The Portland daily press., 1883-12-25


alone was always serene and unconcerned.
| 1t was evident to me that he considered it a
mark OF special favor 10 tarry with US so
| long.
| On Saturday he bought daily paper and
began to study the church directory. Clear
| ly he intended to spend Sunday with US.
| My wife lost all patience.
| us the man going to stay all summer p
| She asked me, when we we're, for few mo-
ments, by ourselves. did not dare to ans
wer 10 the negative.
| But on the following Tuesday, Just one
week from the time he came,-our visitor
went his way, after extending to US a. most
cordial invitation 10 visit our Harmony rela-
| tives.
| have been particular, perhaps tediously
so, in describing our Harmony Cousins first
visit to US, not because the event itself was
worthy of an extended description, | give it
rather as a sample of the visits he felt i'm
| PEELED to make us during that and the sue
ceeding years. Four or five Times every
twelve month he was sure to appear at our
door, sometimes alone, but ottener accom-
panied by one or more of our other cousins.
After time some of the latter got to coming
by themselves Alter that seldom did a
month pass without our having more or less
company from Harmony.
| ln the course of four or five years hard
work and worry began to tell upon my wife s
constitution and her health became delicate.
l noticed that cousin SamuePs interminable
visits began to annoy her and sometimes, af-
ter his departure, she would be sick for sever
al days, the result OF overwork aud care.
| We talked the matter over many times, we
both agreed that he was fast becoming a
nuisance, especially since be had taken to
bringing other cousins with him, and we de-
| nj1p0 that tn "a
| We commenced to treat him with marked cool
ness, and carefully RETAINED from inviting
him 10 come again; but all to noparpose. 1t
was simply impossible for him To understand
how he could be burden to yboiy or how
anybody could fail to eojoy his society for auy
length OF time. II he ever noticed our want
OF cordiality ne probably attributed it to our
| forgetsulness and-came as often and re-
NAMED as long as ever.
| lie justice to the map, however, | oug bit to
! say that he was Tot mean or meicenary. He
did not come for what he could get to eat or
drink. for we practised rigid economy at
| our table and the house of Potter was, at all
times, stranger to luxuties. Our Harmony
cousin was tolerably well off and, no doub :
when he was at home, sat down to better
table every day, than was ever spread
in our house, except on laye occasions. Yet
be always seemed 10 relish what was set be-
lore him and never appeared diss ,tisfied with
our fare. He never asked favor, he never
borro wed money but, on the contrary, was
always ready to do any service for Almeda
that was in bis power. He took a great tan
cy tor our little boy aud spent whole days in
manufacturing wonderful toys for him, or in
teaching him curious tricks and games. His
devotion to our Peter ought to have won our
hearts, but 1t didn't.
As years went by, our partnership pros
pered as whole, especially in financial mat
tiers. Prudence and economy were working
out their customary result aud we began TO
| look forward TO the time, not very far in the
| future either, when we could own house Of
our own. 1t was wonderful what hold our
boy gained in our affections. as, year by year,
he grew in stature and intelligence, but he
was our all,-no other child had ever been
| given TO us. Little by little our future be
came merged in his. It was for him that we
worked and saved It was tor his sake that
We wanted home. La reality the head oil
our firm vas the junior partner. He was a
goodly boy and I think we were justified in
building our hopes upon him and in trusting
that he would some day cover the name oil
| Potter with renowu.
| But when our Peter had reached bis eighth
| year, Tue sun OF our glory was darkened and,
| for time, We sat n the shadow of great
trouble. One cold, windy day in October,
our boy came home from school, with a
| flushed face and aching limbs La alarm we
called the doctor, who felt his pn!se, looked
| into his throat ard shook his head obviously.
1T is a case OF diphtherja," be- SAID ia an
swer TO my look OF inquiry. | veD,ured 10
| ask II he considered the case critical, and my
heart beat painfully while waited tor the
| answer that would mean so much to me.
81 consider every case of diphtheria CRITICAL
answered the doctor grayely, ''but we will
hope that this little fellow will be better in
the morning."
| All night long my vile aud watched anx-
iously by the side OF our dear boy, while he
| tossed in fever aud moaned with pain, grow
ing sicker every hour. We hoped and prayed
| that, when the morning came, his disease
might take turn for the better, but when
The gray day Wight began TO steal in through
the windows, even our hopeful heaIts could
see no sigus OF improvement; nor did the
coming Of the doctor bring US any comfort
for he, too, was compelled to admit that the
symptoms had not improved in any respect.
Then we girded ourselves TO fight for the
| life that was SO pre- cious to US. Night aud
day we watched in turn at the bedside, keep.
| ing brave look OF courage on our faces aud
| speaking brave words OF encouragement 10
each other, but conscious, all the time, OF a
terrible sinking of the heart.
When it became known that we had a case
of dphtheria in the house, our friends aud
neighbors were panic stricken and they all
| forsook US. All did | write? No. J shall
| never forget that irascible Mr.. Sley did not
| forsake us. Daily he called at our door to
| inquire tor the sick boy, and he never came
empty-handed. His sympathy was exceed
! iDgy precious to us.
| On the fourth morning OF our boys sick
ness, after a night of high fever and deirium,
in which he vas constantly repeating bits of
the lessons he had learned at school, or was
talking to imaginary playmates about their
| sports, he fell into an uneasy sumber. The
doctor came in early that morning and went
directly to the bedside of his patient. He
stopped aud listened moment TO the hurried
breathing, touched his fingers lightly to the
little wrist, then, WITHOUT word, but with a
look of iufinne trouble in his face, turned
AMI left the room.
| saw bis thought, and the chill OF nigh
ty terror fell upon my heart. / had frequent
| ~ thought of other children, as dead, or like
v o die, but it had never occurred to me that
death might call tor our boy. | had never
| thought OF be little eet we bad cared tor SO
tendery; as going dowO, alone, luio the
dark waters, perhaps even then they we've
wet with he swelling waves.
| Nv wife, weary aud exhausted with watch
| ing, bad fallen asleep upon lounge III an
adjoining room and had known nothing OF
the doctors visit shrank from awakiug
her to the terrible truth, but telt that 1t
ought to be done. Ipansed moment, near
window, 10 gather courage for the dreaded
duty II bad been raining and there were
dead leaves, lying here aud there, IN lttle
pools OF water on the sidewalk. | saw little
children and heard their merry shouts. as
they fastened on their way to school. Then