The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-11-08
THE LOST RING.

It was an elderly woman, upon
whose brow care had furrowed many
o wrinkle. She was dressed in home
" ygsfInents, and the struggle between
penury and neatness which they
evinced would have been an interest
ing study for philosopher. Her
eyes were red, as though she had
been weeping; and when she seated
herself by my desk, the pent up cur
rent of grief burst afresh.
"What is the. matter, my good wo-
man? You seem to be in deep dis
1ress" I remarked, in the most en-
couraging tone I could command.
'I am, sir. They say the Lord is
near to them that are suffering, and
] am sure he ought to be near me-"
''I dare say he is, ma'am. But you
know that Affections are sent to us
for our good, and we ought never re-
pine at the discipline of life, how
ever severe it may sometimes seem to
u.s." Ef3t [
I had heard an excellent sermon
the day before, for it was Monday,
on tribulation, and I was just in the
frame of mind for giving others more
excellent advice. which. perhaps, I
should have been very unwilling to
follow, if the dark waves of trouble
had rolled over me.
81 try to bear it as well as I can,"
she replied, wipipg away her tears
with the corner of her apron.
"Idon't know as I am acquainted
with you, ma'am," I suggested, for
the purpose of changing the topic
and bringing her to business.
81 don't know as you are." she re-
piled; and she proceeded to give me
very long and very succinct account
of her previous history, beginning
back some forty years, when she was
born among the White Mountains in
New Hampshire.
I tried to check her, but it was no
use. I was as patient as the case
would admit, and mindful of the duty
We owe to the weak, the infirm and
the ignorant; but my patience was
gorely tried. ]" will not punish the
reader with the long, fne-spun story
she told me, for few lines will
suffice to inform him of the material
facts. ~ Ai'''- i.'.''1' -~&lj
She was a widow, her name was
Marche. She had an only son,
Philip, who was employed in an in
surance Office, and received three dol
lars week for his services. He was
good boy and loved his mother, as
he should. Upon their united earn
ings they lived very comfortably in
an obscure street, where they hired
two rooms. Mrs. Marches catalogue
of her sons virtues was certainly
very edifying. He never spent cent
upon himself. never went out nights,
and attended church forenoon and
afternoon.
An evil day had come. On the
Saturday three weeks preceding,
Mr.. Carman, the President of the in
surance company, as he declared, had
sent Philip with valuable diamond
ring to the jewelers.. to have the stone
reset. On inquiry the ring was found
not to have reached its destination.
The jeweler had never seen it. To
make the case more complicated, the
boy denied having received the ring.
Mr.. Carman had never sent him on
any such errand.
The boy had been arrested on
charge Of stealing the ring, and was
now confined in Jail. Mr.. Carman
vas ready to swear he delivered the
valuable article into the hands of the
boy, with explicit directions as to
where he should carry it and what
should be done with it.
1t looked like a bad case. The
poor woman was in the saddest dis
tress. She was sure that her darling
boy would not steal. I pitied her
and promised to do what could for
her son.
When she had gone, called upon
Mr. Carman. L found that he was
one of those dogmatic old fellows,
who are never in q wrong, who find
it impossible to err, even by design,
or to make mistake. I tried to
argue the point with him, but he
would not say much. He told me tho
story; was sure he sent the boy and
nobody else.
L ventured to suggest that he
might have been mistaken; that he
had sent the ring by some other per-