Loading...
The Wingham Times, 1912-06-27, Page 7• • • • tl �; • 1NG11131 TILES, JUNE 27, 1 1, ••NOld •••••• •• •N• +.•• •••• •y • agar's Secret •0N • BY MRS. M. J. I JOLMES .int+suer of '4 For it Woman's Sake," " Love's 'rz•iuuhl)h," H%'tu•ifle . by Suffering," "A. Grass ,Vhlow," "Woman Against Woman," Etc. • 1:448, e... •e.. i••. ••.• ii:. s : CNAPTTER I. 'Mid the New T:itgland hills, and beneath the sha(.ow of their dim old • :woods, is u. naming brook, whose deep 'waters ware not' always as mer- ry and frolicsome as now; for years before our story opens, pent up and impeded in heir course, they dashed ans.:iry ugems t their prison walls, and turne;l the creekiug wheel of an old saw mill, with a sullen, rebellious roar. The mill has gone to decay, r.nd the sturdy leen who fed it with The t. Lint oaks of the forest, are sleeping quietly in the village grave- yard. The waters of the mill -pond, too, relieved front their confinement, leap gayly over the ruined dam, Y tossrnR for a moment in wanton glee their locks of snow-white foam, and then, flowing on, half fearfully as it were, through the deep gorge over- hung with the hemlock and the pine, where the shadows of twilight ever lie, and where tate rocks frown gloomily down upon the stream be- low, which, emerging from the dark - nes, lusts itself at last in the wat- erS of thee gracefully winding Chi- copee, and leaves far behind the moss -coveted walls of what is famil- iarly known as the "OId House by the Mill." 'Tis a Inners old-fashioned building, distant nc'&' 1y a mile front the pub- lic highway, and surrounded so thickly by forest trees that the all i'ght sunbelt t, dancing merrily statist the rustling leaves above, falls but scMout on the thee•• -stained walls of dark gray stone, where the damp and dews of more than a century have ful'en, and where now the ,green moss clings with a loving grasp, as if 'ttvere its rightful rest- ing -place. When the thunders of the Revolution shook the hills of the May State, and the royal banner floated in the evening breeze, the house was owned by an old English- munn, who, loyal to his kind and country, denounced as rebels the fol- lowers of Washington. Against these, however, he would not raise his hand, for among them were many long -trite! friends, who had gathered with hint round the. festal hoard; so he chose the only remaining alterna- tive, and went back to his native country, chetishiing the hope that he should one, day return to the home he loved so well, and listen again to the musical flow of the water -brook, which could be distinctly heard from the door of the man ion. But his wish was vain. for when at last Am- erica was free, and the British troops recalled, 1:e slept beneath the sod of England, and the old house was for litany years deserted. The Englishman had been greatly belov- ed, and his property- was unmolest- ed, while the weeds and grass grew call and rank in the garden beds, and the birds of heaven built their nests beneath the projecting roof, or held a holiday in the gloomy, silent rooms. As time passed on; how•etier, and. no one appeared to dispute their right, different families occupied the $louse at intervals, until at last, When nearly fifty years had elapsed, news was one (lay received that Ma- dam Conway, a grand -daughter of the old Englishman, having met with reverses at house, had determin- ed to emigrate to the. New World, and, remembering the "House by the Mill," of which she had heard so r1much, she wished to know if peace- able possession of it woul(1'1>e allow - ad her, in case she decided upon re- imoving thither, and making it her future home. To this plan 110 objec- tion was made, for the aged people BECAME SO WEAK FROM DIARRHA Had To Quit Work Diarrhoea, especially if left to run any length of time, causes great weakness, So the only thing to prevent this is to Check it on its first appearance. You *ill find that a few doses of Dr. Fowler's Extract of Wild Strawberry will do thie eluickly and effectively. Mr. Ino. R. Lihildcthouse, Orillia, Ont., writes:— inWhen in Fort William, last summer, I teas taken sick with diarrhoea, and ibecame so weak and suffered such great { pain, I had to quit work. Our manager Advised me to try Dr. Fowler's Extract .of Wild Strawberry, so on my way home x bought a bottle, and after taking four .doses I was cured. We always keep a ',bottle in the house. We