The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1899-12-30
from it a package sealed and directed,
which she handed to Mrs Morton.

God what Is this
And turning her wild eyes from the let
ter to the girl and back again to the letter,
the astonished woman read again that plain
and clear direction, written in the hand
she herself had guided in its first attempts
of penmanship.
''Mr and Mrs. John Morton,
Lowell,
Massachusetts,, U. S. A. "
''What is the matter? Give me my
letter, lady, give me. 1t is for me, l
will keep it; give-give, | say, or | will
be wild r.
But, unheeding the wild words and
tones, the half frantic gestures of the
Italian, Mrs Morten stood staring at the
letter for a moment, then, clasping it to
her heart, with a wild moan, burst into
tears.
The outer door opened, and the steady
step of John Morton came through the
hall and entered the room. To him flew
the child, already trusting him to defend
her even against his wife,
''The signora has my letter; she cries
and viii not speak; she holds it close, and
it is mine; it is my Art ur's 5, and it is for
me 10 show them who am, and my baby,
too. want my letter, and to 90. -
'What is it, Mary? What does she
mean?' exclaimed Mr. Morton, bewilder-
ed; and placing the letter in his hand, his
wife fell upon his neck, aud the long
frozen fountains of the heart broke up in
a passion Of tears.
Arthur handwriting-Arthur's wife
aud little child, sobbed she, and Mr.
Morton. hastily tearing open the letter,
read the irst lines only
Beloved father, and oh, so beloved
mother. II am dying in this far land, and
| have sinned almost beyond forgiveness,
for | have cherished anger against you
both, especially against my beloved mother,
and have purposely concealed myself
from you. am dying, and cannot
come, as long to do. to kneel at your
feet; but | send my wife, my poor Juliette
for | married her, dear nother-and
my boy, named John for ms father sake;
| send them to plead for ne Receive
them, dear parents, for my sake-
The father read no more, but laying the
letter down, he reverently raised his face
and said, in tones of solemn JOY
My God, | thank Thee once again
that | am not this day murderer :
Then he took poor frightened Juliette
in his arms and kissed her tenderly, saying:
BE at rest; my child. You are safe,
and at home for this is the mother and
this Is the father to whom Arthur sent
you, and Providence itself guided you to
oar dOor-yes, and opened it in time to
save your body aud my ssul from destruc-
ton God be thanked, again and again
Then followed long explanations-a little
confused at first, but at last made clear
and Arthur Morton parents recalled the
story Of his youth and brilliant promises
and remembered, although they did not say
it to the child who was his widow, the bit
terness Of their anger and disappointment
when he, Just returned from the course Of
foreign travel which had completed hi.
education refused the advantageous mar
rage proposed for him, and stated his re-
solve to return TO Italy and marry an
Italian peasant girl whom be had there met
and loved, and promised to make his wife.
A bitter quarrel eusued between parent,
and child, until at length the mother, ear
ried away by temper whose force snd
reeklessness was the bane of her better
nature, rose and cursed her son, and drove
him forth from her presence and from hi.
father house, until he should forsake hi
disobediehee aud return humbly craving
pardoa.
The father, oyerpowered by the vehe
ment viii of the wife, whom he adored-
and. truth to tell, little feared-stood
silent; and his son-inheritor of hi
mothers temper as well as Of her dark
beauty, looked from one to the other, ant
slowly said:
~ am going; aud | take God for my
witness that viii never return to YOU
alive
He was gone; and when the next morn
ing his father silently sought him up anC
down the city, he was nowhere to be seer
or heard Of; nor had any whisper Of new
ever fioated back, in all those far years, Il
the yearning hearts whose only life has
come to be rsmorse, longing, and ieverisi
desire for some certainty even Of death
By slow degrees, also, an estrangemeut
had grown up between husband aud wifi,
aud this chiefly on the part of the man
who had almost adored his beautiful wifi,
until that bitter night had showed her (,
him in the character Of the cursor and des
troyer Of the son whose life and prosperity
had been his ehiefest hope in life. Will
much Of the spirit of the first man, who's,
excuse for sin was, The woman tempted
me, this man had come 20 forgetting hii
own share in the quarrel between son anC
parents, and to think of his wife as thC
sole cause of the separation which was 81
grieyous pain to him; and she, devoureC
by remorse for her own sin, hardly fell
conscious that she was made to bear the
added weight Of another trausgression, or,
if she became sometimes sensible of thi'
injustice, accepted it uneomplainingly, a'
part of her just punishment.
And now came the long letter, supple
mented by Juliette's broken explanation:
to tell how the young man, returning and
marrying the poor little peasant, as he had
promised, had then tried to support her,
sometimes by acting as teacher, sometime:
by helping the artists-who all knew and
liked HMM the more mechanical por-
tions of their work, and sometimes in other
ways-succeeding, with all, not only in
keeping his little family, but in slowly ae-
eummulating a fund which was to take
them all to America and back; for deep
down in the young husband heart burned
a bitter remorse of which he never spoke
a tender longing for his mothers kiss, his
fathers blessing-which the caresses of
his fair young wife of his noble boy could
never for moment STILL
And at last, when the goal was almost
reached, when the little hoard was almost
sufficient, the God whom he had summon
ed as a witness of his wild words refused
to allow him to retract them, and took him
home, indeed, but not to the earthly home
he had sworn never more to enter.
And 60 oil ,ras avDlainad Of laSt an,l