Evening star., 1895-08-22


my mothers cousin, Jessie Largs, lived
and / have worked at the dressmaking
there till couldna put the needle through
the cloth any langer. Then l came here.
thought you would let me die among my
ain folk and bury me in the kirk yard
day to ne when the cool winds go DER my
grave and L dream O. the waves Iap-lap-
ping below me-
They comforted and tried to cheer her,
but she wished TO say in her own excuse
what she could. and though it was with
great effort and between terrible par
oxysms of pain and coughing, she con-
trived to make them understand some
thing OF the slow torture that had driven
her at last to rebellion ard flight.
Il wasna marriet two weeks when he
began to find fault wi my talk and my
manner and my dress and wi a l did or
said. And he put me under his mother
to learn how to be fine lady, and she
was gey and hard on me and set Archie
against me, ard made him scold me for
Just naething at all. And l was ill., and
head ached and l cauldna learn the books
] be to learn, nor walk as she showed me,
nor talk like her. nor do anything at a
she tried to max me do Oh, the weary,
weary days that hae fret myself through,
and the lang painful nights, and some
times Archie sac kind, / thought 1 must
be in the wrang, and 1 would try again,
and sometimes Archie sac cross. / thought
I must die wi the shame and the heartache
o 1T, and at last 1 could thole it no langer
and I went ava to Jessie Largs and she
wasna very kind. 1 was in her way. I
seem to hae been in everybody's way.
When l spoke to Isobel O. my trouble She
wouldna listen to me, because, she said.
Mistress Rraelands' cutom was worth
f30 a year, no to speak O. her in
fiuence. And I kent I must die soon, sac
] tholed Jessie's cross ways weel as I
could, for / wanted to save you and Chris
tina for the last hour" and she put her
In, md yI1yt-t 1ns.l
head closer to Janet's breast.
And l would like to see the man or wo-
man who would daur to trouble you now,
my bonny BARN." said Janet, with a sob in
her yoice, and she crooned kind words to
the dying girl, until she fell asleep in her
arms.
When she awolse she was In high fever
and deirious, snd her one cry was for An
drew. Andrew was in his steamer, but the
ship was lying off in sight of Pittencrai-
gle. and Janet went down to the village
and got two old men to put to sea with a
message for him. Then she sent to the
nearest doctor and called In at the minis
ter's and told him all that had happened,
Tor, she said, you yourself, doctor. will be
the only pairson that will be caring to go
to Braelands about the puir SOUL"
The men were too OLD to be at the fishing,
and were therefore old ard infirm for the
labor of reaching Andrews ship but,
strengthened by pity for the dying girl,
they managed to bring their craft near to
the melee of boats surrounding her. Some
were discharging their boxes of fish. others
struggling to get some point of vantage,
others lighting to escape from the uproar.
For the air was filed with the roar of the
waves and with the voices of men, blending
In shouts orders, expostulationS words of
anger and words of jest Above all this
hubbub Andrews figure on the steamer
lowered. large ard commanding, as he
watched the trunks of fish hauled on board,
dragged, pushed, thrown or kicked as near
to the mouth of the hold as the blockade
frIIr olyd alr hi
But sharp as crack OF thunder a STEM
torian voice called: Captain Binnie
wanted! Girl dying at Pittencraigie wants
him. Andrew heard and in a moment
had deputed his charge to Jamie and was
at the gunwale; and, selecting a point when
a great wave lifted one of the small boats
to the level of the steamers bulwarks. he
scrambled into her and was soon going
shoreward as fast as his powerful stroke
at the oars could carry him.
Sophy. however, was beyond his power to
reach: tke tenderest words could not COM
fort hes, for life was inexorably coming to
an end and every one of her muttered
words was mysterious, important, won
drous. though they could make out nothing
she said, save only that she talked about
"angels resting in the hawthorn bowers"
Suddenly Christina remembered that
rome large, important looking papers had
been sent that morning to the dying wo-
man, and Andrew, examining them,
saw they were proceedings in the divorce
case between Archibald Braelands and
Sophy. Does she ken aught O. these?''
he sternly asked Christina, and when his
sister answered ma. ma! They only cam
an hour ago from Jessie Largs. And what
ma for would we tell her? Death will
break her marriage ring without judge or
jury vera soon, the doctor says in a few
hours at maist."
Then Andrew put the papers in his
pocket and strobe rapidly down the cliff
and away to Braeands. He met the mas
ter at the door, and at Andrews look he
dismouEted from his horse and they
turned into a small room without a word
Then Andrew threw the papers down on
the table and said with passionate sor-
row:
You'll no need to fash folk wi the like
O. them, BraelaEds. Your wife Is dying al
my sisters house. Go to her. Go at once!'
''What is that to you7 Mind your own
business"