Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1884-08-23

| according to orders, had scrubbed the
| steps and drawn up the green blinds,
| with their painted pink roses, OF the
| the disused front parlor-" The house
itself. . rambling low cottage, was
quite innocent of paint, and the boards
of which it had been built fifty years
earlier had grown with time to be
soft, greyish black. little patches of
green moss grew and hourished under
the caves and here and there where the
boards overlapped each other Ii stood
facing the road, and about fifty yards
away from 1.-THE peach orchard with
its long straight rows of heavily-laden
trees stretching away on either side, and
behind, not thirty yards from the
kitchen door, yellow-white cliff, dotted
here and there with tufts of long grass
and wild raspberry bushes, descended
abruptly into the lake. 1t was quaint,
quiet, peaeeful-looking spot, and so
thought Mary Howard as she viewed it
for the first time that sunshiny morn
ing. Afterwards it grew to be very
dear and sacred to her, when she had
heard the sad story connected with its
past, and had learned to share in RAN
dolph's love and reverence for the dead
mother who had "dree'd her weird IN
silence there.
Randolph met the governess and her
charges as they progressed, the latter
with eager and expectant glances. up
the newly weeded path, and conducted
them to the long paddock at the end of
the orchard, where Grigg, kicking his
disconsolate heels against its rails, was
sitting on the fence, holding the brown
pony and an old gray mare. Miss How
ard was soon established in a shady cor
ner, under a hickory nut tree, with
camp-stool and book, while Grigg, a
fine appearance of scorn on his ex-
pressive countenance, marched slowly
up and down the field in charge of pretty
little Maude, mounted on the old gray
mare, and Randolph himself superin-
tended the evolutions of the delighted
Johnny on the pony. By and by Grigg
was dispatched to the house, whence he
returned bearing huge pitcher of milk
and platter of Keziah's homemade
''bun-loaf, which Miss Howard laugh
ingly distributed from her post under the
hickory. And then-and then, somehow,
it all came to an end, and Randolph found
himself leaning over the gate, listen
ing to the children's ringing laughter
and watching the graceful figure which
accompanied them as it disappeared
round the bend of the road. Disap-
morrow, and on many morrows after
that-nearly every day of that happy
and long summer, till the
old, old story was once more repeated,
and Mary Towards sweet face and gen
tie presence grew to be as necessary to
Randolph's happiness and peace as the
very breath he drew. And one day he
told her so-one day in the early au-
tumn, when heavy clouds hung over the
leaden-colored lake, and the wind sighed
through sombre pines and red-tinted
naples as if with foreboding of the
long winter to come. And she-She
took his sun-burned hand and kissed it,
laid her head trustingly on his broad
shoulder and told him she loved him
dearly-better than life.
They were to be married the next
spring from Mrs. Sanders'-the 9th of
June was the day fixed for the wedding.
Mary Howard, who had spent the winter
in Oshawa with the Draytons, her only
friends, was to come with them to Port
Caradoc, June l. Randolph had spent |
much of his time through the winter |
and spring in fitting up the old house |
and making it as bright and comfortable
as might be for his bride. Many were
the tender thoughts and fancies which
filled his mind as he worked in the long
winter evenings at the pretty carved
bookcase which were to hold the books |
she was SO fond of; or later in the spring
as he made various journeys to Grips
vile, the nearest inland town, where he
purchased so many dainty knick-knacks
that Keziah declared Randolph had
gone mad on fixin's" For the 25th of
May Randolph had planned the last of
these journeys, and the morning of that
day he left Port Caradoc by an early
train for Cripsville. 1t was a close,
sultry morning; there seemed scarcely a
breath of air; the lake was ominously
still-not a ripple stirred its surface;
heavy, threatening clouds hung over the
horizon Keziah entreated him not to
60 She said she felt kind o. skeared"
But Randolph only laughed, and prom
ised TO send up a woman from the vii
lage to keep her company. His heart
was so full of happiness it had no room
for forebodings. He reached Grips
vile about 10 O'clock. AT noon a storm
of thunder and lightning broke over the
city Hailstones rs large as pigeons eggs
fell, smashing every unprotected pane
of glass. The wind shrieked and howled
through the streets, roofing up trees
and smashing telegraph poles like twigs.
Houses We're blown down, men and
horses killed. 1t was that terrible
storm of May. 1877
Randolph made his way to the station
with difficulty about o'clock, only to
find that no trains were running to Port |
Caradoc. A portion of the railway had |
been torn up by the storm, and it would |
take at least twentyfour hours to repair |
the damage done. He returned to the |
town, where he wandered about rather |
aimlessly for an hour or two, and then |
went to the hotel. intending to spend |
the night there, and resolved to hire a |
horse and drive home-a distance of |
some thirty miles-the next morning. |
He was possessed by a strange, I'M |
easy feeling, and felt half in |
elined to start for home that |
night. but hearing that it would be |
dangerous, perhaps impossible, and hav-
ing indeed no urgent cause for haste, |
he abandoned the idea. About 9 O'Clock |
rumors reached the hotel of disaster on |
the lake Some said that the Oshaws |
steamer had been wrecked at Port Cara |
doc and all hands lost; others, that she |
had been struck by lightning; others |