The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-01-27
been as bad as this before "You cannot

! Anu ~ w IL uuutu OuoiO tuDo.
For a moment Philip stood stark still
J looking at me; then he dashed down thu
stairs and aboard the steamer which was
about to leave the wharf.
| In the crowd lost sight Of him. The
bell rang out sharply. l was alone and In
despair. Behind me stood Uncle lobe.
LET him go, Vreda. He'll come back.
III give him the money after awhile, but
not now. Young folks are too impatient II
"You should have given it to him now,
uncle" answered with choking voice.
Philip had not returned. The sun had
gone out of my life. The rollicking echo
was dead The days were gray and dreary,
the nights interninable We had no
friends. There was no enc to come to a
house that had no open door, no hand Of
welcome.
Uncle lobe wrestled with figures half
the day; the other half he devoted to bust
ness errands. In the evening he read the
newspapers. was like deaf mute
Take a good long walk every day, 1"
suggested compassionately Mrs. Mitchell
"YoT look like a ghost and are fading
away"
Alas, there was no one for whom I
would have exerted myself to keep fresh
and young The sooner l grew old and
gray the better would fit into my sur
roundings
For Philip cried bitter tears. Uncle
lobe never mentioned his name
Poor old man. He must be fond of you
BOTH" Mrs. Mitchell was wont to say now
and then when went to her room to talk
Of Philip. "He is working himself to
death trying to buy this little house. My
nephew tells me this He is employed in
the office of his attorney"
81 hate the place since Phil Is gone" I
cried bitterly Everything Is gone-the
birds, the flowers and the people, Only we
we are chained to this same old spot
"Wait, Miss Vreda. Wait; later on, per-
haps"-
That's what Uncle lobe says, and then
it will be too late''
Not for you. You are young, Miss
Vreda, but your uncle. Nobody can nuke
him see what ho ought to do. p"
We lived our lonely lives, and had lost
all hope that things would ever change.
One morning we found Uncle lobe
dead in his chair. He looked as If he had
dropped into a peaceful slumber. Mrs
Mitchell and l seemed turned to stone
when we discovered him. felt no sorrow,
but was terribly frightened When the
doctor came, he said that he could do moth
ing.
The funeral was very quiet and unosten-
tatious. There were no tears no lamenta
tons, no flowers, no friends. After we
had laid him away it occurred to me that
the home in which / had lived so long
would now be closed to mo. But the
thought had no terror. 1t was relief
rather to be free. l knew nothing about
earning my bread, Freedom was all l
crayed
On the day after the burial Uncle Tobes
testament was opened Philip and were
his heirs. He had bought the little home
and had left us enough money to live in
comfortable circumstances
May God bless you" he wrote IL had
no one on earth but you.
| sobbed aloud as listened. ooh, If he
had only given Philip the money when he
needed tl' must go out and find him
Mrs. Mitchell soon convinced mo of the
futility of such beginning. Philip would
come home sooner or later.
Poor uncle. Your happiness was all he
worked for!'' was Mrs. Mitchells admon-
ishing cry.
HE has taken it from me-" l walled
HE has made me miserable, and him
Philip, he may be lost forever"
lived quietly on with Mrs. Mitchell in
the little house by the river, From day to
day waited. The trees took OH fresh foli-
age, and then came the autumn and the
winter l waited in silence With the
spring hope was renewed within me.
Suddenly, on the brightest day of all the
year, the he'll rang with clang knew
the sound and FASTENED to the door Phil
Up stood before me, but not the rollicking
youth whom | remembered. The man in
whose arms l lay had serious, thought
full face. | cried aloud.
BE still he whispered. ~ don't want
uncle to know, l don't want to see him. I
want you, only you"
"Unclop' repeated. "Don't you know
that he is dead:'
= am not sorry" he said bitterly. "IIe
took from me my youth. Want, care, anx-
lety were my companions on the way. Aft
er many struggles success crowned my eff
forts, and now We reed no longer depend
upon him. My factory is far away My in
vention was worth its weight in gold"
HIS eyes EcamCd down upon me us they
dld on That fatetul Sunday. HU took no
into his arms. II came back for y0u my
happiness, my youth Come, teach me
how to laugh again. "
We cried and laughed in one. When he
had told me everything | showed him