The rustler., 1891-12-18
Mr.. THRIFTSPENDER.
Tho secre; That Costs Him $500
q Year

fest before his dressins- trc. The
Times, uicely aired. had just t-rrn
placed 81 bis ri lsnu and a braudy.und-
soda hEFed temptIurly beside b. Mr.
Thr.ftsrcudc las hack. with his finger,
intcrtwined over that part ~ him
where his digestive apparatus ought "a
have hecn. and twidiled bis thumbs
with a. cnutrutcd an air o. was COM
patiblc with a slight chronic dvspepsia.
BE was inaulgiug In little RETROSPECT.
How fortunately n everything had turned
Cut for h.m Indeed. barring bis dys-
pepsla. Providence could hardly have
dealt more kindly with him ir his mid
die age had his youth been the correct
ct instead of somewhat 81 ild aud rcclg-
les lie had s1wu the wind aud was
rraping "a zephyr. Not that Mr. Thrift
spcnder. whom Mr. Thriftspend-r
knew, vas the SIR Thr.ftspcnder that
was known 90 the world about him
Far from H. There were two Mr.
Thrlftspeulcrs, so to speak-a MIR
JckyN Ihriitspeudsr aud DR.. HYDE
ThrlftsPruder two pcrsonagcs a. dis
tinct a. the Cursicau brothers. but rep
resented by one actor. who played the
double part The Mr. Thriftspcndcr
known 10 the world was an indcpcud-
cut member 81 parliament, the devoted
husband ~ plain wife, whom he had
married without prospects; man
whom Providence had chastcned with
a dyspepsia rather for the faults Of his
furbcurs than his own. The Mr. Thrift
spendcr known 20 himself and TO one
other was a politician who had never
joined q party. because he never knew
his own mind. the husband Of "a wife
whom the stronr.willcd Lady Thrift
spendcr had forced him 10 marry. CON
trolling az she did. the entire fortune
amassed by the late sir Thrcadnccdlc
Thriftspeudrr, a man who had only
himself Go thank for the measure Of IN
health which the world put down To
hcredity,
The girl hc had married was the Lady
Mary Fortune who had been iutrustcd
20 the care of Lady Thriftspcudcr.
while the marquis Of BriNton. her
father, was completing the term Of his
govcrnorship Of Bomcutta. For the
a y
Thriftspcudrr, whose marriage was far
from being acceptable 10 her parents,
had lived on the old lady's bounty.
II is pruvcrbially an IN wind that
blows nobody any good, and the gale
which blew the good ship Drcsdonian,
with the marquis and marchiouess Of
BriXton and their only son. the infant
1 ..H Al.
sea and incidentally east a matter OF
E2u0,uoo IN the a-pcr-ceuts into the lap
OF Lad Mary Thriftspcnder, could
hardly prove anything but agreeable to
that ladv's umiuhlc husband. lie be-
ran 10 think that really he must have
been 80 cute us 90 hoodwinly Providence:
but, whatever was the cause of his
good fortune, he was, at all events. in.
clinrd this morning on which we are
introduced 10 him to toe thoroughly con
tent with the course which his affairs
had taken.
True, the hcyday OF youth and an un-
impaired digestion were passed, but he
found "a digniied aud luxurious ease by
ap means bad exchange FOR them
waking hours could be enjoyed in the
contemplation Of the wickcdncss of his
early manhood. the recollection of his
Sturm und Drang. Imagination en-
abled him to take delight in the past
without running any of the risks by
which they had been accompanied. New
or again would hc hazard reputation or
in lao a.
cnjoymcnts
At this moment his rcvcric was inter.
ruptcd 10y the entrance Of his valet
Now, Mr. Silby was an absolutely
perfect servant Hc looked upon his
employment a. an art IL was not
enough Tor him that every gentleman
required certain things done for him.
and there a servaut'' duty ended lie
recognized that every gentleman had
his idiosyncrasics, his weaknesses, his
pet vices, and that TO become iudis.
pcnsablc these pcculiarities must be
studied in all their bearings His late
Inastcr. the marquis of Erxton. had
declared that his greatest grief in
leaving England had been the ncccssi-
y
Il not been for the murchiuncss il is
more than doubtful whether, on learn
ing that silby absolutely refused To
leave his native land, his lordship
would not have thrown up his appoint
ment on the eve OF his departure. The
man had lately become butler to Lady
Thriftspcndcr and bodyscrvunt TO her
son.
Tell her ladyship Silby, that shall
not be dining at home this evening
"Yes, sir; II You please. sir, the same
man has called as called yesterday
when you were out He says will you
please to see him, as he has something
very important TO communicated
what did you say his name was?"
Thomas Bowling, sir
"What sort of looking person is
hc?"
Hes respectfully dressed, sir, but
seems to me rather foreign in his man
ner."
"Well. II he looks clean, You can
show him up here, only you had better
stay within call"