Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1861-09-20
The GoOd-By.

Well, what's wanting now n
The young husband turned back the door
knob, and there was an impatienec in his
tone, and annoyance on his brow, as he an
swered his wife's call.
Nothing, papa, only baby and just
want to kiss you good-by." And she came
up toward him, The litile graceful, sweet
voiced woman, with her baby in her aims,
and held up the small, soft face to his
cheeks; and the little one crowed, and thrust
up its dimpled hands, and clutched the short,
thick locks trumphanily.
"oh, baby, you royuel you'd like to pull
OUT handful of papa's hair, wouldn't you,
now~ laughed the merchant in tone so
unlike his former one, tlat you wo1ld not
have recognized it; and lie leaned down,
and kissed the small, fragrant lips over and
over.
"Now it's my turn, papa" And Mrs.
Reynolds smoothed away the rumpled hair,
and kissed her husbands forehead; and as
he went out of the house that morning, a
new soitness and peace had erased the troub-
led look from the mans face.
That day, it was appointed to George
Reynolds to pass through a sharp and fear
ful temptation.
He was in the midst Of commercial cri-
sis; several Of his heaviest debtors had
failed that week, and now a payment OF ten
thousand dollars was due, and there was
no way 10 raise that sum unless
He held the pen irresolutely in his shak-
ing hand, the veins were swollen into great
blue cords on his forehead, and the breath
came thick and fast betwixt his hot lips; a
few scrawls of that pen, solitary name at
the bottom and the young merchant could
secure the ten thousand dollars, and his
business credit would be safe. There was
no sort Of doubt, too, that he could raise
the money within few days, and thus se-
cure himself from all discovery, and the
pressing circumstances of.the case certainly
allowed some wider limits in fnanciering.
So whispered the temp er, as he walked
up and down the soul Of George Reynolds,
always soltening down the word forgery in
to some false name, which totally changed
to his perceptions, the moral complexion of
the deed he was about to commit.
The young merchants eyes glared all
around his office, but there was none 10 see
him then; he dipped his pen, with kind
of desperate eagerness, into the tall porce-
lain inkstand, and then drew it along the
paper, when suddenly his hand paused, struck
by thought-lhe memory of his wife's kiss
that morning.
He saw her as he saw her last, standing
in the door, the baby in her arms, her sweet
face full of motherly tenderness and wifely
trust, as she lifted it to him at parting the
voice Of the tempter passed away before
that rush Of holier emotion which blurred
the mans eyes; he dashed down the penl
Mary Maryl you have saved your hus-
band: sink or swim, / viii not do this deed ;
| should blush for shame to meet your eyes
and our baby's tonight, if ] carried the
burning consciousness in my own soul though
no otEer man ever did or would know it,
Mary, my little wife, yoa won't know it, but
that good-by kiss of yours this morning has
saved your husband from this great sin"
George Reynolds did not sink. 1t was
hard struggle. but the storm passed by with
out falling on him as it did on many others !;
and Mary, his wife, never knew that she
had saved her husband from sin which, in
her eyes would have been worse than death.
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