Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1878-05-15


gave up the contest and lay dow
! to die.
promise me, Bertha" he begged
; -"promise that you will neve
write to that mans son, that yo,
, will hide yourself from him. Prom
Use me, or / shall not rest in my
grave. Promise, child, and l shall
J die easy, willingly. Can you refuse
this last request y And, amidst
grief and destruction, poor Bertha
promised. And she had kept her
promise for twenty years and bet
ter. Never one word for Angus
had crossed the water to tell him
whether she lived or died, though
longing thoughts and wishes went
out to him on every wind that
blew, though night after night her
pillow was wet with bitter tears.
though he had never been out of
her mind, waking or sleeping. At
first she had romforted herself with
the belief that he would find her
out himself; hut as time passed,
this hope faded and died, and was
given decent burial. How shonld
he know that she had proved true,
that she had loved him on and on
Why shonld he not suppose that
she had left him of her own choice,
because she scorned the son of his
fatheri No doubt he taught him
self to unlove her; had almost for
gotten the old fondness, the old
hurt; had married some good
woman, and was happy by his fire.
side with his children. She hoped
he was happy; as for that good
woman, she did not care to think of
her overmuch, But daily she pic
tured him in the midst of his fami-
him young and hand
some, with the color of his smooth
.heek, the bronze shade on his
hair, the sparkle in his eyes,
that twenty years had
'obbed him of youth and its beau
y.
When her father died there had
lot been enough money left in the
'urse to take her home to England,
hough Capt. Seymour would glad
y have carried her back without it
she would have taken him for
letter or worse. Afterward she
lad parted with her trinkets one
y one for her daily bread, till she
ould earn-with all hut the shin
ng ring that Angus had given her, {
nd which was now worn quite
hin, though the odd legend en- {
raved within was yet plainly legi- G
lie: /
Though he seek till he be gray,
Love will find out the way.
tut, in all these twenty years, she
ad never saved enough from her
ecessities to pay her homeward 0
assage. lfperchance she got few
ollars ahead, some poor souls
reater need appealed to her; and
was now fifteen years since she II
ad gravitated to Great Harrington
nd cast anchor, but no one in all L
lie place dreamed that romance =
ad ever touched so plain aud old Il
nd commonplace a body as Miss {
ertha, who was doubtless made To IL
w, to tend the sick, and stir CRU e
s and broths and mustard rlas- e
RS, leaving the poetry of life for u
'r younger neighhors. She had
zen ont, toward the last of Janu- /"
y, watching all night, and, as she
epped into the frosty air, and be- "
IN to remember that she was u
,ngry and drowsy, she suddenly al
'countered Dr.. March coming e'
und a corner. IL
"Speak of angels and yen hear
cir wings" said he 81 was u
linking of you, Miss Bertha, thi.
'ry minute"
Don't turn my head, doctor"
swell. yon see, the brig Ably -,
Inc came in last week. She's n %,
haler-been off these two years. "
ost OF the crew belong in Great
erriDgtoD, and the deuce take il %,
they aren't all down with the A
ip-fever; came ashore as we'll as y,
~ are, too. Now the bother is, "a
me have families to look after 7,
EN-. and some haven't; and all
c people are "a scared as they n,
ere in the smallpox panic, and u
irses cant he fonnd for love nor "
oney-at least not enough. I've "
zen up myself these two nights ~
It'll one poor fellow, who's wild as -
hawk, and TN ready to drop, NOT 81