Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1901-07-25

TO the poOrhouse.' And Annie, feelin
that she wasn't beholden to her
father in any way, seem he'd let
her live away from him so long,
went back to Waterbury the next
Gay and was married at her aunt's
Long about that time there was
craze in this part o. the country
for investin' in mimi stock, and the
squire, though gently pretty
shrewd business man, went into il
hot and heavy Fact, he was so
greedy about it, he seemed to be-
grudge anyone else havin' a chance.
But all of a sudden the mine caved
in, so to speak, and the squire had a
stroke o paralysis that come mighty
near making an end of him. And
when they come to look into his af-
fairs they found that his house and
pretty much everything else that he
owned had been mortgaged to raise
money for the mimi stock
an the meantime his daughter had
moved somewhere away out west.
and there wasn't a soul to give the old
miser helpin' hand. But he'd had
the sense to leave few hundred dol
lars in the bank, and when the folks
that held the mortgages shut down
on him, his doctor took a room for
him in a cheap lodgin' house and had
him move into it. Seemed quite a
comc-down, but nobody pitied him
very much
"Well, to make a long story short,
in the course Of a year or two the
county was voted new poorhouse,
and the Hone property being for sale
the committee concluded it'd be
cheaper to buy that than to build.
You see, there was about 20 acres
of land and not a neighbor within
quarter Of a mile. The squire had
another stroke when he heard what
they were goin' 10 do with it, and his
landlord. indin' that by the time the
doctors bin was paid he wouldn't
have a dollar left. turned him over
to the town. dare say the select
men were sorry to do it, but Of
course they had to treat him the same
as the rest o. the town poor; and
when he came to himself there be
was in his old home under an over
seer, and herded with paupers.
II.
Two years later I CHANGED to be
passing over the same road with
Capt. Bob Moreley for driver.
"Say!" he cried, facing about as
we came in sight Of the Hone place,
member my tellin' you bout the
old squire? Well, sir, there's been
great doin's up there, and they say
the old mans so changed that his
own wife wouldn't know him. Seems
his daughter long bout that time
lost her husband and when some of
her friends wrote her what the old
gentleman had come TO she packed
right up and hurried on east with
her little girl and took house down
in the edge o. the village SOS to be
near him. Tell you what. the way
some women in this world forgive
helps a fellow to understand the for
givin'ness of the Lord.
"But she hadn't more'n got here
when she was taken down with
/ heumatic fever, and not bein' able
to 90 herself. she sent her little girl
over 10 ask about the squire The
old man was sittin' on one o the
benches there by the gateway, with
his chin on his cane, when the little
one come in, and he started as if
he'd seen a ghost. They say she's
The born image Of her mother when
she was her age, and she's named
after her, too, and when her grandad
called her Annie she run right to
him and clumb on his knee and be
gun chatterin' as IL she'd known him
an her life. He's gently rough as
bear with children, but they say he
broke down and cried like a baby.
.Well. that little midget KEEP COM
IN right along, bringin' flowers and
iells and iovin' messages from her
mother: and bout the first question
she'd ask him would be: Have Won
.aid your prayers this mornin',
grandpa?' And then she'd make him
-eeite with her Our Father And
before folks knew what was goiu
On the old squire was converted.
Yon know the Bible says: 4 little
child shall lead EN- and il seems as |
II the Lord must have sent that little |
one there on purpose to bring him |
10 repentance; at least, that's the |
way il looks to me His daughter
soon as she was able TO be up, want
I'd him TO come live with her, hui |
~ was afraid he'd be trouble and |
thought he'd better stay where he |
was. TO be sure. he said, twas the
but twas in the poor
house that he'd found the way to
Heaven"
At this point the of horse began
"a balk. and il was several minutes
before the captain could go on.
Queer" he remarked, as he set
led back in his seat, what ups and
Towns sometimes come to people.
AT Of a sudden, one day, bout