, 1884-02-10
MAHALA DoorITTLs's DAUGHTER.
tooncluded nom second Page ,

1880 N.C4h an Atn "a a. 49,
been true as steel TO him.
so / WANT a bit s'prised when Mahaly
comes an bespeaks two weeks o. my timo to
sew on her weddin' outfit They was goin' to
marry in May, an that was tho middle o.
Aprile.
"Cicely didn't at first secm to take to David,
an fought kline O. shy O. him 1 used TO tease
her, an tel her she was Jealous; an she ID
laugh, and say she was.
But she soon got TO be great friends with
Dave, an that tickled Mahaly. She throwed
'em together as much as she could, an they'd
go strollen' arm-in-arm all over the country;
an some folks did talk some bout it; but I'd
shet EN- up mighty quick il I heard 'sm. 1t
seemed material an right 'nough to We, seein'
that David was old 'nough to Be Clcely's
father. an that was what he was RELY goin'
to be, so to speak.
"Many's the time, when rHaly an me was
busy sswin', have / heard her say In her joky
way:
down to the medder back O the
orchard, an see II the fence amt
down some place Or it'd be-
A'Now Cicely, you an David go over on the
hills, an sec if the daisies an Johnny-jump-ups
are plenty 'nough for a nosegay. Dorcas an
me are busy, an we won't have you round in
the way. Clear outr
"tAn that's tho way she d send 'em of.
An once, bout a week fore the day set for
the weddin', whom we was real busy, an real
merry over our work, David was a fiagerin'
the things in Hays work basket. He d got
her cotton an silk thread in an awful snarl,
an she, bein' uncommon cutty-up like that
day. gives him a smart box on tho Year,, an
says to Cicely, says she:
-'Come, Cicely, you an yer father a X my
basket out under the apple treos, so g to be
out Of our way, an s%traighten 1t up Some
thin must be done to get this little boy out
of the way, or Dorcas an me IL get nuthin'
doue.'
well, I minded Afterwards how Cicoly got
rodder n n beet, when Mahaly said, yer
father an David shifted round Uneasy like.
But they took tho basket an went out to-
gether.
@'Ths dear soulsr Mahaly said, as
tenderly watchin' 'em out o. sight
I'm so glad, Dorcas, that my Cicely
thinks 50 much o David. An he thinks a
sight O. her. He's told me so often. Wen
all live together so happily herer Tho tears
ackshilly stood in her eyes, she was that
happy. Purity soon she said:
"'The Lord Is good, Dorcas. I've been
wicked an onyrateful 'nough TO think He
wasn't sometimes, when / was troubled an
vexed. But OF Dorcas, for all our earthly
troubles and trials, there is some
time, s~omewhero. II it don't come here, It'll
come In the blessed hereafter. My recon-
pense has come now. David Bascom has
come home tn me, an 1 am to be bis wife.
David an Cicelyi In them Is my earthly
joy an rest an peacer
II worked nearly all night the night but
ono fore the weddin' day. David had a
likin' fer purity dresses fer a woman, an
'Haly d sent clean to Boston fer her weddin'
an Unfair dresses. She did RELY look like a
girl O. % in her weddin' dress. 1t was a
beautiful laylock silk-an' was most becomin'
to herewith lots O. real point lace at the
throat and sleeves. She didn't allow to wear
no veil, an 1 was savin' all the blush roses 1
Ind on some bushes I'd KEEP in the house all
winter. l allowed to dress her hair with
them an some lilies O. the valley, an put
EN- in long with the lace at her throat 1
knew she'd O. looked real snipshus. She'd
awful nice wavy brown hair, an not q streak
o. gray in 1t.
"She'd planned for a big weddin', boin' a.
she'd lived all her born days right there, md
knowed everybody, an 1t was reckoned kind
o. shabby for a person not to ask their decent
neighbors 70 n weddin'. Mahaly's house was
~good<ized; an she felt able to got up a big
dinner, an nave all her old friends see her
married. / was to boss the affair.
MtSlllu WhS W 10 III lnt IL y 1lhN.
l was stayin' night an day at the hous-, an
Mahaly an me allus got up an got breakfast
She would have it that young people needed
all the sleep they could get, an so wouldn't
call Cicely only in time for breakfast;
an shs needn't got up then IL she didn't
please to. 1 reckon Mahaly hadn't failed to
slip into Cicsly's room an kiss her good
mornin', In the hull seventeen years O. the
girls life.
1The mornin' of tho Gath 1t was shO tip
toed into cicely's room jest fore breakfast,
an in a minnit l heerd a scream that was the
most pitiful, painful, heartrendin' thing l ever
heerd in my life. rushed across the hall an
into Cicely's room. There was no one in it
but Mahnly, an she lay fat on tho floor, with
a face that wa'n't whittier whom she lay dead
than it was that minnit Her eyes was wide
open an starin' 10 the most horrible way at
nothin'. She'd a bit O. writin' paper tight In
her clenched hand She let mo read it after a
good many days. It read:
"fDEAR, DEAR, Z MAMMA: / cannot
write or think OF anything but that / am 60.
ing away with David to be his wife. We love
each other so. Forgive me, IL you can. dear
mamma, l love an bless you for all your
loving kindness to me. Please forgive me. /
love you. love you. Do forgive.
DAVID AND CIcELY.'
"There were tear stains on the paper, an
W. " eto buhb "a iAueN u ecu NIlLttn
with a trsmblin' hand. But how my heart
hardened against that girl as I knelt over
Mahaly, layin' there with her very soul an
body writhin' In agonyi There was a kind of
a speeches. cry OF a broken heart round the
poor souls quiverin' lips. An OIL the eyes OF
wrstcbednsss an despair that she turned
toward Inc In that hourl Poor SOUL poor
soull Ny heart achsd so fer herl
al lifted her onto the purity white bed on
which Cicely had slsp' fer so many years.
She turned her poor white face YEARLY to
the wall, an / stole out an lsft her alone.
had an ideO 1t was the kindest an best thing
to do.
Old DR.. Wintergreen was passin'. Icalled
him in, an told him as best l could what had
happened, an sent him round to tall folks
that there'd be no weddin'. 1t was mighty
hard, but It had to DO done. There was no
gettin' out of 1t. An l tell you, 1 didn't
spare that Cicelyi / couldn't soften my
heart toward her.
~ hustled round, an got all the weddin'
doins out O. sight; an l tell you I fairly blub-
berod right out when 1t come to foldin' up
1t seemed as II l was handlin' dead peopIsh
garments.
AFTER an hour or two I slipped into the
room where Mahaly was She lay just as I'd
left her, an ! thought for a minnit she'd
gone where broken hearts are filled with Joy,
an tears are wiped from every eye But as
/ bent over her she turned her dry eyes
toward me. l wanted to say somethtn' or do
somethin' fer the poor body. / took her up
In my arms She looked at ME a minnit, an
all OF n sudden the drawn, pitiful look left
hOr white face, an she whispered:
1'Surely He hath borne our grisfs'