Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1874-12-10
never told her where was or what |

only excuse Tor me.
SO / led the sort Of life sailor in
the merchant service leads-no very
pleasant one can tell you-for year
or two; grew no better for it and no
happier. The other men had mostly
some one at home-mother or sister,
| wife or sweetheart, to get letter or
message from at times /, of my own
act, had no one. And all the while, at
work or at mesa, in the hours when
WATERWAYS kept on deck, l thought Of
Nellie; SAL her as she looked s.hen she
sat by her fathers side in the summer
moonlight; saw her with the frelig ht
| on her golden hsir, beside the winter
hearth; saw her smiling at me as we
| whirled through the snowy drifts that
last bright day, and saw her as she lay
! like dead thing in my arms And
fancy painted other pictures. saw
her as Tom Armstrong; wife. | saw
her-oh, good heavens, with her child
rem on her knee 1s
I am not sure but that / should have
turned idiot had not something happen.
| ed to altar the circumstances of my
position This was nothing else than
the total wreck Of our vessel and my
narrow escape from drowning, but with
my arR, broken by the fall offs spar.
For month lay On sick bed; and
then with suftened heart, and d feeling
that | was sick of the sea. went home
to see sister Jennie, and be farme,
again, if could.
in these two years she had never had
/ line from me. Not an angry word
did abe give NE, but ran in my arms
and wept on my bosom Ike child; and
then she showed me the wedding ring
| Oh her finger, and the BABY lying
| asleep in the cradle, aud told me whose
wife she was. H. ... .r
| She was Mrs. Tom Armstrong;, and
had never guessed they liked each
other
"And I'm as happy as the day is
long, she said, ''only fretting about
you How could yea stay away SO,
Ned! If YOU did not think of my feel
ing YOU might have remembered Nellie
Brodic's."
Nellie Brodie's feelings?" cried.
''NelIie Brodie's Don't laugh at NE,
Jennie.
Laugh at YOU" she cried. Laugh
at you, my dear! I haven't a thought
of it. Did you quarrel that night ? Il
mast have been quarrel think,
Whose fault was it, yours or hers?"
Miss Brodie and never had quar-,
rel, said
ooh, Ned she murmured softly.
don't try to hide it from me, when
saw year portrait in her bosom. l
told you so, know, and thought it was
ali settled and Was 40 glad"
started up and caught Jennie's
wrist. "Aiy Portrait" I cried.
''Why, Ned, don't look at me So
screamed Jennie: what does it all
mesns Your portrait Of course, one
Of those photographs you had taken. /
found the rest sitter you went away.
Oh, Ned, don't look SO, dear!"
Il thought you told me she wore an
| other mans picture, | said CHA,
drove ne away, that, nothing else. Oh,
what wretched fool I've been; did
not know she had my p;ctare; and |
| might have cast her away l. who lows
| ed her SO, and nave pinned for her all
theae years !"
But Jennie, dear Jennie, with her
kind, motherly tace and loving wotnan's
| eyes, came close to NE, and put her
arms about my neck, and whispered.
I Don't despair, Ned. She has never
liked any one else, and / know, for
certain, that she wears your picture
still" aH
And those words brought my youth
back to me and the years seemed blot
ted out, ard | was the Ned Brown who
fell in love with Nellie Brodie, once
more. ..,.....5 .,r.
|. Well, Jennie told the truth; ] went
to see Nellie Brodie, and found her as
sweet and beautiful as ever; and we
were married when the spring came
and the birds began to build their nests
| in the green orchard. Afterwards,
when she had been my wife for some
time, Nellie told me. under those very
apple trees, how she had found nv
picture one day when no one saw her,
and worn it afterwards for love of me-
| worn it and wept over 1t while | was
for away, trying'to forget her trying,
but never succeeding, for the love l had
for Nellie Brodie was bart of my life,
and will be, believe part of the eter
| nifty, where, when death sewers us here,
we shall be re united.
N
Mrs. Nye, Of Iowa, can get supper,
split kindlings, wash the dishes, milk
two cows and feed the hogs while her
five boys and two girls are playing a
game of croquet
---s s---
The sensitive boy lived in elaware.