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Vol. XV.
BARNWELL COURT HOUSE, S. C., MAY 12, 1892.
No. 37
i TALE OF Tl IlSEfiS
Dy Edgar Fawcett.
(COPYKIGIIT, IC31.1
, ■' CIlAi’TliR I.
1 Atjont scrotity-llvc yearn n^o in ?Tctv
York the people who kept tlieir private
carriages could almost have been
counted on the fingers of one hand.
Hende’, whtn old Myndherst Van Doren
drove out in his cumbrous vehicle, with
a hamme&doth and yellow wheels, peo
ple would stare and Wink atone another
in high diversion nrrd rlisraay. Surely^
such luxury was almost without prece
dent in the peaceful and unostentatious
little seaport town of 1815. Hut what
Tnado it all the odder and funnier was
\ the fact that for many past years old
Van Doren had been accounted the
most miserly of men. lie had a wide
house facing on, the Battery, in which
he lived entirely alone except'for two
old servants, a man ami his wife. Van
Doren had once had a wife himself, but
that was years hack, when he
had just entered the shipping
business on South street. from
which he had long ago brought away a
handsome fortune. “Two hundredlhot\-
tiand dollars if a cent,** ojd IVter Van
Zandt, fellow-merchant, had declared
him possessed of on his retirement, and
tin* enormity of such a fortune thrilled,
fit that period, all who heard of its 1k»-
Ing possibly owned by any one single
man. It was STttt whl^pcmtthat ymmg
Van Doren had di»*d of a broken
heart, her husband having treated her
with sternest parsimony and negleet.
lie had a sisfer, too, an«l >*he had mar
ried against his will u southern gentle
man of literary tastes nnd precarious
income. Though Kulph Stanfields
birth and soeiut rank had-N»th l»ecn ex
cellent, the brother of Martha Van
iJorea had never pardoned what he
chose to denounce ns .her gr«»sa tnisal*
lianee. He bad known nothing of her
for many years, and at the time our lit
tle chronicle opens he had received the
Card of a young mao who aniioiiueeti
tidingn had drifted to him that Mynd
herst Van, Doren would,. t*i‘vcr have
dreamed of setting up for himself this
private cqtiipage if he hful not become
u martyr to rheumatism. “Not "gout,
not a bit of It,” Stnnfiold’s informant
had added; '“he’s uliogcther too’pliiiti u
liVcr for that.”^ ■ - J'.
And now, as the slmy, massfvc car-
riage passed him,Stanfield glan -cd witli-
in it and discerned, though somewhat
faintly, a thin, hard-faced man leaning
against yts hack cushions, '.lust after
this glimpse of his unknown uncle had
liecn offered him lie started as he per
ceived a large dray, drawn by two mad
dened runaway horses, come dashing up
_ihn street. At first, there
trust of “old Van Doren’* with tones of
respect for his dauntless young savior.
“Just like the selfish old miser,” vroa
the last comment that Stanfield heard.
“Hut perhaps this handsome young
chap is rich himself and don’t want any
reward.” ■' • v
“Don't want any rcwardl” 'thought
the hero of the hour^as he remembered
his own and Martha’s dwindling purse.
“What would they say if they knew he
was my mother’s brother? I wonder
what he will say when he hears. And
he never even asked inc my name
Well, well, we shall see to-morrow what'
we shall see.”
When he reached home nnd began his
seemed ixrr story to Martha, she^ broke into little
danger to Mr. Van Doren's carriage,
though the coaehipan brought it to an
room, now reappeared with strange
promptitude. * *
“Show this—this person to the door!*'
fumed Van Doren. Then, wruthfully,
to Ink nephew: “Your scheme has mis
carried, sir—completely roiseariedl”
find, hurrying to n,pair of heavy fold
ing-doors, which were partly divided
he passed through the aperture, closing
it behind him an instant later, in noisy
and savage fashion.
Stanfield, ns he quitted tlve house,
laughed aloud a laugh of the heartiest
scorn. “Was there ever such an old
beast?” he said to his wife after reach
ing home and telling her how he had
been treated-
“No wonder he neted^to my poor
abrupt standstill nnd watched the hur
rying bulk with anxious eyes. As it
sped nearer, howCVer, the headlong reg
ularity of its progress changed. The
driver was gone, having rashly jumped
from his sent some little time ago. . The
horses now began n ptfinging lurse nnd
several other wugons-^narrowly < es
caped collision. -Not so Mr. Van Doren’s
Yuhlelq. Towards that the wild crea
tures now swerved, nnd-4u,..anotli( v * v i:i-
stant they were rearing furiously nrN,
yet still galloping onward, with their
own wheels locked in the heavy yellow
ones. It was a horrible moment for
cries of horror and atnrrrr—Before he ; mother as la* did Ljg-ID m . v u ' or d. w^iAn
I think his conduct nv-er'in itstruutf'on-
temptible colors, | wonder that ever his
had finished she was at his feet, kissing
his hand and ga/ing up with wild wistr
fulness into his face.
“And you’re not the least bit In
jured?" she nt length exclaimed. “Oh,
you noble, glorious Alfredl But I’m an
gry at you," she broke off, rlsihg; “yon
should never have pat your life Into
such awful peril—never!”
