The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-11-30

my uncle said mournfully.
:" And the dream grows less like
dream and more like reality, for it
has living evidence in the present,
and stern memorials of the past to
fall back upon. Yet 1 will call it
dream still.
81 dream that this wife blessed him
with happy family, who grew up to
be his pride, and envy of less happy
men and women; that one by one
they were all taken from him, wife
and children too-all save one and
she laid her hand on Ada's head
and | saw him go often with that
one to the church-yard, carrying
flowers, and come home empty handed.
And l asked myself dream that [
asked myself-'Why was [ left to see
myself change from young to middle
aged, from middle-aged 20 old, useless
and with my heart all cried to dust,
while the young and happy were
taken away? Would it not have been
wiser and better, more economical
and less wasteful, in the great Dispen-
/ ser of Happiness, that [ should have
| been sent to my sleep there instead of
one of these?" For the flowers too
would have been saved.
And so | seem to see the years
roll on, weary year after weary year,
and live my useless life, unloved and
unearred for, and / see you day by
day; but there is gulf between US as
deep as the grave to which we are
both going. Yet, even across the
! gulf it is pleasant to me to see you
| it is indeed the one pleasure | have
in life; and therefore (what other
reason should [ seek) one morning [
wake to find it is to be taken from
me. a ~
wake to find that as your want
of money parted us once, your loss of
it is to part US again; that you are
| ruined man, and that all you have is
to be sold, and [ am to see you house
less and homeless
No, no, said my uncle.
Then, being broad awake to what
| / should suffer, and having grown so
old and selfish, | try to save myself
that pang: / buy your house, and
everything of yours that [ can get,
and come to beg you to take them all
back again, and to take me with
them.
There, she said, it's out at last
but don't interrupt me yet; this is the
longest speech | ever made in my life,
and shall never again have occasion
to make another half so long.
These children never, heard an
offer of marriage before, and I sup
pose few people ever have heard one
made by lady.
Thomas, you made me an offer of
marriage fifty years ago, and were re-
jected. Now, come and make you
one: will you have revenge? or will
you let woman plead to you success
fully? He3.
Pity me. 1 am old, and rich, and
lonely--O so lonelyi You are old,
too, and poor, and will you not be
lonely If you are parted from this
One of my uncle's hands was COW
ering his eyes. He stretched out the
other, and Ada's dropped into it and
pressed it.
We are tottering down to the
grave. Let us totter down together.
| 1t may be but few days. journey.
1t May be more distant. That is in
Gods hand.
Let me give up to you the heavy
burden of riches l have borne so
long. don't know what to do with
my money. l want some one to teach
me how to use it. | want some one
to leave it to. | want to think l have
done some good with it.
Thomas, I have wondered often
why was rich, and why [ was spared
so long. L think now that [ have
found it out, that it is for this [ have
been trusted with riches, and spared
for this.
So much as money can buy
have often said, if it could but buy
me Lowell But now, as it cannot, let
me try to win it other ways.
Let me try to get some little share
in Ada's love. Will you try and per-
suade her that you thought me love
able once? And will you, neither for
what [ am, nor what / have, but for
the memory of that girl whom fifty
years ago you wished to be the mother
of your children, let your child, D
Thomas for that memory, call me
mother %
~ She ended, and the dear old face,
lit up with beauty that the eloquenee
Of her intense emotion had kindled,
was covered with brushes; and never
have / seen any young face whose
loneliness has been half so much en-
HANGED by bushes as those winkled
features were. -}
She ended, and putting her tremb-
ling hand on his, said, - Now, Thomas
answer me before these openly as
have spoken before them. -
And he gave her his answer. almost
nstantly-pausing only till he had so
far mastered his emotion that he