Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1860-03-20
LITTLE FLOY;
OR, HOW A MIsER WAS RECLAIMED

Y"
OF all the houses which Martin Ken
drick owned, he used the oldest and
meanest for, his own, habitation. It was
in an old tumble-down building on a
/, narrow street, which had already lived
out more than its appointed term of ser
vice, and was no longer fit to t'cumber
the ground" But the owner still clung
to it, the more, perhaps, because as it
stood there in its desolation, unsightly
3 and weather-beaten, it was no unfit EN-
blem of himself. ...------
Martin, the miser! Years of volun-
d tary privation, such as in most cases fol-
9 lows only the train of the EXTREMIST pen
urY, had given him claim to the appel
lation. 1t might be somewhat inconsist-
-ent with his natural character that, with
the exception of the, one room which he
occupied, the remainder of the house was
left tenantless. After all it was not so diff
fcult to account for. He could not bear
the idea of having immediate neighbors
Who knows but that they might seize
the opportunity afforded by his absence,
and rob him of the gains of many years,
which, distrusting banks and other places
of deposit, he kept in strong box un-
der his own Immediate charge.
Martin had not always been a miser.
NO one ever becomes so at once, though
doubtless the propensity to it is stronger
in some than in others. Years ago-so
many that at this time the recollection
only came to him dimly, like the faint
sound of an almost forgotten tune-years
ago, when the blood Of youth poured its
impetuous current through his veins, he
married fair girl whose life he had
shortened by his dissipated habits and
the Indifference, and even cruelty, to
which they led. 53,6 q 81 a
The day of his wife's death the last
remnant of the property which he inher-
tied from his father, escaped his grasp
These two events, either Of which brought
its own sorrow, completely sobered him
The abject condition to which he had re
duced himself was brought wildly to his
mind, and he formed sudden resolution
rushing, as will sometimes happen, from
sone extreme to the other, that as prodi-
gal as his past life had been, that which
succeeded should be sparing and penuri
Gus in the same degree, until, at least he
had recovered his losses, and SO far az
fortunegwent, was restored to the same
position which he had occupied at the
commencement of his career.gsa
IssBut it is not for man to say,5"Thds fal
shalt thou go and no farther, to give
himself up, body and soul. to one en-
crossing pursuit, and at the end of
United time Ween himself from it,
Habit grows by what it feeds on. 1
was not long before the passion ofacqui
sition acquired controlling influence
over the mind of Martin Kendrick. II,
reached the point where he had pre-
scribed for himself, but it stayed hin
not. Every day his privations, self-im
posed though they were, became NOR,
pinching, his craving for gold more in
satiable. Long ago he had cut himsel
off from friendship-all the pleasure
and amenities of social intercourse, H
made no visits save to his tenants, ant
those only on quarter day. Nor wer
those visits of an agreeable character t.
those favored with them, for Martin wa
not merciful landlord He invariabl
demanded the uttermost farthing tina
was due; and neither sickness nor lack o
mplnyment had the power for a momen
to soften his heart, or delay the execu
tion of his purpose. His mind wa
drawn into itself, and like an uncultiva
ted field, was left to all the barrennes
of dessolation. Such is always the cas-
when the man, by his own act, shut
himself out from his kind, foregoes the
sympathy and kind offices, and virtual
says, II am sufficient unto myself"
Martin had one child, girl, name
Florence. At the time of the death
her mother, she was but six years of ag
He had loved her, perhaps, as much /
it was in his power to love any one; an
as long as she remained with him, he di
not withdraw himself so entirely fro
human companionship. But at the as
of seventeen she became acquainted wit
young mana mechanic-in whose f;
vor her affections were enlisted. +
proposed for her hand, but her father, j
whom love ofgold was strong, on accoul
of his poverty, drove him with scor
from his door. l,I
The young man was not to be baulke
thus. He contrived to meet Florenc
secretly, and after while persuaded h,
to forsake her home and unite her fo
tunes with his-with the less difficult
since that home had offered but few a
fractions to one of her age. Her father
indignation was extreme. All advanc
toward reconciliation on the part of Il
newly welded pair, were received wi
the bitterness Of scorn, which effectual
prevented their repetition. From th
time, Martin Kendrick settled down in
the cold, apathetic and solitary existen
which has been described above. Gra