Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1867-05-30
NIr. Selden's Revenge.

Mr.. Selden was lawyer in the town
of B. He was an intelligent, upright,
kind hearted, piOus man. But he had
neighbOr who was very different. ia
cob Mills, cold Jake" as he was called |
by the boys of the neighborhood, lived |
close by Mr.. Selden in an old, tumble |
down house in which he had been born |
and brought up, and which he could |
neither sell nor repair so that in time |
it came to be the one blot on an other |
wise pleasant and tidyloOking street. |
Old Jake was miser; that is he pre- |
ferred to hoard up his money rather than
to spend it In making himself or others
comfortable. So he lived year after
year in the dingy, chilly old house, with
no one to take care of him but wo-
man whom he hired to come in twice
week to cook some food for him and
mend his clothes though as to the lat
| ter, he was not very particular how they
looked.
The boys used to peep in at his wi A..
! dOws and watch him counting over his
gold and putting it carefully up in the
| old russell trunk, till one night he han
pened to catch them at it, and af' ser tb at
he always bolted the door and mt mn
his shutters at nightfall. Fl oalIv. the
woman who had taken care { f him for q
a long time was obliged n 90 ewav
from B. to live. He had not Maid her
anything for more than two Years al.
ways putting her on -" nen she asked for
her wages, and promi sing to pay at the
next quarter day, or else getting so an.
cry that she dare OF press the matter
But now that she was going away, she
plucked up cour age and told old Jake
she must have her money, stating the
sum he owed her. Old Jake swore he
did not owe her so much, and finally re.
fused to give her anything unless she
would stay another six months,
) The poor woman went to Mr.. Selden
and asked his help. Luckily she had
old Jake's written promise to pay heI
e so much month; for, knowing how
misery he was, she had exacted that
when she began to work for him. Sc
Mr.. Selden took the paper over to the
old man, and told him if he did not pay
5 the bill forthwith he would be proseCut
= ed. Jacob was in great rage, as you
may imagine, but knowing very vel
4 that if he went to law the case would
go against him, and he should have
J. more to pay, he at last reluctantly hand
/ ed over the amount-small enough, in,
d deed, but great in the eyes Of the poor
e old mOney-lOvlng man.
9 After this Mr.. Selden became the OBJ
ject of his special hatred. Old JAKE
blamed him for the loss of his preciou,
dollars, and threatened vengeance
n against him and his. He was too much
r afraid of the law to do open mischief
but he found many secret ways of in
=, juring and annoying his neighbor. Il
l. Mr. Selden's hens happened to fly owe
u the fence into old Jake's yard, they new
.e er came back, though there was no gar
If den TO spoil. If Mrs. Selden had par
# ticularly large washing on the lines b,
. would build bonfire 50 as to have TIT
! smoke and SCOT blow on to the clothes
4 Mary seldens pet kitten was thrown
)e over the fence with its poor little paw:
ID cut off, and old Jake bought vicious
n dog, though he could hardly bring him
self to keep creature that devoured Sc
much food, who was taught to bari
So and snap at the children on their way
e to and from school. Luckily, aftel
of about six months tax day" came rount
70 and Jake, unwilling to pay two dollar:
even for the sake of tormenting the Sci
ie dens, gave him up to be killed.
n So it went on for several years, Final
t. lyr to crown all, Mr.. Seldon's COW dieC