The Worthington advance., 1878-12-26

an indignant glow leaped, and the soft, tender
voice rang out q he had never heard It before.
"Sut this 10 all nonsense, Katie,"~ he cried
impatiently, sheer nonsense! Ask your faith
era smile crossed Katie's lipt;-"ask any
body II the money Is not fairly mine. Rose
elopes with scOundrel, who only seeks her
fathers money, and she is disinherited, as she
deserved. am his sisters son, and TO me
what 8 ae resigned has fallen"
'Her father forgave her before he died, and
would have made another will II another day
Look here, Katie" says Hatton still imps.
tiently:," II will seek out my cousin Rosie, aud
II she leaves her wretch Of husband, I'll
provide for her and the little ones. WIN that
satisfy your
II know Rose Hatton," Katie answers
"She was proud and obstinate. and would die
Il starvation sooner than accept as charity
what Is hers by right"
He comes close and stands before her. his
eyes flashing angriy.
Il must either cnoose between resigning
you or my uncle's fortune!
"Yuu must"
III resign it, I am pauper as before. and
your father will order ms from his doors.
You You yin not disoory your father, SO In either
II would wait"
IL auh 9ous NC oaSe, WIN SNORT lauSu;
''that Is poor consolation. You are q woman,
| and waiting may be easy to you. | am man
| aud don't choose to wait. Since must lose
you in ally case, Pinot lose my money as well.
G ,od night, Miss EngIehart l wish you
very merry Christmas.
"Harry" she cries. tj -
But ho has gone. gone in ine fury, bang.
ing the street door after him; and it is her
father, white with passion, who stands before
her.
Twice the Christmas tide has come and
gone; twice the joyful anthem of "Peace on
! earth, to men good will," has sounded down
the stately alses OF It. Philips, and the third
, time Is here. Once more it is Christmas Eve;
once more altar aud pulpit are wreathed with
evergreens; once more the voices Of the
chorster> rise to the vaulted roof; once more
the slender, brown-eyed organists sits at her
post, her huKers evokinx wonderOus music
from those pearl-white keys. But the face
has a graver beauty, the dark eyes a eaddcr
| light than Of old, aud for the silks aud sables
Of other days her dress 10 deepest mourning
PLAN Of make and poor Of texture.
The last piece Is sung:-sornething grand
| and old and triumphant, and Good night,
| Miss knglehart," one and all cry, US they Hut
ter away and down the STAIRS. She smiles her
| fare we'll, but fingers after they have gone, as
! Is her custom; and as herhands float over the
| keys aud her eyes rest on the music, she is
thinking Of another Christmas Eve, three
years ago, ami OF her father and lover who
| stood by her side that night.
She has lost. them both the lover then,
| never to hear Of or see since, the father one
year ago. A great financial crisis had come,
| had involved shrewd lawyer Englehart, and
| swamped him. He had broken down under
! the blow, and in less than three months after
| was dead and buried. He had never forgiven
Katie her refusal Of Harry Hatton; he did not
| even forgive her on his deathbed.
| "If Won had not lpnn s fool with yOursarl1 Mos
and whims," he had said to her bitterly, you
! need not have been beggar to-day. Harry
Hatton is married loug ago, no doubt, to some
wiser woman, aud when am gone you may
earn your living Us best you NAV"
| They buried him, and Katherine had earned
her living braveiy aud well. For years she
had played the or gan Of St. Philips as labor
| Of love. Now it became labor of necess-
, ity. Her salary as crganist, and half dozen
piano pupils gave her all she needed, and life
went on somehow. and Christmas had come
| again. ~
J Sn dreaded Christmas-the old pain and
struggle seemed to come all back afresh. She
did not regret what she had done. Better
loneliness und poverty then il.Rotten gain +;
better lose herlover forever than become the
wife of man capable of wronging the living
aud the dead. Sne had lost him, but sho had
his sins, her pure prayers followed him in his
reckless wanderings over the world.
She left the organ at last, and slowly quit
ted the church. Unlike that other Christmas
no moon or.stars shune. White, soft, cease.
less the snow fell. Sire put up her umbrella
and hurried home-the home of a peighbor.
ng-house-took her belated and solitary
| supper, and ran up to her own little sitting.
room. A fire burned in the CRATE, and hel
piano-solo relic of former sp|endor-stoed
opec with some new music upon it. Before
sitting down to her lonx practice, she Want to
| h min dnu nd nnk rod fhn War1T
was white and still aud ghostly, and fustel
and faster The snow was falling. As she stood
the tall, dark figure OF a man opened the
gate: aud came plowing through the snow te
the front door.e
"ODe Of the boarderr," she thought. "belatei
as was. How cross Mrs. White will be-"
She left the window and went to the piano
Before she commenced her practice, and hal
unconscionsly, .he began softly to sing he1
) favoritc old anthem.
Then shr stopped, conscious that the doo1
and opened, and the intruder did not advance
"Come in," she said, "and shut the door
please; there 10 adrau-"
She stopped with L low c:y, but he took he
at her word shut the door, and came forward
II have come back, Katie" he said. "Wil
you forgive me and shake hands?'
He took both hers without waiting for leave
II only reached England Yesterday" h,
went on. 'Ali the years 1 have been
abroad, trying to forget you and be happy
and have neither forgotten you, nor beer
. happy. You were right and was wrong.
have come back to tell you so, and to ash
, yo'l if you have forgotten met"
; Forgotten you'll" she repeats almost witt
aoh. 20 my Harry! Ny Harry"
II am no longer rich," he says "Rosit
and the little ONES are at the old homestead
, aud the drunken husband has drunk him
.elf 10 death. tried to pslter with my duty
| OF hafN I vAu T a,.rhf o,,i
I. Rose and offered her portion of her fathers
fortune She was proud. as you told me she
! would be, and refused it with scorn. II ar
! poor she said, almost starving; but viii
not take as u favor from You, Harry Hatton
that which Il my right, Keep all or give
all? | kept all, Katie, and It could have
forgotten you, might have kept all in thu
end. But love you 50 we'll, my K tile, thai
| ask nothing but you for the rest of my life
We will be poor, but we will be together
Say you forgive me. Katie; you have not sale
yet"
eo|iss ea|Rss 's"'' 'A'Dp'0k N'' A''e*'' camp coat
"You and I are to spend Christmas Da,
with Rose" he says preee emily, that first trans
! port over. "she's jolly little soul as eve,
, lived In spite OF all her troubles, and righ
Who knows but that after eight years Of i
, you may not echo her sentiment!'
ut think will risk It,, though" says Mis-.
Euglehart, looking at him, handsome. big ant
brown, with ad"riDg eyes. 20 Harry! tt
, think did not know you striding througt
the snow up to the gatel Twas jastthinking
, with ever 50 little OF pang, that no gil
would be miae this year, while all the timt
the best and dearest OF Christmas boxes wal
coming to me over the snow"
"Christmas has brought you your lovel
and New Year shall bring you your husband;
said Harry.
And New Year did.