The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1858-08-21

" Yes, Deacon Bancroft, I do; but |
am much afraid you will think strange of
it-at least, of what | may say to YOU
The deacon very politely promised not
TO be surprised, though at the came time
his curiosity was visbIy excited.
l." suppose" said the widow, casting
down her eyes" mind | am only sup
posing a cose-suppose a person should
find a pet of gold pieces in their cellar,
would the law have right to touch it,
or would it belong to them 2"
The deacon priclicd up his ears.
ga pot of gold pieces, widow WHY
unqncstiopabIy the law would have
nothing to do with it,"
"And the one who formerly owned the
house couldn't come forward and claim
it, could he, deacon! - inquired the
widow further, with apparent anxiety.
" No, madam, unquestionably not
When the house was disposed OF, every
thing went with it,
I" | am glad to hear it, deacon. You
won't thinl; strange Of the question, but
it happened to occur to my mind, and |
thought would like to have it satisfied
Certainly, widow, certainly" said
the deacon, abstractedly.
" And, deacon, as you are here,
hope you will stop to dinner with US. 1t
will be ready punctually at twelve"
"Wcll, no." said the deacon, rising;
I'm much oblccgcd to We, but they'll
be expecting nc at home"
" At any rate, dcacon,' said the
widow, taking a steaming mincc pie from
the oven, "you wont object to take a
piece of mincc pie, you must know that
! pride myself on MY mincc pies
The warm pie sent out delicious
odor, that the deacon was sorcly tempted
and after saying, " Well, really" with
the intention Of refusing, he finished by
saying, "On the whole, guess L will,
as it looks so NICE
The widow was really good cook,
and the deacon ate with much gusto the
generous slice which the widow cut for
him, and after a little more chatting,
upon unimportant subjects, he withdrew
in some pcrplcxity.
" Was 1t posslblc,' thought he, " that
the widow could have found pot of gold
in her cellar! She did not say so to be
sure, but why should she show such
anxiety to know as to the proprietorship
of treasure thus found, if she had not
happened upon some"
10 be sure, so far as his knowledge
extended, there was no one who had
occupied the house who would be in the
least likely to lay up such an amount Of
gold but then the house was one hum
dred and fifty years old, at the very
least, and undoubtedly had had many
occupants Of whom he knew nothing
1t might be, after all. The widows
earnest desire to have him think it was
all curiosity, likewise gave additional
probability to the suppoSition
81 will wait and watch" thought the
deacon.
1t happened that Deacon Bancroft
was one Of the Directors of Savings
Institution, situated in the next town,
and accordingly used to ride over there
once or twice month, to attend the
meeting of the board.
On the next occasion of this kind, the
widow Y ellis sent over to know if he
would carry her over with him, as she
had little business to attend to there.
The request was readily accorded
Arrived in the village, Mrs. Wells re-
questcd to be set down at the bank.
lla ha - thought the deacon,
6 that means something"
lie said nothing, however, but deter
mined to come back, and find out, as he
could readily, from the cashier, what
business she had with the bank.
The widow trippcd into the Office, pre-
tending to look very nonchalant.
Can you give small bills for five
dollar gold piece % she asked.
With pleasure" was the reply.
{" By the. way" said she, * the bank
is in fourishing condition, is it not %
" None in the State On better foot
ing" was the prompt response.
" You receive deposits, do you not -
" Yes, madam, we are receiving them
every day"
DO You receive as high as--Gye
thousand dollars"
No." said the cashier, with some
surprise, "rathcr we do not allow inter-
est on so large sum. One thousand
dollars in our limits. Do you know Of
any one Who"
"It is of no consequence said the
widow, hurriedly; {" only asked for
curiosity. BY the way, did you say how
much interest you allowed on such as
come with your limit -
q" Five per cent, madam"
"Tbank you, only asked for curiosity
What beautiful morning it is ~
The widow trippcd lightly out
Shortly afterwards the deacon entered.
" How is business, Mr.. Cashier 2" he
inquired.
g About as usual"
q" Had any new deposits lately ?"
{. None of any magnitude"
81 brought over lady this morning
who seemed to have business with you"
"The widow Wells ?"
" Yes"
g DO Won know whether shn had onv