Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1858-02-25

comfort in the sympathy of her husband, and
lifted her eyes from the dead boy only to meet
the cold, stony eyes of the man that hated
when he married her. and she pressed back in
to her heart the feelings that were well-nig gh
flowing toward him for the first time. When
the next--her darling namesake-shut her
eyes on life and love, and went the dark way
whittier no mothers love may prevail to fol-
low until God permit, she sought o sympathy
from her husband, but bowed her head in lone
some agony. And when the third blow came
she bore it with the firmness of the mother of
old times who scorned to weep There was
something terrible in her gaze, as she now
looked into the face OF her husband. That
third trial. and his continued codness and
sternnesS had made new person of his once
gentle wife, and she now repaid his scorn with
scorn-hs hate with unforgiving, unrelenting
enmity.
In the brief limits assigned to this sketch,
can not pause to explain the mental process by
which this gentle, lovely girl became trar s.
formed 1t was no slow process 1t was like
lightning fash. She had been calm, placid,
bowed down with grief in the morning, when
she stood by her dying boy, and talked with
him of the land that was shining dimly through
the clouds and mSts of death on his eyes, that
was shining even through her sea ding tears
on her own faithful vision but the light of
heaven was gone when the boy was dead, and
the angels that had fingered around his couch
were gone with the light and fiends came in
the darkness and possessed her and she was
change1-how changed
Imagine if you can that household for the
next ten years, while young Stephen grew up
to manhood. 1t was in the most beautiful Of
valleys, with rich fields around it, and deep
forests full of the forest glory close at hand
and a brawling stream dashiug over rocks, and
birds, and flowers and all that God gave to
Eden except only innocence Yet there was
one long war in that house, the father on the
one side and the mother and son on the other
for she won the boy from him. They con-
tended long for him and his love- Even in his
childhood he learned that he could not love
both, and that he must select one or the other
to attach himself to. He hesitated and varied
from day to day, as children do, and it was
months even years, before he fully decided :;
but when he chose it was forever. Nothing
could move, shake, or change him. At the
first, after this determination became manifest,
the father, with his accustomed malignity, sent
him away to school hundred miles from home.
But the six months of his absence convinced
the hard-hearted man that his house was un-
bearable if he and his wife were to have no
one between them, and he recalled the boy,
and contented himself with hating both him
and his mother. And so the boy grew to man
hood, ignorant save as his mother had taught
him, yet marseousIy gentle and lovely. He
at length became the light of the house to
ell .bo H,,o fba family op1 hic
was welcomed every where. In all the coua-
try gatherings he was the star and at length
he began to extend his limits, and once in a
while ventured as far as the city. Here or
somewhere, it matters not where, he began
for the first time to appreciate the Importance
of knowledge, and to understand his own in
ferority to young men of his class and stand
ing Grieved and abashed at the discovery
of his ignorance, he set about repairing the
loss, and for two wears he was a book-wnrm,
devouring everything that came within his
his reach 1t is astonishing how much an ac-
tive mind may accomplish in so brief space
of time and at the end of these two years
he had learned as much as most boys would
in ten. But he was not satisfied with this
brief period of study. He had learned to love
study for its own sake and he confined him
self now to his room and strange stories got
abroad of the events that were passing in the
old house, to which no one had access.
At last the old Judge died, leaving his en-
tire fortune to Stephen Forster the younger,
subject only to life estate of his mother in
the real property. This was more than year
before Stephen entered his majority, and when
his life was most closely devoted to his books
and studies A nd this brings US to the period
at which | first became acquainted with the
| father and son.
A rumor flies in the country with windlike
velocity 1t was one of those soft spring morn
| ings when the sky seems immeasurably deep,
| and the air is laden with life and health when
| the birds sing loudest, aud the winds voice is
softest. and the gurgle of the spring brook is
most musical it was on such morning that
terrible rumor spread over - county, and
| even on the opposite side OF the river. The
story was that Mrs. Forster had been poison,
ed by her son for the sake of having his for
tune unencumbered, and that he had also poi
soned his father in the same bowl The ru
NOR added thousand horrors to the tale, oi
| which no more was actually established truth
than the fact that Mrs Forster was poisoned
the evening previous and was already dead
The young man had returned from the city
the day before with a package of various arti
cles, which he had brought professedly fol
chemical purposes. 1t was supposed he had
procured some deadly poison among these, fol
the effect had been swift and certain.
Certainly the internal state of that house
hold was no worse than it had been for years
For her. the care-worn, weary mother, doubt
less that repose was profound and welcome af
ter the long storm. She seemed to be resting
in peace as she lay there, and the angry waves
of the sea of her life had heard the Peace
be still of heavenly voice, and had obeyed
The husband stood near her while strangers
came in and looked with far more interest thai
he on the placid countenance of the dead wife