St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-07-08
Margaret's Money.

man, land she's good girl. She'll be
a catch for somebody"
Then | thought he looked mt me.
"Why should he look at me p
thought. ''Fm not n husband worth
angling for, and he knows very well,
this man who pays me my small salary
every week with his own hands,
Still he did look at me, and | an
swered with word or two; | forget
what now.
"Yes," he said, talking with mean
ing, too, looking ut me evidently to
see how took the news Eyes, and
what do you suppose she does with it ?
Has 1t locked up i'll my tireproOf safe
III my tireprOof vault; doesn't use it i'll
any way; doesn't get interest on it :;
locks it up as she does her rings and
pins, and lets it lie never touched"
Il wonder you don't give her better
advice" | said.
Give a woman advice !" he said
TRY it. However, | approve of this.
Better keep her dowry locked up safe
than risk and lose it. I'm her guar
dian. Her father and had quarreled,
yon know. But when he died he left
her and her money in my care. A nice
d
young niece quartered on him for life
I'll marry her off as soon as | can. |
say, Fisher, come up and take tea
with me tonight
He did mean it He offered his niece
and ZOO to me ! He had never liked
me either.
"Shall go" asked myself was
not Il man to be bought by money, if
lei,
like her uncle but otherwise why not
see what she was made of? At least it
could do no harm to take tea with old
Simon Giddings. went home with
him that evening. noticed some lit
tie changes i'll the parlor, as though II
lady's hand had been busy there, and
i'll Il moment more, | saw sitting in the
shadow of the curtains girl dressed
i'll deep mourning.
Margaret, Mr.. Fisher; my niece,
Miss Giddings, Tom," said the old
man and It's | bowed, | saw little
velvet headed crutch leaning against
the girls chair. She was lame then.
Old Giddings thought this an obstacle
to her making Il good match, SO he Of
fered her to Tom Fisher.
at won't do, old man." | thought
81 shouldn't mind plain face, SO much,
but Il lame wife will never do for me-"
Then something whispered family in
my ear: "f5 5,0OO" For the rest Miss
Giddings was fair and pleasant in her
manner. She was Il lady, too, which
seemed odd for old SimOn's niece, for
he was as vulgar rs he was rich !; and
she sang to us after tea very sweetly.
| | liked Il girl with dash and color, and
still her blue eyes and sweet smile
haunted me Il little after went home.
"Shcm never quarrel with one" |
thought; 'and IL woman worth E5,OO0
would be catch certainly; but that
crutch I'll stay away from old ST.
mons house for the future"
But he wouldn't let me stay away he
kept on urging me to go home with
him. There was Marian Moore. Per-
hapS she liked me IA little. | admired
her intensely; but she had no money,
and | should take her away from her
snug little home to some poor sort of
place if married her. should find it
hard work to feed and clOthe her de-
Gently.
This fair, sweet Margaret was rich,
and as time passed on | began to see
her liking for me. And | sat in the
office one day, three months from the
time of my first visit, wondering
whether | could be quite sure that |
should be good enough to the little
thing | meant to marry for her money,
to keep her from knowing that there
was no actual love for her in my heart.
And as | pondered the voice of old
Simon reached my ears "Tom Fisher,
up i'll the moon again, Ell? Well, well,
when II fellow is in love we excuse la
zincss in him. There's my niece Mar
garet pouring the tea in the slop-basin
and overseeing the milk at breakfast.
Maggie says !, you're a-thinking of
some one, an YEP She blushed to her
ears. You've managed to get into some
good graces i'll that quarter, Tom"
"DO you think so ~ | said.
81 know so," said the old man. 81
ought not to say so, you know, but Pm
frank"
| listened to him then, two voices
Whispering to me.
"You don't love her." said one
"You don't hate her." said the other.
"You do want f5,000," said the other.
at would make man of you. You
could go into business on your own ac-
count. You'd cease to be slave in
this dingy Office"
Five thousand pounds said to my
self. Then | started to my feet.
"Mr. Giddings," / said, "would yOu
be willing to give your niece to me as
my wife ?"
"Tom Fisher, I'd give her to any
decent young man. A girl bothers
me; I'm tired of the charge. Every
one doesn't want lame wife. If You
like her, take her, and on your we'd
ding day I'll hand the f5,000 to you,
and be rid of the charge"
| turned faint and sat down to my
desk; but went to old Simon's house
that night and saw Margaret. She
looked as fair and happy as child.
sat down by her and took her hand.
care you going to say NO. Mag
gle ~ | said, and she lifted her innO-
cent lips to mine and kissed me. "I'lI
be very, very good to you"
But there was no lovers warmth in
my heart only kind of gentle pity
for the girl who was to bring mt
f5,0O0. We were engaged. Old 81
mon jQ|1ed us coarsely and seemed to ex-
ult over the affair. | might even have
doubted the existence of the E5,O00,
) but that Maggie told me of it herself.
, '"Uncle was keeping it for me to Iiv,
on when was an old maid" she said
| .'but yOu shall do what you choose
/ with the money when belong to you
: Wen buy a pretty house, shan't we
! dear, first of all, and live there all our
4 lives es-sOmewhere where we can have q
: garden ?"