Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-10-09

had loved and worshipsd P-ii-.p Cg.clon as neither Lenora EldrilgS nor Dorcas Welby ever did. It was the l,Ye of q life time, the love that is the c..Sc of sc-.;o, that she poured, all unaskel, at his feet And he why a careless not a kindly smile, a helping hand, was all he ever dreamed of bcstowing on tho coarse, lonely hireling who would have given her life for him 80 gladly.
 "But with Agnes 4 c:l1ad, GS said before, all seemed strangely r,.. iottled, and people were wont to shake their heads when they passed her, for 'twas said she was little queer. Howbeit, year passed away, and there was born to Mir. Barrett a beautiful twin boy and girl. They were the joy of their fathers heart, he said, and if rumor spoke true, he had need of something to comfort him beside the cold, unfeeling woman who had married him simply for Q subterfuge from gossip, and who made his life a burden by her sharp complaining about their poverty; for he was only a struggling young barrister, and could not afford many luxuries to his beautiful, but unhappy, young wife. But, suddenly, just as prospects were beginning to brighten for them, Mir. Barrett died, leaving his young wife in poor circumstances, with her two children only a year old. Simultaneously with his death was the death of Dorcas Caledon, Philip Caledon's young, much-loved wife. She left a tiny babe only 8 day old; a
 
 mother. MT. Caledon was nearly craZed with grief at the loss of his wife; but grad nally he began to look upon the babe with some interest and to find comfort in watch ing it's pretty attempt at playfulness, for it was a strong, healthy child, and grew fast. But what was the horror and anguish of the father and the grief and consternation of the servants, when one day the little crib was found empty, and no trace of the bahn pnuld he ohtnnaH Tho nnrca hod loft it quietly sleeping in its little bed, and when she returned it was gone. In vain they searched; in vain offered immense rewards for even the faintest clue; mono could be gained. It remained q mystery, as if tho ground had suddenly opened and swallowed her up, so suddenly cid the baby heiress of Caledon disappear from her home and tho loving hearts that cherished her. Mir. Caledon was never the same man again; he grew silent and sometimes harsh. Even the presence of his father and mother failed to cheer and comfort him, as of yore though they strove to the utmost to change his grief for his wife and child and set his mind in differ ent channels.
 ''It was thus that Lena Barrett found him on her return from her parents, with whom she had been living, and she at once set about devising means for winning the master of Caledon for second husband. In this she succeeded, for Mr CaleGon urged by his parents, who fear>d thc;r sons reason would become impaired by lis grief, finally married the beautiful V flow Barrett, and installed her as the future mistress of Caledon.
 Now, indeed, was Lenora Caledon tri umphant; the position she coveted was hers; she was supreme ' happy for a season. But there is crease in every roseleaf, 'tis said, and Mrs. Caledon found hers to be TO ex- ception to the general rule, for she had been married but short time when who should appear but Agnes Armund, who simply asked to see Mrs Caledon, and in the interview that followed gave evidence of S very correct knowledge of the where aboutS of D6reGs CaledOn, for whom tke sor- rOwful father was then mourning his life away, praying ever for only one glimpse of baby Dorcas bC:oio llo died.
 t'It would Eo"o been naturally supposed that Mrs. Caic,,cl. V >l:!d have caught eager ly at this clue of ies;lrirg to her hubbard what would have been such a stim2Int to his failing state, the restoration of his be. loved child. But far from it, indeed, were her intentions, she had no idea of being rec. ond to little DorcGs in the af-Cc;icrs ard generosity of tEc master of CGlcGCr; be- sides her own children were just [ ,.ning favor with their stepfather, and thoTo vas no doubt if he died without leaving an heir, they would inherit the Caledon property. To the fulfillment of this wish Mrs Caledon
 
 bent all the energies of her strong, passion ate nature.
 By skillful bribes she secured the promise of half-crazed Agnes Armund to keep the knowledge she possessed a secret. She also worked upon the fears of the poor creature, declaring if she were to reveal the whereabouts of the babe or even re- store it to it's father, she would certainly be imprisoned for abduction, and no doubt a long term of penal scrvitude would be her reward She took care, also, to enlarge lpon the debt of revenge that Agnes owed Philip Caledon for the sighting of the great love she bore him.
 "Au these combined suf1iced to bewilder and confuse the already tortured mind, and SO with evil tenacity she huggcd the pre- :ious secret to her bosom, and lived on, ever unhappy and wretched, yet bitter and un- relenting.
 "But in few years, worn by grief and vain searching for his lost child, Mir. Gale lon sank into his grave, and Caledon Heights was without master, and the old name extinct, except for old Mir. Caledon, whose heart was broken at his sons death, and for whom he had never ceased to mourn.
 Mrs. Caledon, though she mourned her husband, it seems was not inconsolable, as she married again shortly after his death. Irma and Irving Barrett, on opening the will of Phillip Caledon, were found to be his
 
 that was should the lost heir of his estate, his beloved daughter, Dorcas Caledon, ever be discovered, then the estate should be hers with tho exception of a legacy to both Irma and her brother.
 'tIt was after the death of Phillip Caledon that a glimpse of the great wrong she had committed to this man began to dawn upon the mind of Agnes Armund. But even then the desire for revenge was too strong to al- low her to make reparation. She loved to think of the heiress of Caledon as a depend ont among strangers, to gloat over the thought that when she should have grown she should go out into the hard world and be poor, oppressed, hard-worl1ed drudge for the same pitiless world that had treated her (Agnes) so cruelty.
 ''So the years flew on. Dorcas Caledon was still an inmate of an orphans home and Caledon Heights still was the property of the Barretts. It was when Dorcas Caledon | was ten years old that Agnes Armund con. 10EG l,.o