"Hope like the glimmering taper's light,
Adorns and cheers the way;
And still as darker grows the night,
Emits a cheerful ray."
Upon our return from Kentucky we were received by motherly Mrs Dean, with
her ever warm welcome; but after the usual greeting a mischievous smile
was seen lurking on her face, and she archly told us that she had a very
attractive addition to her family, in the persons of two bachelor
boarders. This served but as a pastime of the moment, and I gave it little
further thought, until I was presented to Mr. Arms, a gentleman of medium
height, head of noble mould and fine poise, dark hair and luxuriant beard,
large brown eyes expressive and scintillating, quiet, unobtrusive manner
and somewhat low voice.
Methinks that I can trace a meaning smile upon the faces of some of my
readers at the detailed description of one they deem too blind to see. Not
so, there is a strange mysterious masonry in human souls, and while
"Few are the hearts, whence one same touch,
Bids the sweet fountain flow,"
an indescribable consciousness of mutual interest came with this meeting;
and while I little dreamed that this stranger would in after time stand by
my side in the _nearest_ and _dearest_ relation of life, even that of a
husband; his face, his form, his voice, his soul were all to me an open
volume, which by that inner sight, I read in every minute detail, and then
and there were all these photographed upon my heart.
Before I had taken my next leave of Chicago I had passed through all the
phases of doubt, in which I deeply questioned my own heart, seeking there
the solution of why I had inspired an interest in this stranger. Ever
since my sickness in Philadelphia I had been a comparative invalid,
devoting much of my time to the restoration of health, and above all the
recovery of that sight which was still so dear to me, and so hard to
relinquish without a struggle. So with my depleted strength, moderate
means and somewhat darkened hopes, I seemed to myself a very unattractive
object. Be this as it may, while no formal engagement bound us, we parted
as acknowledged lovers.
Miss Rogers entered into business for herself, and I went unattended to
Ypsilanti, Michigan, to be under the charge of a physician, who was to
test the effect of electrical treatment as a means of restoration to
sight. While he was deeply imbued with interest in my case, and gave me
every care and attention while I remained under his roof, he was
unfortunately wedded to one whose cold, unsympathetic suspicious nature
made a pandemonium for all within the circle of her baleful influence. Of
such unions Watts has truly said:
Logs of green wood that quench the coals,
Are married just like sordid souls;
With osiers for a bend.
To her I am indebted for many a dark and tearful hour, when not only my
heart, but my eyes, needed perfect repose.
But beside this thorn-tree in the home garden bloomed for me, and for all,
a beautiful flower, in the person of her niece, Josie McMath, who, with
her loving, gentle touch, toned down the inequalities and smiled away the
frowns.
She and I became fast friends, and afterward freely exchanged confidences,
telling to each other a mutual tale of girlish hope and trustful
affection.
During my stay in Ypsilanti I received a letter from Rachel Weaver, who
had been bereft of her mother and had lost every means of support. She
earnestly desired to return to me; and as the letter brought with it the
magnetism of a former attachment, I wrote to her to come to me.
Finding the prospect of recovery through my present treatment hopeless, I
went to Ionia, Michigan, repairing to the house of Dr. Baird, where I
awaited tidings of Rachel Weaver, and whom I met at Detroit, when we
returned to Chicago, where I was met by Mr. Arms, and who, soon as an
opportunity offered, rehearsed to me the workings of his own mind during
my absence.
He told me he had been seriously thinking over the matter, and after
carefully reviewing his own feelings he could arrive at but one
conclusion, viz, that I had become necessary to his happiness, and that he
hoped for a mutual plan for speedy union.
He owned a farm in Iowa, which he proposed to sell, and invest the
proceeds in a home in Chicago.
He also begged a promise that I would never make another attempt to
recover my sight, which gave me an assurance that my blindness was no
barrier to his love.
With a strange flutter of emotion my heart responded to his sweet
assurances, and, as a weary child confidingly rests upon its mother's
breast, so did my tired soul trustingly repose in the safe haven of his
manly love, and cast its anchor there! safe amid the lowering clouds of
life, serene amid its surging seas and wildest waves; for arching all was
the Iris of bright-hued hope.