CHAPTER XLL

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 224, 15 October 1887, Page 8

CHAPTER XLL

WAJVTEK MAKES A WONDERFUL DISCOVERY. Meanwhile Walter was faithfully attending to the duties devolving upon him in Chester. Mr Conant "was more than satisfied with tho manner in which he had managed the contract which he had been forced, from the press of other business, to intrust him with, and was meditating a grand promotion for him, if he should desire to remain with him after his year was up. To .say that the young; man was not troubled and anxious over his disagreeable situation and in view of his coming trial, would not be truth ; still, ho was so conscious of his own rectitude, he could not but hope that he would bo discharged because of insufficient evidence against him, in spite of his conviction that tho whole thing was a plot of Edmund Carpenter's to ruin his character. He visited often at Madam Rowland's, for that lady seemed to entertain a strange attachment for him, and iirged him to spend every spare CA r ening with her. He Was very glad to avail himself of her inviU fc'on, for her elegant home was full of choice and interesting things, besides books in abundance. Theso were his especial delight, aud frequently he spent an hour or more in reading aloud > to madam, who appeared to very much enjoy this way of being entertained. One evening, however, she seemed preoccupied and distrait; so much so that

Walter wondered if she were suffering; more than .usual from her injuries, which, by the 1 way, were doing wonderfully welli considering how serious they'Kac! been. Ho read on, appearing nob. to notice her inattention, until shd suddenly stopped hirh by saying : " Walter " — she had adopted the use of his first name, in a familiar way, as if she had known him for years, when he came ' back to her after his arrest—" Walter, put | up your book for awhile ; I want you to i J talk to me about yourself. Tell mo something about your former history." " I thought I had told you that loner ago," ho said, smiling. " Yes, you nave told me how Mr Carpenter found you, a poor boy, and took you home to educate ; I know your story pretty well from that time ; but I want you to go farther back than that, and tell me all that you can remember of your early childhood — of your father and mother, and how you happened to bo so destitute when your kind friend found you." Walter flushed ; ho did not relish entering into details, for there were some things about his early life that touched his pride very keenly. Amongst other things, the fact that his father's family had discarded him and ignored his very existence because of his marriage with a poor girl. "My mother's name was Sadio Burton before her marriage," he began. "That is a pretty name. Toll me about her parents and where they lived," said madam, deeply interested. " Her parents died when she wap but a very young girl, and her home was in one of the suburb? of Now York. Her father's sister, a maiden lady, having considerable property, adopted her after s>he became an orphan, and it was understood that she was to inherit all that she possessed in the event of her death. Her money was mostly in bank-stock, and after a few years, a heavy defalcation, together with some other misfortune, swamped the institution, leaving Miss Burton almost penniless in her old age. My mother, however, had received a good education, and at once went to teaching to support herself and the aunt who had done so much for her. But her voice failed after a few months, and she was obliged to relinquish her position and go into a store in New York, where she earned barely enough to enable them to live moderately well. Here my father, who was studying mechanical engineeiitig in the city, met her, and a short acquaintance resulted in an avowal of affection and an engagement. Miss Burton died soon after, and thus my mother was left entirely alone. I fear, however, this is but a dreary story to toll you," Walter interposed, and dreading to go on. " No, no ; go on. Let me hear the whole story," madam said, eagerly. And he resumed : " My father insisted upon an immediate marriage, for he said it was not fitting that sho should be unprotected in that great city. He appeared to be in a condition to support her handsomely, and she, never dreaming but that she would be kindly received by his friends, consented. It was not until some time after their marriage, that he told her he belonged to a wealthy family, and that ho had married against their wishes. "It is a sad story," Walter said, looking deeply pained, "and one- that I never like to dwell upon* but to give- you simple facts and not make it longer than I can help, my father had hitherto received an ample allowance from his parents, which had enabled him to In c handsomely, even luxuriously ; but his friends were so displeased at the step he had taken, that they not only refused to receive his wife, but they cut off his income and left him dependent upon his own exertions, also forbidding him to return to them or communicate with them." " Where did they reside?" asked madam, curtly. "In Baltimore. I imagine that they were Southern people, but as my mother was always made very unhappy by speaking of them, I never questioned her much about them, although I have since wished that I had done so, for it would be a satisfaction to know to whom I belonged, even though I should never intrude myself upon my purseproud relatives,"' Walter remarked with considerable spirit. " ]S]y father, as> you may suppose, was obliged to renounce his studies and go to wor£ to support his family. He was very proud, and accepted the, fiat of his parents as tinal, and with quiet resignation, never communicating with them afterward, never seeking to see them. The position which ho succeeded in securing was a humble one, and his salary limited. When I was four years of age he met with an accident. I shall never forget that day, young as I was. He was caught in some machinery, aud received an injury from which he never recovered." "What was the nature of the injury ?" as.ko d Madam Howland, regarding Walter with sad pitying eyes. "It was an internal hurt ; the doctors ;failcd to ascertain jus,t ' what ; but he 'suffered intensely. ' " Was he ill long ?" , " More than a year." " What supported you all during that time ?" "My mother did fancy work of Various I , kinds ; she was especially skilful in making artificial flowers, for which sho received a fair price, and, while my father lived, she provided him with' every comfort* although I knew that sho often denied herself proper food to sustain her own failing strength. " Oh !" | Walter looked up quickly, for there were both 1 dismay and grief expressed in the startled expletive. "How much suffering there is in this world ! How much heroism in sitcli ' selfdenying wives ! Your mother was a brave little woman," said Madam Howland, and Walter saw that there were tears trembling on her labhes. " How sympathetic she is !" he thought, and he felt more free to open his heart to her after that. ■ \ " When my father died," he went on, in tones that were a trifle unsteady, " my mother was heart-broken, and from that hour she began to fail also. She had a dreadful cough ; but she still kept on with her work, for I had to be fed and clothed, and Bent to school. But at last her strength gave out entirely, and she 1 had to keep her bed ; then I had to stay at home to take what care I could of her, and to sell papers to help eke out the little that she was still able to earn at her fancy work', for she per : sisted in making her beautiful flowers even after she was too weak to sit up, and I took them out to be sold. Of course, matters grow worse and worse with us, and finally we became so destitute- that I used tdask people now and then to give me a little money to keep my mother from starving ; and at last, as- 1 have already told you, I met Mr Carpenter and begged a nickel from him. r " He went home with me, ana found that my mother was one whom he loved, before I sho loft her native place, when she wab'Mis'a Burton's heiress. There had been a quarrel, 1 | or a misunderstanding, of some kind, and he went away in a passion. 'Of Course after lie found us, our destitution was at an end, for he provided for our every want, 1 giving my mother every luxury and delicacy which i money could buy ; he took me to his own i

