American telegraph. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1851, 1851-04-10
AMERICAN TELEGRAPH
HOW PHILIP CLAYTON PUT HIS MONEY
OUT AT INTEREST. aa
ny GE0RGIANA Q. MUNRO.

. shall be very happy--won.t you? when
we have little money laid by" remarked
Philip Clayton's pretty wife, as she poured out
tea for him in their cheerful little parior,
through whose open window stole the soft
breath of summer, laden with the fragrance of
the sweet-brar that fringed the grass-plot, and
the honeysuckle that draperied the rustic
porch.
81 am very happy now,' replied Clayton,
smiling, as he glanced from the fair face that
looked on him to the laughing boy who was
romping with spaniel on the grass.
Well, and so am l." said Mrs. Clayton,
smiling also it would have been strange if she
was not happy, with husband who loved her
deyotedly, and no sorrow or danger glooming
on the sunny horizon of her life. But you
know what mean--it will be great comfort
and satisfaction when we are able to lay up
something n provision for the future. And
think what pleasure it will be to find the in
terest coming in at once to help u.s."
"No, no !" laughed Clayton; "to carry out
the thing properly we must not spend the in
terest, but lay that up also to accumulate into
a large fortune by the time we are three or four
score years old. But come; Hetty, let us not
concern ourselves so much about future that
may never come. If it does come, God will, |
trust, enable us to provide for it but the
blessings Of the present are ours to enjoy and
be thankful for. SO give me another cup, and
then let me hear that song you sung me yester-
day; it has been echoing in my ears all day
and every line wrote seemed to be accommo-
dating itself to the tune"
So the song was sung, and others followed,
drawing the child dancing in from his gambos
to hear the music, and the evening passed plea
sanity as it was wont to do, making Mrs. Clay
ton forget, in the happiness of the present, her
anxiety for the future.
Years passed by, and found and left rs great
and yet greater happiness at the little flower
wreathed cottages for other childish voices
made its walls resound with merriment, and
not one blessing had been recalled, to leave
shadow on remembrance And, moreover, the
cherished wish Of Henrietta seemed on the point
of being realized for the first hundred pounds
were very nearly amasseL by their care and
frugality, out of Philips salary from the bank
ng-house where he was q clerk; and already
his over-anxious wife reckoned the five per
cent interest in those days given, as the small
yet welcome addition to their income which
should enable the second hundred to be more
quickly collected.
Even Philip knew not how great q hold the
desire of providing against contingencies had
on the mind of his pretty and amiable Henriet-
ia. His own nature was generous and hopeful;
and, beyond doing every thing for the best, he
did not much ponder over what might be the
freight and fortunes of the coming years, cheer
fully trusting that if they brought him misfor-
tune, they would bring him the means and the
strength to struggle against it, or endure. He
had at the outset insured his life, which Sc
cured some provision for his family, should he
be taken from them, and he saw no cause for
doubt that his exertions would maintain them
comfortably while he lived; and pleasant were
his thoughts, as evening after evening he walked
mile through the quiet lanes, where the trees
met and the birds sang sweetly above his head,
to the little village where he dwelt among scenes
so different from the large town where his oc-
cupation lay.
On the other side of the clear spring which
glided quietly through the village, stood house
whose inmates had known far less of prosperity
than was the portion of the Claytons. Yet there
had come brightness over their prospects; and
after many misfortunes, Richard Allen thought
that the clouds had passed at length, and the
long-delayed sunshine was cleaning forth; for
a situation as manager of brewery promised
him not merely a competence but the means of
setting his son, fine boy of fifteen, forward in
the world. He had been but six months in his
situation, and twice that time in the neghbor-
hood, where he was Of course but little known,
though that little was calculated to win respect;
and Of all, Clayton perhaps knew and liked him
best.
One evening they were leaning over the bridge
that spanned the stream, watching Frank Allen
rs he altered, and worked at, and launched, and
guided on its course the little boat which Harry
Clayton-six years his junior-was unable to
make sail down the stream; and they smiled to
see how the child clapped his hands with de-
light, and how pleased Frank was to aid the
ignorance and awkwardness Of his little COM
panion.
"Strange," said Allen, "that as men we
should lose the feelings which seem inherent in
us in childhood and in boyhood. In those years
our first impulse is to help those who are weaker
or more inexperienced than ourselves. But as
time passes, those feelings die away and are
forgotten; and how seldom is it that we find
men pleased and eager to extend helping hand
to those who are less fortunate than themselves
How much more frequently do they appear to
exut in their advantages all the more that
others are without them And if they do aid
a feeble brother, is it not usually done coldly
and reluctantly, as an acknowledged but dis
agreeable duty, instead of with the pleasure
and alacrity which characterized our boyhood's
exertions to help those who needed?"
"There are exceptions" replied Clayton
and would wish to think they are numerous"
$50 would l. said Allen, "and they ought
to be numerous; for surely every hour of our
lives shows us more and more how dependent
men are on their fellow-creatures, in some
shape or another; it seems designed to teach
us mutual kindness, charity and forbearance;
but the lesson is too often unheeded and some
times read backwards to serve different end.
But don't think me a grumbler or q msan-
thrope because | say this. | know there is
much good in the world; but cannot help say
ing that there might be, and ought to be, much
more"
81 suspect we need only look into our own
hearts to own the truth of that" said Clayton,
smiling. " But here comes Mrs. Allen, and l
know my good little housewife has been impa-
tiently waiting for us this hour past"
And so she had been; for with all her pru-