The Morris County chronicle., 1906-01-23

Ar}1ttt~A 49,
thought Of Cifford, and Of Giffords
pride
"There is nothing in your mothers
history for which daughter need
blush.r said the old lawyer, very slow
" ana distinctly. "Your mother was
not Of good birth, nor was she an ae-
! tress of distinction. When nave salu
that / have said all No breath was
ever whispered against Mademoiselle
Grandet either before or after the time
she became your fathers Wife,
A great sigh Of relief broke from
James heart.
"And her lowly birth and her proIes-
sion are all Of which need feel snamef
oh, Mr.. Clitherol I expected more fhan
this. / thank God that this is all the
burden we shall have to bear- Giffofd
and II
@diss Grand, 1t is not ALL"
she looked at him with bewildered
eyes.
aNot all? Yet You said no word was
ever spoken against my mothers good
| namei oh, Mr.. CIithero! what more
have / got to hear"
! He looked at the beseeching, innocent
childs face, and for moment-for one
moment-the old lawyers tongue hesi-
tated; then he said quickly, decidedly,
though in a voice SO low that person
| standing at the further end Of the room
could not have distinguished a syllable
he uttered:
/ stnx 5oox x,o,,Yxr 1ad,~ Won have to
hear how and when your poor father
died. He was for many years, as Miss
| Lynch may have told you, the head
clerk Of one Of our great London bank
ers. and during all the earlier part of
1 his life he filed this position with the
! utmost truth and integrity. 1t is not
for us to say by what insidious whisper
| Of ambition or cupidity temptation first
| enters an honest mans mind; but
Miss Grand, such temptation did come
at last TO your father. And he fell"
"Go on, sir. Do not wait"
"During a period Of three years your
father, wholly unsupported BY his EN-
ployers, was laying up for himself that
miserable future Of which it is my
painful duty now to speak. The mo-
ment Of detection and exposure came
at last. 1t was one of the most sys-
| tematic and we'll executed frau
cases of dissimulation that have ever
occurred in this century; but the proofs
were too many, and too strong, to es-
cape a conviction. My dear young
lady, you may guess the rest!'
IT guess nothing. desire to be told
! in plain words"
fYou, my dear Miss Grand, you CHS
\ little motherless child were the one
good thing to which your poor fathers
heart clung to the last. About six
months before before the discovery Of
which have spoken took place he
came to me one day and told me that
he had executed a deed Of gift, making
over the sum Of eight thousand pounds
| to his cousin, Miss Lynch, and myself,
which sum we were to hold in trust
for you, then a child of about three
years old. / cannot say that the cir
| cumstances awakened no suspicion in
my mind, for eight thousand pounds
seemed to me large sum of money
for your father to be able to make over
out of his capital, especially as he was
at that time living in a style very far
beyond what conceived his yearly sal
airy allowed Of. However, my opinion
had not been sought in the matter; the
| deed Of gift was executed before I
knew of its existence, and, as an old
friend of your fathers family, I felt
It impossible to decline the trust. By
that deed, Miss Grand, your father
foreseeing the coming dark future but
too well--by that deed your father se-
/ cured the comparative comfort Of your
life. When the evil hour came upon
him, he knew, at least, that you, his
young child, did not wholly share his
ruin"
! II understand" said Jane, in voice
whose unnatural composure was more
startling to Mr.. Clithero than any Of
| the natural. violent agitation which he
would have looked for as natural from
a young and sensitive woman-''I un-
derstand what. money it is have lived
upon! Have more to hear-or is this
all?"
"All, my dear Miss Grandg' He be-
gan to fear that she had not thoroughly
understood him. Eyes, this is alex
cept the particulars of your fathers
death.s
"Let us hear them"
HE scarcely lived two years after
he left this country. He was never
strong, and the hardships Of such a
life as he had to go through were to
him simply death. At the time Miss
Lynch took you to Chesterford we had
just received the news Of his death"
"Let me understand you more clear-
| ~. He died out Of this country. Do
you-do you mean that he was trans
portedY'
(To be continued.)