The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1877-11-01

pun, stllU he was aIralU 10 nave FFeUOlc
and go there on account of the chol-
era. But when I heard he was i'll 1
went to him at once, leaving my boy
with my husband s MDthor and eister.
l knew they were 5btvefY fond Of him,
but had no clfd61e. 81 dared not take
him to Liverps with the, cholsta rag
leave him. fodhH my husband very
ill, but he was reCd efing, when lie had
a relapse. He rallied from that and
took cold, l think. ofover- fatigped Aim-
self, bringing on second relapse that
proved fatal. a During all his illness, I
heard only twice of Freddie once thAt
he was well, once that lie had been
killed in the street. II came home only
two days ago, and they would tell me
nothing of where he was buried moth
ing but the bare fact of his death. T.
I-oh, do not blame mel was on the
way to the river to end it all when /
met Freddie. ..aif
Mother looked at me and whispered,
1.-THE grandmother who beat Freddie
has driven her mad. Let her stay
with me while you try to find out some-
thing about her. @''
but have no right to force myself
into her private affairs" said. 5'aio
"She is Freddie's mother. u That
gives you a right''a Ai,ll.i n;t,.=
1t would be too tedious to tell in de-
tail all the long conversation. that fol-
lowed; but authorized by Mrs. West I
called upon her husband s lawyer, and
there heard her story. -
Il Think" the lawyer said, confiden-
TALLY, "that the Vests are the proud
est people ever knew, proud of their
family, their money and their beauty.
Carroll West was the only son, Lucy
the only daughter. When the old man
died he left q considerable fortune, but
Carroll has increased his share to an
immense wealth. His mother was very
DESTROYS of having him make y: great
match, and proportionately furious
when he married little, dark-eyed
seamstress, of no family in particular,
and working for living.
l thought of the exquisite face, the
low, tender voice of Frcddie's man.
ma, and mentally applauded CAROLS
choice. ''
Carroll" continued the lawyer,
''had sufficient good sense to keep his
own establishment until he went into q
nearly wild speculation that called him
to Liverpool at the height of the cholc-
IA. Then he left his wife and child i'm
der his mothers care, and, before he
went, made his will. Now, DOCTOR"
said the lawyer, speaking very slowly,
and with marked emphasis, ''his will
leaves half his fortune to his wife, half
to his child but in case Of the death of
the child, the half that is his goes to
Mrs. West and her daughter Lucy. If
the mother dies, all goes to the child,
to revert again to the Vests, if he dies
without heirs. Do you see?''
did see. l saw again the hard, de-
termined face leaning over the sleeping
child, denying him; the weaker woman
sanctioning the deceit, but falling sense
less in the room. understood now
the disappointment that had greeted
the tidings of that child as neither dead
nor dying, but recovering. 1t was all
clear to me now, but l shuddered as I
recalled the mothers face when she
confessed she had contemplated suicide
rather than bear her widowed, childless
lot.
We could never tell whether the UNI
natural grandmother and aunt would
have risked legal investigation. The
recognition of mother and child was
complete, and the clothing we had care
fully preserved was fully identified.
Mrs. West did not return to her moth
er-in-law. For some weeks she was
my mothers guest, my patient, being
Frustrated with low, nervous fever,
and then she took the house next to our
own, dler own claim to Freddie's and to
Carroll Vests property being undis-
puted.
We were warm friends for two years,
and Mrs. West, senior, with the beauti-
full blonde, were occasional visitors at
the widows house; but when the violet
and white took the place of Grape and
bcmbazine ventured to ask Adelaide
West if second love could comfort her
for the one she had lost, and my moth
er became Freddie's grandmother in
truth, when his "pretty mamma" be-
came my wife.
Mrs. West is dead, and Lucy married
to Il titled Italian, who admired her
blonde beauty, but, unlike many of his
compatriots, finds the lovely lady fully
able to take care Of her own interests
and guard her money against his too
profuse expenditure.
Other children call me papa and
Adelaide mamma, but do not think l
give any of them Il warmer or truer
love than feel for brOwn-eyed Freddie,