The Morning herald., 1878-07-30

had loved; now sno was learning 20 Know
the man who loved her. The one would
drag her down to the bottomlsss depths of
Phckness and infany, the other bad given
up all for her-even herself-and gone
fortha q homeless, penniless wanderer, to
fight the battle of life
II HOh, truest and noblest," her heart
cried, in its, passionate, pain, ''how cruelty
have wronged you! Bravest and best
heart, that ever beat in mans breast, am
I only to know your worth when tits tos
later" .. br a@
1t seemed so. Roger Maxwell had dis.
appeared out of the worli-the world she
knsw-as utterly as though he had never
been in it. The slow months dragged
drearily by, but he never came. The
piteous advertisement in the newspapers
remained unanswered when the spring
buds burst, and she was alone in her worse
than widowhood in the cottage in Vermont
still.
With the glory of the brilliant summer
new hope dawned for her. tiny mes
senger, with Roger Maxwell's great brown
eyes, smiled up in her face, and baby
head nestled against her lonely heart
All! she knew now how she loved baby's
father when the brown eyes, of which
these were the counterpart, were lost to
her forever So with the great world shut
out, and with only baby Roger and her
two servants, life went on in the solitary
cottage. %B a
-Four years had gone by, and little
Roger could toddle and lisp, and in Edith
Maxwells heart hope slowly died out.
She had lost him through her own fault;
he to whom she had been bound by the
mysterious tie of marriage would never look
upon her cruel face again. }y
She sat one stormy November night
thinking very sadly Of the true heart and
strong love she had cast away. Her boy
lay asleep before the ruddy fire; the rain
and wind beat wildly against the windows.
She sat looking out with weary, vacant
eyes, so lonely, so very lonely, her soul
longing with unutterable yearning for the
wanderer to come back. There was q
knock at the door-a faltering, humble
knock. Through the deepening gloom of
the rainy twilight she saw man leaning
YEARLY against the door-post - o man
shabby and ill-clad, with dropping head
and detected air. Her housekeeper opened
the door, and she could hear her harsh,
high pitched voice.
'OThis isn't an inn-we don't shelter
tramps. Go long with you'll The village
is only half mile from here"
The house door slammed in his face.
The man turned despairingly away, walked
q few steps, reeled, and fell to the ground
like log. Edith Maxwell started to her
feet, was out of the room and the house in
q moment, out in the pouring rain beside
the fallen man, her two startled servants
following. ....
"Lift him up and carry him to the
Kitchen" size ordered, imperiously.
'Mary, will never forgive you for doing
such cruel thing! James, make haste"
Her man seavant raised the PROSTATE
form, and with some difficulty bore him to
the kitchen and laid him on wooden
bench. The light fell on his upturned
face, haggard and death-like, and at the
1 sight Edith Maxwell gave a cry that those
who heard never forgot, and falling on her
knees, rained passionate kisses on the
white face. ~@.
''At last, at last!" she sobbed convul-
sively. ''Oh, Heaven, thank thee u
The servants gazed aghast. He looked
up, and all her self control returned.
stake him to my room, James, and
remove these wet clothes, then ride for
YOUR life for doctor! He is my hus-
band |"
Yes, ct last. After all those weary years
of waiting her husband restored to her like
this Restored, yet nearly lost. For
many nights after that the watcher Is lamp
burned in Edith's chamber, and she sat by
hsr sick husbands side, sick almost unto
death. Night and day found her there,
pale and sleepless as . minlsterlng spirit
listening to his wild, disconnected talk
her own name often upon his lips. How
she cared for him, How she prayed for him
only Heaven and herself knew! Her
| ,uouars nravailed The heavy brown ewes