The Jersey City news., 1902-08-28

p1OfiQC 1Ol Oi ddC1dduSlJ. l4O Ado dll
| excellent position =
| II den t. couldn t-never could love
himl' Mary burst out
"Perhaps not; but you can respect
| himl'' cried the mother.
81 don't know that I should even do
that much, Mary returned. Then she
suddenly clasped her hands together and
looked appealingly at the excited wom-
an opposite to her. "Oh, motherl Don't
you understand why / cannot do this
thing? Have you been SO unhappy in
our little home that you want to sell
me to the first bidder2 I've been SO
contented in working for you. Has it
all been for nothingY'
ssWorking for mel" Mrs. Hamilton
exclaimed Indignantly. Working for
me, indeed! And what have done all
these yearsa Look at my hands. work
ed to the bone. cooking, scrubbing,
sewing, contriving, making my own
bits of clothes and never a place to
show them in in this desolate wilder
ness Of bricks and mortar No one to
associate with, living pensioner on
your bounty, without pleasures, inter
ests or change of any kind And then
to have your work thrown in my teeth,
indeed r.
"Oh. motherl"
'sIt's all very well to say, tOh, moth
err But I'm speaking the truth. All
these years have struggled and striven
for you. And now, when you have
chance of letting me end my days in
peace, you turn up your nose at man
whom any woman might be honored by
marrying. ?
| 1sYou married for love yourself, :
! said Mary in very low voice.
Mrs. Hamilton caught up the words
and echoed them in the high pitched,
/ Guerulous accents of thoroughly selfish
and superficial person. married for
T love-" she echoed shrilly. Yes, and
what did love ever do for me? mar
ried for love, married on $50 a year.
drudged on it, slaved, toiled almost
starved on it. Don't talk to me about
marrying for love- Mary in a cot
/ tage is will-o' -the-wisp that leads
many people astray, and your poor ia
/ ther and | were among the number.
Was it natural right, proper, that he
should die at 35, a wornout, prema-
turely old man, leaving me helpless,
homeless, penniless, to struggle on as
best could, to drag you up as best |
could? That was what marrying for
love did for him. poor fellow He never
would own it, He died with his hand in
! mine-his last words The Lord will
provide now when provision has
come it is only to be rejected
Mary Hamilton sat still while this
inconsequent torrent of recollection and
vexation poured from her mothers lips.
At the vision of the red faced burly,
bluff sailor being regarded as provision
sent by the Lord to take her from an
independent life of honest work to cne
of degrading idleness, she almost laugh
ed aloud, but she resolutely choked
down the inclination and spoke quietly
and reasonably to the excited woman
on the other side of the table.
ssDear mother" she said gently, /
'scannot you for my sake endure this
life little longer? After midsummer
we shall be better off Even now we
can well afford to have woman in to
do the rougher work-it has always
/ been for you to decide how the money
shall be spent For my sake, deara'
ssAnd why not for miner asked the
mother fercely. Listen! He has laid
all his plans before me. You will have
charming house and garden, couple
of good maidservants, handsome
housekeeping purse, an ample allowance
for your dress and pocket money. There
will always be room for mel am to
live with you-to give the benefit of
my advice, my experience in house
keeping and all such things. You will
have as much society as you care to
take-there will be no anxiety, no
thinking about the rent or how to get
seven days dinners out of certain
sum-. You will have
ssOh, don't, mother; please don tI'
the girl cried. 81 know all these things
are temptation to you, poor dear. 1t
must be to you just like opening a
prison door and seeing a lovely view
over which you may walk forever on
one condition. But the condition, dear
mother, the conditionl Think 1T is
that Of reaching the fair pathways over
your own, child's body. Oh, worse,
worse over her very soul It means
the sacrifice of all that is best in your
child's life-the giving up of her free-
dom, ner honor, her ambition, of all her
better self. Don't ask me, to do it, dear.
Pray, pray don't. Twill work oh, how
I will work How thankfully and grate-
fully will bring you every farthing
that make, so that you may be more
content. less straitened. Mother, dear,
speak for. mel For my father $ sake, say
that you won't urge this upon me.
But the words of appeal, glowing.
passionate. heartful as they were,
failed to touch the shallow nature OF
the woman who in her day had married
for love and had found the dinner Of
herbs turn to dust and ashes between
her teeth. She rested her head detected. /
" upon her hand and gave several long
drawn ,sighs Of misery, calculated tc
NOV, the heart4of q stone.
.sI,ear motherl murmured Mary
from the other side Of the table.