The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1869-03-20

| may hold myself to b. your lodger" And
be proceeded n take rom the stuffed pock
cts OF bis coat some u ght-clothes OF home
ly character, aud haadrd them TO the dame
Sand now" he So, Il, "you NAV be, now oi
after, wonderin, who he may be who has
thus come IKE a weary bird from the waste
that SEEKS refuge among the sere leaves, q
live 10 the Labtati0n OF sorrow. Bat you
must question me not ; and farther tnan Try
name, which is Wallace, you may know
nothing Of me till after the 29th day Of Sep
tembeT-ay, ay," he ,aatInued, as II calcu-
lating, "the 29th day Of September"
Thl dame started as she heard the men
tion Of the day, looked steadfastly at HIM,
and was steBt
AYES" he continued, 'that dav past, Gad
| viii once more draw my breath freely in
'he land u my fathers; and my foot, which
has only bowed the head Of the heather-beli
in the valley, may yet collect energy enough
from my unstruug nerves to press irearless-
" the sod Of the mountain, How long 10 1t
since your husband dieds"
'Seven years." replied she.
Wei, short as our acquaintance has yet
been" said he, "Our words have been only
Of unpleasant things. Now, | require re-
/ freshments; and here is soUie small pay il
advance, to remove the ordinary prejudice
| against strangers. We shall BE- better ac-
! quainted by times. | will take, now, what
Is readiest Ia the house Tor you may guess,
\ from my attire, that have been accustomed
to that fare by which the poor contTivs to
4 spin out the weary term OF their pilgrim
age"
! So much being arranged, the dame set
about preparing a meal and Mr.. Wallace,
a. he had called himself, proceeded 70 trans
| form his staff into fshing-rod, and arrange
| his other small matters connected with his
/ future residence. When the humble dish
was prepared ,the dame went cut, and, taking
her position on green tumulus that rose
( between the cottage aud the Lyme, stood,
and, placing her hands over her eyes, looked
down the water. Her eve, accustomed to
tue search, detected the form of her daugh-
ter far down the stream, and, waving her
hand to her, she beckoned her home. But
she came not and the two inmates sat down
to their rerast.
"Th:s shall be for my poor Alice,' said
tie mother, as she laid asite portion Of the
frugal fare "but she will take it at her owe
time, or perhaps not at all
"And yet how much she needs II !" added
tiC utt WdolCu tOTtt dlA pdlG lace
toe plainly show"
"fhere is sad change there, sir" rejoin-
ed she. "rhere was not faiIer OF more
gentle creature from Tweedscross to Tweed
mouth than Alice Scott; nor did ever the
feet OF lght-hearted innocence pass swifteT
over tie hill or down the glen You have
seen her to-day where she il often to b.
seen-by the pond opposite the closed up
house of Whitecralgs-.-ad may wonder 10
hear how one wasted may SUI reach the
the hail heads; yet, there, too, she IS some
times seen. have struggled sore to make
her what she once was but in vain. She
will wander aud wande., ard return am
wander again nor will this cease ill some
day find her dead body among the seggs OF
the Lyme, or iin. the lirk Of the bill When
know YOU better, ! may tell "a more. Al
present, ] am eating the bread If one who is
more connected with this sad subject than
may nov confess snd have never been ac-
counted ungratetul'
sfhe stranger was moved, and ate his meal
icy mediiacve silence. In an lhoaf after
wards, Alice returned to the house, and, as
she entered, started as her eye met hat Of
the stranger who bad, By his questions,
stirred to greater activity the feelings that
Z WIZ uftNHAJ ~ busJ Win GNt hFNth oA@
her fears were removed, by his avoidance of
the subject which had PANIED her; and few
hours seemed to have rendered him as 10
: derent to her as seemed the other objects
around her. Some days passed, aud the wld
ow would have been well satisfied with
her lodger az he was with her, nai It not
becu that he enjoined secrecy u his resi-
desce 10 the DEMONSTRATING to the spence
-r+i. a..
went along the Lyme in the morning, he
avoided those that be met, and betook him
self 10 private acts ia the inner apartment
during sac day. At times be left the cot
tage 10 the evening, and did not ret1rn for
two days, but whittier he went the inmates
knew not. The dame couJectured he had
been as lar as PEBBLES; but her reason was
merely that he brought newspapers with
HIM, and intelligence of matters transacted
there. The secrecy was not suited to the
open and simple manners to which she had
been accustomed, but she recoiircsed his
words, that on the 9th Of September she
would know all concerning him.
Now these words were connected By q
chain OF associations that startled her The
29th OF September had been set apart by her
deceased husband as a day Of prayer. He
had never allowed 1t to pass without an Of
I feIing Of the contrite heart 10 Col; this
practice he had continued till his death, aud
she had witnessed the act repeated for tif-
teen years. She was no more superssitiouS
than The rest Of her class she was, indeed
probably less so; and her theories, form ed
! for an adequate explanation of the startling
4 coincidence, were probably as philosophical
as ii they had been formed BY reason acting
under the astute direction OF scepticism.
Y Yet, where is the mind, untuiored or learn
ed, than can throw away at all times, at all
, hours-when the beating heart is in the
sunshine Of the cheerful day of worldly To-
tercourse, or in the deep shadow Of the wing
Of eternity--all thoughts OF all powers save
those Of natural causes, winch are them
selves a mystery? We may sport with the
subject, but i. comes again back on the heart
4 aId we sigh in whispering words Of fear,
that the hands Of God we are nothing.
One day Mr. Wallace was lated at break
fast he had been away for two nights
Alice was sitting by the side Of the FIRE, look
ing iaso the heart Of the red enbers, ard
the mother was experimenting the break
fast; be took out a newspaper from his
pocket. and, without word OF premonition,
read paragraph in deep, solemn voice.
"Died at - Street, London, Maria Knight
wife Of Hector Hayston, ESQ, Of Whitecraigs
in the county Of PEBBLES, In Scotland"
A peculiar sound struggled 10 the throat
Of Alice, but il passed away and she was Vi
lent. The mother sat and looked Wallacs
10 the face, 10 ascertain what constructors
, to put upon the occurrence which he aat
thus read with an emphasis betokening |
greater interest than 1t might demand from
one, rs yet. all but ignorant. A. she thought
OF the true circumstances OF the condition
Of her daughter. He made no commentary
on what he had read, but looking again q
the paper, and turning 1t over, as If search
ing for some other news, he fixed his eye
on an advertisement in the fourth page. IL
then read
: aOn the LIST day Of October next. there vii
~. -. ~. 4