Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Nebraska advertiser. (Brownville, Nemaha County, N.T. [Neb.]) 1856-1882 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 1882)
a. W. FAIRBROTHEn&CO., Proprietor. AUBURN. i NEBRASKA. JIEIi LAST POSY. In tho rarest of EtiKllsh vnlloys A motherless Rlrl ran wild, Ami tho KrcfiinoHsa and sllenco and gladness Woro Bold of tho soul of tho child. The birds wero her Kay littlo brothers, Tho B(iilrrcla hur sweethearts Bhy; Ami her henrt kept tuno with tho rain-drops, And nulled with tho clouds In tho sky. And impels kept coining nnd going, With beautiful things to do; And wherever they loft n footprint A cowslip or primroso grow. Sho wns tnken to II vo In London, So thick with pitiless folk, And she could not smllo for Its Imdncsq, And could not hrciitho for Its smoko. And now, m she lay on her pullet, Too weary and wenk to rise, A smllo of Inolfablc longing Ilroughtdows to hor faded cyos: "Oh tno, for n yellow cowslip, A palo littlo primroso dcnrl Won t soino kind nngel remember. And pluck one and bring It horo?" Thoy bought hern bunch of cowslips; Sho took thorn with lingers weak, And kissed them, and stroked them, nnd loved them, And laid thorn against hor check. "It was kind of the angeU to send thora, , Anil, now, I'm too tired to pray. If (lod looks down at tho cowslips, Ho'll know what 1 want to say. They burled them In hor bosom, And whou sho nhull wake and rise, Why may not tho Mowers bo quickened, And bloom In her happy skies? Good irorda. THE MWYBit'S SECRET. Dy B. Ii. Fnrjoon, Author of Chooso and Kisses." "Broad, CIIAl'TKIt VI.-Continukd. The dim lam) was shaded from tho eyes of tho invalid by a white porcelain sereen, which subdued tho light, and cast great shadows of tho furniture upon the walls of the room. Ho lay for some timo quite quietly, with his face still turned away from Ellinor, but by tho incessant nervous motion of the hand lying upon the coun terpane, sho know that ho was not asleep. J lie doctor opened tho door softly, and looked in. "If he says anything to you," ho whispered to'Ellinor, " hear it quietly; but do not ask him any questions; anil, above all, do not betray agitation." She bowed her head in assent, and tho physician closed tho door. Suddenly Horaco Margrave turned his face to her, and looking at her earnestly witli his haggard eyes, said: "Ellinor Dalton, you ask mo what this means. I will tell you. Tho very day on which you left England, a strange chance led mo into tho heart of a manufacturing town a town which was being ravaged by tho fearful Scourge of an infectious fovor; I was in a Very weak stato of health, nnd, in 'might bo expected, I caught this fever. I v4s warned, when it was perhaps not yet tho late to have taken precautious which might have saved mo, but 1 would not take those precautions. I - - was too great a coward to commit sui cide. Some people say a man is too brave to kill himself I was not but I was too much a coward. Lifo was hate ful, but I was afiaid to die. Yet I would not avert a danger which had not been my own seeking. Let tho fever kill me, if it would, Ellinor, my wish is fast being accomplished. I am dying." "Horace! Horace!" Sho fell on her knees once moro at the sido of tho bed, and taking tho thin hand in hers, press ed it to her lips. He drew it away as if ho had been stung. " For heaven's sake, Ellinor, if you have any pity no tenderness! That 1 cannot bear. For four years you have necr seen me without a mask. 1 am going to lot it fall. You will curse mo, you will hate me soon, Ellinor Dalton!" "Hate you, Horace never! " He waved his hand impatiently, as if to wave away protestations that must soon bo falsified. "Wait," ho said: "you do not know." Then, after a brief pause, ho continued "Ellinor, I have not been the kindest or tho tondorest of guar dians, have 1, to my beautiful young ward? You reproached ine with my cold indifference one dav soon after your marriage, in tho littlo drawing room in Her' ford street." A. " You remember that?" "1 remember that! Ellinor, yon never spoke one word to mo in yourlifo which I do not remember ; as well as tho ac cent in which it was spoken, anil tho place where I heard it. I say, I have not been a kind or affectionate guardian have I, Ellinor?" 