The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-12-22
One Christmas Eve
I Floyd X. Royce.

Are we near the church. Christie?"
Eyes. ~gran'pa. 1 can see the light in
the high round window"
II fear you are getting cold, Chris lie
mo. gran'pa, my shawl is we'll over
my head"
"But yoIr hands felt like ice when you
turned my COLLAR"
1T you are weary, gran'pa. we will turn
back"
my strong limbs are not weary. and
must not be selfish. You wonld hear the
sweet singer who will be at St. Paul's
this Christ mas eve"
Not IL you would that we agaia watch
by the concert hall"
my heart turns toward the concert
hall, for she might pass that way"
MY mother, gran'pa?"
why, your mother, Christie?"
Because, gran'pa, You have for the
whole year been watching there"
"A year tits true; but why think of your
mother. child? You have no mother"
Say not SO, gran'pa. 1 have a sweet.
beautiful mother"
Better say you had once a mother. but
you have no mother now"
rs she dead. gran'pa?"
Dead to you and to me, child"
AND 1t was so many wears ago she
went away, gran'pa. Why did she go?
AAAA@A ~ tlG luSI wear Won have.
watched for her by the concert ha1lo"
Best you do not know. child"
y am no longer a child. ran'ra I am
taller thar your shoulder; | was 16 yes
terday."
SO you are, Christie; so you are. Have
the carriages commenced coming?"
II see two or three, but the snow 20 60
1ast railing, more are not in sight,,
Then turn under the shelter of a free
1 Will tell you that which | think v,,,,
now should Know
Here Is a tree. gran'pa. We can wait
rev minutes, then when the people nave
entered we may creep inside tht base
good friend.''
a true friend to the blind and the IA
therless, Christie"
True and generous. gran,pan
You asked of thy mother. child.
WI, tell you all while we wait. Twenty
years g 1 leftSweden for America. Your
mother was then just your age Onr Grst
year i'm America was filled With ,aa rtan ~
because amongst strangers in a STRANGE
iand we all the time longed for the old
nome across the seas SO far away Then
! piayed the violin as a teacher. Yonr
molner also played and far better than 7
Who had been her teacher. She could 90
s.sIler ~ only she could have opportunity
SUCH as is found in the large CITY We
came to New York. To the home ar a
4ady where l Instructed on the violin her
son. a youth fair Of face. bur false of
heart, your mother came one day. He
sa" her, was infatuated and in the end
Planned an elopement. My little girl he
ileved his Wild professions of undying
I've ana iert me for him. In a year she
returned to her old father broken hearted
bringing you with her. She found an old
blind fiddler instead of the violin in
structor. A sickness following her fight
mad left me blind. She only once smoke
or the man who had wronged her. because
me iirst mention of his name made me
crazy with anger at memory ~ the
wrong he had done my child. Together
we lived. She played and sang at the mu-
scum ana L remained at home with YOU.
FER two years we were happy. Then one
Gay she went out to sing and never re-
turned"
on. gran'pat She was taken ill?"
Alas, no, my child She had cruelty
deserted YOU and her old blind father"
Not my mother, ~gran'pa. She could
not be so cruel. Why in my dreams I
still see her; gentle. loving, and oh. so
kind
But she left this letter, which Jean,
the %janitor, read for me-"
"A letter, gran'pa? You never showed
it to me. Where is 1t. the last letter
from my mother?"
All these years 1t has been under the
cloth in the back Of the violin boy"
20 gran'pa. give it to me quick!"
Not so hasty. child. Youth is too Inn
petuous. Here is the letter. Faded. I
ween. and quite tattered by age"
NO. 1t has been carefully preserved.
Why, %gran'pa! 1t is not in the handwrit-
ing Of my mother such as is in the fam
lily nible.''
Not the writing of thy mother. child:
why 1 never thought"
No. it is the sprawling hand Of q mar;
hudson
THE man with whom she f1r.t went
away wrote thus. What does It mean?