have also sited it for our children, and And it an excellent Yen esfy fear summer cortiiplaintt" I trice /8 cents. When you go to get a iottle of "fir,'Pottier's," insist on b' know o1 /Wen what you ask for, as we k Many cases where unscrupulous dealers bare handed out some other preparation. The genuine is manufactured only by 'x111: T. Milburn Co„ limited, Torofite, •S t,Stltettttett.esiesttetsm of Hillsdale still cherished the mem- ory of the hospitable old lural, whores locks were gray while they were yeti but children. and the younger por- tion Of the community hoped for a renewal of the gayet k's which they had heard were once so common at the old stone House. But ie, this they were disappointed, for Madam Conway was a proud, un- social woman, desiring no acquain- tance whatever with her neighbors, who, after many ineffectual attempts at something like friendly inter- course, concluded to leave her en- tirelyalone, 1 and contented t he m e- selt'e With watching the progress of matters at "Mill Farm," as she des- ignated the place which soon began to show visible harks of improve- ment. The Englishman is a loan of taste, and Madam Conway's first work was an attempt to restore the grounds to something of their for- mer beauty. The yard and garden were cleared of weeds, the walks and flower -beds iaid out with care, and then the neighbors looked to see her cut aWay a few of the multitude of trees .which had sprung up around her home. I}ut this she had 110 in- tention of doing, "They shut her (ant," she said, from the prying 1eyes of the vulgar, and she would ra- ther it should be so." So the trees remained. throwing their long she- dews upon the high, narrow win- dows, and into the large, square rooms, where the morning light and the noonday heat seldom found en- trance, and which seemed like so many cold, silent caverns, with their old-fashioned massive furniture, their dark, heavy curtains, and the noise- less footfall of the stately lady, who moved ever with the same measured tread, speaking always softly and low to the household servants, who, having been trained in her service, had followed her across the sea. From these the neighbors learned that Madam Conway had in London a eutrriel slaughter, Mrs. Miller; that old Hagar Warren', the strange -look - int• woman, who, more than any one else, shared her mistress's con- fidence, had grown up in the family, reveit ing a very good education, and had nursed their young mistress, Miss :Margaret, which, of coot se, en- titled her to more respect than was l:seally i estowed upon menials like her; that Madam Conway was very aristocratic,. very proud of her high ISnglish blood; Oats though. she liv- ed ulmue, she attended strictly to all the formalities of high life, dressing oath day with the utmost precision for her solitary dinner, dining from. off a sertico of solid silver, and pre - cling with great dignity in her straight, high-backed chair. She,w•as fond, too, of the ruby wine, and her cellar was stored with the choicest liquors, some of which she had brought with her front home, while others, it was said, had belonged to her grandfather, and for half .a cen- tury had remained unseen and un- molested, while the cobwebs of time had woven around them a misty cov- ering, making them still more valu- able to the lady, who knew full well how age improved such things. Regularly each day she rode in her ponderous carriage, sometimes alone, and sometimes accompanied by Hes- ter, the daughter of old Hagar, a handsome, intelligent -looking girl. who, atter two or three years of comparative idleness at Mill Farm,, went to Meriden, Connecticut, as seamstress in a family which had ad- vertised for such a person. With her departed the only life of the house, and during the' following year there ensued a monotonous quiet, which was broken at last for Hagar by the startling announcement that her daughter's young mistress had died four months before, and the husband, prov- edgray-haired, elderly man, had P ed conclusively that ho was in his dotage by talking of marriage to Hester, who, ere the letter reached her mother, would probably he the third bride of one whose reputed weltt was the only possible induce- ment to a girl like Hester Warren. With an immense degree of satisfac- tion Hagar read the letter through. exulting that fortune had favored her at last. Possesses' of many ster- ling