St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-06-09

Olson, and who, she had ascertained.
had lived at Pittsburgh. This man had
been very sick for three weeks, and was
still very low. He had been cared for |
during this time by family in not the |
best circumstances, and although they |
had borne the extra burden without |
complaint, if the man had relatives or
friends they should look after him.
Her attention had been called to the adj
vertisement by man who the day be-
fore had shoveled the snow from the
sidewalk in front of her house, and she
had called with the hope of finding help
for the invalid and relief for the family.
Mr. Olson stated briefly the relations
he held to the case, and then went with
the lady to the house, house with |
three rooms, sheltering man and wife,
several children and the invalid. The
man had been for a few days a fellow
laborer with the master of the house,
and when taken sick they took him in.
They knew little about him, and had not
known, until the fever left him, that he
was married and that his wife was liv-
ing.
The sick-bed scene was not an
unusual one, ard yet it startled Mr..
Olson when he entered the room. The
attitude, expression, and general ap-
pearance of the man suggested an al
most forgotten something that he could
not recall There was some element in
this picture that had been present in
some other picture-and yet, he could
not recall any features of the other pict-
ure. He simply entered the sick room
with more superstitious uneasiness than
he had ever felt before on such an occa-
sion.
The invalid was very weak, and he
spoke with touching humility and ten
derness of his wife. He seemed very
child in his over-anxiety to have the
listeners think well of her. His one
great desire now was that some one
| should write to his wife and say that he
had been sick-not that he was sick
and this fact explained why he had not
written to her. She was very excitable,
| and he hoped some one would write
very carefully SO as to not needlessly
alarm her. He had thought the matter
| all over. and he desired his wife to dis
pose of their little property in the East
ern city and go to his fathers, who was
| farmer, and remain there until he was
| able to start new in life.
The letter was written and mailed,
| and Mr.. Olson became much interested
| in the sick man. The bearing of the
invalid was peculiar. 1t was evident
that he had been greatly disappointed
and made desperate by misfortunes,
and that he was now suffering from re-
morse and busying himself with new re-
| solves. He did not grow stronger, and
it was generally believed he would not.
| When Mr.. Olson had read the COM
planning letter from the wife of the man
now an invalid he thought the case was
bad. When he could not find the man
addressed, it had seemed to him much
worse. When he did find the man, sick
and helpless, and remembered that
wife destitute and desperate in one
large city was appealing to husband
not only destitute but dangerously sick
in another large city, he knew it could
not be much worse. And in all his con-
sideration of the case he thought most
| of the woman.
One evening as Mr.. Olson was about
| to leave his Office a woman entered
hurriedly, and, announcing that she
was Mrs Olson, wife of the sick man,
| desired to be informed where she could
find her husband. Her agitation, the
misery expressed on her face, the eager,
pitiful questioning of her eyes, almost
called tears from the man, who an
swered her inquiries and then asked:
"You received my letter containing
the directions dictated by your hus-
band?''
"Yes. But did you suppose I would
do it? I was nearly frantic. / deter
mined to come to John if / had to walk
every step. The people helped me and
here I am. Is he very sick: Poor fell
low, and didn't know it? Why didn't
you write me soonera'
Mr.. Olson explained and went with
| the woman to see her husband, thinking
| that the features of the case did not inn
prove. After meeting her husband the
woman was so much distressed and agi-
! tated that it seemed as though the faml-
/ ~ were to have two invalids on their
hands instead of one.
A week of anxiety passed, and the
man was pronounced out of danger.
Something had caused him to take a
more cheerful view of life, and he was
already considering plans for the future
and talking necessarily about them. he
was coming up from his sick bed q
changed man. He had been suspicious,
defiant, reserved through all the pre-
vious years of his life from boyhood.
He had been uniformly unfortunate,
even in his married life. The great
trouble had been that he had convinced
himself that his wife did not love him.
His jealousy once aroused, he attached
great weight to every trifing circum-
stance, and many of his projects failed
/ simply because he had no great desire
to succeed. His wife's complaints were