'You were so onco, Horace," sho said. "I was so onco! When, Ellinor?" "Before my undo left mo that wretched fortune." "That wretched fortune yes, that divided us at onco and forever. Ellinor, there were two reasons lor this pitiful comedy of cold indifference. Can you guess one of thorn?" "No," she answered. "You cannot? I i fleeted an indiffer ence I did not feci, or pretended an ap athy which was a lie from first to last, because, Ellinor Dalton, I loved you with tho whole strength of my heart and soul, from tho first to tho hist." "O, Horace! Horaco! for pity's sake!" Sho stretched out her hands, imploringly, as if sho would prevent tho utteranco of tho words which seemed to break her heart. "Ellinor, when you were scvonteon yours' of ago, you had no thought of succeeding to your uncle's proporty. It would have boon, upon the wholo, a much moro natural thing for him to luivo loft it to his adopted son, Henry Dalton. Your poor father expected that he would do so; I expected tho same. Xour futhor Intrusted mo with tho cus tody of your littlo income, and I dis charged my trust honestly. 1 was a groat speculator; I dabbled with thou sands, nnd cast down heavy sums every day, as a gamblor throws down a card upon tho gaming-table; and to mo your mother's littlo fortuno was so insignifi cant a trust, that its management never gavo mo a moment's thought or concern. At this timo I was going on in a fair way to becomo a rich man; in fact, was a rich man; and, Ellinor, I was an hon orablo man. J loved you loved you as I never boliovod I could love my inno cent and bountiful ward; how could it well bo otherwise? 1 am not a cox comb, Ellinor; and if there is ono char acter I hold more in contonipt than an other, it is that of a lady-killer; but I dared to say to myself '1 love, and am beloved again.' Those dark and deep gray eyes, Ellinor, had told mo tho se cret of a young and confiding heart; and I thought niysoli moro than happy only too deeply blest. Uli, Lllinorl im linorl if I had spoken then." Her head was buried in hor hands, as sho knolt by his pillow, and sho was sobbing aloud. "There was timo enough. I said. This Ellinor, was the happiest period of my life. Do you remember our quite even ings in tho lino St. Dominique, when I loft business and business cares behind mo in Verulam Buildings, and ran over hero to spend a week in my young ward's society? Do you remember tho books wo read together? Good heavens! thore is a pago in Lamartiuo's 'Odes,' which I can seo beforo mo as I speak! I can see the lights and shadows which I taught you to put under tho cupola of a church in Munich, you once painted in water-colors. lean recall every thought, every word, every pleasure, and ovory emotion of that sweet and trnnouil timo in which I hoped and believed tiiat you, Ellinor, would bo my wife." Sho lifted her face, blind and blotted by her tears, and looking at him for ono brief instant, let it fall again upon her hands. "Your undo died, Ellinor, and tho fair elevation of this palace of my life, which L had built with such confidence, was shivered to the ground. The fortune was left to you on condition that you married Henry Dalton. Women aro ambitious. You would never surely re sign such a fortuno. You would marry youngDalton. This was the lawver's an swer to tho all-important question. But those louder gray eyes, looking up from under their veil of inky lashes, had told a sweet secret, and perhaps your generous heart might count this fortuno a very small tiling to lling awav for tho sake of tho man you loved. This was the lover's answer, and I hoped still, Ellinor. to win my darling. You were not to be made acquainted with tho con ditions of your unclo's will until you attained your majority. You were, at the time of his death, barely twenty years of age; there was, then, an entiro year in which you should remain ignorant of tho penalties attached to this unexpected wealth. In 'jilre mean time, 1, as sole executor (your uncle, you see, trusted me entirely), had tho custody of the firidcd properly John Ardcn, of Anion, had leit. "1 have told you, Ellinor, that was a speculator. My profession throw mo in tho way of speculation. Confident in tho power of my own intellect, I staked mv fortuno on tho wonderful hazards of IS 1(5. I doubled that fortune, trebled, quadrupled it. and when it had frown to be four times its original bulk, staked it again. It was. out of my hands, but was invested in, as I thought, so safe a speculation, that it was as secure a if it had never left my bankers. The railway company of which 1 was director was one of the richest and most flourishing in Knglnnd. My own fortune, as 1 have told you, was entirely invested, and was doubling itself rapidly. As your uncle's trustee, as your devoted friend, your interests woro dearer to me than my own. Why should I not speculate withyourfortuno, double it, and then say to you: 'See, Ellinor, here aro two fortunes of which you are tho mistress; one you owe to Henry Dalton, under the conditions of your uncle's will; the others is yours alone You are rich, you are free, without any sacrifice, to man- the man you love; and this, Kllinor, is "my work?' This was what I thought to have said to you at the close of the year of speculation, 18 16." "Oh, Horace, Horace! 