The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1885-03-18

that half the parish at least, and not
few of the tradesmen of Manchester,
were in his debt, that nobody in all'that
country was more respected than he;
nay, II was whispered that he had the
vicar himself under his thumb, and that
he could buy up the Digbys themselves,
who constituted the aristocratic element
of that part of the world. Nobody had
ever got the better of him in bargain,
and no eyes had ever seen the color of
his money except his own.
And vet this man, sordid and grasp
ing as he was, and apparently with no
thought beyond adding guinea to
guinea and field to field, was made by
nature with passions of all kinds of in
tensity such as is given to few to feel.
If one side of him had not been miser,
the other would have gone through life
at gallop, or rather, at storm. His
magnificent self-command had come
from his setting out with the fixed re-
solve of dying worth certain sum; or
rather, of making certain sum in time
to enjoy it for o certain number of
years before he died. For he was no
FOOL he did not treat the making and
boarding of money as an end. He
fully meant some day to have his fling,
and he preferred to have it at the latter
end of life, when he should be able to
afford it, rather than at the beginning,
when he started upon Welstead COM
paratively poor man, in whose eyes
Tom Blackthorn was a millionaire.
However, as the time went on, creUH
amor numni, passion gradually went
to sleep, and when the sum at which he
had aimed at the outset was made and
saved even before the time, he found
that he ought to have aimed at a few
thousand more before he began TO
spend.
Yet, even in the best-planned life,
though it be grasped with the firmest
hand, something must happen to throw
things out of gear. 1t may be battle
of Waterloo; 1t may be pair of eyes.
Enoch Marrish's Waterloo had been the
pair of eyes. One day Patience Black
thorn came home from school; and all
the passion which had been frozen as if
to death in bath Of gold burst out into
flame. Then, for the first time-after
he had fought against the fire and had
failed-he felt that he had put off be-
ginning TO live too long; that, in short,
he would before long have to think of
growing old. He tried to pay atten-
tions-to ".go courting" they called it
there; but it was perfectly evident that
the girl had not the least suspicion of
his meaning. And, meanwhile, time
was passing; every month he was
month older, while she seemed n month
younger; and it was very plain that II
he ever meant to live he must begin
and'as a married man; the last thing
that had ever entered his mind.
1t would take long to tell how he tried
to fight himself out of the desire to
throw himself and his money-bags and
his plans at the feet of not particular
ly pretty child fresh from school, who
knew nothing, it seemed, except how to
laugh and how TO spend. Itwould take
longer TO tell how, having been at last
driven to conclude that love is fate, he
took his policy from the spider, and,
mesh by mesh, got that big fly, Legs
Croft, first into his web and then be-
tween his claws. And then, by just five
minutes, to have lost the game, and 10 a
boy whose very existence he had we'll
night forgotten-it was crully hard. !
Ninety-nine men out of hundred would |
have broken the web and given up the
game. Enoch Marrish was the hun |
dredth man; and, whether visiting his
fields or feeding himself with Cruel, he
had but one thought-how TO weave the |
web anew, and stronger one this
time. ... .....
Not that Enoch Marrish had become
30 much passions slave that he would
really have paid away Legs Croft, the
best farm in the country, as the price
even for Patience Blackthorn. Mammon
is not to be conquered by Cupid quite so
far as that would 60 His old web had
been scheme to gain both by one
stroke; his new one also must gain both,
and good bit of revenge besides. But
what in the name Of vengeance, was
that plan to beP lie could not see it for
all his thinking; he only knew that it
had to be done.
He had Just swallowed his last mouth
full of scalding cruel, and was scraping
the saucepan, for the sake less Of appe-
tte than Of principle, when quick step
came up the graveled path, and radiant
face came to the kitchen window.
"Marrishr' Stephen Harlow hailed
him. "Are you very busy thereP l want
a word with you"
Enoch's impulse was to throw the
saucepan at the fellows head; but that
would only have damaged good sauce
pan, and done no good in any way.
He never forgot anything; so he held
his hand.
Here am. What's your wordp"
"Why, that I'm to be married as soon
as there's been time for the banns! You
were the first to wish me joy, you know.
| know your times precious; but will
you spare morning for once, and be
best manP'
"Ip" He was really taken aback by
such request, considering what his
thoughts had been.
III you wouldn't mind. | can send
for one to Millport; and, If | could,
you've been so old friend of my Pa
tience that Id sooner have you than any
man anywhere. Say yes"
My Patience! Had the young lover
taken and stabbed him, his heart could
not have felt the dagger more sharply
than such q word. However, he must
-. Ia a..a.. - .....si. -. an LII, lsoIo,