The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-08-25
Written for the Waterman
Truth Stranger than Fiction.

The following account, under ficti-
tious names, of most romantic Incl
dent came to my knowledge a short
time ago: Betsey McAuley lived in the
northern part of Ireland, with her
father, mother, five brothers and two
sisters. She had always lived at home,
helping her parents in their struggle
for bread and earning what she could
by doing embroidery. She had grown
up with Charles Wright, had played
with him, and knew all about him.
Neither of them were sixteen when he
was called upon to 90 to England to
fight in the British army and do what
little he might for bringing other coun-
tries than his own under the English
rule. Before he went Betsey and he
met one night on the edge of a morass,
and there they plighted their troth.
Hand in hand, these two sat there
alone with the moon and stars and said
the solemn words which bound them
together forever in the sight of God.
Theirs was the pure love of pure young
hearts. No tokens of their solemn COW
enant were exchanged, but they felt
that they were one. The next morning
Charles was far away, and Betsey kept
on in the old beaten paths of duty. 1t
is ever thus. The man goes out into
the world and almost forgets the loved
one amidst new scenes, while she, with
brave heart, can only sit and feed on
the memories of him whom she loves.
For two years letters were exchanged
between Charles and Betsey, but at the
end of that some letters were miscar-
ried, as is so often the case. Betsey's
best beloved brother went home to God,
and shortly afterward her mother fol-
lowed Betsey's letter to her lover,
telling of her troubles, never reached
him, and she, in despair at receiving no
answer, thought that the cords of love
that had bound them together were
becoming chains of iron to him, and
ceased to write to him. He meanwhile
was fighting hard and wondering if the
dear one at home had found consola-
ton for his absence in some late conner,
too proud to write and beg her to be
true to him. What poor, woful lives
ours are. They reach perfection only
in heaven, where the light of God
shines so brightly through them that
we see things as they are, not as
they seem. Meanwhile Betsey's older
brothers and sisters had left home when
they became old enough and had gone
to America, and she, too, in her sorrow,
turned her thoughts to the land of the
free, hoping by change of scene to
obtain change of mind and heart.
For eighteen long years these two
lived their lives apart, yet strangely to-
gether, for neither could uproot the
love which was felt for the other. Who
shall tell of the influence those two eX-
erted on the world-the influence of
truth and steadfastness and adherence
to duty through sorrow? AT last Charles
returned to his home, but found no
mother to welcome him, no Betsey to
love him. After some diligent inqui-
ries, he found out the address of one of
Betsey's brothers in America, and to
him he sent letter, enclosing letter
to her he loved, to ask her if she was
true to him and to assure her that his
life-blood was hers in God. What an
answer was that which he received
from her! Full of love and confessions
as to her doubts of his fidelity, yet she
was his, wholly and fully
"
When the fall came and the trees
wore their beautiful coors of red and
yellow, there was a quiet little we'd
ding down in a certain valley of New
Hampshire The brides name was
Betsey McAuley, the groom's was
Charles Wright. The bells rang mer-
rily on the frosty air as the two, with
their friends, left the church for the lit
tie cottage half wayup the hillside; and
with the good wishes of all around
they, so long separated, were bound to-
gether forever