While she wept and trembled at the
deed he had done, Stanfield threw his
anns-ubout her nnd kissed each Ivory
lid of her sweet gray eyes, each dimple
at the corners of her arched pink lips
“'flunk, Martha.” he said, “think
death, and merfftwhile. Until that high
ly uncertain event occur ret U he won. to'
get a small monthly allowance. Hut
besides this, os Van Doren gravely con
ceded before his departure, efforts
would l>e used towards securing, for his
nephew the desired mercantile clerk
ship. Y ' .
'.That last promise, like the former
one, was faithfully carried out. The
old man, in spite of his detested stingi-
ness, retained a certain distinct husi-
ness killuy:ice II.* recoalmontlod Stan-
ficld to a firm of some importance, and
here, in a prim ofi.L-e overlooking the
throngs of masts at the docks of Water
street, M artha’s Imuhnnl - soon found
himself seated before tti lodger-laden
desk.
ft was Tiresome
pletcly, gave him certain work to do,
aftd satisfied tlieinsclvcs that he did it
with a certain stolid npathy lie was
not uscIcHH to them He was in a way
quite useful Hut ins employers had a
sense of abilities partially dormant
, CIlAPTKi: 111.
And so nnotlau five years went on.
Myndherst Van Doren was now seventy
eight There seemed no change in ins
bodily vigor, however Rheumatism
at ticked him at certain periods, hut
never so Nevenrtt: that he Ava>,nn:;hlc to
walk .Now and then he couldmot leave
the house, hut such per’anls of immure
ment were rare As for driving out, he
had given u;> keeping a carriage since
his perilous accident
^a de ni—men’s
phrase goes, a head for figure:,, and by
age nnd kinship prevented me from' nature he was not one to whom,the gid-
gjviiig him the soumlest of thre.shings ” dy pleasures of cities offered tempting
Hut before cvetiing all Had elianged. lures Hut it hogum gradually to bore
Myndherst Van Doren presented him- him with increasing keenness that he
self at the lodgings of Stanfield that could not gratify in the cautious and
afternoon nml harshly begged his cojism-vative ntmo phoreof Messrs. Van
nephew s pardon. He performed this Veckton it Co. his longings for quickly
duty with much'awkwardness, hilt em- acquired riches..
ph: .tically he performed it nevevtlielo'.s. ! “I despise money merely iti itstdf,”
“Of course you saved my life,” he he would say to Martha. “Hut what it
said. “nnM I pjayed a very shabby part wilj bring—aht tliat’s another affair!
to you this morning In speaking as 1 ) Think! yon and ^ might go nun id the
did I !>cg you to forgive an old man world together, arm in arm. as it wen'.
shoes.” Martha would think of her hus-
buiul. “There is that fortune coming
to him and he cannot keep his miial
from it. All his old vigor pf- eharaeter
htis gone from him llep-imiglit have
meats there In State street were almost
like those i.i some private prison wherj
five convicts daily assembled at tho
lK>anl _ If very hotly's dollies gryw rusty
and pq^rlu tic The big house, thong.i
kept passably clean, assumed an aspect
of dingier desuetude.
As .for Stanfield, his features, Ha
walk, his voice had sill notably altered.
Though uneon&Toua of it his drawn
eountenaUce Iwq rayed a look of constant
mingled weannesaandexpc^ctaacy. To
his wife he was tike 1 a man whom some
: stealthy iatiiHtiiy keeps enslaving with
sulitie and threatening thraldom. Often
| he would shy.v by hia eyes a hungry
eagerness which was like nothing so
much as that of an eavesdropper
,'crou -hed at tjje keyhole of a door when v
tt<* httfie
im|x>rt. And now to Martha a new and
distre! sing quality belittle manifest in
his behavior This was a sci*raing syo-
pathy Avith his uncle’s deplorable mean*
ness. As tho months amassed thvun-
done so mimh for himscht-during thcsc T -a —,
. ^ . f . , , selves into years he showed a tendenev
ten years, hfrt this wretched suspense J
what tqay come of It! There" he wji*,
Stanfield. Voting, strong, with urgently ~my actual uncle Myndherst, and I never
■humane impulses, he saw the carriage dreamed of such n thing! Miser or no
of tho old man violently overturned and miser, he'll Ik* forced to help us now
the coachmnrrflurg from his box. Tltere Not that 1 want his money Oh, no. It
is no doubt that lie now acted with a isn t that. Hut by lifting n finger lie
spU-mlul promptness, uml ec^i^rgc. for can get me something to do There'#
inn trice he had darted, fleet of f.*..t, the joyful part of it. there's where the ct'P 1 m J np°b»gj nml—amP^-here the
nfU*r the whole hurtled connninglcmcnt very hand of iVovidmcc itself fteem* to old man seemed hesitating liow to con-
of horses and woodwork. The Van have l>ecn stretclied forth in our behalf elude his peaceable overtures, and then.
