Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1876-05-04

to his, and then jim didn't have those
great whiskers, and that fierce looking
mustache. Amy way, lilly couldn't
keep her eyes away from him, or find
her senses long enough to heed what he
was saying to her.
So she kept locking at him, and he,
surprised that she should look at him SO
fixedly, looked back at her without say-
ing word. But at last he smiled, and
said, laughingly, as he fumbled in his
pocket for some change: "Do you like
my looks SO very much my little blue
bird ?"
lilly dropped her eyes, and blushed
scarlet, falterlng out timidly: 4 thought
that you looked SO much like my broth
er jim"
Indeed said the stranger, the ex-
preston of his face changing suddenly.
'Where is your brother Jim?"
81 don't know sir, said lilly; sbut
fear that he is dead"
ft'Yoa don't know then whether be is
dead OF alive. suppose you hav'nt
seen him for some time thehi"
.'Oh, no" said lilly, 'snot since l was
four years old; but have his picture at
home, and look at every day. He was
a sailor, and sailed away on foreign
voyage, and 1 have never heard from
him since"
What is your name, my dear'' quss
toned the gentleman, lifting Tilly's SUR
prised little face in both his hands. that
he might have better view of it.
But he did not wait for her tell the
name, but snatched her up in his arms
and held her close to his heart, calling
her his only sister lilly.
'Are you really Jim?" said lilly
when she could recover her breath.
care you really Tilly," said he, hug
ging her closer and closer.
"Bvt why didn't you come home ?"
she asked, looking up shyly into his
face.
The ship l sailed in was wrecked,
said The, "and all on board, save the sec.
ond mate and myself were lost. We
succeeded in clinglng to some floating
spars, until another ship came and took
us in. That ship was bound to China,
and so to China l was obliged to go, of
course. Then when we arrived there,
was taken violently i'll of a fever, and was
not sufficiently recovered when the ship
was ready TO sail again to 90 with her;
and when at last. after three years abb
sence, dld touch my native shore a.
gain, l found the old house empty, and
learned that our dear mother had died.
w here you were, lilly, no one could
tell. All the neighbors seemed to have
moved away, and though searched ev-
erywhere, l was unable to find the least
clew to you, and at last concluded that
you must have died also. Thoroughly
disheartened, l sailed again as captain
of the Swallow, and have never been in
this port since, until yesterday"
The old apple woman was almost as
glad as lilly, herselfto hear of the little
girls good fortune, and Jim who felt
that she had something to do with
bringing about this strang meeting gave
her enough money to support herself
through many rainy days without risk
ing her poor rheumatic shoulder out of
doors. Miss Snipp was glad too,though
she hated to part with lilly. And Til-
ly thought that there could not be an
other such happy girl in the whole
'"orld as she was to have such a hand
iy2e< xother to take care of her, and to
be able to 60 to school every day, and
wear pretty dresses all the time, for she
did after Jim came home, you may be
sure.