Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1861-11-28

, freed from the how hateful bond. Her name wa
forbidden, and / strore Chow vainiy th0se VIII
4 have loved deeply wel k1ow,) to shut o0t tn
:. memory of her existence-and thought tha
save for the child she had left me i had suc
ceeded. / had vowed that shosld she eve
kneel pray for my forgiveness. should tnfl
from her and leave her in her misery - -
, had left me. All these twelve lonelys snAnP
py years. forgot the wife had loved. re
membered only the woman who had deceiyc'
and dishonered me-whQ had taken with he
!; the sunshine from my life. had sven shrrnl
from the caresses Of nay own daughter, vhcl
she too strongly reminded me Of her mother
had looked calmly forward-revengefully !
had almost said-to this meeting for twelv
! tyears. and now that accideatly pUvidcntially
} if ypu whit had occurred my heart hutter
ed as if it had beat but for sixteen summers
! instead Of gathering rust for Eve and fifty. M,
brain was in awhirl. s l could decide on II
single course of notion. Like an accusing m
gel my conscience. long silenced, stood up AM
charged me with being accessory to my wife
fall. She came to me a gentle, loving girl
grateful for the love that had placed her abov,
want, a friendless orphan. who clung confident
ly, leaned loyingly upon me- l was twenty
years her senior: had marked out for myself al
ambitious course. from which even my love 70
her did not divert me, loved her passionately
too; but my love, aferits first heat. vas secont
to my ambition. Naturally suspicious, / doubt
ed whether her love was aught but gratitude
and to test it grew exacting. Conscience nov
upbraided me with having frequently. coldly
even sterAly. repulsed her when she sought by
a thousand devices that love oply could suggest
to win from me the ,endcaring epithets / hal
been won't to lavish SO freely upon her
Then he--ny friend-came to reside in oul
neighborhood. He was much younger than ]
more nearly her own age, ardent in tcmpera
ment, generous and kindly. The frequency ol
my absences made me glad to accept his servi.
ces for her, and the: two were consequently
thrown much together. must have been mad
| infatuated. or would have anticipated the re.
snlt.s 97i % sTagsg r tse3 saf ni eevi1
/ And hea Where was he now3 I could no,
yet think calmly of the possibility Of his being
yet alive. Unyielding stern. and prompt IN
manner, had always been well adapted to face
and battle with the harsh realities of life, but
totally untitled for the display of ths ger.
tier graces. Consciously wanting the tact te
| pour the oil of consolation and forgiveness on
the wounded spirit, in the manner and degree
that it was able TO bear / felt strongly the need
of a third party. able to sympathize with both
| loved by both, who should stand as q mediator
between the injured husband and the erring,
desolate wife, And for that office, who could
/
to both. Partaking sufficiently of my stern,
| rugged nature to appreciate me, she alone had
dared TO plead with me for her mother. to beg
of me to try at best and learn her fate. 9f'i1
j knew that the ycarning for a mothers love
was stronger with her than any. feelings of re-
sentiment for the shame and dishonor that moth
or had brought upon her. But l would not
seek her until I had again looked on;iny wife,
Gas could scarce rcalizc the wreck had seen
to be her) till | had satisfied myself that had
not been merely giving the rein TO imagination,
and investing stranger. with the loved fea-
lures, the grace of movement once my pride.
i erept again down the court, up the broken
stone stairway, carefully bending my head TO
avoid Instructions, for from the sitting air of
the stairway judged its height considerably
less than mine. Up, up, till had passed four
landings, with their numerous doors. and still /
had another TO climb. The increasing cracks
in the doors. and evidences of dilapidation.
showed me that there the grades of poverty
| were distinguished by their height--thc first
floor being comfortable in comparison with the
wretchedness of the attic ,-, ~, s.5o:.,,
When al length climbed as far rs could
go racking cough, the same intensified which
had heard on the street. directed me tothe OBJ
ject of my search. The door, it would not close
was tied inside by rope TO nail, leaving q
| cheerful coal fire lessened while it displayed
the drearinessl of the. room. At the room
merely glanced; the figure at the fire erouching
almost over it, took all my attention. Her bon
net and shawl were thrown off but the face was
still from me gazing into the fire. She was
weeping knew from her rmovcments-very Bit
terly, as an occasional sob tbld ME. She had
the shawl which my daughter had given her
in her hands. l saw her press it to her lirs and
murmer.a "My ehildl oh, my childl' stole
softly down stairs. could trust myself no lon
ger. The pride. anger. sternness and resent
ment OF years were fast thawing away, leaving
me weak as any child. At the first cab-stand
hailed one, and directed him to drive me
home. Then requesting him to wait for a few
minutes, Il hastcned up stairs to my daughters
| room, and hastily told all that had seen. In
moment, as had expected she sprang up and
said. al must 60 to her!'' "And tell her all, )"
said. knew / need say no more. for she un-
derstood my strangely convicting emotionsE
Taking my arm she came down stairs with me,
strangely excited knew by the trembling of
the hand that rested on my y arm. 1 would
willingly have spared her the pain, the humil-
iation she must experience. but could not do
without her. We had changed positions. Ny
reason yielded involuntarily to the warm heart
We spoke but in monosy la6les during our long
ride. p p d iI..i a7'l -
When we reached within street of our des-
tinat1on, l dismissed the carriage. and we walk
ed down the almost deserted street, which no
longer derived even a semblaace of cheerfulness
| from the lighted show windows. could feel
how tightly ,Ada's arm grasped mine in terror.
| as we turned down the narrow court, which
scarce afforded passage for two. Il took her
| hand as we assembled the stairs, cautioning her
to silence. Very slowly was 'our ascent made
for Ada, unnerved already, and unaccustomed
| to such scenes, fell at almost every step. AT
length We reached the head Of the stair. fhe
door was ajar as before, bat the FIRE had burned
down, and dark and comfortless-looking.s scarce
revealed the slight figure crouching still over
it. She moved not, though she must have heard
| the steps assembling. fs"s q" ss.''
But now Twas afraid Il had asked too much
of my chih. .Exeitesi and trembling, she
leaned heavily. nppn me, and she whispered,
II cannot. 60 in papa" ] saw that she could
not realize that dropping, attcnuate.l, wretched-
| looking creature could DO her mother, and abe
shrank from the recognition. Again she wh,s-
pered, "lt isn'tl it can't be -her" But Just
| then, as hesitated between returning and 60
| ing forward myself, she rose with the shawl
still in her hands, which she again pressed to
her lips. and going 10 small bog that stood in
i q corner. united what seemed 10 be q bundle OF
rags. An ember blazing up for q few moments
revealed to US its contents. doll and bunch
Of corals were. alternately pressed to,the thin
faded lips. Il remembered when she5 had
bought them for our child, Adat0o recognized
them. A small gold lockct which had given
her after our marriage, containing my likeness.
was pressed agaia and again to her lips, while
l we could hear the low voice murmuring. !" God
bless them, my husband and child. " Ada