The Lansing state Republican. [volume] (Lansing, Mich.) 1855-1874, 1863-11-11


tured irlo@, just come 10 mans estate. auc
handsome elough 20 turn the heads Of all the
Young g'.l- iu H. he was as Caleb
hoped he might be. bis mothers image. he
had her 0.ue eyes eud iar hair, her gentle smile
and impul-ive heart. Old Caleb had merely ed
uca,icu enough 10 enable hm 10 read and write
aud cspher in an imperfect manner; but lis son
had been taught a. well and a. thoroughly as
any lad throughout the land The grim factor
looked what he was, a working man risen 10
prosperous circumst tances and wearing good
clothes; bat the son might have been Of royal
blood for anything YOU could have guessed TO
the contrary.
Oaoe home from college young Harry GRAY
marsh was often at the factory, passing, with a
airdly laugh, along the ranks Of grim workmen
who toed in the lower part Of the building, or
Dausirg TO chat with some bushing girl. who
moved with light step and grac iul arms bare TO
the dimplei elbow, amongst the whiriing wheels
and spndes upon the upper floor. Even the
bent old man and the pale factory children had
a word for him, and many q comfortable blan-
ket and warm shawl found its wsv al Christmas
to the dwelling OF some old workwOmsn, dread
/ iul bad with the rheumatic az the bidding OF
young Master Harry
There came Al lat amongst the forces in the
wOmeu's room one, Who 10 the raptlrous ewes of
Harry Graymarsh, Was wOnde fully beautiful
An Italian sort OF face, with liquid black eyes
and har SO dark that there really was a purple
gloss upon il 10 the sunshine. L was the face
hici first attracted the fathers son, but it was
the soul that riveted the chain which beauty
6ist tsned around his heart.
She vas hot ignorant, aud though she was
poor, there was al innate rehucmeut in every
movement. And so. by SOW degrees, from a
INF. nd
evening rambles IN the green woods. and before
long be had told her how beautiful she seemed
to him. AID how tenderly ne loved her and
the girl by bushes and silence, rather than
wOFd- had revealed The secret of her own heart
% him
Aud them one glorious day, when the sun
was sitting AID great f cks of birds were flying
honeward across the cioudless sky-wbtn tn
distant mountains were all afanle, and every
quiveii;s leaf upon the tree tops q shimmeiing
point Of GOLD, Harry Gravmqr-h and Alice Lee
we're OetIothed 70 each other; and 80 perfectly
did she love aud trust his love for her, that she
never thought " lie Is rich aud am poor" but
only " lie loves me"
Whether in those summer lamblcs, Harry
Graymarsh ever thought OF his father, do not
know. tie had never been thwarted by him
in al. nis life, and perhaps he could not imagine
that the rod Of paternal authority should be first
welded In 4 matter Of so much import be
sides, what was there in modest beautiful Alice
Lee 10 awaken ones aversion. Certain il is
that when one evening, sitting on the bank be
side the rIver, With bis arm around the waste OF
hs be.rothed, Harry lifted up his eyes and saw
his father standing behind him, he felt bashful
and confused hut or alarmed
The old man vanished as softly a. he had ap.
pearcd. and poor Alice did rot even see him,
but storm brewing, and it broke over Har-
~ Graymaishs head that very evening.
- Do YOU know YOU are the son OF the richest
man in the place" said G'aymlrsh. standing
crimson with rage before his son that you
might marry an heiress if YOU liked and here
tind you making love to girl in ms own fac
tory, and yo1 say you mean TO marry her you
actually say that to my face
Il repeat IT," replied Harry, "we are be-
troihed"
There were hot words between father and son
after that; taunts and reproaches, the first that
had ever passed their lips, and the sun went
down upon their wrath. They parted for the
night in their anger, and neither slept. IL is al
awful thing when those who love first quarrel.
and wounds are made which are harder to heal
from the memory of past tenderness. Old Gray
marsh had been iu his own way tender father,
and Harry always n dutiful son stern parent
AID bad child could have heen reconced more
easily.
Sirce afiluenee had given him the opportuni-
y to be more idle, old Caleb had felt some touch-
es of the gOut and one OF them twinged and
tweaked him the next morning. Therefore he
sent grudgng message TO Harry, telling him
that he must 90 in his place to the factory that
morning, aud received an angry but obedient
answer. Then, before Harry was of, servant
iafrf fb, III for Loo
her not to 20 to work that day, but present her
self before him in an hours time. She must be
got rid of, he thought tie would bribe her to
20 to some distant pllce. This common factory
girl could not wed his Harry. But when she
stood before him in her modest beauty, it was
very hard for him to speak to her as he had in
tended. This was TO coarse creature, ambitious
of wealth and setting snares for the rich man s
son something OF the soul of Harrys dead
mother shOne upon the old man from her ear
nest eyes, aud be felt somewhat soitened.
They were together in little room, the win
dow OF which looked upon the factory she
was standing near the easement with her eyes
upon the dark pile; he seated at the table
trfing with some papers and wondering how to
begin. In the silence, the whiTr Of the ma
! chinery came plainly to their ears. and Caleb
thought the noise was strangely loud and dis
I
ter aud wondered that it did not trouble him
more at that moment. As it was he only
thought" what shall / say; why does that girl
in her shabby dress look so much Ike a lady
that | am afraid Of insulting her by words that
seemed so easy 10 say awhile ago?H
Sofrened though Caleb was, be was still a
grim hard old man, and bis mind had been made
up too firmly TO change it now. he opened bis
| lips, closed them again, and cleared his throat
and began.
Miss Alice Lee, l have something 10 say to
you. l shall make you angry, l suppose. but
can't help it. You'l please attend to NE"
She did not look az him, but stood staring in
an awful manner from the window.
II am speaking to you. DO you hear me y
the Old mar repeated; but before the words had
efI his lips, Alice had TUNED and caught him
oy the arm, AID then with an awful IOar, ike the
voice Of some fend, an explosion occurred
which shook the house, a chorus Of wsiling
screams and then terrible silence.
There we're great black torrents of smoke
pouring through the windows of the factory
and then the wall toward the side where most
of the great engines we're. ouiged and tottered
and fell. and the roof caved in, and before them
n an instant, as though some hend mad been al
work, stood ruin. black and horrible, sDos-
ing, steaming mass, and seeming with its awfu
! yawning Jaws 70 groan and scream. And from
the lips OF the father and those of the betrothsd
maiden broke one word, simultaneously
q" Harry -
It united them in their great lOFe AID terror.