St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1890-01-25
TWO MISERS.
The Difference Which Existed Be-
tween Their Characters.

The Difference Which Existed Be
tween Their Characters.
A miser! Well, yes, suppose I ar
what some folks would call = mise1
That is to say, l have always lived o
very little money, and turned over an
over, always increasing a great deal
My wife died when we were Young pee
pie, and thought hundred dollars a.
inexhaustible fund of wealth; and
really. you did get more solid comfor
out OF hundred dollars sixty-fvc year
ago than You can now get with fiv,
times as much. Well. after Selma died
and took her baby with her-poor soul
Il didn't much seem to take much stool
in life myself
had a small farm, then, just on wha
was an Outskirt of a town-never min,
where-and dug, and planted, and sen
garden-truck to market, and now ant
then basket-of very fine fruit or vege
tables to Sarah.
Sarah was my sister, and married y
. city clerk. who wasn't uncommonl,
rich.
/ bought up a good bit of land in thos<
days-a few acres here for a new kind oi
beans, and a patch there for an orchard
till held quite lot OF what you cal
real estate nowadays
by and by the town was made . city,
and, bless you! the great folks took a
notion to make the part where l lived
the fashionable locality.
To make long story short, my land
was q mine of wealth. Some of it sold
for hundred times what it cost me, and
with the money l built some grand
houses, and with rents and good invest.
ments the money grew and grew, till I
was more than a rich ran.
But l kept one little patch of land,
upon which was the house was born in,
where my parents lived and died, where
Sarah and played hide and seek in the
crooked entries and fed pigeons on the
sloping roof over the kitchen.
was all alone, excepting my servant
woman. Jane, and l liked simple food
and plain clothes, and SO folks called
me miser. Perhaps Sarah could have
told them better, or some of the poor
people about; but as l never put my
name to big charities, and never gare
away money without investigating the
purpose for which it was demanded, I
got the name of being stingy.
Years rolled along, and Sarah died;
her husband died, too, years later, and
the only relative had in the world was
Sarah's son, named for me, Ralph War
dour, with his fathers .ame of course,
added-Ralph Wardour Meyers.
They say-those folks who define
every thing regarding the people Of this
world-that Ralph takes after me-"
''His uncle all over" have heard as
description, and submitted in silence.
And the similarity lies in this:
I let my money grow, because have
no use for it about my own house or per-
son. follow Scripture, in keeping my
left hand from knowing what my right
hand doeth- What give give quiet
ly. What I plan. to do. after leave
this world. with the money can not
take with me, l tell no one. Ralph
Wardour Meyers scrapes and boards,
because the love of money is the strong
est passion of his mean, sordid soul. lie
is ostentatious where It will be to his
advantage to be SO, and grinds down the
expenses of his household to the last
farthing. He drove his wife to her
grave by tyranny and petty .exactions,
and he drove pretty sadie
Butthat is going too fast. Let me
get to that part of my story in better
style. Sadie Meyers. my sisters grand
child and namesake, was the prettiest
blue-eyed baby that ever gladdened .
mothers heart. She was left mother
less when she was only ten years old,
ard was the most timid. shy little
maiden in the world. Heaven knows
would have loved her, but one of the
first lessons implanted in her heart was
that possessed untold riches and must
never be crossed. or l might leave the
money ''out of the family"
Poor little Sadie. She had not one
mercenary thought in her pure little
heart; but she was so afraid of me, SO
terrified lest she should offend the fam
ily s'ogre," that gave up the attempt
to win her, and she drifted out OF INV
lie 1Or many loHS years. knew thas
she was at boarding school, but knew
yery little more.
1t was ten years ago, one fearfully
stormy evening in January. blowing,
showing, freezing when Jane came in to
me, her wrinkled old face pale with
horror, her hands trembling.
..Oh. Mr.. Wardour, come into the
kitchen" she pleaded, ''for the love of
Heaven
! started at once. thinking the water
pipes had sprung . leak, or the snow
had broken through the roof, for Jane
was apt to be very dramatic on very
small provocation.
But my own old heart seemed to stand
still when saw stretched upon the floor
what seemed to be dead woman. Her
clothing was frozen upon her, her face
cold and white, and her eyes closed.
Every thing she wore was Of the costli-
es, material, but ruined By the snow
and sleet-
.Can you lift her?" asked Jane. 'sI1l
nut her in the spare-roOm bed, and got
her clothes OF, sir, il you'll lift her."
ssSend Robert for doctor. 0rst Of au.-'