Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1878-11-20
Tony DOble's Luck.


WHAT BeFEL MAN VINO DiDS'r READ MS BiBLE.
GIVE nothing to leave you but my Bible,
my child" said Aunt Dorothy, as she lay
upon her deathbed, TO her nephew who sat
beside her And jest you take it, clasped
and locked as it is, and keep it to remember
me by. They say the house and farm must
be sold to pay your poor uncle's debts. The
| things that were mine of course came TO be
his when married him. 1t seems kind
of pity did it now but you know, could
not know he would drink and gamble So and
run off after all with Sally Sprack-nothing
but servant GAL the bold creature, But,
to be sure, he came back to die, and was
mighty patient It's nursing him has killed
me. Take this Bible" said Aunt Dorothy,
"and put it in your trunk The births and
deaths of all the family are writ in it away
back to your gret-gret-gran'the Dobie, down
to the Cilley that died last year at two
months old. You can write in my death
after awhile. Now go and put it in your
trunk, and read it through once, at least.
Now have done all can for you"
That night Dorothy Doble died, and her
husbands creditors, who had held their
hands so that the old woman might breathe
her last under the old homestead roof came
down upon the property, and Anthony
| DODlt, Blduu htthVW, iCiu thc bOlnt vi
his childhood with nothing but the scanty
wardrobe he possessed-tha and the old
Bible, which he had opened once at the fly
leaves to record his aunt's death.
He was not Bible reader, poor An
thony Year after year passed by; and he
struggled in making poor battle with the
world. Ten years passed away, and he &C.
casionaly said, all have to read Aunt
Dorothy's Bible through" and once he took
it out for the purpose of beginning it, but
something was the matter with the wick of
| his lamp it would not burn well, and so he
went to bed instead.
Again the Bible lay in his trunk for an
indefinite time. He was man of thirty
| five when he fell in love with Lizzie Lee,
the pretty daughter of his master, the car
penter Then for awhile he became hope
| ful and energetic. He worked hard, had a
few dollars laid by, and married Lizzie. If
he could have bought little house then,
he might have become a prosperous man /;
but that was impossible. The young couple
moved into half of little hired cottage,
and were very happy together beneath its
humble roof. Once, few months after, as
Lizzie tidied her husbands things, she
called out to him:
"What an old fashioned Bible you have
in your trunk, Tony, elapsed and locked; |
can't open it.
YES" he answered, my poor Aunt
Dorothy Doble's Bible. promised her
would read it through but haven't done
it yet" ..
Naughty boyl' said Lizzie. Let's do
it, Tony"
"Yes," said he, "I'll hunt up the key, or
get another one if it is lost, and we'll go
through it."
But the Bible was put away, and time
flew fast, and there was work to do, and
babies came, and not until his oldest child
was five years old did Anthony Dobe re-
peat his promise. That was when his baby
died and the minister wanted a Bible. Liz
ze, however, could not find the key of Aunt
Dorothy's, and neighbor brought one.
That evening after the funeral, Anthony,
with heavy sigh, declared he would get a
key and accomplish that long-negected task
at last and Lizzie through her tears said
she hoped he would indeed, and Anthony
actually bought new key.
However, it was only tied to the Bible
clasp, for it was haying time and a storm
| threatened. And the children grew up, and
the daughters married, the sons sought their
| fortunes elsewhere, and still Aunt Dorothy's
| Bible had not been read through.
| Poor Anthony had never been lucky, but
| in his old age he seemed to become the prey
of misfortune. His daughters died. His
sons disappeared and were heard of no more.
His health failed--his wife grew feeble and
ailing. Bit by bit all their possessions were
sold aud at last, penniless and hopeless,
husband and wife were sent to the poor
house. Aud being SO old, and having been
respectable towns-people-m being
| just able to nurse each other, they were mer-
cifully allowed room together, contrary to
the general rules.
There, at last, they were stranded, with a
| few clothes and Aunt Dorothy's Bible in
| Anthony's old trunk. And there as they
sat sadly enough upon the first Sunday at
| ternoon, listening to the church-bells, An
| thony said feebly
"Lizzie, we've got time enough now
reckon III read Aunt Dorothy's Bible"
He arose and opened his trunk, and took
| the Bible out and laid it on the little pine
table, and turned the fiy-leaves.
at won't be long, Lizzie" he said, al be-
| fore our names are here, if any one takes
the trouble to write them down. All, well,
| it don't matter if no one does Lizzie, these
leaves stick together as if they were-why
they are wafered-some of them | say, Liz
zie, look at me Do look crazy?"
"No, Tony, | hope not" said she ner-
vously.
"What's that" asked Tony, holding out
| his hand with something in it.
"Money," said the old lady. A bank note
"a two dollar note. Why, Tonyw
| "Here's more and morei p cried Tony.
"Why, Lizzie, see, here's letter -
He put on his glasses It's from Aunt
Dorothy" he said. Listen" And he read
Dear Nephew-You always were unlucky.
know the debt of that dreadful man married will
| leave you without what you have expected all
your life, but I've kept the money poor father left
me. 1t Is mine--all my own. 1t shan't go for
any mans debts, and so have sealed it up in the
| Bible for you. | know you are great hand to
| read Scripture, aud no doubt you will be some
| time finding it. However, you must get 1t some
| day, and I'm cheating no one. | don't owe a
penny, and II laws were right, married woman 5
money would be her own. Take it, with my
| blessing, May it change your luck
DOROTHY DoBLE
Slowly and anxiously poor Tony read
every word. Then tears mingled with his
old wife's. They counted out the money
carefully over and again. Five thousand
dollars Thanks to that good old aunt,
they might leave the poor-house and live re-
specially for the rest of their lives.
| "We'll put it in the bank tomorrow"
said the old man "we might be murdered
for so much money. Wen beg holiday
and take it over; nobody will suspect poor
house folks of having SO much about them"
poor old man went TO ask for half days
freedom, and having obtained it, the two
went toward the town together. The day
| l. H., a 4