The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1883-02-28
CHAPTER III.

natics as she now Is.
CHAPTER ii.
Inithe Woman's w orld of January13 there
was an article headed "One Instance"
have received q good many letters asking
me about the two girls of whom the article
was written, and several persons have sent
me money for the relief of the young moth
or.
Send no more money, friends. 1t is not
needed. Mary has gone where love, not
money, guides the helm, and her baby has
gone with her.
On the ninth day after the little angel
was born, Mary was taken with cbild-bed
fever. She did not seem to be much sick
and we felt no uneasiness. Being inexperi-
enced in sickness we failed to comprehend
her danger. But for all that there was no
attention lacking that love could supply;
and it is q comfort now to know that we
satisfied every little wish of hers as soon as
she revealed It And yet whist insufferable
pain in the thought that she did hesitate to
express even the slightest wish for anything
for fear Of being too heavy drag upon om
slender means
Reticient, gentle and selt-sacriHcing to the
last moment, she closed her sweet eyes upon
us, leaving US with hearts strained to burst
ing in generous but impotent desires for her
relief and happiness.
On the last day when almost speechless
from the exhaustion of protrscted fever, she
turned her eyes sesrchingly for her baby,
Our hearts sank within us. The little one
had been sick for week. The best milk
we could get for him failed to nourish him
The landlsdy of the poor lodging house, g
loving woman, had taken him to her OWL
rooms, where he received unhagging stten.
ton. But at the time his young mother
was locking for him with pitiful
pleading face he was lying
In his spotless shroud upon a pillow in q
lower spaItment-ssleep- to wake
again in this world.
She was trying to speak. With difficulty
we made out her words:
off he could only go with mrlP she said:
and again, 81 want my baby"
"Do you want him now, dearest7" wa:
asked.
SCI want him always. 1 want to take
him with me. He is mine. Oil haven't
earned at least this much out of life-thC
perpetual ownership If my baby?"
"Would you have HIM die Mary2"
"Yes, yes; life is so hard want TO take
him with me-"
"My angel" one whispered, "your baby
is an angel already. Do you want to see
him7"
And then we brought him. More beau
tiful in death than in life, we laid his mar
bic face in the circle of his mothers arm
Tears came quickly, rolled over her white
temples and rested like diamonds upon th'
shining gold Of her uncoiled hair. In vai1
we wiped them away from her brimminl
eyes. Her young heart had become thu
perennial fountain of these symbols OF grie
whose outflow was never to be checked il
this world.
And thus she died-with tear-stsineC
cheeks, the wreck of youth and beauty, snc
early blasted hope; the victim of man
wickedRess and of societys criminal iDjus
tice.
We combed out her golden hair, leavins
it in the freedom of natural beauty to stray
over her pillow and pour itself in uncon
fined wsves-a glittering cataract of molteI
gold-down to the floor. The lsndlsdy ou
Of her scsnt pittance bought lsce-trimmeC
pillow-slips and a new white spread; snC
we found white dress with dainty pinl
ribbOns-worn, no doubt, in some happl
hour before the clouds fell upon her lite
And go we dressed her for the grave.
child, dirty little street urchin to whom
she had been kind, came with clear chan
lels washed by tears down his dingy cheek
and brought q rose for her breast. He look
ed upon her cold form, he kissed her hand
he touched the baby's little face with hi
face. and went away shaken with sobs.
, That night there was q snowstorm. The
heavens dropped white mantle over tn
earth's blackness; and ii seemed to US in
the morning as if Msry's spirit freed from
bonds of clay and liberated into such hap
piness as to obliterate every previous grie
had sent the snow as a symbol of her for
eivenese. Foolish as the thought nigh
have been, it comforted US.
But when as the day grew older the wint
arose in all its fury and swirled the glitter
ing and arrowy ice points into our faces
cutting like myriads of nettles, we felt tina
even the benediction of the wronged snC
ruined and dead girl was powerless in GOV
ering up such enormities as led her to he
fate.
!, have never seen such funeral as that
l hope never TO see another such. Out OF
the road with two open spring- wagons, on
containing Mary and her baby, the othe
the friends-only four of US, the heart
broken sister, the tender loving old woman
whose scanned and riven face was broken in
to such grief IS added score Of years b
her own three score, the boy weeping silent
ly, and myself. These were all. 1t was tn
coolest day of the season. The wind BILE,
gale; the names of the horses stoo,
straight out, or beat and dashed their neck
furiously. Shiveripg in every vein, on
tears as they fell blistered our cheeks lik
. fire. And when we came to the open grav
. we could hardly move from our seats, .
stiff had our trembling limbs become.
At last, while the coffin reposed upon II
trestles above the grave, q word was spoke
and the two dead faces were uncovered. ]
| is an old custom, obsolete except anon
! country people. But we we're countr
people, all Of rs except the boy. Away i
, q neglected corner Of the churchyard "