The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1889-05-01

Ana then one morning he failed 20 appear
The next morning Mrs. Maguinnis scanned
the long stretch of street with anxious eyes
hoping that every blue shirted figure in tho
distance would prove to be Tom; but he came
not. The third morning she ventured to asl:
one of the workmen at the shop concerning
her young friends whereabouts All he knew
was that Kelly had given up his job. Four
days, five days,.a week, two weeks passed.
and still no Tom.
"What do you Think" said Mary Ann on
one Of her calls At the cabin; .':Jimmy Dolan
says that Tom Kelly has run away
The girl did not know what her mother
knew, but she was piqued at her lovers unac-
countable desertion.
Jimmy Dolan have a right to hold his
tongue about his betters,n retorted the
mother, sharply
She was sad at. heart, but she bore the
trouble in grim silence.
Winter was an early and oppressive visitor
to the city that year. Uptown pedestrians
battled feebly with the gusts as they crept
around the corners of the wind swept thor
oughfares and told themselves that SO severe
a winter was never known befoy Mrs. Ma
guinnis complained great de shese days
noticed that She had quite lost her old time
spirit, and did not attempt to cross swords
with them when they INDUCED in little pleas
antries at her expense. 1t was remarked that
she was absent from her stand much oftener
than formerly. In the opinion of the neigh
bors tho old lady was fast going to pieces"
as they forcibly put it, and they hazarded a
guess that the profits from her business were
.yefy small.
Meanwhile it Jared i'll with Mary Ann.
Her lovers strange absence had wrought
woful change. in the once careless girl AT
first she affected pert indifference. If Mr.
Kelly did not care for her there were others
who did, she declared with a,toss of her pref
ty head. But as the weeks went by and
brought no news of Tom, the memory of his
many virtues began to tug painfully at her
heart strings. She recalled his tenderness
and his patience with her Maynard moods,
and bitterly reproached herself for her ca
PRECIOUS treatment of him. Her coquettish
airs We're all 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.. Follansbee having, by
a bold stroke in Wall street, added pretty
penny to his fortune, decided to take his fam
lily abroad; and SO tho house on the avenue
was closed and the furniture was shrouded
in brown holland, and Mary Ann went to live
In her mothers cabin
ooh, mother mother" she sobbed, she's
dead, | know he is, and drove him away
with me foolishnessn
''Be aisy, darlin', be aisy,n answered the
old woman i'll Il choking voice. She had no
word Of comfort to oher, and did not seek to
combat this view of tho case. She had tried
to believe that Tom was dead. 1t was better
than tho other.
OF course when Tom came back, for you
must have known all along that he would
come back, he took them completely by sur
prise. 1t was n Wild wintry night, with Bit
ing wind and falling snow, but not night to
be feared by those with glad hearts and COM
Portable homes. From the great shop win
dows tho light streamed in cheerful glow
across the whitened pavements. Muffied fig
ures hurried along in fond anticipation of the
joyous welcomes that awaited them in many
q 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 n knock at tho door9 Yes, now
it comes louder, and Tom bursts in-Tom,
with white, thin face, and his curly hair
cropped close, but still Tom. And in mo-
ment Mary Ann was in his arms, and Mrs
Maguinnis, from surcharge of joy, came "as
near faintin' away entirely MS ever she did in
her life,' us she expressed it.
And then Tom told how he had been sud.