The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1866-12-10

thing more. How can it be that / seem
to know this childi What was 1t she
imperfectly recalled to me me when l
felt her touch in the street, and looking
down at her saw her looking up at me 7"
"Mr. Jackson"
With start he turned toward the
sound of the subdued voice, and saw
his answer standing at the door.
"OMr. Jackson, do not be severe with me.
Speak word of encouragement to me,
l beseech you."
"You are Polly's mother"
"Yes."
Yes. Polly herself might come to this,
one day. As you see what the rose was,
in its faded leaves; as you see what the
summer growth of the woods was, IN
their wintry branches; SO Polly might
be traced, one day, in a care-worn wo,
man like this, with her hair turned
gray. Before him, were the ashes OF
dead fire that had once burned bright.
This was the woman he had loved. This
was the woman he had lost. Such had
been the constancy of his imagination
to her, so had Time spared her under It's
Withholding, that now, seeing now
roughly the inexorable hand had struck
her, his soul was filled with pity and
amaZement.
He led her to chair, and stood lean
ing on a corner of the chimney-plece,
with his head resting Oh his hand, and
his face half averted.
''Did YOU see me in the street, and
show me to your child9' he asked.
"Yes."
SIS the little creature, then, a party to
deceiti"
'I hope there is no deceit. l said to
her, we have lost our way, and L must
try to find mine by myself. Go to that
gentleman and tell him you are lost.
You shall be fetched by and by Per
haps you have not thought how very
young she is"
"She is very sclf-reliant."
perhaps because she is so young
He asked, after short pause, "Why
did you do thisp
80 Mr. Jackson, do You ask met
In the hope that you might see
something in my innocent child
to soften your heart towards me. Not
only towards me, but towards my hus-
band"
He suddenly turned about, and
walked to the opposite end of the room.
He came back again with slower step,
and resumed his former attitude, say
ing TO-, on,;rroted 70
American
eve did. But life went i'll with us
there, and we came back"
"Do you live in this town."
eyes. am daily teacher of music
here. My husband is book-kceper."
care you-forgive my asking-poor'
eve earn enough for our wants
That is not our distress. My husband
is very, very i'll of a lingering disorder
He will never recover"
"You chock yourself. 1t is for want
of the encouraging word you spoke OF
take it from me. | cannot forget the
old time, Beatrice"
"God bless you" she replied, with a
burst of tears, and gave him her trelnb'
ling hand.
"Compose yourself. cannot bC
composed if you are not, for to see you
weep distresses me beyond expression
Speak freely to me. Trust me"
She shaded her face with her veil
and after a little while spoke calmly
Her voice had the ring of Polly's.
sIt 10 not that my husbands mind /:
at all impaired by his bodily suffering
for I assure you that is not the case
But in his weakness, and in his knowl
edge that he is incurably ill, he cannot
overcome the ascendancy of one idea. Il
prcys upon him, cmbitters every mo-
ment of his painful life, and will short
en- it,"
She stopping, lie said again
"Speak freely to me. Trust me-"
I'VE have had five children before
this darling, and they all lie in theiI
little graves. He believes that they
have withered away under the curse
and that it will blight this child like
the rest"
"Under what curscp
"Both | and he have it on our con
science that we tried you very heavily
and do not know but that, if l were
as i'll as he, might suffer in my mind
as he does. This is the constant bur
den 81 believe, Beatrice, i was the
only friend that Mr.. Jackson ever cared
to make, though / was so much his jun
ior. The more influence he acquired il
the business, the higher he advanced
me, and / was alone in his private con
tidence. | came between him and you,
and | took you from him. We were
both secret, and the blow fell when he
was wholly unprepared. The angusl
it caused man so compressed, must
have been terrible; the wrath it awaken
ed, inappeasable. So, n curse came to
be invoked on our poor pretty little
flowers, and they fall"
"And you, Beatrice" he asked, when
she had ceased to speak, and there had
been silence afterwards; "how say
you 7"
Until within these few weeks l was
afraid of you, and l believed that you
would never, never, forgive"
"Until within these few weeks" he
repeated. "Have you changed your
opinion ofme within these few weeks n
"Yes."
"For what reasonf"
II was getting some pieces Of music
III suUp III tuiS tO"hf "hSii w ~ ,
terror, you came in. AS yelled my
face and stood in the dark end OF
the shop, l heard you explain that
you wanted musical instrument
for a bedridden girl. Your voice and
manner were so softened, you showed
such interest in its selection, you took
it away yourself with so much tender
ness of care and pleasure, that / knew
you were a man with most gentle
heart. o Mr.. Jackson, Mr.. Jackson, il
you could have felt the refreshing rain
of tears that followed for me"
Was Phoebe playing at that moment
on her distant couchl He seemed tc
hear her.
81 inquired in the shop where You liv.
ed, but could get no information. As
had heard you say that you were going
back by the next train (but you did moi
saw where resolved to visit the sta
ton at about that time of day, as often
as could between my lessons, on the
chance of seeing you again. have
been there very often but saw you nc
more until to-day. You were meditatine
as you walked the street, but the calm
.-'s-o..;o,, of ,.o,r fann amholdanpl me