Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1894-04-27

LUG CuliAO luihiiJf WIN bhO Va
ceptiOn of Tom, seemed to be
stunned. For days Mrs. LlngtOn
neither could nor would under
stand that, instea of being mis-.
tress OF Brook House, she bad moth
ing but her settlements to live
upon for the rest of her life. IIer
settlements amounted to about
GS00 year. Aud although thai is
a very substantial buffer between
three ladies aud the proverty oil
the workhouse it did not seen 8
particularly large income to ore
who had been mistress Of as many
thousands.
However, at last Tom made her
understand that it was useless for
her to rall against tate, and that
the best thing she could possibly
do was TO accept the inevitable
with as good a grace as she could
and be thankful that things were
no worse.
"My dear mother" he said sens.
IDLY, "lt isn't of :he least use to
tell me that last year you had GS,.
900 year at your command. You
meyer had anything like that sum,
though you haye lived at the rate
OF 1t, which is a vastly different
thing. AS ii matter of fact, the
estate brings in about G3 600 a
year now, and it will take at least
10 years for me to clear of my ia.
theirs liabilities. | have arran ged
it all with the creditors, and |
shall only take G400 year for
myself until everything else spaid.
If it falls bard on YoU, 1t doesn't
fall exactly lightly on me-"
"And how are your sisters to
get suitably settled" Mrs. Ling.
ton cried.
"They had a pretty good spell
at the eS,OOOa year scale ans
wered Tom unteeliDgly.
"Well, at all events I will not
have Mary Chichester staying on
here IN idleneSs,' Mrs. Llng.on cx-
claimed.
"Mary is not to lie tanned out;
1 won't haye it," Tom crled In a
sudden access of passion.
~ cannot possibly afford to keep
her." Mrs. Llugton persisted.
81 will give you elOO a year out
ofmy INCOME" said Tom hurriedly,
81 will never consent to her being
turned out
So 1t was settled, and, after q
very few more days had gone by
Mrs Langton and the three girls
left Brook House with many tear;
and took up their abode IN a small
villa at Brighton-lt must be con
fessed with an eye to the property
of an old aunt of the late squire
who lived there and was wOrtl
nobody knew what.
Aud for Mary Chichester, if lite
had been hard and dull IN the Law
ish establishment at Brook House
existence was still harder for he
in the villa at Brighton. Sh'
worked like a slave, wi hoat either
the wages or the consideration ot
a servant. She had 10 recreatiOnS,
no pleasures, no new trocks-not
even secondhand ones handed
down to her by her cOusins-ant
when Tom came, which wa
not very often, she was kept NOR,
busily employed-ont OF the way
of mischief as Mrs. LIngton put il
than ever. Bat she did contrive
to see Tom, all the Sanction,
who to her was the soul Of homo
and chivalry, the embodiment of
all the Girtue1. L. wa' the only
thing that male such life WORT
living.
Once or twice she geLt, by com
mand of that imperious old dame
to take tea with the rich old aunt,
and then III her innocence and
loyalty she let out far more Of the
real state OF affairs than she her
self had any notion of, for she told
how good Tom had always been
to her, how he had given up ElOC
a year of his modest income that
sho might stay on with her own
people, instead of going out into
the world to earn her bread among
strangers. And the old lady
heard all these little scraps Of In
formation and poudered over them
when she was alone, with a very
startling result, for at last she
died and in due course was buried,
and then her very affectionate re
latiyes gathered themselves to
getber in the handsome librarj OF
her house, to hear her last will and
tesla uent.
1t was brief and to the pOiut,