qualities. IIagar Warren had one glaring fault which had embittered her whole life. Why others were rich while elle' was poor she could nob un; derstnnd, and her heart rebelled at the fate which had made her what she was. But nester would bo weal- thy—nay, would, perhaps, one day ,ival the haughty Mrs. Miller across t he water, who had been her play- mate; there wars comfort in that, and she wrote to her daughter expressing her entire approbation, and hinting vaguely of the possibility that she herself might sono tine cease to be a servant, and help do the honors of Mr. Hamilton's house! To this there cane no reply, and Hagar Ivas think- ing seriously of making a visit to Meriden, when ono rainy autumnal night, nearly a year after Ilester's marriage, there came another letter sealed with black. With a sad fore• bolting lIagar opened it, and read that Mr. Hamilton had failed; that his house and farts were sold, and that he, overwhelmed with mortifica- tion both at his failure and the op, position of his friends to his last marriage, had died suddenly, leaving lrester With no home in the Wide world unless Madan). Conway receiv- ed her again into her family, "Just my luck;" was ITagar'e mental eontmettt, nts she finished reading the letter, and carried it to her mistress, Who had always liked Hester, and Who readily consented to give her a hone, provided she put on So airs from having been for a. time the wife of areputed wealthy elan. "Mustn't put on airs!" muttered ITu ar, as she left the room. "Just as if airs wasn't for anybody but high bloods!" And with the canker worm of envy at her heart, site wrote to Hester, who came immediately; 1 and Hagar, when she heard her tell the story of her wrongs—how her husl,and's sister, indignant at his metrl'iage with a sewing -girl, had re- moved from him, the children, one a stop -child and one his own; and how of all his vast fortune there was not left for her a penny — experienced again the old bitterness of feeling, and murmured that fate should thus deal with her and leers. With the next day's mail there clone to Madam Conway a letter, bearing a foreign postmark, and bringing the sad news that her son-in- law had been lost in a storm, while crossing the English Channel, and •that her daughter Margaret, utterly crushed and heart -broken, would sail immediately for America, whoro she washed only to lay her weary head upon her another's bosom and die, "So, there is ono person that has no respect for blood, and that is Dearth," said old Hagar to hcr.mis- . ess. when she heard ,the news. "Ise served et' is both alike—he has cat >o n a ho taken any son-in-law first and yours next." Frowning haughtily, Maclaln Con- t • h telling her t Con- way bade ca be silent c at the sauce time toy see that the 1'001118 111 the north part of the building were put in perfect order for Mrs. \ill'r, who would probably come in the next vessel. In sullen silence Iiagar withdrew, and for sev- eral days worked half reluctantly in the "north rooms," as Madam Con- pleas - ant, termed a comparatively1 a ay r P ant, airy suit of apartments, with a balcony above, which looked out up- on the old mill -dam, and the water - brook pouring over it. "There'll be big doings when my lady conies," said Hagar one day to her daughter. !'It'll be Hagar here,. a.nd Hagar there, and Hagar every- where; hut I shan't hurry myself. 1'mn getting too old to wait on a chit lie her." "Don't talk 80, mother," said Hes- ter. "Margaret was always kind to rue. She is not to blame for being itch, while 1 am. poor," "But somebody's to blame," inter- rupted old Hagar. "You was always accounted the handsomest and clev- erest of the two, and yet for all you'll be nothing but a drudge to wait on her and the little girl." Mester only sighed in reply, while her thoughts went forward to the fu- ture, and what it would probably, bring her. ITester Warren and Mar- garet Conway had Item children to- gether, and in spite of the difference of their stations they had loved each other clearly; and when at last the weary traveler carne, with her pale sad face and mourning garb, none gave her so heartfelt a. welcome as ' Ilester; and dui ing the week when, from exhaustion and excitement, she was confined to her bed, it was Hes- ter who nursed her with the utmost care, soothing her to sleep, and then amusing the little Theo, a child of two 'years. Iiagar, too, softened