Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-02-19

HE REFUSED WITH AN AWFUL sNEER and through a series of morrows, the vulgarity of the process clad itself in callousness. Their very children got into the habit of saying aloud and fear lessly: Any day we may be rich;" or: "When Uncle Myndherst dies we shall have thousands and thousands of dol lars"
 But the years dragged themselves along and still Uncle Myndherst did not die. One day, however, the head of the Van Veckten firm died, and as there was no successor of the name, and as the two partners we're well along in years, the firm underwent dissolution.
 This was blow to Martha, for sho feared that her husband would refuse to seek other employment now that Q certain long-delayed event seemed on the verge of happening, and in that case his mental state would surely not profit by the change. She was right; he mere ly said she must "get along without any salary after this. It can't be so very long now"
 Still it would be very hard to get on without the salary, Martha concluded, even if only for year or six months. And so in secret she went down to the old State-street house and begged Van Doren to increase the allowance he was making them. He refused with an ire full sheer. He looked, indeed, the typi- cal miser that day, with his bent form clad in faded, ragged dressing-gown and the shabbiest of little black skull caps on his bald head.
 I, ed. What was to be done? The chil- dren must not be brought up like pau pers, though already they were not on a social level with other children of like percentage and position. But soon there dawned way out of the difficult ty, though scarcely one that might be said to beam with relief. Old Samuel suddenly died, and his wife, stricken by the shock of his loss, hardly sur vived him month. Van Doren was now quite alone, and at times marked | ly feeble. He consented that Stan field and his family should come and live with him in State street, which they at length did To wiring from the old man money enough for even 8 fru- gal household wherewithal was hard work enough; and as for his consent that single yard of new carpeting, Q single pint of new paint should repair in his abode the augmenting blemishes of time, this was an achievement be- yond human suasion. Dignity and dis tinction had been ciphers before now in the Stanfield family circle, but now they were worse than non-eXistent- they had been brought to life again in the sense of travesty and parody. It got about that this dismal mfndge had been formed, and pitiless jests ensued. Luckily, Martha heard none of them. Perhaps if Stanfield had heard them he would not have greatly cared
 Martha's life had now become a mar tyrdom. She blessed the public school for its wholesome helping of her boy and her girl. They both became far more her children than their fathers. All that was sweetest in the womanly wisdom and hardihood of her character she lavished upon tbSse two Again and again she found herself hoping that the bright, innocent faces of Alfred and Gertrude would move the mulish tenaci- ty of their great uncle. But no; Van Doren doled out just so much each week for responses" andsn0 more. The meals there in State street were almost like those in some private prison where l 6ve convicts daily assembled at the board. Everybody's clothes grew rusty and pathetic. The big house. though