The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1881-04-05
The Queer Old Man.

XNTE kept little variety shop, sister
Wv Margie and /, the profit of which
was quite as small as the wares we sold.
But, then, we had ne rent to pay own
ing the small, brown, old-fashioned
house in which we lived, and which
looked strangely out of place among the
stately looking modern dwellings that
crowded up against 1t on either side,
quite putting it out of countenance by
their superior height and appearance.
Grandfather built it when the place
was new, and he a young man, and
verdant fields and well-kept gardens,
dotted here and there by houses as low
and modest as his own. He owned
large farm, and was considered
wealthy man for those days. but acre
after acre had been sold until nothing
was left except the house in which my
father had been born, and which was
the only inheritance of his children.
But we made the most of it, Margie and
I, as you will see.
hardly think we should have dared
to do such thing while father lived,
who would have considered 1t sort of
sacrilege; but soon after his death we
turned the front part of the house into
shop, with show-windows which
opened out upon the street, in which to
display the articles we kept for sale.
This was a matter of necessity rather
than choice, it being all that 1 could do
at home; and could not leave Margie.
Poor Margie was a cripple; she had
received fall wher only four years old,
and had never walked since. She had
been great care to me for many year,
but never burden. She was so thought
full, patient and cheerful, that in the
event of our separation think should
have missed her quite as much as she
would me. She was very useful, too;
lying all day on the lounge in her little
sitting. room, her hands were never idle,
crocheting Tides, mats, mittens and
edging, and, doing various kinds of
faEcy-work, for which found sale in
the shop, and though the price asked
was only moderately in excess of the
cost of material, it helped as not a
little.
Margie kept all the accounts, too
having clearer head than I, and a
knowledge, or rather intuition, of char
acter that was wonderful, considering
how secluded her life had of necessity
been. / never thought of taking any
step without consulting Margie.
We two lived very quietly, having
few acquaintance, and no near relative
or friend-except John. John was my
lover, and no girl ever had one more
kind and true. He was poor in worldly
goods, but oh ! SO rich In goodness and
manly worth. He might have seemed
plain to those who knew him not-I
cannot tell how he looked to other eyes
but there was more than beauty, to
me, in that frank, honest face, and in
the big, brown hands that were so strong
and helpful.
We had been engaged ever since was
1871 was % now-and no nearer to
being married, as could see, than we
were five years before. But still we
loved on and hoped on. John had q
widowed and infirm mother, and Mar
gle, and, though she was anything but
burdensome to me, could not think of
adding any further weight to the hands
that were full enough already.
Trade not being very brisk during the
summer, Margie and decided to eke
out our slender income by renting the
room over the shop. 1t was low, and
the slant of the roof on one side and big
chimney made 1t full Of hooks and cor