Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1877-02-02

stepped IN ana married Ine Only W.
man l ever loved. I choked down
my grief, held up my head, gave her
nay best COW, danced at her we'd
ding, kissed her, and wished her
much joy, and then went home with
a broken heart. 1t was a long time
before | could bear to see the sun
shine after that. Life and all around
me, was changed, but just my moth
er. But God came and brought
peace and life, and then l sought to
do all the good / could for others
for His sake. As time went on the
wound healed, but the scar remain
ed. / knew was stupid, awkward
man in the estimation of others, and
so kept out of the way, except
when duty called me forward; had
forgotten that the world, in itself,
had any charms until you came here
and brought the fresh air and sun
shine to these dark, dull rooms; when
you brought that rose geranium in
full bloom it took me back twenty
FIVE years, when one just like it stood
in Matilda's window. The songs the
girls sing are the same she sung
newly arranged, and with new
names. rs q. l.f5 3E3 a...
Not many weeks ago ! had as you
know, some dealings with Carver,
the western man, who staid over
ntoht with us. In talking with him
l said: l1 E7s1 II Hes
4 suppose you never happened to
meet with a man in your State, nam
ed Waterson Blake?' - ..
Certainly l have, thousand
times. Did you know him?' he said.
When L told him he was almost a
townsman of mine he said;
/ Poor fellow! he made a sad wreck
of bright prospects. He died poor,
three years ago, and left his wife
and boys in a sad condition; but she
is Jewel of woman; everybody
loves her; we would all have been
glad to help her, but she had some
idea of independence, which she
wished to instill into the hearts of
her boys. So she gave the incumber-
ed farm over to Blake's creditors,
moved into the next town and set
up a school for little girls
Before he went away the next
morning, l drew check for hun
dred dollars and sent it to the boys,
from an old schoolmate of their
MOTHER and resolved to devise some
plan to start them in life. y
The more l thought of it the more
[ felt that Matilda Day would make
the world new for me yet; and l
wrote and told her so.o
Next month ! am going West to
bring her and her boys home; l want
you to stay with us till you get
home of your own. I can never be
thankful enough for. your coming to
me; it has broken the dreadful spell
that bound me, and brought me back
to live among others; before | only
worked for them at arms length.
Now that / love all the world more,
my life will henceforth be of more
service to Christ and those he loves
and pities." ..,.- .,.:...- .
The old stone cottage was repair
ed and furnished before Deacon Je-
hiel set off on his momentous jour
ney; and the widow and her daugh-
ters,r now nearly grown up, were re-
joicing in the prospect of new and
loving neighbor and friend.
Matilda Blake, although mature
woman of forty-four years, brought
back more sunshine than she had
taken away from her native place a
quarter of a century before. Her
anxieties and sorrows had softened
and frightened the natural lowell |
ness of her character, made her a |
blessing, not only to the farm, but |
also to the church and town.
Indian summer had indeed come |
to the deacon's hitherto clouded life,
and his heart and his house were
open afresh to the whole world. He
looked henceforth more leniently on
the follies of the young, and more
charitably on the errors, of those who |
had wandered from the right way.
His voice, his features, his gait-in-
deed, the whole man-were changed
from a solemn, unsymp pathizing bach
glor, as he used to be regarded, to
genial husband father, friend, and
Christian WOrker-
There is nothing like solitary
life to fix a perpetual winter in the
heart. There is nothing like com
panionshlp with the good and true,
who need aid and sympathy,to bring
back summer although it may be
an Indian summer-to the heart.