The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-04
Stop drinking
cOlOred tea. IrY
Schilling's Best

land has just been in with her five
weeks old infant. His father Is away,
too, and has not yet seen his boy. And
| this is their first, after ten years of
marriage.
The next letter opens with a cry:
Philemon, Come to me, Philemon, I
have done what l threatened; have
| made the sacrifice. Our child is no
longer ours, and now perhaps he may
live. But, oh, my breaking heart, my
empty arms. Help me to bear my des-
olation, for il is for life. We will never
have another child. And where is it?
All that is the wonder of it. Near you,
Philemon, yet not too near. Mrs. Suth-
erland has it, and you may have seen
its little face through the car window
| If you were in the station last night
! when the express passed through 10
Sutherlandtown. All, but she has her
burden TO BEAR too. An awful, secret
burden like my own, only she will have
the child-for. Philemon, she has taken
it in lieu of her own, which died last
night in my sight And Mr.. Sutherland
does not know what she has done, and
never will, if you keep the secret as L
shall, for the sake of the life our little
innocent has thus won.
What do I mean and how was it all?
Philemon, it was Gods work, all but
the deception, and that is for the good
of ALL and to save four broken hearts.
Listen: Yesterday. only yesterday-it
seems a month ago-Mrs. Sutherland
came again to see me with her baby in
her arms. The baby was looking well.
and she was the hapDiest of women.
for the one wish of her heart had been
fulfilled, and she was soon going to
have the bliss of showing the child to
his father. My own babe was on the
bed asleep. and /, who am feeling Won
derfully strong, was sitting up in
little chair as far away from him as
possible. not out of hatred or indiffer
ence.. oh, no, but because he seemed
to rest better when left entirely by
himself and not under the hungry look
of my eyes. Mrs Sutherland went
over to look at it. "Oh. he is fair,
like my baby" she said, land almost
as sturdy. though mine is
month older" And she stopped down
and kissed him. Philemon, he smiled
for her, though he never had for me. I
saw it with a greedy longing that al
most made me cry out. Then l turned
to her, and we talked. OF what? L
cannot remember now. At home we
had never been intimate friends. She
is from Sutherlandtown. and | am
from Portchester. and the distance of
nine miles is enough to estrange peo-
pie. But here, each with a husband
absent and a darling infant sleeping
under her eyes, interests we have never
thought identical drew us to each other.
and we chatted with ever increasing
pleasure. Suddenly Mrs. Sutherland
jumped up in terrible fright. The in
FAINT she had been rocking on her breast
was blue, the next minute ii shuddered,
the next it lay in her arms dead.
/ hear the Shrek yet with which she
fell with it still in her arms to the
floor. Fortunately. no other Jars were
open to her cry. l alone saw her
misery. 1 alone heard her tale. The
child had been poisoned, Philemon,
poisoned by her. She had mistaken a
cup of medicine for cup of water and
had given the child a few drops in a
spoon just before setting out from her
hotel. She had not known at the time
what she had done. but now she re-
membered that the fatal cup was just
like the other and that the two stood
very near together. o. her innocent
child. and o, her husband 1t seemed
as if the latter thought would drive her
wild. He has so wished for a child"
she moaned. I'VE have been married
ten years and this baby seemed to have
been sent from heaven. He will curse
me, he will hate me, he will never be
able after this to bear me in his sight"
This was not true of Mr.. Sutherland,
but il was useless to argue with her.
Instead of attempting it / took another
way to stop her rawlings. Lifting the
child out of her hands, / first listened
at its heart and then finding it was
really dead-I have seen too many life
less children not to know, began slow
" to undress it. What are you do
ing?" she cried. Mrs Webb, Mrs.
Webb, What are you doingr' For re-
ply l pointed to the bed where two
little arms could be seen feebly fiutter-
ing. You shall have my child"
whispered. Il have carried too many
babies to the tomb to dare risk bring
ing up another And catching her
poor wandering spirit with my eye, I
held her while 1 told her my story,
Philemon. / saved that woman. Be
fore / had finished speaking / saw the
reason return to her eye and the dawn
ing of pitiful hope in her passion
drawn face She looked at the child in
NV arms. and then she looked at the
one in the bed, and the long-drawn
sigh with which she finally bent down
and wept over our darling told me that
nv cause won. The rest was easy.
When the clothes of the two children
had been exchanged, she took our baby
in her arms and prepared to leave.
| Then | stopped her. Swear, | cried,
holding her by the arm and lifting my
other hand to heaven. swear, you
will be a mother to this child, Swear
YOU will love it as your own and rear
II in the path of truth and righteous
nessr' The convulsive clasp with
which she drew the baby to her breast
told me more plainly than her shudder-
ing II swearr' that her heart had al
ready opened to it. | dropped her arm
| and covered my face with my hands. I
| could not see my darling go:
il was worse than death. 20, God,
save him." | groaned. God make
him an honor" But here she caught
me by the arm; her clutch was fren-
lied her teeth were chattering. Swear
| in your turn" she gasped, swear that
! if / do a mothers duty by this boy.
that YOU will keep my secret and never,
q. never reveal to my husband, to the
bow or to the world that you have any
| claims upon him. 1t was like tearing
| the heart from my breast with my own
! hand but swore. Philemon, and
| she in her turn drew back. But sud-
denly she faced me again, terror
and doubt in all her looks. Your hus-
/ band" she whispered. Can you keep
such a secret from him? You will
breathe it in your dreams" 81 shall tell
him." | answered Tell HIM" The
hair seemed to rise on her head and
she shook so that / feared she would
drop the babe BE careful | cried.
See. you brighten the babe. My hus-
band has but one heart with me. What
/ do he will subscribe to. Do not fear
Philemon. So promised in your name.
| Gradually she grew calmer. When I
saw she was steady again, motioned
her to go. even my more than mortal
! strength was failing and the hahv-