Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1890-12-25
'disproved Of tho match, and. before sh. /


she persisted in her belief that Ada had
married Alfred for money. Poor little
unworldly Ada She had neve: given
the matter thought. Finally, at the
end ofleighteen unhappy months, it be-
came 50 unpleasant for her that she asked
Alfred toS take her to home Of their
own Gor they were living with Madam
Stirling), where they could be happy to.
gether. This, Alfred would not hear of
because he waa an only son, and both of
them lost their tempers in the discus.
sion. Bitter words were said and Al
| fred bounced out of the house, at last,
without saying goodbye.
! That afternoon he was suddenly called
to New York. Sending a line to his
mother, asking her to be kind to Ada
until his return, and line to Ada beg
ging her pardon for his loss of temper
and assuring her of his love and sorrow,
he rushed off on the next train.
But Ada never received her letter. She
was out when the boy came, and Madam
Stirling having read her own missive
burned Ada's, and simply told he. that
Alfred had sent word that he had gone
to New York. Of course it was the same
old story. Ada, too proud to write uuder
the circumstances, did not ; and Alfred,
hearing nothing In response to his alec
tionate appeal, in his quick, impetaous
way, supposed that Ada had ceased to
love him, and, without word, sailed Tor
Europe. And foolish Ada making cen
fusion worse COMPOUNDED, left the horne
OF which she believed herself an unwul-
/ ,lnr f, al H. e. =
pitiless world
1t was after battling unsuccessfully
many months, that she bethought her
self OF using her beauty as means of
livelihood until she could get other
I work and came to us. She noted Miss
Halliday's manner upon the day of her
visit to the studio, and so, after that pic
ture was finished, never returned for fur
ther employment lest she might make
trouble between Miss Halliday and Jack.
Since that time she had been teaching
school in small village out of New York,
and so had dragged out cheerless exist
ence. From the papers she had learned
OF Strings business venture, but never
for one moment gave credence to the
marriage rumor.
~AAN Aoot AAAAby Wnii0 SlCCplug, SIG
had seen Alfred reading paper some
where (she could not make out where),
in front of large mirror, and in her
dream was convinced that some horrible
fate overhung him, but again could not
make out what. She tried to call him
but was voiceless. She tried to go to
him, but was powerless. Then she fell
upon her knees and prayed to heaven to
save him-prayed as she never prayed
beforehand while praying great black
cloud shut him from her sight, and she
awoke. The terror of her dream was up
on her, and, arising, she started for New
York, to find him if alive--to be by his
side if dead. "And that, Alfred, is why
forgot my pride, and left my home at
midnight to come here" she said, in con-
clusion
And Alfred's story was equally one of
hasty judgment and consequent suffer-
ing. The ocean voyage cooled his anger,
and he Immediately returned by the next
steamer and hastened to his wife. She was
gone-had been gone for days, they said;
and no one had tried to find her. Dis
tracted, he sought her high and low;
advertised everywhere and travelled for
weeks but in vain. She was surely
dead, they said. and in despair he left
his mother and his home and settled in
New York to forget, if possible, in its
noisy whirl, his irreparablc loss. When
he called on Mrs. Van Buren, he had not
the heart to recall to her mind his lovely
dead wife, with whom he had been so
overpoweriHgly in love at Bar Harbor,
and seeing Mrs. Van Buren, had forgotten
all the details, he thought it best to let
her believe him a bachelor, and so spare
himself needless pain. That accounted
for his universal reticence concerning his
personal history, and we, that is Jack
and !, felt the twinge of guilty, sus-
picious conscience. When he met Miss
Halliday, her gayety and cordial nature
soothed his aching heart, and so he
drifted into an engagement, though he
was troubled occasionally by the convic-
ton that Ada was not dead. But why,
if alive, had she not answered his loving
appeals to her in the advertisements
And why could he not find herr No;
she must be dead. So matters drifted
on.
But about one week ago he came for his
first visit to our studio, and there saw,
forthe first time, Jacks Academy picture.
In it he recognized Ada (thongh he
never said world, and he knew she
must be alive if Jack had painted her
face within few months. Off he flew
to Boston, there to renew his search.
Coming home last night by boat, he
could not sleep for thinking of her, for
his old love was upon him stronger than
ever with the first breath of hope. To
see her again To tell her of his shame
and penltence! All heavenl would they
never reach New York Becoming con-
scious that his restless pacing was attrac-
ting attention, he wandered about mid
night into the engine room and sat down
in front of the mirror there to read his
paper; but he could not read. He could
only see her face. Suddenly he heard |
her call-heard her as plainly as if she
were at his side !: "Alfred, |
Alfred, come away with me' 1t
was so terribly real that he jumped to
his feet and started for the cabin.
Hardly had he left his chair when, with
u terrible roar and crash, the walking
beam, loosened by some break in the
shot down from its place,
and with its mighty weight PLUNGED I