Year: 1875

ed. The hired girl was directed to
open the mysterious package, which


bore no cover, but was apparently
hiied#ith patchwork fold after fold
was removed till, without as vet. hav-
ing brought to light ANYTHING but
dry goods, Betsey held up her hands,
and with horror depicted ON her face
exclaimed: sits alive!"


Mr.. 1. arose from his chair in a
determined manner, and went over
to investigate the contents of. the
basket. The mystery was soon solv-
ed. 1t was the old story. Bell rung
door opened-basket found sus-
pended to the door-knob-baby in
basket.


That tells the whole story of the
finding of the basket, but words can
not express the anguish of the look
which Mrs. L. let fall upon her con-
fused and speechless husband as she
raised her handkerchief to her eyes,
and turned away to conceal her emo
tiOn. This was too much for poor L.,
who at heart is mot bad man, but
given to staying away from home
little too much, perhaps, in the eve
ming. But he always had good ex-
cuse for his absence. The lodge, of
course, had to be attended to. There
are dozen of reasons which any
man who has been married a few
years, can find always at command
to excuse his absence, and all these
had been used by him with varia.
tiOns till he could as easily account
for six nights of the week as the
champion photographer can answer
every conundrum in 0sgood's spell
Ter.


Now he felt crushed. There was
the baby in the basket, poor, little
dear, kicking and trying to eat lis
fists as eontentedly as if In it's own
home, but there was no note, not a
line of explanation. L. felt that he
ought to say something, but he knew
not how to begin. He caught his
wife by the arm as she was about to
return to the solitude of her own
room and said, earnestly, but in
trembling voice, "Mary, on my hon
or, am not responsible for this. -


"Oh, William" /" she sobbed, with
her handkerchief still up to her eyes,
as she struggled to get away, show
can you say this?''
/ Still she struggled to be free, but
he would not let her go, and again
she cried out:


''oh, what good can it do you to
deny it,"


But he denied it again and again,
and vowed he would do anything in
the world for her who had always
been so loving to him. But he could
not bear to have her doubt him. He
would stay at home nights as long as
he lived, or else take her wherever
he went, but he could not live to see
her breaking her heart with doubts
and suspicious of him. He kissed her
hand a thousand times, with tears In
his eyes, and assured her that he
loved her as ever, and then he beg
ged her to dry her eyes and be hap
py. He was innocent now and be
would not again be absent from his
hearth-stone on any night during the
remainder of his life.


What could she do? She was only
a woman, and she believed and for
gave him. Perhaps some wives will
say she was 'fsoft," or sIispoony." in
permitting herself to believe in him
again, but she did it. She gave him
her hand freely, and he arose and
embraced her as he was won't to do
when they were young and eonfd-
ing. He felt happy in his forgive
ness, and looking into her grave but
not unhappy face, he said; "Well,
Mary, this adds one more to our lit
tlefamily. We have two of the lit.
tie innocents to cherish and protect,
and wewill do it to the best of our
ability"


She shook her head and smiled.


ais it not so, my own?'' he asked.


'FYes, it is so, my own" she repli-
ed, "but it is the same one we al
ways had-that is for the past seven
week" s1.


1t was the old April Joke of a
wife on her lord, who was given to
important business out in the even
ing gs.