Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1878-04-18
Vol. XIV. Whole No. 1868. No. Is.


her to try with all her might to forget her
trouble, TO get rid of the sharp memory
that irked her soul like ranking thorn.
She hid all her baby clothes away In the
garret, she sent the cradle out to the shed
loft, and never opened her lips about the
lost boy whose name Aunt Huldah had re-
corded In the same record with the two
who had preceded him, and whose little
body lay under the mulleins and golden
rods, beside the others At Lowley's feet.
| But as time wore on Melinda began to
see that some change had passed over her
husband. She had quite forgotten her own
mad words, spoken iu the first ds!irium OF
her anguish and followed by the severe
fever that had almost swept away life as
| well a. memory no rem0rse therefore soft
ened her heart, bas Il Was not needed.
Though Melinda was an lncisive, stirring,
| resolute woman, with her warm temper,
she had also q warm heart; she could not
| live in the house with dog or . cat with
Ont feeling a certain kindly affection for
| the creature. Her step children never suf-
tered at her hands, but shared in all the
care she gave her own, and loved her as
well as shy careless children Of a healthy
| sort love anybody. She loved her husband
truly. Her quick. stormy ways meant no
more than the scoldlng Of wren; In her
heart she held Freedom dear and honored,
only he did not know it.
Bnt she began now, In her anxiety about
his sad and gloomy ways, to soften her
manner toward him daily she remembered
the things he liked to eat and prepared
them for the table; she made him q set of
new shirts, and set the stitches In them
with scruppulous ueatness; she kept the
house in trim and pleasant order, and sa.
nm Al nIybt to mend his working-clothes,
so that thew were always whole, e,-homely
services and demonstra atoms, no doubt, but
having "a much fitness 10 place and person
az the scenic passion of novel In high life,
or a moral drama where the repentant wife
throws herself into stern husbands arms,
and with fiyiug tresses and flowing tears
VOWS never to- yex or misunderstood his
noble souI AGAIN
Eroado,,'s corscious controyersv with
h,s No. s,nI .ent on within him and
rased he,ween donh, and desnair. hut he
Us bnman and the gentle raw of affection
tba, s,oIa rom NsI;nda,s ,iittle camille,
lii, ia wort In his .nauqbtv world" He
feI, a cer,aIn .comfort peryadiny home
whs, he came in NJ njoht sad and weary:
tho chIldren's faces were clean. the hearth
wash.d the (, re bright. warmth and peace
hrooded over the old kitchen. cracked
s,frlv from the back. log. purred in the cat,
sang from the kettIe-nosr. Mehnda's
shini,, hair was smfo,h. her look ouie,
ami vishf,I. the table was neatly spr.ad.
--lI,tI, things surely. but life Is made up
of ,heu, and bone and hapnin.s, and suc-
cess
Tna dark cloud In this mans sonl began
to m Irnp.rcentibly: and he was called
orr of hiaseIf nresentlv 10 stand by Aunt
Uannah'. he'd and see her die. A second
.hocs Of n,ralv,is suddenly prostrated
har and sh,. wa laid on the pilIows speech
Iess and senseless: twenty-tour hours of
arx,o,y and tears nass.d and then she
ser,ned IN revive. he stirred her hand,
bsr fac. r.,.xed. her eyes opeped. but the
exhaustion WAS preat and she was unable
To sn.ak Conscious and patient she en-
dnr.d ,hronyh n few DAYS more, and then
tns ...ni surssaye came, another paraly-
sis longer silence, aud those GROUPED
about her bed In the old red house, think
ing every moment to see the shadow OF
death tall over those beloved features,
beheld with surprise the soft brown eyes
open and fixed upon Freedom such u look
OF longing, tender, piteous affection. rs
might have broken the heart OF stone; Il
louV long gaze very passion of love
pity, and yearning, and then those eyes
turned heavenward, grew glorious with
lie bt and peace. and closed slowly,-closed
forever.
Freedom went out aud wept bitterly; he
had denied his Lord, too, and IL was a
loos that smote him to the heart, as that
divine glance did Peter. Bnt no man knew
or saw IL. Hidden in the barn, o dim aud
fragrant oratory that has seen more than
one struggle of soul in the past and un-
knuSn records OF New England, Freedom
gave up and gave up finally.
lie was no longer a young man, and he
was not the stuff that saints are made Of.
but he had a stern honesty an inward up
riyhtness that held him TO his new resolve
like hooks OF steel II his temper sotteneG
n little, his obstinacy Welded here and
there, his manner gave out now and then
some scanty spark of affection and consld-
Grafton, these were the outwa ard signs of h
mighty change within: for an old and
weather beaten tree does not bloom in its
resurrection with the flowers aud promise
of Young and vigorous growth: il il
much il the rnarled boughs put out their
scanty share OF yerdue, ii there is blossom
on a few branches, and shelter enough for
a sn, all bird s.nest from sun or rain, Ioyey
crown by this time a tall and helpftu pirI.
with her mothers delicate sweetness in
lace and figure, was first perhaps to feel
This vital change in her iather. Aunt Han
nah's death was u wotul loss to her tender,
cupyipv nature. and she turned TO him
a
pathy from him that was strangely dear
and sweet and bound them together as
never before. Aunt Huldah, too. noticed
ii. Dear ~ said she to herself, as sh.
sat alone by the ire knitting red stockings
Tor Chimera. who had begun 10 mend her
WAYS liltle under the steady birch and
shinyle discipline. Dear me. I'm real
afraid Freedom Amt long for this world.
de is kinder mellerin', like stone apple
in June; it's onnateral. | expect he's
struck with death, Hammer, don't youp
Oh, NV iaud; what an Old tool be. Han
ner's gone, and here | be a-talking to her
jest as though'-Aunt Huldah wiped her
dlmlued eyes with u red silk handkerchief.
and rubbed her b,isty glasses before she
went ou, still leaving the sentence unfin-
ished: "Mabbe IT'S u triumph OF grace;
s'pose grace can GET the better OF Freedom;
seems kinder doubtful | must confess;
but | dou't see nothing else that could
fetch him, and he is growing soft, sure
as ye live.
But Melinda, less sensitive or perceptive,