“It must have been several years, for Horace Flint mentioned in our conversation to-day that Jerusha was ten years of age and he was six, when, after the death of their mother, they were taken by their father to the orphan asylum.”
“I wonder what became of the father?” questioned Hilda.
“We always supposed that he died years ago, our reason for thinking so being a letter found among the papers left, by Father De Cormis. It was written to him by a nurse in the hospital in Baltimore, saying that a man was lying there dangerously ill of brain fever, and in his pocket they had found a letter which, being addressed to Father De Cormis, the nurse had written to enclose it. But Horace informed me to-day that his father recovered.”
“I wonder if Father De Cormis gave any attention to the letter of the nurse?” questioned Hilda.
“I think not, nor to the one Archibald enclosed in it, which was so pathetic in its appeal that, so well as I knew my father-in-law, I wondered that he could steel his heart against it.
“It was written at the bedside of his sick wife, and in it Father De Cormis was implored to send relief to the suffering woman and her little children. The writer added that he was ill, and exhausted from watching, and from a long walk of several miles to ask assistance of his brother-in-law, Joshua Farnsworth, of ‘My Lady’s Manor,’ who was willing and able to assist him, but who had died suddenly, so that hope was extinguished.
“He wrote that he had no expectation or wish to live, but while able to write, and with a clear mind, he wished to state the incidents of his visit to his brother-in-law, Joshua Farnsworth, at ‘My Lady’s Manor,’ which, with his many anxieties and insufficient food, had brought on the fever from which he was then suffering.
“In order to make his statement plain, he dated back to his boyhood in San Francisco, where he and his sister were the only children of wealthy parents who indulged them in every wish. He grew up without knowledge of business of any kind, his parents lost their property, and this was followed by their death.
“His sister married Joshua Farnsworth, who at that time lived in San Francisco, and at the age of twenty-one she died, leaving an infant son—Reginald—whom Mr. Farnsworth placed in the care of a friend and left for Maryland and became owner of ‘My Lady’s Manor,’ now your home.
“Archibald wrote that being without home or kindred—except his little nephew, Reginald Farnsworth—he left San Francisco for Philadelphia. At this point in his letter he implored pardon—as he had done many times before—for the elopement, and added that they had wandered about seeking employment, until compelled to remain in Baltimore owing to the ill health of his wife. They were reduced to want, when he heard incidentally that his brother-in-law, Joshua Farnsworth, was living here, and he walked from Baltimore to see him, ask for help and then return the same night. He saw Mr. Farnsworth at the post-office and walked with him to ‘My Lady’s Manor’ and up to the seats upon the roof, where they could converse undisturbed. There Mr. Farnsworth agreed to take him back to Baltimore that night in his carriage and provide liberally for his family.