The Louisiana cotton-boll. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], Attakapas, La.) 1872-1883, 1874-01-21

They lad been closed hours earlier
but the old man who was porter and
care-takor was standing at tho door,
talking 10 some curious aCquaintanCos.
Unperceived by the garruIous speak
rr, Lottio passed long enough to hear
her lovers namo coupled with words in
distinctly cau&ht relating to the large
sums of money that wcrc missing.
ellis father was here this morning,
as soon as tho news was made public, "
the porter went on" such arcspecteblo
old gentleman" But here his voice was
lowered, and Lottic passed by, hearing
only something about his brokcn-h heart
cd motheras she went but it reminded
her that she was not alone in her grief;
that the loving parents, who had cher
ishcd Their son in his childhood, and
seen him gradually expand into the
bright, intelligent man, must be we'll
inigh crushed beneath the blow that had
so suddenly fallen upon them. Oh
what was her grief to theirs?
And now Lottio flew to her own ha-
ven, the arms of her mother, and there
wept the 8rst tears her burning eyes
had shed.
Shocked, and for some time incr du.
loUs, Mrs. Warde, with infinite patience
and tenderness, sustained her child du-
ring those hours in which her anguish
was almost more than she could bear.
Never again would Lottie accuse this
dear friend and comforter of being
wanting in sympathy. Who else would
have borne SO kindly with her wild
bursts Of impatient sorrow-bcr rest
less pacings to and fro-hcr passionate
complainings Who else SO skilfuIly
taken advantage of her better feelings
to bring her to her knees, and teach her
to bow her head to the Divine will?
How good you are to me, darling
mother ?" she sobbed, when Mrs. Wardc
had prevailed upon her to lie down,
and was bathing her aching head "and
indeed don't deserve it. have been
so selfish, so ungrateful, that if you
knew all my hard and bitter thoughts
you would surely cease to low me at
all ~
Mrs. Warde's only reply was to stoop
and kiss her; and that kiss uprooted
the last fibre of seIfshuess in her
child's heat. Never again did Lottie
let vanity stand in the place Of duty +;
and in the midst of her trouble she
could be humbly thankful that this
dear mother was still all her own.
All that night size wept and bewailed
herself, but when morning dawncd and
she saw how weary and exhausted Mrs.
Wardo was looking, Lottioput her good
intentions in practice crd restrained
her grief.
While her mother rcsta1, she moved
quietly about, dressing the little ones,
whom her altered looks and swollen
eyes awed into unwonted sobcrncss, nor
was it till every task had been accom-
pli8hed that could spare Mrs. Warde
fatigue that she seated herself at her
mothers feet and wept herself into the
sleep of exhaustion.
But stronger arms were sustaining
her when, with start, she aw0ke. 1t
was not the mild face of her mother
that bent over her and smiled at her, it
was Charlie Morrison himself, and for q
moment she believed herself to be in q
happy dream.
"Can itbe you?" she asked wistfully.
"Speak to me, for know not what to
think, nor what to believe.
"You may believe that Charles Nor
ison has committed no act that dis
graces him, said her rejoiced mother,
who stood by. ''Nee tell you
more ?"
Lottie pressed her hands to her
head, and looked from one to the other
till the tender smile on Charles lips
confirmed the tidings.
81 seem too much bewildered to be
as glad as I should be, she exclaimed.
"Am I really awake ?-has there been
no robbery after all? That dreadful
newspaper why did I believe sthe
paragraph I heard Sir John read from
it?"
"Sit down here, you poor, pale
child, " said Charlie, sand let me help
you out of you mystifcation. I think it
began the night before last, when l
sought You at Sir Johns to say good-by
before went on hurried journey, and
to tell you the two fold object of it."
"I had heard, dear, that the man who
was the cause of all your fathers mis-
fortunes was at Birmingham and
Messrs. Smithson freely gave me per-
mission to go there, and see whether
my remcnstrances, and, if those failed,
my threats to expose his nefarious pro-
ceedings, would induce him to do JUS
tice to your fathers widow and Or
phans."
"And you succeeded? ?"
Beyond my expectations. 1 have
Just had the pleasure of putting into
your mothers hands a sum that will en-
able her to educate her children with
comfort"
Lottie was obliged to interrupt him that
she might throw her arms around Mrs.
Warde's neck, and congratulate her rap
turously. Then Coarlie himself had to
be thanked in loving, fearful whispers
and then so many pleasant little plans
we're discussed for the widows future
that some time elapsed before they re-
Cured to the explanation" "
"When had completed my own bu-
siness, Messrs. Smithson desiredmetogo
toShefieId and make some inquiries there