Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-03-28

tho weary, loving woman, who, bend
ing down to kiss ca h in turn, felt
strangely com forted, although her heart
seemed breaking.
When daylight had fully come she
went out and fed the amin lis and
fowls. and MIXED the cows, leaving the
dead wnere they lay, and as her own
hands had cared for them She felt
compelle to do this, partly out of SYM
pat y with the dumb brutes who must
| suffer without human care, but more
from y feeling ,tiat John would have
her do it For had she not always cared
for the animals when he chan ed to he
away and there WIS no one else to at
tend to them? And now that he was
absent never TO return, she did not feel
that made any diffe ence; he would
still want her to care for them. When
this was done she returned to the house,
made cup of tea and forced herself to
eat little, for her work was not vet
| finished, and she must have strength.
Then she went about putting the
house in order, and in taking down
the clothes which her husband had on
when he came home wet and dying,
lucy's letter fell out and she picked it
| up and read it, and reading, under
stood all, or thought she did. .3.
1t was the knowledge that their chill
dren were to be driven out as they
| themselves had so often been that ! ad
killed John; that and some trouble
about t. cir own home She did not
know what this trouble wa, ), but find
ing the deed in his pocket she knew
that the place had not been sold, and
putting that knowledge W tn the words
muttered by her usband in his delir,-
um. she guessed that some one laid claim
to the cottage in which she wat, he'd
her dead. But nothing now had power
to add to her sutferings. Her cup was
already full and could contain no more;
so these added wrongs, whatever they
| might prove to be, could not make her
sorrows greater.
drawer where all letters from the chill
dren were kept, fin shed tidy ng up he
1 house. kissed again the cold faces of
her dead and went out. carefully clos
ing and fastening the door behind her,
and going to the stable, saddled horse
and prepared to ride in search of help.
1t was st IL ia ming, but in mild k nd
OF way. as if each particular drop half
repented of hav ng decided to fall upon
the already water-soaked earth. The
gu lies upon IT, e mountain side had been
widened and deepene |, and new ones
had been cut through the cultivated
ground below. The grape-vnes wer
half denuded of their fol age, and VIII t
remained hung listleSs, as if drown,
in the flood. The rose leaves lac cat
tered beneath their draggled bushes.
the fruit trees dropped the r slender
twigs, and all nature seemed as if (
had sur!e of Wee Ing. Tho waters
| tEo l>0I
ing, had covered the stubbl field and
extended half way to the cottage. A
few turkeys and chickens, weary with
their long confinement, were stroll NJ
about in sconsolate kind of manner,
and with .ook that seemed to ay that
they were tired of life and ready to b.
eaten if ANYBODY could get up an APP
petite in such abon,inable W. ather
Leading the animal she had chosen
to ride to block near the kitchen door,
she mounted him and rode awav. AT
the main road she turned to the right.
knowing that it would be folly to at
tempt to ford Il 9 ravine, and hav ng
decided to go further up the mountain
and try to reach the cottage Of some
people living on the other side of the
divide, reason ng that the higher up she
went the less would he the vo ume of
water in the ravines. She found the
road almost impossible in aces, and
once was nearly carr ell away by the
force of a stream which Q was COM
PEELED to cross. but finally succeed u
without in ,ury to herself or horse m
reach ng the shanty of a settler, and
told the object of her coming. She
wanted help to bury her dead, and she
! wanted some one to 60 to the nearest
post-otfice and mail letter to Erastus
and Lucy, and another to Jennie and
her usband.
These letters she had wr ten during
the night after Johnny d ed sitting in
the room where her dead lay. They
were brief, for no words came to her in
which to tell of her sorrow, or her aw-
full lionel ness; but in few sentences
she had toll what had occurred.
She found heartfelt sympathy and
ready hep in those OF whom she had
come to seek it. Tuey would have had
her remain there while they. with
other neighbors, cared for the dead
but she would not listen. So long as
anything maned to be done for he1
loved ones e would help do it. She
could not leave them even to the care
of those who had known and respected
them while living and. despite all they
could say, rode back alone, while the
nei ghbor went to secure other assist
ance, and h S son prepared to make an
attempt to reach some point from which
to ma the letters.
When she reached the cottage on hel
return she put her horse in the stable,
unsaddled him and fed both him and
his mate. and then went into the house.
A few moments later several neighbors,
| hOth mon and women pama and ro
NAMED until the next day, when the
bodies of her husband and child were
placed in vehicles in which they were
to be conveyed to the little burying
ground ON the other side of the mount
ain.
The gray-ha red minister who had
married Lucy and Erastus two
years before. again came to the
cottage to say a few words oYel