Iron County register., 1885-06-04
FACE TO FACE.
A Fact Related in Seven Well
Told Fables.
BY r. Z. FRANCILLON,
AUTHOR OF "a GREAT HEIREss," "QUITS
AT LAST" " A REAL QUEEN" EARL's
DIVE" ETC, ETC.

FABLE THE SEVENTH.-CoNTINUED.
Assuredly he bad right TO triumph,
if ever man had in this world Plain,
almost old. awkward, and almost with
out single grace, ignorant (till quite of
late) of women. and starting too late,
he had, in no very long time, distanced
rival who had every advantage in
which he was lacking, and in such wise
that there was no fear of future trouble
He was no murderer, and yet near
enough to satisfy his conscience by
being none. As for the rest. everything
is fair IN love, war and money. As to
the first. the only unfair thing was that
it should have cost him so much to win.
Patience. he had noticed, did not eat
much, and no doubt he would be able
to make her see the advantages of water
cruel as diet before long. Nor, so he
noticed, did she care much about new
clothes; she would really be model
wife, even if he had gone out to choose
one otherwise than by liking. But still
it would take a good long time to save
ND, in dressmakers' and butchers bills,
his estimated losses by neglecting his
own affairs for neighbor's, and BY
two Journeys from home. And then
there would be the fees to the clerk and
parson to set against the absence of
weddin breakfast and all the common
tomfoolery; and then he supposed he
would have to keep Tom Blackthorn in
grog and tobacco for the rest of his
DAYS. But I'll cut the old fool down
to one pipe and one tumbler. and one
can get brandy cheap at Manchester.
if one goes the right way. Or shall
i let him have as much as he wants,
so that he'll want no more the sooner?
I'll figure it out as soon as get home. y
Under all these circumstances, there
fore, Enoch Marrish had Intentionally
postponed buying the ring until the
very latest possible moment: for, since
he could hardly give less than a
guinea, three weeks interest on twen-
ty-one shillings at five per cent. is near
" three farthingS; that is to say, three
times as much rs a man who means to
die rich ever allows himself to lose
without cause. His last Journey had
cost him guinea; and now there was
another to 60. What tomfoolery it
all is. to be surer' grumbled he. as he
walked towards Manchester. ''As if a
woman couldn't be just as much a
wife without ring on her tinger-or
as if, anyhow. bit of brass wire
wouldn't do as we'll"
Thus mllsing, in as near approach to
happiness as his natal stars allowed. he
plodded on, with his eyes just in ad-
vance of his toes, when he was caught
by something sparkling just under the
hedgerow.
Nine people out of eleven would not
have seen the gleam; and the tenth
would have passed it by. But between
the metals and Enoch Marrish was n
STATE af perfect sympathy. Even old
brass has its uses-it does to add to a
score of scraps, and may serve to make
up pound. 1t was really getting
needful to pick up everything; his
pockets We're beginning to bulge with
en6s of string, and his coat to bristle
with pins. So he stopped for the piece
of glitter; and lo-a plain gold ring!
'Now, that is mighty queer!' eN-
claimed he, glancing round. as pickers
do who mean to be keepers. And so it
was; for people in that parish were not
likely to go about ring-dropping. "And
gold it is-eighteen carat, L should say.
It's mighty queer 1 should be going to
spend guinea on the very thing, and
come across it lying for nothing, under
say very nose. That looks like luck.