1 see it all. Spare 3 ourself, spare mo! Do not toll mo any more." "Spare myself! No, Kllinor, not ono pang, not one heart-break. I desorvo it all. You were right in what you said in tho boudoir at Sir Lionel's. Tho money was not my own; no sophistry, no ingenious twisting of facts and forcing of conclusions, could over make it mine. How do J know even now that your interest was really my only motive in tho stop I took? How do "f know that it was not, indeed, tho gam bler's guilty madness only, which im pelled me to my crime? How do I know? How do I know? Kuough! tho crash oamo; my fortuno and yours woro together ingulfed in tho vast destruction; and I, tho trusted friend of your dead father, the conscientious lawyer, whose name had become a synonym for honor and honesty; I Horace Welmodon Margrave, only liheal descendant of the royalist. Captain Margravo, wlio perished at Worcester, fighting for his King and tho honor of his noble race; I Ellinor, was a cheat and a swindler a dishonest and dishonorable man!" 'Dishonorable, Horace! No, no; on ly mistaken." " Mistaken, Ellinor? Yes, that is ono of tho words invented by dishonest men, to slur over their dishonesty. Tho fraudulent banker in whoso ruin tho fato of thousands, who have trusted him and believed in him, is involved, is, after all, as his friends say, only mistaken. Tho clerk, who robs his employer in tho insano hopo of rostoring wlint ho has abstracted, is, as his counsel pleads to a soft-hearted jury, with sons of tholr own, only mistaken! Tho speculator, who plays tho great game of commer cial hazard with another man's money, lie, too, dares to look at tho world with a pitiful face, and cry: 'Alas! I was only mistaken!' No, Ellinor, I itavo never put in that plea. From tho mo ment of that, terrible crash, which shat tered my wholo life into ruin and deso lation, 1 have, at least, tried to look my fato in tho face. But I have not borno all my own burdens, Ellinor. The heavi est weight of my criino has fallen upon tho innocent shoulders of Henry Dalton." Henry Dalton, my husband?" Yes, Ellinor, your husband, Henry Dalton, tho truest, noblest, most honor able, and most conscientious of men." " You praiso him so much," sho said, rather bitterly. "Yes, Ellinor, I am weak enough and wicked enough to fool a cruel pain in being compelled to do so; it is tho last poor duty 1 can do him. Heaven knows I have done him enough injury." Tho exertion of talking for so long a timo had completely exhausted him, nnd ho fell back, half fainting, upon tho pillows. The Sister of Mercy, sum moned from the noxt apartment by Ellinor, administered a restorativo to him: and, in low, broken accents, ho continued: "From tho moment of my ruin, Elli nor, I felt and know that you woro for ever lost to 1110. I could boar this; I did not think my lifo would bo a long ono; it had been hitherto lit by no star erf hope, shone upon by no sunlight of love Vogue la ijalcrc! Let it go on its own dark way to tho end. I say, I could bear this, but 1 could not boar tho thought of your contempt; your aver sion; that was too bitter. 1 could not como to you, and say: 'I lovo you; I luivo always loved you; 1 lovo you as I never beforo loved, as I novor liopetl to lovo; but 1 am a swindler and a cheat, and you can never bo mine!' No, Elli nor, 1 could not do this; and yet you woro on tho evo of coming of ago. Some stop must bo taken, and the only thing that could save 1110 from this alternative was the generosity of Henry Dalton. " I had heard a great deal of your uncle's adopted son, and L hud mot him vory often at Anion; I knew him to bo as noblo and true-hearted a man as over breathed tho breath of human lifo. I determined, therefore, to throw myself upon his generosity, and to reveal all. lie will despise mo, but I can bear his contempt better than tho scorn of tho woman I lovod.' I