The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-08-21

that! You used to be pretty girl, nut
you've cried so much lately that your
tears have washed away your good
looks and my love with it, So, now
that you understand that. perhaps
you'll think different about the baby.
What do you say?' My friend, she was
just struck dumb, she was so stunned
she made out to say: What do you
mean? What about baby?' Well, to
make it short he says, this baby is as
much mine as yours, worse luck, and l
don't mean to have it botherin me in
the future. So I'm goin to take it
away Then she cried, and she beg
ged, and she got out of bed and went
down on her knees and prayed to him.
But he was stone deaf and stony heart
ed. He just wrapped the baby up, and,
pushin her, away from him, he went
out with it in his arms She fell back
in faint on the floor, and when they
found her of course she was worse.
And, what's more, she never got better
again. She died two days later
But she had seen her baby again,
thanks to you, Mrs. Cooper"
Thanks to the Almighty Father,
you mean. Thanks, indeed. / never
comes to Thanksgivin now but of
fer up my praise, rememberin what
happened that day. for who but the
Lord led that beast of man to my
door to lay his bundle where it was
best for it to lie"
No doubt YOU are right" said Mr..
Mitchell You know what the Bible
says, Not a sparrow shall fall.
Indeed | do. and many's the time
4 I've thought of the selfsame words.
But that's the way the child got the
name of Lily, or Lillian, which is the
proper way of putin it. Her own
mother gave it to her.
"Strange! Her mother gave her her
first name and her father gave her her
last" said Mr.. Mitchell.
Yes But that wasn't his fault. And
he didn't give her his own name nei-
ther, which would have been more to
his credit"
s.You mean that his name was not
Vale?"
Indeed it wasn't though didn't
know that myself for years afterward
You see, in the excitement of findin
my friend so low and hearin that the
baby was hars l never thought to men
tion abous the bit of paper with Vale
son it nor to ask her the name Of the
father, though / doubt if she would
have told me. Women are strange that
way. They let men deceive them and
trample them in the dust, and then
: they goes down to their graves keepin
their secrets. 1t amt just. The men
. should suffer, too, l say"
"Did she tell you nothing about the
zfather?"
: ooh, yes, almost everything 'cept his
name. That she never breathed by no
chance. But she told me he was rich
and of good family and all that, and
she said he must have been crazy that
night, cause he never treated her bad
before, and she made all sorts of ex-
cuses for him till you would have
thought he was an angel But, you see,
with her baby back to comfort her and
Knowin she was goin to die. suppose
she found it easy like to forgive him.
And near the last she give me pack
age of letters and her ring-not' a
band ring, but q lovely diamond that
he'd given her-and she told me to
keep the letters and the ring for her
child when she was old enough to I'M
derstand."
.Ah! This is fortunate. Have you
kept the letters?"
SACRED! I've kept both the letters
and the ring. That was a trust from
dyin woman, and couldn't break
that. Why, I've seen the day many q
time when I've wanted bread and
could have had it by putin up the ring
for a little money, but never did.
was that fearful 1 mightn't find the
money to get it out again. Why, sir
not even the love of the drink has
made me part with that diamond"
"You are an honest, good woman
Mrs. Cooper. Have you ever reat
the letters? Do they reveal the man.
sname?''
..As told you before, I didn't fine
cont about the right name for severa
- ySoAaSs duO ny lIleu lue girl WAS kuOWl
as Vale, SO l never changed it. Blu
the letters was from him, and Will
some was only signed with one nam
and some only with initials there wa
one or two had the full name"
And what was that?"
can't rightly tell you, because it,
$50 long since read the letters, and IN,
memory amt what it used to be. Ru
I'll give you the letters and the ring
land you can do what you think is bes
for my Lily
She went to trunk, using key OF
q ring that must have contained tn,
keys of every article of furniture tina
she had ever possessed, and handed t,
Mr.. Mitchel.a packet containing few
letters inffaded envelopes, and also ;
small ring box, within which glittere(
q diamond Of first water, as Mr.. Mitch
lei saw at'asglance.
Before l open these" said Mr.
Mitchell, "there are one or two more
questions thatII would like to ask. II
the first Mace fell me does Iilv ra