The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-08-14

why, ElOTTy, Gudb was my uISb
wife" he answered, surprised that
she had not known it before.
"Was she my mamma, too?"
"No, no." he replied, hastily; "she
was Sarah Deering."
Wasn't she any relation to me?"
the child persisted. She was but
eight years old, and the ramifcations
of kinship were yet mystery to
her.
"Of course not" her mother said
rather sharply. "Your papa was
married to her when he was very
young-long before he lived here or
knew me. thought you had heard
that before" She turned to her hus-
band. Madison, shall l lay this
picture away?"
Mr.. Janeway looked at her atten
lively. Was it zeal, or an artistic
sense, orwas there lurking jealousy
of the woman who had come before?
"Pack it away if you like" he said,
turning away. ut is shabby"
Long after his children and wife
were sleeping, Mr.. Janeway sat
smoking, and thinking complacently
of his success. He, Madison Jane
way, had begun with nothing, and at
fifty he had won the things he had
longed for at twenty. The opening
and closing of the door attracted his
attention. He looked up.
A woman walked across the room
a plain woman, with an honest, ugly
face and short, thick figure.
"Who are you?" Mr.. Janeway
asked, frowning at her intrusion.
"Don't you know me, Maddy"
she returned.
He was startled when she called
him Maddy-it was more than twenty
years since he had been called that.
"Are-you-are- you-but you can't
be Sarah," he stammered; "she has
been dead these many years."
81 am Sarah" she answered. "You
have changed, Maddy"
"Yes-yes. We are apt to-" he re-
piled uneasily. "But you look just
the same" He said this to see if she
would account for her presence.
1.-The living can only see the dead
as they were in life" she returned.
"You sold the farm, didn't you?"
Mr.. Janeway felt as if reproach
lay in the observation. "Yes, I sold
the farm" he said. II needed the
money to put in other investments. :"
81 worked hard on that place"
she said, crossing her hands-very
rough, worn hands. 81 worked hard
there those years, 1 tried to save all
l could, Maddy."
"You were good wife, Sarah, he
replied, land both of us lad our bur-
dens, guess"
"And it was my money that bought
the farm. You had nothing when
you came counting me, did you,
Maddy? And you said that my be-
ing thirty years old and your being
just of age made no difference"
eyes, suppose l said that, and
I'm sure l always tried to be good to
you," he said, in answer to that un-
spoken reproach that seem to lie be.
hind her spoken words. 81 tried to
treat you WE'LL"
1.-THE money that came to me just
before l died from Uncle John must
have been help. l left it and the
farm to you, Maddy." Her dull eyes
seemed to force him to acknowledge
his debt
"Yes-yes, Sarah. | know that |
owe much to you. Without your help
and money Ishould have had much
harder time getting on my feet. Yet
l think | should have succeeded in
any case" Mr.. Janewav could not
forbear offering this tribute to his
self-esteem. However, | gratefully
acknowledge your aid, Sarah"
"You have another wife now, Mad
dy, and children" she said, "but
was first. 1 believed in you, and |
worked for you, oh, so willingly |
knew that you were different from
me. l knew that you had hopes that
stupid Sarah could never understand.
| knew that | was your companion in
your work, but not in your hopes. l
knew that we were growing farther
apart every year that we lived togeth-
er. | knew that while l was getting
to be worked out and middle-aged,
you were only coming to your prime.
| knew that it was best that died