said this to myself, and one night tho night after ilonry Dalton had lirst seen you, and had been deeply fascinated with tho radiant beauty of my lovely ward, that very night after the day on which you came of age 1 took lionry Dalton into my chambers in Verulam Buildings, anil, after binding him with an oatli of tho most implicit secrecy, I told him all. " 1 oil now understand tho cruel posi tional which Henry Dalton was placed. Tho fortune which' he was supposed to posses on marrying you. never existed. You were penniless, except, indeed, for tho hundred a year coming to you from your mother's property. His solemn oath forbade him to reveal this to you; and for three years lie endured your contempt, and was silent. .Judge now of tho wrong I have done him! Judge now tho noblo heart which you have trampled upon and tortured!" "Oh, Horaco! Horace! what misory this inonev has brought upon us!" . "No, Ellinor. What misery ono de viation from tho straight lino of honor has brought upon us! Kllinor, dearest, only beloved, can you forgive tho man who has so truly loved, yet so deeply iu juredyou?" " Forgive you!" She rose from her knees, and smooth ing the thick, dark hair lroni his white forehead, with tender, pitying hands, looked him full in the face. "Horace," she said, "when, long ago, you thought 1 loved you, ou read my heart aright; but tho depth and truth of that love you could never lead. Now, now that I am the wife of anoth er, another to whom I owe so very much allection in reparation of tho wrong I have done liiui, I dare toll you without a thought which is a sin against him", how much 1 loved you and you ask mo if I can forgive. As freely as I would luivo resigned this money for your sake, can I forgive you for the loss of it. This confession has set all right. I will bo a good wife to Hours Dalton. and you and lie may be sincere friends yet." I "What, Kllinor, do you think that, did I not know myself to be dying, I could have made this confession? No, I you see mo now under the inlluenco of I stimulants which give 1110 a false I strength; of excitement, which is strong enough to master even death. To-morrow night, Kllinor, tho doctors toll mo, there will no longer bo in this weary world a weak, vacillating, dishonnruhlo wretch called Horace Margrave Hestrotehed out his attenuated hands, drew her towards him, and imprinted one kiss upon her forehead. "The first and tho last. Ellinor," lie said. "Oood-by." His face changed to a deadlier white than before, and ho foil back, fainting. Tho physician, peeping in at tho half opon door, beckoned to Kllinor. "You imint leave him at onco, my dear niadamo," he said. "Had f not seen the dreadfully disturbed stato of I his mind, I should never havopormitlcd this interview." "Oh, monsieur, toll mo, can you save ' him?" I "Only by a miracle, madanio. A I miracle far beyond medical skill," "You yourself, then, have no hopo?" "Not a shadow of hopo." Sho bowed hor head. Tho physician took her hand in his, and pressed it with a fatherly tenderness, looking at hor earnestly and mournfully, "Send for 1110 to-morrow," she said, imploringly. "Your presence can only endanger him, madamo; but 1 will send you tid ings of his stato. Adioul" Tho following morning, as sho was seated in hor own apartment, sho was onco moro summoned into tho drawing room. Tho Sister of Mercy wns thore, talking to hot' aunt. Thoy both looked grave and thoughtful, and glanced anxiously at Ellinor, as sho entered tho room. "Ho is worse?" said Kllinor to tho Slstor, beforo a word had been spoken. "Unhappily, yes. Madanio, ho is" "Oh, do not toll 1110 any moro! For pity's sake!" sho oxolaimod. "So young, so giftod, so admired; nnd it was in this very room wo passed such happy hours together years ago." Sho walked with tearless eyes to tho window, nnd, loaning her head against tho glass, looked down into tho street below, and out at tho cheerless gray of tho autumn sky. Sho was thinking how now and strango tho world looked to her now Hint Horaco Margrave was dead. They erected a vory modest tomb over tho remains of Horaco Margravo in tho Ceinotory of 1'ero la Chaise. There had been somo thoughts of conveying his ashos to his native country, that thoy might rest in the church of Margravo, a littlo village in Westmoreland, tho chan cel of which church was decorated with a recumbent statue of Algernon Mar grave, cavalier, who fell at tho Worcester fight; but as ho, tho deceased, had no nearer relative than a few second cous ins iu tho army and tho church, and a superannuated Admiral, his great uncle, and, as it is furthermore discovoiod that the accomplished solicitor of Veru lam Buildings, ('ray's Inn, had not loft a penny behind him, tho idea was quick ly abandoned, and the last remains of the admired Horace woro loft to decay in the soil of a foreign grave. It was never fully known who caused tho simple tablet which ultimately adorned his rosting-plnco to bo erected. It was a plain block of marble; no pompous Latin epitaph, or long list of virtues, was thereon engraved; hut a half-burned torch, suddenly extin guished, was sculptured at the bottom of the tablet, while from tho smoke of tho torch a butterfly mounted upward. Abovo this design there was merely inscribed the name and ago of tho de ceased. Tho night following tho day of Hor ace Margravo's funeral, Ilonry Dalton was seated, hard at work, at his cham bers in tho Toniplo. The light of the ollico lam)) falling upon his quiet face, revealed a mourn ful and careworn expression not usual to him. He looked ten years older since his marriage to Ellinor. Ho had fought tho battle of lifo, and lost lost in tho great battle which somo hold so lightly, but which to others is an earnest fight lost in tho endeavor to win tho wife ho could so tenderly and truly luivo loved. He had now nothing left to him but his profession no other ambition no other hope. "I will work hard," ho said, "that she, though separated from 1110 forever, may still at least derive every joy, of those poor joys which money can buy, lroin my labor." He had heard nothing of either .Hor aco Margravo's journey to Paris, his ill ness, or his death. He had no hope' of being ever released from the oath which bound him to silence to silence which ho had sworn to preserve so long as Horace Margravo lived. Tired, but still persevering, and ab sorbed in a dillicult case, which needed all the professional acumen of tho clever young barrister, who read and wrote on until past eleven o'clock. dust as the clocks were chiming the haU hour after eleven, he heard the bell of the outer door ring, as if pulled by an agitated hand. His chambers were on the first floor; on tho 'lloor below were those of a gen tleman who always left at six o'clock. " I do not opoot any ono at such an hour; but it may bo for 1110," ho thought. He heard his clerk open the door, and went on writing without once lifting his head. Three minutes afterwards tho door of his own ollico opened, and a person en tered unannounced. He looked up sud denly. A lady dressed in mourning, with her face entirely concealed by a thick vail, stood near the door. "Madame," he said, with somo sur prise, "may I ask" Sho came hurriedly from tho door by which sho stood and fell on her knees at his feet, throwing up her vail as sho did so. "Ellinor!" " Yes. I am in mourning for Horace Margrave, my unhappy guardian. Ho died a week ago in Paris. Ho told me all. Henry Dalton, my friend, my hus band, my benefactor, can you forgive 1110:' He passed his hand rapidly across his eyes, and turned his face away from hor. Presently he raised hor in his anus, and, drawing hor to his breast, said in a broken voice: " Ellinor, I have Buffered so long and so bitterly that I can scarcely hear this great emotion. My dearest, my dar ling, my adored and beloved wife, aro we, indeed, at last net free from tho ter rible secret which has had such a cruel inlluenco on our lives. Horace Mar grao" " Is dead, Henry! I onco loved him very dearly. I freely forgave him tho injury ho did 1110. 'Jell 1110 thatyou for give him, too." "From my inmost heart, Ellinor'" Tin; i:m FACTS AM) FUIUKI'S. During tho past fiscal year -10,032 agricultural patents were issued from tho General Land Ollico at Washington. Chicago Journal. A statistician estimates that tho pcoplo of tho United States luivo to pay twenty-throe dollars a minute for Con gress whilo In session. Tho root and horb establishment in Carroll County, Va.,issaidto bo tho larg est on this continent, 8,000 pounds of roots bolng taken In ovory week. Within a radius of thirty miles thoro aro over '-',000 varieties of modiclual flo ra, of which over 1,200 specimens luivo been collected. Tho Sue. Canal is ono of tho most valuable pieces of property in tho world. Tho net profits last yoar woro over $5,000,000. This was an inoroaso of over 28 por cent, over tho profits of tho provious year. Each snip that passes through tho canal pavs