Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-12-11
1t vas a beautiful winter from be-
ginning to end, except for the anxiety

ginning to end, except for the anxiety
that filled the air everywhere on &C
count Of the war. Mrs. Leasing was
Interested in her work, and gradual
ly the worn, tired lines were smooth
ing away from her sweet face and
giving way to calm. Hilda was inn
mersed in her studies. satisfied with
nothing but perfecting in her prep
aration for classes. delighted with
her explorations into the world of
literature and science, happy in her
home. and shyly thrilled with the let
ters that came to, her from over the
seas. 1t was her recreation to sit by
the lovely white desk under the light
of'the blue shaded candles and write
long, wise. bright answers to them;
and the thickness n frequency OF
| his letters showed that hers were ap-
preciated by the young soldier at the
front. .. : -
For he was at the'front, that was
the worst of it-and the glory of it,
too. That was why each letter
brought a breathless moment Of fear
before it was opened and read, lest
some terrible thing had happened to
him. That was why the days, when
the letters came were so full Of song
and uplift because he was: still all
right. Just friends, grand good
friends, Hilda told herself they were.
nor let herself question Her heart any
further.
Mrs. Stevens had been lovely to
them. In addition to helping them
get settled in their new apartment
she interested herself in putting Karl
in school, and seeing that Hilda en-
tered the university under the very
best possible conditions. She often
sent the car around for their use. and
came herself for a few minutes as If
they were old family friends, quite
informally, although Hilda knew
vens home before they found the
right apartment that Mrs. Stevens
was a woman, of great consequence in
the city. Her time was more than
full and her friends were. many. The
demands upon her were unceasing.
There were clubs and Red Cross and
Emergency Aid and numerous other
cial. that claimed her constantly.
The rich and great came to her and
begged for a share in her interest.
Yet she had always time for her
home and the friends who were near
her heart. That she had, chosen to
make Hilda and her mother Of that
charmed circle Of inner friends was
a constant Joy and. wonderment to
Hilda- Often and often she reflected
how much the mother and son were
alike in this respect: and 1t never
once occurred to her that the charm
was in her own lovely natural self
and in her sweet mother. She. laid
it to their goodness Of heart thattthey
were sc kind to, quiet. shy people far
beneath their station socially.
A the winter progressed, more
and more Mrs. stevens seemed drawn
toy IIilda- and her mother. She
planned to take them to lectures and
to great concerts. They had a stand
ing invitation to attend the Saturday
evening orchestra concerts, and here
a new world of enjoyment opened. up
to Hilda which lifted her to the
seventh heaven of delight. She felt
as II: she must ding. herself down at
the feet, Of God and thank Him for
having made melody in the world.
1t was not 6. gay season, of course,
on account of the war: but there were
many little gatherings. quiet and for
a purpose. where a CUP of tea; and q
knitting bag were the only excite
scarce. v without the cup OF tea.
To these Hilda Inc her mother were
often bidden:. and as often as their
other engagements permitted they
went Mrs. Leasing, to her surprise,
forgot her almost painful embarraas-
ment at the thought of going into
this kind of society and found con-
genial acquaintances. She held her
own. too. in the conversations, and
oftenNher quiet, wise remarks caused
the other. women to defer to her on
Questions that perplexed them, Mrs.
Stevens reflected that there was moth
ing of which to- be ashamed in the
mother Of the girl her son admired.
They were keeping house. in their
tiny apartment, and enjoying 1t Inn
Intensely. They he'd found q woman,
nearby who. would come in to cook
the dinners at night and clean up
once a week. Karl bot-ht his lunch
!. At the sehae1, w~llere.a hot meal was
7 served ever day for a small sam.
and thete ~ ~ TBS little else 10 he
y ne mi - tTfs:. almost ideaiIy han
bw.- She c6rla " arcely believe sRe
VS. she e,.e 81 giri who had gone to
tatt's, fsTr. = ITO do housewcrk on
". a fer, snort months before. As
she wenf chceriiy about the little
whtte-tiled Kitchen OF the apartment
washing out her dish towels On the
nights when the. hired woman could
not stay to finish, her, heart would be
Just bursting into song to remember
those awful day. NJ the truck farm
lash OF Mrs. schWarz. How strange
ed. an II IT. had happened. to some.
body else. Strange how Those
schwarses had disappeared! Maybe
they ,got onsa submarine somehow
land went over to Germany. That5cer-
tatnly was WHARF they belonged, moi
lin free, beautiful America!