CHAPTER II.

Clutha Leader, Volume VI, Issue 339, 9 April 1880, Page 7

CHAPTER 11.

LITTLE CLOUDS. "Oh love! how are thy precious sweetest moments Thus ever cross' d, thus vexed with disappoint-, ments." ■ Rowe. It wanted only a fortnight of the time fixed for the union between Willie Anderson and Nellie Connor. Up to this time all hnd gone merry as a marriage bell, and there l liad been nothing to disturb the serenity of the prospect which lay before the lovers' except the old old sore of Harry's folly. But deep waters now awaited these lovers,- heavy clouds, which, though at first no bigger than a man's hand-, were to gather till they, burst upon .them in an almost overwhelming deluge. The first- of these was the sudden illness of Airs Connor. She had never been strong 1 since the liunr Her husbnrid died, -and Hany.'s conduct had been constantly dragging ht j r nearor -and nearer- the grave. The once sunny locks were getting ,V.Hi'.y ; gr,e\ r ,. and the once blithe form was bent and rigid. Grief was making sad havoc" in the temple once -so bright and. fair.,- She had buen most, anxious to see Nellie married as she fdt day by dayhf.r own growing weakness, and therefore was extremely glad at the near approach oft her wedding day. ; •=■ , But she broke down immediately before that pvent, and the cons-.'quenoe was that Nellie, notwithstanding both her mother's representation's 'and Willies pleading,' refused to' be 'married till hex mother^ recovered.' The first hot vvorHs Willie'and she- bad-had took^place on this occasion^ the first discord in that harmony. Willies argument was 'reason-' able, that, altho' her mother was ailing^' —neither of them r apprehended any danger — it was.no excuse for deferring the marriage; seeing, jthat.she was very anxious that it should take place, but Nellie only replied that when she wed she wished to come to her husband for good, and not while she had/a sick mother to attend to. -, , ■„',•. And that sick mother, did not get well, by any means so fast as. Nellie or her lover wished ; in fact hers was the disease for which there is no cure* tho bane for which there is no antidote. So the marriage was postponed and months went past; without: any improvement being' witnessed in the condition of Mrs Connors' health. r - . ."■'/•■ Meantime Willie Andersonstarted inbusiness for himself. 'The times at first were propitious and everything seemed, favourable; the bark appeared to 1 be floating on the high' tide. to : success,, but it was not long till the swift recurring wave of dull trade swept over the country 5 a' wave which has swamped many in New : Zealand^ and, recurred perhaps as often there as; in. any other 'country. .Even"; ii^N^ilit! hW now wished their^tnion. -," ta; Have taken place-Williewouid haveiheeitated, as he had lost.all; 'the! b'usiriess had to be given up, and , r he -had to return to his old ]>ost in the' v/orkshop poorer than most there, ' 'as ",'H'e was now burdened with some debts contracted in 'with* ; his>"n'npro r fitab!e? business. ''' ""' ! ''' ' " ' "" ' .'., ; ;, s \ : . And -then- -there cropped up the Native troubles which .added to_ the depression* alread^expenejiced b"y the cpmmunity, and f by Uvhicir Willie was uhi'm,atel'y;th'r;own Sut of e'thpioymenT." T-hese troubles thickened j'ah'd at last thev^ar broke out^iq ,tl^~Y^iikato Valley by the Natives" mas'sacftnjf of ;C;olonial soldiers and officers. \ Nuirrlier^ r 6f c meri''dfievery claVs^ma'tfyof .t^en^BJijftßljia^^tgreyg^fl^^g^ way to the North Island to take part iA "tHe 1 struggled at^fen'ce^ uri'eTjuaT- aiMu'nglorious, so far as the whites were: ! ''c|>n_cerned,v ifgr ;-.it s ,has.) b^enfifg^ne^alljl »cji\culated 'that -tKe,. solders, <a.n4 Xoluni teers numbered as seven to one against

