The daily gazette., 1877-08-31
land the fortune 1 have saved shall be

Vuo suOWy uedTu OI Din uOl, I'VE ulu not
think our Bsrta would be- grand, rich
lady, who will come in her carriage to
visit US. She will not forget her humble
friends, thihk you"
"Never! She is all love~ said Mrs.
Gaetling. "We-we should be glad for
her, little mother ?"
But there was no gladness n the heavy
sigh that followed the word,
"We--we will BIZ glad" said Cas-
per.
Aud as he spoke the doll fell from his
trembling hands to the floor, and stretch
Ing out hls arms upon the table, he bent
MS head down, sobbing like chilli.
Mrs. Gaetling spoke no word, but her
hand softly strOked the long, waving
hair that but partially hid the deformed
shoulders. and tears chased each other
down her cheeks. B fore long the Grip
pie lifted the face whose noble beauty
mocked his stunted form and said:
"We will not let her guess our secret,
little mother. She will be the wife of a
man who Is worthy even of her-a man
strong and brave, able to protect her a
the battle of life "a man rich and gensr-
Gus, able to adorn her beauty as it should
be. 1t Is lifting in every way that she
should love Henry Wallenfeld And
we will be brave and true, and smile
gladly, that Berta shall never, never
guess the deep, hopeless love of a Grip
ples's sore heart"
eyes, my son, we will be brave"
And neither mother nor sou saw a
slender figure fit upstairs to Berta's $
room.
Presently, when they were calm, and
the wardrobe OF Santa Claus was once
more in progress, B ,Ita came in.
Shsat
were heavy, as If with a weight of unshed
tears She did not take her accu ,tomed
Seat, she did not touch the needle wait.
Ing for her. Clasping her little hands
before her, she stood before the work
table facing Casper, and near the little
mother.
Very low and sweet was her voice,
often trembling with emotion as she
spoke:
"For seventeen years." she said, "T
nave Kept no secret of my heart from
you, the only friends have ever known,
and to you l come now to disclose the last
one | have discovered. 1t is useless tor
me to try to tell you of my gratitude for
all L owe you, for the love given my
forlorn childhood. the tender C ire have
had in my lifetime, of happiness here.
Let that pass You know, because
conceal nothing from you, of the letter
that came to me this morning, begging
me to leave my old home and enter upon
new home, new life 1t wakened
strange, new emotions in my heart to
read that letter. Love was in every line,
and for the first time in my life, asked
my heart what was this new love offer
ed me. My room, the house seemed to
stif1e me, and l went into the woods to
search my heart for this new love. |
put the letter before me, and tried to
think of all else it promised, thought of
the pretty silks l could bay for the little
mother, of the books | could pile up
around Casper till he was.hidden by their
height. l thought of the hours of leisure
/ could coax you to enjoy in my grand
new home, of the increase of business
Henry could open for the industry of fin
gers. 1 thought of all I could do for
those who had done all for me. But l
could not put back certainty, pressing on
me more and more, that must search
my heart to see If love, such love as
Henry offered me, was there. Tread the
the letter over again, dwelling on every
tender line, and closed it, asking my
self, do love 80" and my heart said,
You do"
Here Casper's fingers dropped their
burdens to be tightly clasped, but the
brave smile on his lips never wavered.
81 looked for love-" said Berta. slowly,
"for the one true love of life in my heart,
and | found it. Iasked myself il, for
the sake Of this love, could bear pover-
ty, toll and privation, and knew that
could. thought of the one face that
loved, and questioned my heart if ever
my true faith could let it die away and
be replaced by another, and knew that
its image was fiked for life"
h,a h.ax L., hau fxui tol,a
upon Casper's lips, how it wavered in
mis- eyes, but would not fade under
Bprta's s wlstful gaze
"But," she said, and the white lids fell
over her eyes, Il h al set my love far
above me had given my heart to one
40 wise and good, so noble in life and
heart, that wondered at my own daring
| in thinking Of his ever caring for pen
| niless walt, a creature OF charity. L felt
| tn It l was presumptuous In daring to
give my heart to one so far above me-,
and | sobbed in my sick, hopeless mis-
cry. | had discovered "a secret of happl-
ness, only to see that it was to put nap
piness far from me. 81 | came home,
sadly and slowly. | wanted to be alone
in my room, where even the birds and
trees would not see my anguish, and AS
/ crossed the threshold, the cloud was
lllItu lGOul lhS, anu ub"ih o''S SSAA
sh ne fl )oded my whole being. just as
came in, he whom loved said: 'Berta
shall never guess the deep, hopeless love
Of a cripple's sors heart
"B ,rfa! Berta" Casper cried, "yon
cannot-you cannot love me, crippled,
poor, unworthy
AAnd she only said humbly!
"If you thrust me- out of your heart,
think I shall die have been forward,
unmaidenly, but you had said | must
never guess your love, and SO | ehlnr'
hopi.g you would be less cluel ii you
knrw mine p
"Dear child p' the little mother said,
opening her arms, where Barta nestled,
sobb,ng now like a chil1 indeed, 'who
could be cruel to you ?
And Casper, dazed by his great JOY,
bewildered by this sudden opening OF
tae gates of loves paradise. could only
put his slender hand on Berta's and
speak words of love and gratitude That
tod her she need never doubt CT fear
that the gift of her pure hearts aitec-
tioa would ever he thrust BACK upon hef
TO iaugulsh and die
| can tell YOU Of no sudden change IN
the mum Sle home, no great fortune com
ing to the wdit, no discovery OF lotiy
parenlage B It after the quiet wedding,
the brlde's fingers once more 'ooK up
the domestic dIlias, tue huinOie occupf
A.. Ia nAlCZ