Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1897-12-17

iCharlewood to rest. For long years af-
iterward the young husband was to carry |
with him the memory of that green grassy
grave. y plain white cross bore for the
present her name; it said simply:
IN 4 q y y = . = y = y = y =
= In Loving Memory of 81
- MADALINE CHARLEWOOD, 81
II who died in her Goth year. =
= Erected by Her Sorrowing Husband. .
- y y = = = y y =
"When 1 give her the monument she
deserves" he said, 81 can add no more."
Then came the morrow, when he Ind
ITO look his life in the face again-life
that he found so bitter without NADIA
line. What Of little Madaline, the child
who had her dead mothers large blue eyes
land golden hair? Again Lord Charlie
wood and the doctor sat in solemn con-
!clave; this time the fate of the little one
hung in the balance.
Lord Charlewood said that If he found
his father still weak and i'll, he should
keep the secret of his marriage. OF
course. if Mndaline had lived, all would
have been different-he would have proud
ly owned it then. But she was dead. The
child was so young and so feeble, it SEEM
ed doubtful whether it would live. What
need, then, to grieve the old earl by the
story of his folly and his disobedience?
Let the secret remain. Stephen Letsom
quite agreed with him in this; no one
knew better than himself how dangerous
was the telling of bad or disagreeable
news to a sick man. And then Lord
'CharlewoOd added:
You have indeed been a friend in need
to me, DIR. Letsom. Money can no more
repay such help as yours than can thanks;
all my life I shall be grateful to you. l
am going now to Italy, and most probably
/ shall remain there until the earl, my
father, grows better, or the end comes.
when l return to England, my first care
shall be to forward your views and pros
poets in life; until then I want you to take
'charge of my child"
Among the doctors patients was one
who had interested him very much-Mar-
lgaret Dornham. She had been IL lady's
maid. She was Il pretty, graceful wom-
an. gentle and intelligent-worthy of a
far better lot than had fallen to her share.
She ought to have married a well-to-do
.tradesman, for whom she would have
made a most suitable wife; but she had
given her love to Il handsome ne'er-do-
we'll, with whom She had never had one
.lilOillcilt VI lJGiSC VI AlplllSSss AASLllS
Dornham had never borne Il good charac-
ter; he had a dark, handsome facc-a GER
tain kind of rich, gyrsy-like bcauty-but
no other qualifications. He was neither
industrious, nor honest, nor sober. His
handsome face, his dark eyes, and rich
curling hair had won the heart of the
pretty, graceful, gentle lady's maid, and
she had married him-only to rue the day
and hour in which she had first seen him.
They lived in u picturesque little cot
Itage called Ashwood, and there Margaret
lDornham passed through the greatest
Joy and greatest sorrow Of her life. Her
little child, the n CLEAN Of sunshine that
|her darkened life had ever known, was
born in the little cottage, and there it had
Idied. DIR. Letsom, who was too abrupt
flor the ladies of Castledene, had watched
with the greatest and most untiring care
iover the fragile life Of that little child.
When n tender nurse and foster-mother
twas needed for little Madaline, the doc
tor thought of Margaret Dornham. He
ifelt that all difficulty was at an end. He
sent for her. Even Lord Charlewood
looked with interest at the graceful, timid
woman, whose fair young face was so
deeply marked with lines of care.
Twill 1 take charge Of q little child?' u
she replied to the DOCTORS question. "In-
deed I will, and thank heaven for send
ing me something to keep my heart from
breaking"
"You feel the loss of your own little
one very keenly?" said Lord Charlewood.
i''You will spare neither expense nor trou-
BILE" he continued, ''and when l return
you shall be most richly ~rccompensed. If
all goes well, and the little one prospers
with you, 1 shall leave her with you for
two or three years at least. You have
been n lady's maid, the doctor tells me.
In what families have you lived?'
principally with Lady L'Estrange, of
iVerdun Royal, sir" she replied. II left
because Miss L'Estrange was growing
up, and my lady wished to have a French
maid"
In after years he thought how strange
1T was that he should have asked the
question.
IL want you," said Lord Charlewood.
"to devote yourself entirely to the little
one; You will be so literally paid as not to
need work of any kind. 1 am going
abroad. but 1 leave DIR. Letsom as the
guardian of the child; apply to him for
everything you want, as you will not be
able to communicate With me-"
In all things Margaret Dornham prom
Used obedience. One would have thought
she had found a great treasure. To her
kindly, womanly heart, the fact that she
once more held a little child in her arms
was a source Of the purest happiness,
The only drawback was when she reached
home, and her husband laughed coarscly
at the sad little story.
"You have done a good days work,
Maggie" he said; ''now I shall expect you
to keep me, and I shall take it easy"
He kept his word, and from that day
made no further effort to earn any money.
Faithful. patient Margaret never COM
planned. and not even DIR. Ictsom knew
how the suffering of her daily life had in
creased. even though she was comforted
lv the love OF the little child.
CHAPTER Ill.
In day came when Lord Chnrlpwocd