by her young mistress's sorrow, repent- ed of her harsh words, and watched each night with the invalid, who, once when her mind seemed wander- ing far back in the past, whispered softly: "Tell me the Lord's Prayer, dear Iiagar, just as you told it to me years ago when I was a little child." It was a long time since Hagar had breathed that prayer, but at Mrs. Miller's request she commenced it, repeating correctly until she came to the words, "•Give us this day our daily bread," then she hesitated, and, bending forward, said: "What conies next, Miss Margaret? Is it,, 'Lead us not into temptation?' " "Yes, yes," whispered the half -un- conscious lady. " 'Lead us not into temptation,' that's it," Then, -as if there were around her a dine forebod- ing of the great wrong Hagar was to (lo, she took her old nurse's hand be- tween her own, and continued: "Say, it often, Hagar—`Lead us not into temptation'—you have much need for that prayer." A moment more and, Margaret Mil- ler slept, while beside her sat Iiagar Warren, half shuddering, she knew not why, at the thought' of her mis- tress's words, which seemed to hen so much like the prophecy. s Brit of I "Why do I need that prayer more than any one else?" she said, at last., "I have never been tempted more than I could bear—never shall be old tempted—and if I am Hagar Warren, •, bad as she is, can resist 11iL temptation without that prayer." Still, reason as she would, Hagar could not shake off the strange feel- ing, and as she sat, half dozing, in her chair, with: the dim lamplight flickering over her dark face, she fancied that the October wind, sigh- ing so mournfully through the locust trees beneath the window and then dying away in the distance, bore up- on its wing, "Lead us not into temp- tation. Hagar, you have much need to say that prayer." Aye, Hagar Warren, much teed, much need! CHAPTER IL The Wintry winds Were blowing cold and chill around the old stone house, and the deep, untrodden snow lay high piled upon the ground. For many days the gray, leaden clouds had frowned gloomily down upon the earth below, covering it with a thick veil of white. But the storm was over now, with the Setting sun it had gone to rest, and the pale moonlight stole softly into the sil• ent chamber, where Madam Conway hint anxiously down to see it but the faintest breath came from the part. ed lips of her only daughter. 'There had been born to ler that night an- other grandchild—a little, helpless girl, which now in an adjoining moons was Ilagar's special care; and Hag- ar, sitting (here with the wee crea- tore 1131011 her lap, and the dread tear at her heart that her young mistress might (.ie, forgot for once to 1.01 tree at her lot. and did el►eer- fully Whatever was required of her to do. There was silence in the rooms be- low--silemee in the chambers above-- SUMP t • 1 t ce ever 'w (•re- � h fur the sick wo- man 0 mint seemed fast nearing the deep, dark river whose watersnum, oa- rrat•(t but never return. • Almost a week went by, and then, in ai rooms far more 1101111)10 than that whet e Margaret Millet' lay, another inunnrtal being was given to the world: and, with a softened light in her Peen black eyes, old Hagar told to her stately mistress, when she nut her on the stairs, that she, too was a grandmother. "Yore must not on that account ne- glect Margaret's child," was Madam Conway's answer, as, with a wave of her halut, she passed on; and this W104 all she said—not a word of sym- pathy or congratulation for the pe- culiar old woman whose heart, so long benumbed, had been roused to a better state of feeling, and who, in the first joy of her new -horn happi- eyes, had hurried to her mistress, fancying for the moment that she was almost her seined. "Don't neglect Margaret's child for that!" llow the words rang in her eau•5 as she lied up the narrow stairs and through the dark hall, till the low roost was reached where lay the babe for whom AIargnret's child was not to be neglected. All the old bitterness had returned, and as hour after hour went by, and Madam Con- way came not near, while the physi- cian Y clan tend the servants looked in for a moment only and theft hurried away to, the other sick roost, where all were kept itreenlist- their ccs lion, she muttered: "Little Would they car. if Hester died upon my hands. And she will die, too," she continued. ars by the fading