The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1880-11-07


II did not come, and hope Of IL grew steadily
less. need not recount the way in which
we managed TO get through those bitter
weeks-the few pounds made with my pen,
the sale of little personal treasures, chance
scraps OF employment found In town, and
so on and so on. But one day when ! was at
Annie's writting-desk looking for n pen my
eyes fell on an unopened letter directed TO
me. II had been posted in Spanish Town,
Jamaica, as far back as the 18th of Sep
TENDER.
Bless me-" said Annie, as held IL up TO
her. al put that letter away for you when
IL came, then everything that happened
since put IL out Of my head I opened IL,
and found letter and check. The letter
was rs follows:
SEPTEMBER ~, is3--Nv Dear Wilson: You must
have thought Il strange that did not recognize your
success further than by the fco which You woud have
received had You failed said nothing at the time,
because fet sure You would make fuss about rcccv-
thanks to he spoken by me In that supreme moment Of
my life. Besides, did NOT wish Ia enable yo,-for
reasons Of my own-tc remain IN Jamaica LAYING
await yor arrival at homo. Fray be kind enough TO
fully, JuLEs LoNpAs.
The check was on the Bank of England for
1000! AT first thought was dreaming.
But IL was real enough. There II lay before
Annie's eyes and mine. or course, I had no
real scruple about accepting IL, and relieved
myself by writing letter of thanks TO my
late patient.
The next morning started for London.
spent almost my last shilling TO pay my fare.
happened TO have with me fellow-traveler,
hale and hearty old gentleman, named
Deacon, with whom had become slightly
acquainted.
"Going all the way to town 7" he asked
IN his strong, vigorous voice.
Ycs-on business" said, little proud
Of so new a word.
so am l, worse luck. l am going TO give
our member bit of the towns mind about
the town pump. Which way shall you be
going 2"
81 am going to the Bank of England"
"What, to my old shopi haven't been
in Threadncedle street these forty years.
But believe should go straight to my old
desk, rs straight as IL IL had been yesterday.
Yes-1 was a paying clerk there In the old
times. If you go through the door in the left
hand corner of the court you will see whore
used to stand. And by George, It's a fact
that some desks are lucky, and some nm
lucky, some go right and some go wrong"
"What n curious theory, Mr.. Deacon,"
II isn't theory at all-it's a fact, sir.
Now, the desk next TO me was one of the
downright unlucky ones, bad In every way.
l knew both tho clerks there in my time,
and in fact rather more of them than any
| one else. Tho desk OH the other side was a
| lucky one. Men went up high in the bank
from it,, AZ IL 1t were step in the ladder.
Mine was betwixt and between, both in place
and luck, and all the better for me. But
about that inlucky desk" and he settled
himself for the inevitable anecdote of his
younger days, TO which he was given.
"When first stood at the bank counter, my
| left-hand neighbOr-On the ,knlucky side
| was q young fellow named Frederick Halves,
Fred, we used to call him. We all liked
| him, and two or three of us, who got TO know
him best, liked his sister too-Nancy Halves.
She and her brother lived with an old aunt
in Finsbury. believe six Of us asked her
to marry us six times apiece did, know.
But she laughed at us all round, and made
us better friends with her than ever.
"' Brother Fred must marry first, she
used to say. Aud we knew she meant il.
:" But there was one of our set who
wouldn't take no, like the rest of us. Isaac
Ayscough was his name. He was older and
closer than the rest, and the only ono who
never talked about Miss Nancy, and some
how, he was the only one with whom she
never seemed to be easy or friendly. liz
was not only older, but he was cleverer and
better at business and pleasure.
"After time Nancy grew less cheerful
and Fred less sociable, and at the same time
more intimate with Ayscough, until We
others hardly saw anything of him. l once
spoke to Nancy about it, but she only cried
and said:
"' hate Isaac Ayscoughn
!" L saw she knew that Ayscough was lead
ing poor Fred wrong, though no one could
tell him. And know now that Ayscougl
was working in some villainous underhand
way to get Fred into trouble, SO that Ii
might get Nancy into his power.
"Wcll, sir, one day it came out.
" 1t was the year 1769-how signatur
had been forged by Fred Halves to trans
fer warrant. Isaac Ayscough discovered tn
forgery, and Fred IIawes was hanged.'
Hangedp'
"Why notf that was the law them"
"And the girl 2"
All, poor Nancy that is the worst par
of it all. That day after the hanging, whel
Ayscough was just leaving his desk-fo
Finsbury, no doubt-in walked Name.
dressed in white rs If for q wedding, an,
went straight to Ayscough and asked hin
sweetly: 9 Is my brother Frederick here ia
day p Ayscough didn't answer her. Blu
though was ready to break down at frs
sight, saw how things were, and said jus
as quietly US il nothing had happened, No
/
And 80 it went on, day after day, weel
after week, year after year.
Every day at noon she would cross tn
rotunda to Ayscough's desk at the payn
counter and ask: Is my brother, Mr.. Fred
, erick, here todayi' and one of the clerk
always used to answer, No, Miss, not Il
+ day. And then she always said, Give IN
, love to him when he returns, and say vii
call Tomorrow
Poor thing! She was homeless, an
, some of us helped her aunt to keep her
|, But one tomorrow she did not come, an
: then she was buried. II Ayscough wante
her he had gone too far"
/, "And Ayscough, what of him2'
81 never spoke to him after, and he neve
spoke to mo. by n queer change he LA
, been at the lucky desk before. After Fred
= death he was shifted to the unlucky on
= where Fred had been. The years went by
:, He didn't rise. At fifty he had become
4 strange, solitary, friendless old man. Il
= was punctual in all his duties, and turne
y into q sort of machine. At 10 he came TO h
desk, at the closing hour he went out
g sight, and nobody knew what became of hi
!. till 10 o'clock the next day. At last he di.
). without warning in little lodging at Hacl
= ney. But here is our journeys end. Goo
!. day Mr.. Wilson, and thank you for yO
~ company"
4 CHAPTER III.
IT The wholesome hustle of the street 30,
l. drove this rather CHASTITY "Reminiscences of o
70 Mr.. Deacon's youth from my mind.
reached the bank and entering found mys'
3, in u large Office with desks arranged alph
: betically, facing courtyard filed with tre
| nd oI, la ~ of NH fnu