Smyrna times., 1893-05-31
A PRECIOUS GIFT.
BY MARY sPAULDING HATcu

conrso TTry ~, happy together. Oh. of
Miss Asenath Bittersweetswun hoo,.
soId aIu iortn hn In her low chair as IF 'Sn t6a
ST. business of her life was to rooI.
,'IG ,',h;aI Ielu In her hand an open Iettor
eoIaS TIcn seemed to aggitate this usnai1,,,
Sa,n Sa5 I31y to an unwanted decree iy amy
1~S Sal C"lie9 out the foregoing remarLs
b.,o nIe ndu liVed entirely a. lone sinoa
neI orOGher left home in a manna, nNy
ott;. I5sy eXasperating to Miss Aeen
oJ Ill IeVoted soul. Had she not sal
aftd lsu slayed for that boy? She woH1J vc'HI4
Uiuen 3I ask herself, in bitterness Of sDirit %
WI 1"U Iau she received in return .
Ha', lhdeed? Her mind revsrto5
moS+ mo" ~ me past twenty years, recaIIinG
1o,1. 09S SiNIuiy the scene when she 2
9ouIIS 8irl, had made her d.
nf d. sacred promise to take care
oi5 'IItaIu' VINO was then ten veorS
Ui", now she had loved him H. falS
uoI aI'y ana handsome he was H.,
so6aaiI "i ways stood in his classes at
ooI1oo o0Tool AND when, finally he enteroJ %T
cottttose' Sne went witn him, rented .
tPPo,.'sG tPoras suml.elently commodious and
Picbo95 "Veu' to keep house for
ointL"' irtL"l"' 70 care for him, TO mend bia
UiIo[mes, ,Ion,i., ana help, by her economy and nd,
bin biinnN"ing MS way up the educaiionoi
He graduated with bonor o.5
had Sao iU 'uet that great wav-marL
nearIv ,ns sa'hed' that the goal was c
and s5o won only few years more c
lisba5 =, %ouIu see him safely estah' S
icino ~ srI us CHOSEN profession of med v
he with ILL., Hen 'ney could settle down fl
her cbaritio i HiS WORK she with hers and t.
peacefniIv ana together they would p
o'Gers, walk through the world 70 b
9uch mad been her dream H.. r,
mad been no "buts." M ssif, - O, 1Gere f,
PIcEarI5r I%reG Il, TO marry why should 81
Hlcnafd? She had Withstand tha ouiu I
and imperceptible dsrtl .u0 per II,
oupid is arrow, and Richard ,uo, 20 iIom rom W
much ike her. She was dev"9oS 9 very sn
ldm I'm he had always been an oGoJito IoeG 10 ar
'nectlonate young brotber ItuienI, r. va
meant to be as she wished il WAS was
But alas for dreams. and o1oo mi
,oor Asenath's peace Hardt,' la lo5 as
S,cnard completed his medical oo, mau
.heh ne felt that his heart bod ITuIse Sn
lerced by deadly arrow and ~ b;. oeen sb,
-r was rudely and unceremoni@,,sI99- G'9 si9-
Loused to see sometime sbn Ls 8
Layeu and hoped never to boLnI5 nH1 {
- :. nrst she could hardly believe GU she
'ooeu her eyes, wiped and noiishnI ne "
u giasses, and was Obliged to ronon onou goc
re pale, almost childish moiSog :.
