Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1884-03-04

was ALWAYS reading about, and there was
no soul abOrt the house. rs far as knew,
except the servants and my mistress. who
was. | thought. in the drawin'-room
Having a very bad headache. after | had
put my baby to bed and left the house,
maid in the nursery to watch it. | went
out to get breath of fresh air in the
kitchen garden and about the back ways
behind the strawberries. Everything was
very still, except that a soft breeze went
soughing and signing through the great
fir plantations, and |, quite alone, and
feeling my head grow lighter and better
as walked, kept listenin to the sound
and thinkin'. | remember. at the time,
what nice sound it would be to send a
baby to sleep with. As | listened. pres
emily. | heard voices. At first thew were
hardly louder than the fir whispers. but.
gradually. / heard my own dear ladv's
voice answer some low words. too low for
me to eaten. aloud, in a tone of agony:
"Oh no. she cried; Gerald. do not
tempt me for heavens sake do not
tempt me- to leave my little child -
Her voice. though not a high one,
rang through the stiffness with such
an echo that | trembled lest any one
should hear it beside myself. He seemed
to hush her. and to try to suothe her. as
gathered from the few words could over
hear.
knew it was the handsome gentleman,
for Gerald was his name. and oh. what a
horror felt to him,
had never PLAYED the listener on pur-
pose before in my life, but now | was de-
termiued to hear al | could. and stood
al Al, ind
the strawberries TOR was not her maid
when she was little more than child p
didn't she love me. and might | not try to
save her? Besides, was her own baby's
nurse. Anyhow. stopped
heard but very little more except Just
at the least. They appeared about to part,
and then.in his voice.i heard these words {:
"To-morrow night.then, my own. whether
YOU come or not. at IL O'Clock | shall he
here" And. after that only the sound of
stealthv footsteps carefully going over the
fallen leav es. and of a low weeping that
broke out between whites when the foot
steps were gone.
! | waited, perhaps. half an hour, perhaps
not quite so long. hardly knew. | was
J in such tremor Then | went in by the
kitchen passage door, and up the back
staircase round to my darling's nursery.
in the front OF the house. next to nv lady :
dressn'-room. There was door through
it into the nursery, and. in about an hour
or so, heard my mistress come up there.
and, as it was bedtime, knocked and
went in to help her to undress as was al
WAYS used to do.
She was sitting before her glass. wash
ing her face with some rose-water, and
she started as | opened the door. She
didn't need to try and deceive me. poor
thing. into thinking that she hadn't been
crying,
How YOU startled me- nurse - she
said
/ answered. But knocked. ma'am-
didn't You hear me knock
II suppose / was not thinking about
you. Mary" she said. hurriedly.
/ said. Il don't think You are in spirits
this evening. ms'am. You'll feel it lone
some tonight without master. Shall
leave the doors open through to the
nursery, so as you can hear me and the
baby -
wanted her to think about the baby
But she said. sorrowfully,
(COrtinued Tomorrow