The Republican journal., 1877-09-13
Our Treasure.

nor 50 thoroughly well satisfied as now.
| Every one told us that we had a "Trcas-
urc, and her very manner of opening
| the door to a visitor was beWitching
while grocers' young men and the milk
man and butchers seemed to linger en-
tranced when they came to deliver their
wares. Mary took their compliments
calmly, and had a ready smile for them
all, without departing from the quiet dig
nifty of her ways. and we felt no shadow
of coming evil until matters began to
look serious with the one armed postman.
The same postman had delivered our
letters regularly for the last two years.
always in the same business like way,
never lingering for a moment never by
any possibility smiling or exchanging a
word with either Of us, and vet we look
ed upon him quite in the light of a friend,
and speculated about his history, as lone
~ women will about those with whom
they come in contact. He had been in
the army andshad lost an arm; this was
all we knew about him, except that he
was evidently German, and quite good
looking, not to say scholarly in his as
pect.
''Wcre you aware" asked Brunhilda
one morning, THAT Miss Murphy speaks
German p
SPEAKS German" ! repeated in
amazement
And pray how did You find it out q
by hearing her address the postman
in that tongue" was the reply
''I shall nip this in the bud" said
severely But presently better thoughts
came to me. remembered in my youth,
and remembered Crawford, where Miss
Matte, after the death of an old lover
softens to Martha and allows '.followers.' :
\ week or two passed, and | was at
tending to my preserves one day in the
kitchen it was Il pleasure to do any
thing in Marys Kitchen, everything look
ed so Immediately clean and almost
poctical | thought TT and | approached
the subject uppcrmost in my mind by
saying carelessly:
$50, Mary, you know German. it seems.
How does that happen ?"
Maly's pretty face was overspread by a
rosy cloud as she replied in low tone :
Il picked it up myself. had some Ger
man books once
Then she sat down and cried, very
much to my hewildermcnt; and present
~ she exclaimed:
II should like TO tell YOU somcthing
Miss Darlingford shall feel better
when YOU know ALL"
II hope, said |, with vague eNpccta-
ton of dreadful developments, "that ALI
is not very bad Mary
The flush deepened upon the pretty
face, but for answer she took from her
bosom a black ribbon, to which was fas-
tened Il plain gold ring. ! dropped my
preserves in anazcment, the girl looked
so Young.
'lou are a widow then ~ said |, with
a feeling Of tender pity. Poor child :"
II don't know whether am or not, y
''and that is what troubles me So
| turned to preserves again with a
smile. as | thought Of the good looking
German pOStman
Miss Dallingtord, continued the girl,
more composedly, Il want to tell you
everything, and am sorry now that |
didn't do this at first. But felt that it
would be against me and had to get a
| place have Il boy six years old''-
''In the name Of WONDER" exclaimed,
show Old are you yourself!'
Il am tWenty-tive,' she said a little
proudly ''and Mr.. Blumenthal promises
to take care of Willie and he wants me
to let him pay his board now"
Here | sat down hard in a chair to col
| lect myself. People have other things
besides greatness thrust upon them and
| saw that | was destined to prove most
nNillihu lnnuf1ptnI, n N ton arD,al
postman. "Why is it." thought. bit
terly, "that if one ever does happen on
that 10lW 0tis, Il model servant, all the
powers Of darkness seem leagued togeth-
er to spirit her away ~
"Wherc is your child ?" asked with Il
| strong effort.
II have put him to board little way
out OF town, replied the girl, sadly. "He
is with a friend of mine who takes good
care of him and always go to see him
on my afternoons out 4; but do miss him
| So
And here she broke down again
"But what does it all mean :" | continu-
ed, for my sympathes were getting dread
fully worked upon. "Why are you not
living with your husband if he is alive
or why do you not know it if he is dead
Just tell me the whole story from begin
ming to end"
At this point Brunhilda, who always
scents a romance from atar, appeared
upon the scene, and gracefully establish
ed herself upon the kitchen dresser.
"Seven years ago." said Mary, "when
! married William Murphy, | thought
there was no one like him in the world
| I OH i,,l- Io J,,'t
nearly worried the life out of me. But
shall always believe that his mother was
to blame for it all. She was that Jealous
of Will that it sometimes seemed as il
she would like to scratch my eyes out
We lived with the old people a year OF
two but after little Will was born had
no peace at all, for his grandmother in
sisted on having her way with him, and
naturally thought that / had right tC
mine.
''The old people had money, and live(
very comfortable, and VIII and his father
carried on coal yard together but vii
fell into bad company and took to drink
ing, and his father and mother were SC
bitter toward him it drove him to despera
ton. You see they were people who ha(
always been respected, and they couldn't
bear the disgrace and manys the night
I've sat up watching for Will so that they
shouldn't know when he came in.
taught myself German, by way Of amuse
ment, on those lonely evenings. Some
one gave the books to Will, and | had al
ways been fond of study at school.
'.After while we left the old peoples
and moved into two rooms of our own
and | worked hard at sewing and knit
ting and anything | could get to supper
us. Will did not improve, though h'
was never unkind to me, and one morn
ing boy brought me IL crumpled not