Newspaper Page Text
2
guard of her wedding-ring, the only or
nament she wore. The nursery was not
as in many homes, small and meanly fur
nished. Mrs.Moorehad no sympathy with
those who think “anything good enough
for children.” She believed that a happy
childhood had much to do with a happy
life, and so she ministered to the love of
the beautiful, which develops so early in
infancy. There were prints upon the
walls, and full draped curtains, and even
the playthings, scattered about, seemed to
have been chosen by the same standard.
No wonder the visitor drew a mental
contrast between thisjind her own deso
late home.
“Tell me, mamma,” said Ada, after a
little pause, “why do we have New Year’s
day 1 I know all about Christmas now,
since you explained it to us, but there
wasn’t another Saviour born on New
Year’s day, mamma, was there ?”
“No, Ada; but it is the commence
ment of anew twelve months of our
lives, which, you know, we all divide in
to days, and weeks, and years. Don’t
you remember that you said last Thurs
day, it would be just a week to New
Year’s day, and this morning you asked
if it would be a whole year ’till Christ
mas came again'?”
“Yes, mamma.”
“Well, don’t you think it pleasant to
have a day once in every twelve months
to commence all new again ? When your
quarter was out at school, and vacation
was over, in September, I remember that
you said, you were sorry you behaved so
badly to Miss Thomas, but now that was
all past, and she had forgiven you, and
you were going to commence and do
right this new term. By and bye, when
you come to have hopes and memories,
you will understand other things of New
Year’s day ; but this is enough for you
now.”
“But suppose I had been ever so bad
mamma, could I begin to be good again ?”
“It is never too late to begin to do
well.”
Again Mrs. Moore saw those sorrow-
CJ
ful eyes raised to her face, but now there
was an almost thankful expression in
them, as if what she had said, a truism
uttered very often, had, nevertheless, fal
len gratefully on the listener’s ear. And
then they wandered to the time-piece
again, and the woman started, for she had
SOUTHERN LITERARY GAZETTE.
been interested in Ada’s prattle, beguiled
unconsciously from her thoughts, and
murmured —
“Oh ! it will be too late—too late.”
She bad not ceased to clutch —that is
the word—a paper which she held, as
though someone would take it from her,
and as Mrs. Moore looked up wondering
ly, she said —
“It is his pardon, madam, and he must
not commence the New Year there —”
She could not say “in prison,” before
a stranger, and a mother, too.
CHAPTER II
“Papa ! papa !” called out Ada. start
ing from her mother’s side, as she heard
the hall door open, and the stamp of a
heavy foot, as if to shake off snow cling
ing to it, and Mrs. Moore, who compre
hended much of the sad story in these
few words, went out to meet her husband,
and interest him in “the poor lady,” as
1 Ada called her. It needed very little
time for explanation. The Judge under
stood it, and responded with ready sym
pathy, for, though he w r as worn with a
hard day’s duty, and had looked forward
to this pleasant evening at home, he took
j his cloak again from the rack, and sent
| Jackson to the nearest stand for a car
riage.
“It is a long distance, my good wo
man,” he said, “and bitter cold. But I
hope we shall get there in time. Even
I could be of little use to you if the nine
o’clock bell had rung.”
“May 1 go too, papa ?” pleaded Ada,
who, unnoticed, had quitted the warm
nursery, and stood in the gioup listening
eagerly.
“You, Ada? nonsense, child!” said
Mrs. Moore, more quickly than was her
wont.
“Please, papa —and see the poor little
boy, and how happy he will be to go
home again.”
“It is not a little boy, Ada,” said her
father, gravely, “and it is a long dreary
ride; but if nurse can wrap you up, and
your mamma is willing, you can go.”
Mrs. Moore did not look pleased with
1 Ada’s sudden fancy. It wa not that the
prison walls could in themselves contam
inate her child, but she did not like to
familiarize her mind with vice and crime
so early. Yet she must often have heard
sorrowful things of vice and punishment
j even now. The child grew impatient at
the hesitation, and ran herself to bring
her hood and cloak from nurse, and when
i Judge Moore found she was so bent upon
it, he won his wife’s consent. It was a
strange choice, to go from the pleasant
nursery, and the anticipation of the morn
ing’s gifts, and nurse’s fairy tales, for the
bleak night, and the harsh realities of
life.
Ada sat at her father’s side as the car
! riage thridded the crowded streets, and
looked out at the gay shops, made even
! more tempting than usual for the holidays.
But as they turned into the long strag
gling suburbs, where the lights were only
faint gleams, and the low houses were so
cheerless, she drew her cloak closer
around her, and laid her head on his
breast, while she listened to the poor la
dy’s tale.
She had come a long, long way with
the pardoi?, which she had obtained her
self, and had travelled in all, hundreds
of miles from her country home. She
| knew her boy was not guilty—not of
’ that sin; and she did not say how near
| ly he had broken her heart long before,
j only he was thoughless and extravagant,
and that was her fault, for she had but
one, and it was so hard to deny him any
thing. She had prayed him to keep
away from those bad men, but he did
not heed her, and because he was with
them so much, it had gone against him at
the trial, and so he had been convicted of
forgery.
“It was hardest of all,” said the poor
mother, “that it was the name of his
father’s friend, and one who had always
counselled me to restrain him. And Lu
cy s father, too, and they had been brought
up like brother and sister. Mr. Roland
| knew he could not be so bad, and always
held so, and when he found out that they
accused him , he was quite willing to give
up the prosecution, but it was too late
then'. James had spent a great deal of
money before; it was all my fault that I
indulged him so, but he had such a good
heart, only he was thoughtless. Mr.
Roland was the first to sign the petition
for his pardon, and that was what the
governor noticed, and so he enquired into
it, and found that whatever James had
done, that bad man had sworn against
him falsely. Then he was so young;
and thev wrote him such letters from the
[Jan. 3