The Union. [volume] (Georgetown, Del.) 1863-1866, 1864-03-11
VOL. L

prepetuslly waxing indignant and present4]
ing themselves at the most inopportune
moment with certain little bills, which.
loomed large in the eyes Of their dellin-
| 1uent creditors. s,s, =. al f,s ve
| Haywood House and its accompanying
income seemed wondrous fortune. in the
ewes of this mother and son, and the idea
Of becoming its possessor had never once
entered the young doctors head. Even
now he hardly believed but that his .whin,-
steal aunt would change her mind ere the.
coFapletion of her purpose. "a g 'ae gag
ssWhat sort of person is this Aunt
Maud, motherH he said, as they stood
together a little. while after in his own
room. "I have always fancied her a sort
of oddity, wearing odd gowns and caps
4 like no one else, and swapping people up
shortly when she angwers them"
i Mrs. Haywood looked at the fire, rumi-
8 mated, and rubbed her, little hands togeth-
4 ef,, 7" What she is now I do not know"
she said "but when knew her, Maud
Haywood was one of the handsomest wo-
men lever met; but for one blemish. y 3
i ,."What was that ~ asked the son.
g"A red mark, or scar, upon her cheek.
She was born with it, they said; and it
gave that side of her face a strange look,
especially when she was angry, for then it
deepened to scarlet"
s"And that kept her single, suppose?"
'atI do not know" replied the mother,
alnI think she has had more than one offer,
and that she remained unmarried from
4 choice. But something had happened
before which had soured her, and made
her harsh and stern. | fancy she was
Tilted, or that she quarreled with the only
man she ever really loved.' K
"Ahp m
Man-like the young doctor took more
Z interest in the story of Tilted beauty
than he would in that of woman who had
, never been attractive.
"She was mistress of Haywood House
even then" went ON the mother; "foi
5Nyour grandfather quarreled with your
poor father, and cut him off without q
shilling. She lived there courted and ca
ressed by those about her, and striving, al
: that time, to please every one, Womer
said that scar disfgured her terribly, bu
y men forgot it when she talked to them.
: AT last there came stranger to the neigh
:" borhood-a handsome man, with plenty o
CT money, who made sensation among tn,
sr village beauties. To their astonishmen
M he passed them all by and devoted himsel
II to Maud Haywood, despite that great ret
= scar upon her cheek. The other girl
X were angry and jealous, of course, and tn
,d} worst OF it was, that no oae could say h
al sought for her money, because he was fa
er richer than she was. A last, this Jane
d, Wilford was looked upon as Maud's suitor
a and, for more than year, wherever sh
lg went he was by her side. People begal
1s to expect wedding, and Maud blushed
Id but made no denial, when the question
81; sWhen it was to be?" was put to hel
ell and all seemed going on smoothly, in def
at ance of Shakespeare, whose opinion Of 9Th
ry course of true love" you know as well as
". do. But suddenly James MILFORD left tn
he place, and Maud shut herself up in tn
nd great house, and would see no one. Thre
i'd months afterwards, all the village read G
It the marriage of James MILFORD to anothe
adj lady, whom none of them knew anythin
Nh about, and it was pretty clear that Mau
lat had been Tilted, though some said the fau
was all her own that she had turned hi
ng off, and that he had married another OF
1ss of spite. However this might be, Mau
lis never was herself again. For. man
1T; months no eye saw her; and when 81
81 went about again her girlish beauty WI
IS quite gone, and she was as slim and col
ba as when first knew her. That is all
mo- know Of your aunt's history, and all yol
= father knew. ..... ,
.cb Irving Haywood made no commen
ba and, an hour after, he was ON his roa
an much more Interested in his maiden au
y T than he had expected to be when he fa
ar cied her merely plain oddity.
~. 1t was strange, old fashioned mansiC
ne ne to which he came after a long days jou
IN ney. 1t was sunset, and the westwal
onl windows were like sheets of beaten gol
M and the leafess trees stood tall and da
nd against the winter sky on either side of
tbe heavy gate, fast barred and chained fro
within. 1t might have been one OF tho
i enchanted palaces we read Of in old fai
! tales, where beauty lays asleep thousal
!. years, waiting for some gallant knight
IL prince to deliver her from the spell
ee"s slumber. But no fairy opened the gate
,l,a only stiff old woman servant, who repli
tosIrVlng question that ner mistress "
Oh but poorly, and that they were expectil
81 sn him, and led the way in. aA d aan
mt 81 A lady sat in the greatarm-chair befc
IAN the fire of greatilogs up the chimney, an
Fds when she arose and held out her hal
,ev- with q cold "you are welcome, nephew
= Irving saw that save for that stain, h
but hidden by interlacing wrinkles now, s
IN. must indeed once have been beautiful.
go Even now she losked like some old quet
and and her dress was careful and elegal
lew. rich silk opening to show lace across I
bosom, and at her wrinkled throat and
lied her blue veiny finger glittefed damon
ions She talked to him constantly; spoke
Z his mother as the pretty, girlish wife
can her brother, whom she remembered, Al
srto by degrees, Of herself and her intentio
Hicsy ''Ishave made my wih," she said, "a
wall this place is all yours. Never sell
rs a never tear it down. have enjoined tn
dey- thingssupon you in the document VIII
and you willlread when, i am gone. 1 am
,ften yery i'll but NV heart ia affected an