Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1855-06-28

luxury and beauty possible. All that came
in his way-dress, jewelry, furniture, orna-
ments-whatever it might be that was rare and
expensive, he bought for them. He lavished
his money like water, and thought nothing
dear which would call forth smile from the
woman, or joyous exclamation from the
child. Their pleasure repaid him for every
thing !; it was his world, his heaven, his life.
But the time was coming fast now, when
old Joe Mappin, the broker, must face the
boundary lines between time and eternity, and
learn the great secret. When the winter had
killed Margaret's flowers, had stripped her
geraniums OF their leaves, and had frozen the
songs of her birds, the old man and Death
stood face to face. His rheumatism and asth-
ma had been very bad for long time !; and
living in his niggard and neglected way, he
had not given himself the best chance of recov-
cry. He knew he was dying, but he could
not die in peace, without looking once more on
those two faces he had loved so much--the only
two he had ever loved through the whole of
his long life. They could not come to him,
for they did not knoy his address, nor even
his surname. He was only Joe, in the
beautiful house in Regents Park; and the
servants thought he was Missuss's queer old
uncle-perhaps from lngy or furren parts.'-
But if they could not come to him he would
go TO them-and mpst-whatever the risk
He could not die happily-he believed he
could not pass away at all-without seeing
them once more.
Though the seal Of death was set rigidly on
his face, the old man resolved to make the
long and perilous journey. He knew he
should hasten the supreme moment; but it
would be better, even if he did, he said, sadly.
He had done all he could now; he had estab-
lished the dear ones, and his death would not
deprive them now of farthing, or of a single
comfort. He had saved enough let him die ,
He sent for neighbor to dress him for the last
time in his decent clothes; and when this was
done-between fainting and long fits of pain
he told her TO 60 for a cab, and bargain
with the man for his fare up TO Regents Park.
Because he was old and weak he wouldn't be
done even by the biggest ruffian amongst
them, he growled out.
When the woman left the room, old Joe
dragged himself as he best could TO a small
iron safe he had let into the wall with his own
hands. No one knew it was there-not even
the landlord, nor those prying eyes of little
Teddy. He unlocked it, and took out a roll
of bank notes, railway script, and mortgage
bonds, and tied them all in cotton handker-
chief, together with parchment tied with red
tape, sealed with big seal, and endorsed
'Ioe Mappin's will, in his own handwriting.
He hid the bundle under his greasy old cloak,
and then the woman came back, and found
him painting and pale, and she screamed out
that he was dying. But he swore at each
gasp, and told her to hold her noise, and to
help him down stairs. And then half STUN
bling and half carried, the old man got down
the stairs at last, and so was put into the cab.
He gave the man his directions in an under
tone; jealously guarded the name from the
crowd standing curiously about; and then he
drove out of Holborn forever. And as he left
his old neighborhood, with all its associations
Of the pitilessness and sorrow of which he had
been the instrument and the heartless cause, a
change seemed to come over him. The mas
tiff face gradually grew more soft and human
lied. He was passing from the world of men
and mammon into that of love and death, and
the evil influence OF his material life faded be-
fore the purifcation of this great baptism.
The journey-it was long one for dying
manfred him sadly. He did not care
though for the pain it caused him his only
fear was he should die ere he reached his
home-the home of his spirit, of his better and
purer life. But he survived it-in sad state
of suffering and prostration-and only just sur
vived it; for when, carried by the cabman in
his arms as if he had been child, he was
brought into the presence of those loved ones,
all that his failing life left him power TO do
was to place the package in the widows lap
and murmer family, 1t is all yours and to
die with her tears falling softly on his face.