Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1855-09-13

e Queens Bench, and after a short tern o
, Imprisonment, died suddenly of apoplex.-
: He had lived too freely, and taken ooittle
Q exercise; and being one of those fair-haret
e men of sanguine temperament, who require
y abstinence and work, but who love luinry
, and ideness, he had met the fate any mel lea
f man would have predicted His wife land
child were thus left alone in the world and
pennIess. The broker had never lost Ugh,
of them. Gifts from an unknown hspdl
money, clothing, and even food. had sept
Mrs. Thornton from want--nll the more
welcome, as by her marriage she had dis
pleased her relatives, who were perhaps ppt
sorry now of this excuse to avoid maintaining
her When the captain died, then old Joe
Mappin came forward openly. He told her
how he had lived an Ishmaelite life, without
pity, and without love; he told her how she
had reused feelings in him-feeings of rev.
erence 70" humanity, such as he had never
known before; and the old man bowed him
self before her as to superior being, and
besought Of her the privilege of maintaining
her and her child He wanted nothing, he
SAID, but to know that they were happy, and
sometimes to hear them say so. He had moi
a relation in the world to whom he could
leave his money-not one that they would
wrong by taking it, he had boarded because
it was mis- nature to hoard; but he never
knew for what end he saved. Now, he
should have saved for Heaven, if she would
accept her life on these easy terms. They
we're not hard and if she objected to his
going to see her, he would not. Indeed,
indeed it was her happiness, and that sweet
baby 's-not his own--he cared for, in the
offers!
What could she do, that gentle woman,
without friends or fortune, or the means of
earning her own subsistence' What could
she do, but look at her child, hold out both
her hands to that strange old man, and burst
into tears OF gratitude and shame, and sorrow, |
all mixed up together, as she faltered out,
Yes and took her fate from his hands?-
She understood the truth of his feelings, and
was herself too noble to assume false dig
nifty which would have been less dignifed
than the acceptance of his generosity. She
thanked him by her tears, and she kissed his
hand; and that touch bound old
Joe Mappin as her life; the first, last, and
0galYl gal Yl,lEyIm lEyImse mseyllh htteeh" years. 7
He took a beautiful little house for the
widow and her child and furnished it with
every luxury and beauty possible. All that
came in his way-dress, jewelry, furniture,
rnaments-whatever it might be that was
rare and expensive he bought forthem. lie
Iavished his money like water, md thought
nothing dear which would call firth a smile
from the woman or a joyous exclamation
from the child Their pleasures repaid him
for everything; it was his world, his Heaven,
his life.
But the time was coming fast now, when
poor old Joe Mappin, the broker, must face
the boundary lines between time and eternity,
and learn the great secret. When the win.
ter had killed Margaret's flowers had strip.
ped her geraniums of their leaves, and had
frozen the songs of her birds, the old MAJ
and death stood face to face. His rheuma-
tism and asthma had been very bad for a u
long while: and living in his niggard anl
neg lected way had not given him the bet
chance ofrecovery. He knew he was dyint
but he could not die in peace without looking
once more on those two faces he loved 81
only two he ever loved throug
the whole of his long life. They could mt
come TO him, for they did not know his at
dress, nor even his surname. He was onv
Joe in the beautiful house in ResasdnHiI
Park; and the servants thought he
'Missus's queer old uncle perhaps from
or furren parts But if they could nd
to him, he would 60 to them-and md
whatever the risk He could not die ha
he believed he could not pass away at a
without seeing them once more.
Though the seal of death was set rigN
on his face, the old man resolved to nv
this long and perious journey. He knee
should hasten the supreme moment; bt,
would be better even ifhe did, he said, sB
lie had dono all ha could do now; head -.
established the dear ones, and his dtiF pl
would not deprive them now of farthing or ST
a single comfort. He had saved enovh 81
let him die! He sent for nclghbor to dess
HIM for the last time, in his decent clotes !; |"
and when this was done between fading T
and long fits Of pain--he told her to 20 pr
cab, and bargain with the man for hsare ~
up to Regents Park. Because he wa old
and weak he would Mt be done even by the 2
biggest rufian among them, he growIet tou,. le
When the woman left the room, old Joe
dragged himself as he best could to a mall }
ron safe he had let into the wall with his own
nand. No one knew it was there-noteve
he landlord, nor those pryng eyes of little
Teddy. lie unlocked it, and took out ! roll
'f bank notes, railway script and mortgage
bonds, and tied them all in handkerchief,
ogether with parchment tied with redtape,
sealed with big seal, and endorsed Joe 4
Nappins will, in his own handwriting He 4
lid the bundle under his greasy old cloak;
md then the woman came back, and found
lin painting and pale, and she screamed out
hat he was dying. But he swore at her be-
ween each gasp, and told her to hold her
o hold her noise and to help him down
stairs. And then half stumbling and half
'arred, the old man got down the stairs at
asst, and so was put into the cab
lie gave the man his directions in an under
one, iealously guarding the name from the