The Penn's Grove record., 1883-09-08

river and was lost. | came here to see
Gregory, not you. 1 could not help
loving you but did not think until
tonight that you cared so much for
me, Nelly. But, child, you will forget
me.n
Never I"
He want on
Nelly, / shall hunger for you day
and night, more and more, as time goes
on and | get older, lonelier, more weary.
But l shall neve hope to see you
again. Now give me your hand"
She gave him both. He raised them
to his lips, but before she could speak
again he was gone.
~Shivering violently, she went to the
fire and stood there trying to warm
herself. She understood it all now
his strangely elaborate arrangements
for a trip to New York. He had known
that he was not coming back when she
had begged hiT to bring her his photo
graph from the great metropolis,
but vas going on-on-into the dim
distance. This is why he had not prom
ised.
1t was getting late-she was so cold
she had better go to bed. She would
not go into the parlor to bid her father
and aunt and Gregory good night so
she crept silently up to her own room.
There the very weight of grief upon her
lulled her to sleep.
But when she awoke her grief sprang
upon her like some hidden monster who
had lain in wait for her all night. Her
misery terrified her. Why should she
not def Why should she ever rise
from that bed
But when they called her she sprang
up hastily, dressed and went down
stairs, and they were too busy talking
to notice that she did not know what
she was doing. But, by and by, when
her brother reached for some more
coffee, and observed that John Bur-
rows and his mother went to New.
York on the first train this morning"
she tried to rise u~nconcernedly from the
table, and fell in a dead faint on the
carpet among them.
When Nelly came to she was
undressed and in bed, and Aunt
Mary was darning stockings at the
foot.
"Oh, let me get up, Aunt Mary /
don't want to lie here !"
"Now, Nelly, be reasonable You are
ooh, Aunt Mary, I'm not"
"Nelly, if you will lie still to-day I'n
let you have the old box of c~uriosities
in my room to look over. Will you ?"
81 don't know"
Aunt Mary went for them. Nelly
shut her eyes, and let the wave In all
its bitterness surge over her once, when
Miss Golding came back, bringing a
box of old mahogany, black and glossy
with time.
"There"-setting it on the bed.
With a wintry little smile of thanks
she lifted the cover. The old mahog.
any box contained strange things.
Pictures on wood and ivory, illumina-
ted manuscripts, webs of strong lace,
antique ornaments, ancient embroider-
les, great packages of old letters, sealed
TASKS of unfamiliar perfume, ancient
brooches of red gold, tinger-rings of
clumsy-set gems tied together with
faded ribbons, a knot of hair fastened
together with a golden heart, the silver
hilt of a sword, and lastly, a tiny octa-
gon portrait of an old man, done in
chalk upon a kind of vellum and en-
closed in a frame of furnished brass.
"Who is this that is SO ugly, Aunt
Mary ?n
THAT, they say, is my great grand
Nelly"
"What is it painted on--this queer
p"
"Well, it is a kind of leather, 1 be-
lieve. They used to write on it in old
en- times"
she is uncommonly ugly, isn't he 2"
said Nelly, YEARLY.
AS she spoke the little case fell apart
in her hands. A yellow, folded paper
was revealed. She opened it and saw
that it was written upon.
"Why, bless my soul, what have you
there ?" exclaimed Miss Golding, rising
up in a strange alarm.
She snatched it from Nelly's hand.
SIT can't be the will ~ she cried.
Nelly looked on in dumb surprise.
Aunt Mary read a few words, and then
rushed away in wild agitation to the
library where her father was sitting.
Nelly could hear them talking, the two;
then her brother came, and the old
housekeeper was called from the dining
room and SO much confused talking
she never heard before. By and by they
all waited upon her in a body.
"Nelly,n said her father, sitting down
upon the foot Of the bed, ''you are an
heiress.n
''This is old Grandfather Golding's
viii I" exclaimed Aunt Mary, flourish
ing the bit of paper.
at seems to me he was very eccen-
tric,n Gregory co~ndescended to explain.
"He was very rich and had some hard
sons and some grandsons who promised
to be harder, and be fell out with the
whole set, who were waiting for him to
die. He declared that no money of his
should encourage the young peoples
excuses a little poverty would help the