River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1920-01-15

sob, this won't do! she said. "I'ye
never let you see me cry before, ex-
cept when your father died. !
mustntm
And she ran from the ROOM
A little while after she had
gone, George rose and began solemnly
to dress for dinner.
He sat gauntly at the dinner table
with Fanny to partake of meal
throughout which neither spoke. Is
abel had sent word mot to watt for
her, an injunction it was as well they
obeyed for she did not come at all.
But with the renewal Of sustenance
furnished to his system, some relax
alton must have occurred within the
high-st-ung George. Dinner was not
quite finished when, without warning,
sleep hit him hard. His burning eyes
could no longer restrain the lids above
them; his head sagged beyond con-
troll; and he got his feet, and went
lurching upstairs. yawning with ex-
haustion. From the door of his room.
which he closed mechanically. with his
eyes shut, he went blindly to his bed,
fell upon it soddenly, and slept-with
his face full upturned to the light.
1t was after midnight
when he woke, and the room was dark.
He had not dreamed, but he woke with
the sense that somebody or something
had been with him while he slept
somebody or something infinitely COM
passionate; somebody or something in
finitely protective, that would let him
come to no harm and to no grief.
He got up, and pressed the light on.
Pinned to the cover of his dressing ta
BILE was a square envelope, with the
words, "For you, DEAR" written In
pencil upon it. But the message in
side was in ink, little smudged here
and there.
81 have been out to the mail box,
darling, with letter I've written to
Eugene, and he'll have 1t In the morn
ing. 1t would be unfair not to let
him know at once. and my decision
could not change if I waited. 1t would
always be the same. think 1t is
a little better for me to write to you,
like this, instead Of waiting till you
wake up and then telling you, because
I'm foolish and might cry again, and
/ took VOW once, long ago, that you
should never see me cry. I think
what makes me most ready to cry
now is the thought Of the terrible suf-
fering in your poor face, and the I'M
happy knowledge that it is I, your
mother, who put it there. 1t shall
never come again! love you better
than anything and everything else on
earth. God gave you to me-and oh
how thankful 1 have been every day
of my life for that sacred gift-and
nothing can ever come between me
and Gods gift. And Eugene was
right know you couldn't change
about this. Your suffering shows how
leep-seated the feeling Is within you.
So I've written him just about what
I think you would like me to-though
I told him I would always be fond Of
him and always his best friend, and
hoped his dearest friend. He'll under
stand about not seeing him. He'll I'M
derstand that, though I didn't say 1t
in so many words. You mustn't trou-
BILE about that-he'll understand.
Goodnight, my darling, my beloved,
my beloved! You mustn't be trou-
bIed. I think / shouldn't mind any
thing very much so long as have
you all to 'myself'-as people say-to
make up for your long years away
from me at college. Wen talk Of
what's best to do in the morning,
shan't we? And for all this pain you'll
forgive your loving and devoted
mother. ISABEL"