The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1906-12-13
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By EDITH AUSTIN
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By EDITH AUSTIN



father died, hence my recollections of
him are quite distinct and mature.
! was orphaned in my infancy and
from my earliest recollection my
grandfather had made me his con
slant companion. He was an timer
ant preacher of western England-hfa
circuit calling him from walled Ches-
ter on the west to the novels OF the
charcoal burners in mid-England;
and during the years Of his itinerancy
l followed him in the pursuance OF
his duties through sun and rain and
winter gale.
l repeat this In order to explain
Just how | regarded 1y grandfather
In the light OF a certain hcrcditamcnt
he left TIC mo, his diary, but which
he expressly forbade me opening
until l had passed my twenty-fifth
birthday.
There were many things I witnessed
and heard in my boyhood for which
could find no explanation until /
broke the seal of this book wherein
the magnitude of my grandfather's
very soul stands revealed. The first
entry in the diary is us follows:
-
My beloved grandson, in this
diary are recorded events writ down
for thy especial edification. without
comment leave It with thee to judge
whether have been the victim of a
terrible mind disorder. or whether ]
am gifted with perceptions beyond
the usual ken of man.
It was in the first years of my
study of the occult. long before thou
hadst come to gladden. thy grand
sire's heart that l was iourneying to
Blore Health. When night came down
fate led me to the door of n dcsolate
Inn slowly dropping to ruin in the
perpetual shadow of a grove OF oak.
Tho aged host greeted me most
cordially. for at his inn guests were
not frequent and therefore the more
welcome. In the parlor back of the
denuded bar I found his old wife and
his daughter, the only other persons
about the place, moving silently here
and there preparing the evening meal.
The daughter was young and tall and
straight and strong and her hands
were coarscned with outdoor work
for, 1t appeared, she was now the
burdcn-bearer of the family
After the supper was cleared away,
the aged parents entertained me with
"reminiscences of a past glory, of
when the inn was new and the great
tide of travel used to pass it's door
Then in saddened tones they told of
how the opening of a new thorough
fare had diverted custom to other hos
telries. So when the daughter was
married to n well-to-do young farmer
they closed the inn. pcrforce. and
went and made their. home with her
But one Inflated day the newly
welded husband rode away to a
rphh
returned.
After due time the farm and tene
ments passed into the poss ession OF
the next heir-atlaw. Il cousin OF tho
husband: and the old couple with
their dowerless daughter returned t.
the deserted inn. now racked ana
wrecked with storm and long neglect
Thou Canst sec the gables OF the
farm over yon above the trees" salG
the mother. land we might be livint,
there now mid comfort and plenty If
Lisbeth would only hcarkcn to us and
wed with Carver ballard. the cousir.
who succeeded to the estate Ee Is
right honorable ycoman. and hath
favored Lisbeth since they were chill
dren in pinafores. But Lisbeth hath
a base distrust of him. and treats him
coldly when he would come to WOO
anu ne IiltlI Wiling 10 90 Tor her own
parents
Then Lisheth. lifting her sorrow
laden eyes to portrait of her hus-
band on the wall. said: Mother.
thou need'St not Grieve for the rich
living at the farm beyond WhItsun-
tide That day ! promise to give nv
hand to Carver ballard an he still de
sircs it"
Il would not coerce thee. daughter.
against thy own good" Quavered the
mother in almost childish glee
Then gloomy silence fell like a
funeral pail over us. and we sat about
the fire absorbed in our own thoughts
until there came the sound of a quick
step up Tie pathway and an i'm
pcrative knock at the door. and Gar
yer ballard entered. He was darl,
hardfeatured, harsil-spoken man
whom any tender young woman Nigh,
well have summed.
l could not understand it then bnf
] intuitively felt that he was a man
with guilty conscience. And in the
light of the recent narration. fen
to comparing his features with those
of the picture hanging above his head
AS my gaze wandered from one to
the other there came to me a sense Of
a presence in the room. 4 conviction, 7