The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1875-09-30
A PAWNBROKER'S STORY.

| A PAWNBROKER'S STORY
AS pawnbroker in a populous suburb
of London, I have had occasion to see
painful and sometimes not unpleasing
phases of society. Just to give an idea
of what occasionally comes under the
notice of persons in my profession, |
| shall describe little incident and its
consequences. One evening I stepped
to the door for little fresh air and to
look about me for moment. While l
was gazing up and down the road l saw
tidily-dressed young person step up to
our side door. She walked like lady
and let me tell you that in nine cases out
of ten it's the walk, and not the dress,
which distinguishes the lady from the
servant girl-and first she looked about,
and then she seemed to make up her
mind in hurried sort of way, and in a
moment more was standing at our coun-
ter holding out glittering something in
a little trembling hand covered with a
worn kid glove.
My assistant, Isaacs, was stepping for
ward to take the seal, when [ came IN
and interposed. The poor young thing
| was so nervous and shy, and altogether
so unused to this work, that 1 felt for her
as if she had been my own daug Inter,
almost. She couldn't have been above
| eighteen years old-so frail and gentle a
creature.
eff you please, will you tell me" she
said timidly, in a very sweet, low voice,
trembling with nervousness, what IS the
| value of this seal?
"Well, MISS" I said, taking the seal
into my hand and looking at tit was
an old fashioned seal, such as country
gentlemen used to wear, with coat of
arms cut upon it-"that depends upon
whether you want to pledge it, or sell it
outright"
"I am married, sir" and she said the
words proudly and with dignity, though
still so shy, and seeming ready to burst
out crying; "and my husband is very
ill-and-and-" And then the tears
wouldn't be kept back any longer, and
she sobbed as if her poor little heart
would break.
"There, there, my dear" said to her; ;
"don't cry; it will all come right in
time;" and I tried to comfort her In my
own rough-and-ready way. "I will lend
you, maam," I said to her at last, "a
sovereign upon this seal and if you
wish to sell it, perhaps [ can sell it for
you to advantage" And so I gave her
pound; and she tripped away with a
lighter heart, and many thanks to me,
and I thought no more of the matter at
the time.
The very next day, the day before
Christmas, there came into our place OF
business very eccentric gentleman, who
had called upon us pretty often before,
not for the sake Of pawning anything,
though he was dressed shabby enough h
to. But he was a collector-one of those
men who are mad upon old china and
curiosities of all sorts.
"Anything in my way, to-day, Mr..
Davis?" he said, in his quick, energetic
manner, with a jolly smile upon his face,
and putting down the cigarette he was
smoking upon the edge of the counter.
The Rev. Mr.. Broadman is a collector Of
gems, and rings, and seals, and, in fact,
of any stones that have heads or figures
upon them. And I had been in the habit
OF putting aside for him whatever in this
way passed through our hands, for he
gave us a better price than we should
have got for them at the quarterly sales.
''The fact is, Davis, he said to me, "these
things are invaluable; many of them are
as beautiful, on small scale, as the old
Greek scriptures; and some of them even
by the same artists. And they are made
no longer; for, in this busy nineteenth
century of ours, time and brains are too
precious to be spent on these laborious
trifes." Now, although had no stones
of the kind he wanted just then, it en-
tered into my head that I would tell him
about the seal which had come into my
possession the evening before.
told him the story somewhat as |
have Just told it to you. He listened at
tentively to all l said. When | had
done, he looked at the seal and said: 81
observe that it has the heraldic emblem
of baronet." He then congratulated
me upon the way in which had acted.
He asked, too, for this Young lady's ad-
dress, which she had given me quite cor
rect, and then he left the shop without
another word.
You must give me leave to tell the rest
of the story in my own way, although it
may be a very different way from that
which the reverend parsonage employed
in relating it to me afterward.
1t seemed that it was a runaway match.
A country baronets son had fallen in
love with the clergyman's daughter in
the village where his father lived, and
they had run away together and got mar
ricd. Then they came up to London,
these two poor young things-for neither
his father, nor hers either, for that mat
ter, would have anything to say to the
match-he, full of hopes of getting on
in the literary and artistic line, and she,
poor creature, full of trust in him.
The project of living by literature did
not turn out what was expected. The
friends, spent much time in going about
from one publisher to another, and send
ing his writings to the various magazines
which I need not say we're always ere
turned with thanks" And then he fell
ill; typhus, fancy, brought on by in
sufficient nourishment, and bad drainage,
and GisappOinted homes. The registrar