Year: 1879




Don't know. To France, like
enough or to Ameriky -or to Lon
donor sOmewheres. Obey took big
box and bundle, and they don't know
but they'll stay forever'n ever. Meg
said so, and, making rotating wheel
of himself, the lad vanished round the
corner.


Just then the door of the nearest cot
tage opened and woman's face looked
out. 1t was growing dark.


"Is it you, EIickson There's
no one at home in the house there.
But have something here that | was to
give you when you came this way"


His face was stern and set and white
in the fading light as he took the little
packet from the woman's hand.


' Where have they gonepn was all he
said.


81 don't just know. To visit some of
their kinfolk a great way off, the
widow said. "Oh, but she's close
mouthed one, she Island Meg's bit
like her. They're not gossipy folk.
You never get much out of them,n she
added, with an injured air.


AS soon as he was out of sight
Matthew Erickson opened the packet
He knew what was in it before he un-
tied the knot-a string of curiously-
carved beads with a strange, foreign,
spicy odor, that he had bought of a
wandering sailor and fastened around
Meg's neck one happy night, and two or
three other trif1es he had given her.
And he found this note slowly and pain
fully written, badly spelled, perhaps,
and not punctuated at all. But what of
thatP The meaning was plain enough
all too plain, Matt thought as he drew
his hand across his eyes as if to clear
his vision:


81 gave you back your troth last
night. Here are the beads, and the
silver piece, and the heron feathers.
Now all is over between u.s." Here she
had evidently hesitated moment, Won
dering if her words were strong enough;
for, on the line below she had written,
as with an echo from the prayer-book
reverberating in her ears:


Forever and forever, amen. Mar
garet Neale,"


Not Meg, his Meg, his proud, high
spirited sweetheart but Margaret Neale!
1t set her at such an immeasurable dis.
tance from him. "All is over between
u.s. AS if she were dead and buried out
ofhis sight,. And he had spoken to James
Ray about the snug cottage beyond the
bay; and they were to have been married
at Michaelmas!


He knew enough of the Widow Neale's
habits to ask no more questions of the
neighbors. AS one of them had said, she
was close-mouthed. He knew she had a
sister living in Scotland, for whom Meg
was named; but where even he did not
know. Scotland was like distant for
eign land to the people in Rysdyk. But
the widow had money enough to go to
Scotland CT farther if she wished, even
on short notice. She had never worked
in the mines, neither had Meg. She had
II comfortable annuity, left her by her old
mistress; for she had served in great
E,nily before she had married John
Neale.


Month after month passed. Michael
mas was over. winter came and went.
and Rysdyk knew no more of her or of
Meg than when they left. The silence,
the void, grew uncomfortable to Matt.
With the early spring he carried into
effect what had been the one dream of
his life before he learned to love Meg.
America was the land of promise for
miners rs well as others, and had he not
Il friend who worked in the great iron
mines at 1shpeming, Michigan, on the
shores of the wonderful Northern lake
that was itself almost as large as all
England?


So when one fine morning, nearly a
year after her sudden fitting, the neigh
bors awoke to find the door of Widow
Neale's cottage ajar and the shutters
open, the first bit of news Meg heard
was that Matt Erickson had gone to
America.


1t struck her like a blow. Now, in
deed, he had dropped out of her life as
utterly as, months since, she had dropped
out of his. For she, too, had had time to
repent. Almost before the blue hills OF
Scotland had dawned upon her sight she
had repented in dust and ashes. How
foolish she had been, like child who
throws away his bread in pet and goes
to bed hungry. Why had she not worn
the blue ribbon to please her lover, even
if she did not like it? AS for Jenny-but
whatnonsense was that! She would have
been ashamed of Matt if he had not been
kind to her.


To be sure, he had been cross and had
thrown ava, her ribbon. But then he
was a man, and men were strong and
masterful and could not bear contradic-
ton, and she had angered him by her
foolish persistence.


All! If she could but undo it all, and
have her tall, brave, handsome lover
back again


She would have turned round and gone
back to Rysdyk the very next day if she
could have had her way. But a Journey
was a journey to people of their rank and
condition, and her mother, who had
taken it to please her, and somewhat
against her own will, was not to be
blown about like feather by her Ca
prices,


But why, do you ask, did not Meg
write to her lover, if she felt she had
been in the wrongp And why did no
wiser ones than she always do the best
thing, the right thingP Besides, she was
a woman, and proud one. After hav-
ing discarded her lover she would not
forthwith fall at his feet and ask him to
marry her. But, ah! she thought as the
long, slow days wore on, ifshe could but
look upon his face once more, he would
know all without the telling.


Once in while, as the years went on,
at rare intervals news of him came back
to Rysdyk. He was we'll; he had fair
wages, though gold was not to be had for
the gathering in America any more than
in England; he had been promoted and
had charge of gang of men. At length
there was long interval Of silence.
Then came floating rumors of i'll; and
then after while letter in strange
handwriting, letter to his uncle, who
had died three weeks before it came.
There had been bad accident in the
mines-an explosion; and in the effort to
save Others, Matthew Erickson had him
self received dangerous injuries. No one
thought he could live But now, after
months. he was slowly recovering. if re-