Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1877-03-14
and becoming Mrs. Blumenthal with

convince nun tlldt Odll1Ornla was not
out of the world, and that travellers
did occasionally return from that
bourne. His own views Of the region
We're evidently embodied in the belief
that people who went there because
they could not live here, ended by Civ
ing up the attempt at living altogeth-
er. He was certainly very much in
love; and it would be an excellent
| match for Mary, even If he had not
the regulation amount of limbs and
belongings.
Brunhilda was quite carried away
by the postman's eloquence and good
looks. L believe he is right" said
she, when he had gone; lit is not at
all probable that Murphy is living, or
he would certainly have written to his
wife, Adding, with her usual happy
disregard of logic, And why should
two lives be spoiled with this uncer-
tainty about man who, after all, isn't
worth much ?"
began to entertain II private sus-
picion that Herr Blumenthal kept back
our letters from mail to mail for the
pleasure Of bringing them singly and
having confab with Mary several
times in the course of the day; for she
had declined receiving visits from him
until she could be assured that her
husband was really dead. Poor girl
she was certainly very much to be
pitied; and it seemed quite inexcusa-
BILE in William Murphy to give her SO
little satisfaction either III living or
dying.
But one morning something hap
pened. Mary received h letter from
her mother-in-law. that came through
her friend Ellen, in which she was
sternly summoned to attend her hus-
bands funeral. He had died by fever
in hospital, and the remains. by his
OWE dying request, had been sent on
from San Francisco TO be laid in the
family burying-grouhd.
The poor little widow was nearly be-
side herself with the news; ANA it was
rs much as we could do to get her and
the boy off properly. She promised
faithfully to return TO uS--nothing,
she declared, would induce her to re-
main with old Mrs. Murphy; but it
was with heavy hearts that we saw
her depart.
am sorry to say that our Teutonic
postman, instead of sharing his imam
orata sorrow, was evideutly in a
state of confused biss-not much to
be wondered at, perhaps, in the exist
ing state of things; but somewhat in
convenient in its results, as we were
nA,,pfnnt1,y F.,,v l.t
intended for us, while our rightful
correspondence wandered elsewhere.
We took a genuine interest, however,
in this strange love affair, even while
sellishly congratulating ourselves that
the inevitable catastrophe of losing
Mary would not occur for some months
yet.
Alas lit was nearer than we dreamed.
On the third day, instead OF Mary,
as we had expected, there came a let
ter, and the letter began with the as
founding announcement that our cj-
derant handmaiden was 50 happy that
she scarcely knew how to write to us
People have different ideas Of happi-
ness; but 1t really seemed to us that
a slight degree of unhappiness would
have been more becoming in Mrs.
Murphy just then.
We went on with the letter in a sort
of blank amazement, and read that, on
the writer's arrival at the Murphy
mansion, the first person she encoun-
tered was the deceased himself As
may be coniectured, he had never been
dead at all, although he had been very
i'll with fever in Il hospital, and, fan
cying himself dying, he had made the
request to have his remains sent on to
his parents. The occupant of the next
cot had died, and the two became
somewhat mixed up in the minds of
the oilicials-hence the mistake,
which, although inconvenieLt, was
cheerfully borne with for the sake of
seeing the lost son walk in alive and
well.
Clothed in his right mind, too; for
he had long ago deplored his evil
ways. and his industry and self-denial
had accumulated "A nice little sum for
the purchase of coy home nest.
Thither wife and child were TO be
taken 1T once; and Mary wrote joy
fully that she never knew how much
she loved viii until she saw him
standing before heI at his fathers
door, when she had supposed him to
be dead.
Not a word Of poor Carl Blumen-
thai, except to say that VIII was 50
good, he did not blame her or Mr.. =
in the least, and would certainly shake
hands with the latter should he chance
to meet him-only, he was very glad
that he got home when he did.
We rejoiced, OF course, in Mays
joy; but, if the truth must be told, we
were very sorry for ourselves; and as
TO poor Nc. Blumenthal. he was scarce
ly TO be thought Of at ail--hiS future