The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1905-12-21
One Christmas Eve
Floyd X. Reyes.

"Arelwe near the church. ChsistIeg''
Yes. Eran'pa.. l can see the light In
the high round window"
"ISfear you are getting cold. Christie"
y mo. gran'Pa. ms shawl Is well over
my head"
/. but your hands Eel, like Ice when yot
turned my COLLAR" Ire,
"If you arc weary. graifpa. We will thin
back" .gA,1,s .
=, ''My strong limbs are not weary. and I
must not be selfish. You would hear tho
sweet singer who will be at 81. Pauls
this Christ mas eve
: mot II you would Mat W aga,a watch
by the concert .hHtl." ~
i NY heart turns toward tic couccrt
.hafl. for she might pass that way" 'a's'
IN 'Afy mother. gran'paT". "a: -.
y why. your mother. chrlstie?'''' y
L Because. grar.fU. you: haAgi .fyr the
whole year been watching there.
/. "a year tbs true:'but why think sn sour
I. mother, child?. You have no mother"
Say noS sd. gran'pa. I have a sFwcct.
= beautiful MOTHER.
"Better say you had once a mother. bu;
you have no mother now"
, rs she dead. gran'pag'
Dead 10 you and ~ me. child"
I AN u was ~ many years ago sh"
went away. grah'rn. why did she gnr
And why for TIE last year you havy
/, watched for her by the concert hall9'
/ Best you do not know. child"
} 1T am. no longer a child. gran'pa: I am
J taller ,hfh'yohr shoulder; / was 10 yes
I terd2y." 80
H"sb you Are. christie: 70 you are. Have
a.earriagrs t~susncnccd coming"
u see " Or three. but .thr syow $50
fast falling. hdrsarc M, in yrIri." .
"Ther turn under ,hgj Sh liter or =. tree
ana l.wIh ten ybu that which ] mink you
now should mON.''-- o..
! Here IL n tree, gran'rn. We can wal,
a few hhinhhfsS tiirh when. the people have
entered eve may creep. inside, INT base,
ment doors nor' JcuR. the jan't6i. Is our
good 'fricnd.I.
"A true fri.hd tothc blind and the IA.
'hsTiess' Clsfsuc'i.i''' -.
True and generous. gran'ba."
You asked OF. thy roihrv. child :
VIII tell you nil while We wait. Twenty
years ago left Sweden for America. Your
mother was then tukt your age. our nrst
year in America WAS filled with hcartache
because hmorgst strangers In a st-sngr.
land We all The time lougcd for tho old
nome across the seas 50 lar Away. Then
4 played the violin NJ n teacher. Your
mother also played and far better mar I
VINO had been her ica-hcrs'She could SO
higher only she could havc oppnrtunIty
such as Il found In the large city. We
came 10. New York. To the home OF a
lady where ! Instructed on the violin her
SON a youth aiu.oft dscc. bot false Of
hcart. your mother came one dny. lie
saw her. WAS infatuated and l, M, cnd
planned an Clopcment. My lille girl be-
li"vcd hts Wild professions OF IindyIng
love and left me for him In a year she
returned 10 her old father broken hearted.
bringing you with her. She found an old
blipd Fiddler instead 81 the violin in
RNHM go =.
had lcft me blind. she only once smoke
or the man who had wronEcd her. because
the hrst mrUtion OF his name made me
crazy with Hgcr ut memory OF the
wrong - had done my. ta.Id. Together
We Eyed, She played and SANG az the mu-
scum D ! remained AT home with YOU.
soF Two HtarS "" wer".happy. Then one
Jay sHr went out 60 sing and never re-
turued."
@ on. Rran'pa' She was taken M.
Mas. NO, my child She had cruelty
deserted you n her old blind father"
Not my mother. Eran'pa. She could
not be SO cruel. Why In my drsama. 1
kind"
nut she left this lcttir. which Jean.
he %Janitur. read for me-
a letter. gran'paF You never showed
u TO me. Where u II. the last letter
from my mothcrT'
AH tHtar ycs~* " fns been under the
10th in the back Of The violin box
oh, Erau'pa. give IL Co me quick"
Not 50 hasty, chl:d. Youth Is too Inn
'ctuous. Here b. the letter. Faded. I
yccn. and quite taltercd by age"
mo. u has been carefully preserved.
My, gran'pn! IL In not IA the handwrlt-
ng Of ms mother such as Is In the fam
y uible."
Not the writing OF ny mother. child;
ny ! never thought"
No. IL II lhp~sprnw wiling hand Of a man
- wrote "ith , G left hand like Pastor
.dSun-"
The mau with whom she first went
yay wrote uluz. What does Il mean?