The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1882-06-21
An Old, Old Story.

"C-o-m-e in! Well declare, stran-
ger, you gave me quite q turn! III
was kind of expeotin' somebody, and for
half q minute thought mebbe IS twas
her, but she'd never stop 10 knock;
want bite and q sup and q nights
lodgin'P Why of course; sit down, do.
I-a-most forgot to ask you, was that
frustrated. Poor soul! how tired and
worn out you looki can make you
comfortable for the night and give you
a good meal of victaals and shake
down on the floor, but would hard
l-y like to put you in Lizzie's room
she was that particular, and your clothes
are so wet and drabbled. Why,woman,
what makes you shake so-aguep Never
heard tell of any in these parts Guess
you must have brought it with You.
Well, q good nights rest will set you up
wonderfully, and you can lie right here
by the stove, and the fire a-smolderin'
will keep you warm, and the light VIII
be a-burnin' till its broad day-broad
dayl
"What do keep the light a-burnin'
forP Well, now, when folks asks me
that, sometimes / tells them one thing
aud sometimes tells them another. /
don't know as I mind tellin' you, be-
creetur, and q stranger, and my heart
kind of goes out to such. You see 1
have q daughter. She's been away
these ten years, has Lizzie, and they do
say as she's livin' in grandeur in some
furrin' place, and she's had her head
turned with it all, for she never lets her
poor old mother hear from her, and the
fine people she's with coaxed her off un-
beknownst to me, and don't mind tell
ing you as it was great shock to me,
and L amt the same woman since Liz
zie went out one night, and when she
kissed ne said: leave light In the
window, mother, till come back and
that was ten years ago, and I've never
seen her since, but I've burned q light
in the window every night all these ten
years, and shall till she comes home.
"Yes, it's hard to be q mother and be
disappointed so. L allowed she was dead
till folks, as seen her well and splendid.
told me different, and was sick long
time-that's what made my hair so
white-but I hope she never heard of
it, 'twould have made her as miserable
as was, and her fine things wouldn't
have been much comfort to her! Folks
blame her terribly, but I'm her mother,
and it Just seems as II could see her;
81 pEcbtys WIN 1oh AOn3 OoAAot
and the smile she had, and her gentle
ways, and 1 loving her better than
Heaven above mel This is my punish
ment-to sit alone all day and never to
sleep at night, but I hear her crying
sMotherl motheri where are youp and
if go once. go dozen times to the
door, and look up and down the lone
some road and call, 'L-i-z-z-i-ei L-i-z-
Z-i-el' and there's never any answer but
the night wind moaning In the treesl
"Wen / didn't mean to make you feel
bad; don't cry, poor souli You've had
enough trouble of your own, 1 guess, by
your looki Your hands are like Ice
and your temple and your face is white
and-and-why, what Is thisp You are
not old and your hair hangs in brown
curls-and your eyes-Merciful Godl
it's Lizzie come back to her mother
it's my child that was lost and is found
put out the hght-pu out the light,
for the night is over and it's the clear,
broad day at lastl''-Detroit Free Press.