The Cecil Whig., 1879-04-12

met by a tall, fine looking young fellow VIII
had more the air ot u regular sailor thai
a coast fisherman. I soon discovered tina
it was Mary's husband. The two womel
recognized me ri once, and, sitting down il
the midst OF them ! heard the end of TN
little romance: and now tell it IN my owi
words
Several months passed away after the re
ccipt oi the letter which | had read, ant
nothing more was heard The stout heart
of the two women would have bore this de
lay with ease, hal it NOS been for one cir
c;mstancc. The little child had somehow
or other taken Il severe cold, and notwith
standing every care it.; health grew worst
day by day. The poor mother grieve,
terribly over the loss which seemed tc
threaten he:. All day long, and day after
day, she would sit by the side Of the little
bed on which her treasure lay, looking wifi
eager eyes that overiowcd with motherly
love, 10 try and discern some slight trace OF
an Improvement. Every day it grew visibly
weaker though it seldom cried, or showed
signs Of pain; and the little hazel eyes
cleaned with Il strange Brightness rs they
looked out from beneath the almost trans
parent lids.
Mother, said Mary often, driving the tears
which now so often fell upon her paling
cheek, Jennie will not ha long, will he :?
know he cannot he long. He must come
before lahy-sind her so',s chollod her utter
.h, oar, Il ~ L l. l,.t word
Her mother dill all She could to comfort
her; often inspiring hopes for which she,
poor woman, could find no place i'll her own
heart.
If its father can only see The BARN, said
Mary, always, | shall he happy. He must
come soon.
And So the golden season passed: the
bright sunny days became less and less fire.
qucnt at night the thick cold msts lay
heavily upon the sea, and the breakers roar
ed Sullenly all down the Yorkshire coast.
Not infreluently the great winds rose and
l;ishe;l the ocean into fury, and then there
We're more wrecks, more hopeless longines
Tor those who has! gone forth never to return,
more widowed wives and iatherlc>;, children.
Ii was on such Il night, when the wave;
thUndcred upon the shore, and tic fierce
rain l;,Shel the rattling windows, that Mary
and her mother were knecling beside the
child bed, thinking that every moment
the little sufferer would cease to breathe
For two days it had lain inSensihlr. and
only the quick eye Of m0ticrly love could
- :. ~.
For a long time 10 word had been spoken
Suddenly the women We're aroused hya Il loud
knock ut the door,
Mary rose and opened it, and Il full mans
figure entered the house quickly. The girl
looked Iii his face for IL moment. uttered
loud cry, and fell t;ainting in his arms. II
was her husband.
In Il few minutes she was revived. In
stantly remembering her position, she seized
the strong mans arm and drew him to the
bedside
Jennie, Jennie, she cried, thank God
You have come! Look al your bairn. No,
no: it is moi lcall-1 know ii is not dead,
1t has waited for you to see it. Kiss it,
Jennie. before it goes,
Tie tears fell fast from the mans eyes as
liz stopped and pressed his lips upon the
ciiid'S forehead. He felt that il was icy
cold
Mary, my lass, he said, s.}bing like a
child, i, is dead.
Mary bent over the body for a moment
and when sh" raised her head again she was
calm.
Jennie, she whispered, l think it was
not dead when You kissed it. That was all
wanted. | knew yon would come i'll time
to SEE th" i';iirn.
Then the tears came 20 the relief of the
poor mother and she wept i'll silence.
The story OF the mans disappearance was
soon told. He h1d been rescued from the
waves ON III" morning after the storm by Il
bound from Newcastle 10 London,
and had been carried on to its destination.
From London H., wrote letter, explaining
what lad happened. The letter had some-
how never been delivered. He had no
money to return from London tn his home,
and n,cc,iag with Il number of sailors lie
was induced TO get Il place on Il merchant
vessel sailing tor thina-partiy from neccs-
sity, partly in nope of earning :; good SUN
OF money. The voyage there and back had
been a long one, and he had only just got
home i'll time to see the child'S death Thus
had the mothcrs hope, held in the face of
every disc"urase:nent, been al last fulfilled.