The Washington herald., 1916-10-21

Yesterday began the story OF the
English woman whose two brothers and
young husband had gone to the war.
First a letter came saying that the older
brother was among those missing; then
a telegram that the younger boy had
been killed In fall from an aeroplane.
But there was no word received from
her husband. No doubt he had written
many letters, but they had been lost.
Weeks dragged into months, and then
a letter came from one Of his pals in
the regiment, telling her he had been IA
tally wounded by an exploding bomb. He
had Just left the dying mans cot and
before he had lspsed into unconscious
ness he had told him to write to his wife
The last I saw OF him, he was holding
your picture in his hand"
Though hers was a terrible grief, she
was but one OF the poignant sufferers in
the village. Two months passed-she had
written many times to ask that his body
be sent home, but no word had come in
response. In the cemetery near the vii
lage, she had erected a cross In memory
Of her husband, and with the somber,
bent figures Of the other widows she went
daily to put a few flowers upon the
graves.
Then there came a letter from one Of
the surgeons in an army hospital Her
husband had not died-he was still living
and would be sent to his homo on the
list Of January.
You must not be heartbroken II he
returns without his eyes or with an arm
or leg gone" her father steeled her
But she could not answer hin-ths Joy In
her heart was too great
On the Hst of January an Ambulance
drove up to the home Of the little Eng
lish bride.
Il would like to speak to the wife of
Courtenay l."
With an ecstatic cry her hand closed
over his arm.
MY husbandT'
The two men looked at her sofemnly.
GO into the house and prepare a bed,
madame. We will carry him in"
Dazed and terrified she rushed into the
house, into the sunlit room frightened
by great bowls Of fiowers-preparation
for his return. Then the two men enter
ed, earring in their arms the torso Of a
man, deaf and blind, with both legs
amputated above the knee, with one arm
missing, the other withered, swinging
Imply by his side.
Good Cod" Her cry was wrung from
g broken heart as she sank on her knees
beside the bed and leaned her head on
the shoulder of the mutilated body. There
was a contraction OF the muscles, then
in a very weak voice he spoke to her.
Paullna-my wife,
The two men turned away and the long
silence that followed was broken only by
an occasional sobbing OF the woman.
1T is a living death" came the half
audible voice of the husband. Poor
little Paulina-I will be a burden to you
all my life!"
She covered his face with kisses and
poured out tender, passionate words OF
compassion and love, which he could not
hear-but understood.
Weeks passed-dreadful weeks. There
had been a drought and the farm had
yielded no harvest. The women and chill
dren of the village were suffering. The
husbands family had been almost wiped
out by the war and the old mother came
to live on the farm and care for her
helpless boy.
The little wife sought work. for there
were seven mouths to feed At night she
would try to teach her husband to under
stand by signals on his forehead the con-
versation in the room, but he never knew
how often they went hungry nor of their
tragedies and heartaches.
Finally she was forced to go to London
to seek work. and while there accepted a
position as governess with an American
family.