Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-01-01

| his wooden muller and handkerchief. She
was very quier, so quiet that he feared the
| sudden shock had benumbed her senses.
He spoke TO her loud and sharply to rouse
| her.
| In a faint, far away voice she begged him
| to leave her. and save HIMSELF Laying her
hand on his head. as he bent over her in
arranging the wrappings of her feet, she
said 1t is hard now, when life is so
SWEET
When Glendinning raised himself and
once more turned his despairing face to-
ward Heaven-as all men do instinctively
| in time of their greatest extremity-some-
| thing keen as a scimitar smote his cheek
| His woodcraft lessons taught him that it
was the breath of the coming morning
Hope revived again in this strong sorely-
| tried heart Relief might be very near
| he told Nelly so, shaking her to rouse her
| from the dangerous stupor into which she
was lapsing.
| She only answered by faint moan She
resisted slightly when he raised her up and
wrapped her closely in his cloak, whose
warmth and shelter she had constantly re-
| fused, saying it was too heavy for her
She was unable to make any further pro-
test. Her head fell drowsily on his
! shoulder, as he gathered her close to him,
and walked up and down in short turns.
| His splendid powers of endurance-the
| hardihood, and mastery over fatigue which
| he inherited from long ancestry of in
| trepld men, were now taxed to the utmost.
| Strange pains and tremors ran through his
strong frame; his mouth and throat were
| parched; his head ached and throbbed.
| Daylight was coming now He saw out
| lines of objects on the shore While strain
| ing his eyes, to make out where they were,
| he saw something that for an instant made
| the blood stand still in his sorey-tried
heart, then set it dancing again with new
! hope, There was something that looked
like a star, where he had seen none before.
/ He rubbed the frosty rime from his eye
lashes and waited. For moment it dis
| appeared then it shone out again some
thing had passed between i. and his vision
Yes it was light in a window facing
the lake! There was warmth, and rest,
and all that meant life to them, close by,
as soon as he could see to make his way
across
| The steel gray of the eastern sky had
begun TO warm and melt into saffron as he
picked his way across the rough ice, often
hidden under drifted snow and making his
way most difficult and painful His breath
came in gasps, and everything reeled
around him when he reached the shore
Then great fear seized him-such par
oxysm of fear and dread as has often
driven exhausted, suffering humanity to
acts of madness. What was il that he car
ried with him? What did his aching arms
fold so tenderly? Was it a corpse?
Shivering with terror, he slipped his
burden down from his shoulder and hold
| ing her head upon his arm, Looked long at
the face that had become SO dear to him.
The sport of the cruel night winds had
loosened fluff of the soft brown hair from
| its fastenings. He put it away with tren-
bling hand, and it strayed in little tendrils
| about the forehead and down the pale
cheeks. With the eyes closed, the face
| looked more child-like than ever The
sweet mouth was close shut, as if il had
done forever with complainings. As he
gazed down upon it, its peace seemed to
pass into his own tempest-tossed soul.
HIS dread was gone. The yellow light
| deepened every moment, and touched
softly the still features. Glendinning bent
( his head and reverently kissed his bride
| in the light of that other sunrise-immor-
| tai, eternal. whose brightness he wist not of.
In a moment he had reused himself to
the remaining difficulties to be overcome
The shore was not high yet he found it
| impossible to ascend it with Nelly in his
arms. Wrapping her tightly in the cloak
he drew her up the bank. 1t was darker
here than upon the open lake, but he saw
the house distinctly. He took her again in
| his arms and pressed on as fast as his rap
| idly-failing strength would carry him. The
| friendly beam of the candle that had guided
him so well was now obscured by the barn,
which stood close to the road. Passing out
of its shadow, he saw that a high worm
| fence stood between him and the house
He tried to shout. to call the attention of
some one at the cottage, but his dry lips
could form no sound. He must leave her
there, to bring help. Folding the cloak
| still closer about her, with one look at the
still form he turned away. He rolled over
the fence somehow, foundered. heavily in
the drift on the other side, gained his feet
and struggled on. Not moment to lose,
for he was nearly spent. Colored lights
! flashed before his eyes, and the thunder of
a waterfall was beating in his overcharged
brain. He was close to the house now A
dog-mans ever-faithful and sympathizing
friend-leaped up and touched his frosted
cheek with its warm tongue in mute wei
come. He knew not if he touched it, but
the door swung back, and it seemed as if
heaven had opened to him, in the light and
warmth that streaned through.
70 the day of his death he never forgot
one single detail of the sweet home picture.
with the freight touching it with its bene-
diction. A coy breakfast table, laid with
snowy cloth and glistening pewterware a
smaller table held the foanling pail of milk.
which the rosy comfortable-looking wife
was preparing to strain into the clean,
white, wooden ''juggins,' ready to receive
it. The husband father, who had just come
in and settled himself in his seat by the
ingle nook, had just caught up his boy
| Two little girls, with the precocious help
| fulness of their SEX lowered about him to
relieve him of cap and muller. Glendinn-
ing's eyes noted it all, even to the bright
touches of color afforded by the red flannel
gowns of the little ones, and the bit of tar
tan about the shoulders of the grand
mother. All this comfort and peace, and
tenderness, was the daily food of men and
women; but never-aeUer for them would
there be any home sweetness And she
| was lying out there in the snow The
thought pierced him to the heart, and un-
loosed his palsied tongue. He uttered her
name only, and fell to the floor an uncon-
scious heap, at the feet of the man, who had
| hastily put down his child and risen to
welcome the stranger. 1t was a comfort
| afterwards, when he came to know it, that
he was understood, and no time was lost
| Even before he was lifted from the floor,
the man and his wife were out; and,
! guided by the excited little dog, came di-
rectly to where Nelly was lying. The sun
of Christmas morning looked in on the
| group, engaged in the use of restoratives
and warmth to two inanimate bodies
| With one they succeeded, but Nelly-sweet
Neily-was gone forever,
The morning after Nelly had been laid
to rest, with the severely simple burial
rites which the children of the Covenant
were wont to bestow upon their dead, the
box-sieigh of the Ramseys driven by
Ramsey, accompanied by the sad, meek
wife) stopped at the cottage of the McIn-
tyres, where Archer Glendinning lay in
that delirious stupor which is the border
land between life and death. Mrs RAM
sey came in, while her husband, lookirg
more subdued than ever before, tied ana
| blanketed his horses
| Mrs. Mcintyre received her poor friend
with open arms, kissed her and cried over
her, as she would not have done if thestern
Duncan had beeii present. For a few mo-
ments the two women were fairly over
| come. 4
Mrs. Ramsey recovered her composure
| first. She looked fearfully worn and
broken, but she had come with purpose,
which sustained her. She looked eagerly
toward the high-post bed, whose curtains
were drawn. Has he spoken YETI" she
asked.
Nothing wi sense, pair laddie," was the