^4 yl -y-Mir* j with a sudden curt briskness, cone I ink'd
for letting his bitter tongue run away
with him I know I'm crabbed and
surly and all that. What you said ulmut
being my nephew surprised me a gissl
deal, but I don’t mean that s ich sur
prise was the slightest excuse. Now.
there; will you be kind erutngh to ne-
if that old fellow would only consent
to let uuJ”
“,^nd so we shall, some day, no
doubt,” whispered Martha, with lips
against his cheek
“Hush,” he said, almost pushing her
away from him “I hate to count on
anyone’s death—even his.”
“Yes;you're right, dear.” said Martha,
“Forgive me.”
Nevertheless he did count on his
nnd were pulling stolidly against their
terrified brothers. This guv** Stanfield
a chance, and Jie leaped with great dar
ing and tii in blew"* upon the shafts of
the dragging coach. Still greater was
his act in springing thence upon the
dray Itself. He happened to have a
large clasp-knife in his pocket, a me
mento of a slus.ting trip In the South
t'amlina wihleruess. taken but a short
time Iw-fore bis romantic marriage, lie
remembered afterwards that while get
ting himself over the dnshlMianl of \)\fl
dray, and clinging to It with one hand
ns 1m* cut the' traces with the other, it
flashed through his mind h<»w he was
ulm >st giving his life one chance out of
twenty. ISuU&Jcw hinge* of that stout
steel blade so far unfettered the furious
horses that witldn the next twenty sec
onds they had quite rid themselves of
every restriction and were scampering
I horrid liberty,
ifter bis magnifl-
giug to the tlosh-
i;t bis band, be
first tune iu Ids
the verge of a
i wot i.n trror it %m» ix ust ox «I‘Rak-
ixa with m^i.”
himself ns Ids nephew, Alfred Stanfield
< >n the day that be s.mi rht to ri^it Ids
uncle. St anfield was met by «dd Sainu«*l.
the servant, with a sad but firman-
IWNUK'ement that Mr. Van Ihiren tsmhl
■nK l»e seen. Th*** Hie young m m bad
written bis kinsman quite a long letter
in which he told of his orphanage. Ids
poverty and his desire to win some sort
of clerkship here ia New York.
The letter was md answered After
three weeks of waiting Manlield began
to grind hi* t**eth with wn.t’a at bit
uncle's heartless behavior and t »<>ay * f
that gentleman the very bitterest things
He said these illiugsLio. pcrMin w hota
be had not mciitii*rn*«l hr ’Id* . lett-r
’Pliat [vrson was his young wife. Mar
tha, whom he had married just Indore
shaking the «lust >>1 Chari st m from l^c
feet. Their union had biH>n nneloiKunent.
nnd they were now living ou a some
what slender legacy which Martha had
Inherited when a child. Her father and
several relatives were all furious r.t her
f4»r having married Stanfield. They
admitted that lie was a gentleman, hut
declared that his family was broken
down, ami that a daughter of the
haughty house of Roll as ton sh >uld
never have chosen so ineligible a
lord. These Rnllastons were then what
wc call leading people in Charleston,
which nt that time was a town filled
with fashionable pretension.
Hut Martha had made her choice, and
though she felt sure that it would nl-
xvnys Ik? sneenngly regarded by her
kindred as an imprudence alike «1csjht-
nte and unpardonable she soothed her
perturbed soul with thoughts of how
she had won the husband of her maid
enly choice. Trouble now seemed low
ering in gloomiest threat over the for-*
tunes of the young pair. Before long
Martha’s legacy would 1k‘ spent to its last
dollar. As it was sW? ami Stanfield were
living in rather inferior apartments on
upt<*wn with a new an
Stanfield felt ilnacd i
work. Still rlin
l»».:rd. with tb«- l.nih
fancied hint>df for tlie
►tunly y«*ung life on
(Hisitive mv«k*h.
Then *<'>melHMty eamrlit him and he
opt'ucd hi* eye* without rculi/irig that
be ha<l ch*sed tlu-m
A croud bad eolteeteiL and plntuiiU
rang to biro from every side.
•* I’he most heroic thing I ever saw,”
saiit a man wh * hail the speech nnd ap
pearance of a gentleman. “Fia proud
to shake hands w ith y<m. sir. lVrha;«
you don't kmuv whom you saved fn>m
a horrilde ileath,” be continued, while
h tiding Stanfield's band. “It s Mr Vlsn
iHtrcn, the retired shipping merchant.”
“Van lioren?” faltered Stanfield, who
now licguti 'to feel himself ajpiin. his
brief faiiitnevs vanishing as a scrap of
inist is hkovn away fr« m a ru .%»vd !pll-
side. “D t you mean. Mr. Myndlicrst
. Van Doren'.’*’
“Yes,” said an* th< r voice, 1* f« re
t!ie gifltHeinun <‘«»uld n‘sp«iml. “Il*'re
lie c*«»nes. now. U " wond/l* he
wasn't killeil by the carriage upsetting
r.s it •Ini.’* • •
Nothing could ni«'re elearlv have ex
pressed the |>rovri.i ialistn of New York
;:t that is-ritnl tlinn Vvhat now f »ll q-.cd
from another member of the throng;
“Oh. he's sit gorty. or rheumatic, or
whatever it is. that he keeps his
carriage all padded inside, just like a
baby's.”
