OCR Text |
Show V.().MAMIKi;.MITWKI)y. MASSACHU'.rTTS TOWN 10SES PICTUotSOUE INHABITANT. Sfla. iMaranrrl Kuoland I n I. rit, Veers of l.onlln.. by .nl..ie la Her l.lrlhooU aerelhearl I'pl'y Kn'llng nf Kiineere ll-iin Ions " (Special Liller.) Mannai hum l- bus a bona lids woman wom-an lieriuU. In a plcturetuiun pint of tho village of Kurent llllln, Mass., there slnn.ln nlnt.e and many acre apart from any pther rml'leiKU a quaint w.-atlo r-stained r-stained Kitlage. TI. In la tho home of Margaret N iwlanil, hermit. For fifty years Mini Nowland has lived lu I'oient Hills Slid yet she la today ul the aao of "0 as unknown to the people of thai town as she was half n century ago, when, a beautiful girl (if 21, alie walked I UK. the villus-. ,r",n liobody knew where, nnd liaik up her Sbo.ls In the little bonne whlrh ld so long remained unoccupied. Weeks nnd months panned sad the young woman continued to live a life of seclusion, alone In the quaint little cottage. Finally, by aome chance It waa learned Hint the mysterious young womsn's name waa Miss Marfanl Nowland, and that aha came from the far West. Mora than this no one could riUror-er. riUror-er. Miss Nowland never went lo the postofTIi nor to church, and except to buy food aha never atrayed beyond the little wicker gain which shut the outside out-side world from the lawn wblcb stretched around the hermitage. Kor fifty years this baa continued and all the force of New England curiosity cu-riosity has fulled to ferret out the history his-tory of Margaret Nowland, which would have remained a mystery until the end of time hud not unforeseen dr-cumntnnrea dr-cumntnnrea brought to light the vry romantic story of this woman's Ufa. Myalerlnu Nlranger femes, About otto month ago, tho town of Torent Hills was nt art led by Bodoi a whlie-halred man punh open the gate biulliig lo the liermli.iKu, walk brlnkly up the. alh to the front door, and lift the km..:. it. wliMi fell back with a rou ml iluii i.eeinc.1 to demand admittance admit-tance for Hie liitnub r. Klowly the front door swung bark, for an Instant Margaret Nowlund and the Intru.ler faced each other, thin tun man stepped noons the threabnld fthlrh for fifty years had not born pnsm-d by n visitor, tho door was closcil and the villagers wero left Btandlui on the sidewalk staring at the cottiiio In open-mouthed aniiiement. About two hours later the nnio loft the beriultuge, walked quickly to tho station and took a trnln for lbefun. The following day Margaret NosHnntl went to the pontoffloe where tho aiton-Ished aiton-Ished clerk handed her a letter so heavy that It took double pimtagB to carry It. Kor cue week thla same thing occurred oc-curred dally; every morning M.'iigfiret Nowland. still tini'ommiinlcutlve, went to Hie pontotnYp, received her letter and disappeared in the hermitage ii;.ln. On tho eighth day tlin white-haired stranger reappeared. Thla time Mlna Nowland met blm at tho llttln wicker gate and the two strolled urottud the grounds before entering en-tering the hntmp. Never had Forcat 1 1 1 1 1st been so stirred, the etillrs town -as wild with excitement and burning with a curiosity which Uircul.-nul to break all InindH. l.ate t lint nfternnon Mtns Nowland and her vl-ltor called upon the Unl-lurlnn Unl-lurlnn mlnlnter of the town and the llpe of the hermit ftero opened. He fore bearing Ihe story of her past, full of romance and trngedy however, Forest Mills wss shaken to Ita foundations founda-tions by the statement that they were to loae their hermit. Margaret Nowland Now-land la going tn be married on Cbrlat-maa Cbrlat-maa Day of this year tn ths white-haired white-haired stranger, who will on that day celebrate his 81st birthday, Mlalaler Telia Slory. The minister was besieged with visitors visi-tors on Ih day following his villi from MIWS NOWLAND TODAY, the old couple, and thla Is the story which Mnrga-ot Nowland autliorUed him to tell to the curious. Fifty years into In stloui City, a llttl, town north of Chicago, a beautiful young girl and a haudsome young ulu plighted tbelr truth. The wedding dsy was set and all wis gnlng happily when, without warning preparations for ths nuptial rites va stopped. Tha young girl, Marglr,t Nowland, bella of Blous. city, mysteriously mysteri-ously disappeared, and ths fiance, tin'. ace Stern, made a trip to Denver. This waa In May. 1861. On Jun w of th aame year Horace Stern was married lo a young girl of Denver sod the two made their home In thai slty Margaret Nowland waa heard of as moi; her wln-ri-iboute were never learned of by Hie people nf Slmu City, her dlnappenrnuce wan ni mysterlou i nnd final as tboiirh the earth had op-eneil op-eneil ami swnllnwi-d ll r. Mr. Stern, bin wife and two ntnr.Iy boys lived nn.J pronpi red In Denver, but there was a bmk of settled sad-nena sad-nena on tho man's face which ml sninunt of luxury, famo or sumns etnld lighten. Margaret Noland severed all Ilea, gave up friends and home, nnd tnklnn with her a small fortune which she ponsesned in her own rlKht, Irnveleil ea it until she reai lied MaHnachunetts. Here sbn settled, as has been told, In a forsaken cottage In Korent Hills, and for fifty years lived the secluded life of a hermit, never once giving an Inkling of her pant lo anyone. Three years ago Mrs. Worn died In Deliver, and since then lloraco ijtern has bent nil hie attention nnd energy In searching for Margaret. How he found his old sweetheart Is a story of determination nnd perseverance. Kor three years he scoured the country, coun-try, panning through almost every stato of the union. While visiting a friend In Dlooms-burg. Dlooms-burg. l's.. he waa told the story of this Massachusetts hermit and by Intuition ha knew that this mysterious person MISS NOWLAND r.l) YEARS AGO. who ptuzlcd tho people of Forest Hills was the woman whom bo had dolor-mi dolor-mi ui-a to find. |