THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, JULY 14, 1S98.
heaped every indignity upon her. said he, “ and here comes a minis­
F orsaken, desolate and desperate, tering angel bending over me, and
she would have fallen an easy prey assuring my old heart th at the
i to the destroyer, had not the bronz- 1 world isn ’t all hard and selfish
ed hand of the sailor snatched her I th at there’s some good in it vet.”
from the snare set for her unw ary
Every day Mrs. Congdon sat be­
feet.
side the bed of the sick man and
New hope and courage possessed watched hia failing breath, for ¡t
S aved by a S ew ing M achine.
stroyer of womanhood with all the
her, as she presented her order for was evident th a t his days on earth
ferocity of an enraged tiger.
Isabel Allen wao about to s ta r t| Do you wonder th a t he h it his the sewiug m achine just at the were few.
for C alifornia, and not wishing to foe there, bleeding, wounded and hour when the ship on board of
G ently, tenderly, affectionately,
becum bcrK l with a se w in g m a c h in e ,' w ilb fcarcP|y tbe breath of life in which was Jack H opkins hauled he was watched and cared for hv
ehe concluded to follow the exam-1 bin)? W o u ld n ’t you have done the out from the dock.
the woman he had redeemed, and
pie of num erous religious moieties Palne? U ndpr ginij| ar circum stanc-
In d u stry , ap titu d e and patient who, in retu rn , told him her home,
and dispose of it by raffle. She e8> wou,d y „ u buvp |pft bj|u a | jvp persistence soon placed Rosa in
w ealth, influence and services were
readily sold fifty tickets at a dollar at a jp>
com fortable circum stances.
She at his com m and.
H er husband
apiece, and W ednesday evening
The ,rem bling gil.|_ faintingi sought and obtained all the work
joined with her in good offices to
was to witness the draw ing of the frigbteued> Htood epe]1. bouud> 8ole she could do, clothed herself neatly,
the benefactor of his wife, and as­
lucky num ber.
The tim e came, „ ¡tness of the scene.
and by and by had a com fortable sured him th a t if h ealth returned
and Jack H opkins was discovered
u j i PrP> C1,me w jth me> and do„-t sum in the savings bank.
As the he should never again feel compel­
to be the holder of the fortunate be Hfl.a i d / ,
, he bone8t. hearled years rolled on, her sweet face and
led to wander in foreign lands. But
figure.
sailor.
“ I ’d not harm a hair of am iable m anners attracted , am ong all was of no avail; the shadows
“ Good Lord! ’ said he, when the tby young head for all the wealth others, the adm iration of R onald had fallen, aad night was ap­
fact was m ade known to him, (d C alifornia’s gold mines. Come Congdon, whose esteem ripened in ­ proaching.
Mrs. Congdon sat by,
“ w hat under the sun shall I do w j|h mp
Thou a rt ag safp ag to affection, and he sought her for
a faithful w atcher, and as she re­
with a sewing m a c h i n e t h o u g h asleep upon thy m other’s his wife.
called the d istan t past she wept
“ W hy, get you a wife, or go into b08olll «
H er m arriage with R onald Cong­ softly.
the tailo ring business am i make a I Kl)„ g|lj hard> pr((fanP> fer(x.ioUK don placed her at once in th e best
“ W hy do you weep for the old
fortune,1’ said Isabel A llen’s hro-I Jack H o p k in 8 _ th a t was , be side and most refined Society, where her
sa lt? ” questioned the dying man.
*‘*<*r -
■ the world saw; hut th a t night re- native tact and grace enabled her “ I’ve had a long voyage, ship­
“ B o th e rth e wife, and as for tai-1 vpa|ed bjln gen||ej tender as a w0. to adorn the position for which she
wrecked m any tim es and often
loring, can ’t do my own sewing,”
( ,,re aa a 8 |a|.
was fitted by nature.
tem pest-tossed, and now I’m com­
was his reply, as visions of torn ! Rofa Grey> with tru a ti„g eonfi.
R onald Congdon was w ealthy, ing into port, worn, with ragged
button-holes, huttonless shirts, rag- dencp> put ber hand confidit,g ,y ¡„ a m illionaire in heart and m ind, as
sails and rotting tim bers, but I
ged w ristbands and worn sleeve- his, a. .1 he hastily led her froin'lhe well as in this w orld’s goods; and
shall be glad to cast anchor in a
linings rose before him ; for al- 8pOt where her innocence an d hap- it was his delight t<> lavish t i l the
harbor where there are no storms
though H opkins was a “ m an-of- pjnp8a bad hpen 8Q 1|ear,y wr,,cked
luxuries th a t a rt or money could or raging billows.”
w ar’s m an ” , he never could see for
produce upon his lovely wife.
Pausing a m om ent, he said:
into th e a rt of top-sewing and her-
u p oor liM legirl|» said he>
One day, in th e spring-tim e of
“ Rosa, I never took much stock
ring-boning. He felt like the m an ingly.
“ D o n ’t cry.”
