The Mountaineer. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1859-1861, 1860-12-01
I. 5flfrtia nHi.
THE DIAMOND STUD b..

Z. q
Jar the corner of one Of the streets
leading to;Sti Giles, London, there had
sat for several yesrs, a whitehead yIsaged
beggar, seemingly sixty years old or
more, who sportel an enormous bunch
upon his shoulders, aud whose face pre-.
sented the; anomalous appearance Of
marked age. though the features were
round and fall, ard the eye Of old Vim
cent = FOR thus he had long been known
Twas as bright aud clear as that Of a
person Of thirty only.
He was very lame, too. He an.
preached lis ,tdsd at avery early hour.
in tho morning, and rarely left his beg
giug post TIL late at night, for more than
q score Of years At FIRST, lie had been
remarkably punctual ia his coming aud
going. and tue frequeRter Of that neiglf-
borhood would as. soon have expected to
have missed the spite Of the tower Of a
morning rain Or shine. for q long period,
as to have found tile place of. Tom Vim
cent vacant, so sure was the beggar to
make his diurnai halt at his permitted
and fayorite, corner, He was never OBJ
trusiye to passers.by, and the police toler!
dted him, for Tom was quiet and inelan.
choly, evidently modest and humble and
needy; and though he was always to be
found there in all kinds OF weather, yet
ne took good care OF his person, and was
never known to be III, only his ragged
and miserable exterior was: evidence of
his poor and wretched condition. So
everybody pitied poor Tom, and as they
passed and sre.Passed, The pennies, shil,
llngs, and occasional crowns that were
dropped into his Insignificant charity-box
soon amounted, TO a very comfortably
paying income for him. lie boarded his
money from the beginning, and after five
years he fonnd himself able to invest q
handsome surplus, at good round interest,
though nobody knew Of this. Tom came
and, went the same as before. He was
doing . thriving business. His location
was the best in town, and he made the
most Of bis opportunity. z.l III. II
He had a wife and one child at home.
His daughter was well educated, aud had
been taught from infancy never to ask or
answer questions regarding her parent,
whose occupation she really knew nothing
o. Tom Vincent was an assumed name
nobody suspected him, and he might have
begged at his well-knoEn post. till dooms-
day, and none would have been the wiser
Tor i, 50 well planned was bis scheme Of
deception, and SO well did be continue to
carry out his obiects .-.:'.
Among his regular benefactors- and
there were many Of the people who passed
ms corner daily--there was one person
who had long been friendly to old Tom.
he was a young merchant, who came and
went TO and from bis business every morn.
Ing and who scarcely ever passed. the
beggar thrice without depositing in Toms
oox some silver change. His name was
Mortimer. He was a tradesman in the
dry-goods line, aud he seemed FROM. the
outset to have taken fancy 10 old Viz
cent While a young clerk even, he had
nsea alyaYs mindful Of the poor old bunch
back and as be subsequently got to be
better on in his own pccuniary cireum-
Stances, he became more liberal than ever,
Cropping his daily shilling or half-crowR
INTO the box, as he went or returned, and
always with . cheering word to old Tom
as be passed. T.a$ 5'..5 'S.