Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-11-27

One bitter afternoon, as the ste ward
ana nalf a dozen iovial fellows were
crouching over the brazier in the tea
house. there came i'll a wandering min.
strei leading a child by the hand. A
thick hood hid all her face but her eyes;
her poor thin clothes were ragged and
patched; her feet were blue with tramp
ing through the cruel snow. and she
was 50 wearied that she sank upon the
raised floor with q piteous apology. The
k~lnd-hearted travellers made her drink
some hot wine, insisted upon her COM
ing close to the brazier, and one of them
took OFF his own thick outer garment
and wrapped the child in it. When
she lowered her hood to thank them
the steward recognized o Hama, al
though four long years of suffering mad
written sad traces on her once fresh,
youthful face.
A happy thought struck him, and
Pfter she had rested herself and seemed
revived and wa leaving the house he
followed her and whispered in her = r
20 Hana-do you not remember
Ime?"
She started, gazed at him for a mo-
ment, and murmured his name with
joyful surprise.
~ Hana,' he continued, "you would
like to see your hus band?"
A light Of JOY sprang into her sad
eyes as She replied:
.,oh, yes, that I would; but my people
told me that he was dead long ago"
A"Hsis not dead" said the steward;
''out I can only tell you where he is,
and let you see him upon one condi-
ton"
Q Hama thanked him ferventlv and
followed him to the little house in
which he lodged.
When y Hama and the child were fast
asleep between the quilts the steward
wrote the following note:
MY LORD n MASTER: The bearer of this
10 your little daughter. 1 send her to YOU to
inplore YOU, for the sake sof your wife, to
our armies.
EARLY the next morning he told o
Hama of the resolution he had taken.
At first she was unwilling to trust the
child to go with him into the soli-
tnde OF the mountains, but he swore
that no harm should happen to her,
and Q Hama, happier than she had
been for many long days, consented.
So the steward bought the child a
new red dress embroidered with azalea
flowers, took her on his back and
started. When he arrived within a
hundred yards of his masters hut he
directed the child which way sho
should take, and waited below to hear
the issue.
So great was Karuka's joy that for
some moments he could only embrace
her in silence. Then he asked her
about her mother, and wrote on the
back of the stewards letter that he
would only take again the field on be-
half OF his country upon the condition
that if he succeeded all the past should
be forgotten and he should be permitted
to introduce o Hama to her proper sta
ton in life.
The child came down with Karuka;
the steward fastened back to Koyias,
told o Hama of what had happened.
took her back with him to where Karuka
was waiting. and without staying to
witness the joyful greeting between the
long-separated husband and wife, made
all speed to Yeddo with his message.
Very little remains to be told. Of
course the mobiles gladly accepted
conditions. He came forth
from his retirement, made almost
q tfiumphal procession through the
streets of the capital; saw that 0 Hama
was settled in his old castle under the
protection of the faithful steward. and
went off to the seat of war. In a
few weeks the news therefrom was of
such character as t. in
fuse proud enthusiasm into every
Japanese heart. The junks which had
50 long brought nothing but news of
Disgrace and defeat now sailed proudly
into Yeddo Bay with punches of ever
at their mast-heads, and by the
summer the Coreans had been utterly
crushed and Japan had dictated her
terms of peace.
Karuka returned full of honors to his
native land; the people rebuilt for him
The castle, which had been suffered to
fall into grievous decay during his
exile; the assembly of Daimois voted
him an annual income of 5000 ''kokus"
IF rice. equal to "a, 900; the greatest in
5he land crowded to his castle to pay
their respects to him and TO o Hama,
and prominent among them came the
Prince of Nagato and his wife, once
known as 0 Kiri, the admirer OF
Karuka. Nor was the faithful old
forgotten, for Karuka bought
or him an estate in the country, where
1e died at an advanced age, to the grief
If all who knew him. The child grew
up beautiful, and by her marriage with
The Prince of Chohiu stamped all the
Eta faint from the family of Karuka-
B%elgravia.