Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1878-03-08

spite 81 the troStS OF her fortN-Odd wiu-
tors. YES Miss Bertha had had her
hcyday Miss Johnson. the squire'S
daughter, who lived in the inCA house
/ in Great Harrington, and 'MS& silks
chat could stand alone and sablScloakS
reaching to her heels, who ate otl
French china every day, and who had
never known what il MAS tosntlcr from
hunger; cold, or fatigue; who had never
had 4 sorrow or \ lover--Cven She
might have envicd poor Miss Bertha
those halcyoa days when Angus Aiken
loved her, when they walked together
in the moSnlit gardens III their English
home, and sat beside the fountains. and
! listened to the silvery monotone, like
some sad and gentle voice complaining
/ No doubt Miss Johnson would have bar
tered all her dry goods and imported
tinery for Nh experience aS rich us this
of her elderly seamstrCSS, about whom
no romance seemed TO linger. To be
sure, every body in Great Harrington
tllncw that after the visitation Of the
smallpox Parson Chapel had invited
Miss Bertha to share his temporal bcs-
sings, which consisted Of il small salary
and four mischievous boys with torn
jackets ard dirty faces.
"The parson wanted housckeepcr, :"
thc neighborS agreed. "0t comSe 4
man of his age don't fall in love like a
boy-with an old maid too! Seems as
though she must have thought he'd ask
again-with house all carnrted from
garrct to cellar, and the gentry ia his
gates, so to speak | wonder what
Miss Bertha expccts-at her time OF
lie too-whcn oilers Of IL aren't
as plenty rs wrinkles.
But Miss Bertha expected nothing.
There was that in her history which >hc
would not exchange for the kin", ails
of the earth and the glory thereof, the
dust of twenty years had III no wise tar.
niShcd tho brightness of il. she had
tCr anniversaries which no one reckon
ed but herself; delicious anniversaries
of halfgucssed happiness; days full .!
sunshine and the music of the spheres;
dark and cruel days, when the elouds
| that threatened showed no silver lin
ings. On such Il morning, 50 many
years ago, Angus and She had gone out
to gather spring flowers, and the wood
had been full of spicy odors, and tue
pale bloodroot was waiting for them, ITS
/ petals aH on tiptoc; at such another
/ day they llstcnea TO the nightingalcS
fluting, while the stars Stole 6ul ae if to
listen with them, and the new moon
hung golden bow low III the heavens,
and she had asked, g Do you never
wish by the new moon, Angus n
Never he had answered. "but
shall tonight; shall wish that you
may love me forever and ever And
then he had kissed her, and the night
ingales kept fluting.' There was that
day i'll June which should have been
their wedding day; and the time when
he kissed her last, under the golden la
burnum-trce; and then that dreadful
morning when her father came home,
black as a thunder-cloud, and swore she
should never marry the son of the man
who had ruined him, who had robbed
him of the invention into the perfection
of which he had put all his money, his
hopes, and his energies for years. Ber-
tina had refused to renounce her lover
on account of his fathers wrong; there
had followed a scene; then her father
had seemed to soften. and had travelled
to London with her to talk the matter
over with n lawyer. She had been glad
enough to 60, for was not Angus some
where III the great throng of London at
his work? would she not be sure to meet
him? But the day after they reached the
big noisy city her father had taken her
out and on board ship, sightseeing;
and suddenly, while she looked and lis
tened and wondered and talked with
the captain-who was in the secret
suddenly the shore, the masts, the stcc-
pies. began to recede, and they were
standing out to sea, bound for America.
Oh, what long and hateful voyage it
was how she lcnged for the sight Of
Angus, to say just one parting word, 20
tell him it was no fault Of hers, and she
should love him forever and cvcr What
terrible days they were which carried
her farther and farther from England,
The fine weather seemed wasted With
out Angus. When storms bore down
upon them she only shivered 1T the
thought Of dying apart from him. But
~ they drew near the New World, her
father weakened by a long and useless
struggle with fortur &, and broken utter
~ by this unkindest cut. gave up tile
contest and lay down TO die.
" Promise me, Bertha" ho begged
promise that you will never write 70
that mans son, that you will hide your-
selffrom him. Promise mo. Or ! shall
not rest il my crave. Promise, child,
and shall die easy, willingly Can YOU
refuse this Inst request" Ard amidst
grlef and distraction, poor Bertha prom
ised. And She had kept her promise
for twenty years and better. Never ono
word for Angus had crossed thc water
to tell him whether she lived or died
tLnL,nh lnnn..a-. thaLnhL- ..aa ....-h -