Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1880-12-02

lClement staid on and on. JUS
now she had been for some
weeks in arrears with her reduc-
ed board. No money had beer
forthcoming for some time, and
she was growing more feeble
daily, needing the luxuries of
an invalid and the attention of
a nurse, both of which Della
bestowed upon her without TAX
ing heed for the morrow.
/ 81 must hear from my man
of business tomorrow, Della.
I'm knee deep i'll debt to you,"
she began one night.
"Don't mention i'll" cried De-
liza. "I'd rather never see cent
of it than have you take it to
heart. You're welcome to stay
and share pot luck with us,
you're such company for mother
and me-"
"Thank you, my. dear. I've
grown as fond of you as if you
were my own flesh and blood.
There, ,turndown thelight, please.
Draw the curtainy dear, and put
another stick OH the fire, please.
1t grows chilly, doesn't it? You
might kiss me, just once, if you
wouldn't mind. It's a hundred
years or SO since any one kiss
ed me-" A
And next morning when De-
liza carried up Mrs. Clements
breakfast, her boarder lay cold
and still upon the pillows.
The first shock over, Della
wrote directly to the lawyer of
whom che had heard Mrs Glenn
ent speak as having charge of
her affairs, begging him to noti-
fy the lady's relatives, if she had
any. In reply, Mr.. Willis wrote:
@The late Mrs. Clement it
appears had no near relatives.
Some distant cousins, who, hav-
ing an abundance of this worlds
goods, yet served her shabbily
when she tested her generosity,
as she tried yours, are all that
remain Of her family. In the
meantime, | enclose you a copy
of her last will and testament,
to peruse at your leisure"
"What interest does he think
/ take in Mrs. Clements will,"I
thought Della, but read never
thcless:
"Being of sound mind this Is
day ofJune, 18-,I, Della Rog-
erson Clement, do hereby leave
$100 to each or>my cousins;and
| bequeath the residue of my
property, viz: $4,000 invested
in the Ingot Mining Company,
$50, 900 in United States Bonds,
$40, 900 in-the Fortune Flannel
Mills, and my jewels to the be-
loved niece of my first husband,
John Rogerson, Della Rogerson,
Of Craftsborough, Maine. 'For
| was a stranger, and yc took
me in; hungry, and We fed me;
sick and ye ministered unto
me. 20 4Jlb.1 .1t1J -AA
D"Goo]nesss alivel" cried the |
neighbors, when the facts reach
ed their ears. Everybody in
town will be trying it. Of
conrse,Steve Langdon will come
home and marry her, if she were
forty old maids. You may stick
ajpin in there p0GI " 31II1 !
Della did not open her house
to boarlers the next season.
She found enough to do in look
ing after her money and spend-
ing il; in replying to letters
from INDECENT people, who SEEM
ed TO Increase alarmingly; in
old friends, who sud-
denly found time to remember
her existence. And sure enough,
among the rest appeared Steve
Langdon, and all the village
said:
81 told you sol rev
saAIt's not my fault that you
and l are single get, Delia," he
said.
t"And we are too old to think
Of change nos, Steve"
"Nonsensei It's never too
lateEtomend. I'm not rich, De-
ia; but I've enough for two,
md to spare."' siasia
"I wouldn't be contented not
10 drive in my carriage and
have servants under me now,"
laughed Della. I
. "Indeed! Then perhaps yonk
nave a better match in view?I
Capt. Seymour asked me by the
way, if I had come to interfere
Squire Jones'sJinterest." II
eyes. Squire Jones propos-
ID tome lastlweek.'a i
sttNow, see here, Della. Have
come all the way from Mel
oourne on q fools era,and? There
[ was growing used to my mis-
Try and loneliness, when the
nail brings me in a letter in a
strange hand, which tells me I
hat my dear love, Della Roger-ii
T.