Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1899-11-25
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Happy at Last

| =
| said she had "sourcd on the world" and,
| assuredly, Judging from the sharp, bitter
| remarks which often passed her lips, one
| would not imagine that she found the
world full of sweetness and light. The
| KingstOwn people would have opened
| their eyes wide could they have seen the
| bid maid one winter evening, when, hav-
| Ing returned from n walk, she threw her.
| self on her couch and shed flood OF
tears.
Can | never forget him or learn to de-
| spisc the man who spurned my lOveT
she murmurcd. All, Dick, Dick! l new
er will cease to love you
| Her story was one not uncommon In
| New England village life. When prepa-
rationS We're going on for her marriage to
| Richard Waldron, Rebecca's mother, who
| was widow, fell ill. Richard Waldron,
who had been waiting n long time for
Rebccca, insisted upon the marriage be-
| ing performed without delay, for, as their
| new home would be within sight of the
| StOncr place, Rebccca could still be with
| her mother and oversee a nurse. But the
mother sclfishly objected. She knew
| that Rcbccca would not be the same to
| her after marriage. No one else could
nurse her as well, and she wouldn't be in
| luclF way long. one WOulu go EIduly MS
| soon as she was called up higher, etc.
SO Rebecca, sick at heart, but not dar-
ing, raised as she had been, to resist pa
rental authority, offered Dick his free
| dom.
He stormed angrily at first, but. seeing
her pain and distress, at last said to her:
| "Rebccca, you are spelling two lives,
| fear, by your mistaken notion of your
| duty but | must submit. But when you
are free you have only to write to me
for | cannot stay here-and call me back.
| Whenever you send, | will come, for
will never love any woman but you and
| will be faithful to you always"
| All might have gone well had it not
| been that Mrs. Stoncr again selfishly in
| terfered. Rebecca and Dick must not
write to each other. 1t would only keep
| RCbCcca's mind in a tumult, and she
would not stand in their way long. She
| was ready to go to heaven at any time,
she had never harmed living creature.
| she would gladly free them of her pres
encc, and more canting talk like this,
which did nothing to heal Rebecca's sore
heart.
| AS matter of fact, the old lady held on
| to life with a tenacious grasp and lived
five more years of helpless invalidism,
selfish to the last.
| When at last Rebecca was free, she
hesitatcd about recalling Dick, whom she
| still fondly loved. What if he had mar
ried since he had left her? Men were in
constant by nature, she argued. Yet the
remembrance of Dicks face and his
words as he babe her goodby forced her
to believe In his constancy. Another
doubt assailed her. She had changed dur
ing five years attendance in the sick
room and had lost much of her girlish
charm. Perhaps he would not care for
| her
Finally her love conquered, and she
wrote him a letter which would have
brought him, happy, eager lover, to her
side. But in some unaccountable way
the letter was lost In transit. Dick never
received the message calling him back to
Rebecca, and she supposed, as he did not
return, that he spurned the love she Of
fered. Naturally she was almost heart
broken, lost her faith In man and never
wrote again. He, on his part receiving
no word after the death of Mrs. Stoner,
supposed Rebecca's love had cooled and
rallied at the Inconsistency of woman. But
he never wrote, even to upbraid her.
Years passed. and he finally returned to
live in his old home; but. though he and
Rebecca passed each other daily, there
was never speech between them. They
were now middle aged, and each lived
| alone.
One night Rebecca in a restless mood
started ont for n walk She had gone as
far as Dick Waldron's cottage when she
| thought she heard a groan. She stopped
then, with fast beating heart, ran up to
the door and listened. The groan was
repeated, and, hesitating no longer, she
| pushed open the door and entered. AL
most on the threshold she stumbled over
| his PROSTATE form. In moment she
was on her knees and lifted his head
upon her breast.
"Dick, my darling. are you hurt?" she
whispered, passionately kissing his closed
eyes and rubbing his cold hands. Aroused
by her words he struggled to rise, but fell
back. But he knew her. "Ah, Rebecca,
you have been cruel to me-" he murmur-
ed. Then, almost under his breath, he
said:
"Whcn pain and anguish wiring the
brow, Il ministering angel thou"
81 fell and broke my leg and crawled
to the door for help" he began to ex-
plain, but tainted away.
When Richard Waldron recovered con-
seriousness, he found the doctor beside
him instead of Rcbccca. miss Stoner
saved your life, l firmly believe" the doc
tor said.
81 know she did," echoed Dick. But
he meant something the doctor could not
understand.
The next day Rcbccca received an ur-
gent note from her old lover begging her
| to come to him. She could not refuse,
for, rs she told herself, he might be dy-
ing. When she saw him, pale and suf-
fcring, but smiling gladly because she
had come, the sharp eyes softened and
the hard lines about her mouth seemed
to disappear, and her heart beat with a
wild hope that after all new day of
happiness was about to dawn for her.
All that had seemed so incOmprehenSi-
Bile to them was now cleared up, although
the missing letter was never traced, and
the village people were shocked the next
day 10 learn that Rebecca had married
Dick Waldron when he was sick in bed.
"Took advantage of his helpless situa-
ton" some openly declared, Others de-
ridcd, but some sympathized.
Rcbccca heard this statement, but she
did not care. Dick had begged her to
marry him Mt once, and she felt she
owed it to him-as well as to herself-tO
comply. and so she nursed him back to
life and the happiness they came so near
missing, and it was still sweet, although
I It came so late.-Chicago Times Herald.
Not So Slow.
"You villagers seem to be a rather de-
| liberate lot of people"