The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1880-10-14

if am related to him?" queried tn
I boy anxiously.
"They will never hear the name b,
which you have been hitherto known,
said Mr.. Vreeland. 81 shall give yol
| q new name, Immediately, which will
be approved and recorded by the mel
who make the laws in tho state wher,
/ live. 1t will in that way becom,
| your own true name, to be kept to thu
end of your life. You will never d,
any thing to dishonor it. hope"
81 will try not to!' said the boy, hi
eyes filling with tears, and his counte
nance glowing with an expression O
hope stronger and more earnest thar
he had ever experienced before. Then
after q few moments, he added ''Oh
my poor father! l hate to have his
name taken from me, but l know it is
best. / can do him no good, now
neither my poor mother, who went
crazy and died. 1 don't koOw where
they have bnried her. My father was
not buried at all !; the doctors took him
away, so a man told me-"
Mr.. Vreeland had already, for some
reason, selected the name-"ROberl
Steadley,"-as the one he would give
the young orphan; and the little fell
low grasped it and repeated it with
delight, the moment it fell on his ear
Some suitable clothes, and such 9TH
er articles as his young ward was like
ly to need for the present, were next
procured; and after donning his new
suit in obedience to Mr.. Vreeland's
directions, the boy carefully examined
the pockets Of the clothes he had pre-
viously been wearing. Among the
things he took out, was small gold
locket, which he evidently regarded
with more interest than anything else,
for he suddenly opened it and glanced
for an instant at the miniature photo
graph it contained, and then pressing
it to his lips, placed it in his pocket.
"Your mothers picture!" asked Mr..
Vreeland. ..sf
'No, sir :" replied the boy. have
no picture of my poor mother"
Fifteen years had passed, the history
of which, SO far as relates to Robert
Stcadley, will be more easily. told by
bringing him again to the notice OF
the reader.
Mr.. Steadley had been spending
about ten days in the CITY,, a guest at
the same hotel where the name he now
had was first given him by the gentle
man whose acquaintance he had made
two days before, while engaged i'll the
humble employment of blacking boots.
Now, he was the recognized and re-
sponsible agent of that gentleman,
who was among the foremost and best
known of those large cattle-dealers
who were supplying the metropolis
with the beef it was consuming and
exporting.
The business for which Robert
Stcadley had made this his first visit
to the city after his long absence, had
been closed up in a satisfactory way.
The large shipment of cattle entrusted
to him had arrived i'll good order, and
been disposed of at fair prices. Some
business at the bank would detain him
a day or two longer; and he would
then bo ready to return and report to
Mr.. Vrceland, in whose immense bus
mess lie had now a large interest.
The business at the bank, however,
would require but little of his time,
the remainder of which, or part of it,
at least, the young man was preparing
to use i'm a way that most prudent and
sensible people would be likely to re-
gard as clear proof that there was at
least one weak place in his mind. But
he was human, and let him he forgiv-
ell. Very few minds are composed of
materials SO thoroughly solid as not to
leave little space TO be filled in with
the fleetimg ami unsu Dstantial dreams
that faEcy and romance supply.
81 calIDOt," sad the young man to
his only contidant-himself, 'drive
the remembrance of that dear little
girl out of my mind!" And again he
drew the little miniature from his
pocket, and looked upon it, as he had
done more than Il thousand times
within the last fifteen years.
BY consulting the directory, and
max ing some inquiries, the residence
OF Thomas Uldridge, although in all
other and distant part OF the city, was
soon found and the next thing to be
done, was to determine in some way,
if his daughter Minerva-represente
by that miniature when a little girl no
more than seven years old was still
living.
ssThis boy shall not remain in my
house another day!" had been said, at
that time, by the mother Of that little
girl. "Had 1 known tina. he was the
child of that wretched man, lie should
never have come in the family! But
l know every thing now, and he must
$3.50 you can stop your crying, Min
erva, or l will shut you up i'll the
closet p -4
"Then I will give him my picture,
and kiss him before he gOes! said the
willful and determined child, thrust
ing the little gold locket into the hand
of the orphan boy, and at the same
time throwing her arms around his
neck, r
The mother was glad to end the
scene and quiet her child by telling
the boy to take the picture and 60.
That was the last home the little Or
phan ever had in the city. AS for the
boot-blacks' boarding-house, kept by
"Aunt Maggie" as the boys called her
he had been lodging there for several
weeks before he met Mr.. Vreeland, but
the place had never seemed to him like
q home.
By pursuing his Investigations in a
delicate and cautious way. Robert soon
learned that the young lady he desired
to find was residing with her mother,
unmarried, her father having died
some wears before. Having next OBJ
tanned, through business acquaint-
ance, an introduction to the pastor OF
the church of which Miss Uldridge
was member, he easily procured
from that gentleman an Introductory
note. stating that the bearer, a worthy
and estimabIc gentleman, had request
ed presentation to Miss Uldridge
which afforded the writer much pleas
ure to give.
Being thus brought into the pres:
ence of the young lady, he was greeted
with the easy and refined manners OF
one who felt sure that the gentleman
SO favorably introduced by her pastor
could not have called on an errand thai
was likely to be unpleasant or embar-
RAISING to her.
A few commonplace remarks were
exchanged, when. in answer to a lool
that implied desire to learn the pur.
nose for which he had called, Mr.
Steadley drew from his pocket the lit
tie encased photograph, and passing il
to the lady, remarked that he believed
she had seen it before.
The picture was instantly recog'
c,,;cl- nd vivid ,,omo,n