The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1888-03-01

COulO uuOSfSI8n0 W. tu1b AvS OetOnRe0
to wealthy parents, And that something
would prove her idsnsity. 6ewed up in
rags wrapped about the baby girl We dis
covered the diamon1 crescent, which 10
strangely engraved in ciphers, unintel-
ligible to . stranger, bat no doubt signif.
icant enough to the owners, whom We
naturally supposed 10 be little Eva's pa
rents, for this was evidently what the
woman meant to oooyey.
"My father and ! accepted the trust
thrown upon US by that mysterious death
IS commission from heaven" i" said Eva's
guardian angel, with soulful smile
which disclosed beautiful nature, " and
we set about to find the parents. For q
long time We advertised, but to no pur-
pose. Many replies came, but to none
Of these people did our little Eva belong.
At last, after my fathers death, which
occurred three years ago, certain that
Eva's parents were not to be found in
the West, l sold my property there,
tanning pupils here, and 1t the same time
good legal talent to push the work of es-
tablishing my darlag's identity. We
have not been very ss5ssssfal % far:
] felt mYself Ia & E661kns. Hue was
q beautiful young woman who had evil
IDENTIFY sacrificed all her worldly goods to
what she believed divinely appointed
mission, and for all I knew had at this
moment neither money nor food, certainly
not fuel for the morrow's bitter weather,
for little Eva had innocently given that
fact away, and yet she would not make
moan which would give nae the cue to
her necessity or make it possible for me
to offer pecuniary assistance.
What should / do about it all =? l
cogitated over and over again. "Retire
at once now that the business for which
you came is ended" said the convention
alities. "But you cannot leave these
two penniless and friendless in big
city," urged the heart within me, and the
latter argument seemed the stronger of
the two, so l broke forth at last, awk-
wardly, for l am not man of tact at any
time, but to the point. "You accepted
the care of little Eva, as a commission
from heaven when a strange fate brought
her to your door, and why may not ac-
cept the care of both Of you as my COM
mission until something better can be
done ?"
The effect of this speech was simply
startling. Miss Adele flushed and turn
ed pale by turns, but she said, looking
straight at me, with womanly courage
flashing from her large violet eyes: Sir,
you have been 80 kind to my little Eva
that will not believe you intend less to
me-"
"God knows that do not" / replied,
feelingly. "Pardon me, but your little
charge has given me some idea of how
you are situated would like to befriend
you both while you need friend.'
Miss Adele searched my face long and
earnestly to discover if perchance there
-lurked some sinister motive there before
she said, Sir, your offer is very extra
ordinary one"
"Not more 80 than your own course In
sacrificing yourself and all that you pos
sessed to this child's cause"
"But that was the will of heaven for
me-" Miss Adele said with deep seri-
BUSINESS, 1" l could not do less. But" she
added after a moment, "we do indeed
need friend"
"Do you suppose I would trespass
longer upon your privacv were it not so?''
l asked earnestly. "Nay, trust me and
you shall have no cause to regret it"
Then Miss Adele spoke out like the
large souled woman that she was, 81 will
trust you, sir, for my little Eva's sake. F"
Matters proved quite as bad as fear
ed Thew were at the end of their money,
and no immediate prospect for getting
more opened before them. Miss Adele,
whose musical gifts had been recognized
as pre-eminent in her native village, had
thought it would be easy enough to Sc
cure pupils in a great city like New
York; but alas from bitter experience
she had learned that this commercial
Mecca toward which so many young as
pirants for success turn their footsteps
held but disappointment for her.
The end of long discussion on the
pros and cons involved, resulted in Miss
Adelle's accepting assistance from me as
a loan, and |, in turn, promised her pu-
pills from among my friends, taking upon
my shoulders the doubtful task Of coerc-
ing all the fathers and mothers Of my &C
quaintance into giving their children over
to her training, beginning with my own
married sister. And it was fortunate
that made my beginning there, else it is
probable that I should have miserably
failed in my undertaking, for my sister
Mrs. Merwin, informed me scornfully
when laid my plan before her, can
not be thankful enough, Tom, that am
the first one to whom you unfold your
Quixotic scheme, for nothing could be
more ruinous to . girls prospects, stu
ated as Miss Adele is, than to have q
bachelor like yourself going around ad'
yocatiug her cause. Just take me TO see
the girl, and if she is not mere adven-
turees you may count upon my doing
what / can for her,"
That my sister was wholly satisfied
with Miss Adele will 60 without thu
saying when I tell yon that she took he1
home within the week as musical govern
ess to her own children, and personally
solicited patronage for her among he'
dear 500 friends"
In less than three months from the day
that FIRST discovered Eva Miss Adele
found herself with more work upon hel
hands than she could easily attend to
and / found myself-but no. / will tel
YOU about that later, for now comes th'
most remarkable part of this narrative
land there is nothing 90 very remarkable
in the story Of free man who is oftel
thrown into the society of good ant
beautiful women falling in love with her)
and that which emphasizes the fact tha
truth il stranger than fiction.