Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-08-12

opened 1t, ana llttle Slrl calIe III Iiullu-
ly, with her fingers in her mouth. At first
the light dazzled her, but she soon peered
round the table and then espied Dotty. |
He, too, had seen her, and with little
scream he rushed toward her. and then
the most extravagant demon
of Joy / ever witnessed in my life.
OF course, | was curious to know what it
all meant, but they did not answer my
questions. They did not seem to hear
them 1t was 90, Dotty!' and 80, Lily!'
kiss-kiss -kiss-and "Tum up to de fire,
Lily: ct me shake de snow off oor cloak"
and Where did 90 Diet dat pity horsey,
Dotty?n and then more exclamations and
more kissing. | was utterly bewildered,
and after Gu lgelng my brains to an extent
undreamed Of in all my previous years,
gave it up as hopeless for that night at
least. and concluded to sleep on it as soon
as they got done kissing. In the succeed
ing days found out partly by questioning
and partly by guessing, that these children
were twins Who they were, or what the
object in palming them off upon me. re-
mlined profound mystery for years. /
viii lust say, in passing, that though lit
tie resentfll at first at what seemed an I'M
pardonable liberty in thus forcing great
responsibility upon me. | soon bee tme not
only reconciled, hut infinitely htppier than
[ ever expected to be. My darlings grew
in grace and beau V, I'm became the very
life of nv life But from the moment OF
their entering my house was haunted by
Il woman, who, i'll spite of all my eHort',
baffied every attempt to see her plunty.
One summer evening. as | sat in my little
sittino-room with the children ut dinner, l
became conscious of some strange lnt1u-
ence near me. and glancing around L saw
her through the open window, just melt
ing out of sight in the dim darkness. And
many times afterward | caught partial
glimpses of thin, wasted form, but never
once was in a position to catch OF det;tin
her. At last. moved by compassion for
what knew to be in that poor mother 5
heart, posted an advertisement on All the
conspicuous places near my dwelling,
whi h was something like this:
.'If the mother of Dotty and Lily will
come to me openly. she shall see her chill
dren without reserve. But in case she
shall have reasons of her own for not COM
ing, would like to let her know that he to
whom she gave them thanks her with a
happy and humble heart for her precious
Gift. and will pledge himself never to prove
recreant to so sacred a trust"
Now. so far from this producing the eff
feet had desired, it seemed to Danish the
mother entirely away; and it was nearly
twelve years after the children came to me
that the next event happened to us
There was an exhibition in Lily's school,
and she was te have the leading character
in some amateur theatrical performance.
She was pleased and excited quite beyond
her natural self. She studied her part with
aviditv, and with the most thrilling and
brilliant action she rehearsed 1t again and
again to me. When the night came, she
appeared on the stage in character, eXqnls-
| itelv dressed with court train and Jewels.
| 1t was the first time | had seen her out OF
short dresses. Who was 1t she reminded
me of? Surely had known some one ut
some time of my life just like my splendid
darling. | listened to her and watched
/ her, with what pride who can tell? until
| the last act, when the curtain falls upon
| her in tableauX-with hands crossed upon
her breast, her tender eyes upralsed, the
whole wealth of her pale golden halr fail
ing in one curling, misty cataract down tC
her waist, the innocence OF angels radlat-
ing from her, and yelling her glrllsh form
with gentle grace, so wonderfully pure
so tenderlv touching. Through the happy
tears that filled my eyes l saw a halo en-
circle her like q rainbow; and then the
curtain fell. and | heard a scream from
some woman in the audience. 1he scream
pierced my heart like a knife, for, lltteC
out of myself as | was by the intensity o
nv feelings, there came to me a perfec
revelation of all the ineXplicable events o
the last few years-sO full OF quiet conlen
to me- so full of agony to others. In VAIN
for some moments, | struggled to pene
trate the crowd whence issued that terrible
cry At last l reached her; pale, pros
trate. lifeless. Stand back L cried
"she's mine, o Emma Emma.
There is little more to tell. took he
to her old home-to the very chambers sh
| had Frightened with her presence when
child. She was faded and worn, and ole
beyond her years Her splendid fragran
hair, whose touch upon my cheek ant
shoulder had once turned my pulse to tn
delicious, maddening rhythm of love, wa
now half gray, half luined gold" Sh
, knew her children, and they brought he
Ill the long garnered affection of thel
fresh Young hearts. But even that coul
not stve her. She faded from US daily
and at last. with many promises ofre-unio
in that world where we hope to rectlty tn
mistakes of this, we parted.
And O, thank God for that olden fas
ion yet of Immortality, For who coul
| live to bear the ills of this life, if deprive
of the one great hope OLA life to come?
: Charlie had died before the twins wer
: born, and poverty had pursued her relent
lesslv-bi,terly. o, if she had only com
back t. the heart that cherished her! Hoy
that thought tortured me, how 1t wor
e upon me and darkened my life for year:
= And how those lines of Whittier run
their endless refrain through my torture
' brain:
5 "Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddcet are these-It might have been.
1t was years before the remainder OF tn
poem took root in my heart, but at last
could say;
40 well, for all, some sweet hope lies
Deeply hIden from hu nan eyes
And IN the hereafter angels may
Roll the stone from its grave away
-Oyerl0nd M0nthly.