Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-12-21
and she had been rich; and their story.

and she had been rich; and their story
like most sad ones, was short one.
A few months of constant association
and OF growing love, and then the sick.
enlng disappointment of blighted hopes.
and the young man had donned the blue
Jacket in which the artist had painted him,
and had departed across seas, and they
had never met since.
Even correspondence was forbidden
them by her parents-who loved their
only child with that ignorant love that
does not foresee; and, as she was dutiful
and he was proud, the thread had been
cut, and they had drifted widely asunder.
| 1t had been in the autumn that he had
gone away from her; and ever since. and
now, when the season had returned, and
the brown leaves battered on the stone
walks in the garden, she had felt the sad
ness of her crushedout longings and
hopes press heavily upon her.
Now, when the shrill blasts were wall
ing mournfully outside and the Christ
mas-tide-which promised to be green
that year-was only day off, the depres-
sion of her spirits seemed almost beyond
the control of her dearly bought self
command
| 1t was toward dusk on Christmas-eve,
and she sat alone by the bright fire in the
sitting-room, and that she might for once
accept the painful pleasure of reminis-
cence, she let her memory carry her back
to those halcyon days twenty wears gone.
She had been surrounded by group of
young and happy beauties all the after
noon; but they had dropped away and
left her alone and so she sat, deep in
thought, when loud rap of the knocker
startled her for moment, and she came
out of her reverie, thinking it might be
the return of one of her late visitors, or
new one and SO her face, which had for
a few moments become hard with lines of
unrest, softened into its usual placidity.
The door of the sitting-room opened,
and the butler appeared, bearing small,
ough-looling box.
It's box, marin, just left here by a
sailor-chap, who said he was sent by the
captain of ship, and told to leave it,
and no answer. Will l bring it in here,
marin 2"
Eyes, Joseph" said Miss Bridget
You may place it here at my feet, and
bring something to open it,"
The butler placed it on the rug at her
feet and left the room. Miss Bridget ex-
amined the direction curiously.
1t read thus:
ITO Miss BRIDGET CULVER,
No. q Street,
New York.
1t was bound with hoops of iron, and
bore the appearance of having Travelled ;
but the outside gave no clue to its source
The butler returned, and after some
trouble removed the lid, and retired.
The contents of the box were wrapped
in covering of oil-silk and Miss Bird
get removed this, and found beneath--a
WORKOUT and faded blue jacket, a sailors
hat and knife, and, wrapped in bit of the
same silk, the companion-picture Of the
miniature of the curly-headed young man
"a portrait of a beautiful girl, apparently
! about twenty years of age.
| Miss Bridget held these things for a mo-
ment in her hands; then she folded them
! slowly together, and rising from her knees,
walked quietly out Of the room and up
stairs, leaving the empty box on the floor
When the maid knocked at her bedroom
| door, half an hour later, Ito call herfor tea,
Miss Bridget answered that she was ill,
and desired not to be disturbed until morn
ing.
That Christmas-eve the winds mounted
higher and higher, and whistled more and
more drearily about the old stone house,
and ratified the window-panes, and banged
the blinds of the tiaring brick houses in
the neighborhood, and was altogether
wild and uncomfortable, and pitilcss.
And at about midnight there came up Il
terrific snow-storm, and at once annihi-
lated all the possibilities of a green
Christmas" which, according to ancient
superstition, ''makes fat church-yard."
And on the Christmas morrow the snow
Law heavily upon the trees, and was bank
ed I'D i'm drifts all about the stone house:
but the sun shone merrily, and flashed
brilliantly on the bright crystals; and early
sleigh bells awoke Miss Bridget, where
she had thrown herself, in her clothes, on
the couch in her bedroom, with her head
resting on the old, torn, and weather
stained blue jacket, and the TIRE NINA
lures clasped in her hand.
And late she rose and made her toilet,
and went down stairs to eat her lonely
Christmas breakfast and on the stairs she
was met by the maid, who said there was
gentleman in the sitting-room who m
sisted on seeing her. And so Miss Bird
get, who, though in trouble herself, would
Inconvenience no one else, entered the
sittng-room, and saw by the window a
tall gentleman, with thick, curling brown
hair, who. turning and seeing her, made
three steps and took her in his arms, and
held her so close to his breast that, II he
had not had the curling brown hair, and
the large blue eyes, and the frank, open
face of the miniature we wot OF, We
should have deemed it strange, believing,
as Miss Bridget had, that he was buried
in the sea, and had sent his blue jacket
home to her as token-a most foolish
supposition truly, for dead men tell no
tales.
And SO Miss Bridget did change her
name after all, and in spite OF the conn
dent representations Of her friends. But
she never could quite forgive her sailor,
husband for the shock and the dreadful
grief she experienced when she discover
ed the contents of his Chrtstmds-tof.