Mexico weekly ledger., 1876-10-26
deal, aiidf itp eeAilp saved, too. by you
and me, Folly. Z c. w
r e<ti1 fadher- T n do n9uch tO IL. If

atrO fasher, don't do much to it. II
you weren't to deprive yourself of COM
forts.. Why's we shouldn't have paid of
twenty of it."
"Don't say that, Polly. If it was not
wages intosthe savingslbsnk, as do
nearly every monthPr
swell, daddy dear y3p kaow us
only you I've get tolme fdr," said Ithe
"Wha 5 thas yob ssy @repied bid
Abel, highly pleasedwfthM dAaghters
remark but determined not to be hood
winked. "How about Tom Smith?
RIys tHs.in t0gsY g0p1HdoaS care for
"Hush! Don't speak so loud"
Polly blushed, and looked half-fright-
FenedlsQp ard that Corner Of the room
|whefe 9htsbigH lrean cast its shadow.
! ssaV5 thefsssahobodyscan Near ~
!sYes, father, the children might;
and ehihiren sometimes make a lot of
misonef," Observed that little wiseacre,
HReFfy.% 4hen, withsa desperate~inten-
ton Of changing the subject, she said:
wihtssy or Fyeu are sure TO have The
rhep1naties, as you, had EN- last year
Oh,,I saw q beauty in the Horseferry
Road, to-night-so thick, with nice,
warm lining inside, and the price only
eighten shillingss Secondhand, of
coufsA, b,ft almost as good as new"
"Oh, / think / can do withQutsh, this
year. Let's save the eighteen shiIlings,
and sSissnfd@t It to Mr.. Baker, junior.
",No, Lshan,,t alloy any thing of the
sort. I'm iqstas anxious as you are to
pay our debts, But pd rather work my
fingers to the bones than that you should
suffer another year as you~didlasbso~s ]
sand u teo,r added a strong, mans
siy voice, Which seemed to issue from
Mr. Webb'sl sleeping-place.
Polly gavega d shrek, then burstTinto q
ringing LATCH that seemed to fill the
room with joyous harmony, like the
SOUND. of arbells upon q frosty night;
and Abel, turning suddenly in his chair,
saw the burly form of Tom Smith
emerge from the dusky corner.
"Hallo, Tom!'.shouted Abel. $50
you've been listening. Well, luckily,
you amt heard no secretsH L suppose
you are one of those children that
makes mischief, as Polly says" ao4
This retaliation on his daughter struck
Webb as such an extraordinary master
with laughter. By and by, Tom Smith
roared, too; and when he had his laugh
out, finding that Abel's attention was
still engrossed by the wondrous joke,
seized the opportunity to throw his
arms around Polly's waist, at which
the damsel, who did not like being
laughed al, told the devoted lover to
"a-done, and not be so silly" ]
"Well, what brings@you @heren1in-
CURED Abel, whose laugh had now sub
sided into q. gigggle, and winking at his
young friend. ,
"Why, father, he saw me home, and
brought the cucumber for q present"
"MY stars, that's a beauty! Pm
much obliged to you, Tom, for there's
nothing l like better. Some people
says cowcumbers amt good, that you
ought to peel EN- nicely, and then fling
'em out of the window; but taken with
a little of the rind on, a bit of ingun,
and lots of pepper, 1 don't think there's
much harm in 'ep-leastways they
don't harm me-" And apparently GU
cumbers were thoroughly innocuous to
Mr.. Webb, who speedily drew his chair
up to the table, and began to ply his
knife and fork with a will.
Mr.. Tom Smith considerably waited
until his old friend had completed his
repast, and then explained the object
of his visit.
"You know, Mr.. Webb, Polly and I
have been counting a long time, nigh
ginning to think-that is, I'm begin
ming to think" (this alteration in re-
Spouse to a protest from Polly)-"it's
time we got married. I don't like to
see her wearing her young life out in
our hot work rooms. My salary, as
you know, is at present9S0a year, and
L live on the premises. Now l think if
/ was to tell Loostring the facts in the
case, and that l wanted to live away,
he'd give ME 9130. Now amt that
enough to get married on, and have you
any objection to Polly and L getting
married at once?"
Here Tom Smith paused, not because
he had exhausted his subject, but for
Vic ISdaSOu bL.dG LIZ was OuG VI DICdtu.
Then Polly took up the parable. Slid
ing her stool to her fathers side and
resting her head upon his knee, she
said, tremblingly:
"Don't you think, daddy, dear, that
my being married will make any differ
ence to you and me, for you are to
come and live with us; Ell, Temp"
Mr.. Smith, thus appealed to, vowed
that his father-in-law's residence with
them was considered quite a settled
matter, asin truth it was. A tear stood
in old Abel's eye, and his voice CULVER
ed with emotion as, laying aside his
pipe and taking his daughters hand
lovingly within his own, he said:
"Tom Smith, 1 know you to be a true
and honest fellow. There is no man
upon the face of this earth l would
more desire to call my son-in-law; but
before ], give my consent to your mar
riage I must tell you of something that
may perhaps cause you to draw back"
Tom was about to speak, when Abel,
in trembling accents, resumed: