The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-02-28

| citi Unset lh;lt uay, with his bent form
clad in faded, ragged dressing-gown
and the shabbicst of little black skull.
caps on his bald head.
Poor Martha went away hcavy-hcart.
ed What was to be done? The chill.
dren must not be brought up like pau.
pers' though already they were not
on Il social level with other children OF
like parcntage and position. But soon
there dawned n 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 Dorcn 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 ut length did. To wiring from the
old man money enough for even fru-
gal household whercwithal was hard
work enough; and us for his consent
that Il single yard of new carpctinr, IL
single pint of new paint should repair
in his abode the augmcnting blcmishcs
of time, this was an achievement be-
yond human suasion. Dignity and dis
tinction had been ciphers before now
i'll the Stanficld family circle, but now
they were worse than non-cxistcnt-
they had been brought to life again in
the sense of travesty and parody. It
got about that this dismal mindqe had
been formed, and pitiless jests ensucC.
Luckily. Martha heard none of them
Perhaps if Stanfcld had heard them he
would not have greatly cared
Martha's life had now become mar
tyrdoln. She blessed the public school
for its wholesome helping of her boy
and her girl. They both became far
moro her children than their fathers.
All that was sweetest in the womanly
wisdom and hardihood of her character
she lavished upon these two. Again
and again she found herself hoping that
the bright, innocent faces of Alfred and
Gertrude would move the mulsh tcnaci-
" of their great uncle. But no; Van
Doren doled out just SO much each
week for Expenses" and no more. The
meals there in State street were almost
like those in some private prison where
five convicts daily assembled ut the
board. Evcrybody's clothes grew rusty
and pathetic. The big house, though
kept passably clean, assumed an aspect
of dingicr dcsuetudc.
AS for Stanficld, his features, his
walk, his voice had all notably altered
Though unconscious of it his drawn
countcnancc betrayed Il look of constant
mingled WEAKNESS and expectancy. TO
his wife he was like n man whom some
stcalthy insanity keeps cnslaviny with
subtle and threatening thraldom. Often
he would show by his eyes Il hungry
sagcrncss which was like nothing SO
much us that of an cavcsdroppcr
crouchcd at the licyhole of Il door when
he hopes to hear tidings of tremendous
import. And now to Martha n new and
distressing quality became manifest in
his behavior. This was n seeming sym
pathy with his unclc's deplorable mean
ness. AS the months amasscd them
selves into years he showed Il tendency
to talk with Van Doren on the subject
of investments in bonds and mortgages
and rents. AL day he would either
aimlessly wander the streets or else
hold converse with his kinsman of just
this coldly mercenary kind.
In vain Martha demonstrated. In
vain she tried to rouse HIM from the in
toXication of his hard materialsm. He
would soften towards her for few
minutes. Don't get out of patience
with me-" he would say. "In little
while now you'll find me such differ
ent man. He can't Jast much longer
Don't you sec? He hardly cats any
thing, as it is, He scarcely ever even
stirs out of doors Why, it's touch-anll-
go with him; a fool could sec that"
Martha would shudder. "Touch-and-
go!" and he was now long past eighty.
Stanfeld himself had become middle
aged man, she, his wife, was no longer
young; the children were ccasing to be
children.
One day, in his eighty fourth year
Van Doren was taken violently i'll. 1t
was winter, and many cases of pncu-
monia( 'inilammation of the lungs, they
still called it then, in the year lS30) had
broken out, and proved fatal Against
his will a physician was summoned, and
the verdict given his nephew was
against his living twenty-four hours
longer. Martha attended him with all
the skill of a trained nurse. At this
| time her husbands conduct Mortified
her. He hung about the door of the
sick chamber with that eager look ac.
centuatcd in his wan face. There was
one day when it seemed as if Van Doren
might at any instant breathe his last.
During this period fits of delrum as
sailed him, in which he raved of money,
money, nothing except money.
On the morrow he was surprisingly
better. Soon afterwards he began &c
recover, and within fortnight his
health was more vigorous than before
the seizure occurred For days after.
| WlrlS IL Tortured Martha tc. ahsnrrn