The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1863-01-28
wIDow AND Wife.
BY AMY RANDoLpH,

and having an old Weler-like horror of wild
ows, after Dearly breaking the heart of hi
| niece, Mary Dell, by refusing to let her wee
Carl Hammond, had grumblingly set off, on
two days journey, to meet the widow of al
old college chum, Harry Plume, who had dice
ofla rabid fever In Florida, and consigned hi
helpless relct to the, bachelor hospitality anc
tenderness of Uncle Joe, whose heart, it Eel
well known, had never yet dishonored any le
gitimate draft upon its stores of friendship
love and charity.
The. second evening of his travel drew neal
-it was a burning July day. The heavy
woods through which the lone country road
wound, were full OF sweet venomQus miasma
as delicious and fatal 7rere tfrr airs from To-
tus starred isles to lonely yoyagers on seas oI
elden time. Uncle Joe had succeeded into
fretting and fuhing himself into a rackine
headache, before he left home and nov, after
many weary hours of journeying, as the lie rel
evening SIN streamed full into his eyes, the
pain became almost intolerable gr-.} Gi5g
He had stopped at little backwoods inn,
fora meal to which the appetizing element
was entirely wanting, and when at length his
sturdy little horse was brought round, faint
sick feeling crept oyer him like chill. 3
saint well, be ye,s Squire ?' patronizingly
questioned the landlord, who stood leaning
against the horse post with hands deeply en-.
sconced in his pockets. Hadn't ye better
stop here over night and start fresh tomorrow
morning ?'' go
'sPm well encngh g said hr. Fenwick, tart
'ly, "an-i mean to go to Starsdale to-nightp p
: That deByy, etarsy evening driyc Mr.. Fen
wick entertained sort. of misty remembrance
of the.bnght consultations floating around,
through the treacherous night vapors-of the
sYeetA6reathed woods seeming to leap around
him iiisS green-robed phantcns-of Shooting
pains in his head, breaking ever and anon
through the drowsy stupcr that seemed to de-
scend like dreams on the whole being, and a
strange blending of past, present and future
in his thoughts And then came a Blank of
total oblivion, wherein Dir. j oe Fenyick s SOIL
might as well have been in Hadcs, for all the
good it did him =
J "a sick traveller, Mr. Evans (? and the fever,
did you say oh, that is terrible -
The speaker was beautiful woman, not
much over twenty. with pale, clear complex
ion, tineed with pink upon the round, perfect
cheeks, and auburn hair rppled with focks of
gold-hair that exactly harmonizel with the
blue, liquid eyes that gave pensive tender
ness to the whole face. She stood in lie
doorway, addressing short, stout individual,
with very red face, which was expressive at
the moment of perpleEity in the highest de-
gree sais $50
Dear me-eannot you send to some of his
friends 2''l
Il would, If knowed where on airth to
send or who to send for, but his name amt on
none of his baggage nor his linen, neither,
and he aint sensible enough to speak anything
but fever 1omancings !"
.sThat is very unfortunate" said the little
lady, thoughtfnlly. t.sf. @ 4.1
''And you see, what's uss, my wife's bad
Al IL. Il Il
up and get married last week, and 60 off to
Coonsviilc, just as she was geftfn' old enough
to help round q little, and there amt nobody
TO nurse the man as | knows on.
: t'I viii nurse him, If no one else can to
be found said tine 1ashy. ri asn waiting here
to meet person from Meltonford, and until
ho arrives, l will cheerfnlly devote my spare
time to this sick man.
.That's real clever in you, ma'am," said Mr..
Evens, gratefully. "Somehow, women folks
have the knack of tcndin' sick people"
An hour later Mr. Soc :4Eenwick's fevered
visions were disturbed by the apparition, of a:
slender figure, in a softly rustling wrapper of
white muslin, and hair like aureoie of gold,
bending over his bedside, with o cooling
draugkt in her hand
s.Who are you ?o calculated Uncle Joe, ini
a state of delirious agitation, when he had me-
chaniaally swallowed Che refreshing drink
s'Not my mot her-fer she died long ago-nor
yet my niece dsry p
The blue eyed nurse could not help smiling
at the idea of being that stout, old rbachelorsi
there were pitying fears in her
soft orbs, as she answered gently:
81 am your nurse, come to take care of you y;
.nMy guardian angel p whispered Uncle
Joe, mystsriousiy, But what have you done,
with wings? Say, though" he added, "are
you widow? Because, If .yGr are, go away !
Don't come near me abominate widows !'
The lady drew little further back, with
her hand on her heart, as if the chance stroke
had hurt it, but as Mr.. Fenwick resumed his
incoherent wanderings, she took courage
again, and smilingly assumed the next ule he
assigned her-that of Florence Nlghtengale,
oddly. confused with Queen Victoria.
: !; TT was aicng and weary .siekness-and for
DAYS Uncle Joe was ike a babe, in the hands
of that sweet-yoiced $oung creature, who, wo-
man like, grew patient ard gentle in proper
ton as he grew exacting-and her soft foot
fall and lovely face.moved through his fevered
dreams as some well-known melody glides
through the eve-shIfting fantasies of; memberz
less variations, performed by the hand of Liszt
or Thalberg.
4 At length, one radiant morning, in the last
week of July, the brooding mists of delirium
swept away, and he walked to consciousness
weak as child-unable to raise his very hand!
And close to his bedside the Sunlight gliding
her lovely hair, and mirroring itself in the
blue depth of her tender eyes, sat the sweet
vision who had been the reseuing angel of all
his unsettled fancies.
Uncle Joe shut his eyes, and then opened
them, half expecting to see the fair apparition
melt into thin air-.-but .no-she was reality,
and sat there, reading, all unconscious of the
eve that was upon her. Uncle Joe was very
weak and feeble-scarcely himself, in fact
SO instead Of uttexing any theatrical interjec-
tion, Ia sick men in novels, he just went to
sleep and dreamed that he was married to a
young woman with blue eyes a4rd'shafr woven
with threads of gold
sAha-all right, eh Z" said the village doc
tor that.same afternoon, as .he hustled .in.-
'4Been having a nice nap !? the best thing you
could do Now let's try little chicken brothF'
"But, doctor, have L -" - = -.
"Have you been sick 2 I. should say So
and let me tell you. sir, if it hadn't been fol
.h;s Iittke woman in the white dress YOU neyel