The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1858-05-28

familiar. 1t WAS singing. II:r"Il stood
sp"!l-b"und. The voice was 50 iiic Aunic'S :,
An! Tie song was one they had lc;unrl Lu-
'Ing those happy three years a, Fhi,l.l-
phn'. Soon this song c"n>rd. and then the
clear, Tt!l notes were !"ar! again. This
tine It WI: the sci'ran" par, "t one IT their
old DUETS. Fired hy >urr. impulse. IIa,nil
wa:c! nn'l the tenor wanted, and then be-
Gan To siu= too. To hi, lrliwh, th" song
WAS continued and finished hv himself and
h'S mysterious partner. Of course the urxt
thing WIS To- couviure himself ,irt it WAS
her. rs he liuor,;r.l at the door nf he next
ro"m, Il tall hanl>umc man passing him.
OPENED the ti"or ;tnL went in. waiting. hrl!-
ing II open for him also to pass. lie .av"
one = lance. then abruptly turned b,r!; AMI
went into lis own room. cau.r!t up hi,
carpet .bag, anl in another hour WAS on
b"arI the Steamer s,ariin" for L;vrrrool
W hat hml he seen? Annie, his Annie,
seated bvsi,!r Il cradle, in which Law Il Sleep
inc in!:.n., whom she WAS rocking a:A keep.
III" asleep by singing. The conclusion III
his mind WIS, ti.a, Size WAS marrir., this w:S
her child, ami that the tall ycn,icmlan 50
p"litrl Y waiting for him to pass, her hus
baud. So much fur appearances.
1t is time tha, my reader sl.oHll know
how Annie came to be in The hotel under
such circumstances. Mr.. Ashley died
abroad, about two wears after he parted
Annie from Harold Led on hv on,. or two
fortunate sWculal;"ns, h" had pcri,.l hi,
whole tur;Uuc on SOME i!ur.Suu,llilr scheme
aud h"ggarcI himself: Illuminated, ,lcs.
pairing, he l.:,l taken his own life, I,avin.r
Annie IN II strange country alone. Mrs
Exams, Il lady whom Annie hal met abroad
l'yiny her tnrlorn condition, ha,l taken
her under her charge to bring her home,
ami it was while tvv wcr" in New York
that Annie being left alone for Il few hours
with little Master Evans, bad sun, to be-
guile the SINE, AMI attracted IIarnlTS :,ttcu-
lion. Mr. Evans. her kind friends hu>:.al..l
was the hu>tanI Harold lal So ra,i!v sup
posed To l." hers. Hal her srn>clrss lover
wa'c,! b:,; u moment, he wou,l have scy,,
her spring to uirc! him and fall sc.srless to
HE G.1ur.
Two NOR" years have flown lv wI:rn we
again meet llnr"!!. H.. WAS seated in =
i'nrVr 0! II hotel in Baltimore, when he
heard Il noise in the entry, anl then - lnnl
cry for i doctor. Stepping out, he found
y crowd IN the cu'rv, and saw two men
c"rr!'ng Il lady up stairs.
"W!,al's the matter: am a doctor :"
he cried.
"O'h 60 up to the purity darling. then"
said il man near him "Shure She, hurt.
and so is the master IL Mrs. Evans com :
pa":on sure, and they've all been lllowvd
out Of the carriag..'
Long before this sentence WAS finished,
Harold w:,s in The room, where the suffer
crS had been ca"ri"d. The first ohj"c, that
met his eye WAS the man whom he had
supposed 10 be Annic'S husband, living
scsc!c>>, OH the sofa, while Oh the bed near
lay another figure, the Lady lue had seen on
the stairs, ba; the dropping curtains of the
bed, now partially hid her face.
"Oh, sir" said II lady, sprngina 10 meet
him, ''are you Il doctor: o.. tell me, is nv
husband dead ?"
Her hn>band. Was Anno dead, and
this her successor? This was IIarold's frs,
idra. Professional service, were, however.
'mpera,:vcls demanded, and he soon rcs,nr-
cd MIR. Evans I" c"nSci",,>nass. lIi> iniuric,
were not serious aud he was soon SITTING
up on the sofa. In the meantime, her worst
approximations relieved, Mrs. Evans WAS car.
ING for the mysterious lady on Tn" bed, and
now called upon Harold. TIC first glance
WAS enough To call up all his skill, for he
recognised Annie. Mrs. Evans was ringing
her hands and weeping. rs all the efforts to
restore consciousness failed. Here the in.
''r'es were more serious; high fever and
deI'rum Succeeded the long fit ofinsensibli.
ty, and Harold heard more than once the
loved voice calling him to come back. and
c'y'nS. "Harold, Harold, to leave me so, aE
ter so long separation !"
Mrs. Evans iold him all Annie's trouhIrs
and he blessed her again and again as he
'"und how true and kind friend she had
been to the orphan. lie was standing one
day 10y Annic's bedside, watching her.
She was asleep, and he knew that if she
woke now conscious Of things around her
he might hope for her recovery. As he
stood there, almost counting her deep. regu
lar breathing, she slowly opened her,lu,pe
daIi eyes, and fixed them upon his face.
Harold" she whispered, "you have come
at last" .'a ..".