River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1894-12-20

Then Mrs. Catherwood, with gentle
unaccustomcd hands. gave her a warm
I refreshing bath before the fire, and
had just sung her to sleep and laid her
I in her own soft bed. when word was
brought that some one was waiting be-
| low 10 see her
Descending with new and almost
nervous dread, Mrs. CatherwOod found
an officer with n woman Y 10 had come
/ for the missing child. Not ore of her
/ own. the woman explained, but the
| chill of n young couple-stranger5 in
the town, who had lived IN the house
with her. and had died within a few
days Of one another the month before.
She ha taken the child herself then.
because, poor little soul, there had
been no one else TO care for her.
LET ms keep her said Mrs Gather
wool. ''aEd win bring her up as if
she were Tly own"
So it was settled. And then, with a
new sweet feeling OF tenderness in her
heart. Mrs. Catherwocl left the sleep
ing little one in her companions care,
ami went ont, accompanied by her
maid. 10 buy some little necessary gar
meuts and toys for her Christmas
treasure.
She saw no familiar faces among the
throng that crowded the stores that
night But dainty Mrs. Catherwood
found actual pleasure in min Cling for
once with this gOol-natured strug-
CLING mass of unknown Christmas
shoppers.
/. - r~.f Il, ,-,-.f,oI L.
home. and she was hastily opening her
varjors packages, and beginning to fiji
the little stocking-the first child's
stocking she had ever filled-when her
companion summoned her in alarm. The
child had been croupy all the evening,
she said. and was now rapidly grow
ing worse.
The labored breathing and little
flushed face frightened Mrs. Gather
wood, and. late as it was, she sent at
once for her physician. Almost i'm
mcdiatcly word was brought back to
her that the old doctor had gone away
u spend Christmas, ami that DIR. Har-
mon was to fill his place in case of
need But as DIR. Harmon lived quite
1t the other end of the town, the mes
senger had returned to know if she
wished him summoned that night
One look at the suffering child and
Mrs. Catherwood's sharp struggle with
herself was ended with the quick an
sver: Yes; ask him to come at once 4"
And now at midnigh: she was anx-
iously awaiting the arrival of the man
she most dreaded and dislilScd.
The Young physician who stood so
high in his profession. was the one
who had been too honest and sincere
ever To flatter her. lie had resolutely
kept aloof from her. even though she
had once stopped 50 far as TO try to
win attention from him.
But she had never forgotten the
quiet scorn Of the condemnation he
had once uttered in her hearing of the
frivolous lives of society women and
their ill-considcred charities which so
often dill more harm than cool.
She had chosen to give n personal
application to his lords. and 20 ignore
him after that whenever they CHANGED
70 meet: but nevertheless his words
had ranklcd in her. and had sown the
seeds Of discontentG her own unsatis-
flying life.
At last he was at her side. His quick
glance had instantly taken in all the
details Of thereon; the suffering child,
Il beautiful. anxious woman, the lit
tie cast-off garments the new ones
st;n uafolIcd on 4 chair, the tiny half
filed stocking. aud scattered toys. and
it was not hard for his practised eye