The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1872-06-11


place. 1t was abeak autumn day, the fore
runner of sleet and storms and pinching
wintery weather, and Miss Poore, wrapping
a threadbare shawl about herr was glad at
last to find herself before the blazing fire
in Squire Suffolks drawing room. 1t
seemed to her at first as if he would never
allow her to come to the point Either he
had forgotten about the affair, OF meant to
wear out her patience; but that was simply
inexhaustible. In the meantime he enter
tanned her with detailed account of his
estate, as if he were the steward and she
the mistress with the increase in his crops
and prices with the story of his youth and
schooldays !; of his awkward first love and
when he paused it appeared to Catharine
that she knew him perhaps better than he
knew himself. She wondered at this
strange familiarity which was growing
upon her and when at length she pulled
out her subscription list it was with,
quaint reluctance of manner, not at all like
Miss Catharine Poore's usual promptitude.
Was she afraid he would fail to fulfill his
obligation, and SO disappoint her hopes?
Was it because, having acquired sort of
friendliness for him, she feared lest he
would prove the niggard r.
''Three hundred dollars" said he. ''You
have done finely ,....,t. ..... ,,...,
1t plainly wasn't very stunning affair
to him, or he met an emergency with con-
summate GOODNESS. .. sr .r,.I
Yes. have it here in ready money.
You shall count it if you will ..s1.
Three hundred dollars. Why, child,
havn't so much on hand" she had feared
about me, you know" said he. 81 don't
like to put premium on MURDER to make
it worth the servants while to put a dirk
through me any time after dark. ,a.
She left her seat then and prepared togo
home. She was quite miserable at that
moment. To be baked thus Six hun
dred dollars would have gone so far with
the Hasents-they needed it so sorely !!
Only yesterday she had seen, Tad's stocking
peeping through his Shoes and then the
doctor had ordered porter for her mother;
but it was one thing to order, aud another
TO obtain. Here would have been porter
and plenty. She did not realize that all
this, bad enough truly, was yet not enough
to make her so dispirited as she seemed
She felt as if some di saster had overtaken
her, which money in itself had no power
TO alleviate. 1922 'i' '' lh,i-W ~ '"'iit
'sI win send to town, tomorrow, p said
the Squire, 'and you will have the money
before night. "Will that do ?''li'h %'ni9d
st'Do n The tears stood in her eyes, ithe
reactionfof feeling was so intehse You
cannot, understand what it was to-; this
woman, who loved her neighbor as herself;
who made his welfare, spiritual as well as
material, a personal thing--happiness, the
business of life, sJpE nodG iiW hEoTJ 10
She called in at Mr.. Hasents on her way
home. There was no cheerful blazs in the
CRATE. Mrs. Hasent sat bolstered up in
bed daning stockings, while her husband
made the toast and tea, and lighted a sol
itary lamp, Miss Poore looked about her
and thought Of changes to come; of the com
fortably clad children; Of the warm winter
fires, of the new dress for Belle, Of the new
suit that should replace the shabby black
Of her fathers of porter and pagtridges for
the mother-and then she bid them good
night, and her gladness Illuminated, the
path before her SO that she seemed to walk
} in MONDAY. A.,l.,
She went about her work as usual next
day, never allowing her gaze to wander out
cxpectantly, till sharp ring brought her
to her feet, with her nerves ll-.quivering in
her flesh, as if the points of innumerabe
pins were stabbing her through and
! through. It was the money from the
Squire, in crisp bank notes, the full three
t hundred dollaIs-but what else? What
was it made Miss Poore's hand tremble
like an aspen, that sent the tears drop
ping slowly one by one, and made her flush
and pale before this scrap of papers
"My Dear Mics OGthartrs0:---'' I, The stin-
giest man in Grafton offers you his hand
and heart AS this is the first time in his
life that he has been guilty of such genei-
r osity, pray encourage him and heal him of
his ,iniirmity, ~. 5h JqHH SpFFocPIKH,ioti "a
And so Mr. Hasents heart and, home
Q were gladdened with the six hundred dol
y lars, and this gladness rebounded lpen the
\ Squire and Catharine Poore, and there was
n n great wedding, for North Grafton, in
/ Mrs. Hasent's best parloE and Everybody
d had a new gown for the OCCASION, not ex-
a cepting the hostess herself plwhose new
b gowns were like angles visits-7few aud far
"A betyyeen