daylight she Saw the, Pallor deepen on her daughter's face. And ,Iiagar was right, for nester's sands were nearer run than those of Vr.4. Miller. The utmost rare might not, !writers, have saved her, but 010 latter was not tested, and wheel he long clock at the head of the rt 'les struck the hour of midnight, she murmured: "It is getting dark he c, mother—so dank—and 1 ads growing cold. Can it be death?" "Yes, nester, 'Us death," answered IIagar, and her voice was unnatural- ly calm as she laid her hand on the clammy brow of her daughter. An hour later, and Madam Con- way, who sat dozing in the parlor below, ready for any summons which might come from Margaret's room, was roused by the touch of a cold, hard hand, and Hagar Warren stood hefere her, "Conte," slie said, "come with me;" and thinking only of Margaret, Madam Coker ay arose to follow her. "Not there—but this way," said Hagar, as he•.lnistress turned to- wards Mrs. Miller's door, and grasp- ing firmly the lady's arm, she led to the roost where Hester lay dead, with her young baby clasped loving- ly to her bosom. "Look at her --and pity mo now, 1f you never (rid be- fore. She Was all I had in the world to love," said Hagar, passionately. Madan Conway was not naturally a hard-hearted woman, and she ans- wered gently, "I do pity you, Hag- ar, and I did not think Hester was so ill. Why haven't you let mo know?" To this IIagar made no direct reply. and after a fete more in- quiries Madam Conway left the room, saying she would send up the servants to do whatever was neces- sary. When it was know't through- out the house that IIester was dead, much surprise was expressed and a good deal of sympathy manifested for old Hagar, who, with a gloomy brow, hugged to her heart the demon of jealousy, which kept whispering to her of the' difference there would bo were Margaret to die. It was deems e(; advisable to keep Nester's death a secret from Mrs. Miller; so, with ase little ceremony as possible, the body was buried at the close of the day, in an inclosure which had been set apart as a family burning ground; and when again the night shadows fell Hagar Warren sat in her silent room, brooding o'er her grief, and looking oft at the plain pine cradle, where lay the little motherless child, lier grand -daughter. Occasionally, too, her eye wandered towards the mahogany crib, where another infant slept. Perfect quiet seemed neces- sary for Mrs. Miller, and Madam Conway had ordered her baby to be removed from the ante -chamber where .first it beet' kept, , so that linger had the two children in her own roost. in the pine cradle there was a rustling sound; the baby was awak- ing,lap,. Hag- ar it on her n rand u I. 6.taking soothed it again to sleep, gazing earnestly upon it to sea if it were like its mother. it was a bright, healthy -looking infant, anti thought Wee dap; younger than that of Airs. Miller, was quite (; large and look- ed as old. "And you will be a drudge, while she will be a lady," mattered 'Hagar, as her tears fell on the face of the sleeping child. "Why need this differ- ence be•" Old (Tager had forgotten the Words "Lead us not into tempta- tion;" and when the tempter ans- wered "It need not be," she only started suddenly as if smitten by a heavy blow; but she did not drive littn from her, and she sat there rear Doing with herself that, "it need not he." Neither the physician nor 1(1e than Conway had paid any attention to Margaret's child; it had been her special care, while no one had Wiv- e,' hers, and newly -born hat its wets so much alike that deception wasalt easy matte. But could she do it ? Could site bear that secret oe her soul? Medan' Conway, t hough proud, ha(i been kind to her, and could she thus deceive her! Would her daughter, sleeping in her early Wave, approve. the deed, "No, no," s!xe anewrerrtl aloud, ".she would not:" and the great drops of per - NI hellion stood thickly upon her dark, haggard farce, as She arose and laid back in her cradle the child whom site had thought to make nal heiress. For a time the tempter left her, but returne(1 ere 1011g. Xtn(1 creeping into her heart sung to her beautiful songs of the future which night be, were [Tester's baby a lady. And Iiag- ar, listening to that song, fell asleep, dreantiag that rho deed was done by other, agency ncy than here— that the little face resting on the downy pillow, and shaded by tho costly late, was