Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1892-11-18

Both he and Capt. Willis had imagined
that she would give up all ideas of
second expedition after the absolute
failure of the first. If time was never
to weaken her remembrance of her
husband, at least it would in the end
destroy every shred of hope of ever see
ing him again In accordance with
Molly's wishes the steamer was not laid
up Capt Willis and his crew remained
in charge of her and their pay went on
Just the same But there were extern
sive repairs to be made. She must go
into dry dock, her rigging must be
overhauled, new boilers put into her
and her engines looked after. After all
this had been accomplished, the Molly's
Hope was thoroughly provisioned and
coaled
Mrs Allaire's life at Prospect cottage
had long since taken on its oldtime
methods, but, with the exception of
Andrew Hollister and Capt. Willis, no
one was admitted to her intimacy. She
lived entirely in the atmosphere of the
past, save as her unfailing hope tenn
pered its awful darkness. The dead
was always with her the lost forever
beside her Little Walt would have
been seven years old now, an age when
the young and impressionable mind
feels the quickening touch Of reason,
but Walt was gone foreverl Molly's
thoughts would often revert to him
who had been so devoted to her, to that
sailor. Zach French by name, whom she
was so anxious to know personally, but
who had not yet returned from his
cruise 1t could not last much longer,
however, for the shipping reports had
on several occasions made mention of
the Golden Gate, and, no doubt, he
would be back home before 1881 had
passed The moment he arrived Molly
was resolved to send for Zach French
and make good to him her Indebtedness
by providing for him In the future.
In the meantime, Mrs. Allaire did not
cease to look after the families who had
been affected by the loss of the Dread
naught. 1t was solely for the purpose
of visiting their humble homes, of pro-
viding for their wants that she now and
then left Prospect cottage and went
down into the lower town. Her gener-
osity showed itself in many ways, busy
ing itself with the moral as well as the
material needs of her proteges. 1t was
during the first part of this year that
she consulted Andrew Hollister con-
cerning a project which she was anx-
ious to carry out. She was resolved to
establish and endow home for the
care and custody of abandoned and
orphaned children
III eI,
memorial of our child that desire to
erect and endow this institution I'm
sure John will approve of it when he
returns, for to what better use could we
put our fortune?"
Andrew Hollister admirably seconded
Mrs. Allaire in the execution of her
plans. A hundred and fifty thousand
dollars were to be set aside for the pur-
chase of n suitable property and for
the payment of its running expenses.
The project was quickly carried into
execution, thanks to the assistance af-
forded by the city government. There
was no necessity to erect building.
Purchase was made of large residence
situated in a most healthful location
near the Old Town. A skillful archi-
tect was employed to make the necessa-
ry changes, SO that the building was
soon in a condition to accommodate
fifty children, together with corps of
nurses and teachers, large enough to
take charge of them. AS the building
was surrounded by large garden full
of shade trees and provided with run
ming water, there could be no question
y
healthful resort.
On May 10 this founding hospital,
upon which the name of The Walter
Home had been bestowed, was inaugu-
rated mid the plaudits of the whole
city, which rejoiced to have an oppor-
tunity of testifying its sympathy for
Mrs. Allaire, who, however, to the in
tense regret of all, was not present at
the Inauguration. She had not been
able to bring herself to leave Prospect
cottage on this occasion. But the mo-
ment number of children had been
installed in the home, she went every
day to pay them a visit, as if they real
ly belonged to her These children
were to be permitted to remain at the
home until they were twelve years of
age, and as soon as practicable they
were to be taught to read and write,
their religious and moral education was
to be looked after, and at the same time
they were to be taught such a trade as
their particular aptitudes might justify.
Such ones as belonged to the families Of
sailors were to be trained for the sea and
shipped as cabin boys or apprentices. 1t
really seemed as if Molly had special
affection for this class in tender remem-
brance of Capt John.
The end of 1881 came, but with it no
tidings of the lost ship or Of any soul
that had been on board of her when she
sailed, and although large rewards had
been offered for the slightest trace of
the long-lost vessel there had been no
grounds for dispatching the Molly's
Hope on a second voyage. But Mrs.
Allaire was still buoyant and hopeful
Possibly 1882 might bring about what
1881 had been powerless to effect And
the Barkers, too. What had become of
them? Where had Lew Barker taken
refuge to keep clear of requisition
for his arrest? AS the police authorities
had given up looking for him, Mrs AL
laire found herself constrained to aban-
don the thought of discovering Kate's
whereabouts
In truth, this was great sorrow for
Molly, who was deeply interested in the
lot of her unfortunate relative. II was
a matter of astonishment to her never
to receive a letter from Kate. for how
easily could the latter have communi-
Gated with her cousin without in any
way imperiling her husbands safety.
gould they both be ignorant of the facts
that Molly had recovered her reason,
that she had fitted out vessel to search
for Capt. John, that the expedition had
ended In naught? 1t could not be pos
sible. Had not the newspapers of both
worlds followed the movements of the
Molly's Hope, and how could it be pos
sible that Lew and Kate Barker had
not noticed any of these accounts? They
must also know that Mrs. Allaire had
been enriched by the death of her
uncle, Edward Manson, and that she
was now in position to help them.
And yet neither one of them had made
any attempt to open correspondence
with Molly, although their situation
could not be otherwise than precarious.
January, February, March had gone
by, and it began to look as if 1852 would
slip away without bringing any change
in the situation, when something hap
pened which really seemed likely to
throw light upon the mysterious disap-