Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-10-06

came in crying bitterly.
"Mr. Wilkinson was out" she began,
and then seeing her visitors she cried
eagerly, "Oh, Mr.. Wilkinson, you will
not let mother be put in the street. I'll
pay every penny, sir, if only you will wait
till she is better, and l can get my full
time to work.
"Have you seen Mr.. Ormsby to- day,
Jennie?" the old gentleman asked.
eyes, sir. He said he had no time to
hear any whining. The agent will be here
at II, and if the money is not paid he will
put US out"
MAY 1 ?" whispered Mile.
"Just as you please, my dear. Perhaps
this dying woman or child will drink up
your charity"
"Hush, hush g
So tenderly, SO delicately Mile gave
her charity, that there was only deepest
gratitude awakened without the CALLING
sense of obligation. She left more than
sufficient for some weeks, and promised to
send delicacies for the invalid.
No word of herself passed her lips until
| they were once more in the narrow street
"0h, Uncle Marc" she said, d" can it be
true that he is so hard, so false to me?"
"Wait, was the brief reply.
They went into the wide courtyard in
whose space stood the four great factories,
the joint property of Marcus Wilkinson
and Cyril 0rmsby, long before divided by
the entirely opposite management of these
| two into distinct Experimentation entirely
under the control of the elder, The other
of the younger man.
| " Wilkinsons absurd soft-heartedness,"
as Cyril mentally characterized it, had
made this divisioa absolutely necessary.
But it was not into his own kindly-gov-
erned, we'll ordered departments that Mar
Gus Wilkinson led his ward. He turned
into a small room where pale man was
busily writing, and at the same time over
| looking long room, where about seventy
| girls were at work before busily whirling
machinery.
"Good morning, Watkins, the old gen.
tleman said. 81 was in hopes that you
were taking holiday"
"Thank you, sir, was the reply, in
detected tone. &C. can't we'll quit work,
sir. There's the wife and six little ones,
you see."
"Have you told Mr.. 0rmsby the doctor
says that your life depends upon a few
weeks of rest and pure air p
Yes, cir. He's not keeping me; but
he says if l go he must fill my plsce-and
that means starvation for my family. l
could never get new situation as feeble as
am now"
Chow long have you been here, Mr..
| Watkins"
Seventeen years, sir. l was with old
| Mr.. Ormsby before you came, sir.
"a faithful servant seventeen years p
! said Mr.. Wilkinson, in low tone and
q few weeks rest may save his life !"
| At this moment Millie shrank little
nearer her guardian. Through the win.
| dow from which Mr.. Watkins overlooked
the long room, she could see Cyril Ormsby
walking briskly about, his voice harsh and
| imperative, finding fault here and there,
and keenly scrutinizing every item of the
work. Not face in the long room was
frightened by the presence of the master.
Fingers worked more rapidly, eyes were
fastened persistently upon the looms, and
everyone seemed aware of stern task.
masters gaze. But Mr.. Wilkinson obeyed
the mute petition expressed in the looks of
! his ward, and led Millie out into the wide
passage again to another work room.
It were too tedious task to follow every
step of these two as they passed from room
| to room, everywhere meeting some assur.
snces of Mr.. Wilkinson's own hold upon
the hearts of the hands, and their ter
| ror of Cyril 0rmsby's harshness.
| Out again among the squalid homes,
where her guardian had no control, but be.
slowed his kindly charity without ostenta.
| ton and here, more eloquently than ever,
| Mile heard how cruel a mockery were the
schemes of charity and philanthropy that
had been poured into her ear. 1t needed
no spoken words from her guardian to tell
her that the noble words uttered to win her
were but those of hypocrisy, which knew
how it could best plead its cause with her.
One and another, turning to Mr. Wiki
inson as to friend, unaware of the torture
of their words to the kindly lady beside
him, told of the cruel exactions of work
| in sickness or trouble, of closest calcula-
ton of time, of small wages and heavy
| rents.
eff we won't live here and pay we get
no work in the factories, one said, when
| asked why he did not seek more healthy
| quarter.
81 am doing overtime to pay for my
child's funeral, one said, for l lost the
wages for three days stayed by to see
her die and to bury her,"
"Pm uneasy about the rent" another
said, for l lost q week by a fall upon the
ice, and it's hard making it up again.
Not one word of kindly sympathy, OF
help. in trouble or sickness. The "hands"
under Cyril Ormsby were simply human
machines to do so much work, sick or well,
or pay the price of an hour or day of idle
ness, no matter how necessary.
There was no word spoken as DIR. Wiki
inson and Mile walked to the office again.
| Once there, the old gentleman spoke very
gravely. GAS your guardian, Mile, 1
can speak to you no word against Cyril
| Ormsby. He is rich man, of good social
| position, of irreproachable moral reputa-
ton, and man whose standing in business
circles is the highest. A man who is a good
match in every worldly sense. So much
for your guardian. AS your friend, my
father might have loved you, who knows
every noble impulse of your pure soul-as
that friend, l tell you l would rather see
you lying beside your mother than the
broken. hearted wife of such a man as Cyril
Ormsby."
81 came to you as friend, as almost
father, said Mile, "and l thank you for
keeping me from a lifelong misery. To
! AhoW ouOu . hs 1 INV
know Cyril 0rmsby to be, would, as you
say, break my heart"
g 1 would not tell you" said her guard
ian, " for you knew l disliked him, and
might have thought that dislike preiudiced
me. But, Mile, tell me you will not let
this days work shadow your life. You did
not love Cyril, Mile ?"
mo, l reverenced what I believed a
noble, generous nature. That reverence a
mockery, shall never break my heart for
q man thoroughly despise, Uncle Marc.
And SO it happened that Cyril Ormsby,
coming to claim the fortune he believed to
be within his grasp, met only Mr.. Wilkin.
son, with Miles polite but distinct refu-
sal to resign herself or her fortune to his
keeping.
But he never knew how Mile learned
the true value of his hollow words of chari
ty and philanthropy.