Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1872-03-05

Dut IL WAS HtIu tlIHs NY ""h'' VIZ
ostensible head oi our house, was u quiet
woman, who had nothing whatever to do
with society, aud who felt in tue outset
great shrinking from the brilliant Mrs.
| Long. | had never been on intimate
| terms with her, So that John and Alice
were the only members ot the household
who could keep up precisely the old re-
lat:on. And so it gradually came about
t that in most of our meetings unher each
/ Othcr's roofs, strangers were asked TO
fill up the vacant places, and in spite OF
all Emma Longs effort and mine, there
} was change in the atmosphere of our
| intercourse. But there was enough OF
intimacy 10 produce the effect for which
Ellen was most anxious, /. e., to extend
, the shelter oC our recognition to the
. friendship between John and Emma, and
to remove from them both all temptation
/ to anything clandestine or secret They
still saw each other almost daily; they
still shared most of each others interests
[ and plea, urc>; they still showed most
undisgused delight in each others pres
cnce Again and again | went with
them 10 the opera, 30 the theatre, and
81, through the long hours. watching,
with - pain which seemed To me hardly
less lhan E,en's would have been their
, constant sympathy with each other in
every point of enjoyment, their constant
/ lorgctIuIncse OF every one else.
But there Wa, all this time, another
side 10 john Gray's lie, which / saw,
and Emma Long did not see BY every
steamer came packages OF the most mar
velou' letters iiom Ellen; letters to Us
all; but Tor John, diary OF every hour
: OF her lite. Each night she spent two
- hours in writing out the record OF the
: day. have never seen letters which 80
, reproduced the atmosphere OF the day,
the scene, the heart. They were bril-
liant and effective in narrative 10 de
= gree that utterly astonished me but they
were also inetftbly tender and loving,
so subjective IN them every word, that il
was like seeing Ellen face to face to read
them. At first Joan did not show them
, even to me; tut soon he began TO say.
"Ihe>c arc too rare 10 be kept to myself;
, mast Just rold YOU this account; or,
"Ilcrc i a page ! must read, H until il at
last Duoamc his habit 90 read them aloud
in The evenings to The family. aud even
TO more intimate liicnds VINO chanced to
to bn with us He grew proud beyond
> expression oi Ellcns talent ior writing;
and well he might No one who listen.
= ed to them but exclaimed, = There new
81 were such letters before :" | think
there never were And | alone knew
The secIcl ol them.
But these .oug, brilliant letters were
- not alt. In every mail came also pack
ages Tor Alice secret, mysterious things,
which nobody could see. but which prov
eel to b small notes, To be given To papa
= At unexpected times and places; some
Times little fancy articles, n a pcu-wper,
OF cigar.ca,e, half worked by Ellen, to
DC finished by Alice, aud given 10 papa
= on some especial day, The significance OF
which "only mamma knows :" sometimes
pressed flower, which was to be put by
papa's plate NJ breakfast, or put in papa :
= button hole As he went out in the morn.
Ing. Oh, | WAS more and more lost in
= aslouishmcnt at the subtle and bound
less AIT OF love which could so contrive
- to reach across an ocean, and Surround Il
mans daily lie by its expression. There
were also in every package letters to
II John from all the children: even the ba-
J by's little hand wa guided to write by
every mail, "Deal papa, / love YOU just
| ~ much - all the rest do I" or Dear
> papa, want you 10 toss me up - More
' than once saw tears roll down John S
: lace in spite OF him, las he slowly decipher.
II cd their ilegible little scraws The old
er chiidren's notes were rs vivid and low
> ing as their mothers. 1t was evident
that thcJ were having Il season of royal
delight in their journey, but also evident
: that their thoughts and their Iongings
! were constantly reverting to papa. How
! much Ellen really indited OF these ap.
paiently spontaneous letter, | do not
. know; but no doubt their atmosphere
> was III part created by her. They showed,
even more than did her own letters, that
papa was still the center of their lite. No
u sight was seen without the wi>h-"Oh, il
4, papa were here ~ and even little Mary,
+, aged five, was making collection OF
I pressed leaves ioI papa, from all The
h places they visited Louise had already
4 great talent for drawing, and in almost
l every letter came two or three childish
b but spirited little pictures, all labeled
e. Drawn lOr papa :" "The tue picture Of
S our courier in II rage, for papa to see"
5 The washerwoman's dog, ior papa"
t etc, etc. Again and again | sat by, AZ
most trembling with delight, and saw
: John spend an entire evening in looking
| over these little missivos and reading
Ellen's letters. Then again | sat alone
and anxious through an entire evening,
when knew he was with Emma Long.
But even alter such M evening, he new
er failed to sit down and write long pag-
es in his journal letter to Ellen a practice
which he began of his own accord, after
receiving the first iournal-etter from her