New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-11-22
MISS MARTHY'S LEGACY.
THE VALUE OF SELF-CoNTROL.
I(onnriQht 1881

~ hAT
20 SINNERS and dance on my grave with them IL
Sc nnrt Won remember the day she spoke up
ia mt a button in the poor-bag when IL
anu orrdi Well | shan't put even button IN
"'a 1;In,t say YOU did Miss Marthy She said
cha shouldn't wonder If You dld''
sI+,s inst fhe same. 1t shows what she 'h'hN' VI
nm chow what think of her. And that's
IT,. o,, thing She's always been a regular sauce
on'' Va orer felt safe but she'd say something
W. saus IN set me all back. She hid my
ooio'o o,ce in nv bible, and | didn't find them
e. ,Irae months and she found them ior me just "s
;nnocent as you please right before the m'hsior'
NJ m leave one of the fonr portions 10 eac" VI mo
.bor Girls and the fourth portlon to the poor-pas
o'"1- sva.,,d church And tn Lettie havers III
leave her great-grandmotherS we u'uH so"n' "u.
Io" .',, nIso They were moncyed people in her
Ao'''-@ ,d,,o,bers day. and the gown will put her
= Ind Of the difference between them ana wha'
,',.so,no 20 II isn't mine yway; but somehow
- Ia, II and | kept it. | guess Id the right
I'D nave LET her have il that time the girls were
-. ,nor,dirc in the od-fashioned things if she'd
80 hoe, n mite decent to me- But she preferred
IN be a torment and torments usually get come ND
With IFS only the other dav when l wanted 10 go
20 the picnic. and she'd got to stay at nome IL
went. that | heard her say, Talk about young
America For her part she should tnink IL was oiu
America But l went all the same. No. LetIleS
pretty face as you call It, will nave 10 heip her
along in the world. Ny money won't. 80 puo
down. To Lettie Havets, one white gowh'-" ISL
very white. the color OF cream,-it onght 10
he: it's all but eighty or ninety years DID,
same being her great-grandmothers wedding dreSs'
left in NV possession. Humph! Possessions nine
,,o,r,s of the law And don't believe she'll 6ud it
when he sees she's got all her portion of old Miss
Marthys money in q yellow gown, and she can't
wear that He NAV cast an eye then on some OF
those that have Miss Marthy's money. Hes not
dnlI as the world goeS.-a handsome fellow,-he
didn't come he-e to marry poor girl and get on
without a cent to his name but his doctors fees.
and have nothing In the world but his profession
Perhaps if he was only going to marry her for her
money I've done her good turn after all,-weil'
didn't mean to- and I'll run the risk. said to my
self the day when 1 told her she was needless
Young simpleton with no thought for the pennies
md she answered that she didn't know II that was
any worse than being "A selfish old one with no
Thought for anything else that her pert little speech
had cost her pretty penny any way. ANA so IL
has. One day whom / sent beggar packing she
said to me- Miss Marthv do you expect to take all
YOUR money into the grave with youP She'll md
I have as far as she's concerned. SO write u
down, Lawyer Winchester"
And Lawyer Winchester did, although he would
have liked nightly to make the Will breakable'
And when some months afterward, to the disturo-
ance of her grandnieces, who had to postpone ther
cotillop and 10 the horror of little quick spoken
LATHE the cousin Of the Others, Miss Martby was
one morning found bolt upright over her knitting
but stone dead, the will was read, aud Lettie, who
had always been led TO suppose that she wonid at
some time share with her cOnsns In the Old iadys
properties having rendered the countless services
of exacting years with that distinct understanding
fonpd herself penniless; and her cousins found
themselves much better of than they had ever
dreamed of being, their dreams In that regard
having been haunted by missionaries and heather.
But Miss Marthy had never been known TO spend
ANYTHING except for imperative needs; and she had
turned her precious pennies over many tlmes so
that now they amounted to quite sum. Bnt the
cousins with the best will in the world wore quite
unable to remedy Miss Marthys action concerning
Iettie a clause in the will preventing ANYTHING OF
the sort All that they could do was still to keep
Iettie with themselves before, Lettie having
charge of the small housekeeping and receiving
stipend therefor sufficient to make her feel lnde-
pendent in a house far happier for the absence OF
the auerulOus old woman who had used to rule 1t
with a rod of iron who remembered all the trfng
daily kndnesses and courtcsles of course Of years.
CHEEKY. happy, sweet soul Lettie and
money was the las: thing needed to give her
increase OF happiness 1t did give her little pang
20 think that now the life she had outlined 10 her
self with Dr. Ferdinand must he still further
DELAYED; but she took mp her present duties as
pleasantly as if Miss Marhy had not put forth hor
old witherei hand and shut the door of Paradise.
"Pm not really so disappointed, after ALL she
said when Ferdinand came in. 81 hadn't any right
TO any Of her money; l hadn't drop of her blood
in my veins"
"Pm glad of it ~ cried Ferdinand. the dark Young
fellow from whose arms she was escaping at that
moment"
alt was her grandfather that earned it, not
mine"
at was her grandfather that got II away from
yours and the whole family have always had
dim consciousness of the need OF reparation, and
they rather expected her to make it,"
Il dDn't exactly know why she didnt sad
Lettie timidly. al was always good to Miss
Marthy except when she was too yexing for any
thing and sometimes when she was"
" She always was Her grOdge against you was
oh. no. indeedI always made her lovely caps
and used 10 put them on for her myself
"One of the very things" said Dr ferdinand
looking at her with speaking eyes. "Shc hated 10
wear caps. She couldn't forgive you because she
did, and you didn't"
"Nouscnse!
she didn't know how to forgive you being perfectly
well, beautiful enough for mc,-and Clara and
Phillis and Lydia being comparatively PLAIN
But she didn't make them love her" said Lette.
looking mp with her great wondering blue eyes.
Poor Miss Marthy1"
@PoOr Miss Marthy, indeed Now. look here.
lettie won't have you plying her! /"
But do. For you see she didn't love ANYTHING
but her money. and she has had TO leave 1t. And
she hated 10 be old land she was old. And TO die,
and she had to die"
Lettie, Won are an angel! If you hadn't been
worlds preftier than her neces she would have lett
Won enough money to make you a hOusekeeperi
And that's the whole OF 1t. I've no pity and no
excuses for her. Her legatees would never have
missed the sum that would have bought and fur
nished the Sterling cottage ior you-and you had
earned it, too. But ought to be ashamed that u
..-nE.n. Z IL.ni