The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1895-05-29

VI
The old woman rose up, in an odd,
uncertain way.
"Ladies," she said fumbling in her
old snuf;box, 'this is my nephew,
Cyrus Dabney-hc ran away from
home twenty-nine years ago come
Michaelmas Day, and we all supposed
was dead. Cyrus, these are the ladies
who are so good "a to visit me here.
| don't quite recoIlect their names, but,
then, my memory amt rs good as it
used to be-and after all it don't mat
ter much. Nothing matters mush
nowadaysw
And Miss Abby sat down and fell
into a ''jaze" again, as if ali necessity
for conversational effort were over.
Cyrus Dabney stood up-a bronzed,
bearded giant, with dark eyes and su-
perb statue.
"Ladies, beg your PARDON" he
said. 'But s'posed when / came here,
| was coming home. / knew nothing
of all these changes. | never could
have dreamed that my cousin would
let this old creature go to the town
poorhouse. / don't know who you
are. ladies'" with husky rattle in his
throat, "but / thank you from the
very bottom OF my heart for giving
her a shelter in her old age. And if
money will pay for it"
at will notr' said Mary, sharply,
as if the words conveyed slur.
"No, 1 s'pose not, +" said Cyrus with
sigh. "But Pve plenty Of money
now. The dear old aunty shall live
like "a queen all the rest Of her days,
for she was good To me when all the
rest set ne down for black sheep.
Tve made my fortune out in Panama
and I've come home To redeem my
SELF
al have heard of Cyrus Dabney," ="
said Mrs. Miller, gently.
"Amd I'll venture, ma am, you heard
no good of me- said the young giant,
with a short laugh. am not deny
that / was a wild boy enough, bat
there wasn't any actual evil in me, let
folks say what they would. And now
I've come back rich man, and there's
nobody TO bid me welcome home cX-
cept obi Aunt Abby, out Of the poor
| house"
He could not long have made this
statement, however.
All the town was up to bid the rich
government contractor welcome 70
Tewkstown within twenty-foar hours
Human nature is human nature every
where. But Cyrus Dabney cared lit
| tie for the friendly overtures Of the
old neighbors.
Aunt Abby was the only person for
whom he seemed to care, and his
greatest grief was that the old woman
refused 20 leave the old Dabney farm
house to live in the stately brick man
siou which he built ON Prospect Hill.
And then he asked permission to
deck her little bedroom with the
euriosities he had brought her from
the isthmus, and in tacking up dra-
peries and arranging shells and old
silver coins he and Mary became
friends.
| Friends. She never knew that il was
ANYTHING else, until one day old Aunt
Abby took strange idea into her head,
And Mary, holding a rich Oriental
cord for Cyrus Dabney TO loop int
knots for picture frames, heard he
introduce Mrs. Miller to a neighbor q
"NIv guest, Mrs. Miller the mother ot
the young lady that Nephew Cyrus i
going to marry"
CYRUS looked at Mary. Mary drop
ped the ball of cord and turned Grim
son.
MARY" he said, 'say that it shall b
so. For love you-yes | love You
And can't live without your love
And-and you were good TO old Aun
Abby when ali the world turne'
against her | sometimes think, Mary
that YOU must be like one of heaven
angclsr'
And this was how they became en
gagged.
They still live in the old farmhouse
the happiest of married lovers, an
Aunt Abbey firmly believes that the
are all her guests, for to her the wori
stands eternally still-the world that
so full of bloom and beauty To CyrJ
, and Mary .-SUfIToldy Night.