Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1878-07-17

three years, ago, there was nothing
washed ashore but a BIT Of a girl bLby
three or ionr years old, with a skin
like a lily leai, and great black eyes
Hiram Godhy found her on the rocks
IIe was q bay Of twelve years. strong
aud tall, aud he carried the child Ia his
arms To his mother You may see
the cottage, sir, the secood white one
on the side of tbs hill"
ii see IT,"
"Well Hiram tobk tho baby there
aud Mrs. Goldby was tbs same ~ q
mother to her agood wo'uan,God bless
her soul--the widow Goldby,'
''II she dead, Them
"Aye, sir, six years agonc' The baby
| was telling you OF, sir talked Tor
c,gn lingo, and dressed beautiful In
rich clothes, that must have cost a
power OF money, But never would
Himm or tn. wd Nv sell th,m, putting
them up carefully IN case tho child
was ever looked Tor, She was that
pretty, sir, and that dainty, that
everybody called her Pearl, though
she was not like our girls, but AFRAID
Of the sea. | have seen her clench
her mite Of a hand aud strike nj II,
for she had bit OF a ,emper In her
,h,ugh nothing 10 harm.
When Hiram made hi' first voyage
Tor they were all seaIaring men here
about. .anl there was nothing for q
lrd to do but ship, the Pearl, was just
u little wa,hed. ,at lily. rr'tiing until
he came home again. And 1t vas 81
whenever he went, to' they were
sNec,hcarts from the first time he nes'l.
ci her baby face on his br,a't'when he
picked hsrup from the wreck Sac
var sixteen when they were married.
as near as we could guess; Hiram wa'
man OF twenty-four. She prayed
him to stay at home then, and be
stayed year, but he fr'tted for the
sea, and be went again, thinking, |
s'pose. that his wife would get used to
il, as all wives hrreabouts must do.
Bat she never dld-never. 1t was
lust pitiable to zee her 60 about. white
as corpes, when Hiram went away
never Looking AT the sea without n
shudder like death chi !. All through
the war it was just awful, for Hiram
enli .ted on board a man o'-war, and
Pearl was just a shadow when he came
home the last time.
After the wirF
"Yes, sir but he made no money
of any account, and so he went again,
after staying home a long spell. Well,
he never came ba,k. 'Twasnt no
manner of use a telling Pearl he was
lost she'd just shake her pretty head
and say: Hell come back Not a
mite of mourning would she wear'
ever after his own mother gave him
up AMI put on black for, sir, it stands
to reason he's dead years ago"
"It looks so.'
"Of course it does nobody else
doubts i, but Mrs. Goldby. Old Mrs
Goldby's last words were,-I'm going
to meet Hiram, and they say the dying
knowed. Bat even then that didn't
make Pearl think so. She wore mour
ming for her who had been the only
m other she knowed of, but not weeds
Weed, was for widows, she said shs
wasn't a widow"
"Rul the stone 2
"Well, sir; I'm corning to that. "A
yea: aga, sir, a fne gentleman from
France c,my here hunting FIR child
| l,st on this cast. He'd heart I"
Pearl by happen chances, if there Is
such,and came here. When he saw the
clothes, he jus. tainted like woman
"She was related then =
The strangers voice was hask, but
the sea air vas growing chill.
".ler father, sir.
"He took her away 7"
"lle tried to- He told her OF a
splendid home he had in New York,
for he ID followed his viii. and child.
sir, to the city they hal never reched.
He was rich and lonely. Tie begg-
ed his cllld TO g, but she would not.
Hiram will come here for me, she
5 nd, ',ai he mast find IN, where h.
left me-
"On what has she lived 7
"Sewlng mostly. The cottage was
old Mrs. Goldoy's, and bless you'
Pea,l did not eat much more than a
bird, and her dresses cost next to
nothing. Bat there's no denying she
was very poor,-very, and yet the
o,and hama and bio fortune never