The Wilmingtonian., 1886-12-25
NcoMr AND SIN HERE, JANET"

were alone There had been something in
mothers manner all day which | could not
not understand. She seemed to have some5
thing Oil her mind. She was loving and ten.
der to me, so tender that thought that no
one had ever had mother like mine, and yes
sometimes when spoke to her she scarcely
heard me. But we had quiet, happy day
we always were hupp,5J1 together settlher=aHd lGte in
the evening mother sat down in her chair by
the fire and said
"Come and sit here Janet on your little
stool, and put your head on my knee. have
q story to tell you to night"
"A story, mother dearl Oh, that is lovely,
like being a child again!"
"It is true story, Janet, of your life end
mine. / have nevsr cared to tell it to yoa be-
fore, but am not afraid now-my child Snd
| have loved each other all these years-ne, |
am not afraid
"What could you be afraid of, dear
motherln
"You shall hear and judge, sha said, put
ting her hands on my head, and then she be-
gan: "When was young, younger than you
are. was engaged to be married. My home
was very unhappy, and when Andrew West
ern came and asked me to marry him was
read, TO revere the SrUuni he trod upon. He
had been coming backward and forward to
cur house for some time on business with my
father, and believe that from the very first
day he saw my misery. We were-and to
my remembrance alwa is had been-poor, but
if had been a boy my father would have
possessed thousands year. / never wondered
that he hated me, that my mother mourned
and fretted from morning till night; they had
brought me up to feel guilty of q crime, and
did feel it i'll my irpnost heart. II was no
marvel that when Andrew asked me to marry
him, looked upon him as an angel of >leliv-
erance. loved him with an intensity which
amazed and frightened him II was in vain
he tried to make me sober and reasonable 1t
was in vain he told me that such worship was
wrong and foolish, that it gave him no happi-
ness, while to me it must bring disappoint-
ment could rot listen and at last wear
led him He said little about it after awhile
but he went away and once more my life was
! desolate. He said he would come back. but
| he never did. He wrote to INC often, kind,
| tender letters, but they chilled my heart; and
then one day he wrote to tell me that it must
| be all over between us. He told me how he
had striven to hold fast by his old love for me,
| but he could not; the mere effort panied him,
| the thought of my passionate devotion filled
him with dread. He could never return such
| love, he could never endure to have ii Law.
ished upon him; once for all he would give it
death blow; when his letter reached me he
should be married.
"I had another lover then, Janet, and al.
most hated him, but before many weeks were
over became his wife. He loved me always,
but we quarreled. l could not pretend to
love him, and he grew reckless; our home
was miserable and within year he died /
was too i'll to know what happened for long
me, strange voices spoke kindly words Of
| pity, and once every day it seemed to mGthat
Andrew came and stood by my bed. when
at last woke to reason again, you Were be-
side me Oh, how loved you! How pas
sionately loved you You seemed to me to
be all the world, and you saved my life!
"My husband had not left me in poverty,
| had no need to work, and l spent my whole
life in watching over you. made no friends,
| for cared for none. l forgot the miseres of
| my fathers house; forgot my quarrels with
! my husband; forgot even my love for An
drew, and was scarcely moved when heard
that death had visited his home as well as
mine, and that he was indeed desolate, for his
wife had died and left him childless. Three
happy years passed away almost without
cloud. You grew and throve. Every day
seemed TO my delighted eyes to give new
charm, new beauty TO my treasure; and
then in the midst OF my joy you fell i'll. Day
and night, night and day, watched by your
| bed-nay, Janet give me no thanks; 1t was
| selfish Lowell 1t was all in vain that doctor
and nurse argued with me- | would not
leave you. 1t was fever and must run its
course, they said. If you should recover, my
strength would be needed when you could
know and call for me; but would not listen,
and one night as sat beside you all the room
grew dark, and knew no more When re-
covered could not rise from my bed, but
implored with passionate tears to be taken to
you. Then some one came forward and sat
down beside mo and took my hand, and saw
that it was Andrew 1t gave me no surprise
to see him there. | dinly remembered that
had seemed to see him before when was Ill,
and for the moment his presence Gained
me.
"'Mary,' he said, in his old, quiet tone, il
you do not do as l tell you you will die; and,
what is more, the child viii die too
II sprang up with a scream and struggled
to go to you. My child, my child" | cried.
"'She is not your child-she is mine, he
said, in that calm tone OF truth which had
never failed TO convince me, and which now
pierced like a sword of ice into my heart.
Yes, she is mine! Listen His Quiet eyes
controlled mo, his quiet words subdued me
when You were very ill, dying, they
thought, my name was often OH your lips,
and they discovered and sent for me. On the
same day child was born to each of us, and
my wife and your child died. I'VE might
have hoped for her if her baby had lived, .
said the doctor; and gave my child to you.
Can you not bear what have borner
"Oh, Janet, my child, his words were heal
ing, and the sorrow that from that hour I
tried to bear was taken from met"
at first when mother ceased speaking, ths
world, and love, and life seemed to me- to be
blank and hollow, but in few moments
rose from my seat and kneeled at her knees.
"0h mother, dear-my fathert'
she died long ngo Janet, do you love
mela
"Then each other knew tina,
in all Nv Iowa deRr rnnhhaE