The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-04-20

agony and terror strike harsh discords.
The contents of the pocket-book fall into
the money drawer, which is pushed shut
| Just as the sound of coming footsteps
strikes her ear IL is the night Waterman
| going his rounds. She sees q face peer
through the panes, and suddenly dark
lantern is turned full upon the long aisles
| between and behind the counters AS she
covers, blinded by the flash, she feels as
| though, in all the world to come, there will
be no hour of torment worse than this
But after this seconds fash all is dark
again, and the man, as If satisfied by what
he did not see, goes on his way.
| Is this Virginia Waters, this white-faced
woman, who, an hour later, stands staring
into the mirror before her? So white, so
wan, so sick in her very soul is this the
cheerful girl who, until noay, has battled
so bravely with the great world-wrench-
ing from it with her slender musical hands
enough to satisfy her meager wants? Aye,
more than enough; for dimes and quarters
| coins smaller and even larger than these
have been carefully boarded of late money
that now lay below stairs in the small
dark drawer behind the counter But the
day dreams it has brought her as often as
she has counted it over and over were
vanished as utterly and quickly as a rudely-
grasped bubble!
For Love had come to her. The little
blind god in very opposition to his visual
misfortune, had caused her own eyes to be
opened to things unnoted heretofore. Never
until he came had the black dress seemed
so rusty, the old bonnet SO very old, the
shawl so shabby, the gloves and shoes so
hideous,y patched and mended The glori-
/ o,,c Of oi cI,j in
beauty by the contrast of its loneliness
made the headgear upon it all the uglier-
and she, Virginia Waters, whose exquisite
taste had, in the happy bygone, had full
opportunity for its indulgence, fastened the
faded basque with piteous glance at the
worn seams and hunger in her heart for
pretty apparel like to that of her favored sis
| tiers.
To show him herself in a fitting frame to
feel once more the touch of new garments
| the delights OF silken textures, of crisp rib
| bons, OF dainty laccs! And upon Easter
Day, this glorious day dream was to have
become a thing OF reality; for to accomplish
this end she had added furtively to her
stock of small coins which she turned into
bills as they accumulated; but she breathed
no word of it to Sam, who WAS to have been
astonished beyond measure.
| The lights are all out now, and the great
world is asleep. Into her own little bed
creeps Virginia. who prays. as the tears
| flow fast and bitterly, that the dear dead on
| this one night come not into cOgnizance of
things earthly-for Heaven would not be
Heaven she knew, to those who loved the
boy and girl so fondly, could they look
tonight into the hearts of either The
dream angels fold their pitying wings over
poor Virginia Soft fancies, born in para
disc, float through the souls liberated
senses, soothing and comforting her. The
early dawn finds her Still locked in slumber,
even the sun looks inquisitively in at her
windows, making yellow ladders upon
which the dust fairies madly climb and
yet she sleeps
''Virginia," Her eyes slowly open. "Oh,
virginia."
Come in" she says, sleepily, reaching
out her hand and drawing the bolt of the
door l.e;r her beds head. rs 1t you, SAM"
There is no recollection of last nights
calamlttes. Dame Memory has not as yet
unlocked the portals leading to her
mysterious domain. '"Dear old hov!'
This pet name, so fondly given, is too
much for the loving, remorseful brother.
With great cry he throws himself upon
his knees at his sisters bedside and, bury
| ing his face upon the pillow beside her own,
weeps as if his young heart would break.
1t all comes back then-that shameful
thing that seems in this late, sunny hour to
have boon but ahideous nightmare grew
some creature of the hours Of darkness. With
this Thought the remembrance of the sacri-
fee sha has made comes back to her with
| four-fold bitterness, and in her heart of
hearts she rebels
But the throes of agony that rock the
very foundation of his remorseful soul cut
like so many knives into the armor of her
seltishness; and, before he has shut the flood
gates of his stormy grief, her fair hand falls
upon his beautiful head and her low voice
calls his name:
"Sam, don't dear. Be comforted, poor
boy. Experience is a hard school, Sam, and
you have Just learned terrible lesson
the1oin-such a lesson as you will never
need to learn twice, Sam-always remem-
Der that" f''
"Oh, Virginia! virginia."
Don't, Sam!'
Il wish 1 were dead-dead- deadr'
"Samw '..
THE disgrace is worse than death, Vir-
ginia," says the boy, suddenly throwing
back his head and showing face set and
resolute, II don't know what may have
told you last night when / was-was-?
mot sober, Sam"
but / will tell you now just how it hap
pened The cycle club boys came down at
dusk anil asked me to go to see the run for
ribbon at the rink. I started out with
five dollars my wages for the half week,
Virginia, you know. Well, that went-to too
soon. 1 took friendly hand with the boys,
and II lost. What to do / didn't know.
Like flash it came to me that had depos-
tied twenty dollars payment for a pretty
good bill of goods sold after Mr. Arleigh
left the store last night in the money
drawer, as he always told me to do. told
the boys if they would come home with me
l would pay this debt of honor" ..
"Debt-of-honor!"
i "And so-and SO I took it. Twenty dol
lars-it might as well be twenty Thousand,
as far as am concerned-what shall dos
What shall do?" ,s......... q. ..
"Sam, have been good sister to your
,"Oh, virginia." walls the boy.
'Will you try to think that it is through
me that mother and father ask you to
promise sacredly to resist hereafter all such
temptations as theso?"
Virginia" t.4
''And if l should say: sam, no disgrace
shall come to ,yolt-as much money as you
took has long since been put back into the
money drawer. You are free from the con-