Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1867-04-12
III istella nfo II s
From Harper's Monthly
Old Aunt Matilda.
PART H..
1CONCL L-DED.

Twenty years had made no difference
with the woman's heart, though she was
.old Amt Matilda One day there came
Il letter to her, perfamed, sealed with wax.
and superscrihcd in hand she did not re-
cognizc; she broke the seal with trepdation,
for it was not often that a letter came to
her. Nv dear MISS Hastings it was ad
dressed she did not know the hand, and
euriously turned the page. Ever and al
ways Your atiectonate friend We're the
! closing words, and then it was signed Ma
than Armstrong.
| There Was nothing in the letter of spec
ial moment---it did not speak OF the past
nor of the tuture-made no allu~ion to pri-
vatc mistortuncs nor poisoned hopes or
fears. except so far as they referred to his
child. His mother had Informed him that
his little Eunice(he did not say Lamsie)
had been placed III the care of Miss Has
tiuss, and he could not deny himself the
| pleasure of expressing to her his very ear
nest thanks for her goodness in receiving
the child, III the first place. aud Tor the care
and paius she was bcstowing on her edu-
cation. AS the twig is bent, YOU know,
Miss Hastings, he said and then he said,
with the only attempt at playiunes and ft,
familiarity in the whole .lcttcr, that III his
own case he feared he twig had been sad
ly warped from its first righteous bending;
but this. perhaps. my dear Miss Hastings,
| makes nle all the mere soicit0us for my
cmld-ail the more grateful for your gen
erous paiustahing. / have NOT the shallow
vanity to suppose sach services here ser
vices had been erased and benefits insert
cd-'cdn be adequately returned, and beg
You viii not attribute to me Il notion that
would so nisreprcSent me-
This was the only aIlusion to the bank
check the letter cnntaincd-a check for five
times the amount which, at her usual terms
would have been due Matilda in five years
Lock at how she would. she felt outraged
greved, and offended She would send
the check directly back, and with biting
and bitter words as should make him re.
pent his cold charity. She was not exact
ly an object of outdoor relief, and ii she
were, there were hands from which she
would prefer to receive it, In her first
proud indignation, and with all her patience
aud qaietude she was quite capable of he
ing proudly indignant, she wrote something
very like what we have set down for her
but on second thought she saw that such a
course betrayed IL heart quite too sensitive
to the past-she must word her refusal ol
the donation, for she still considered it q
donation, more cautiously. SO she threw
her first note in the fire. aud after some
careful consideration wrote another:
Miss Hastings was greatly obliged to MI
Armstrong bu, her terms of tuition were
not 80 exorbitaut as he seemed to suppose,
and she begged, therefore. leave to return
th, cnnarfiunuu oh, ri. and yynulI
to suggest preference for adjusting her ao-
counts thereafter with her friend and neigh
Dor, Mrs. Armstrong She went so far AZ
to inclose this note, together with the OBJ
noxious check, and to superscribe the en-
vclope but after all she was not satisfied
was this really any better than her tirsl
angry dispatch! She was forced to admit
that it was no better at all II little MOI {
deliberate, a little more attempt at conceal
ment. perhaps, but in reality no conceal
ment whatever. She had told all that sht
was most anxious not to tell had she KEEP
it all these years to blurt it out at last II
this way! So the second note was sent tc
the flames after the first. She would sim
ply inclosc the check in a sheet of blank
note paper--that was what she would do
and that was what she did, sleeping upon
the resolve but when the morning came
and she thought it over once more, she
was as far from being satisfied with herself
as ever--as far from heing satisfied witt
herself, almost, as from beng satisfied with
Nathan. She would not betray 20 him any
} feeling or emotion OF amy sort aud wha'
could she do that would not betrav bo.t
feeling and emotion. and both too, OF pc
cular nature! She was betrayed by what
SHE had written and by what she had no,
written alike. SO at last, with Nathan let