New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-09-20

jim was in funds for the time, and got fllehu
to give him the loan of half a horse-for they
went ride and tie" in those days-to TreneaI.
Twas his intention $50 1t was found out AFTER
ward) to buy certain things on which JANE
heart was set and to show them to her as a sur
prise when next she came to the Cove inoeeu,
he dropped word or two to that erect on ,nc
way to Trenear when one of the Two rrlen1s
went forward mile or two, leaving ms coi'f"ue
to trudge after him then tethered the horse by
the waysidc and went on, TO be oVertakei prs
emily by his friend. and yet again TO ma the
horse waiting for him at a point near Irenear
They reached the town and parted ana
whether through the weakness OF MS own VIII
or because he was overmuch tempted jim loi-
got his purpose At different times throushou.
the day he was seen drinking in the company OF
strangers. and some said that he had soon hau
more liquor than he could carry. ne was seen
early in the evening leaving rather 10" a'.i ~
the harbor side. and after that there was no
trace OF him. -.
For the understanding of the story, you nust
know that he had fallen into the nanus vi w
press gang He was quickly put on board a snip
Of war and carried to fight against the french'
In the course of time he was made one Oh d
prize crew the ship was reeap1rr rrcn ny nrs or
All this. however. was only known alIsrMai ~.
When his companion returned 10 the Nl"ase IL.
told his story. and reused fears wnich an INA I.
followed only served to confirm. jim nau uis
appeared, and IT soon general! pe"c.cu
that he had fallen into the harbor alter lea,ins
the public. or that, nnding hlmseii iei. p' nm.
by his companion. he had essayed afoot the Jour
ney 20 Laniesyn and lost his life In one or other
OF the deserted mine shafts which lie not iar
from the track. ,,
have had to travel far to come upon a llttle mdlu
so full OF life and vgor Even now the IRE ol II
seemed to be burning under me suilaue e" ~,
were times when she would seem 10 wax uP'
and then she would do wonders In little space
before the old carelessness came back upon her
For she seemed to care for nothing, ana 'he
nerve which had been notable in her or ora
was utterly destroyed. The mother went ABOUT
with q face more careworn than ever. anu IL wac
whispered that JAMES trouble had touchei ncI
intellect so that she was not always herself She
was one who felt things terribly; that Is all mat
need be said. ,,,
The time went on The mother aged quickly.
and jamie (who had begun before this To take
her place as wage-earner) had most OF the nome
work to do as well. 1t was then thai George
Carwinnen came counting her
More than once he had spoken TO her Wnen
she was but a maiden and in the midst OF her
happiness laughing. so that none couio say
twas serious if the girl happened to grow ansry
Mt his talk "Thee's got mort o sweethearts:
jamie Better fit thee's take up with man
property like me. IT'S a fine family TO be one OF
once woman marry one OF we she don't want
no more of this life when her husbands gone
IT'S the custom of the family" That was the
sort of speech that he was always making, pc
ing a man that didn't know Wheh 10 smut ms
mouth Those two gravestOnes were as good q
Joke as another in his Judgment IA. 49,,
Now jamie like one that's done win the
world In the old days she had gone beyond
others in feeling a sort of fear OF George Dut
now the heart was gone out OF her ana me oh!y
DerSOn thing she could ma IL III HtI "
be troubled about was her mother. 90 pelOre
very long she married George Carwinnen
So far as he was able he did his duty; that
there's none to deny JAMES motner hoeu t,r ~,
comfort to the day of her death, year or TWO
after the marriage. and George was proud ana
fond of the young wife that might nave been ms
daughter. But the man dld not understand HIi,
If news came that widow was gong 10 ne
married again. twOuld be: well, my dear
there's no fear you'll enjoy such vanities; make
M your mind to that Some do have poor luck
IN huehands and so tits only fair they should
have another chance But with us tits different
one husband is good enough for woman II ne ne.
q man Of our family, ana she uoil 0"ie i0i ~
when he's gone A..
The woman lived in bondage. never seeing the
light Of day or smelling the breath or the sea.
People could see it. They would watch her as
sha walked IN the pathway to the church. to see
if she looked in the direction of those two grave
stones. She never so much as glanced az tne,i'
| but they knew well enough that day ana nighl,
| sleeping and waking she was always thinking
| Of the two gray headstones and OF thro tnat
must some day stand beside them Sne nao ac,
| cepted her irrevocable rate, Dut "i'hou- any
| sense Of submission.
| She was a good wife to her husband. He was
as unlike her as could be. beng loM.SoIIs'
| heavy and by this time inclined to corpuence.
| The winter after her mother died ne had a grave
| illness and seemed upon the point OF deaIh uur
ing several days. jamie nursed nm nhe i pu,
| she went about the house with face White ana
set and hardly spoke word. Moreover on the
night when it first seemed certain he would re-
| cover very strange thing happened A woman
| from the village undertook to watch during the
night while jamie. who was utterly WORN out ny
| her long vigils, took little sleep.
| She did not come down in the morning, ana IL
| was near midday when the woman went to can
| her. She found her in a deep and apparently
| GREATNESS sleep. and could by no means arouse
her She grew alarmed and summoned some one
| from downstairs and then at last jamie was
| awakened II suppose she was just worn out
said the woman afterward; but she lay IKE the
| dead and | can fancy that when the dead awake
| they will wake jamie walked out OF that sleep
| All. she'll do as the other women dld' ana ole
| when her husband does.
| After this year or two passed. jamie seemed
| to have recovered something of her interest IN
| life and as George grew heavier-both IN NINA
| and body-with the passage of the days the
| contrast between the two became the more
| marked. The husband still Kept MS hapit
| of foolish testing, and would not let ms
| wife forget the fate which hung over her Al
| times the sense of it and his continual repetl-
| lions drove her well-nigh frantic. There was
| something intolerable in the thought that her
| fate was not her own; that she must relinquish
| her hold on life when it pleased Providence TO
| take this foolish old man. who was already only
fit TO sit by the hresde and talk of past achieve
| ments For he now DID, though his years
| numbered more than sixty.
At last he fell i'll again. rigorous winter
kept him to the house, and his breath came
with more and more effort every day. JAMIE
! watched him growing more debilitated in Dody,
| duller in mind, and conscious that she felt
| no corresponding failure Of her forces. On the
| contrary she was in rebellion against fate. and
| sometimes when she escaped from the house
for q space she knew that the fire Of life had
never burned more vehemently within her than
II did now. She had on such occasions a diff
fculty in refraining from following mad IN
stinctive desire to take refuge in flight; so that
| she might live life of her own and not know
| herself a mere parasite on the decaying trunk
| of this old man. She had always had dull
| sense Of anger against the rates, when mao
| robbed her of Jim Bosanko; now it grew
| stronger Every day 1t was more terrible 70
| her to return home after any brief absence for
! every day the sense of what was TO come grew
more and more oppressive she entered the
house.
| The old man took to his bed at last, and lay,
a mere animal, in a state which might nave
| been called stupor, but for the fact that he was
] l.,.ha Ne had heen for nanX n long day past