The Washington critic., 1885-10-10
My PATRIMONY.

lhNNO HlllNt hIl lh0N NlolN'
at is all very nice and convenient
dear" she said, as she seated herself in
the easy chair ! offered her, "but did
you never regret giving those bonds to
your husband, May"
Most assurcdly not, auntc. Why"
because / thought it very unwiso
and that some day you would bitterly
regret It. II was your poor fathers
property and should have been retained
in your own name am sure"
Now, don't worry auntic, please.
You came to have pleasant visit with
us. Ella has been nearly frantic with
delight since | told her you were com
ing
"Thc child yes She is dear little
thing, to be sure? But do you know
that if your husband should die to-day
she would inherit the property you
gave him. If she were your child it
would be different"
"But she is mine, all ] have, GER
tainly. love her dearly, and hope to
be good mother to her, notwithstand-
ing all the bitter things written and
said against stcpmothcrs.
YES, and you arc a good mother to
her. But to suppose still further. If
she, too, should be taken away, then
your property would not revert to you,
but 20 to her relatives, of whom you
know nothing. Would that be right"
Perhaps not. But why do you say
such dreadful things? She and her
father are as likely to live rs |. And
then wife is entitled to a DOVER"
"Ycs the interest from onc.third of
what the husband leaves. Just the in
terest, mind you. And you gave him
the means to go into business. You
know he failed once, and may, posi-
bly,, again"
But he paid every penny" flashed
back, proudly.
II know it, and il was right; but
consequently you married poor man
with child MS well as wife to sup
port on clerks salary"
"You forget, auntic, that he still had
his beautiful home when all his cred
itors had been fully paid; the home in
which Ella was born, and where his
poor wife died.
Il forget nothing and what | re-
member with the greatest bitterness is
your unadvised act of yielding up
your little patrimony, intrustcd to me
by your dying father for you, and that
you took no obligation for it what.
ever"
But" replied, che invested it in q
business which supports us nicely
Besides, it was not his fault. lie
wanted me to have interest bearing
notes, or to be the company in the bust
ness, as if | would and | told him
never TO mention the subject to me
again, and he never has"
"Then all have to say is you were
very silly as well as imprudent."
But 1t was not all she had to say
even to telling me that acertain match
making mother had said that my hus
band would have preferred one of hel
daughters if she had held property il
her right as | did; that he needed the
money and married me simply to oh
tain IT,
Don't, auntie, please" l said, will
little shiver.
"Nor would |, but to convince you
that he should have secured your littlt
property TO you, if only for the opinion
of others"
ut is all right just as it is. All
here comes Ella" and my dear ole
worldly-wise aunt forgot to lecture il
her delight at seeing the little fairy
who nearly smothcred her with kisses
But l had received hurt tina
ranked like a thorn in the flesh. AnC
so Mrs. Jones thought he married M
for my money? And perhaps other
have the same opinion? OF course
knew he did not, and said it over ant
over again to myself as ] helped on
one servant to prepare the evenin!
meal.
And when my husband came will
his hearty, CHEEKY welcome from Aun
Fanny | looked wistfully in his fac
for an answer to my mental question
for question ii would become in spit
of my firm determination to ignore
rs such.
Once more during Aunt Fanny
stay did she attempt to renew the con
versation interrupted by Elias en-
trance. But | only said: IF yo
please, Auntie, | would rather not 81
anything more about that.
And she, who thought she was onl
striving for my interest, replied coldly
Pardon me, May, shall not often
again"
"Offender you, who have bee
father, mother and auntic all in one?
and kissed her as | had ever don
since she drew me away from her onl
brothers coffin, hiding her own griC
to assuage mine.
ado you remember, auntie, dear
when l used to have the sulks and 20
would take me out hunting-huntin
sunshine, you called it? | often thin
of it when things go wrong, as the
must occasionally, and wish you wit
me to go hunting sunshine.
YES, ! remember. You were
great comfort to me, May and | N
afraid have never quite forgiven tn
man who coaXed my brothers onl
child away from the lonely old maid.
"And the best friend hayward gil
ever had" replied.
But, somehow, after Aunt Fanny
visit my thoughts and feelings wei
not the same. Had | been unwise, {
she said, in giving up everything to m
husband And had he been too cage
to accept it? / was fearful it WI
even so. lie should have made m
understand that | had reserved righ
and not taken my property to contr,
unadvisedly, especially to invest in
business subject to all the lluctuatior
of the market. And now he new,
spoke of it only rs his own, and ha
helped him to it all, and he had TO
gotten it.
In my morbid state of feelings
found so many bitter things of whic
to complain to myself, We had bee
married four years, and during tin
time many improvements had bee
made in the house and around it, il
curing an expense of some thousan,
of dollars. My slightest wish in /
gard TO II convenience or model
change was satisfied almost as soon