The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1865-01-05

Sof-fz- ~ III. ~ yr1Sis SA 4
.--.z-.-=..-
Ie1It was evident that Hezekiah was plor,
ling in the mystery Of some wonderful secre
And never did any secret struggle SO des
fpefatesy for disclosure Is He1 ekiah'sp Q
Ithst Thanksgiving eve. But he kept it,
For the honor Of mankind let Il be recorde,
that Hexekiah Underhill kept his secret.
'Of course ifs no use trying. Soyyer Rim
self, even were he gifted with the sies,,cr;ptiy,
powers Of the wizard Of waverly, move sss
could have given you any idea Of Mrs Un
dsrhilrs Thanksgiving din ner. The brown
crscklihg turkey, unctuous With sssufine and
otesginohs With rivdlets OF gravy; the pyrs
nids Of crimson quivering jefiies !; the greel
crisp pickles; the battalion Of pu,hkit pies
nesting like amber lakelets In shores o. rus r
set crust; the pudding a triumphant rayt myysteerr,
lof culinary art the wboie dictionary 4 wouufI, tufI
Fan short ofsxprssssipg the pienteotu,sg t,g gIore
of The feast . + iatness.. '-si'e2 ia6'a fS ,soa
Hssekiah dis appeared ,soon after bfesktss
-whither be had gone nobody knew, for al
the explanation ne vouchsafed to his wife
was that he was 'going to bring company
home to dinner But ponctualy 10 the
noon mark on the kitchen floor he returned
but not alone.
Jessie was in her own room, thinking sor-
rowfully and crying little between whiles,
when Mrs. Unde,hill came up with flushed
cheek and voice strangely tremulous. Z
!, Darling, your uncle wants you to come
down stairs =
! Indeed, aunt, I had rather not and Jes-
sic rshrank involuntarily into her chair.
But he has brought home friend, dear,
and would like t','''' ss' 8
oh, no, aunt Please let me stay here-I
have such dread Of strange faces Just now.
MY dearest, but yonr uncle particularly
wishes it II Come. there's good girl!-let
me smooth yoar hair and put on your pink
ribbon bows. Now you look sweetly (!
Mrs. Underhill's hand shook and her ewes
overflowed while she fastened the simple
brooch in Jessie's collar.
Why aun ty, " hats the matter,'
, Nothing, Jessie-nothing. Come, are
you ready | ST. - Y
Hezekiah Underhl stood in the middle Of
the room as they entered and beside him
Jessie's bewildered vision took cogn izance
Of yet another figure
She stopped with dilated eyes and pallid
cheek. her brain seemed in whlrl: but when
the mist cleared from her sight she was
clasped to Frank Stecle's bre.st-the noble
breast that had borne the bruat of battles
fiercest tide the breast that should syermore
be her she tier and her resting place
jessie will you take Inc. pale. snl scar
red and sore, and sickly,' Will you be my
wife ? 1a 4I' Ia aasij aii s.agai.d a6.g
. Il win .ove yea all INV hfe isnHs -r--r
THAT was all they said--but it was enou yh.
But. Frank, tell me how It all happened?'
!, IL was your ,uncle's plot, love, I was ly-
ing in the hospital-sick. wounded, dying
as | thought--when his letter came, telling
me Of your remorse At what you fancied was
your unkindness.y 1t was. written without
your knowledge; but Jessie. it was Ikea
draught Of immortality, an elixer of life to
me. grew better under the very eyes of
the surgeon, who had told me was doom
ed man. And here am, on sick leave, to
hear my happiness again from your, own
lips. 49,
The sweet lips confirmed his h pc but it
was not in words. s,,.e .s,....s
II declare = said .Hezekiah rubbing his
hands gleefully, it seems just Ikea story IN
printed books! But. there was the timc I
thought should let the cat out of the bag
when you sat crying by the windsw last
night, Jessie, But I'm glad I .didn't tell
Frank wanted to surprise you, and | guess
he's done I'LL h,s,y ad, er,5...3
! Frank Steele, sitting before the merry
thanksgiving blaze, with Jcssie's hand in
his, fe.t that the great reward of all tho.e
watches and perilous battles had
come at last. May every gallant soldier in
the land reap the same sweet harvest. cc;, !
The CONTINENT AN IcEBERG.-
Prof. fAgassiz, in the Atlantic Monthly,
comes to the conclusion that the conti-
nent ofNorth America was at one tilae
covered with ice q mile in thickness.
The proofs that the slopes of the Al.
leghany range Of mountains are gla-
cier-worn on the very top, except a
few points which were above the level
Of the icy mass. Mount Washington
for instance, is over six Thousand feet
high, and the rough. unpolishea sur.
face of its SUBMITS, covered with loose
fragmenta, just below the level at
which glacier.marks come to'an end ,
tell us that it lifted its head alone a.
bove that desolate waste Of ice and
snow. In this region, then, the thick
ness Of the sheet cannot have been
much less than six thousand feet, and