“Hush! here he comes.” murmured
the gentleman, andstton Mr. Van Doren
moved up to Stanfield with an extended
hand. His rheumatism made him limp
a little, but he had sustained mi injury.
11 is greeting of the young man who
had certainly saved his life was civil,
but by ix) means gracious. Tin? face
which his nephew looked upon, rising
clean shaved and sharp-featured from
“Oh, it d«te* look as though our trou
bles were over,” said Martha, wiping
her eye*. “But then, Alfred, to think
of your doing so awfully reckless a
thing! Promise me you’ll never think
of risking yonr dear life like that again
—not even to get million* and mil-
lions.” . . ~ “
“I won’t,” he laughed; r onec mor*
kissing her. “Flf draw the 1 line a* re
gards my fut ire deed of valor prwuclj j
at one Bill I ion.”
CHArTKB II.
With great punctuality Stanfield pre-
ernted iiilnsclf the next morning at hi* «
uncle's ltoii.se in State street The
building hail by no mean* n cheerful
look a* he rapped with the bright bra**
knocker ou the white-painted d«tor It*
blind* wen-tightly el<ts«-«l. and it *eeme<l
t*t drons** in an apathy of <tltlivi«tn But ‘
Hits was n«»t his first ascent of that
Kltm-ralksl *t »'>p; Uc was pn-pan'd htr \
^tlu*sallow, st*taping butler, who pre* j
ently udiurtt-'d him without* word, but
with an air «»f having expected liiiu
S«ton lie was shown into a parlor *o
dark that he atuvist stunitdcd against a i
small tint heavy mahogany table on 1
which was a “friendship** keepsake,’* i
in crii.is<in-and-g«il«l himling. anil one i
or ^wo enormous, grinning. roM'-lipped I
c meh shells After a little • while old
^kilnucl made it lighter, an<l then Mr
Von Doren e;;uie into the room
It is p^>s.siltle that the old man had i
never treated anyone more cordially in
all his hard, mtsten* life than lie now
trcc.ted Stunfield
“Yon did a very fine thing, sir.” he
said; “you savet! my lifv beyond a '
doubt. Yes, I grant it. you see, I grant '
it.” Then be rubln'd one haml ug*m»t 1
theotlier ns though, in spite of grati i
tndo, bo were washing away from them
nil injit 'ri.d obligation «tf a reiuniM'rm
tive kind. and. with his alirrwii, beoily t
eyes atnltiis'hed •N-fitw their gray slant*
• f shaggy eyebrow, he glanced round |
him at tin* thread ban* earp*-t% the mir |
mrstu their tarnislusl frames and.the :
hairelotli furniture wh*ts«- edge* Itcre
and then* Ix'trayed the tawny buck
ram h -low them lint he doubtless «le.
scried mme of these or other sign*, all
glaring enough to attest Itiftownuvn
rice I|e was very probably refreshing
his memory concerning the little “htisi- j
—“ngrreThat vnn ■mi l shill luvn mvi* mh-Iq-V s, h :ir sMy. ns K firyj. went
an entirely new leaf?’
Flushed and stern r -atrtnficld had lis
tened. ami here He ghineed at Martha,
who was not far away, and who gave
him a little noil suggestingpropitiation.
Van Doren’s haml whs now slightly
lifted His nephew gnawed hi* lip* for
a moment uml then went forward and
took it.
“I will do A* you say, sir,” he replied,
“and I promise that the pew leaf shall
not Ik* soiled by *ny misconduct of my
own.” •
•Martha, who had Iteen secretly quiv
ering with nervous dread, here struck
In * gentle laugh, nnd said, as she
joihed tier husband's side: “Please let
me Im* counted in. too, for all Alfred's
friends art* mine, *nd if you will receive
him •* your real nephew at last you
must let me become your real niece be
kHles.”
Till* little speech ws* given with
ranch grace nml tvinsoraeni-Ms. but it
seemingly had noclTect upon Van Doren.
His manner grew, indeed, somewhat
grimmer, now that hi* apology hud
been made and aeccptctL., After having
sealed himself nt the request of bi*
h«*st. be hu.ntly said:
“I'm not g^ing to Iteat round the
bush —what'* the use? I've got a pret
ty fair pile of money that it t<Mik me a
bit of time and Iron hie to make. I
shouldn't Ik* surprised if I'm wnai
pie would call a mixer I let Yin talk
as they choube. Now, of course it l.sti t
going to Ik- very pleasant for a mac.
who's n* fond of his dollars ns I am to
give yon many of ’em down won’t
do anything of that kind I can't ami I
w-on t.” Here Ktanlield nnd his wife
cxch.inged glance*, nml the eyes of the
former seemed to say:. > “0!i, the un-
’^peakabk- obi skinflint!”
•NBut I’ll tell you what I will <lo,"
Van Doren s<ton resumed, w ith u keen
though side-long bsik at his nephew.
