The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1885-04-24
MRS. NORRIS MORTGAGE
BY EDWIN II. TRAFToN.

Whatever brightness there was in that
little household was strictly home made.
o.. Home made things may lack style and
polish and great many other qualities,
but they are solid and satisfying. The
widowed mother was brave and patient /;
fourteen year-old George was manly and
helpful Baby Bess, wee tot, insisted
that she was "mammas sunbeam and
Georaie's JOY" and between them the
love these three had for each other was
ther principal fortune TO be sure, they
had their cottage, nestled like a brown
little wren Of a house among the cherry
trees, but so far from the more preten-
tious street of the village rs to be quite
secluded in its modest retirement-a
home-ne where there was more peace
than plenty.
One thing this tiny residence had in
common with many stately mansions
that unwinkingly stand forth as if beg
ging for public admiration-there was
mortgage on it. 1t was so very small
house that it really seemed as though it
would not take much of a mortgage to
crush in its low, rambling rot f, like
too heavy load of snow, and, like the
snow, is a mortgage on the poor mans
home, cold, pitiless dead weight.
Next after her two children Mrs.
Morris loved this wren-like house best
Of anything, and for three long years
she had worked at that mortgage, saving
up and paying it off "by Titles, " until
only remained trihe less than $40 to
pay, Lawyer Harding had given her no.
tice from the holder OF the mortgage
that he could no longer extend the
time, and that unless the balance was
settled by the first day of the month he
would foreclose. This simply meant
that she would lose all she had paid
and be turned out of doors into the
bargain At the same time the lawyer
had intimated, on giving this disagree
able intelligence, that if Mrs. Morris
would consent to marry him he would
relieve her of all further trouble, not
only in regard to this but all future fnan-
cial embarrass ments.
The mortgage itself was trouble
enough for one poor woman to bear; but
she would rather have had all the mort
cages in the world to fight than endure
the thought of life with Il man with the
mean traits of this lawyer. She gave
him to understand this fact as clearly as
good use of plain, matter offact Eng
lish could do it. His words were smooth
enOugh-too smooth, in fact-as he
went away, but there was the sort of
smile that BODIED no good to the object
of his thoughts. 1t was as evident to
her as though he had said so in so many
words, that the time mentioned would
be the last day Of grace
April LIST came-but not'the paltry bal
ance needed to clear off the mortgage
And no sum of money is paltry when
one must have it to avert disaster-aud
cannot get it. Mrs Morris could see no
earthly way out of her trouble that morn
ing. Everything looked dark. 1t was
hard to have worked so long, to have
struggled for weeks and months and
years, as she had done, only to lose all at
last. No. not ALL For she had George
and Bess left Thinking of them made
it still harder to BEAR tor it was for their
dear sakes she had toiled and economical
and saved. There was a suspicious sug-
gestion of what her eyes had been doing
when George came cheerily in to his
breakfast.
"What, my little mammie's eyes are half
drowned ~ he exclaimed, in his hearty,
boyish way, with part fun and more ten
derness in his tone, as he Rugged her
like a young bear, and dabbed kisses
into each damp eve.
"'Tisn't mel' he continued, searching
for cause for the rather unusual display
of discomfort. NO? I'm glad of that,
because | don't think I've done anything
downright awful lately, and it can't be
Bess! She's all right, know-no measles,
OF whoopng cough, or anything-for
just saw her sleeping Ike IA" here
he paused for satisfactory smile, dab
bling more warm kisses from rosy lips
into red eyes the while-"like happy
little kitten"
''Georgie, do eat your breakfast. Its
as bad to have ones eyes kissed out a,
drowned out"
"0h, know he continued, pursuing
the sab Jet with no intention of being
put off. THAT Old Harding is coming
again, I'll bet anything"
Eyes, dear, he is coming but tn,
little woman had not the heart to tell al
that dreaded coming implied,
"Pshaw, mammie! Don't worry 81
dDOul It, nat pldileu IuoIlSdSc Is al
most paid off and you won't have to SEE
the mean sneak many times more"
Il don't like to hear you speak tina
way. 1t doesn't help me and it hurt
you"
More kisses that said as plainly a
words could. "It was because | love yol
and can't bear to see you so unhappy
but if it hurts you l won't do it an.
more"
Then lie pitched into his breakfas
'i'h as savage eanestness rs though h
q. .ught he was a halfsraryed Gambia
..l II, food was the luckless but well
C.okcd Harding