The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-03-24

most times. And fireman l was for six
or eight years, but / never cared to walk
out with another girl when | thought of
Jenny. didn't tell my folks where I'd
Como, and for ycars heard nothing from
tICm.
And ono night there was a fro in a
street OF tho Borough--a high house it
was-and went up tho ladder to u win
dow where there was IL woman screaming,
and directly l see her face I sec it was
Jenny.
I fetched her down tho ladder right
enough, and she chung round my neck (she
didn't know me from Adam) and said,
"Oh, SO back and fetch my husband"
And knew 1t was Wheeler I'd got to 90
and find
Then went back, and 1 looked for
Wheeler.
There no was lying on tho bod, drunk.
Then the devil says to mo: what call
have SOU to go and find him, the drunken
swinoP Leave him DO, and you can marry
Jenny and let bygoncs be bygones" and
stood there half a minute quite still, with
the smoke getting thick round me. Then
tho next thing 1 knew there WINS n crack
ing under my feet, and the boards giving
way, and sprang across to Wheeler nll in
a minute, rs anxious to save him as if ho'd
been my own twin brother. There was
uO HfAhiHB ailLu IL WIS ll1G MIN or leave
him, and somehow or other got him out,
but that minute I'd given listening to
sntan had very nearly ohuoked us both to
cur death, and we only just come off with
our lives Tho crowd cheered like mad
when dragged him out.
was burned awful bad, and such good
looks as I'd had burned Off mo. and didn't
know nothing plainly for many long
day.
And when come to myself I was in a
hospital, and there was q sweet faced nurse
sitting looking mt me, and, by the Lord, II
1t wasn't Amelia! And she fell on her
knees beside me, and she snys: "Tom, 1
must tell you. Ever since found religion
I've known what wicked girl / was
Oh, Tom, to see you lying there so Ill! Oh,
Tom, forgive me, or l shall go mad, 1
know SHALL
And with that she told mo straight out
holding nothing beck, that what she'd said
TO me that night eight years ago was lie,
no better, and that who I'd seen in tho
church porch with young Wheeler was not
Jenny at all, but Amelia herself dressed
in Jenny's things
"Oh, forgive Inc, Toni" says Amelia
Forgive me, Tom, for con never forgive
myself. knew Jenny didn't rightly care
about you, Tom, and loved you so dear
And Wheeler wanted Jenny, so I was
tempted to play off that trick on you
thought you would como round to me
aftor''
was weak still with my Illness, but
put my hand on hors, and I says: Il do
forgive you, Amelia, for, after all, you
done 1t for love of me- And arc you n
nun, my dear?' says I.
NO" says she, I'm only on liking,
ms IL were. II don't like them or they
don't like ME, can leave any minute"
"Then leave, for Gods sake" says 1,
"H you've got a bit of love for me left
Let bygones be bygoncs and marry me ms
soon as come ont OF this, for it's worth
something to be loved as you We loved me,
Amelia, and was always fond OF you
WHAT says she. "Me marry you and
be happy aftor all the harm I've donor
You run away from your articles and turn
ed fireman, and Jenny married drunken
brutes No, Tom; no. don't deserve to
l,e happy, but If you forgive me shan't
be ae miserable as was"
well. says 1, "if ever you think better
of 1t, let me know"
And tho curious thing Is that within
two years she did think better of 1t, for
why? That fire had sobered Wheeler more
than co. 900 temperance tracts and all the
sons OF the Phoenix and Bands of Hope
rolled into one. He never touched q drop
OF drink sinoe that day, and Jennys as
happy as her kind over Is. / hear she
didn't fret over me more than month,
though perhaps that's only what ieserv-
ed, writing to hcr as l did. And then
Amelia said, ono such harm done, then,
after all. p" So she married me.
Now, you see, If l had listened to satan
and hadn't pulled liccler out shouldn't
have got burned, and | shouldn't have got
into tho hospital, and l shouldn't have
found Amelia again, and then where
should l have been2 Whereas now we're
farming the same bit of land that my ia
ther farned before us. And If this was
made up story Amelia would have Ind to
drowned herself or something, and should
have gone a-weeping and awaiting for
Jenny oil my born days, but rs it's true
and really happened Amelia and me have
been punished enough, think, for eight
years OF unhappiness is only few words
in print in Il story book, but when you've
got to live them, every day Of them, eight
years Is eight years, rs Amelia and shall
remember till our dying day, and eight
years unhappinoss is enough punishment
for most of tho wrong things n man can
do, or woman either for that matter
Sketch.
Women From the Turkish Harems.