“I'll leave you all I’ve g«it when I'm *lone
witli it. That oughtn’t to lie so long,
either I'll reach sixtyi-ight my next
birthday -- My father dicil at fifty-six
nn«F ixith my brothers went at ages un
der thirty ” He now gave a husky Jit-
tlc laugh, aliont ns joyless ns the turn
ing of a rusted key in its Imdc. “So.
vou see,- the chances are against yonr
waiting very long I'll send for a law-
its ample stock, was almost frigid and ' in my efforts to gain yonr kindly notice
ness-1 ike ofTer” which lie ha<l resolved i yer to-morrow, and by next Thursday
to make this handsome, stalwart young
gentleman in the way of recognition
nml recompense. But Stanfield had now
made up his mind to speak, and prompt
ly did so. lie told Myndherst Van
Doren who he was, and nt length add
ed: “Not, sir, until I had lieen the
means of your rescue did 1 learn of onr
relationship. You did not ask me for
my name, nor did your servant seek U
of me this morning But since I have
-already made this name known to you
'atharine
-Wkat-
bc tbim
They had come from Charleston with
the hope of ultimately and perhaps
promptly winning Van Doren over.
But here, ns it were, the old fellow in
visibly scoffed at them, fortressed in
such impregnable manner against their
approaches that he - might as well have
lK*en the emperor of China onee and for
all.
“They told you he drove abroad in
his own carnage,” said Martha, one
day. “if i were you, Alfred. I’d just
stop it and insist on speaking with
him.”^
Those words of his wife, ns after
wards remembered by Stanm-TIT, were
fraught with a queer prophetic- humor.
For a few days after the strange occa
sion came to him. of indeed “stopping"
Mr. Van Doren’s carriage.
It nil happened like a flash, as such
things are so wont to happen. One
morning Stanfield was ■'strolling on
Broadway when he saw the clumsy
though somewhat aristocratie. convey
ance of his uncle come trunncling along
‘past Hector street lie had no idea who
owned the vehicle with iUco^kruled driv
er and two ponderous roans, though he
hail seen it sever si time* before during
prevura^strolls. Already, however, be
had beard, as we know, that hi* rich
uncle, etmus tt$*d -tV- tuou ,t:i)us New’
York extravagance of driving oat In
Iti* own txnu.ii Then, agum, U.c cj*nk .
lifeless enough to (have been carved
from some sort of grayish marble,
“I thank you, young sir—I thank you
very much, very much." Hi* was hold
ing Stanfield's hand while he thus
spoke, luit on a sudden dropped it and
fumbled in a side pocket of his
coat, which was cut like the evening,
“swallow-tail” coat of the present.
Soon he produced, a wallet and drew
—fja.mi.it.a tuinL ivhic.h he leunled Stnn-
field. —“There!” And then lie stared
fixedly at his preserver for an instant, '
finally givinga helpless little shrug of
the shoulders and disclosing a shattered
pair of spectacles which he had thus far e
kept in his drooped loft hand. *T can't
. see anybody very well without these,” -
lie pursued. “Uut I'll he able to look
nt you better if you'll call upon me.
Come to-morrow at eleven o'clock in
the'morning, will you? Pm a little
shaken up, yon knflw, though I ain't
hurt.” He said this with a sort of gen
erally clfa'lenging grin to the crowd—
an expression which his nephew no \
sooner saw than he greatly disliked.
And then he was helpi-il away by some
one who knew well enough to offer
him an arm, though he had no actual
friend in New Y-ork, throughout whose
limited community his wealth and his
avarice had both quite notoriously tran
spired.
Stanfield moved away in another di
rection. lie began to feei^a little stiff
in certain mnsclcs and realized, now
that it was all over, the' tn-raemlouS*
risk which he had run The dispersiriff
assemhlage called gay wonls after him,
Iwdf gratulutonv. half satiric. Some
voices assured him that he was in for
“a thou* and dtd'ars, snre." on the mor
row. an«l otia-rs mockingly doubted
such ah amoutii of guerdon, while at
the suoiv* tl use mixing their cynic dur
I feel sure that ‘Alfred Stanfield* will
not striker so very unfumiliarly on your
"cars.” 1 - •
Ashe finishi-d speaking theyonng man
placed a card, which l>ore his present
address, on the shell-adorned table near
which he sat. He did not proffer it to
3
H.
-f
<>
■J[-
tin* will can Ik? fully drawn up. I in
tended giving It all to charities, hut in
stead of that I'll leave-every dime of it
to tin* nephew that saved my life at the
risk of Ids own Now. wluit do yon
think of this nrrangement ,> Docs it
satisfy you? Because if d<K*sn't,” fin
ished Van Doren, rising, “I'm afraid
it's altogolhep-Ahe l>cst I can do."
Hi* oWh face had soured as he
watched the expression wrought by
these words on the fn e of his nephew..
Hut Stanfield’s reply, though very
frank, was quite free from ill feeling.
“Naturally.” came his answer, “I do
not wish .to eoneern myself with any
compact that bears relation to your
death. Still, if you are willing to make
me your heir, I can but thank you for
having so decided, and yet,” he con
tinued. “I would ask you. sir, for some
immediate help. Our needs arc grow
ing urgent, though they are not nt all
excesfti,v(*. ^My w ife and 1 could live on
•a very moderate annuity. If you would
consent to aid us with a certain month
ly sum I could, perhaps—indeed, most
probably—succeed in getting a clerk
ship here iu New York that would
swell the amount donated until it be
came an actual competence."
