The weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1858-1860, 1858-08-31
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Abby ReeQs; on he 0lSterb Wedding,

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Abby Resps; on he G1Sterb Wedding.
l shall avoid dates, q the story which l
wish . sell Yen occurred when my youngest
sistsf, lady OF some attractions, vet on.
married, was mere infant while at this pre-
ssnt writing she s----, but never mind,
data are quite unnecessary. 4 had bsen lett
70 mind the children, and It was obviously
my duty to keep shsn quiet, II ! could, !
had rssortsd to the sugar bowl, which stood
ins.aal the glory ofpink and white crockery
upon the kitchen shelf, hiding world Of
sweets in 10 eapaclous depths, yes, mine
was the Land made famous By the post SAKE,
for it, 6ns horsss, glorioss girls. and maple
sugar. The last item mentioned was the only
one contained in the pink and white bowl,
however.
The sparkling eyes, which shone into
mine while doled Out the stolen sweets,
we're N oil and balm 10 the stings Of my gull
" conscience, and while oil went msrrily,
thought little diplomacy better than force.
until ike many another politician, in my
zeal Tor the public good, appropriated tho
biggest lump in the public sugar bowl, in
nscently unconscious Of the seishness of
my motives The black eyes of my youngest
charge were too keen for me, she proclaimed
aloud her opinions, waiting dismally overtbe
lost lump. What should do to quiet her?
Evidently netting, for the shrswd little mink
no sooner saw that her crying WAS Of some
Importance, than she increased in volume
and pathos at An alarming rate. No coax
ing availsd, was at my wits ends, and ]
forgot the sugar bowl, evidence Of my guilt,
in my anxiety to make it all right with my
constituents, when. the door swung slowly
opes, and terribly majestic form stalked
slowly into the room.
Such burning eyes Is she fixed upon my
face, ] had never encountered before. Her
long hair, black - an Indian girls tresses,
swept in heavy masses like veil, half way
to her feet, and a. she spoke. her stern tones
brought my beating heart in quick bounds
to my throat.
My child Ny pretty child Are you
killing her, you wicked girl? Why do you
keep her from me? Ali you think do not
know her. The black-syed darling, my own
Abbie. Ha! ha! yes. Abbie young and pretty
again. | heard her weeping in the black
midnight, she that was once SO young and
gay. You keep her from her poor desolatc
mother, so young, and . widowed BRIDE
You thought could not hear, you thought
! did not feel, chr
And as the wild laugh Of insanity rang
out loud and clear, my heart sank motionless
in faint Of frlghtin my hitherto palpitating
bosom Yet, terror stricken child rs was,
the wild pathos Of her words had charmed
me like a strain ofpcetry, and hoped, yet
feared, that she would speak again. She
turned her black eyes, flashing with that
baleful light, upon the sobbing child, who
had shrunk covering to my side.
gI'Hush! darlingl' she said, in tones Of sooth
ing sweetness 'Hush Twill not harm you
thought when heard you that they wore
harming you, and l must come, but l will
not take you; even you shrink from mo, poor
baby. | who never, never harmed them.
how they shrink from me, see! But there,
she almost shrisksd. THERE! and she point.
ed with her long, lean arm heavenward.-
There, whore the wrongsd are rightsd, ]
too, shall have love, the only thing I ever
asked for here
Her veics sunk to . broken and fitful
murmur, - she passed slowly down the yard
by the crimson roses, out at the little gate,
and, while our scared eyes followed her A.
if charm had hushed us into stiffness, she
went on, waving her long arm to and fro in
eager gestures, talking az she went, until
she had crossed the little bridge, and disap-
pearsd down the sandy road beyond the vii
lags stream.
The darkest corner Of the room afforded US
fancied security, and there we remained talk
ing in whispers until my mothers return;
then our srell.bound voices broke into a
chorus of disjeinted and contradictory &C
counts Of the crazy woman, who came to
carry Julia of. | believe my own version
was received as most correct, on account of
my seniority. trust that may be forgiven
for my vanity, as | only represented myself
as perfect heroine upon the occasion. Per
haps told the story 90 many times that
began to believe it myself, and fancied that
my decision and courage had been the means
Of preventing nay charge from being carried
away forever from the eyes Of her dcating
mother.
All that day We talked Of our strange visi
tant AT night, whom the little ones were
buried in slumber, nv mother related to me
poor Abbys story. Tears filed my eyes as
the simple tale Of her wrongs and suiferngs
fell from those lips. For the first time in my
life, listened to a true story Of love and
sorrow, for the first time realized, that scenes
which had delighted my imagination, or
brought the tears to my eyes-tsars which
had 30 stsalthily wiped away, were not oil
found upon the printed page, but were enact
ed all around me, and that stranger things
than wild-syed romance had ever dreamed
Of might be concealed in the hearts Of those
who would carry their treasured secrets with
them to the grave.
Robert Resms had once occupied the high
est position in our little village. Not on &C.
count Of his wealth alone, for he was man
to be admired aside from his broad acres
Possessed Of shrswd common sense, practi.
cally industrious, yet generous and free, he
readily gained an influence over those around
him. His farmhouse doors were always
open, his ample board afforded to all who
would claim his hospitality all the sabstan
tial comforts and rare dslicacies which were
within his reach
Abby was indeed the pride Of her fathers
eyes. Her free, impetuous spirit charmed
him. Her beauty and her dignity complete
around him could boast Of such daughter?
When she entered the village church on Sun
day, her stately figure drew many admiring
Oy0U tOWuIuU H0T. DOuDtieSU aUDy was
conscious Of them all, and yet the quiet grace
and dignity Of her bearing disarmed the envy
which a fattered display Of her charms
would have excited.
The fair-hairsd Mary, with her downcass
eyes, and timid step, appeared to walk IN
observed in the shadow Of her sisters beauty
She was pretty creature, but Abby, why
nobody ever saw her equal, or ever would in
Rindgedell. cannot say how meekly Abby
bore her honors. / only know that she was
neither hated, nor enrisd, as such richly en-
dowsd maidens too often are If report
speaks true, she was more beloved than her
blus-eyed sister ever was Such generous,
impulsive natures win friends the world
over. Each year added SEINE new charm to
her superb and Symmetrical figure. Her
black eyes seemed more lustrous, and her
hair wore richer gloss, as it caught the rays
Of sunlight amongst its ietty masses. DO
need to tell you, that one after another OF
the village youths became captives to her
charms? They found an abundance of ex-
cuses, which deceived nobody as to their
real Intentions, for stopping to gossip with
her over the low white paling or for wander
ing with her through the long summer twl-
light, over the dewy meadow, Down by the