The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1884-09-03
UNCLE PAUL'S WIFE.

~ nau rnlncd all DAY; ana at night,
with the same dull, monotonous sound.
the rain still fell on the gravel walk be-
meath tho window, while through tho
Clark old pines at the back of the house
went the continual mournful soughing of
the cast wind,
was weary of all indoor occupations,
could not resort to invectives against
weather, for | had no listeners
h|y uncle, DR.. Paul Eastman, had gone
hfeo miles through the wind and ram to
S'Ait patient in the nlmshouse, n little
boy whose life was nearly ended, and
Mrs. Eastman was visiting her friends in
distant State.
In an idle, half dreaming mood, I lay
on the sofa in the pleasant library to
await my uncle's coming.
The cheerful freight sending its warm
bright glow over the geraniums and roses
IN the deep bay window, over the few
pictures on the walls and the we'll filed
book shelves. banished all thought of
hc wintry dcsolation without. Above
ae shaded lamp, on the little study
Die, was portrait. 1t had hung there
many years, the old housekeeper said.
cannot describe That pictured face, so
uobly, so serenely beautiful. Would you
}ly to describe the look which the ono
you love wears for you9 Neither will
ny TO paint with words that face, which
was the full realization of my thought of
those messengers who come from the un-
seen world to strengthen and bless the
weak and suffering among mortaIs.
Was she Uncle Pauls first love-the
fair young girl whose loss has darkened
|/I n tsao Of orl.
had heard something of the g eat sorrow
(which had clouded those years, and of
fne whose life of beauty had kept her
memory fresh in the hearts OF many.
bad heard, two, Of the tenderness with
which Uncle Paul took to his home.
which should have been hers, her invalid
mother and little brother, and cared for
them till the mother went to Join the
Daughter and the boys were fitted for
commercial or professional life. But
there was mystery in his life. II he had
loved and lost the one whose face was
pictured there on the canvas how could
he ever have given the place that would
have been hers to the respectable, com
monplace person whom have known for
five years az Mrs. Eastman
The longer watched the sweet face
looking down upon me the greater seemed
the mystery, and so thinking l fell
asleep.
A voice awakened me. "Ah Miriam,
Dreaming ~
eyes uncle dreaming of that face
above your study table,
He walked across the room and stood
silently before it long time. Then he
came to me. ''It is very like her, Mir
lam; and she vas as pure and good as the
angels"e
Can youteil me of her, uncle What
was her name ~
Then, after short silence, he told me
s. bis early sorrow and revealed the secret
pf the mystery that perplexed me.
Her name was Grace Hyde. She was
. 4'ghteen and was twenty-one when she
fomised to be my wife. was just fin
.'ing my professional studies, and had
own way TO make in the world, but
s strong to do my work and to fight
battles, for Grace was awaiting the
sfllt. Her love would strengthen me
Md her hand would reward my victory.
i will not fetter you, Paul, she said :;
4 know how the promise of many young
lives has been unfulhlled because the
practical answer To the questions: "What
shall we eat and what shall we drink,
and wherewithal shall we be clothed ~.
have wearied the spirit not yet ready for
its life-work, crippled its energies, and
chained it TO an ignoble service, while
the nobler work it might have done, waits
for another. Give all the time you need
to the highest culture, the fullest deve-
opment of your intellectual strength, find
for yourself fitting sphere of labor, and
then, Paul, l will go with you, and to-
gether we viii make life beautiful
II could not combat her resolution.
She was firm, and her father said Grace
is right; in the future you will acknowl-
edge it.
$50 finished my studies in the uni
yersity aud went to Paris. Grace, pale
and fearful, with her little hands in mine,
said BE worthy of your best self, and
may God forever guide and bless you,
dear Paul. And then we parted
II had not been away three months,
when a letter from Grace announced her
fathers attack. AN attack Of apoplexy,'
she wrote. Poor mother, it is terrible
blow to her; ] know not how she will
bear it. pray that may help her and
that God will give me power to comfort
her After that her letters We're not sad,
but there was a subdued cheerfulness, or
it might have been an effort to be cheer
ful, and there was an impatient looking
forward to my return. She had such
trust in me, such noble ambition for
me, l was always stronger and better
after reading her words. Her influence
|Fas around me continually, and the
emptations Of Paris life were all power.
'ss ! could not disappoint her trust.
would try TO be worthy of her
\ had been in Paris nearly two years,
Nn was preparing to return, when one
|Ny letter. directed in an unknown
sndi wHs given to me. l opened it