lowly born; while the child, wrapped in the courser blanket, came of neuter blood, even that of the (.'tntwnys, who boasted more than one lordly title. Witit a, nervous start she awoke at last and creeping to the cradle of mahogany, 1001(ed to see if her dream were true; but it was not. She knew it by the pinched, blue look about the nose, and the 111111 covering of hair. This was all the difference which ev- en her eye could see, and probably no other person had noti:'ed that, for the child had never been seen in a darkened room. The Sin was grow- ing gradually less heinous, and she could now calmly calculate the chances for detection. Still, the, conflict was long and severe, and it was not until morning that the tempter gained a point by comprom- ising the platter, and suggesting that while dressing the infants she should change their clothes for once, just to see how fine cambrics and soft flannel would look upon a grandchild of Nagar Warren! • ";She could easily ctan o them agaht — 'tens only an experiment," she said, as with trembling hands she proceed- ed to divest thee children of their wrappings. But her fingers seemed all thumbs, and more than one sharp pin pierced the tender flesh of her little grandchild, as she fastened to- gether the embroidered slip, teaching het: thus early, had she been able to learn the lesson, that the pathway of the riot is not free from thorns. Their toilet was completed at last —their cradle beds exchanged, and e a ge n then with a strange, undefined fcol- ing, old Hagar stood back and look -s ed to see how the little. usurper be- came her new position. She became it well, and to flagar's partial eyes it seemed more meet that she should lie there beneath the silken covering, than the other ono whose nose look- ed still more pinched and blue in the plain white dress and cradle of pine. Still, there was a gnawing pain at IIagar's heart, and she would, per- haps, have undone the wrong, had not Madam Conway appeared with inquiries for the baby's health. Hag- ar could not face her mistress, so she turned away and pretenaed to busy herself with the arrangement of the room, while the lady, bending over. the cradle, said, "I think she is im- proving, Hager; I never saw her look so well;" and she pushed back the window curtain to obtain a bet- ter v'ICW. With a wild, startled look in her eye, Hagar held her breath to hear what might come newt, but her fears were groundless; for in her anxiety for her daughter. Madam Conway had heretofore scarcely seen her grandchild, and had no suspicion now that the sleeper before her was of plebeian birth, nor yet that the other little one, at whom she did not deign to look, was bone of her bone, and flesh of her flesh. She started to leave the room, but impelled by some sudden impulse, turned back and stooped to kiss the child. In- voluntarily old Hagar sprang for- ward to stay the act, and grasped the lady's arm, but she was too late; the at'istocratic lips had touch- ed the cheek of Hagar Warr'en's grandchild, and the secret, if now confessed, would never be forgiven. "It can't be helped," muttered Hagar, and then, when Mrs. Con- way asked an explanation of her con- duct, she answered: "I was afraid yours wake her up, and mercy knows I've had worry enough with both the brats," Not till then had Madam Conway observed how haggard and worn was Ilagar's face, and instead of re-, proving her for her boldness, she said gently, "you have, indeed, been sorely tried. Shall I send up Bertha to relieve you?" "No, no," answered tHagar,hur- riedly, "I am better alone." The next morning Madam Conway was moving silently down the narrow hall, while Hagar, on her knees, was weeping passionately. Ono word of kindness had effected more than a thousand reproaches would have done; and wringing her hands, she cried, "I will not do it; I cannot." Approaching the cradle, she was about to lift the child, when again t door. dConway Madam ('iO was at the She had come, she said, to take the babe to Margaret, who seemed bete - ter this morning, and had asked to see it. "Not now, o Wait o not now. Wn t till I mI'll s and on her handsomer r dyes.R put bring her myself." pleaded Ilager, Ilut Madam Conway saw no fault in the line cambric wrapper, and taking the infant in her erns, she walked away, while Hagar followed steadily. Very lovingly the mother folded to her boson the babe, calling