The herald., 1895-07-09

self, OF paying back In triumphant mag
nanimity for all the stings and arrows Of
outrageous fortune" continued with me
as grew and remained my best oonsola-
tion after had become an unaspiying re-
porter on ereat newspaper. And still In
my solitary chamber down town, when I
was not SO tired as to sleep peTforce in
what hours remained to mo, would CON-
sole myself for all the notifications Of tho
day and Of all other days in my unhappy
memory by proud, unhampered visions of
what l would do under given conditions
of wealth and power.
Splendid conditions these, 90 easily I'M
agined, fitting SO smoothly to my shoul-
ders as planned and adapted them, but,
ah, SO laughably impossible Of attainment!
And then, all at once, by chance no
stranger, to be sure, than many one I
was in the daily habit of recording, there
fell into my hands, not talent and beauty
and power indeed as had demanded in
my boyish dreams. but wealth practically
unbounded, such wealth as I could never
Of myself have earned or won or found, or
in any least or faintest way deserved.
To be sure, / had been laying myself out
dared to do had known him for q mil
lence, but purely selfish appreciation of
bis boundless fund of travel and expert
enoe. His society was worth money to me
besides the pleasure of it, and therefore
did court him assiduously, with many
an entertainment and excursion, which
again were no credit to my generosity, for
had l not the interminable tickets and
passes and the duty Of going to all these
weary things, a duty much lightened by
the society of tho lounging, invalid old
gentleman, whom supposed no richer
than myself.
told him my story, such as 1t was,
and am fain to think that some subtle
sympathy, some consciousness of a similar
experience in his own boyhood, made him
take moro of an interest than then sus-
pected in this poor series OF failures
called my life.
Then he died very suddenly and serene
", leaving me some unbelievable millions.
and as no one but his solicitor knew that
he had any money SO no one knew that /
had any, and behold mo forthwith in ex-
actly the position of my childish hearts
desired
What joyi What wild, free rapture Of
plans, with occasional bursts of fancy
which even dismissed as quite untonable.
For instance, had no longer any faintest
hope of marrying my Cousin Mary. She
was quite taken up with another cousin,
Fred by name, and would have married
him long since no doubt had he been able
to support family. But he was proud
and would not marry until he could offer
something to his wife. I knew that, for
he had told me so.
However, it was now my delicious fate
to be able to arrange matters for these
two SO that they should be able to marry,
neither knowing how 1t had come about
nor in the least corner of their hearts sus-
pecting me- Then with what swelling
pride should look upon their happiness
and know that had given tt who sc
far had given only trouble and mortiflca-
tion to my family
1t was an easy matter to make my
mothers last years comfortable, and, ahi
the pleasure, the selfish pride took in
remembering small personal wishes and
gratifying them bit by bit, while never
Buspectedl
1t was an easy matter, too, through my
agent, to buy the very paper on which
write, to slowly dismiss the men who we're
disgrace to it, to promote and engage
men whose work made it o great voice
soon, and through it slowly to win the
public confidence and work my will little
by little among the affairs of the city.
Such a splendid game it was to arouse
public enthusiasm over some free baths or
children's playground scheme or other, to
start subscription lists and covertly head
them myself to machinate safely and
quietly through my great pages, and all