The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1857-01-01

was well f1lled. Slowly demon rose De.
fore me, and began to advise me. He point
ed to the money drawer and whispered,
Hthere are the means ofpaying the debt"
] knew that Mr.. Evered bad no knowledge
Of the amount of money there, for he knew
not how much had sold. could have
taken fifty dollars, and he might never
miss it, for | had sold great quantity Of
4 stuff that he had no account Of. had prom
Used the tailor that be should have the mon,
ey that very night, and had planned il to
get Mr.. Eyered TO advance the necessary sum.
I had not been spending my money foCi;
ishly, bu, from my pittance supported my
mother, who ate it ailup.3. Veg: VI oafs-
~ For a long while sat and looked upon
that drawer, and the tempter was persuad-
ling me. knew that young clerks some
times did such things, and that necessity
compelled them TO it; at least, SO thought
then. How could 4 meet my creditor again
without TINT money! could not, and at
length resolved that would not. arose
and went to the drawer opened il and
saw the bank notes that had been fairlyjnm
med in there, and counted cut twenty dol
lars. My hand trembled and my heart beat
quickly. ! thrust the notes into my pocket,
and then fastened back to my seat, and ere
long afterwards my employer entered. ''2
swell, Charles, said he II guess wen
shut up now" ' ,g.aD.r'.tH.a loflaq ..s
arose and went out, and put the shutters
up, and when came back found Mr.
Evered engaged in counting the money
As l approached him, he eyed me with
sharp searching look, and rembled like
an aspen. t III ...
"What als you!" he asked.
7"Nothing, sir" 1 answered, trying to COM
pose myself.
"But there must be something the mat
ter" he resumed, "for your are as pale as
ghost" t-
II am tired" said I.
"Well, well, you have worked hard to-day,
and you may 60, I'll attend to the rest"
pm With desperate effort to compose my
self, thanked him for his kindness, and left
the store. The fresh air revived me some
what, and hurried on to the tailor's, paid
my bill, and for a moment my heart was
light, but it was only for moment. When
reached the street again, the thought of
what had done came upon me with over
whelming force, and | was miserable
When reached home | professed to be
sick, and retired at once. But my mother,
sick and weary herself, came up to my bed,
and gave me some medicine. She gave me
a simple preparation. drew up the clothes
snugly about me, and having kissed me, she
said:
"Be careful, Charles, for 'twould be pain
ful indeed, to have you sick. God bless and
keep you. Good night"
oh, how those last words rang in my ears.
What would my mother say-how would
she feel-if she knew her son was a-thief!I
1t was long time before could give the
last word shape or form, but at last / could
not keep it back. Thief! theft rang in my
soul till an agony was upon me so intense
that all other conceptions of pain were moth.
ing. The night passed away in sleepless,
phantom. making restlessness; and when
the morning came, 4 arose and walked out
before nv mother and sister were up. did
not return until breakfast time, and then
had SO overcome all outward signs Of dis
tress that little remark was made upon it,
But the wormuwas gnawing at my heart.
That afternoon went with my sister to
meeting, and as entered the little church
| met the gaze of Mr.. Evered. He watched
ms sharply, and saw marks of pain on his
face, 4gg
After the services was over, saw him in
earnest conversation with the tailor. / no.
ticed how earnest they spoke--and once
saw the tailor point his finger towards
me. a sat ps
| felt sure, then, that all was discovered
."For mercy sake, Charles, what is the
matter!" cried Lucy as she caught my arm.
shes faint! he's faint" heard q low,
tremulous voice, and on turning, saw Julia
Evered. She was frightened-and at that
moment came the conviction that she loved
me. Butthe other thought came with it, and
| knew that ere long she would despise me,
Sick and faint hurried away, and to all
the anxious inquiries of Lucy, only replied
that was not we'll. Oh, how miserable !
felt, for | knew that my employer had detect
ed the theft. His gaze at me in church was
proof enough; and his conversation with the
tailor made it sure. That evening ] dared
not 90 to church, and my mother worried
over me. II she would only have left me
alone, | might have been less miserable; but
she clung close to me, and / had to lie to her
the first falsehood i ever spoke to that no.
BILE woman. 1907 .-q, Y.t|
N Another night Of restless agony, and then
] came to the severest test of all. ! must
meet my employer. II was late when de-
scsndsd to the kitchen, and I found my moth
er as pale and deaihly as death itself. For
moment forgot my own pain and hasten
ed to her side, She gazed up into my face