it her fatherless one, and wetting its face with her tears, while through the half-closed door peered llai;ar's wild, dark eyes—ono inpincnt light - Me by with exultation as she mut- rer0(1, "it's lay flesh, my blood, )rand lady!" and the next growing elm with tears, as elle thought Got the et it she had done. "1 di:1 not know she hili so much ha 1"," en id Mrs. Miller, pal ting the silken locks. "i think it will he til a mine." and rile gave the child to her mother, while Hagar glided s,viftly hack to her room. That aft. rnoon the clergyman, whose rhumb .Airs. Conway usually 111 tender:, 4.011441 to see `Irs. S.11lei. who stt;_g' ,,ted that batt the Oil lee., should revive the rite of hnpti;m. 1Iagar 2202 ttccol•dcugly 111(i,a to lrepare them for the ietemoay, 11111 metal, te 10 make tole .110..' (..et t (0 1,0110 AO:. t she had bone, Ow e1 es e(1 the child whom she had tbc•ught to wrong in its own clothes, and then aunxIously awaited her mistress' tann- ing. "Hagar \Veleta! What does this mean? Aro you ('razyl" sternly de- mc.nded Madam Conway, 'when the 4)141 muse hell up before her the chip With the 1 hie nose. "•No, floc tPazy yet; hut I shall 1>e, it you don't take this one brat," atostered Hagar. More than once that day Madam t ni nuns in i, II IIP munnnunnnc nett Illuiipltl tet I 1 I �)oollitoits im .mac ;elablePxeparationforAs- simiiatirig t1leTood andReg tata- tidg theStomachs alulBoweis of INFANTg'.e° 'iiILD, .. �i.• . Promote s'Digeslion,Cheerful- ness andRestContalns neither . O Iutn,Morphine nor l In .cal.. NOT NAItC OTIC. Recr,peo!OfrlBrSIIV112GPfICBM lien e,1 Sud - A . LrScavus • R,ol,1sSac - "false Seed + IIypernu• - pt Ov,(oi,141.g.. rf6•m.he ar- f(mihed Sugar . Ts" 1 ro ori Plarm: nY AperfeetReinedy forConstipa- tion, Sour Stomach,Diarrhoea, Worms,Convulsions,Feverish- ness andLOSS OF SLEEP. FacSimmiillee �sii�gnature of NEW YORK. STORIA For Infants and Children. 1 The Kind You Have Always Bought Q Bears the Signature of In Use For Over Thirty Years CXACT COPY OF wgAPPEB. T :1: RIA INC CENTAUR COMPANY. N"W YORK CITY. ;A'S .twee. ;"rrStet'1 . ':=.r, e •E to t fr .� .ws '?PiaF•, A VETERAN OF THE BOER WAR TESTIFIES' AS TO THE EFFICACY OF BURDOCK BLOOD BITTERS FOR THE CURE OF BOILS Mr. D. M. McBlaine, Niagara Falls, Ont., writes; "It is with pleasure I testify to the sterling qualities of your Burdock Blood Bitters. After the Boer War, through which I served in the 1st I. I,., I suffered from boils, con- stipation, and sick headaches, and tried many preparations, but got relief from none till an old comrade of mine got me to try the Burdock Blood Bitters. To say I got relief is to put it mildly. It made me myself again, viz., a mart who knows not what it is to be sick, and who has been, and is still, an athlete. "To anyone in want of puri1ed blood and the resultant all round vigorous health, I can consci:ntiously recommend B.B.B." Burdock Blood Bitters is manufac- tured only by The T. Milburn Co., Limited, Toronto, Ont. Conway had heard the s.rvants hint that Ungar 14 grief had driven her in- sau,e: and now, when she observed tl a met:Aura,' 11l ightness in her eyes, and. saw what she had done, she. 100, thought It possible that Ler mina was partially unsettled; so she Said gently, but firmly, "tits is no time for foolishness. Hagar. They are waiting for us in the si:k-room: so lnal.kr haste and change the baby's dn•CNS." There was something authoritative in her manner, and Hagar obeyed, whispering incoherently to herself, and thus further confirming her mis- tress' suspicions that site WAS part- ially insane. Daring the ceremony, she stood, tall and erect, like some stark, grins statue, her 111111ds firmly locket together, and her eyes fixed uponou the face of the tittle one, wile • was baptized "Margaret Miller." s the clergyman pronounced that name, she uttered a low, gasping moan, but her face betrayed no emotion, and very calmly she stepped forward with the other c n h h r hiid upon her arm. . "What name?" asked the minister, and she answered, "her mother's; call her for her mother!" "Hester," saki Madam Conway, turning to the clergyman, who un- derstood nothing from Hagar's re- ply, So "Hester" was the name given to the child, in whose veins the blood of English noblemen was (Iowa ing; and when the ceremony nae ended, Hagar bore back to her rocas "Hester Iiandlton," the chifd de- frauded of her birthright, and "Mag- gie Miller," the heroine of our story, CHAPTER III. T'It le over now," old Moe thought, as she laid the children upon their pillows. 