Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-07-31


developed themselves, and twenty
/ four hours later the bright young soul
was freed from its frail tenement, and
Mrs Sunderland was childless
widow
! will not dwell upon her desolat-
/ ion; the whole community sorrowed
with her; everybody had liked merry
/ little Frank Sunderland, and his
mother was almost an equal favorite.
If friendly sympathy could have
/ lightened ser grief that solace would
have been hers; perhaps 1t did, even
though unconsciously to herself, but.
as she sat the evening before the fu-
neral by the side Of her dead darling.
she felt as though there could never
be any more brightness or pleasure
for her t.is side of eternity.
please, Mrs. Sunderland, mayn't
| sec HING
Then she turned and saw Charlie
Cooper. The boys swollen ewes
showed that he had been crying. but
Mrs Sunderland looked at hinl,
alphabetically, and when she had re-
allied what it was ne wanted, turned
quite calmly toward the coffin and
withdrew the cloth that covered the
WaXen face.
Charlie gazed a few moments upon
his dead school-mate, awed and silent,
though the tears chased each other
down his cheeks. In a little while
the mother kissed the marble brow.
still with that unnatural calmness,
and recovered the face.
Charlie was trembling from head to
foot with repressed agitation, and
Mrs. Sunderland almost unconscious
ly laid her hand upon his shoulder as
if to calm him At her touch the
boys self-conmol gave way; with
chlldss instructive desire for comfort
and support in sorrow, he flung his
arms around her, and dropped his
head upon her bosom, burst into
violent fit of weeping
ooh, Mrs. Sunderland he cried,
81 can't bear 10 have him die; | can't
I can't-he was always so good to
me-.
The mothers lips quivered her
features worked convulsiyeiy; the
healing tears came at last to her ach-
ing eyes, and with her face bowed
upon Charles curly head, she too,
wept freely and softly, and with the
blessed tears the first bitterness of the
anguish passed away.
Mrs. Sunderland's friends came to
her and took her away from the scene
of her bereavement. All that affection
could do was done to cheer her, and
after few months her healthy, cheer
full temper began TO reassert itself,
and so aided the effort of benificent
nature that by September she felt able
to return to Greenvllle and her boys
grave and to become again, in
measure, her Old calm and gentle
self.
The school had Just reopened, and
though the remembrance of one short
year ago, wheG her own boy was
there. the brightest and most hopeful
of the young throHg who commenced
the school year together brought a
pang of almost unbearable pain TO
the mothers heart, she endured this
suffering as she had endured the
rest-uncomplainingly
The examination for promotion was
again held, and this time Charlie
Cooper ranked first among the five of
his class who were promoted to the
higher department. Mrs. Sunderland
was sincerely pleased when she heard
of the lads triumph, and few morn
ings later, when she met him, she
stopped TO shake hands with him
coagratulating him most cordially
But how does it happen you are
not in school this morning. she
asked.
'I-I-don't go to school just
now?' he stammered. Eve stopped
awhile"
"Why, now does that happen? Sure
", now is the very time you ought to
be most regular in attendance
81 know-I'd like to be, but'-ag@in
he stopped, much embarrassed, and 1t
was not without a good deal of ques
tioning that Mrs Sunderland at last
drew from him the information that
he had ceased to attend school on ac-
count of his fathers inability to pro-
cure for him the new set of school
books his promotion had made neces-
sary.
Fathers had felon on his hand
all summer, and it's not well vet. He
hasn't been able to work much, and
we've had to be awful economical.
Mother cried like everything when
father said he Just couldn't spare the
money to buy lot of new books She
was mad at first, but she soon got over
that. for she knew father couldn't help
it. She's saving upnow, and SO am /,
and Wen raise the money between us
before Christmas. l guess, though
those kind of books do cost like
smoke, he concluded with a rueful
sigh,
After he had gone Mrs. Sunderland
returned 70 her home, and entering
the darkened parlor, sat in the rock
ing chair ana rocked and cried softly
for a long time
Then she went up stairs and open
ed a deep drawer in a bureau, from
whence issued a strong perfume of
withered rose leaves. She removed
the linen towel that shrouded the con
tents of the drawer, and from one