Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1897-08-26
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| look upOn, and there are many human
wolves ready to dGvour such lambs
Still. my lad, you must learn all. dc
Won know what Is said Of me In Bose
kop?"
Errington smiled and nodded in the
affirmative.
''You do?" exclaimed the old man
somewhat surprised. You know that
they say | killed my wife-my wife!
The creature before whom my soul
| knelt In worship night and day-whose
bright head was the sunlight of my
Let me tell you Of her, Sir ?hiliI
its a simple story. She was the
child of my dearest friend, and many
years younger than myself. This
friend of mine, Erik Erlandsen, W
the captain Of stout Norwegian
baraue, running constantly between
these wild waters and the coast OF
France. He fell in love with, and
married n blue-eyed beauty from the
Sogne Fjord, he carried her secretly
away from her parents, who would
not consent to the marriage. She was
n timld creature, In spite of her queen
" ways, and, for fear Of her parents,
she would never land again on the
shores OF Norway. She g"ew to love
France-and Erik often left her there
in some safe shelter when he was
bound on some extra long and stormy
passage. She took to the Catholic
creed, too. In France, and learned to
speak the French tongue, SO Erik
said, as though 1t were her own. At
the time OF the expected birth OF her
child, her husband had taken her far
inland to Aries, and there business
compelled him to leave her for some
days When he returned she was
dead laid ont for burial, with flowers
and tapers round her. He fell prone
on her body nsensible and not for
many hours did the people Of the place
dare to tell him that he was the father
of living chld-a girl, with the great
blue eyes and white skin of her
mother. He would scarce look Mt 1t
but at last, when reused n bit, he
carried the little thing In his arms
to the great Convent at Aries, and,
giving the nuns money, he babe them
take 1t and bring 1t up rs they would,
only giving 1t the name OF Thelma.
Then poor Erlandsen came homc--he
sought mo out the said Olaf, I feel
that | am going on my last voyage
Promise you will see to my child
guard her, II you can, from an evil
fate! For me there Is no futnren |
promised and strove to cheer him y
but he spoke truly--his ship went
down In storm on the Bay OF Bis
cay. and all on board were lost, Then
II was that commenced my journey
iuGi to and fro. to sec tho little maiden
that was growing up in tho Convent
at Aries | watched her for sixteen
yea sand when she reached her
seventeenth birthday married her
and brought her to Norway
"And she was Thelma's mother?"
said Burlington, with interest.
"Sho was Thelmas mother retur
the bonde, land she was more beauti-
'nl than even Thelma is now. Her
education had been almost entirely
French, but. rs II child, she had learnt
that generally spoke English. and
as there happened to be an English
nun In the convent. she studied that
language and mastered 1t for the lnve
Of me--yos!" ho repeated with musing
tenderness. "all for tho love of y
20, l,n nc
passionately as | loved her, and that
Is saying u great deal! We lived n
solitary, happy lifo--mt we did not
mix with our neighbors our crecds
were different our ways apart from
theirs. We had some time of perfect
happiness together Three years
passed before our child was born, and
thcn"-the honde paused awhile, and
again COMMUNICATION my wife's
health grew frail and uncertain. She
liked to be In the fresh air, and was
fond of wandering about the hills with
her little ono In her arms. One day
shall | ever forget it! when Thclma
was about two and Il half years old,
| missed them both, and went out to
search for them, fearing my wife had
lost her way, and knowing that our
child could not toddle far without
fatigue | found them"--the bonde
shuddered- but how? My wife had
slipped and fallen through q ehlsm In
tho rocks high enough, indeed, to
htve killed her--sho was alive, but in
iured for life. She lay there white and
motionless--little Tholma meanwhile
sat smilingly on the edge of the rock
assuring me that her mother had gone
TO sleep down there Well" and
Guldmar brushed the back OF his han(
across his eyes. TO make long STORY
short, carried my darling home In my
arms a wreck--she fingered for ten
years of patient suffering, ten long
years! She could only move about OF
crutches the beauty Of her figure was
gone but the beauty Of her face grew
more perfect every day! Never AGAR
/ was she seen on the hills, and so tc
the silly folks OF Bosekop she seemed
tC have disappeared. Indeed, KEEP
her very existence a secret coult
not endure that others should hear o
/ the destruction of all that maryellou,