'The deed 1p done, and by their own howl' , too. There is nothing left for me novel but a confession, and that I cannot make;" so, with a heavy weight op- en her soul, she sat down resolving to keep her own counsel and abide the consequence, whatever it mtghl be. But it wore upon her terribly— that secret—and though it helped in a measure to divert her mind from dwelling too much upon her daugh. ter's death, it haunted her continua ally, making her a strange, eccen• trlc woman, whom the servants per• silted in calling crazy, while eves Madam. Conway failed to comprehend her. ITer face, which was always dark, seemed to have acquired a darker, harder look, while her eyed wore a Wild, startled expression, as K she were Constantly followed 1)i seine tormenting tear. At fiat, Mree 741110r Wetted to ttustjitr her illi] the babe; but when Madam Conway' suggested that the W0111au w110 had charge of little Theo should also lake care of Maggie, t -he fell upon het knees, and begged most piteously that the child might not be taken from her. "Everything 1 have even loved has left ale," said she, "and I cannot: give her up." "But they say your are crazy," ane swered Madam Conway, somewhat surprised that Hagar should manifest so intuit afTe,tion for n t•hild not at fill connected to her. "They say you are crazy, and no one trusts a crazy woman." "Crazy!" repeated Hagar, heli scornfully, "crazy—'tis not crazinest the trot:bit—the trouble—that's killing me. • But I'll hide it closet than it's hidden now," she cantina- ed, ontinued, ,"21 you'll let her stay; and 'fore Heaven, I sweat', that sooner than harm one hair of Maggie's head, I'd part with my own life;" and taking. the sleeping child in her arms, she stood like a wild beast at bay. Madam Conway diel not herself really believe in Ilagar's insanity She had heretofore been pet•fect1 ! hfu t whatever was comtuitte(1 faithful u e to her care, so she bade her be quiet, saying they would trust her for a time. "It's the talking to myself," said Hagar, when left alone. "It's the talking to myself, which makes them call me crazy; and though I might talk to many a worse woman than old IIagar Warren, I'll stop it; 1:11 he still as the grave, and when next they gossip about me, it shalt be of something besides my craziness." So Hagar became suddenly silento and uncommunicative, mingling but little with the servants, but staying all day long in her room, where she watched the children with untiring care. 1)specially was she kind to Mester, who as time passed on, prov- ed to be a puny, sickly thing, never noticing any one, but moaning free quently as if in pain. Very tenderly; old Hagar nursed her, carrying hell often In her arms, until they ached from very weariness, while Madam Conway, who watched her with a vigilant eye, complained that shd neglected little Maggie. "And what if I do?" returned Ha• gar, somewhat bitterly. "Ain't there a vast difference between the tweet S'pose Hester was your own Les and blood,think would you I could' I cthepoor thin ? do too mu h for f1' And she glanced compassionately at the poor wasted form, whlah lay up. I on her lap, gasping for breath, and presenting a. striking contrast to the little Maggie who. in her cradle,) (To be continued.) The Kidneys WeaP Out But in advanced years you can keep. these organs healthy by using Dr. Chase's Kidney -Liver 13111s. As old age comes on 'oat raanngle ementsse of mthe okidneH s ro de - With Penne there are years of pains and aches, with others Brights's disease sets in and the end comes quickly. Fortunately many have learned about Dr. Chase's kidney -Liver Pi11rs, and are enabled by their use to keep the kidneys healthy and active. Nil.. Richard Preston, Osborne, 1,smbton County, Ont., says: "Seven. teen y ears ago I began the use of Dr. Chase's dney-Liver Pills when toy back Was so bad that to stoop or rise was torture to me. 'The kid- neys were in bad condition, but these ills entirely freed me of back pains. I have used them ever since, when. ever the kidneys would get out of orde.a, and now, at eighty yeas, a m well and hearty. thanks to this gran medicine." Dr. Chase's Xidney-Litter Pills, one pill a dose, 25 cents a box, M all deal- ers, or Rdmanson, Bates At Co.. To- ronto.