The Sweetwater enterprise. (Sweetwater, Tenn.) 1869-187?, 1871-04-13
Sitting In Sunshine.

These words met theNeye of Mr.. Ste
phen Strongway, as he glanced over the
pages of a book, taken at random from
the table in bis wifs's pafior.
"To sit in sunshine calm and sweet.
That would be beautiful existence in
deed, even taken only in physical sense
of the words while to sit all the time in
mental sunshine
Mr.. Strongway dropped his head
upon his hand, and sigh stole almost
unconsciously from his lips at the thought.
He was worthy OF his name--a strong
man mentally and physically, and with
all strong man S inipatience of, not to
say contempt for, weakness, in whatever
form it was manifested.
Mrs. Strongway was delicate creature
loving, tr,tstfVl and, tiInidf She was
overwhelmed by her husbands con-
tempt Of weakness, and shrank from ex-
hibitng her affection towards him and
she and her children dropped under the
chill which the shadow of his statelihess
constantly kept upon their home.
Butnow, Alicia, his wife, was ill--dying;
and his thoughts were tuned to softer
strains, and the sentence, "To sit in sun
shine, calm and sweet, is an excellent
thing for an invalid, struck home to his
inmost soul His wife had never had
any sunshine of home, or of love, in
which to bask ; but he resolved it should
be so no longer.
Alicia's early home at the seaside was
for sale and if she wished ID he would
purchase the old house, as summer re-
treat in future years for herself and
children.
In future years? Nay, what had the
gravefaced family doctor told him only
that very day! He dashed the tears
impatiently from his eyes. The doctor
must be mistaken. Alicia could live
1t was not yet too late to repair the
rayages his coldness and unkindness had
made. Even as he thought this, hol-
low cough struck upon his ear, and his
wife crossed the hall and entered the
parlor.
"Alicia," he said, gently, "you are
very ILL.,"
She looked up at him, and her soft
brown eyes filled with tears.
"Yes, Stephen"
"Our doctor has been with me today
my dear. He has told me that you are
dying"
"Yes, Stephen"
And the brown eyes looked into his
wistfuIly, as if saying, "Do you care?"
"You know this, Alicia?'
81 have known it for some time-long
before he discovered it Stephen"
The question was on his lips now -
"Do you care, Alicia Ys'
The soft eyes filed once more.
"Oh Stephen, l dread to leave you
and our dear children. 1 have loved
you so! say this without offending
you, now that you know am dying"
"God forgive mel" he cried. "Have I
then been SO unkind that you have fear
ed to tell Inc of your love till now%
"You have not been unkind, Stephen"
she hastened to say. Only-I think
men do not quite understand q woman's
heart sometimes. 1t is so necessary for
us to love, and be loved, and to show
that love, Stephen, and to have it shown,
that"
"That Isee it all, my darling and know
now exactly just how great the mischief
is and how it has been done," said her
husband, clasping her to his heart.
"Forgive me, my darling. We will go
from here at once, to your old home
where we first knew and loved each
other, and l will see if 1 cannot bring
the lost roses back to these cheeks, the
lost light to these dear eyes. Kiss me,
Alicia, and you shall sit in sunshine,
calm and sweet, in future, if have the
power to bring it round your path"
He kept his word. And did Alicia
die?"
On the contrary, she disgraced her
physician for ever by growing strong,
and well and healthy, and happy in the
calm, sweet sunshine of her husbands
love- 1t never waned again. And she
and her children have lost all the fear of
him, in this strangely altered state of
things; while all who have business
dealings with him of late, can scarcely
recognize the once stern and naughty
and masterful man.
"To sit in sunshine, calm and sweet"
is indeed "good for an invalid'--it is
good for al. Reader, if in that blessed
heart t-srmshine you sit to-day, thank
heaven humbly for the gift for some
there are ON whose darkened paths no
ray of radience-no glance of true affec-
ton ever falls,