New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-05-14
MR.. sNALLpIECE's LEGACY.


When people wanted to get to the otfic
of Mr. Smal1piece, they were obliged to g
I'D dirty street and then under dark AM
gloomy archway into little, open cour'
where a brass plate revealed the tact ina
the occupant of the office, on whose door
was nailed. was Mr.. Simon Smallpiece, so
licitor. The office itself was quite pleasan
and cheerful when you once got inside OF II
for its back windows opened upon a sunny
little bit of common, green with soft grass
and waving trees in summer, and spof1ess
pure with an exPanse OF virgin snow IL
winter .
On many an afternoon had Mr.. Small
niece. sitting at his worm eaten old desk IL
the antique window space, looked up from
his work, and, catching sight of bird hop
ping about among the rustling leaves out
side the open window, become lost il
dreamy revere, which led him to waste
whole hours in following the unrestrained
yagaries of idle thought. In fact, dreaming
was the only recreation Mr.. Smallpiece ever
had now He could remember, and that
easily enough, time when he was not the
childless old man which life had left him
years ago. There had been day when a
cheerful home. graced with the luXurles of
life and rendered sacred by its love of wife
and daughter, was not the least of his
worldly possessions and now his wife was
sleeping in the churchyard ysnder, while
his daughter, Worse even than dead ~
exclaimed Simon Smallpiece, clenching his
hand as he thought of her. Worse even
than dead. May my curse 60 with her, and
with the5man who robbed me of her."
And then he sat back in his leather
covered chair, biting the end of his quill
pen savagely, and thought, with bitterness
in his heart of the day, so long ago. when
she had come to him holding Will Allen by
the hand; and when Will, standing proudly
before him in the full nobility of stalwart
manhood, had asked him Cor Nellie as his
wife. Mr.. Smallpiece remembered, too,
with q chuckle of exultation, how he had
shown Will Allen to the door at once, and
forbade him ever to enter his house again;
how he sent Nellie to her room In food of
tears, and how he himself returned to Will
Allen all the foolish letters and keepsakes
which he ever had the audacity to send to
Simon Smallpiece's daughter. The old
lawyer could not but acknowledge to him
self, as he sat thinking of these things, that
he made somewhat OF q donkey of himself,
after all; for Nellie had obstinately refused
to marry the wealthy sutton whom he had
selected for her, and had persisted in this
silly attachment for this farmers son,
whom she ultimately ran away with and
married. But Simon Snallpiece had sent
MS lOuutEt dhtEi lil' III, anu nHN never
seen The face of his only child from that day
to this. He never ala forgive her. and
there was comfort in assuring himself of
that at all events.
And old Simon had lived alone ever since
his temper sOured against all mankind and
his heart, if ever he had one, which is doubt
full, chilled to thing of stone. He was re-
puted rich, but few ever saw the color of
his money. His apartments in the upper
part of the same old building with his office
were mean in the extreme. His clothes
were threadbare, and his face was pinched
with the hard lines of avarice and selfish
ness. With no charity for the suffering,
with no feeling of Kindness for the unfortu-
nate, with his heart closed to every appeal
from wOmaBly tenderness or childish inno-
cence, Simon Smallpiece avOwed himself
the enemy of the world, and passed his life
in picking quarrels with it.
One lazy afternoon Mr.. Smallpiece
CHANGED to look up from the misty ,eeps of
a long chancery bill in which he was Just
then submerged, caught sight through the
open window of little clid standing upon
the steps of house on The opposite side of
The common. There Was H. thing interest
ng to Mr.. Smallpi"ce in children. As IA
general rule he hated them; but ~ he hap
Dened to glance at Ibis wee. Ii tie lady stand
ng, so plump anil rosy. upon the doorstep.
the suddenly clapped Ii = hands together
and gave such a joyous little scream of de
light that Simon actually smiled. Yes, lac
lid; and it was something he had not done
or very long time.
Looking in the direction in which the
,hild was gazing, he saw ii man, clad in the
lress of workman coming across the COM
non. And this person, when he came to
where the child was standing, caught her
high above his head with a laugh, and
bringing her down into his arms again,
Kissed her.
Whether Mr.. Smallpiece's heart was q
rifle more tender than usual just then can |
lot say; but it seemed to him there was some |
hing i'll the movement of the workman very |
pleasing and pretty. He remembered the |
ime when he was wont to do the same thing
o his own child himself.
The child, catching glimpse of Mr.
mallpiece's bald head shining brightly at
he open window, said something to the
nan who held her; and the latter, putting her
own on the ground, led her slowly across
he lawn toward the attorneys office
"Wkose brat is that :" said Simon when
hey had approached near enough for CON
ersatiOn.
"She is not brat" replied the man
uckly. Doesn't she look pretty enough
0 be called something better than that ~
SrunUeO MI. CI0aDplece. well |
hild, then. Whose isit! Yours p
"She's mine now" replied the man, ''but
IN not her father She is my brothers
hid, SIR
''She seems very fond of you" said ST.
ION, ''seeing that you're not her natural
aren't"
'She is fond of me; amt you, Daisy q re-
,ined the workman, stopping down to pull
er yellow curls through his fingers.
For an answer, the little girl put her little |
ound arms about his knee, and laid her
IMPLIED check close against it.
"Why don't your brother take care of
er ?" asked Mr.. Smallpiece looking at the
title girl tritie less sourly than he usually
Ooked at people.
My brother is dead SIR" said the man.
The child has no father but me-
Where's her motherW
Her mother was left very poor" he re-
lied. "She had one little boy beside this
title child, and was hardly able to support
hem with her unaided hands. She lives
many miles off, sir; and once in while
Daisy and go down there to see heron
holidays and such like"
what does she do for living 2"
''She does plain needlework when she can
ct it."
"a hard way of earning living" said
Dr. Smallpiece; very hard. But | dare
ay she don't work any harder than do
ot bit, not Bit
perhaps not" said the man: .'but she is
woman. | am a bachelor like Yourself.
ir, and l offered to take this little one and
are for her while l lived. / am very glad
did it, for she has made all the world
right to me-a great deal brighter than it
yer was before"
Bah! !" said the lawyer, with gesture
f disgust. "All humbug | don't want
Dung ones about me, | can tell you.
hose that want them can have them. |
ont