The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-07-29
Seletteb Storm.
The Ruling Passion.

I" Yes" said my Uncle Elijah, " il is
certainly true that man may come to
that pass that, even in the awful pres
ence of death, he can think of nothing
but how he may increase his boarded
wealth, utterly unmindful of the solemn
fact that he is so soon to stand face to
face with the great Judge of all the
earth to give an account of his steward
ship. I've thought sometimes that av-
arice might be the objectionable sin
that there's always been so much specu-
lation about, for it seems somehow to
have more soaring, hardening effect
upon the human heart than almost any
other. | know one instance in particular
when the man possessed by it lost not
only the power of repentance, but even
the power to see that he had ever done
anything to be repented of-and yet at
one time in his life he had professed
himself follower of Christi
" suppose" remarked his quiet lit
tie wife, looking up from her knitting
with smile at once amused and pa
thetic, " that you are thinking of poor
old Wig Haley?"
He nodded his gray head soberly,
and we youngsters pricked up our ears
with sudden interest
We always liked to hear Uncle Elijah's
stories, for, although they were always
true to the letter, he had the true story
teller's art of dressing up the bare fact
until it became so interesting that the
most careless and Indifferent found
themselves not only interested, but al
most unconsciously falling into the
keenest sympathy with the narrator's
own FEELINGS in the matter
cit was some thirty-five years ago, as
l remember" he went on, in reply to
our eager questions, " on a sharp, frosty
morning late in November, that / had
some business that took me down to
the lower part of the town, where the
poorer part of the population mostly
lived at that time, and as l was passing
mean, neglected-looking tenement, 1
heard woman's voice in evident dis
tress.
"She was sobbing and moaning
aloud, and, as the house set close TO the
sidewalk, / could hear as plain as if I'd
been in the room with her. What
shall do?' she cried, over and over.
God help me!-what shall / do?' /
never heard anything so pitiful in my
life, and l couldn't go by without try
ing to do something for her, or speak
ing kindly word at the least, so /
stopped and knocked at the door,
When it was open l knew the
woman in minute, in spite of her pale,
tear-stained face and disordered dress
and hair. 1 had seen her several times
at our church, and had found by in
quiries that she was respectable
woman, in spite of her poverty and evil
dent friendlessness. Her face lighted
up with CLEAN of hope as she saw me,
and she held out a thin hand that trem-
bled as much with weakness as excite
iiieht. 20 Deacon Lowe-how thank
full am to see you. thought was
afraid that
"She looked up and down the street
with terrified eyes before she added, in
hoarse half-whisper:
GO thought it was our landlord, Mr..
Healey, coming to turn us out into the
street. He said if we didn't leave be-
fore the sun set he'd turn us, bag and
baggage, right out into the street.
Here she broke down, sobbing like
frightened child, and it was some min
utes before she could calm herself
enough to tell me the particulars of her
sad story.
cit seems that her husband, who
was sea-faring man, had been away
now over year, and she was beginning
to look for him home. But only last
week she had received a letter from a
doctor in one of the London hospitals
saying that he had been brought there
with broken leg, that they had been
obliged to amputate it, and that he was
very low, with hardly a chance for his
life. He had begged the doctor to
write to his family and prepare them
for the worst.
"Her only daughter had, lately, with
her husband and children, moved out
West, and her son, an Industrious, ca
pable young man, who had been his
mothers main-stay and support, was
now lying sick with typhoid fever
too sick,' the poor soul sobbed, to be
moved without risking his life, even if
had place to move him to-
"' How much rent is due?' l asked.
"'Only one quarter she replied,
fastening to add, with flash of honest
pride, It's the first time that we've
ever failed to have his money ready
for him whenever he came for il. But
with poor Robert sick, and all my time
taken up in nursing him, l can't raise
dollar of the money to save my life, and
he says he won't wait a day longer
ooh, how l wished that l was able
to put the money right into her hand,
then and there, and set her poor heart
at rest! But / could not forget that
there was whole houseful of little
ones of my own to be clothed and fed
out of my daily earnings, and that
mother here and / had all that we
could do to keep the wolf from our own
door. So l felt that / must first try my
best to soften the heart of the cruel
landlord, who was, / well knew, a
grasping, avaricious man, who had all
his life made gold his god, and seemed
to care little who suffered
GO spoke a few encouraging words
to the poor woman, telling her I would
see what could be done, and then l
started again on my way. But before
/ was out of sight of the house l saw
old Healey himself coming toward me,
and man with him that / knew to be
carpenter.
"There was twinkle of grim salts
faction in the old sinners eyes, as he
answered shortly to my civil good
mOrninp hut he frOwned and looked