The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1891-07-22

ner WDen tnlS young scapegraCe nau
left, with her five hundred dollars in his
pocket, and with hardly thank you"
1t was hard, indeed, and she never
had cared much for Mr.. Charlie-he
had always laughed at her, and leased
! her, and had not inherited either his
dead fathers sense of honor, or his
gentle mothers sweet, loving disposi-
ton. But Aunt Becky's aim in life had
long been to put others before herself,
and so, with sigh, and a sad heart, she
went back to her work, to dream no
more, and only TO hope that the dear
Lord would make it all right some day,
and that 4" Massa Charlie " might send
the money soon.
She was not very well versed in ar
gument, and it did not occur to her
that she was doing Mr.. Charlie harm
instead of good, by helping him to con-
ceal his faults. She could only repeat
to herself the verse in the Bible Miss
Mamie had read her last Sunday, about
charity which "beareth all things"
and indeed, she had full need of all the
consolation she could get, and of the
hope that "hopeth all things" for as
time went on, and the promised money
was not returned, her position became
a very hard one.
Great things were expected of her,
and great things she could not do.
Julie was not sent for; the extra room
was not engaged; Billy, the lame boy,
had to go without his crutch, and the
church without the new red Bible.
Even the much-talked of tea-party could
not come off, and Carl and little Alice
became importunate, in vain, as to the
why's and wherefores of this postponed
pleasure.
Even Mrs. Randolph thought it
strange that her well-laid plans were
put aside, and felt that, after all, her
old nanny was getting misery, and
had not stood the test of her great for
tune as she should. But Mrs. Randolph's
blame was mild compared with her COL
ored friends and neighbors, who did
not hesitate to expostulate most openly
with her on her closeness, and said
among themselves that Aunt Becky
was mighty quare, and why was she
always a-askin' for letters at the post
office, when she could not read nor
write? Did she expect any more money
to hide away?"
Good old Brother Sampson, her much
loved preacher, also added his voice in
admonition.
"Now, Aunt Becky" said he, in a
pastoral call, one afternoon, " feel it
my duty to beg you to member your fell
bowman, and not 90 and hoard up your
money. The church, dear sister, needs
five dollars badly, and de poor is recon-
mended muchly in de Bible"
But old Aunt Becky could make no
excuse, and could only mutter;
"By'mby she'd tend to de poor -
But such spirit of procrastination
should not be encouraged, and so, to
Aunt Becky's horror, she found, one
Sunday morning, when from the pulpit
in the little church, Brother Sampson
felt it his duty to admonish her in pub
lie, and his text, "The love of money is
the root of all evil" tended to show the
sin of miserliness. Indeed, he made
the sermon as pointed as possible, and
in fourteenthly" openly denounced
one in their midst, who was bury.
ing her talent: and all the congregation
groaned "ameu," and looked at theil
sad victim. Miserable Aunt Becky lit
was shame, indeed, and, as she walked
home, crushed and broken-hearted, she
felt that life's struggle was indeed over
for her. Indeed, so it was-after such
keen modification, as to point a
moral, and adorn " a sermon, she never
could hold up her head again. But the
lookedfor letter never came-only a
cruel little smile from the postmistress
when the usual question was asked and
answered every day. No, her strength
as well as spirit was gonel No Julie to
help her She had to give up her wash
ing-the tubs were too heavy; her eye
sight was getting too bad to do much
more mending, and the little sum she
earned every week was hardly enough
to pay her rent, and when that was
gone the dread poor-house only re.
NAMED. Every day her meager supply
of food grew scarcer. OF course, il
Mrs. Randolph had suspected such {
state of things, she would have taker
her old nurse home and nursed hel
back to life and health again; but she
like every one else, believed in thu
boarded five hundred, and so really
thought for her to give up washing anC
mending was good thing. And it wa
little Carl who gave her the first alarm
when he came from seeing his OLE
nanny: Mamma" he said, "Aun
, Becky mos dead; she dot no fire anc
nosin to eat, and dey is doing TO pu
her in de poor-house to-mollow if sh
don't dive 'em her five huned dollars. y
OF course, Mrs. Randolph went a
once to see the poor old woman, an
D found that Carl had told only a smaI
portion of the truth, for Aunt Beck
a was literally dying of cold and hunger
:. But although she was at once moved t
D the big house, and the family docto
sent for, and the best beef-tea an
u other things given her in abundance,
Il was too late. Aunt Becky's faithfr
e course was run, she was too old an
weak to be pulled up now, and 500
she would reach the land where Their
y, was no more hunger, nor sorrow, nc
l misjudgment to contend with.
u She still refused to tell where he
d money was, and only asked to Sc
1t Massa Charlie " and little Julie ono
o more. OF course they were both sci
IL for, and Julie installed as nurse to hel