The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1859-01-22
John CLARK and HIS Fortune.

e sombre company.
$ "But what in the world has he left me
: muttered John Clarke. 81 believe he hate
g mel believe they all hate me-"
i Hush. dear"
e 81 bequeath to John Clarke, my dear
5 ly keloved nephew" read the grim attorne '
u "as reward for his firmness in resisting
2 temptation for the last two years, and hi
4 determination to improve in all acceptable
things, my horse shay, which stands
and has stood i'll my barn over twenty -fiv,
years, requesting that he shall repair it, o
cause 1t to be repaired in a suitable man
ner"
That was all. Some of the people gath
T cred there Uttered, all seemed to enjoy thS
confusion of the poor young man. HIS eyes
eyes flashed fire, he trembled excessively
poor little Jenny fairly cried. ~ x
" To think" she said to ~bcrseif, 80 how
hard be has tried to be good, and That is all
he thought of it ~
Wish you joy" said red headed youth
with grin as he came out of the room
John sprang up to collar the fellow, but a
little white hand laid on his coat sleeve re-
strained him.
Let them triumph, John, i; won't hurt
yon, SAID Jenny, with her sunny smile {;
please don't notice them for my sake"
Served him right" said Susan Spriggs,
the niece of the o,d man Just dead, and to
whom he had left all his silver, " it served
hIT right for marrying that ignorant goose
Jenny Brazier. ! suppose he calculated q
good deal on the Old gentieman's generosi
ty." To which She added in whisper that
/ cnly her own heart heard. He might
/ have married me. He had the chance, and
/ | loved .im better than any one else-bet-
f4r la n flNr fC, ~
No" we shall see how deep his goodness
IS, said 4 maiden aunt, through her nose :;
" he stopped short ia wickeduess because
he expected fortune from my poor, dear
brother Thanks to massy he left ue five
hundred dollars. Now | can get the new
carpe; ; bat well see how much Of change
there Is in John Ciarke-he always was q
imp OF wickedness."
Well, | guess John Ciarhe'll have to he
contented with his little ten feet shantv,"
said the father Of Susan Sprggs to old Dea-
con Hemp.
"Well, reckon he is content-if he is
not he ought to he, with that little Jewel of
a wife. Sav's bright enough to make any
four walls shine was the Deacon's reply.
Pshaw you are al crazy about that
gal. Why, she isn't TO be compared to my
Susan. Susan plays on the forty-piano like
sixty, aud manages house first rate"
Bless you, ncighbor Spriggs Ia rather
At ~. ,yl,cn - ~. - ~ slii'''
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hes, citizens and 90 +, III. Ilgisla,nrr he.
81. J.. 4i-s - r...I,r,j old isIr7~ .J,r' CO...
r1occnfr,.
Dgal,i,"'
..Ys.. nI,y be Won do: and that's fine
way to tu:.i una Young f.llo~. ISM, it
wh,,. he's irwin, II L.,t. NJ John won't
b.. , g..I r-.-,e, If ,-c, ran he-r.i. p.o,re
tb,t r,v mad 5,..'a~. rfas,,ey, y,fir;ny to
stone The crs,tcr Willie H., \ rli-n;p' TAX.
+, and II he aip't mad ihev're spr. IN drive
m 80. Whv don't YOU step up to him
and say. john, I'm LAD you're rirgit now.
and I've 20, r,;th in yyu and f ever Won
want any help. come 10 me and IL pat you
through. That's the way to do business,
Mr Sdri-gs"
We'll, | hope you'll 10 it, that's ALL re-
piled Mr SprisgS, suikily.
IL hope / shall. and I'm bound to. anv-
how, if have chance. Fact i, be's got
such a smart little wife. that he realIy don't
need any help"
/, "No-it's q pity, then. that brother Ja-
cob left that one-Lorse shay"
You needn't laugh at that O,d Jacob
never did nothing without mcaninr to it.
the cd shay may help him to a great man
vet, Fact Is, | think myself, if Jacob had
left nim money it might have been the ruin
; Of him. Less things than 4 one horse shay
has made mans foItin."
"Wcl. I'm Glad vou think so much Of him
i don't"
( NO" muttercd Deacon Joe, as s riggs
/ turned away, but if he had married your
raw boned dalter that plays on the forty
! piano, he'd been all right and 10 mistake"
" one-horse shay ~ said the minister,
aughiI . "what a fvItuue,"
And so it went, from mouth to mouth
None Ct the re!atil es-sotne already rich
had offered the poorest man among them
the owner Of the one-horse shay-a dollar
OF the bequcathmcnt left to him or her, but
had rather rejolced in his disappointment
The truth Is, everybody had prophcs;cd
that John Clarke, a poor, mothurlcss boy,
would come to ruin, and they wanted the
prophesy 10 prove true one. He had. in
his youth, been wild and wayward, and ra-
ther profgate in the early years Of man
hood; bui his uncle had encouraged him to
refOrn-he.d out hopes 70 which he had
hitherto been stranger, and the love Of the
sweet young Jenny Brazier completed, as it
seemed, his reformation.
Jenny never appeared as lovely as she
did on shat unfortunate day of the reading
of the VIII, after they had returned to the
poor little house that was Jenny's own.
'No matter, John, she said, cheerfully
you Will rise IN spite OF them | wouldn't
let them think was in the least disc'urag-