And then the year, when the violets m ade in preaching or praying, as it goes
who drew the elephant, and what torrents of oaths escaped Him as he
the mossy banks frag ran t with per on in the world, hut I ’ve prayed
to do or where to store his sewing
rem em bered the wretch he hail left fume, Rosa was returning from a and fasted some after a fashion of
m achine He did not know. He had
bleeding upon the pavem ent. S ud­ drive to the woo Is, laden with my own. M aybe it was right and
no tim e to look about, for he was
denly he thought of his sewing m a­ ground-pine, velvety mosses, feath rnayhe it was wrong. I don’t know,
ordered on hoard ship the next chine, and th a t it m ight possibly
er f< rns and trailin g arbutus. She but I ’ve tried to do as well as I
m orning.
As he sauntered along
benefit the weeping girl beside him. rode past the General H ospital ju s t knew how, and anyw ay, it was
w histling,
“ Can ye steer such a craft as a as a sick man was lifted from a honest. And if I should happen
“ A life on the ocean wave,
sewing m achine?” he asked.
| wagon, preparatory to taking him to wake up in some foreign land,
A Home on tHe rolling deep” ,
“ Do you m ean, sir, can I run a to the sick ward.
and the captain calls me to give an
suddenly He caught the wicked, sewing m a c h in e — can I m ake it
“ S urely,” thought Rosa, as she account of myself, I ’ll ju s t tell him
serpent gleam th a t Hashed from the sew?”
looked upon the em aciated form, how it was, and I won’t forget to
sinister eyes of a fash io n ab ly d ress­
“ Yes, th a t’s what I m ean.”
“ I have seen th a t face before!” and let him know how I thrash ed that
ed m an, as he whispered to his
“ W Hv, no, but I could learn, all the way home, the pale atenu- m iserable scam p — and gave you
com panion, a poorly-clad hut h an d ­ m aybe, if I had one to work w ith.”
ated features haunted her. W hen, my bottom d o llar and — a sewing
some girl of not more th an sixteen
“ W h at’s your name?”
j where, had she seen th at m an? m achine, and m aybe he won’t he
sum m ers.
A
strange
im pulse
“ Rosa G rey.”
The dim , shadow y past, with its very hard with me. Good-by! The
prom pted H opkins to tu rn and fol­
Leaning against a lam p post, the wonderful changes, passed like a storm is over, th ere’s blue skv ven­
der, and ’t is my watch below!”
low the couple through m any w ind­ sailor wrote an order to Isabel Al­
panoram a l>ef re her, hut still sh e
John H opkins never spoke again.
ing streets until they paused before len, instructing her to deliver to
could not locate the stranger. R est­ Rosa reverently folded the rough,
an elegant m ansion, from whence Rosa Grey His sewing m achine, and
less, uneasy, she resolved to visit scarred hands above th e pulseless
issued sounds of music and laugh­ signing the paper, handed it to the
the hospital, and discover, if possi­ bosom and closed the eyes of the
ter. I t was a cloudy night, m isty, bewildered girl.
ble, who trie stran g er was. Upon brave-hearted sailor.
dim and dark, a night well a d a p t­
She had the rem ains robed and
“ Here, take th is,” said be, “ and arriv in g there she inquired of the
placed in an elegant rosewood cas­
ed to wickedness and crime. The go get your living,” and then with
clerk the nam e of the gentlem an ket, and conveyed to her own beau­
street lam p shed its light full on the lavish generosity of sea-faring
brought there th a t forenoon. “ Jo h n tiful home, w here ap p ro p riate serv­
tHe faces of the couple.
men, he placed in her hand a bur.ch H opkins,” was the reply, after ex­ ices were held ere the body was
“ V illain!" hissed H opkins. “ Mv of crum pled greenbacks.
placed in its last resting-place.
“ Better am ining his register.
little sister, my only rem aining rel­ th a t she should have it th an the
In Mrs. Congdon’« parlor, in an
It was the nam e of her benefac­
alcove, there stands today an old-
ative, as fair a hud as ever blos­ grog shop,” he m uttered, as he
tor! and in an in stan t she had re­ fa^hioued sewing m achine, covered
somed under sum m er skies, lies in turned and went his way, leaving
called all the scenes of th a t event­ over with purple velvet, whose
the chill and m ould of yonder Rosa Grey alm ost petrified with
ful night that had so changed the fringe of gold sweeps th e costly
ch u rch y ard tonight, and you sent astonishm ent. G reat drops of rain
Upon the top of
cu rren t of her life.
H er request M ilton carpet.
her there! I t was years ago, but m ingled with her fast-falling tears,
th a t she m ight see him was g ra n t­ the velvet cover rests a solid silver
plate, encircled with a wreath of
I ’ve not forgotten her or you. And as if the heavens wept in sy m p a­
ed, and precious tears of joy drop­ flowers. It l>ears this inscription:
now’ you seek th e destruction of a n ­ thy.
ped upon th e old sailo r’s neck. He “ Sacred to the m em ory of John
o ther with th e poison of your de­
The poor girl was an orphan, wept, also, as she told him her H opkins.”
ceitful tongue, you smooth-faced friendless and alone. Driven from
\\ hen the curious ask whv she
nam e and related how he had sav­
m urderer!
la k e th a t, and th a t, the m iserable shelter th a t she call- ed her from sham e and infam y.
keeps th a t old-fashioned machine
so choice, she answ ers reverently.
arid th a t!” an d the heavy blows ed home by a merciless stepm other,
“ I thought I was old and poor, “ It is my s a v io r!” — fSugan H.
fell thick and fast upon the de who, since her father’s death, had
i sick and friendless and forsaken,” . W ixon.
Our Secular Story.
NV