Arkansas weekly mansion., 1884-02-09
DAMS VALENTINE.
CHATTER :.

I'M LfN -
l. was 1t. Valentines nav, Dar
Woodtord sat 10y the one small window
OF Ms I".c cabin. IroOGi!y gazin@ ont on
the -afI.ft. lca..e-S t:-:-s->, and on the dis
tant @ica,a OF the stormy wafer OF Lake
SUPERIOR. lis thoughts were as drealy
a. TIM landscape before him; and hi,
stat of mind WIS hard and bitter, fol
IL remembered anoln ncr NaIctue Day
onIy 4 wear a"o. The on" ~rcat ans
b!,~~. Il day OF h,s life il hal seemed
then -l.c:iu~. he had exchanged valen
tine, with lovely Evelyn crave, and sh,
EaI promised to be his " lie and his val
eniiHr forever
s.liut uu,. ~hnr: year a~o," murmurcd
Dan. thinking ,loud. Il habit gained in
sol ;u,Ir. .'a:i now she is Mrs. Norton,
the oh miilionair'.S wife, and I am q
hermit, lei -cNilcd to this bleak and
lonely place.
He glanced round on the bare wall~.
built by hi- own hands. in the fall OF
thc year Just past. Thcl were rudely
plas'ercd and whitewa~hrd. but 50
solid that the wild.~t storm might rage
AMI howl without. rriEht beat its angry
yinlcur.- against t.I"m. while the occu-
pant. provided well with food and fuel,
could afford 10 smile in serene comfort
within
And Fan smiled now-but it was a
sad smile n he lo rkcl around and
said: ..ltcttrr. zen times letter, drcar
and 10 .ll - It i. than the insecure
home of Il :aiihl,.sS wuman's shallow,
chau"jm Sl"a::-"
Then wSh 4 l"n@-drawn sigh that
much - his brave words, the
speaker "a, - in Quest al his pipe and
Tobacco the ~"iayc of his lonely exist
cnrc. Having found th"n he sat down
to Il ru.lr pine desk. manufactured i'll
spare evening hours after his day :
work WIS over. iicG pulled out the
drawer and took from it the few treas
urc> it contained half Il dozen letters
from the girl who had Tilted him; 4 long
1rc>S of her wavy. yellow ha;r. and a
knot of withrrcd flowers that had once
bloomcd and blushcd upon her breast.
Faded and dead"' sighed Dan. in
haling the faint fragrance that Vet clunr
to them, LAS the love she vowed shnrrlh
die on.y with her life.
Gently. tenderly he replaced them in
the. silver paper that had held them;
and then he twined the silkcn hair
about his finger. where it clung like
some living thing, and its touch thrilled
like an electric shock along his nel YES.
setting his heart wildly throbbing till
lie was half mad with love and longing.
lie shook the yellow carl from his hand
and flung it away as though it had
burned him. Lastly, he took up the
letters, and with 4 mockinG smile read
them, one by one. Having finished, he
folded all together-the letters. the tress
OF hair and the crumbling flowers and
stretched out his hand toward the glow
in" fire of logs that blazed upon the
hearth. But he didn't cast the little
packet into the flames, as he had meant
to do: instead. he raised it to his lips,
kissed it pa Ssionatelv and rcreTently re-
turned it To the place from whence he
had taken It. " it'll an"ry contempt for
himself he then exclaimed:
..t.h. what Il fool | am, shut the
drawer sharply, took UP his pipe and
returned t. his place by the window.
The mlcam of the stormy water was
almost lost now i'll the gathering dusk
and the snow that still fell heavily.
Noy aad then. as the darkness in
creased. came the long. loud, hungry
howl OF distant wolves Dan heard ii
unmpvcd. enjoying it rather than 9th
crw:se, while he listened, noting the
lon" intervals between the sounds Sud
dcnly. during one of these intervals, n
low. wailing cry sounded close beside
him: and lie .unded from his chair
more startled than if 4 whole pack OF
wolves had appeared before the win
dow
=. y hat was that?' he exclaimed
gazing all round the wide apari men'
and prerin@ into every corner brightly
illuminated BY the flames that blazcd
away on the wide, deep hearth
The only living thing in the room
save himself was n beautiful Maltese
eat that lay fast asleep III the chimne,,
corner
..It must have been the cat. And
while he stood regarding the comfor;a
BILE creature. The anne waii!ng cry,
louder and more pitiful, sounded close
behind him.
= ,irnat heaven. Can it be? 1t ism
possible exclaimed Dan. and. reach
ing the door at one stride. he tore j,
open.
The wind and snow rushed in, and
with them n louder wall from the bun
die that lay on the threshold With cN-
tranrdinarv care, Dan raised the bundle
in his Strorg arms, and, having closed
and secured the door, proceeded TO eX-
anime his strange prize.
First he moved the outward and
snow laden covering. which was an old
shawl The next layernf Wrapping ap-
pearcd to lie a wcll-worn red flannel
skirt; and after that came a thick. soft
crib blanket. This last had been ar
ranged with great care. so as entirely TO
project the precious treasure 1t contain
ed. and now as Pan folded back the
corner Of the blanket pair cf great
dark eyes, Inning like two stars, look
ed up at him, and the baby smiled in
his face.
..God bless it - said the young man:
fervently: and bending down he kissed
the rosebud mouth. ''Soft as velvet, -
he murmured, land lovely as an angel.
Eut where has it come from? hat
mortal hands have left it here-or has
il dropped from the skies. questions
Tat We're never answered from that
hour To the blanket was pinned
scrap of paper. on which was written;
"HSr name is Elinor." Nothing more
-parentage unknown and mysterious
as that of the great Pendragon-
However curious Dan may have been,
he mad. Just then. small time furnished
him for the exercise of wonder or lngui
~. Although the baby had smiled up
on him at first its mood soon changed;
and with the fckleness he too readily
@ttribnted to her sex, the novelty of his