The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-11-01
TIL LAST CONFESSION.
Published by Special Arrangement
BY HALL GAME.
GALL RIGHTS REsERvEp.)

dreams of my own solitary mind, 7
could not close my eyes in the darkness
but [ saw my boy. His little child-ghost
was always with me. He never appeared
| as l had oftenest seen him, laughing.
romping, and kicking up his legs on the
hearth rug. Sometimes he came as he
would be ut home after he had committed
some childish trespass and had whipped
hlm-opening the door of my room and
stepping a1e fG one pace in, quietly neTvously,
naiI 1eartuliy, to say good night and
kiss me at his bedtime, and / would lift
my eyes and see, over the shade of nv
! library lamp, his little, somber, red and
white face just dried of its recent tears.
Or again sometimes I myself would seem
In these dumb dramas of the darkness to
| go into his room when he was asleen
that | might indulge my hungry, foolish
heart with looks of fondness that the re-
proving parent could not give, and find
| him sleeping with an open book in his
hand, which he had made believe to read
| And then for sheer folly Of love would
pick up his wee knickerbockers and turn
out it's load at either side to see what a
boys pockets might be like, and discover
a curiosity shop of poor little treasures
a knife with broken blade, nail, two
marbles, bit of brass, some string, q
screw, crust of bread, cork, and the
leg of a lobster.
While was INDUCING this weakness,
the conviction was deepening in my mind
that my boy was ILL., So strong did this
assurance become at length, that though
| was ashamed to give way to it so far as
| to sct my face towards home, being yet
no better for my holiday, [ sat down
down at length to write letter to Wen
mani had written to my wife by every
mail-that I might relieve my pent-uI
feelings. said nothing to him of my mis-
| givings, for was 10th to confess to them,
having DC positive reasons whatever, and
10 negative grounds except the fact that
was receiving no letters. But ] gave him
: full history of my boy IS case, describing
each stage of it in the past, foretold its
| probable developments in the future in.
dicatedswith elaborate care the treatment
necessary at every point, and fore.
Swallowed the contingencies under which
it might in the end become malignant
and even deadly, unless stopped by the
operation that | had myself, after years
of labor, found the art of making.
l / spent an afternoon in the writing OF
this letter, and when it was done felt rs
If a burden that had been on my back for
ages had suddenly been lifted away.
Then / went out alone to post it. The
time was close to evening prayers, and as
l walked through the streets the Talebs
and tradesmen with their prayer mats
various mosques. Going by the Karu-
eein Mosque I observed that the good
Muslimeen were entering 1t by hundreds.
Some special celebration" / thought.
My heart was light, my eyes were alert,
and my step was quick. For the first
time since my coming to the city, Fee
seemed to me a beautiful place. The
witohery of the scenes of the streets took
hold of me. To be thus transported into
a world of two thousand years ago gave
me the delight of magic.
When l reached the English postoffice /
found it shut up. On its shutters be-
hind it's long grating notice board was
hung out, saying that the office was tenn
porarily closed for the sorting of an in
coming mail and the despatch of an out
going one, There was little crowd of
people waiting in tront-chiefiy Moorish
servants of English visitors-for the win
dow to open again, and near by stood the
horses of the postal couriers paving the
pavement. I dropped my letter into the
slit in the window and then stood aside
to see If the mail had brought anything
for me at last.
The window was thrown up, and two
letters were handed to me through the
grating, over the heads of the Moors,
who were crushing underneath. I took
them with sort of fear, and half wished
at the first moment that they might be
from strangers. They were from home;
one was from my wife-I knew the en-.
velope before looking at the handwriting
the other was from WeDman.
ITO be continued