Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1894-12-06
Ii was . gay winter. Kate

Her taste ia dress became q prov
erb; her singing was praised as
something wonderful for amateur
performances; her jewels were un-
iqne Ind costly; she danced, she
skated, she fcweds and her life
seemed one round Of selfish gaiety.
] thought Of her eyes, and wonder
III speh glorious beauty Of ex-
precision could cover frivolous
heart.
/ began to notice as the winter
wore on, that Howard had secret
trouble that was kept well hidden
from all but me. He could not
deceive me, / loved him too well.
/ bore it in silence as long as |
could, but one evening, when / had
been very i'll, l spoke.
Tell me- | said, winding my
arms about his neck, what is trou-
bling you, Howard p
'OnIy a struggle. BERTHE, between
my heart and my judgment
In love, Howard p
4 suppose so. You know Grace
Alton. have met her everywhere
this winter
well, Howard, does she reject
your love?'
Il hope she will never know OF
it. think of the life l have plan
ned for myself, and you will under.
stand my trouble. My profession
leads me daily into scenes of suffer
ing, poverty and often crime, where
even the influence of one man il
often felt and acknowledged.
can give money and comfort, time
and counsel, to those sufferers; bu
could I faithfully fulfill the dut,
} so plainly set before me, if mar
ried mere butterfly? My hom
would become resort for fashion
votaries, and my wife would loo
to me for sympathy in her frivoli
ty.'
What could / say? l could onl
- try to prove to hlr
caress him, a.>. OH -
that his sisters heart ~.
own, in JOY or sorrow.
1t was late in the spring, when
fashionable folks were fitting to
country seats, to Saratoga and New
port, when Kate was preparing for
trip to Niagara, and Howard was
TO take me to Hayward, our native
village, for the summer.
Summer was my happiest time.
Our old home was always ready for
me, and Mrs. Harris, our old house
Keeper, relieved me from every care,
nursed and petted me to nv hearts
content.
Then had my poor people.
Hayward was full of cotton facto.
ries, and my father had made his
fortune there, but there was a large
field for charitable labor.
was always. stronger in Hay.
ward in the summer than in the
city in winter, and l had become
quite Lady Bountiful, in a quiet
way, among the mill hands and
their families. Then Howard ran
down often to see me.
But the summer Of which | write
found many of the former recip-
tents of my soups, medicines and
money had gone away, and strang-
ers filled their place; but it was too
common in Hayward to excite even
q remark, and ! was glad to know
my crooked little figure soon be-
came familiar to the newcomers,
and the children soon learned to love
me.
| had been in Hayward only q
short time when / found my place
in the hearts OF the peor people was
ably contested by Miss Payne,
whose name was in every mouth.
She was so beautiful, so good
All her life she had lived in Hay
ward, but quite away from our part
of the town. It had never been in
her power to spend money until she
came of age, the fall preceding the
summer Of which / write, but now
she scattered aid with a generous
hand.
'She Is an angel one enthusias-
tic woman said to me.
! was very anxious to meet this
paragon, and was soon to be graf |
ified. My heart surrended after |