The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1886-12-25

So that Christmas evening Mother and
were alone There had been something III
mothers manner all day which | could not
not understand She seemed to have Some
thing on her mind She was loving and ten
der to me, so tender that thought that no
one had ever had mother like mine, and yet
sometimes when spoke TO her she scarcely
heard mo. But we had "A quiet, happy day
we always were happy tosether-and late in
the evening mother sat down in her chair by
tho fire and said;
"Come and sit here, Janet, on your little
stool, and put your head on my knee have
Il story to tell you tonight"
"a story, mother dear' Oh, that Is lovely,
like being child again"
alt is u true story, Janet, Of your life and
mine. | have never cared to tell it to you be-
fore, but am not afraid now-my child and
| have loved each other all these years-no,
am not afraid"
"What could you lie afraid Of, dear
mother"
"You shall hear and judge" she said, put
ting her hands on my head, and then she be-
gan: "When was young, younger thnn You
are, was engaged to he married. My home
was very unhappy, and when Andrew West
ern calno and asked me to marry him | was
ready to revere the ground he trod upon. He
had been coming backward and forward to
our house for some time on business with my
father, and believe that from the very first
day ho saw my misery We wero-and TO
my remembrance always had been-poOr, but
if | had been IA boy my father would have
possessed thousandsa year never wondered
that ho hated me, that my mother mouinod
and frettel from morning till night; they had
brought mo up to feel guilty Of a crime, and
| dill feel it in my inmost heart. Ii was no
marvel that, when Andrew asked me to marry
him. looked upon him as an angel of deliV-
cranrr loved him with an intensity which
anazI and frightened him. Ii was in vain
h iinl TO mike me sober and reasonable 1t
| w, IL win he told me that III h worship was
wrnu rnl foolish, that it gave him no happi
| ns. whllo to me it must bring disappoint
mcut could not listen and ut last | wear
inl him He said little about it utter awhile
| but he went away, and once more my life was
| desolate Ho said he would come back but
| he never did. He wrote to me often, kind
| tender letters, but they chilled my heart; and
| then ono day he wrote TO tell me that it must
| be all over between us He told me how he
nul SITlNbN 10 DN HIS ou love LOT ille,
but he could not; the mere effort panied him,
| the thought of my passionate devotion filed
| him with dread. He could never return such
| love, he could never endure to have il Law
| ished upon him; once for all he would give it
| a death blow; when his letter reached me he
| should bo married.
IL had another lover then, Janet, and | al
most hated him, but before many weeks were
| over became his wife 1Ie loved mo always,
| but we quarreled. | could not pretend to
love him, and he grew reckless; our home
was miserable, and within n year he died. |
was too i'll to know what happened for a long
time after that. Strange faces passed before
me, strange voices spoke kindly words of
pity, and once every day it seemed To me that
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'll You seemed to me to
be all the world, and you saved my lifel
any husband had net left me in poverty,
had no need TO work, and spent my whole
life in watching over YOU made no friends,
for cared for none 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 hi, home as well as
wine. and that he was indeed desolate, for his