Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1873-07-31

pleasure. and not trial. I felt as if I
were cheating the public in leading
them to think it was goodness III me.
Goodnesses and kindnesses come with
denials.
Some one, probably Dougal, sent the
paper to the postmaster of Hamilton,
Canada, requesting him, if any family
by that name lived there, to send them
the paper. And it was not many weeks
before I received a letter from the
mother of Johnston King, saying they
had got the paper announcing the death
of their only son, and thanking me, in
words that seemed to be full of tears,
for the interest in him I had shown.
The letter was beautifully written, evi-
IDENTIFY by woman of culture and re-
fnement She told me something of
the grief their sons life had been to
them, and yet they had loved him de-
votedly, and his two sisters were
nearly crushed under the blow. I
answered the letter, and we kept up the
correspondence for several months and
I never received better letters in my
life, full of truth and comfort. They
made the days brighter than they came
into. I learned to know herself, her
husband and her daughters through
them. One day 1 received one, in
which she asked me for my photograph,
telling me she felt as if she knew us all,
my wife, my two boys and myself, but
she wanted to see my proxy, if in no
otLer way, one who had been so much to
them Now, am an elderly man, and
not remarkably good looking, though
- 1o.J r
have always had liking for young
ladies', tells me my face is better than
handsome one, that it is genial and
honest, and always carries good SER
mon in it. Even if this, were true
(Which of course / do not believe), it
would not come out in the picture, and
I didn't just like to have them see my
gray hairs, and find out what an old
man Twas. But in my next letter I sent
one, for who can help minding a
woman? And when her next letter
came, there came with it photograph,
and as it dropped out of the envelope 1
was rather surprised to see fresh,
bright, pretty face before me of young
lady. had of course picture of Mrs.
King in my own mind as lady in mid
die life, with puffs of gray hair tucked
under white cap, rather large in figure.
with matronly air and motherly face.
We all make pictures, to comfort our
selves with, of friends we have not seen,
and are often strangely deceived when
the actual is presented to us and do you
wonder that at first 1 should have been
somewhat surprised to see this sweet
young face before me But on reading
the letter, [ found Mrs. King had sent
me her daughter Ruth's picture, as
neither she nor her husband had any of
their own at that time. Of course I
must needs answer by a little note of
thanks to Miss Ruth, for this picture,
| and then came In return bright, CHEEKY
letter, such as young ladies know well
how to write, and after that the mothers
correspondence dropped into the daugh-
ter's hands.
One evening about this time our
hearts were all made glad by Ned's (my
Oldest boys return from Ann Arbor,
for his summer vacation. And the week
passed by with rides and visits, trips out
into the country, etc.; for [ always
take my vacation with Ned, and when
my boys are at home with me, I forget
my gray hairs, and the years that have
made my shoulders stoop, and am a boy
again. And I do not believe my boys
are afraid of their father, though [ know
there are times when the chaps like to
be by themselves, and I always have an
intuition, or is it the boy feeling left
behind ?-that tells me when the old man
Is better off at home or in his office.
One morning this dawned upon me as a
company of boys, with Ned in the van,
started off for hunt, into the country.
So I declined their urgent invitation to
join them, going to my Office instead,
and, sitting down at my desk, took up
pile of unanswered letters, that had been
accommodating during my vacation, and
among them 1 found letter from Ruth
King.
[ was kept busy during the day
answering business letters, leaving
Ruth's, being the pleasanter-duty, till
the rest were off my mind. What with
Interruptions, I didn't get to it that day,
and when Ned came into the office the
next morning, / tossed it over to him.
asking him to answer it for me. He
took it up, and seeing lady's hand
writing, a look of dismay came over his
teOO' VA. L114 " OpOA duu I0dQ Lib.
My back was toward him, but I kept a
lookout over my shoulder, to see how he
got on with it. His face lighted up as
he read, but as he finished and laid il
down, [ could see nothing in it but
despair.
"Why, father, 1 never wrote to q
girl in my life. How to you expect me
to answer such letter as that ?''
I got up, and going out to my desk
took out of one of the pigeon-holes
Ruth's picture, and laying it before
him, told him its history, and that per-
haps it might inspire him, anyway, tc
do the best he could The letter hac
been neglected a long time, and I coulc
not answer it that day, nor the next, and
SO left him.
Had 1 any designs on these young
people How can tell? An old man.
heart is past finding out. But l believ,
there is in every loving human heart
desire for the happiness of others, ant