Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1858-12-10

/ could not withstand, that placed the costly
gift on the fair arm of my bride; and when
her smiling blue eyes looked into mine with
such pleased surprise, longed to tell her all
L knew Of the mysterious giyer.
just opposite our own cottage lived Aice's
father and stepmother. Her own mother, she
told me, had been dead many years. Mr..
Hudson was a man of very reserved habits,
yet Of benevolent disposition. Towards
Alice he was always tenderly affectionate be
tween him and his second wife there was little
sympathy, yet she was an amiable woman, and
endeavored to please him to the best of her
ability. l often thought that something was
preymg upon Mr.. HudsonS mind, which was
unknown even to his family; that there were
some sorrows of the past which he could
neither forget nor contde to another. He
would sit musing for hours, needless of the
hum OF conversation going on about him; and
then, suddenly reused from his reverie to real
life, l have seen his face wear a strange, trou-
bled expression.
Alice, i'll reply to my questioning, said he
had always been SO, and she thought he had
never ceased mourning for her mother; that
often, when they were alone, he would talk to
her of her mothers beauty and rare attachments.
His first wife had been a gifted woman, supe-
riOr in mental qualities to most of her sex but
/ felt that afectionate remembrance of the dead
could not alone weigh down a mind Of such
strength as his The more familiar | became
with him, the warmer my attachment grew for
him, and the more | became convinced that he
was haunted by painful recollections
He spent much of his time with us; often,
upon summer day, coming to our little gar
den to write or think upon his sermons. When
our little girl was born he seemed drawn tow
ards us by new tenderness We named it
Eleanor, in memory of his first wife, and from
the day it seemed to us that the child had the
first and best place in his heart
Three years after our marriage, Mr.. Hudson
suddenly grew i'll. l attended him, and watch
ed by him almost constantly during his brief
sickness. Going earlier than usual one morn
ing, into his room, | found a splendid boquet
lying upon lis table-white and blush roses
heavy water-lilies, and rich pancies of gold
and purple hueS As Tentered abruptly he
made motion to conceal them, but meeting
my glance he only laid them upon the outside
of his bed. | approached, and while standing
by his bedside, carelessly took the flowers i'll
my hand.
"These are beautiful, j." l said ut cannot
be that Alice has brought them to you SO ear
ly."
"No," he answered, taking them rather
eagerly from my hand, 'Alice did not give
me these my wife brought them into me-"
said nothing more, but the little circun-
stance struck me as singular, for Mrs. Hud
son was the last person from which | should
have expected such a gift. True, she was
amiable, and kindly disposed, but sentiment
was no part of her nature She loved only
the useful the beautiful she did not compre-
bend. 1t was not like her to rise at five
O'Clock, and gather flowers for the sick hus-
band; she would prefer sleeping herbs for him
fbp Ditol,at, fro nc
to conceal them, too, made his explanation of
their presence very doubtful to my mind yet
had never before suspected him Of the slight
est prevarication.
l remembered this incident, and told it to
Alice that evening as she rocked her child by
our uncovered doorway. She looked sur
prised and thoughtful, and could not but think
it strange that her step-mother had grown sud
denly romantic, but she did not doubt the truth
of her fathers reply.
From that morning he rapidly grew worse.
Sometimes his mind wandered, and then the
name always on his lips was Eleanor.
'Is she come ?" he would say looking about
him with a wild mournfuness. "She promis-
ed to see me once more-to let me hear her
voice once again. Oh, why was l so rash,a and
she so proud She always loved me. know
it, | believe it all now, dear Eleanor" And
then he would murmur sadly at is too late,
Eleanor-too late, and ] must live alone No
one loves me as she loved me- Poor Eleanor!"
From such melancholy wanderings he would
arouse himself, and look with quiet resigna-
ton around, saying only in answer to our ques-
tons, 81 have been asleep and dreaming -
When he had been three weeks ILL., he seemed
growing better His mind ceased to wander
his manner was cheerful, and he appeared
again like himself. One evening he said he
could sleep without watchers, and urged us all
so strongly to retire, that we yielded and left
him alone
After a restless night arose as early as it
was dawn, and FASTENED to his room. l APP
preached his bedside quickly but there stop
ped and gazed in GREATNESS silence upon the
scene before me. Mr.. Hudson lay dead, with
a serene smile upon his lips, and in his hands
saw again the beautiful garland of flowers
Years passed The grass grew over his
grave, and new cares and new joys made us
forget our mourning for him. But often in the
wakeful hours Of the night that solemn picture
would float before me- and l tried in vain to
account for its seeming mystery.
CONCLUSION Tomorrow
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