Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-07-14

many words-a mean, DID, misery rascal! 1t
surprised him to catch himself thus libelling
himself! What had made the change Had
he not just succeeded in putting his money
safe, beyond-ah was it safe How he
wished he could know that! And against
whom had he desired security Against
Jessie, and Mollie, and Kate. Poor dears
How anxious they had been about him in the
morning; how they had kissed him when
they went out, hoping to find him better when
they came back. Why they hadn't kissed
him for years but then he had never thrown
himself upon their sympathies. He had
chuckled to think how easily they were
deceived. He saw now what miserable,
old, hypocritical wretch he had been. How
tenderly they had nursed him. and looked at
him, not doing things without meaning them.
Oh, yes, they loved him-ay, better than his
bag; for let him only sicken and die, and
wouldn't they have it among them to do with
it as they liked? And after ALL what in the
world was the use Of it but to give pleas
ure to himself and them! And when
at this stage of his reflections, his wife
asked her "dear auld guidman" how he felt
himself now, and with a kiss, turned away tor
the night, he nipped his old legs and fixed his
teeth at himself as at perfect brute and that
same moment he resolved he'd take the bag
into the house next day, and live an open
handed life, to the best of his ability, hencefor-
ward With this came a degree of mental
composure ; and at last, far toward morning.
he fell asleep, and into dreamland.
Everywhere was the bag. In one dream
lot Of boys were playing football with it, toss
ing it about, giving it kicks that sent it far up
into the air, to 'lop' down again with dead,
heavy sound till at last it "lopped" into a
duck-pond and sank and all the boys waded
in the duck-pond, and himself with them,
searching ever so anxiously, but could get no
trace of it. From this dream Andrew awak-
ened with a smile.
Then he saw it lying in the wooden chest,
as Of old and the chest was locked, and down
in the front parlor, as of old; and there came
cry of "Fire! fire p and the house was
burning, and he and his wife and daughters
just escaped with their lives, but with nothing
else; and no one could be found to venture in
to take out the old chest, and he stood affair off
seeing it burn, and tearing his gray hair in
rage and grief. He Weakened from this dream
also with a smile; for he knew the bag was
not in the chest but safe out in the dixie.
Then came two little boys, in dream, play
ing out in the back garden He knew them
quite well the moment they appeared and
they began to play at hiding toys in the wall
and searching for them when 10 they found
OuS bdSj dild OISIlSu great VIZ IuUulIl, anu
took out such heaps of papers, and wondered
what they were; when suddenly the wind
arose, and caught the heap and whirled away
the whole, and the air was as white with bank
notes as it ever was with snow flakes in a
storm. Andrew wakened gasping he could
stand this sort of thing no longer.
The gray dawn was coming in at the win
dow, cold and cheerless. He got up quietly,
and with nothing on but his trowsers and shirt,
made for the back door, up the garden, to the
wall-to the hole; and there-the bag was
gone!
am not going to analyze Andrews feelings
on missing the bag-the darkness of his de-
spair as he stared, with dropping heart and
hanging arms, at the damp old wall in the dull
twilight He returned to bed, after a time, to
find his spouse asleep, and quite unconscious
of his desertion. For some time he couldn't
think nationally of his loss after the first par
oxysm however, his good sense gradually as,
serted itself, and the more he reflected the
stronger grew his hope of getting back his
money. Two things were almost certain
whoever took the bag must have seen him
hideit, and missing, like himself, the discourse
of Mr., Thumpanbawl; and being satisfied that
the absentees from church were few, and could
be discovered, he began to lay his plans so as
not only to detect the thief, but to regain the
bag without exposing his own domestic rela-
tons, which had led II its concealment, and Of
which he was now heartily ashamed.
rConclusion Tomorrow