St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-05
TO HIS HEART.

alone with her grandfather in gray stone
house in the midst Of a garden, which hid
it from the road They had few visitors.
Old Mr.. Merely would have nothing to do
with neighbors and those who came to the
house were principally old friends from
| distance.
| And, thinking of the cold, stern man, who
| had never once careSsed her, it did not
seem unlikely that he might have been UNI
| likely that he might have been unkind to
her parents He was not unkind to her, it
| is true but he had never been tender. Black
Jane was fond of her, but she was ignorant
and supersttious; and perhaps the most con-
genial companion Margaret had ever had
| was a very strange one.
| A woman, no longer young, evidently a
| Woodworking person, yet as evidently by
birth lady, who had met her once in the
woods, when she was little child, and had
| asked her for kiss, and who ever since
had, now and again, crossed her path in
some lonely place, and talked to her as no
one else did. She had asked her name once,
and the woman had said: ''Callme Martha"
Martha was my mothers name," said
the child; ''she died before 1 ever knew
her," Then suddenly she was strangely
moved. ''Oh, if l only had a mother!' she
I'll, y
and two tears dropped from her eyes.
That was years ago. Margaret was now
II: vet still she met the pale, fair woman,
with her hard-worked hands and high-bred
face. her common dress and ladylike move
ments in the woods, by the little spring,
amid the gray rocks in the pathway that led
from the orchard itself. That was when
her grandfather was away. And she had
never spoken to him Of this lady. He never
allowed her to have any friends.
Of late, however, Margaret had had lit
| tie secret of her own, one that she did not
| tell her friend any more than her grand
| father.
Some one else had met her in the woods.
! Some one else had told her, as this woman
had said, that she was beautiful. Yes,
some one else had kissed her also with kiss
| that thrilled her through and through. She
had lover of whom she knew nothing save
| that he was handsome, that he praised her,
that he said life was unblest without her.
She knew her grandfather would put an end
| to the pleasant meetings if he guessed at
them; and Ralph Harland had told her so.
"a strange old gentleman, your grand
| father" he had said; "a man who, though
doubtless deserving of respect has no sym
| pathy for others. Were I to go to the house
and ask permission to visit you, though he
knows me well enough by reputation, he
would drive me from his door. We must
marry first, Margaret, and then ask his for
giveness. We can do without it if he re-
fuses it, think"
And Margaret felt that if she had but her
Ralph for her own she could do without all
else. What had her grandfather ever been
to her? She loved her friend Martha much
| better.
That day she kissed Martha fondly when
| she left her. She had promised her lover to
| leave home with him that night and she
knew that they might never meet again.
| She looked back after she had gone a
little way. Martha stood looking after her,
| shading her eyes with her hand.
All that evening Margaret wandered to
and fro like an uneasy spirit, taking silent
adeu of her old home She felt some re-
morse when she looked at her grandfather,
and she even felt sorry that she was about
leaving Black Jane thus. But Ralph stood
first. She had no thought of drawing back.
She sat in the old kitchen at last, lingering
over the spot where she had been happiest,
for. if there had been any comfort, it had
been at Black James knee, when the door
burst open and Jane tOttered i'll, and, trem-
bling with horror, cast herself upon her
knees.
81 have seen spirit, Miss Margaret"
said Jane; "a spirit from the other world.
I've seen your mother, child, white and
worn and wretched, standing watching your
window from the orchard yonder. Some
trouble is coming, some trouble is coming.
What shall 1 do?"
Margaret. with horror for which she had
no words, crouched close to the black wom-
ans side.
For the moment her resolution failed.
But the terror passed ere long. She even
grew to believe that Jane was the victim of
her superstitious terrors. And she went to
her room at last, resolved to meet her lover
as she had promised. She had prepared her
little bundle and placed her tiny sum of
money in the pocket of her dress. She had
written note to her grandfather and laid
it on the unrrlmpled pillow. And now that
the house was all still-even Jane, in spite
of her terror. asleep in her garnet rOOm-the
girl crept downstairs and out into the
orchard.
The moon shone bright; the path to the
road was clear. She crept down it and
opened the gate A little way beyond
dark figure stood among the trees. 1t hast
ened forward.
tt was Ralph: all Margaret's terror van
ished. She was with her lover; she was
safe.
"a carriage stands at the foot of the
lane" he whispered. eve will be beyond
pursuit in an hour. Come, my darling"
But as she placed her hand in his and
lifted her lips to his own another figure,
crouched until now in the shadow of the
great pear tree beside the gate, arose and
glided like ghost between them. A white
face turned itself towards Ralph Harland,a
white hand waved him backward.
sDemon!" said low, clear voice. ''Black-
hearted demon! leave this poor girl and
go!''
ssWho are you who interferes?" said
Ralph.
"Her mother" said the woman.
Margaret screamed. In the white moon
light, her head uncovered, her face as pale
as that of the dead, the face seemed that of
spirit. She did not recognize Martha. and,
overcome by terror, tainted i'll her arms.
When she again opened her eyes she was
alone with the woman. She knew her face
and voice now, and angrily shrank from
her.
ssWhere is Ralph?" she said
s'Ralph, as you call him, has gone for
ever, nope. IL Tic HaS Sollo W Ills WIG Ho
has done well. for he has enc. am your
mother. Years ago l left my fathers home
at night with one as bad as Ralph. We
were married, and six months afterward
learned that he had another wife, and he
finally fled to escape the state prison. /
only returned to place you, my child, upon
the step of the old homestead. After that
l worked honestly for my bread in farm
er's kitchen, but could not refrain from
seeing my child. have saved you, dar
ling"
And Margaret s0bbed upon her breast.
-ssYou must not leave me- mntharr she