Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1894-07-19

life stood between me and degradation
and Ignorance, who put her very hearts
blood into making me what ] aml''
She stopped abruptly. overcome with
emotion.
Your mcfherf" suggested Ellen
"Yes. yes, shall always call her sol
Ny motherl Forgive me for not having
told you all about il before. But II you
knew how IL pained me to bring back
tho old associations and the old feelings
you would not wonder at my silence.
just now was trying to please myself
with the delusion that il had gone for
ever. -
1t hasr' cried Maxey and his sister
in one breath Ellen crossed the room
impulsively. and kneeling on the floor
beside Annette's chair took her hand In
hers and comforted her like sister. In
little time Annette was able to speak
coherently.
If had not always been so sensitive
and so bashful, it would not have mat
tered so much, but it was so hard for
me to make friends. / had always to
wait for somebody else to take the initia-
tive. And then when met persons
whom believed could have loved and
trusted, as sure as that day came, the
acquaintance was suddenly broken of,
and we were separated "
Separated. By whom?"
"By-by Mr.. Dye He did not wish
me to have friends, ! am sure. hope !
do not wrong him, but think so, be-
cause nothing disturbed him more than
to find me t-lzing with stranger. My
mother pitied my isolation, and she Of
ten tried to interest in me companions
Of my own age, and then the informa-
tion would come that we were to break
up our little home again and go to some
distant place to live. That is why Ihad
no friends We staid so short time in
any city, we changed our living place
SC often-I cannot say home-I never
knew what that word really meant till
came here But am only mystifying
you, my kiI.l friends. should tell you
what / know of myself from the begin
ming.
WAY back, beyond all that / can
really remember, there is vague, inn
perfect sense of something different,
which comes to me most vividly some
times when am not trying to think of
it. But my first distinct recollection is
of playing with my little rag doll at a
window, very high up, looking out over
the roofs. Mr.. and Mrs Dye were with
me, and called them father and moth
er. always was afraid of him, and he
avoided me, but loved my mother with
the strength of double passion. can
dimly remember that at that time both
of them were rather different in their
looks from what they seemed in later
years. Mr.. Dye has changed greatly.
He used to be very well dressed and
careful of his appearance. That was be-
fore he took SO greatly to drink. Now
he seems to have no care. My mother
was pale, slight and sad. She wept GO
much when first recollcct her that her
eyes were always red. Her husband made
her very unhappy. He never used vio-
lence toward either of us. He rather
seemed to pity us, but there is an un-
kindness that is quite as deep as the un-
kindness of hard words and blows. He
was silent and moody man and was
very little in the house.
'Inoticed as soon as / was old enough
to notice at all that he did not like to
have me even look at him. / sometimes
caught him watching me furtively, but
as soon as he saw that / knew it he
would turn away quickly. If it was not
so absurd, / should have believed he was
afraid of me. And so my mother was a
broken hearted woman. But the less she
had in common with her husband the
more she devoted herself to me. She Of
ten told me that she lived only for me,
and when / think how feeble she was
and what a struggle existence was to
her cannot help believing she told the
truth. She taught me all know. She
saved her pennies and went without
clothes to buy me books. In the long
days and evenings when we were en-
tirely alone we read and studied to-
gether. We had to devise places to hide
our literary treasures, for whenever he
found book he sold it and kept the
money. More than once our entire little
| library, obtained at so much cost and
pains, was missed by us in the morning.
II should not have been unhappy but
for the little knowledge Of the world
and its ways that my reading gave to
me. 1t made me feel the degradation of
my position. AL the time my mother
was becoming paler and feebler every
day. Finally she took to her bed. IL
attended her !"
1t was with difficulty that Annette
controlled herself sufficiently to go on
But her resolution conquered her natural
emotion. She was even able to speak in
calm voice.
Before she died she told me that
was not her child 1t was secret she
could not carry away with her She had
often and often begged her husband to
tell her who was, but he never would.
One night when was not years old
Mr.. Dye had placed me in her arms, and
in hurried and agitated manner had
told her that I was to be their child
thenceforth, and that we three were to
begin travelling about the country the
very next day. Before that time he had
been very good to her, but somehow my
coming estranged them. The gulf that
began then has been widening between
them ever since. He had loved her once,
she said, and there she was breathing
out her last breath in my arms, while
he was away with degraded men, care
less what became of her. He had at last
frightened her by declaring that if she
ever told anybody was not their child
itwould bring him to the gallows. Then
she believed that the secret must be ter
rible indeed, and for years she had not
dared to question him again.
Twas too weak, she said, to make
any resistance then hnt when vo1I GREW