Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-10-09
He had not a sister. and his father

WIN ZIG a1N0N
her husbands younger brothers as SC
many harpies anxious to fall upon any
stray crumbs that fell from her table,
wa not likely to welcome an invalid,
who might want months and months
of nursing, possibly only to die in the
end. A good servant did all he could
for Major Priestly; but a servant is not
much when that is all n has to rely
upon for sympathy, conversation and
anything else that is wanted to while
away the long, weary days and nights
of illness.
1t was now December. At Drayton,
where the eye rests contentedly on
miles of blue-green fir trees, whose
only difference in winter is an added
shade of dusk in the distance, there
was nothing to remind any one that
Christmas was not more than a fort
night off. Yet SO it was, and Major
Priestly felt more melancholy than
ever, and looked back respectfully
to past Christmases at the Manor
Christmases when he and Edith had
been all in all to each other; they had
spent their time in decorating the
church, hanging Christmas trees with
ornaments for the Sunday school chill
dren. and in keeping the peace between
all those who came forward to help
them.
As Major Priestly remembered the
date: lying in his long chair facing the
sea, that literally cleaned like a tur-
quoise under a cloudless sky. with the
Isle of Wight rising like a snowy cloud
just on the left of the horizon, and the
chimes glittering redly in the sunshine;
the view seemed to fade, and he saw,
instead, Priestly Church and the heaps
OF prickly evergreens, and could smell
the various mingled odor Of damp,
crushed leaves and holly berries, that
was always connected in his mind with
Christmas. Could he not well recol-
lect, too, how he and Edith had
spent hours or their knees, stick
ing gorgeous red and blue and
gold letters on squares of card
board, that, when completed, should
form a text to go round the ugly. dark
brown galleries? He smiled to himself
as he remembered how the letters wouid
curl up in q sticky festoon on his
fingers; how crooked they got; and
how, finally, when it was really done
and duly arranged in heaps in the aisle,
ready for erection, the old clerk took;
advantage of their temporary absencs
at luncheon to prepare a surprise for
them; had put up the text just as the
letters came, anyhow. and by the time
they had returned, had completed SEN
fences that would have defied the
cleverest hand at solving "'buried SEN
%tences," that ever won a prize in any
society journal of the present day.
Perhaps the thought of old days had
somewhat obscured Major Priestly's
generally acute Senses. but he could
have declared that ile' heard Edith's
voice distinctly as he awoke from his
half-dreamy state to recognize Dray-
ton, and heard her say: The other
side Of the chine will be best, Dugald;
then we shall not be in The way of that
poor gentleman"
Involuntarily he closed his, eyes once
more arsf lay very quiet. Then he
opened them again and saw on his
right hand the fair, oval face and
waves of brown, soft hair that he could
never forget while life lasted, as be-
longing to his lost love. Older a little:
yes, certainly; but otherwise. the Edith
OF eight years ago sat there unchanged.
The old, old feeling surged over his
breast, and he knew in a moment that
the love that he had felt for her was
only asleep and had risen, stronger
than ever from its repose, to assert it's
empire oven him once more:
He watched her carefully, noted the
calm, sweet countenance it'rested him
to look al, saw how her dexterous
fingers arranged her companions chair
and rugs in the warmest place, 'front.'
ing the very prettiest part of the view.
And Major Priestly thought testify,
how he had vainly tried to get Stokes
to put his chair in a position that
would cradle him just to catch
that reflection of the sun on the gleam-
ing sand banks; and had as vainly told
him that his rug would slip,of him and
leave his feet exposed to, the air if it
we're not tucked under them properly.
1t did not take him many hours to
profoundly abhor Edith's companion.
He could not make out in the least who
he could be. None of the brothers
names would return to his. mind; but
he felt certain had one been named
Duga1d, he must have remembered
such Al uncommon cognomen. Then
the idea flashed into his mind, remain
ing there obstinately: Edith was mar
ried, and this long, Unlocking invalid
was her husband.
In the meantime Edith had been gaz-
ing attentively at Major Priestly, and
had begun to think in her turn that
she was dreaming. Since her lovers
marriage she had never heard of him.
She had had an illness, On learning his
pertidy, that left her weak for months,
and after that no one had cared to
mention his lame before her. She
knew he had children, but no mention
of his wife's elopement and subse-
quent death had ever reached
her ears, and she believed
him to be happy. well and prosperous,
several thousand miles from the quiet,
pine-clad shores of Drayton.
When she recognized him her first
impulse was to rise from her seat, and
go away anywhere, no matter in what
direction, so that it led her from his
immediate presence. But in a few
minutes pride came to her aid, and,
turning to her companion, she offered
in q low vnioa tn onpfin,o raaSipr. Re