The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1913-04-18

| CharlespOrt, Maine, and stated lnat
| the writer, in conformity with the last
wish of his friend and client, Hercu-
les Thayer, was ready to transfer GER
tain deeds and papers to the late MI
| Thayer's designated heir, Agatha
Redmond; also that the writer re-
qnested an interview at Miss Red
mond's earliest convenience.
Holding the half-opened sheets In
her hand, the lady closed her eyes
and sat motionless, as If in the grasp
of an absorbing thought. With the
disappearing child, the signs OF lie
on the hillside had diminished. the
traffic of the street passed far below,
the sharp clck-click of pedestrian
| now and then sounded above, but no
one passed her way. The hum OF the
city made a blurred wash Of sound,
like the varying yet steady wash OF
the sea- AS she opened her eyes
again, she saw that the twilight had
perceptibly deepened. Far away,
lights began to flash out In the city,
as If a million firehies. by tWos and
! threes and dozens, were waking 10
their nocturnal revelry.
On the hill the light was still good.
and the lady turned again to her read
ing. The other letter was written on
single sheets of thin paper In an old
fashioned, beautiful hand. Wherever
doubles occurred the first was writ
ten long, in style of sixty years ago;
and the whole letter was as easily
legible as print. Across the top was
written: ITO Agatha Redmond, daugh-
ter of my ward and dear friend. Aga
tina Shaw Redmond" and below that,
in the lawyers choppy handwriting.
was date of nearly year previous.
AS Agatha Redmond read the second
letter, smile, half of sadness, half
of pleasure. oyerspread her counte-
nance. 1t ran as follows:
"Ilion, Maine. !
"My Dear Agatha: take My pen In
hand to address you, the daughter OF
the dearest friend of my life, for the
first time in the twenty-odd years OF
your existence. Once as child you
: saw me, and you have doubtless heard
my name from your mothers people
, from time to time; but ! can scarcely
hope that any knowledge of my pri
vate life has come to you. 1t will be
easy, then, for you, to pardon an old
man for giving you, in this fashion
the confidence he has never been able
to bestow in the flesh.
: when you read this epistle my
dear Agatha, shall have stepped into
: that next mystery, which is Death
!, Indeed, the duty which am now dis
charging serves as partial preparation
D for that very event. This duty is tc
q make you heir to my house and es
e tate and to certain accessory funds
e which we'll enable you to keep up the
place.
"You may regard this act, possibly
g as the idiosyncrasy of an unbalanced
K mind: it is certain that some of my
!, kinsfolk will do So But while have
q been able to bear up under thei
a greater or less displeasure for man.
II years, / find myself shrinking befor'
:, the possibility of dying absolutely un
g known and forgotten by you. You
mother, Agatha Shaw. Of blessed mem
q DRY now for many years. was my war,
e and pupil after the death of you
e grandfather think ] may say with
4 out undue self-congratulation that fey
y women of their time have enjoyed a
r sound scheme of education as you
I. mother. She had a knowledge Q
y mathematics, could construe both i
e Latin and Greek, and had acquired
: fair mastery of the historic civilizs
II ton of the Greeks, Egyptians and al
a cient Babylonians. While these a
&c tainments would naturally be insult
e cient for a mans work in life, yet fc
d woman they were of an exception;
e order
r. Sufficient to say that in your mctl
r er's character these noteworthy abil
e. ties were supplemented by gracious
e. womanly arts; and when she arrive
IN at maturity, offered her the homo
d. of marriage.
IS ut is painful for me to recall tn
ID scene and the consequences Of yor
at mothers refusal of my hand. eve
ID after these years of philosophical r
ID Election. It were idle for man
e. parts TO allow a mere preference
IL regard to his domestic situation
ID influence his course of action In ar
liz essential manner, and have nevs
le permitted my career to be shaped |
g. such details But from that tim
at however, the course of my life W,
changed From the impassioned or
ne tor and preacher | was TRANSFORMS
e. into the man OF books and the stud
Of and since then have lived far fro
ch the larger concourses of men n
IT. weekly sermon, for twenty years. hi
IN been the essence OF my weekly toll