Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1881-05-21
CHAPTER II.
L" Don't cry, Nelll"

This kind of advice is often easy to
give and hard to obey. For once it was
as hard to give as to follow. The ad-
viser's face twitched suspiciously, as
though he sorely wanted to copy the
example set him hy the advised. But
your stiff-built, bullet-headed young
Briton would rather die than weep, and
he controlled himself.
"I have never cried through il all
until now," said the girl, between her
sobs; land it's your noble kindness
that makes me cry now"
Rubbish y said the bullet-headed
young Briton.
There were three people in the room
"A pretty girl of twenty, with a face
disfgured with tears, and slight but
graceful form, attired in mourning; a
youug man, with no especial pretensions
to good looks, but strong and manly,
with very honest gray eyes; middle
aged woman, gaunt and spare, with a
spiteful face, and eyes little reddish at
the rim The room in which they stood
was almost bare of furniture, and OBJ
long spaces on the walls, where the
paper showed fresher than elsewhere,
spoke of the recent removal of pictures
and mirrors. and gave the place a dis
mantled look.
Rubbishr - said the bullet-headed
young man.
"And rubbish say" said the spite
ful-looking female. "Noble Kindness |
Oh, ah Noble fiddlesticks Don't talk
to met"
Neither of her companions evincing
the slightest desire to talk to her, the
spiietal-lookiDg female looked more
spiteful still. and shifting with much
emphasis, said, "Oh, ah - again, and
added, " Likely story"
:" He had always said the girl was
speaking =" that 1 was well provided
for, but now this cruel bill of sale
has taken everything"
"There is still the freehold of the
house." said the young man.
Pretty freehold - said the middle
aged female. "Rotten, tumble-down
old place, two miles from everywhere,
and not even decent road within mile
of il. 1t was just like the old idiot to
build here"
"Ann," said the girl, in voice of
authority, "how dare you?"
"Oh. all - said the woman again.
"How dare L? To be sure Where's
my years wages with your bills of sales,
Ell? It's fit and proper for decent,
hard-workin' woman to be done out of
her money by an old hunks like him,
amt it ?"
Haven't you had enough money to
pay Ann her wages q asked the young
man.
Money or no." said the woman,
"she hasn't paid 'em. That's all know. "
The girl only shook her head and wept
anew. The young fellow drew a lean
chamois leather bag from his pocket.
"How much ?" he asked, survey ing
the woman sternly.
" Five pounds" she answered, "not
to speak of layin' him out and waiting
here fortnight to be paid"
The young man counted out five SOW
ereigns from the lean bag, which for.
bore to give one chink as he put it back
into his pocket.
"There is your money. As soon as
you can arrange to go, l shall be glad
for you to leave"
The woman took the money disdain-
fully and went her way. The young
man advanced to the girl and put his
arm about her waist and kissed her.
"It's very hard, my darling" he said;
"but it will only bring us together the
sooner. shall find employment some
where soon, and then we must get mar
ried and face the world together
The girl made no resistance to this
programme, and he went on: "I'm not
altogether sorry that you are poor, you
know, for if you had been rich should
never have had the cheek to tell you
that loved you. That isn't altogether
selfish, Nell, for / shall make you hap
pier than any amount of money would. "
1t was oddly said, but it looked likely
to be true. Those gray eyes of his, and
his square, plain, manly face were very
honest, and provocative of faith. They
heard the banging the spiteful female
made in packing her belongings, but
beyond the fact that the girl said once
that Ann had been cruel and ungrateful,
they took no notice of it. The young
man sat down, and drew the girl beside
him on a sofa, and made love to her, and
dried her eyes with his handkerchief,
and by the time the spiteful female goi
her trunks downstairs, with much reit.
Grated humping from step to step, the