West-Jersey pioneer., 1878-02-28

sit belongs to his legal heir; cannot re-
ceive it with honor" said the ney-lend-
er's daughter, firmly.
"Not So" replied West, gravely; 'it was
free gif. to me. l repay it by natural,
not legal obligation;'' and he laid the two
twenty-pound notes upon the table
"Next," he resumed, 81 have to pay debt
of gratitude. l owe my life to your father
Thus in a manner have become his atlopted
son. Thus" he continued, impetuouslv,
81 have right to say to you, regard me as
brother; share the produce of my labor;
render me happy in the thought that am
serving the child of my benefactor! To dis
dain my gratitude would be cruel INSULT
81 cannot disdain it"' exclaimed the
daughter of the usurer with sudden i'm
pulse of that sublime confidence which a
noble and generous soul can alone inspire
''4es, accept your assistance
The face of Bernard frightened up as if
by an electric agent. But how were the
two children of sorrow confounded by the
discovery that they were no longer alone,
and that their conversation had been over.
heard by an utter stranger who, leaning
against the wall at the further end of the
room near the door appeared to survey them
with an utter Indifference to the propriety
of such behavior!
He was man of between forty and fifty
years; great beard and mustache con.
cealed the lower part of swarthy but
handsome countenance OF rare dignity and
severity of outline. His dress was utterly
un-Engish. A vast mantle with a hood
fell nearly to the ground, and he wore huge
courier boots, which were still splashed, as
If from journey. HIS great dark eyes
rested with an expression of royal benevo-
lence upon the two young people, towards
whom he had advanced with a courteous in
clinatlon that as if magneticaIly, repressed
Bernard's first indignant impulse.
81 am the heir at-law," he said, in mild
voice, as if he had been announcing most
agreeable piece of intelligence.
''Then sir, said Bernard, 81 trust
'Trust; absolutely" interrupted quickly
the foreign looking heir. my children,
do you know who am? No? will tel
you. am the monster who in youth pre-
ferred beauty to ambition, and glory tc
golI. For ten years after attaining mau-
hood struggled on, an Outcast from my
family in poverty and humiliation, without
friends and often without bread. At the
end of five more years, was a great man
and those who had neglected and starved
aud scored me came to bow down and wor
snip. But the beauty | had adored was
dust and the fire of youthful hope quenched
in the bitter waters of science. For ten
years since | have wandered over the earth
L am rich; may say my wealth is bound
less for | h I'VE but to shake a few fancies
from this brain, to trace few ciphers with
this hand and they become gold at my COM
mand. Yet mark my words, my children
One look of love is, in my esteem, worth
more than all the applause of an age or al
the wealth OF an empire!' The dark
stranger paused for an instant, as if il
meditation, then abruptly continued: 81
take your Inheritance, fair child.-I rob the
orphan and the fatherlessr' And the smile
of disdainful pride which followed Jhese
words said more than the whole piles OF
parchment remuneration as to his intention
lnvolunrarily the orphan and Bernard seized
each hand of the mysterious man beside
them, who silently drawing the two hands
together and uniting them in his own, said
gently. "Love one another as you will,'
my young friends, yet spare at times a
kind thought for the old wandering poet
Not a word! | understand you though you
do not understand yourselves. 1t as easy
to tell a fortune as to give it,
And was the prophecy realized ? asks a
curious reader. But no answer is needed,
for, if the prophecy were false, why record
it? And, pray, who was the stranger, af
ter all? Too curious reader, it is one thing
to tell stories and another to commit breach
eS of confidence.