“M-m-ycs, yes.” muttered Van Doren,
Stroking his hare, sharp, shaven chin.
“Vou want, in other words, more that
I'm iHUing to give. I thought my
terms verify fair—very fair,” aniF he
looked IjotlrTiBtufield and Martha full
In the eyes, for a moment,'with a gaze
that seemed to both of -them positively
vulpine. ^
against Ids nature to do S4X During th«
next five y«*:irS» two ehililn-n were I torn
to"MarUia and !diuM*lf. a liny and a girl.
The little family had just enough to
Mipf>ff%k wants and not a dime more.
Martha! vvithlicr liahies and her domes
tic rifres kept up her spirits in blithest
fasldon Hut the change in Alfrt*«l wor
ried her She saw Ural his office work
was growing a nn*re nml more leaden
task to him. ami that tin- yearning for
M> ndherst Van t*orrn to die hud become j
like a cancer that slowly cut* deeper j
and deeper into the flesh.
When their first child was l»om they
brought it to the old miser, bat he car* '
esMtl it ia only a languid nml perfuno* !
lory way The truth was he could N
caress nothing with sny real pleasure
save dollar*, nnd thr*c he setnally did
fondle nnd slip through his fingers in
their most captivating golden form.
For Stanfield, who now nnd then would
medt the old butler, hod it directly from
Samuel himself, one day, that there was j
a pot of actual gold coin in the cabinet
of the library upstairs, nnd that heir, ,
very often, instead of reading any of
the books on the adjacent shelves—
ImmiU* which Im* hnd long ago ceased
from Hm* horrible extravagance of pur
chasing—hr wmdd sit crouchiugly be
side his green*sb.n*>c.» lamp for hour*
and hours <-f an evening, arranging the
pdd pici-c* into piles of n c**rtnin
height, making of these piles medal
lions. nnd then altering the latter with .
a slow but incessant variance until bis
fn*nkisb inanipnlatiou* remiutk-d you of
nothing so much as the siug;ft*li revo
lution of n kaleidoscope.
Talk like this keenly interested Stan
Cebl Now and then he would refer to
Samuel's gossipy confidence during '
talks with his wife. A* time went on j
the city pushed itself np past tract* of
land that but yesterday, as might lie
*nid, were open country. The Stan
field* moved their place of residence to
oug further uptown, though cheaper and
more modest than that which they bod
formerly held- * * -•
Martha protested a little nt thi*.
-“There’* no use, Alfred,” she said, “in
Nqur reducing expenses. \Ve don't want
to*uvc, you know.” By this linn* they
had goV into the way of R|*eaWing quite
freely to ohcanother regariling Vuu Ikr
re ns expected demise.
"No,” he repluhi. “nqt to save—of
course not. Hut moiiey is money, my
dear, and tve need not sqihupler it.”
“Squander it!" faltered Martk^. She
could noV understand the change in
her liushand. He had lost a good do:
of Ids ohl bonhomie. He was given t<i
fits of broiling tlfftt puzzled her, and
sometimes he would start from one of
these r.nd suddenly ask her how much a
certain griK-crYr hill had h'-oh «>r just
what amount she had paid for young Al
fred's last pair of shoes, for young (Ger
trude's newest dozen of hose.
At last poor, gentle Martha waked
np and .gave her lord a grand scolding.
He listened to it very patiently, and
told her (with a sort of dazed smile
which she somehow detested) that he
had thought so much of money lately
as to find himself caring about ik
watching its expenditure in a really pe
culiar way.
~ ,T Yiiu thihir aTtogetTicr - too much on
the subject of money,” said Martha,
with reproachful heat. “Arc we not
quite comfortable as wc are? And if a
certain tiling doesn’t hapiK-n within the
next five years or so, why on earth
should you ware? For a good while yet
we can send the children to public
’ scluxds. That certainly is far bettor than
not educating them at" all. WVvo no
reason to bother ourselves almut mon^y
—none in the <k-ast. Of course, you
might have advanced yourself more
With Van Vccktea it Co. Now, Alfred,
1 don't mean to say anything unpleas
ant, hut you know, dear, that you your-
has crept like a poison through all his
nerves." - —
The children, as” they grew older,
were sent to a public school. Now
York had now greutened in an eastward
direction, and the Stuufiold home was
in Essex street, hut a stone’s throw
from East Broadway Stanfield was a
fitfully affectionate father and by no
means a good oho. Ills children feared
him more than they loved him At times j
ho would overwhelm them with kind
ness, but they never knew just when
his inteusc irritability would break
forth.
Martha, a* the ne::t decade l»egan,
strove to console herself with the ex
pectation that Vnn !>oren's fortune
might now ut any moment lieeomc '■
llvlrs. Dlseovertl’.'T Hint lirr
Trir DlseoverT!’.!? tlWll IliT hushuiid
was filnenteil by such wonls mk “Oh, ti»-
morrow we may Ik* wealthy,” she used
them with an Increasing abandonment
of gixxl breeding ’ It wns like doubl ng
and tripling the doses of opium for a
pain-stung patient. Formerly thc'niodc
of eonsolement that she now used
would linvc seemed to her brutal and In
the most shaimbc-'S Lists. But ti>-<lay.
IT
r
yc*
iik vrirn ax awpi i. ■m i x
nnd through a M*ries of morrows, the
vulgarity of the process rlad its«-lf
in i-all<Mj*>n«*s*. Their very chiklr*-n*j*ot
into the habit of saying alrtud and f*-ur-
le» -ly: "Any ilay wc may Is* rk h;” or.
“V* hen Fnclc Myndherst dies %ve shall
have thousands sod tliousands of dol
lars.” *
But tho years dragged themselves
along and still t’nete Myndherst did not
die. 1 hie day, however, the head of the
Van Vcckten firm died, nnd as there
was no sucivssor of the name, ami c*
the two partners were well along in I
to talk with Van Doren on the subject
of investments in bonds and mortgage*
nnd n-nta. All dajr be would either
aimlessly wander the streets or elo
hold converse with his kinsman of just
this coldly mercenary kind.
In vuki Martha remonstrated. In
vain she tried to rouse him from the In
toxication of his hard materialism. Ho
would soften towards her for a fevg
minute*. “Don't get out of patlenco
with on*,” he would, say “In a.litt'a
while now you’ll find me such a differ
ent man. He can't last much longer.
Don't yon sec? He hardly eats any
thing. us it u. lie scarcely ever ev. n
stirs out of doors. Why, it’s touch-and-
go with him; a fool could sec that.”
Martha would shudder. “Toneh-and*
go!” and he was now long pnat eighty.
Stanfield himself had bcciKne a rahldle-
aged man, she. his wife, was no longer
young; the children were cessing to bo
children.
One tiny, In hi* eighty-fourth year.
Van Ih»ren was taken vkdcntly ilk It
was winter, and many eases of pneu-
monia( “infir mmation of the lungs/’tbesr
still called it then, in the year ISMO) had.
broken out, nnd proved fatal. Again.<t
his will a (diysk-isn was summoned, and
the verdict gtren his nephew was
sgalnst bis living twenty-four hours
longer. Martha attended him with all
the skill of a trained nurse. At this
time her Lnsband s conduct horrified
her. He hung shout the door of the
sick chamber, with that eager look ac
centuated In hi* wsn face. There was
one day when It seemed as If Van Doren
might at sny instant breathe hi* lost.
During this period fits of delirium as
sailed him. in which he raved of money,
money, nothing except money.
On the inormw he was surprisingly
Iw-tter. Soon nfterwanU he began to
recover, and within a fortnight his
health was -more vigorous than before
Hm? seizure occurred. Far days after-
wards it tortured Martha to observe
her liuxbaniP* face.
“And till*,” she thought, “wci tho
strong, ckar-beoiled, high-principled
man I married. Whoever first said that
money was. a curse bit on the most
, pr»*{»nant of truths.” >
The years went on. At eighty-eight
Van Doren w as f*-eble, bowed in figure,
, very dim of Night, and yet mentally as
keen and alert as ho hod over been.
lYrUup* he buggod UU money a Uttlu
ciost'r and made th<»*e aliout him a lit
tle more dlr-comfortcd In consequence.
1 Martha felt only too acutely umw the
ghastly contagion that her husban J bad
years, the firm underwent dissolntkih. I CRU tfht. He still waifc<k but his wsit-
Thls was a blow to Martha, for she | ‘ n if ’•‘‘come n hkloous mockery,
feared that her husband would refuse What could hr do with the money
to seek other employment now that it
certain long-delayed .event seemed on
the verge of happening, and in that cu-m*
his mental state would surely not profit
by the change. She was right; he mere
ly said she must “get along without any
salary after this. it can't ho so very
long now.” v
Still it would lx? very hard to get on
even If he survived his ancle? Nothing
except hoard it us. Van Doren was do
ing He had grown old before his
time; he wan prematurely wrinkled,
and into hi* features hod crept a strin
gency of pallor, a covert fierceness,
which meant insatiable greed.
Night after ni^ht ho now did what to
hi* wife was a revolting thing. Tho
without the salary, Martha conclude^ j game of solitaire which Van Doren had
been wont to play with his gold coin*
had now become a game in which hi*
nephew joined. They would sit to-
evcii if only for a year or six months
And to in secret site went down to the
old State-street house and Ivgged Van
Doivifto increase the allowance ho was
making them" Here fused with an ire
ful sneer. He looked, indeed, the typi
cal miser that diij’, with his lK*nt form
ehtd m a faded, ragged dressing-gown
and the shabbiest of little hiack skull
caps on Yrki bald head.
