The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1874-12-03
Mrs. Gathright's Story.

luchftI Is uid hDott InhJ poor litu
Mrs. Craig.
IL was in the spring of 1S-, ths
she and her husband took my secOn
dOOr. He was not handsome mai
and not over young; slight and dar
uaIred, with a heavy darK mOu:
tacne, rather small. gray eyes, and
curious half lisp caused by th
iO-s of a front tooth. Not a hand
some man and not young, bu
his beautiful little wife seemed fart
to worship him, aud lie was certaIul
the most lover-like husband eve
saw.
As for her, she was the lovelies
little girl that my eyes ever r-stedor
but, as l SOON found uut, a trifle ~ Va 4,
aud silly fair as lily. with grea
i0nOeeIit brown eyes, (eyes that al
ways seemed like thOse Uf some gen
tie, petted animal, accustomed ODl.
70 KIudness aud suspecEIng evil of IA,
oneJ. aEd golden hair curling in littli
baby ism rings and ripples around he
head.
At first she was shy and reserved
but sitter while she began to seen
mOre friendly, and sometimes wnsI
Mr.. Craig was away land he wa
away great deal, sometimes bU
being at hume for two or tnree day
81 time, she would come down tut,
my little parl0r, bringing u bit o
Sewing with her, and stay an hour o.
50.
don't know why it was, but sht
seemed, ia her childish way, to take 4
fancy 10 me; perhaps 1t was because
sbe lIved 80 lOuely u life, for sue hat
u9 friends and no. Oue ever came e.
SEE ter, aud perhaps 1t WAS because
loved her sO love brings love, they
say, but any Way, after u while sb'
began To come To me with her little
Worries anu perpie kites, whicn wer,
many, for sile was, as / have said be-
fore, n lrIfis weak aud silly-as she
might have gone To her mother.
Que day When she bad been with
me about .wo months she grew very
cOn tiden initial and told me all abOul
herself. She Was al orphan and had
lwsys'lived, at least lsInce size was 9
Wee child, with al Old great-auuL Ol
ners, "a regular dragon" she said,
with little shrug of Ier shoulders,
''but awfuily good" aud with tim
lawfully guUd" woman she had
lived an uuevsntful dreary LIE, with
ouL gieam uf real sunshine ia it
'uutIl Arthur came" she said Will
a gIriish Uiush. 90 = =
He had made love 10 her, and she
longing for the love and TENDERNESS
whIcu bO one ever showed, ald which
WIS Necessity OF her nature, had un.
hesItatinsly accepted hun as her nero.
sit was 10 romantic !" she said with
gleefuI l4Tgh. "H= ran away witt
me, you know. and left \ little note,
! as Jnty always do in novels, saying
pursuit is useless, though I DON'T be-
lI=ye aunt Barbara even thought Oi
pursuing us. Then We went on the
continent, Arthur being ordered there
on business by the firm which EN-
llJys him, and then we came here
had teen married just three mOntBs
on the DAY We Came uere, Mrs. Gath
righT, aud that was my eighteenth
Birthday"
"YOu were very young to marry"
said, l@lkiDg at her face admiriugly.
"Y, O." she answered, "very yOuEg-
but yUd See / loved Arthur 50 oh,
Mrs GAthright," she turned on me 81
suddenly that Was startled, and 1alf-
ruse TO my feet.
"WhaL is il dearie ?n
sNothing, only -only-I think ]
should die If anything should come
between Us, ,-if he should tire of me
| Do you think he ever will? I have
heard of SUCH things, and il would be
50 terrible w
There was a ,ok on her face which
lairly frightened me, a look of such
dreadful fore0odIug. out it was gone
III moment, aud she laughed in heI
light way, shaking her curry head al
me. ff q
81 am a little goose, Mrs. Gathright,
Arthur always calls ne 50. OF course
nothing of the Kind will ever happen,
Il wish ne would come, he's Seen
away two whole days aud I tntuk
SchiotteFbeek aud Huntgenhemer are
hard hearted as they can Oe to seud
mm of 50 ~ aud in another minute
she WAS out Oh tile little balcony sing
ing like bird, anu looking down
the long street. for her husband.
am an old woman, aud, Not imag-
| inative, but, rs sue st0Ud there, the
slRnung. sunbeams shining on htT
golden hair, white dress, (she was Yei y
mud OF dressing. Iu WniIe aud bel
husband encouraged her in ~ ana
blue ribbons blowing about IA tue
bret zr, aud her pretty hands shading
/ her eyes, / thought bad never seen
any Obe So lovely ia all my life au0
some way there was LOOK about her
| IKE The daughter / had lost long ago,
pHI my heart sank as saw how fra
gIIe aud delIc ,te she Was, and thought
how weak aud helpless sue would be,
if any trouble should come TO her.
She did not stay there loLg, for she
was like q butterfly, never in the
same place two minutes at a time,
anu as the sun sank lower, she came
ia with n little shadow ON her face.
He's Not coming tonight, Mrs.
GzIhright,-pm 50 sorry I think /
~iil go and lie down, my head
aches"
There were tears in her great eyes
aud her lips quivered ;-pOOr little
girl Sne was v. ry much dIs4ppoInt-
ed, aud so / tried my best To cheer
her up, but IL was not until she heard
8 Weli-known step in the passage thai
tue smiles came back 10 her face.
"Thrre he is 7" she critd and rum
ming to meet him like little girl she
be Id her face up for kiss, 81 had
gwen you up for Tonight, Arthur, and
I am 50 glad-sO glad ~ ~ So p
II fairly made my heart ache to see
how her whOle life seemed to be
bound up 10 that man true, he seem
ed very fUuud of her aud all that, but
there was s look in his gray eyes that
I never liked, aud some way i never
felt quite sure of hin, IN spite of his
polite, genilemanly ways and smooth
words.
As the days went by Mr.. Craig
vas more frequently absent, some
tunes for werk at q time, and his
poor little wifels heath grew very
bad Indeed Sne lost al her pretty
color and grew pale ami thin, aud as
the fall days turned colder, she used
to nestle down close to the fire,
wrapped in q great shawl, aud IOOk-
ing like ghost IF her own sVlf, but
quiet and uucomp planning, always
for her husbands sake.
Il was reslly pitIful the way she
loved that man Her great eyes
would follow his every movement
when he was with her, and sDme-
times when he was away I you'd iad
her asleep, pour babyi wrapped iD hef
great shawl before the fire with q
glove or a hankeTehief of bis pressed
against her poor pale cheek, and a
smile on her lips, although her eye
lasbes were wet with Tears. , l.s,r -.
Is wss In tie dead OF the winter
when her baby came,-a strong
healthy boy with sfAce the exset
miniature OF his fathers, but think
no sum mer day seemed ever 30 full of
warmth and elsdness to the youog
mother, as did the cold, bleak night
when she heard the first cry of her
child, and yet, even then, her hus-
band wss first in her thoIghts.
"We will call him Arthur" she
whispered, and then her husband
wsnt to her and laid his head ON the
pillow beside her, she raised herself,
weak as she was, and kisssd him. 81
love you more than ever" she said,
81 have tried to be patient for your
sake, my darling"
After that for the next few months,
Mr.. Craig was more at home than he