Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 232, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 September 1915 — Folk We Touch In Passing [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Folk We Touch In Passing

YOUR FRIEND TODAY Elizabeth and Martha were friends. Elizabeth said the word should always be written with a capital F. Martha declared that every letter that went into the making of so precious a name should be a capital, whereupon Elizabeth kissed her affectionately, and they both declared that no matter what the years might bring them they would keep their tie of friendship pure, and true, and lofty. “And," said Martha, who was the more ardent and imaginative of the two, “there are to be no secrets between us; not even thought secrets.” To which Elizabeth agreed in an abstracted manner which did not quite satisfy her friend. So Martha suggested that they draw up an agreement of eternal love and loyalty to be solemnly signed by each of them, and when Elizabeth said she didn’t see the use of such a thing, her friend burst into a storm of grief that quite took the less intense girl off her feet. “Why, you darling Martha," comforted Elizabeth. “Of write the vow, and sign itT I only meant that all the vows in the jvorld couldn’t make mi trner to our fileStef, ship, or more certain that I shall always love ybd I $9 Whereupon ftct and spent many Veeks in the composition of a vow of friendship which

t| 1 '-At'rjlxi •„,} iystffVlll *} '?• i- *rt >; i J j would have seemed more like, a con:, tract of the relinquishment of all personal liberty than a promise of undying love to an outsider. But the .document quite satisfied the friends, who considered it a masterpiece in its own way. _ jr* - J In the wl«4r and iCl* lowed confidences became almost an ottfesMon with the gilt Martha. An for fear that she would depart from the letter of her promise and hold back the admission of some thought or action from EU^beth.. The vow was taken less seriously by Elizabeth, upon whom friendship sat with lighter meaning ,v * ~ Martha, in her frank and girlish ardor, would have.; called, her friepd a. traitor, had she known that she did not share the deeper life of ‘Elizabeth. Elizabeth whuld have said - that she merely protected a God-gtvee right, and that the matter of the vow was a silly thing, to which she had agreed merely to’ humor her friend. =»i

So the years went by, and. ft® friends became wonlengrbwn' Their compudOhslilp had been very close, and their affection for each other was a matter ton admiration among their associates. ■ People said that they had never seen such remarkable confidence between two yqung, wqmen, So far as Martha was concerned this was true, the rfhsypd-. her every thought of consequence with Elisabeth. She unveiled her weaknesses as well as her strength -to the elder girl, nor did she notice that every year had brought Elizabeth more reserve, so great was her •abaorptMs in hfcr own eon fldencea. \ One day The Wise Woman, who had r

heard much of Martha and Elizabetn, sat quietly by while the former expressed it as her belief that friendship is the greatest thing in the world. “The sort that will stand the test of actual self-denial is very rare," said The Wise Woman. “YOUR FRIEND TODAY IS OFTEN YOUR ENEMY TOMORROW. THEREFORE, NEVER TELL YOUR FRIEND WHAT YOU WOULD NOT WANT YOUR ENEMY TO KNOW.” Martha listened as one might listen to treason. Then, remembering Elizabeth, she abruptly left the room. “She is young,” remarked The Wise Woman. “She will learn.” It came to pass that the personal interests of the friends conflicted for the first time since, in that far away yesterday, they each signbd the vow of eternal love and loyalty. * They fell in love with the same man. For a time The Man, knowing the closeness of the tie which bound the two young women, was very nice to Jwth of them. * ; Tprejij it;. Imgamer apparent that he - was more inTerested in Martha, and a little he her hand ,in .maWatfeOil IjUUtfOO SltJ I And for the first tinie in her life to her ’friend. Instinctively, she hugged'her secret.' It was so precious <Sfl(flff4(n Mllvbl ft

a thing—this matterso| ’loving and be- i| .I m GiaiiMildmidiaimnzia[>aMrisndtfidasasStfiuaaait«JtasiiaAa«>».*■» shfc reulefflucrecl wuo vow> TDe lttllo* of which- she had kept for years;-so- , shyly she told Elisabeth, that she and * me this, you sly minx!” hissed tne lifetime friend of the girl, Martha. i‘ 4 |T|u&f iy|#fec|UdjH<vsMak, that's are! ’Boh’W enticed him into this with your confiding little ways. But he doesn’t know you as I do ! He doesn’t: know you!" she . cried, beside herself with rage and disappoiiitineUt, for'the girl, Elizabeth, also loved The 1 Man and wanted tb be his wife more than she anything else in pJI the world, ~ , , Because of the vow which Martha had'wlwdjte kept to the letter, and which the' wiser girl- had always Bet aside as & mighty foolish sort otthing. Elizabeth; was .as familiar with the . weaknesses at her friend as she was with her own. She knew ber as she knew herself, for in her interpretation of the word friendship Martha had always uncovered her very soul for the other girl's inspection. And, so it was that the confidences which the girl, Martha, had given U» the sacred name of friendship were made the prpperfy qf all who carqd to hear them, and bounded hack like, boomerangs to hurt her a thousand times with a hurt so poignant that sometimes _ the injuries . deme hei seemed more than she coma bear. And The Wise Woman shook hei head gravely and remarked again that so long as human nature is human nature, it will never be safe to tell yoni dearest friend anything that you we n Id not want year bitterest enemy m know, *

By Julia Chandler Manz

"But He Doesn't Known You as I Do. He Doesn't Know You."