Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-02-05

'UOlDS, gong DIT teA CelloS, no"Au
in a harsh, husky voice. call this lot OF
pans, once the pride of Aunt Polly's
heart, bran new only twenty years ago,
going. going and gone to Patrick Nc
Fadden for ten cents"
Ten cents, then. was the public valu-
alton of what had occupied the thoughts
of Old Paul's wife, to the exclusion OF
all the tender memories of fifty years. as
she returned to her old home.
At length the house was all cleared
except II room.
This room Old Paul had kept locked
| for twenty years, never permitting any
| one to enter it but himself. A jury of
neighboring gossips had more than
once had the subject under advisement,
and had brought a unanimous verdict
of .:strange and very mysterious"
AS no one knew anything about it,
| every one felt free to say just what her
| busy fancy suggested. Some said it
| was haunted. and IL cadaverous old
maid. who had dried up in single bless
edness, threw out dark hints about a
peddler who had mystcriously disap-
peared. Some said lights had been
seen and strangely sweet music heard
there more than once at the dead of
night.
The children caught the infection,
and, if possible, avoided passing Old
Paul's house in the night, but, if at any
time benighted, their fear would add
wings to their feet and eyes to their
imaginations. and a ghost story was
sure to be the result, especially if Old
Paul's white horse was feeding near
the house. This room also seemed to
possess a strange power w Old Paul
himself. He seldom visited it, and al
ways left it greatly agitated and com
monty in tears, and after such visits he
had been known to be sober for weeks
together.
This mystery, whatever it might be,
was now about to be cleared up. A
| group of eager gossips had already
gathered about the door, which had to
be forced, as the key couldn not be found.
One of the shutters, which Old Paul
always kept closed, was opened to let
in the light of day, and with it all that
mystery vanished. Instead of a haunt
for the revels of spirits of darkness or
murder spots that :'would not out, we
saw only Il large square room, furnished
with an air of gentility and taste that
the dust of twenty years could nothide,
and in strange contrast with the rest
of the house.
The mystery had vanished, and with
it all that coarse hilarity. Even the
rollicking a%uctioneer stood mute, his
coarse features covered with a shade of
thoughtful sadness.
More than one lip quivered. and more
than one hard hand brushed away an
obtrusive tear, as this dusty old room
called up from it's oblivious slumber
some touching memory of the past.
There was one old woman who, in
the midst of. the hustle, had seemed
busy with her own thoughts, and more
than once her heart had seemed full as
some little article was sold. I had no.
ticed her, and inquired who she was;
and they told me that her husband had
once been a drunkard worse even than
Old Paul, but that he had suddenly re-
formed and became a respectable man;
that they had been miserably poor,
with a large family, but after his
reformation became quite comfortable
livers, and all agreed that she was as
| good a woman as lived this side of
heaven.
AS she entered the room her feelings
| quite overcame her. The tears coursed
each other down the deep burrows on
her cheeks.
"Yes,' at length she said. this is
Nelly's room, just us she left it. What
a sweet creature that was! She was
an angel to me in my poverty and
suffering. Hardly a day passed with
out her bringing over some nice little
things for poor little Willy, who was
sick sc long. But he is we'll now,
thank God. and they are both in heaven
together. And then she had such a
kind way to give anything that it would
make a brown crust taste good. 1t was
different times in this house when she
was in it. l always hoped she would
be able to ave poor Paul, for she could
do anything with him; but she saved
my poor husband, for he'never drank a
drop after she talked to him-so like
an angel as she was just before she
died. He could never speak Of her to
the day of his death without crying.
She wasn't quite eighteen when she
went away. I always told him she
didn't belong in this world, but was
only here on a visit. What a time that
was the day she was buried! Every
body seemed to feel just as if they had
lost II of their own family. I didn't
see but our children felt just as bad as
when our Katy died.
"Poor Willie cried till it seemed as if
his heart would break. though she told
him but the day before she lei us-for,
poor child, suffering as she was she
seemed to be thinking Of everybody
but herself-to be patient and good
natured. and not to mind if he did suf-
fer a good deal, and he would see her
again before long.
1T is enough to make n want to
die just to see the dear child again.
But V mind, children, I shall be
be with you soon" AS she said this
she looked steadily upward and spoke
in a confidential tone, Us if she saw
those dear ones on the very border of
the spiritual world, waiting impatient
ly for her to join them.
During this simple talk of the loving
old woman, if there was a dry eve in
that a-minute-be before careless, jovial
crowd, mine were SO blinded that T
could not see it, and l felt convinced,
more than T ShOu]d have haon NV vol