a littlo over 20 conts n ton. N Y. licrnld. Durliijg tho past six months 02 por sons, ngediK) and upward, died in Phil adelphia. Of these 17 woro men and 75 were women. Fivo of tho women woro centenarians, and ono man, tho oldest of tho lot, was .lames MoTaguo, who had reached tho age of 10!). Thoro woro also 178 men and Jill women who wero 80 or beyond it when death called them away. These statistics provo that women aro tho longest lived. Philailcl phia Jlecortl. Tho coal-fields of Alabama covor 10,800 square miles, nnd the coal is all biluminuous, but differs widoly in qual ity. Tho best coal in tho Stato, and in fact in tho United States, being fully equal to English cantiel coal, is tho Montovallo coal. No industry in tho Stato lias had so rapid a growth as tho coal industry. In 1872 only 10,000 tons wero mined in tho State; in 187'J tho annual output had been swelled to 290, 000 tons; In 1880 to !l 10.000 tons, nnd in 1881 to 100,000 tons. -Chicago Times. Tho overseers of the poor In Boston have !?r2,r,8-'8 in trust funds, tho in come of which is annually distributed for spoeifio purposes, in accordance with the desires of the donors, or dis posed of by the overseers for tho best interests of those whom thoy deem en titled to receive it. Thu "largest of these funds is the David Sears char ity, " amounting to' $200,015. Other largo funds aro tho Boylston education fund, amounting to $120,181, and tho Poinborton general fund, amounting to $101,002. Thoro aro 5117 churches iu Phila delphia a figure which entitles that town to bo called "tho city of churches" in contradistinction to Brooklyn, and tho assessed valuation of this proporty, according to the ollicial report just published, is $17,000,000. Tho largest valuation is that of tho Roman Catholic Cathedral ($285,000), and tho next larirost the Jewish Syna gogue onUroad street- QIS'J'JU.UUU). Those llg"uros, ot course, represent only a porcoutago of tho actual values, but they indicate that religion in its viri ons forms is not an unknown quantity in tho city of brotherly love. N. I. 'Times. WIT AM) WISDOM. Shallow men believe iu luck; strong men believe in cause and ell'eet. You can Itavo what you like in this world, if you will but liko what you have. Said a fond .husband to his wife: "My dear, I think I'll buy you a littlo dog." "Oh, no!" sho replied, "do hot! I prefer giving you all my affec tions!" Proijruis. Hero lies a man whoso earthly race Is run; llo rained tho hammer nl a fowling win, And blow Into tho inu.lo Junt bocaiiHO Mo wI.hIkm! to know if it was loaded and it wan. .Som'ri'fffo Journal. Mr. Editor: Will you pleaso answer who was "David's who's mother?" and you will greatly oblige a reader. Liz zie. Certainly, with pleasure. David's wife's mother was David's molhor-in-hlw.1'hilaiMiihiu New. An nccordeon factory at Long Isl and, N. Y., was destroyed by lire a few days ago. Tho police aro looking for the incendiary. It is supposed the peo ple want to present him with a valua ble testimonial. Norrinlown JJeralil. (Jus Do Smith called at a very fash ionable house on Austin avenue a few days ago and acted so qucorly that when that lady's husband came homo, sho said: "What is tho matter with young Do Smith? JIo acled so strange ly. 1 think there must bo a screw loose about him somewhere." "Keck on not. I saw him this morning, and ho was tight all over." Texas fSiJtings. A store up-town has a sign which roads: "This is a tin-store." An old inobiiato staggered iu recently. nnd aft er a good deal of fumbling iu his pock et, put live cents on tho counter. "What do you want?" asked tho proprietor, indignantly. "Wa-wa-want a-a d-d-d-driiik!" "This is not a liquor saloon!" said tho proprietor, with awful empha sis. "Wha-wha-what!' said the drunk en man, astonished. "Why, do-.Io-Joiies said I could get a horn hero!" N. Y. Tribune. A good advisor says: ' Next to tho love of her husband, nothing so crowns a woman's lifo with honor as the devo tion ot a son to her. We nousr knew a boy to turn out badly who began by fall ing in lovo with his mother. Any man may fall in lovo with a fresh-faced girl, and tho man who is gallant to tho girl may cruelly neglect the poor and weary wife in alter years. But tho big boy who is a lover of his mother at middle ago is a true knight, who will lovo his wife iu tho sonl-loaf autumn as ho did iu the daisied spring. There is nothing so beautifully chivalrous as tho lovo of a big boy for his mother. Boys, think ot this."