Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-09-14
From the Quiver.l
M r. JAY.
AN ENGLISH STORY.

Small ana neat--Vely; age uncer-
tain; spectacles, thin-faded hair, faded
overcoat to match, and an alpaca UNI
brella. He may be good, Will, but he
is one of the most communicating per-
SONS have seen for some time"
Did you ever see an origina!-looking
clerk?" queried Will, rehectivelv, from
his sofa by the fire. cit seems O moral
necessity that they should all be fash
Toned after the same pattern"
is he clerk 2" [ asked, turning
round from the window.
$50 Ford told me this afternoon.
Jay, his name is; he's the cashier at
Grimsby's."
The said cashier had just come up the
street. and let himself in at the next
house. A woodward on one side, and
a long, low store shed on the other sepa-
rated the two houses, that and ours,
from the rest of the street. The other
had been empty for months past, but a
week ago the bill had been taken down
from the narrow, dusty window; some
old-fashioned furniture had arrived In a
cart, under the charge of grim-faced.
deaf old woman, and lastly the tenant
himself appeared upon the scene, and
from the open laths of the Venetian we
anxiously surveyed him, and straight
way came to the aforesaid conclusion.
VIII was an invalid-there was some
thing wrong with his spine, and often
for weeks together he never left his
sofa. There were only the two of us
now; and necessarily spending the
greater part of our lives shut into our
tiny house, we had fallen into habit of
watching and specializing upon the
stray threads Of buster lives that some
times drifted past the quiet corner
where our barks had stranded This
was one. We had built up tall castles
round the coming unknown, and it was
rather a descent to find such an in
significant, commonplace parsonage for
the occupant.
For two or three months his com1ngs
and goings was a matter Of careless in
difference to us. There was not shad-
ow of a popularity about him to waken
any interest. Principally at twenty
minutes TO nine every morning he let
himself out of the front door punct-
ually at twenty minutes past six every
evening he let himself in. Every Sun
day morning he went to church, and in
that might have been either a family
Bible or a Shakespeare, and after a
heightened discussion the first week
upon his possible reasons for wearing
such a remarkable dark darb over-coat,
We left our little neighbours movements
unnoticed and uncriticised.
At length, in the middle of one bleak
October night, we inaugurated an ac-
quaintance with him. VIII was seized
with one of his worst attacks; the doc
tors house was nearly a mile away, and
our maid was stranger and knew moth
ing of the place; there was no time to
lose, and In utter perplexity / slipped
out of The front door and knocked loudly
on the next. 1t was opened, after what
seemed terrible long interval, by little
Mr.. jay himself, with a candle in his
hand he looked slightly amazed at the
sight of me.
ssIsn't it Miss Bryce? ?" he asked; sis
anything the matter?"
1t is my brother-he is so i'll, and ]
haven't anyone to send tor the doctor
would you mind"
"Of course I WILL" he interposed
amt Z remembered after how promptly
the response came $ where does he
ive?"
1 told him, and hurried back. The
doctor came he had helped us through
many previous illnesses, and shortly
after the paroxysm passed, and Will
quietly dropped to sleep.
He was not able to come down the
next day at all, and we took our tea up
stairs together In the evening. In the
midst Of these came gentle knock at
the front door, and message was
brought up that Mr.. Jay would Like to
see me for minute.
1.-THE first call of the SERIES" COM
mented Will. "Mind, you thank him
for me for fetching Ford"
Mr. Jay was standing on the rug in
the haf-ighted sitting room, and I de-
iyered Wills message in due terms. /
wound it up rather abruptly, finding