are not like they are here.
The man may be anything. Perhaps
he is a drinker!"
Miss Mary rose to the occasion as
she had never done before.
well, sister, if he is a drinking
man." she said, II SHALL shall send
Willis out to buy bottle of beer for
him! There!" and she walked out of
the room Indignantly.
But as the weeks went by and moth
ing more was heard about the cor
poral Miss Lizzies fears gradually SUBJ
sided. And so the weeks slipped into
months, and then
Miss Mary, there is a gentleman in
/
planned the maid. "He says he hasn't
card, and he thinks you will remem-
ber his name, Mr. Richard Barton"
Miss Lizzie looked at Miss Mary as
the two sat together in the sewing
room.
Sister," she said, perhaps 1t would
be better for me to see this Corporal
Barton!"
And that time Miss Mary did not re-
I ply, because she was already in her
bedroom brushing her hair!
How desperately she brushed and
how quickly she changed her frock,
hearing a bass voice talking in the
living room below, and dreading every
minute that her sister would succeed
! in dismissing the visitor before she
could get down. And when at last
she did get down and stood before a
tall, neatly dressed, soldierly man of
about thirty-fve, her heart beat and
she felt her face suffused with foolish
bushes.
"My dear, let me present Captain
Barton" said Miss Lizzie.
Captain Barton!" Miss Mary
gasped.
The captain pulled his mustache and
stammered:
well, Miss Penfield, the fact is, that
when you deciphered my illegible hand
writing as corporal the joke seemed
too good to lose. And so | made my
self corporal in my second letter.
know 1t wasn't right-but it's better
to make ones self corporal when
ones captain than vice versa, isn't
it? And, Miss Penfeld, l assure you
that / am not drinking man.
"And Captain Barton is going to
stay to lunch," said Miss Lizzie.
During the lunch Miss Mary plucked
up courage to look at the captain. And
the more she looked at him the more
he came to resemble certain idol in
a little secret shrine tucked away in
her heart. What was more to the point,