Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1904-06-02

with a quiet smile, that she felt no
fatigue"
Il do not know how it is" said the
boy to her one day, In his faint voice,
but when am resting in your arms,
! always think of my mother"
perhaps 1t is because love you,
and she did the same" replied Mrs
Rivers, kissing unheeded the white,
shadowy face.
"You love me?" said the boy Then
| ! have the love of two good women.
You do remind me of my mother
Your hands are like hers; they have
the same touch. She used to lay
them on my head as you do. They are
just as white and soft II | die, let
those hands clasp me in death, be.
cause they are SO like my mothers"
Il suppose all sick people have
fancies," continued the boy. do you
know, Mrs. Rivers, think sometimes
that If my own beautiful mother were
alive to nurse me, should get we'll"
She could only answer with her
tears; the eyes shining with fever
were fixed full and bright upon her.
"There Il something in your face
slightly like my mothers, too" he CON
tiuued, only her hair was like a
golden cloud, and yours Is dark. When
was quite little | used to sit upon
her knee, and she would veil me with
her long hair. She was so sweet-my
mother!"
The tender arms clung to him with
conclusive cry. She held him to her
heart All, Heaven. but 1t was hard
'If I die" continued the boy, II
am quite sure that | shall see my
mother first. She loved me so; you
could not think how she loved me.
When die, she will stand here by my
side, with shining face and golden
hair, and light all round her, light
4 like that upon the picture, where the
4 head Is crowned with thorns. She will
hold our her arms to me, and we shall
go higher and higher up, through the
clouds and the stars, until we reach
| heaven"
She laid him down upon the pillow.
Not to have saved her life and his
could she have borne 1t any longer
She laid him down and turned away.
| 1t seemed to her in that hour that
her heart must break-that she could
no longer live and bear the weight OF
/ her secret While she stood hesitat-
! ing where to go, what to do. Lord
| Selwyn entered to see how Rupert
was going on.
mo change-still no change" only
the white face growing more shadowy;
the eyes, so like Violante's, growing
larger and brighter The thought of
i his mother seemed to haunt the child;
for, when Lord Selwyn knelt down and
asked him IL he felt any better Rupert
whispered to him with his poor, gasp.
ing breath:
Papa, | do believe | should get well
/ ii my own mamma were here"
She saw how he started at the words
MY darling boy" he SAID that
cannot be; your mother is where the
wicked cease from troubling and the
weary are at rest Every one is
kind to you"
Eyes" he said, family; they are all
kind But | want my mothers lips
and hands. | am sure | should go TO
sleep il she were here"
And the pale.faced watcher heard
him whispering:
My punishment is greater than
can bear Oh Violante, you are in.
4 deed avenged"
/ She stood quite silent; the power
of speech and of movement seemed to
have left her. Who can describe the
longing to fling herself down by her
child's side and cry to him that she was
his mother, and had come to save him?
In after years she never knew what
restrained her. Perhaps the few
words that followed restored her to
calm.
Papa she heard the boy say look
at Mrs, Rivers. DO you not think
she is like my own mammal"
But his lordship did not even look at
her.
NO NJ Sdlu, Suul HdHluld my
hoy. was beautiful as an angel She
had the sweetest fact | ever saw-the
dearest and the truest | have seen
NO one like her since she died, Rupert"
And then, lest she should hetray her
self lest the longing impulse tortur-
ing her should be too strCag she
quilted the room silently Neither
father nor son knew that she had gone
II was bitterly hard II, when the
temptation came to her first in the lit
tie village of Campo. Il she had fore
seen this, she would never have fallen
into the error that had led to such fear
Cul complications.
II she had sinned she said to herself
she had indeed suffered Was ever
fate SO hard9 Her dying child called
for her, yet she could not comfort him;
her husband was in mortal anguish
yet she could not help him People
told her she was doing too much,