Morris tribune., 1883-08-08

| "Ihls gentleman thinks of taking on
room, sister," said, as she glanced III
| ut us.
''If within my MEANS" interposet
III stranger. 81 am poor man."
AIargie's clear, soft, penetrating eye
we're quietly reading the face of tn,
| %reaker. What she saw seemed salts
''ciory, for she nodded in reply to my
| questioning look.
In spite of his threadbare apparel, he
'no:led so thoroughly respectable that
rs half ashamed of the question thai
fit compelled to put:
Il suppose you have references
-"
No; all are dead who might speak
=: me if they could. You will have tc
- ME on trust"
looked at Margie again, who, giving
&c another nod, said
perhaps Che gentleman VIII mention
what he feels able to pay?"
The stranger did so, adding:
81 am poor and cannot pay one penny
more"
The sum named, though not large,
was more than we were intending to ask,
Is told him.
The old man frowned and shook his
head.
"Thee shouldn't have told me that.
I've half mind to give thee no more.
Then counting out upon the table
the amount he had stated, he pushed it
toward me, adding:
"My name is Thomas. I'll be here
tomorrow morning with all my traps. "
The traps mentioned consisted of an
old-fashioned hair-trunk and a large
chest, the latter being mainly filed with
books. We were not long in finding
out that our ledger was very odd, though
his oddities were of the most innocent
and harmless nature. He asked me to
substitute patchwork quilt for the
white Counterpart on his bed, and spent
a whole day rummaging auction rooms
to find some old-fashioned chintz to take
the place of the pretty muslin curtains
on which I had spent so much time and
labor. I had taken a rocker for him
from the sitting-room, but, spying, one
day, an old, leather bottomed chair that
had belonged to my grandfather, he
asked me to exchange with him, which
was very glad to do. Not long after, a
chest of drawers, that was my grand
fathers, found its way back to the old
place, together with the quaint, brass
mounted mirror that always hung over
it; SO that, at last, the room looked very
much as it did before we rearranged it
with SO much care and labor.
John and I had quite laugh over it,
but, so long as it suited its present oc-
cupant, we did not mind, and it seemed
to suit him completely. He spent much
of his time reading. No one called to
see him, or wrote to him, though he re-
ceived quantities of papers and maya
zines.
It was Margie that first suggested that
we invite him to take tea with us one
day when we had some unusual dehcacy
early strawberries, think.
"He must be very lonely, poor man !"
said my gentle-hearted sister. Per-
haps he doesn't have enough to eat. He
spoke about being poor, you know"
After this he dropped in occasionally,
evenings, bringing some new magazine
or paper, and reading to us as we sat at
work. Finally, it became an established
custom with him to take tea with us
twice, and sometimes three times a
week; frequently inviting himself,
though we always knew when he was
coming by the advent Of the market boy
with liberal supply of provisions, all
of the best quality.
This troubled Margie's tender con-
science, and she demonstrated with him
one day.
"It is wrong" he said, with a grave
shake Of the head. "Im poor man,
and ought to be more prudent"
But he continued on the same way,
and we finally got SO used to his oddi-
ties of speech>and action as to thinklittle
of them.
He and John were apparently on the
best of terms, and yet he was always
finding fault with him to me.
"To think of his taking entire charge
of his mother, when she has other chill
dren, and sending money to his brothers
widow beside !" he said to me one day.
]" He is a poor man, and always will
be /"
Now, could never endure the slight
est reflection upon John, and I defended
him with a spirit and Indignation that
seemed to amuse Mr.. Thomas not q
little.
With thy pretty face and ways, thee