The Penn's Grove record., 1885-03-28
PENIS GROVE. \. j. SATURDAY. MARCH %. 1888.

NdlQ - WHO'LL SHE hdu hbcu OuiJ bHlCC
in her life; he was married, she heard,
and had several children; but her grand
! relatives knew little of them. Perhaps
this was in their favor; at all events, il
was with "a CLEAN of hope that she
wrote to her brother-in-law, letting her
poverty be again inferred, and asking
for a home in her lonely old age. By
return of post an answer came, and
such an answer as could have been
written only by a n~oble-hearred gentle
man. He and all his family sent her a
hearty welcome, and promised her a
large share of their love and sympathy.
They were not rich, he SAID, and could
not offer her any luXuries; but such as
they had she was truly welcome to
share. Through the whole letter there
was such a wiring of truth that the heart
of the poor old woman beat with JOY,
for she felt that she had found at last
what she had 80 long yainly sought.
s.She was not long in going to them;
and her hopes were more than realized.
They were indeed poOT-far poorer than
she had thought-aud many cares and
troubles were pressing heavily upon
them; yet, like the good Samaritan, they
took in the weary stranger, and poured
into her wounds the oil of ready sym
pathy and the wine of generous love.
Since then she has watched them day
by day, and her admiration has grown
with every hour. She has seen the
father, whose life for the last twenty
years has been one long struggle against
misfortune, bravely carrying a bold
front before the world, with eve a
CHEEKY word and smile for his wife and
children; she has seen the delicate
mother patiently bearing her pains and
sufferings, and REFRESHING every possible
sign of them, lest they should add to
the already heavy burdens of her dear
ones; and she has seen the children fit
ting like sunbeams through the house,
always busy, always cheerful, always
unselhsh. She has known them all but
a very short time, yet she cannot wait
! any longer; she needs no further proof
of their ster ing worth.
MY dear oneS"-and aunt Margaret
smiled INTO our bewildered fearful faces
II am not a poor woman at all, but a
very rich one. Your uncle was not
successful at first. in the days when he
still kept up a correspondence with the
old country, and so arose the mistake as
to my poverty, which ] was careful
never to explain away; but, after u
children died, and we caree nothing for
money, Fortune, ever capricIous, IA
voTed us wonderfully.
"But even | had no idea OF the amount
of my husbands wealth till his property
was realised before my return to Eng.
land last year. Everything had been
left to me Internationally; and, half
afraid of my responsibility, L resolved
to test my relatives carefully, lest l
should leave the money in undeserVmg
hands.
"YOu know what the result has been
how falsely the metal has rung in so
many instances, and how l have found
the true gold at last. Nay, not a wOrdp'
AS my father and mother strove to
sneak. NsYou promised not tointerrupt
me, and my story is almost ended.
There is no necessity to enter into busi-
ness details tonight; but | should like
| to give you a sketch of my plans, and
see whether you approve. First, [
thought of buying a pretty house some
where in the country, where the sweet
fresh air might bring the color into
Mabel's eheeks-looking fOndly at my
mother-''and where the girls could ride
about, and have their rose gardens and
strawberry beds and such like. You
! would find enough to do, Charles. in
1 acting as my steward; for of course 1
shall want a little ground about the
house. Then Mollie and Esther must
have their season IN town; and l will
see that their faces are not their only
fortunes.
81 have left you out in the cold,
Ethel, because l think Fate holds other
things in store for you. At all events, l
mean to give you ten thousand pounds
on your wedding-day; and | have a nice
little broHgham which Is just the thing
for a doctor. Do you think you could
help me to choose a horse2"
A year has passed since that never
to. b~e-forgotten night, and our widest
dreams have been realized. Paul and
Ethel are married. and are as happy as
mortals a be. Early in the spring
there is to be a gay ~wedding in the viii
lage church, and a certain Cuthbert
Vernon IS to carry me away to the
stately seat that we can see amid the
tan trees about a mile away.
81 know there are very few aunt
Margarets in the world, "Mollie remarks
wisely; "but there must be many people
as badly off as we were, and 1t may do
! good to remind them that there is al
ways a silver lining to the cloud, though
it may be a long time in showing itself"
II am afraid ours sounds a very wild
improbable story" ! say; ''but | only
wish, for Others sakes, that 1T were a
more common one"
"At all events" returns Mollie mis-
~ehieYously, sit will impress upon people
the fact that mortals are very short
sighted, for You must admit you were