the i|Kiff^»^hgS|Sf^ J And I witnout employment of funßs Willie i Anderson felt it his only resource for the time being, at anyrate, to volunteer under General Cameron, and to proceed northward to fight the Maori. And so he and Nellie parted. Elow different that parting from the one on which we first made their acquaintance. The stars shone as brilliantly, Imt they were devoid of warmth and seemed not to whisper the „same bright vision of hope, as on that occasion. The bay was beautiful as ever, but the souls were not lighted by the same calm light of peace and repose. stood "under the trellised 1 " verarid&Ji> which adorned the<front of their little cottage, as thev^were.takingrfai'ewell o,f each other;" 'Oh, Willie, when will you come back^^lj; ,seems as, if life was losing all its charm for me now. jtl/at'ycfu arl going' away.' ■ i ' / :U ( --^- ! !*z r urK f little one,' was his reply^; j'jl shall n&rbe long gone. And des pend upon' it, I shall win a name for 'myself i ■;< Pkv [ bmter; ;i Wi]i&l ( t)iit''you 1 iha've^ found sbmeth'ih i g' u suit'sbre s here to ;do. T know you must go, but I would |do anything or sacrifice anything lo keep you in Dunedin. ; >••■'« TuttV !I W'(jllie;- ! 4ny r HaHihg; : ; 'yy ou;; v ; dti not;send youPwafrior away-'' with': very .^r'and ; aspirations:' : '•' "'" '"•''■'-''■' ; " : ' ;V '^h ! ' Nay, Willie, you know I wish"" you to act bravely and honourably, as I jknow you will ; but I cannot bear the !tho r ugh£ of -danger coy oil.' 1 ' '' : ' Do 1 not :y fret "on that account, Nellie.' ; * But I must, Willie ; I cannot help thinking:- that brave men must Ml, and '• hearts be made sad ; and, oh, ; if it should be my lot, — the' thought is too much for me.' Here she burst into a flood of hysterical' tears,- and it ,<took Willie' some considerable rime before he -could' console -her sufficiently- to restore composure. But at last he succeededj'a'nd folding her gently. j.njris arms, kissed her and said ' 'Good-bye.' ■ But a. fresh burst -of tears brought him back, and it wa,s long ere he could muster courage ■ to the ' wbrd- ; of farewell.' It was,' however, uttered 'at last, but not till Nellie had invoked Heaven's blessing uh'oh him a hd^ promised' to pray for him each morn arid eve.' " " ' ';-■'«-•■■■ ■■■ And thus through f jrce of circumstances the union which had appeared so close at hand was now postponed indefinitely:'. ■ It' is' 'eYer'^thus "in 1 life J W e ' plan and , Iky " : 'pu_ t' wha' t'.siia|'l^be done, but a far Higher' Power "disposes, sweeping^^ n oui\jWi,'ak,-cqntri.vjLnces as cobwebs are swept from the enrners o;f a rboii ;' ; anrl-' : -yet' not 'relentlessly, not ruthlessly ; for the?e purpose k s of His are all carried out with a Spirit of Love, which.at the; : time^wa^eannot fathom,, but -of,, which we are ofttim'fts led to say afterwurds, "It was good for me that'l-was'nfflitibetl: 1 '- '-■-' ' v!< ■•■ '.' Sad and dreary for ■Nellie" were the days' after' Willie's departure', Vfrirelieved even by frequent tidings fi % 028 the Waikato, as news only came from that district at long and fitful intervals.- r Afid meantime, she had ;tp ; bear ! .tlie heartrending sight of her mother's gradually decreasing ■ s'trerigtii.' .".'For* : wit.h Corinor the pulse ' of life was gradually ebbing lower and lower. There was only -one gleam of sunshine in these dark days for JNellie, and that 'was the' " terrip'orary\.steadiriess ' of 'i her brother/ . When ..it liai, bedtime j knovvn to him that his. mother was, not | rlikely to recover, he was much shocked, ! and the sight of the pale patient face of , the sufferer, with the old beseeching look, as she had' ; 6ft ! implojed" him', ( to J give up the cup,' "arose i "before "him, whenever he felt tempted to .bVeak' ■'.put into a fit of drinking.' Strange to, say, during all the dark dull days, which had preceded the outbreak of the war he had retained his situation, for when, he ch'o'sei ; there ' was,' no t"a be tter . woiik-'' ■ man than he; and when the vvar'actjually broke out,. -he would assuredly have joined thf. band of volunteers but for ■his mother > s.critical. ;s cpndition. i; -}- „,, And so for the .pr.esent.the^mpther and the daughter were spared the pain of a double separation. And the apparent steadiness . ;in (V .Harm's conduqt ; caused the fl.arnej.pf H%ih^biS;'m,o^er ( '};o flicker, up, fitfully rt -fdr M^a'i.brief pftjeio'd^.-but this, was only. jeyanescen t, •_ as,, , the • morn--in g dew. , before . , t he ... risin g ;i sun , , : an d within a few weeks after Willies departure for the North Island, she was laid to rest in the modest Jittle, cemetery, in, which lays.tlae qgust..orr r t i ha ( .ear i hest inhabitants .jof^fPunedin, .^and^ beside, that oft heri,hijsba J nd {o . JPopr^jyelji^, .jS.ad was now her heart indeed.^. ;>a^ a.::.-... >