South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-12-18
BY Adele Garrison.
WHAT MADGE LEARNED FROM
JACKS LETTERS TO MRS.
STEWART.

with trembling, reverent fingers.
Somewhere in France" my cousin
was lying dead. and these letters,
written ostensibly 20 our dear old
friend but in reality messages for
me, were waiting for me 10 read
them.
I longed yet dreaded to open
them. Messages from the dead
they literally were. What Mrs
Stewart had guessed / knew. JACK
had refused to write TO me on ac-
count of Dicky's unreasoning Jeal-
ousy of him. But with the fatalistic
belief in his death in action which
/ surmised he had had, l felt that
he must have poured out his heart
TO me in his letters 10 our old friend,
knowing that some time ] would
read them and understand.
AS I slipped the band from around
them and scrutinized them more
closely I saw that Mrs. Stewart in
her methodical way had arranged
and mum bered the letters so thai
they were in chronological order,
the oldest Of date being uppermost.
drew a big, easy chair TO the fire-
side and began to read the missives.
Some were short, some were long.
but all were filled with 2 quiet cour-
age and cheerfulness that I knew
had Illuminated not only Jacks let
ters> to his old friend. but his life
and the lives Of others wherever he
had been. Every one Of them had
some reference TO me. and inquiry
after my health, an injunction to
Mrs. Stewart TO be sure to keep track
Of my happiness. a little kodak print
or other souvenir marked For Mar
garet If I do not come back"
I felt guilty, remorseful. that I
had seen so little Of Mrs Stewart
since his departure. NY own af-
fairs. especially my long, terrible
summers experiences with Grace
Draper. had shut everything else
from my mind.
An Illuminating Letter.
One letter in particular made my
eyes brim with sudden tears. The
first of II had been CHEEKY. with en-
tertaining little accounts Of the few
DOOE DlLS OI Which, TIC cbA~
diers in the trenches extracted from
their terrible every day round. Along
toward the end a sudden impulse
seemed TO have swept the writer's
pen into a more somber channel.
IT have been thinking much,
dear old friend" he wrote. "on the
futilitv or human desires. Life in
the trenches Is conducive 10 that
form of meditation. as you may
imagine. You know. none better,
how ] loved Margaret. how I want
ed 10 make her my wife, often
wonder whether If I had not delay
ed so long, fearing my fate too much
I might not have won her. But
thoughts like that are worse than
useless.
Instead, there has come to me a
clearer understanding Of Margaret,
a better insight into the golden heart
Of her. If she had never met the
man. or some one like him, believe
] could have made her happy, kept
her contented. But I realize fully
that having met him there could
never be any other man for her bur
him Her love for HIM is like a
fame. consuming her. ] could never
have called forth such passion from
her I see clearly now how foolish
ii was IN me 10 have hoped It..
There was nothing in the humdrum.
commonplace brotherly affection
which she thought ] gave her to
arouse the romance which I know
slumbers under that calm, cold ex-
: terror of hers
Sometimes J query too. whether
my love for Margaret had that
. hame-like quality which character
/ ICES her love for her husband Mar
garet has always been so much a
part Of my life that my love for her
began 7 could not tell when. and
grew and strengthened with the
years There never has been any
other woman but Margaret in my
life Even If 7 should ever come
out OF this living hell, which
doubt. I do not believe there ever
will be another.
And yet
II have just been summoned for
duty. Goodbye, dear friend, until
the next time. Lovingly yours
Jack Beckett"
And yet"
laid the letter aside with a
queer little startled feeling at my
heart,
Those two little words. land yet.
N the end OF Jacks letter gave me-
much food for thought Was il pos.
sible that before his death Jack had
realized that his love for me was
not the consuming passion he had
thought IL. but partook more OF the
fraternal affection that had had
for him2
I hoped for Jacks sake that thi.
was so.
And yet"
ran through the rest OF the let.
tiers rapidly. One. the third from
the last, arrested my attention
sharply.
such a pleasant thing happened
10 me today" Jack wrote. zone o.
the unexpected CLEANS OF sunlight
that are 90 much brighter because
or the general gloom against which
they are reflected.
81 was given a weeks furlougl