Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1904-10-07
CHAPTER XXI.

Thus 1t came to pass that I, Hugh
Trelawney, man of the people, became
the accepted lover Of Madeline Graham.
Looking back at it all now, after lapse
of SO many years, it still seems an in
credible thing. unreal and visionary; but
raising my eyes from the paper whereon
these lines are written, see beside me
the sweet assurance that it is true
Love Is by nature selfish; and in the
first flush Of my new joy 1 almost forgot
the sorrow in my poor home. But when
| quilted my darling, and Joined the little
procession which followed my poor uncle
across the heath, reproached myself for
having felt SO happy.
The miners had procured rude
stretcher, often used when accidents took
place in the mine, and the dead body was
laid upon it, with a cloak thrown lightly
over it, to hide the piteous dis6gured
face set in its sad gray hair; but one
hand hung uncovered, and this hand An
ME held, as we walked slowly homeward,
four of the men carrying the load l fol-
lowed, helping my aunt, who was simply
heartbroken.
God has taken him." I said, solemn
ly. He is happy now.'
"Ay, happy wi God" sobbed my aunt
Forty year we ha' dwelt together j. this
house, and he ne'er gave me angry look
or Grass word. He be GAVIN, where III
soon gang too. Wait for me, my bonnie
man, wait for me-wait for her that
loves ZEE, and is coming to zee soon!"
Why should l linger over this scene
OF sorrow, why should I turn to other
scenes which followed it? Time and
Death have healed all those wounds; to
speak Of them Is to open them again.
| =.
A year after the flooding of the mine
and the death of John Pendragon, mar
ried Madeline Graham. The ceremony
took place quietly in London, whittier
we had gone together; and when it was
over we spent brief honeymoon abroad.
One spring morning, in a hotel by the
lake Of Geneva, 1 read in the paper an
announcement that filled my heart with
| surprise and pain. 1t was an advertise
ment Of the approaching sale by auction
of Redruth House, st. Gurlott's, Corn
wall
| A short time before this the mining
company had passed into liquidation,
and L knew that George Redruth was a
ruined man. Little or no communication
had passed between the cousins, but.
when the crash came, Madeline, with INV
full consent and sympathy, had written
to her aunt, offering her a considerable
portion Of her fortune for George Red
ruth's use and benefit. This offer had
been refused. The next thing we had
heard was that mother and son were
living together in London, and closely
following on that had come the news of
the mothers death, an event which filed
my darling with no little distress. To the
last Mrs. Redruth had refused to forgive
her niece, whom she unjustly held re-
sponsible for all the misfortunes which
had fallen upon her son.
l showed my darling the newspaper,
and we forthwith determined to journey
down to Cornwall. Thus 1t happened
that, about a week later, we arrived In
st. Gurlott's, where we found Annie and
my aunt ready to receive us at the old
cottage. l then ascertained that George
Redruth had left England for America,
where he intended to remain. Annie, who
was my informant. told me that before
leaving the village he had sought her out
to say farewell.
"And. oh, Hugh" she cried, 'he asked
for my forgiveness, and forgave him,