Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1878-03-21

May blossoms were bursting Eta
came one morning to see me.
''Do you remember Doctor San
derson ?" she asked. i;
"Your cousins friend o.
eyes. He is great occulist." ;"
NV heart seemed to stand still.
''He came from New York solely
to see you, aud he warned us that
we must give you no exciting hope
for some months. Perfect trap
guilty, he told us, was the great
hope for the recovery of your sight. "
Recovery of nv sight, | cried.
"de thinks that possible %
''He thinks it more than posi-.
ble. If you improved in strength
as you have done all the winter, he
was certain he could successfully
operate this month. -
| could not speak. Very gently
Eta told me of her cousins S kinds
ness. He had gone to the city
solely to find this doctor, who was
no more his friend than he was the
friend of any other patient. He
had brought him to see me, and
then bnr1ened my Eta with his
secrect instructions. Even Nj.
Raymond and Aunt Hilda were ig,
norant of this loving conspiracy.
1t humiIiated me to think of the
part | had taken, the unworty con-
struction l had placed upon Eta 5
outburst of gratitude. But she
should never know | had doubted
her, even for an hour.
"Tell me-" | said, "when this
doctor will come again ?''
"He is here, waiting to see you" :"
lie came In soon after, and there
was no reluctance then in my az
swers 10 his sealcding questions
He examined my eyes closely and
gave me "a promise of sight in less
than two months.
Ard he kept his word. After
the operation he gave strict diec-
tions for sbandaging and coDfne-
ment in dark room, till, The
end Of six long weeks, he came
again, aud let me see once more the
blessed day light and Eita's face.
From that hour | gained hope
and courage again, and when my
eyes were perfectly restored, re
turned to New Iork. | was ex.
pressIy forbidden to resume my
old duties, but the finn gave me Il
position as salesman and good
salary.
ktta waited another year for me,
when my great-uncle left me leg
acy that enabled me to marry, hav.
ing sure income.
Il was not until we had been
married over a year that Eta asked
me one day if [ could spare her
seven hundred dollars.
"Certainly," replied.
'Do you wonder what want OF
so much money o. she asked.
did wonder, for we had no Sc
crets INCUR life, and my wife gen
orally told me where she spent her
money.
81 will teY you," she said. 81
want 10 buy back my pearl cross >
you sold that T. [ cried. 81
thought you valued that above all
of your possessions"
But not above your eyesight.
DR.. Sanderson was paid $500 tor
the operation, not the $50 you sup
posed =
Eta r
"That was part of our secret.
Albert would have given me the
money, but | would not let you owe
your sight to any one save me. So
he took my cross and sold it for
500 here in New York. The man
who bought it agreed to keep it fo,
a time for me, and to day Albert
told me could get it again.
/ shall always think the cross
had never been out of Albert's pos
session, and he was too delicate to
give it again TO Eta Bat he was
in New York on a wedding tour,
about to sail for Europe, and he
gave his cousin the opportunity to
edeem the heirloom.
My wife wears the pearl cross
whenever she is in gala dress, and
| never see it upon her fair throat
but my heart swells in loving graf
itude tc the faithful woman who
sacrificed it, the dearest treasure
she owned, for me, to restore to
me the lost blessing of sight.
Col. DoNAN has been lecturine
at Fort Smith, Ark. His subject
was Woman. Donan says he was
so jolted in the two mule churn
getting there that be often examin
ed his hat to see if the upper enc
of his back bone had not been
driven through it.. But he had d
good time at Fort Smith, went tc
the court room where they were
trying trappers and Indians and
walked on the gallows where they
had hung six in a bunch, and one
of them, Cherokee, calmly smoked
a cigar with the rope round his
neck. Fort Smith enjoyed Donan's
lecture and everybody wants him