Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1871-03-16

uncovered, unmindful of the chill
wind and driving rain, plungine
ankle deep into the yielding soil al
every step. About half way l saw
something in the path before me.
1t was little crimson stocking! My
heart leaped for joy. Ned had sto-
len her, and she had kicked it from
/ her foot ON the way; it was cruel in
him to frighten me SO. l wondered
if he had heard that silly wish of
mine.
Half mile from the house l met
him and the men coming home to
dinner. He started forward the mo-
ment he caught sight of me.
"Oh, Bell! what's the matter? Is
Little Pearl sick?"
One glance at his white, startled
face, convinced me that my hope was
vain; yet 1 cried out angrily, "You
haye got the child, Ned, you know
you have-don't torture me any
longer"
| Dull, WudI uO you uedH!
"She's gone-Little Pearl. You
stole her, Ned, to frighten me?'
"No, on my soul, Bellr'
"Then she's gone; God has
granted me my wish. Oh! my baby!
my babyr' Il
Twas rushing past him, but he
caught and held me fast, command
ing me to tell him all-and I did.
And then his after-words thrilled
my soul with horror.
"The Indians. the Indians, ,boysr'
he cried, 'they passed us, you know!
They must have stolen her. Gomez
They followed him without a.
word-and so did 1. Over the
spongy prairie mud, the chill wind
and driving rain beating in our faces,
through dense, dripping woods,
down to the shore of the river. But
We were too late. The last canoe
was moored on the opposite shore.
God had granted me my wish. had
no baby!
2 Little Pearl could not be found, |
although our efforts were ceaseless.
Her crib remained in its corner, with
the impress of her head on its pill
low; but the little, laughing face,
that had looked up at us from the
depths of the coverlids, was gone
forever. Ihad ample time to per-
form all my household labor then.
No little, quivering cry to detain me
when I was busy; no clinging hands
holding mine, and keeping them
idle. My wish was granted me; 1
had no baby.
The desnlate, inconsolable sorrow
Of the days that followed, no tongue
can portray; the tender longing, the
sharp, stinging remorse. But we
lived and worked, for life and labor
must 90 on, no matter how sore and
weary our hearts may be. At the
end of five years, Ned looked round
him on the ripe fruition of his most
hopes. He had built him
up not only home, but a name, in
this new country. We had pleas
ant rooms, and luxurious furniture,
and birds, and flowers, and all the
attributes that go to make up a
happy home. All did l say? Not
alive were childless. Little Pearl
had never come back, and God had
given us no other child to fill her I
place; but we desired no other, our
grief for her loss being dearer and
more sacred than any new love could I
ever have been. II
Poor Ned, that unforgotten sorrow
together with his arduous duties,
made him an old man before his I
time; the silver threads were thick t
on his temples, and the furrows on
his forehead deeply cut; when We
went back on visit to our old home, t
the friends of his youth did not rec 9
ognize him. His life had lost its t
aim and motive.
One night, in the great city, we
we're returning from the opera, when
l voice startled us. L
"Please, SIR it said, ga penny to '
BUY a loafr
1t was mid-winter; and the count
ess stars overhead glittered in the l
cold, blue sky like so many points y
Of steel. was dreaming of my t
nome in the far West, and longing J
'or the hour Of my return to come.
A strange feeling of tenderness n
bound me to the spot where lost 6
ny Little Pearl. | could not bear II
% be away from it, because of a {.
oolish fear that she might come q
pack, and / not be there to welcome Q
Ter.
The slender, pleading yaice broke :,
n upon my reverie; and glancing I
'ut at the carriage window, | saw a :.
mail, childish figure, and a tiny ,,
land, blue and stiff with cold. :, ;,
"Stop the carriage, Ned; shan't 4
lose my eyes tonight, if we pass " y
hat child" II
My husband started up from his
lalf doze and obeyed me. Il
What do you wantT' he asked, p
indy bending over and taking the j.
'hil0'S h1n6 IN hi, |,