&c &c OIend with Richards. 'U0" I'sr
0ne tried to he calm: She tr;oa =. Ell;
ar ar the blow with fortitude ShO ~ wro
uiu % nave borne the tortures of tbo l gr
qu'sItlon like SPARTAN hut nv The
~ ii Richard must MARI, nEC 1E -,
riu = not pear to see him tbrotv H. sens
! away on such little chit of q III 81
ICY knew the marriage Womb 80 So tie G
"strous. He must wait awbila 'Ee ke mad
= =, not ready to marry vet. "e Lit
ne ldea OF any man, and a nbvs;o "V
zoo, 90 taking to wife pale. droo1ino neve
l. IKE that! Bah! where 49, 49, piug Thai
s9S! 81 surely he was bewitcbad wish
Voii W. %nG Douy; he g
y eil, Asenath did her best. like tho she ,
. sister she was. She talked sbo fun q
ueu, sne reasoned. She sbowaJ mie,
everything, W she spared him notb1 So"
one painted in glowing colors tbo IT
10 lSf9 sne mad intended him to bave ath,
rising powers and Dis arms
,I''. -on II ne would only remain nm. Ella
ic6nrd icbaTd nall, this P
,oua!d well knew it was USELESS 70
80 Win MS sister, and he felt for T.e
700 real an etiection and resnect 70
OaeA III any sense. So the onI,,
ne could do was to let her taIlt'
W. Mnen she tired he would 90 IN har ED1Tc
Wv NV Mss her forehead, and saw Doo
,on.t ooL. I, worry, Asenath; it Will ba to the
in Sr,,
rs hau happened so MANY timee there
'p,nIohs had been so thorongbi,, Soma !
!, ner arguments so well gron5ded great
pops had sprung up in her heart We
'ne oegan to believe that Ricbar5 amonU
eaning TO wisdom, and wonId who d
up the girl. "ouiu tba Ia ;Is.
%;S'er, o;5 one day the last straw workin
a. o,u on, and the camels bacL Thre
'n' hIchard had come in in b;o bosnito
me merry, boysh wbistlin% and ass
. Asanath, with a grim smiIas voung
Suilie' S5g! SSoung
'm u glau, Kchard, to see you like Ningpo
old self. l have been bonino five Heo
sooG sense would triumph. and to beco
'e thlngs in my light" nurses
your light, Asenath ?" he unex- The
lIy. retorted. You are w., has heo
mistaken if you think you have last Yea
ie over. love Ella better than the 6nil
~ '1u we nave just settled to he We &C
"a within a month" 'o tho OH
she'll die with consumntion i, mai ono
an year" exclaimed the az Decem6 h
sd and angry sister. Thoro
knew she'd die next week ia ity of "A
her this" " called Richard botIV- been ma
rs he left the room. 1O''S building
was the end. Neither Asenatb for the 81
OrOther ever spoke of the mat arrangen
4" as lOng as they remained IN. caring 10
nor dld she now ever sneak Tn 4Went
ulase friends of him, and Onlv She openi
when emotion was unusualIy hands an
tiu ~ sue voice, as now, her woes Plea IN ca
" she mad received a letter Iients III
GnuTd not that she did not oc. nighVs rec
nv 90 so, but this one CON Rising ca
ne intelligence that the fraiI an opport
Ie had died, and he, with his OeIore the
III child, was alone; and as 1asC over
lp' middle'aged woman. from my visit t
We rocker, cOmmuned alone Ooy s war
erself, as she alterratoI' ready to g
sentence from the open let. range our
1Veu her glasses, wiped them MRS. Ng,
ana commented in incisive oDstetrical
was clearly not Richards loss noon to all
! SO sue was really very sorry for WARD TO b
loh agitated her, but what he room with
concerning the baby. until twelv
le wants to Give me H. hoL One of th
me to take of II does who was b.
,knowed it He remembers AZ nome dU
a. mother was to him. Oh ne would
!" with a little chuckle' Sney mad dI
I'm not to old for taffy. If mas recover
y grill But, of course IL severity Of
and be a good. .for1Nost low fever le
Q tackled one ond ,ooIH xiety. He
Or job of it. and now T % sLoois woman's WI
my hand Mt the Ctr. 'IGuiu I0;sS in the gate
MT for me To have na,, Nunu. ..," cared for hi
ngs." WY boy came, "
lsed to heave a daor s;.L were placed
nued meditatively: INTO the din
he must be about wears aftar 'a,a4 anS aS U1
tile more. S'pose they fur ter teri but H"o uot -
q up in Lord Fauntierovs and ~ sttanS moT
lt bear 'em Whittier bare. tbsv dstar,,,;
or me-sOmething that looks tbemseIvas
lgnt grow up into a man. man and the
had to call him Sammie. read. 10 ST coy
/ itn;o ,, ese haddie'faddle boys nine ele
ne, whether his pa likes it the two ere