The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1889-11-29

what eggs cost
1T is certainly quite disinterested.
said Ellen Golden. but he makes -ne
so uncomfortable Being so poor
himself / can't feel hurt at his re-
minding me that am poor, too but |
! wish he wouldn't" !
In return for the kindness OF the !
GoIdens, poor Mr.. Moss was always |
ready TO do thousand things de
was handy with hammer and nails, |
and had a wonderful faculty for mend
Ing shoes Once or twice Ellen
thought he must have been a shoe
maker, he so ably cobbled her dis
carded walking boots; and she had
raucied him carpenter when he put
the kitchen closet door on its hinges
and q jewelsr when he reset the
amethyst in her dead mothers ring
which she now wore in memory of
her. Once she said: Z
..How did you learn 70 do so many
things?''
And he answered
Nothing saves a man so much
money as to be a Jack-of-all-trades-"
Still he was not saving himself
money when he dug her garden and
put new bricks in her range And he
did it with the same alacrity with
which he sponged and pressed his own
clothes, and recovered his own UNI
brella
When he came home at night he al
ways went to work; and they learned
that he made his own bedstead, and
his three-cornered table, and stuffed
his own straw mattress.
"a penny saved is q penny got,
said Mr. Moss. And Mr.. Golden, who
never yet had found himself quite
able TO pour himself cup of coffee,
or find his own slippers, and who,
though he had been a prosperous
commercial gentleman once, would
have been as apt to sweep his own
chimney as to mend any thing about
the house, stared in amazement
He appears to be q gentleman by
education" he said; ''he i. well read
in the classics; he understands music
as few save professional folk do; and
stocks-my dear, l think he knows
more about stocks than any one / ever
I met. What an invalunbI man he
! would have been to me in my business.
! / would gladly have had him for my
head clerk. He might have saved me
/ from failure; yet see to what pass
! he is reduced himself
Mr.. Moss certainly was q mystery;
/ but, since he did not choose to explain
| himself, the Goldens were too polite to
ask questions; and whether It wac the
| fact that there was something to
wonder at IN him, or whether his
I dark SKIN and black eyes were the
| proper contrast to her complexion and
blue orbs, Ellen Golden found her
self thinking Of him a great deal
''If he only would forget money. or
the sound OF it, how nice he would be, "
said she
And one day-but this she had
never told to any ono-he had said to
her:
III man were rich enough he would
be so much happier narried-so much
happier-but it is unwise to marry II
one can not afford it 1t is SO expen-
sive thing. Don't you think SOP
4 And she had said: - ...
! 'eOh, yes, it certainly is" and
Had not known whether to laugh or
cry. a
Somehow, she thought TO herself,
knowing Mr. Moss is like meeting the
enchanted Prince OF the Arabian
Nights-who seemed q flesh and blood
Prince, but who proved TO be one-haIi
of stone. So there were soft, and
gentle. and kindly things in Mr.. Moss
almost loving things at times-but
! when he spoke Of money the petrifed
half of him came TO view.
Yet II is trouble that has made him
So said she. The enchantment-or
perhaps / should say the disenchant-
ment-Of loss and disappointment II
hurt papa, but not in the same way
1t was a queer life that the girl led
with these two men, one old, one
middle aged, and yet 1t was not an un-
happy one.
Mr. Moss had no other friends, save
a Portly, bald-headed gentleman who
came now and then with important
looking papers and envelopes in his
hands TO spend half an hour IN his
room
His employer, doubtless. "said Mr..
Golden
And once, in going away, this gentle.
man had said aloud:
Excuse me, Mr.. Moss, but you
should have room with fire. It is
dangerous 20 sit so much in the cold.
L am nearly perished, 1 assure you"
And Mr.. Moss had answered meek.
Iy:
do you know the rent they charge
for rooms with CRATES, and do YOU
know the price Of coal per ton. Mr..
Macklinp'
And Mr.. Macblin had laughed a lit
tie. cruel laugh
"He is paying Mr.. Moss almost moth.
ing for his toll, / suppose" said Mr.
Golden
"And, dear papa" said Ellen. ''dc
you know 1 really think poor Mr..
Moss must have some claim on his lit
tie earnings-some poor relative tc
support, for whom he deprives him.
self of comfort-and we must DO very
good 20 him. papa But won't you-yoU
are older than he-won't you advis,
him to leave that odious Mr.. Macklir
and go where they will give him bette
wages?"
And Mr.. Golden did broach tn,
subject, but poor Mr.. Moss only shool
his head
That hateful Mr.. Macklin-hov
Ellen detested himi
But no one is ever certain he is a
his worst any more than he is at hi
best. Another misfortune came 4
} Mr.. Moss and this is how:
One day the tin leader that carrie,
the water from the roof of the Colder
house came loose. The rain rushe,