Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-09-06

, len me for my rash and unhappy mar
, riage To your care, then, 1 commi
t my little Esther. God grant that he1
fate may be happier than mine!
have no words to tell you what have
, suffered. There is a man on board this
, ship-the second officer, I think they
call him--who has been very kind tc
|, us on the voyage. If l die before we
reach land I shall leave Esther anC
this letter in his keeping. Oh, be
; good, for my sake, to the child! Some
times l think l am going mad, such
strange things come into my head. such
strange sights pass before my eyes:
If can but reach you, my dear broth
er, | feel assured-for do l not know
your noble art?-that you, at least
will give me a kind welcome. You will
not reproach"-
There the letter ended in an unintel-
Iligible scrawl. Something worse than
death was creeping, even then, on the
hapless writer-the long black nigh,
Iof madness, in which child and broth
er, and memory and affection, were all
lost for ever. The other things which
the box contained were a few feminine
Inicknacks, an embroidered handker-
chief and a wedding ring, engraved
with the initials of Gustave Laurent
land Lillian Lispenard, and the date OF
their hasty and ill-starred marriage.
That's ALL" said Aunt Deb. Now
you know everything-Esther knows
Everything! Father Joe and l agreed
to keep these things, and IL any hue
and cry was made for the child wed
give her up and the trinkets with her;
but IL not we'd go on concealing the
whole matter as long as we lived. we
never heard the names Of Laurent OF
lI.ispenard from that day to this, and
what call had we to go searching after
lsuch folks? Essie's own mother left
Iher to Father Joe, and he took care OF
her with Jim's money, and that's all
there Is about It, When I heard Jim
was dead l meant not to say a word
to Essie till my last hour struck; then
lif I'd had breath enough left I'd told
her the whole story"
Aunt Deb fell back exhausted in her
chair
Lispenard turned to Esther
DO you understand all this?" he
said
"Imperfectly," she answered.
"You are the daughter Of my sister
Lillian and for two years have been
searching everywhere for YOU Both
your father and mother died In my
arms. and both talked Of you with
their latest breath. 1t was your father
who told me of your birth. and Of the
ship in which my poor mad Lillian sail
ed to America; but Of the officers and
crew Of the Concordia Tempest could
not find single man living, and all
my efforts to track you from that ves-
sci were in vain. Esther you are not
the child Of Gilbert wye, or the sister
of Mignon. You are my niece, and,
with a smile of great tenderness
breaking over his grave, powerful face,
"for long years 1 have kept intact
your mothers half of the Lispenard
fortune, to present, as her birthright'
to your mothers daughter"
|
They sat talking together far into
the night.
The burden Of sorrow and disgrace
which the two girls had thought to
bear together now rested alone on Mig
mons shoulders. But she, sheltered in
her husbands great love, could rejoice
unselfshly that Esther, at least, had
escaped from under the shadow.
Now what is to become Of me?'
groaned Aunt Deb.
Esther put her arms around the old
woman and kissed her affectionately.
whittier l CO. Aunt Deb, you shall
go, and where abide, you shall abide!
You are old and feeble and l am the
Esther who grew up by your side at
Porgy Rock, among the storms and
seagulls. We will forget everything
but these two facts"
Abel Lispenard nodded approval to
his niece. Both were more than ready
to forgive any sin that Aunt Deb had
committed. Mignon, fearful yet smil-
ing embraced Esther and said, quietly:
1--WE will always be sisters In heart
dear, though no tie Of blood unites u.s.
For your sake rejoice in the discovery
that has been made" Then she held
the girl suddenly from her. why
you are the very image of that won
derful portrait Of Lillian Lispenard at
the Dale, Do you not see the likeness
Abel?" turning quickly to her husband
YES" he answered, gravely, Il OBJ
served it the first time l ever encoun-
tered Esther at Rookwood. There
was another person, also, to whom 1t
was plain-Gilbert wye, on that night
when he found a hiding place in Lii
Iian's chamber. But 1t seemed scarcely
reasonable at that time to place any
importance upon such resemblance
She showed no elation at her sudden
change of fortune-on the contrary, she
was pale, thoughtful, composed.
Your trials are now over, Esther
said Lispenard. Tomorrow you will
leave this place, you and yours, and
come to me. You will enter a new
world, begin a new life"
She was standing with her hand OF
Aunt Debs chair. A pale solemnity
came into her face. Her great eyes
!, seemed to look past them all to some
thing which they did not see.
Il have other plans" she answered.
What, so soon? May we beg tc
hear them, Esther?"
, "Is it true that am now rich?"
, Very rich. One-half of the origina
Lispenard fortune, and it numbered
many millions, l long ago set apart tt
accumulate, as 1t now appears, fol
you"
: But was not my mother diFinheritet
, by her fathers will?"
Yes" he answered, land 1t become:
my sacred duty to rectify that mon
strous wrong. There are rights, my