'homo, and treated mo like his own son as long as he lived. " • ' '\ " Bless the man for a noble deed !" I ejaculated - madam, -. with ■ considerable I emotion. Then she added: .'.'But have you never tried to find your father's rely tivea?" " No," Walter answered,flushing crimson. "I did beg my mother once, when we were so very poor, to write to them and ask them to give us a little help. But she would not. u 'If they refused to recognise their own son because he married me,' she said gently, but firmly — ( if they did not care enough, when I sent them word that he was dead, to come and take a last look at him, they would not surely heed my feeble cry now for aid.' " I have thought," Waller resumed, after a thoughtful pause, " that she might perhaps have relented, and asked them to care forme aftershewasgone, if MrCarpenterhad not come to our relief ; but he promised that I never should want for any good thing, and I know that she died feeling perfectly content about me. I have often wondered, though — " " Well, what have you wondered ?" madam asked, as ho hesitated, and fell into a reverie. " When Uncle Ralph was dying," Walter said, arousing himself, "he called me to his bedside, and said there were some things that he wished to talk to me about. Ho said thero was something that my mother wished him to tell me when I should come of age ; but he broke off there, and remarked he wanted to settle about my future first, and then r before he could finish, that last shock seized him, and he never spoke again. I have often wondered what it was that my mother wanted him to tell me. It may have been, something about my father's friends, or some message that my father may have wished her to give me when I should be old enough to understand it." " Doubtless it was something of that nature ; but does not your heart ever yearn after your own kindred X" Madam Howland asked, regarding him earnestly. Again Walter coloured vividly was very sensitive upon this point. " 1 have often wished that I had relatives — that I could know I belonged to some one who really cared for me because the same blood flowed in my veins ; but " "Well?" " I could never thrust myself upon those people who wei'o so- unkind to my father — who ignored and despised my mother simply because she was poor," he answered, proudly. " My mother was a lady in every sense of the word," he continued, with some excitement. ** She was- as refined and cultured as— as you are, Madam Rowland, and very boautifuL Her parents, were at one time very wealthy, but misfortune deprived them of their property ; while Miss Martha Burton moved in the best society, and she took the greatest pains to have my mother carefully educated.'* "Have you a picture of your mother ?" madam asked. "■ Yes, but not here. I shall be happy to show it to you some time. But, Madam Howland," Walter asked, earnestly, " don't you think it is a mean spirit that looks down upon and despises really worthy people of pecuniary misfortune, or because they do not happen to occupy a certain position V Ho looked up into his companion's grand face with questioning eyes as he asked her this, while thero was a slight curl of scorn upon his fine lips, for he heartily despised the arrogance and purse-pride of which he had spoken. He was startled by the effects of his words, for the woman had grown white to her lips, and actually groaned aloud at his question. "Walter— Walter Richardson, don't be too hard on an old woman ; do not condemn me utterly. I would that I could answer your question in a way which shall still make you respect and esteem me, but I cannot, for — / have done it myself all my life." '• But, madam," Walter stammered, in confusion, and wondering to see her so agitated, "that cannot be possible ! You are so noble and good. You have been very kind to the poor and helpful, also to me, who am but a poor young man struggling hard to work my own way up in the world." "Ah ! But you forget how much I owe you for your kindness to me when I so sadly needed it," returned madam, touching her bandaged right arm with the other hand which she was just beginning to uso a little. " I suppose it is natural that you should uppreciate a service like that," Walter answered, thoughtfully, " but you did not ' oive ' me anything ; the freedom of your lovely home, the pleasure of your society, besides the many other favours which 1 have received from you, these have all been great kindnesses to mo. " " I did— l ,do," cried the woman, in a broken voice, while she leaned forward and laid her hand upon the. young man's arm. "I owe you more than 1 can ever repay — more, I fear, than you will ever be willing to forgive me; for, Walter, I am your father's mother, and — your grandmother !"

(To be, Continued.)