News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-04-10

| dOOo AO OO11Om ulOACy 81 OlloA
Borrow money? You surely are not
. in earnest We never heard of his being
d the least in debt" exclaimed two or
three in one breath.
"That is where the mystery comes in.
He never stays in debt by any means;
but I will tell you what puzzles me, and
see what you all think of it. For the
e last six months, every Saturday evening,
i without fail, about half-past nine, Mr..
: Seabright comes to our door, asks for
: Mr.. Leroy and borrows of him. five
o dollars"
!, 'tFive dollars every week You don't
T say SOP exclaimed a scose of ladies,
' lifting their hands in holy horror at the
q bare idea.
s cit is true. But the most remarkable
, part remains to be told. On Monday
t morning, rain or shine, cold or warm,
t before we eat our breakfast, which, you
know, is served very early, that the gen.
/ tlemen of the family may leave for busi-
: ness, the door-bell rings, and Mr.. Sea-
; bright appears and hands back five
: dollars"
"Why, how strangel What can he
do with it? If he spends it, how can
he always get it to refund so soon ?"
said one of the elder ladies.
''He cannot spend it, said another
"No," said third, ''tae stores ale
closed ON Saturday evenings at nine, and
you say he does not come until half
past"
"Not until half-past nine," said Mrs.
Leroy. "Then none open until some
time after our early breakfast on Mon
day. 1 tell you, friends, it puzzles u.s.. >"
''How does he appear on receiving
it?" asked another.
deeply grateful. He thanks us, on
returning it, with all his heart
After considerable talk, Mrs Hurlbert
said:
"Mrs. Leroy, did it ever occur to you
to mark the bill lent him, to see whether
it passes from his hands or not 2"
NO." was the reply. 81 mean to
propose it to my husband this very
night
'Dol do ~ cried several, 'tand tell
us the result. -
So, laughingly, they separated.
The next Wednesday the ladies' waited
anxiously for Mrs Leroy's appearance
to hear the result of their little scheme.
As soon as her smiling face appeared
they gathered around, eagerly asking:
''Did you do it ?''
''We did, and to our utter amazement
the same bill came back on Monday
morning"
"That is too funny! What can it
mean? How shall we solve this mys
tery ?'' were exclamations that passed |
from lip to lip.
Finally Mrs. Leroy agreed to have her |
husband ask an explanation the next |
time he came on this singular errand
and report the reply.
Saturday night arrived and with it
Mr. Seabright at the door of the elders
house. He always declined entering,
pleading the lateness of the hour; but
this time Mr.. Leroy would not take a
refusal.
Drawing the reluctant clergyman into
the warm, well-lighted parlor, the good
man gently told him that his curiosity
was aroused to know "why he so regu-
larly borrowed that money"
because, my kind friend" was the
reply. 81 absolutely need it..
Glow can that be, when you do not
spend it? ?"
How do you know I do not spend
it?"
because have marked the bill, and |
| the very same one comes back. Besides,
no stores are open while you have it..
SIT is too true. do not spend it"
"Then why in Heavens name do you
borrow it %
There was long pause, then the pas
tor replied:
''Since you press me so hard, will
tell you, though / would rather not
When 1 first came here found that
articles for daily use in family were
much higher than I had been accus-
toned to. My salary, by the strictest
economy-doing without a servant, going
partially fed and clothed-could only
supply our most pressing wants and
educate the children. Every Saturday
night found my pocket-book empty,
absolutely empty The human mind is
most singularly constituted, varying in
different individuals. My own mind be-
came distracted when the last cent went,
to such a degree that all animation and
| life left me, and / seemed to become
mere machine, grinding out sermons.
This was noticed by my people, and
committee was appointed to speak to me
upon the subject. l knew the cause
exactly, and devised plan at once to
obyiate it. I that week borrowed five
/ dollars to place In my empty pocket |
book. Knowing that / had five dollars |
in my possession impaired tine needed
life. I at once saw the effect, and conse-
quently have repeated the experiment.
Please continue to befriend me in this |
innocent way, or shall again lose heart
and fail to please my people"
Mr.. Leroy pressed the bill into the
good mans hand, giving it as he did so
sympathetic squeeze which showed
that he fully appreciated the situation.
That very week, without waiting for
the sewing circle to meet, Mr.. and Mrs.
Leroy visited every family in the congre.
cation, telling all to what a strait pow
erty had reduced their pastor. Sym
pathy was at once enlisted in his be-
half, and in few days his salary was
more than doubled, and the congrega-
ton at large reioiced over the improved
appearance of the inmates of the manse.
A strong, capable woman was at once
introduced into the kitchen, and Mrs.
Seabright was thus released from that
bondage, and so was enabled to lend the
ladies helping hand, and encourag-
n g them, not only by her activity, but
by her genial presence in their midst.