Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-01-03

! "oo, Souio uidhC ueI, luOuSuI-IOOi
that 1 was-honored, great, wealthy
She is poor enough, now, and so am L.
"Our dream of love was delicious, but
very brief. She eloped with me, and, as
the Lord God liveth, meant no harm
tor l made her my wife" He added
this with solemnity that startled the
soldiers, who were not often moved BY
any strength of expression.
Yes, she became my wife !" he con-
tinued.
Your wife !" calculated one or two
of the men. Thunder and lightning /!
here Dick, give US your hand, my boy 7"
and cordial grasp was given. 1--WE
thought you trifled with the little child"
"My parents heard taht I had eloped
with the child of tradesman," the SOL
dier, heedlessly Of this went on; land
threatened the poor old fellow with ruin
and humiliation. l. would not have
taken much to have broken his heart, for
it was half gone already; but what was
done could not beundone; and thought
my father and mother loved me too vel
to thwart me, and that [ had only to
bring her home to give her another father
and mother who would love her like her
own.
81 meant to have put her back into
his bosom, and said, embrace your
daughter, but also my wife, and you can
love her still, but that day never came.
believed, however, very firmly in it,
and 1 was happy living in little Eden
of my own, far flom the turmoil of life.
and expecting then my little baby hourly.
sMy parents prevented this he con
tinued after convulsive pause, during
which he drew his hand over his brow
several times, as though things we're
crowding into his brain, and confusing
him with their multi,udi GUS variety.
lone lived in Wales at the time, and
when my baby was born, and she put
it in my bosom, and laid her own sweet
little head, like blossoming flower, be
side it, L 1 prayed to God for her, for
both, and loved them more and more.
Then [ made up my mind to return to
my fathers house.
lone day went to my little home,
after walking, or fishing. or something,
and | found er-gone-both gone! Oh
then the sleeping devil within me woke
up. l learned from the people of the
house, that stern man, and a proud,
pale woman, richly dressed, drove up in
a splendid chariot, drawn by four horses,
and carried her off-robbed me of my wife
and my child. This man, this woman,
were my parents. l travelled night and
day, and arrived at their house in town.
81 demanded my wife they called her
designing, cunning girl; and they said
something worse of her than could bear,
and l sllenced them, and made them turn
pale and tremble. demanded my child.
They knew nothing of either. 1 cursed
them both, and quilted the house never
to return to it more.
Il need not tell you how long after or
by what means l traced my Alice,
through stages of wretchedness and
penury, till [ found both mother and
babe-my wife and child, dying on
mean pallet in parish workhouse.
"I could have called curses from heaven
and fires from hell to avenge this unmiti-
gable wrong. For what had this pale,
crushed, tender dove done, to win such an
atrocious injury! But when I saw her
thin, pale cheek, and heard her moaning,
and saw her wasted babe on the half
starved breast of the woman adored as
devotees adore heaven, stilled my soul
Il shed no tears-I heard her utter a
cry Of joy and pain; and then the thin
helpless hand wandered over my head, as
[ laid it, kneeling by her side, upon that
horribly sunken breast, beside nv chiId's.
&C
you and your sweet babe shall live here
no longer" n
"No George-no," she said. Oh, her
thin lips, how they trembled. "No George,
dear, we shall not live here long, not very
long,
"Give me that brandy, my lad," said
the soldier abruptly.
TO lose parent-to lose a mother
one loves-to lose friend one is devoted
to-to lose dog that has been a com
panion for years, is all painful-what was
it to this!" continued the soldier. "Whea
| heard what she said, had terrible
toreboding of the future. Was it for this
| had sought her ? Was it thus my pa
rents had shown their love2 Was it to
see her die that [ had moved heaven and
earth to discover her? If tears were
rain, and not the bitter and acrid drops
which scalded my face like caustic, roses
would have sprung to life around her dy-
ing pillow; and that golden hair SO dab
bled-
"Take my head in your arms, my dear
George" " said she family. Take my child
in your arms, too. Kiss me-kiss the
baby. You love us, do you not7 God
bless you! God protect you! Do not
forget us. have borne much-bu l
loved you 80 dearly; and I forgive every
one, as l hope to be forgiven ~
The rough soldiers turned away, and
one or two wiped their eyes. A few
sturdy but suspicious hems' sounded
niggardly, and they averted their faces.
''Little Alice" said, "are you going
without me! Well, Iwon't wait long"
81 am only going before you," she said;
and l felt that she was speaking the
truth. Il am going before you; clasp me
closer-let me feel your lips-lift up my
head-put my baby's mouth to nine
and-and so she died, my lads and for
an hour after, held her baby in my
bosom till felt it cold. 1t was dead,