Boor Marthavvent away heavy-heart
ed. What wnstHshc done? The chil- !
dren must not be? brrmY'ht up like pan-
pers. though already Ytl^cy were not
on a social level with other children of
like parentage and position Hut soon
there dawned a way out of the djUicul-
ty, though scarcely one that might Ik*
said to beam with relief. Old Samuel
suddenly died, and his wife, stricken
by the shock of his loss, hardly sur
vived him a mouth. Van Doren \Vns
now quite alone, nnd nt times marked
ly feeble. He consented that titan
1 Ml I Ilf
mi
r*
%
field andT his T^inTly should' emm- and AKRASGI * N<> iXTO-WWiX
live with him iu State street, which gether for hours and move the littje
they at length did. To wring from the yellow piles to ami fro on the table be-
pld man money enough for even a fru- fore them in some curious manner
gul household wherewithal was hard which they alone? understood They
ITS AU. A TRICK.
Hut the young wife, whatever may -heIf told me, not lr>ng ago, you’d got to
Van Doren. though perhaps If he hat’'
done so that gentleman wonld hnv«
hurled it aside In disdain, for his
nephew had scarcely ended Is-fore Ije
ros'*, pale nnd tremulous with wrath
“I see! I soy!" he exclaimed "It’s nil
a trick, a miserable trick! Yonr mothei
threw herself away on a pennilesjrtovcr
am^ -now- you’ve Watched,your eluutcc
to sfeal into my gorkl graces—OT gel
money from me—the money I’ve made
by hunt work, sir, ami mean to keep
with a tight hand, I can tell you!" .At
this point the speaker agitatedly rose
“Samuel!” he culled “Samuelf" m a
shrill, falsetto voice; and 11m- odd serv
xnt, jrbo had lately goik' (rum tiic
have been her furtive repulsion, now
drew nearer to tho obdurate?-oUr man
and addressed him w : th a simple and
lovely eloquence of pleading. She spoko
of their marriage.and tho deep mutual
love that had caused it; of AIfred'a^Teat
willingness to work, and of her, own
eager desire to till their little Fomc
with happiness a*nd thrift. There were
tears of entreaty in, her voi«*\ though
none iu her tenderly besnieeiiing ryea
But possibly a light was tliere that
somehow crept, with whatever fa.fit
ness, down Into the sullen gloom of
that unnatural heart. Before the intcr-
\ lew v.’as gvi*F Martha, and u^)t her hus-
band, had ga ned a victory. Stcnfiei^J
was to receive every lYtn^ at hu uncleV
Ik? a sort .of machine there in Water
street, neither earing for promotion
nor using an effort to secure it.”
x “True,” VepUed Slanfielth ”1 must
pull myself together. I must show
them what I'm worth and demand a
better salary." r
But he'did neither. He was always
waiting, waiting for hi* uncle to die.
The Van Veckteh firm found no fault
with him, hat they 'bod got to regard
him in the light of a merely plodding
and uhambitHMis-workcr. IVrhaps they
snsp-cUd the truth—that okl Van lX*reu
b»d made him his hoir, and that he had
seen L»« old misi-r's will, stmI. ftiat be
realized how a/ij hour might makc.bmr
riUi- As «t wax thry Irt^Ud Liui com
work enough; and as for his consent
that n single yard of new carpeting, a
single pint of new paint should repair
in his uliodc the augmenting blemishes
of time, this was an achievement be
yond human suasion. Dignity and dis
tinction had oeen ciphers before now
in the Stanfield family circle, hat rfow
they were worse than non-existent—
they had l>een brought to life again in
the sen so of travesty and parody. It
got alKiut that this dismal minage had
been formed, and pitiless jc^ts ensued.
Luckily, Martha heard none of them.
Her haps if Stanfield had heard them he
would not have greatly carejl
Martha's life had now become a rrlar-
tyrdora. She blessed the public school
for its wholesome helping <if her boy
and her girl They both became far
more her. children than-their father's.
All that w;-.» sweetest in the womanly
wisdom and hardihood of her cliaraeter
she lavished upon these two. 'Affahi
and again sIk? found herself hoping that
the bright, innocent faces of Alfred and
(Gertrude would more thu mulish tenaci
ty of their great uncle. lh«, no; Van
Down itoWd out j.:4 so ouch each
Xiak fur 'VVwastV and uo more ’I he
would laugh and joke together as this
queer amusement progressed. Stan-
lield'n laugh had grown cracked and
thin like his uncle’s. Mart fia would
turn sick as she watched them some
times through a crevice in tho doorwjy.
She kept her boy nnd girl from witnesa-
tng the f ight. They both loved her and
obeyed her least wish. It was horrihio
to her that they should see their father
so depraved as this. *”*-
If it had not been for her children
Martha often told herself that she
would go mad. There was just food
xnough to cat and no more. The hou^o
was sinking to njin; ia one room tho
plaster had faHcn from the coiling, iu
another the paper was banging loose ou
the walls. *
Not till *hls ninety-fifth year did
Myndherst ^an Doren die, ard then
they found him dead in Ids bed ojo
morning with a sort of scowl ou Lis
withered face, as thoagh h? bod paid
the debt of nature in teuty reluctance.
Stanfield could scarcely conceal tba
strange wildness of bis joy There wan
o«> uk? in striving to ke«p the truth of him
exultUion fr m Alfred ut.u (»ertri
Tttcy were uov% wdvdtk, they read
3