The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-05-13


/ thropic establishment, in which | had
allowed myself to be mixed up, came to
signal grief, and / was the only respon-
( sible person among the directors. The
others had been all ruined in bank fail
ure. l liked my reputation better than
my money and did what the sharehold-
ers' attorneys assured me was right.
An evening paper. which had first called
me to account, printed a leader contrast
4 ing nv conduct advantageouslv with
| that of a man who had carried off some
money belonging to other people and
settled in America But | was ruined.
The little | had left dwindled TO nothing
in the beginning of the land panic. Even
my fathers house was sold by auction,
and one foggy morning in February ]
walked out of some temporary lodgings
1 had taken in Bury street, intending to
take my name off my clubs. l could no
| longer pay the subscriptions and was
wondering gloomily how | should man
ace to live. | had received the usual
education of an English gentleman and
could do absolutely nothing. Those
Notes on La Rochefoucauld'' had only
brought me in debt tony publisher and
besides | had neither taste nor talents for
literature. Few people have.
l had Just turned into St. James
Square in this disconsolate mood when l
noticed fat. awkward man with splay
feet rolling down the street as though it
belonged to him and | was at once re-
minded Of that abominable bore, Jones.
Before l could avoid him, however, he
stopped abruptly to tie his shoe, and we
unayoidably carromed against each
other.
"Ughn' exclaimed my old debtor, try
ing to recover the breath which | had
well nigh knocked out of him. and then
he seized me by both hands shaking them
heartily.
"Who would have thought of seeing
YOU, he then remarked, as though my
being in London was the most marvel
Gus thing he had ever known in the
course of his life.
4 heard, " he resumed confdentially,
still holding me by both hands, - that
YOU had fallen among thieves. Is there
anything | can do for you? Say the word,
Mr.. Crabbe; only say the word and it is
done
1t was with Affecting of absolute conf
dence in my views Of life, and with a
depth of scorn l could not have put into
language, that l answered grimly, 80,
yes, lend me a thousand pounds"
| had hardly flung the hooking words
at him, when the man face was lit up
with a smile so sunny and genial that its
homely features grewmiraculOusly beau
tiful.
Come along then said Mr. Jones,
without further parley. Ransom's is
hard by and my agents paid in thirty
thousand pounds yesterday for gold dust
only. There VIII be the proceeds of my
meat sales next week. You shall have
it all. There is plenty more where that
comes from. My Squattings have been
looking up these three years; mines,
woods. grass. corn, wharves, are all pay
ing now. Thank God! I'm so glad to
have met you. don know what to do
with myself. | would have called on you
before, but | was told YOU had gone
abroad and l was afraid to make so
bold as to write; though l should have
done it if l had known 1 could have been
of use, sir.
declare that although Mr.. Jones is a
large man, and the houses of st. James
Square are larger, such a mist came be-
fore my eyes that | could not see either
him or them. His manner was so bois-
terously cordial, yet so respectful and
delicate, it was so unlike anything | had
ever read or heard of that it upset my
compoSure. When | hastily answered
his obstreperous generosity, by saying
l only spoke in jest, and had nc need of
help, his countenance grew quite blank
again and all the glorious light that
had burst over and illuminated it faded
away. He was so panied and humii-
ated that | was obliged, in pity for his
manifest concern, to accept a thousand
pounds, which | returned to him next
day, with a civil note and the usual COM
pliments. | could not think of touching
the fellows money. l did not even
dream that ne was in earnest and could
not have slept in peace as anybody's
debtor. Besides, afew days subsequently
/ was offered the Craftsmanship of rail
way which ran through the estate that
once was mine. 1t gave me fifteen hun
bred a year, and an inexpensive man can
vegitate on that. never saw any more
of Mr.. Jones. When l thought of him,
which was but seldom, l remembered
him merely as a vulgar man, who was
rude and clumsy, but not unassuming,
though | still was at a loss to under
stand what my sister could have found
in such creature to have recommended
him to me. At last she herself gave me
an explanation by cablegram. 1t was
very short, but certainly to the purpose,
and it ran thus:
''Mr. Jones has left his immense prop
erty to be equally divided between you
and.me. 1t includes your old estate,
which he bought. He says in his will
that he made all he had by a thousand
pounds you gave him when he was a
beggar. He had neither kith nor kin"
So the vulgar man had died. And in
the place which he had once filled on
earth, there was the fair and lovely form
of gratitude London Truth.
Professional Divers,