The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1891-12-12

had been an inmate OF my house for four
months did know that he was a man of
] wealth. living in the house | now oc-
/ cupy.
ITO cure him was beyond human
skill, but through two years | attended
him, alternating great suffering and
often accepting his invitations TO spend
an hour or two with lonely old man.
when he died he left me his entire
fortune, which l supposed to be mine
only because he had no direct heirs or
near relatives. He had never spoken but
once of his family, and then said briefly
that he was widower and had lost his
only child.
81 had enjoyed my inheritance for
more than nine years when fell in love
|, who had never cared for female So
ciety before, became deeply attached to
the mother of one of my patients, a lady
nearly my own age, the widow of an
artist, who died in Rome some four or
Eve years before | met her. She had
sent for me to see her boy, an only child,
slowly dying with an incurable disease
Of the spine.
MRS. Eastwell knew before she saw
me that there was no hope of saving the
child's life, but she thought could ease
the pain and restlessness from which he
suffered. She was herself an artist,
working in water colors for the large
stores that dealt in fancy goods, and en-
broidering most exquisitely. But her
child claimed much of her time and at
tention, and knew she worked in hours
when she should have shared the boys
! slumbers.
Patient, self sacrificing, gentle and
refined, she filed my ideal of pure wom-
anhood, and 1 loved her with all the
/ strength of the first love of years. gave
ner mans devotion, not boys infatu-
alton. But | knew that it was useless
i for me to speak while the child lived.
+ She would have thought it sacrilege to
! give my love consideration while the
mother love in her heart was the ruling
spirit Love making while her child
was dying! | could see how she would
shrink from the mere suggestion.
80 tried to be content with winning
the place of trusted friend, delicately
trying to make my presence a comfort
and a help to her, and doing all that
could to make smoother the hard path
the childish feet were pressing
lone afternoon she came to my office
I to ask some questions about the little
I boy, and, as the waiting room was full,
took her through the parlor to the
front door. AS we passed by the mantle
piece of the front room she suddenly
gave a cry of pain and surprise, stopping
short before lifesize portrait of Mr..
Fanshawe. Her face was white, her
whole form trembling, and before |
could catch her she gave one cry of
'Fatherp and dropped in a dead faint.
lit was the old story, Tom. She had
loved her husband better than her ia
ther, and eloped with him, never win
ming forgiveness. The home she had
left was broken up. and Mr.. Fanshawe
removed to another city, so that for
years she had not known where to find
him, and had never heard of his death
Her husband had taken her abroad soon
after their marriage, and she did not
know whether her father had ever tried
to trace or follow them
you may imagine how like thief
felt when | corld calmly consider this
story and think of my inheritance
living in luxury and she toiling for
bread! And the money was hers by
every claim of humanity.
AT once | commenced to arrange for
restoring the property to her, and know
ing her pressing needs instructed my
lawyer to supply her with ready money
and inform her that as soon rs it could
be legally done her fathers fortune
would be restored to her.
"Tom, she fatty refused to take it.
She had offended her father and had ac-
cepted her punishment, and she would
not listen to any proposal to accept his
money. In vain ! urged the justice of
her cause, the burden that money so
wrongfully willed away from her would
be to me. She threatened to leave the
city aud never return if persisted.
while nothing was settled her child
died. She grieved as only the mother of
an only child can grieve, and yet think
comforted her. dropped all question
of the disputed inheritance in those long
months, when her loneliness led her to
turn to me, her true, loving friend.
And so, Tom, when year had pass
ed, and the little life was a sacred mem
DRY, no longer passionate pain to re-
member, asked her once more to ac-
'cept her fathers fortune and his heir
with it.
I'VE needed no lawyer then to make
the transfer, for won my wife without
losing my inheritance"
'And there goes that COMPOUNDED Of
~