Year: 1874

that covered him, and took his seat at the
table, it could be seen that he was pale,
handsome boy of about nineteen or TWEEN
ty years Of age-the son of one of those
| Welsh miners who, from generation to
generation, follow the same pursuit.


A handsome couple! thought the moth
er, as, shortly after, she saw her son pass
by with Emily, the belle of the village,
hanging upon his arm. Handsome Emily
with her bright eyes and cheeks rosy with
health, Emily, who had turned the heads
of half the young men in the vicinity, and
| finally settled her affections upon Harry
| They were engaged to be married, at least
so report said, and only waiting until that
| mysterious future when the boy could, to
use common phrase, "see his way clear
ly," before assuming the responsibility of
marriage.


No one saw them; no eyes, save those
twinkling so brightly far up over head,
looked upon the lovers, and they were
happy in their solitude.


| But, as at the approach of morning, the
sleeper wakes from his pleasant dream
| and finds that the cruel, cold realities of
life are before him, so Harry awoke one
day to find that all his love dreams, all
his happy anticipations Of a glorious
future, were like the mirage of the desert
fancy pictures in a dreary waste of sor-
row and desolatiOn. It came about in
this wise.


He, with friend and partner, entered
into mining speculation in small way.
They were to have certain percentage
of the coal taken out. The two young
men showed that they possessed both en-
ergy and perseverance. They engaged
additional hands," and went to work in
earnest. The speculation promised to be
good one, and an advance in the price
of coal only made successful result
more certain. Feeling that he was now
on the high road to success, he determin-
ed to hesitate no longer, but at once
asked Emily's parents to sanction their
marriage. He knew of the little oppOsi-
ton he would meet with, but as their love
was mutual, and his worldly prospects
considerably improved, he hoped that
however unwillingly it might be done,
her parents would still give their consent
to the marriage.


But, upon stating his wish, he found
how badly he had deceived himself. Be
lieving that he would now be in the coll
dition to suitably support their daughter,
Emily's people had, as before mentioned,
allowed the intimacy; but now, that the
marriage, which all along had seemed
only a remote possibility, was broached,
all the old feelings of animOsity sprang
up anew. Her father told the lad that the
best plan for all would be to drop the
matter and think no more about it, as it
never could be. In vain the poor fellow
pleaded-told of his deep love for her
spoke of his life, on which not stain or
blot, save that honorable one of poverty,
existed-expressed his willingness to toll
hard and deny himself much, that she
should not miss one home cOmfort-"and
she loves mel" he exclaimed, "and what
will love not do? 1t will make our home
happy lit will gild over our poverty
Oh, sir! know what love will do! l
know what 1t has done Tor me! 1t mas
made the dark, damp breasts glisten
with sunshine! and, in the dripping Of
the water as it forces its way through the
rocks of the mine have heard only the
singing of birds!"


But the practical father was unmoved
by the eloquent appeal of the young
lover, and still persisted in his determina-
ton, and with heart almost breaking
looked! Emily was lost. Yes, lost! he



ture, came back the echo, "lost!"
marry her clandestinely.


Far out OF the village, IN a wild spot in
the heart of one of the mountains, the boy
went, and there alone with his God he
had his bitter hour, and passed into the
emerge. Twas all he had, this girl love.
All that he had to Tighten his heavy labor
his zone eve lamb" and that was to be
taken from him. How he cursed his
poverty, and lamented his bitter fate !!
Then he cursed the hard, hard father;
but paused in his denunciation, for there
was something in his breast that told him
this was wrong.


That night the good folk of the place
missed the accustomed sight of Harry and
Emily taking the regular evening walk.
They never saw them together again His
story had soon became pu bile, and popu-
lar sympathy, of course, was all with the
lovers. Sundry valiant young fellows
counseled Harry to runaway match,
and were disguised with him when he
refused to listen to their advice. The old
people said it was "hard," and the case
was made the special talk that night at
the Miners Home" in which Emily's
fathers ears must have burned, If there
is any truth in the old belief that such a
phenomenon is observable when some one
is speaking i'll Of you.


The next morning Emily had left the
place. Not willingly, as Harry knew, for
he had in the bosom Of his sOiled flannel
shirt letter which was dearer to him
than all the golden golcondas that were
ever dreamed Of A tiny epistle, written
in timer hand, telling of her sorrow;
of her undying love. How her father had
sent her away, "to forget her foolishness;"
but how she would never forget him, but
would love him better every day, and
would continue to love him forever.


But she didn't. After about a year and
a half of absence, it was noised around
that Emily was married, and at last the
report was confirmed. In one the large
cities of the East she had, found the ac-
quaintance of one who soon caused her to
forget her poor miner love, and with
hardly a regret she yielded to the lmpor-
tunities of her admirer and her parents,
and became this new mans wife.


When it became known in the place
that "pretty Emily" had forgotten Harry,
all eyes were turned on the young man to
see how he would bear it. Though his
heart must have been torn and bleeding,
yet he gave no outward sign, but went on
as usual with his everyday life. The
speculation which had promised to be so
successful had been given up, as when he
lost Emily he seemed to have lost all en-
ergy. He had gone back to his hard work
in the mine, and, what seemed stranger
to some, he was working in the colliery at
which the father of his loved one was the
| superintendent.


no;s+y rainv davt Around the month