Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-04-04

Winter uas m early and opprevs VISITOR
70 the city that yesr. Uptown peds0ao
hsrtled feehay with the gusfs . thy e1sPs
around the carpers Of the wind sueps thor
ouvhfares. and told Themselves that % sevefo
. winter vas never known before Nh No
guinnis complained great dsal IN thes days
q tina -ache in her boneA" Her customers
noticed that she bad quite iost h9 Old tirns
pirir. and did not attempt TO cTu8 swords
with them when they indnlgea in hftls pieas-
sutries a. her exp-nse It Vas remarked thAs
she was afsent from her stand much often9
than formerly In the opinion of the Neigh
bors ths old lady vas fast going to pieces,s
Is they forcibiy put it. end they hazardsd Q
guess that the profits from her business wHs
very small
Meanwhile it Jared III with Mary Ann.
Her lovers strange absence bad wrought
woful change in the once careleB grt Al
first she affected pert indiference, II NJ
Kelly did not care for her there were others
who did, she declared with . toss OF her pref
ty head But IS the weeks went BY and
brought No news Of Tom, the memory Of biz
many virtues began to tug painfully af her
heart strings She recalled his tenderne1
and his patience with her hayward moods
and bitterly reproached herself for her ca
precious treatment Of him Her coqueftHh
airs were al gone; she no longer took delight
in smart gowns and ribbons, and her eyes
were red with much weeping. She had dis
missed Mr. Dolan: she couldn't bear the sight
Of him, she said
About this time Mr. Follansbes having, by
q bold stroke in Wall street, added pretty
penny to his fortune, decided to take his fam
ily abroad . and 50 the house On the avenue
was closed and the furniture was shrouded
in brown holland, and Mary Ann went to live
in her mothers cabin.
s'Oh, mother, mother" she sobbed, ''heS
dead. | know he is, and | drove him away
with me foolishnessn
BE aisy, darlin', be aisy,n answered the
old woman in choking voice. She had no
word of comfort to offer, and did not seek to
combat this view of the case. She had tried
to believe that Tom was dead IL was better
than the other.
~.
OF course when Tom came back, for you
must have known all along that be would
come back, he took them completely by sur
prise 1t Was a wild, wintry night, with bit
ing wind and falling snow, but not night to
he feared by those with glad hearts and COM
Portable homes From the great shop win
dows the light streamed in cheerful glow
across the whitened pavements. MuE,ed fig
ures hurried along in fond anticipation Of the
JOYOUS welcomes that awaited them in u.any
happy household.
Alas, there WAS little cheer for the two lone
women in the Shantytown cabin. They sat
in silence, crouching over the small fire and
listening to the beating storm.
Was that knock at the doori Yes, now
it comes louder, and Tom bursts in-Tom,
with a white, thin face, and his curly hair
cropped close, but still Tom. And in . mo-
ment Mary Ann was in his arms, and MIRA
Maguinnis. from surcharge of joy, came ''as
near faintin' away entirely as ever she did N
her life" as she expressed it.
And then Tom told how he had been sud-
denly summoned to Chicago to show his in
vention to some people there; how the ma
chine had proved an emphatic success; how
he was coming back to astonish them with
his good luck, but was taken i'll on the eve Of
departure and lay unconscious At deaths
door for weeks; and how now . company
was to employ him to make the machines and
give him a percentage Of the profits arising
from their sale. All this and much more
Tom related, as he sat with his arms around
Mary Ann, while the widow lowered over
them like blessed spirit.
How happy they were Only an old Irish
apple woman and two young lovers in hum
BILE walks Of life. But doubt If any brown
stone front on the avenue sheltered q gladdsr
group than that in the widows cabin this
bleak winter evening
Tom built u neat little cottage out Harlem
way and insisted that his mother-in-law
should retire from business and make her
home with him and Mary Ann. Mrs Msguin-
mis- gave reluctant consent
1T do b. pity to give up the stand" she
said AN that Us fine q one as there be in the
whole cityv'--Frank H. Perkins in Boston
GlOhe