Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1906-01-17
My drandfather's
Clock.

ANAJ - XR
E Clock. 3
eSssssssssssssssss
Grandpa's last moments had come.
My mother, grandmother. and watch
ed carefully by his bedside, for we
loved the gentle old man, once such
a giant among his kind; and with
his death we felt that the last tie
binding us to the past would be no
more, for poor dear papa had passed
away years before. That the old man
was vainly endeavoring to recall a
memory, his random words made evil
dent-a memory, though, which We
felt never could be recalled.
To condense the past within few
words, it is only necessary to state
that we had once been a family of
great wealth and high social position;
family which, through one of those
unforeseen reyerses of fortune, had
been reduced almost to restitution.
We were now most unhappy, among
the very poorest of the poor, forgot
ten by all, except by few true and
loyal friends; for the worldly and sell
6sh ones, our acquaintances of SO,
ciety, ignored our very existence. To
me. however, this was not such a
terrible blow as the one that soon fol-
lowed; for poor dear papa, whom l
fdolized and worshipped, succumbed
beneath all he had to bear in his I'M
awaiting endeayors to save the firm.
One from this might justly infer
that my young life had been forever
blighted; yet. strange as 1t may seem,
for pride and poverty conjoined fat
ten young girls life, was engaged,
and to young man, friend of my
ehildh6od, not only handsome and
true, but of great wealth. He said
and rightly too, that blood can well
look down upon mere money-bags. 1t
was not, however, the splendor of the
life was so soon to enter that en-
tranced me, 1t was himself; for il ev-
or girl was in love, that girl was
I.
AS the lightning bolt will oftimes
fall suddenly from the clear sky, so
like flash came unexpectedly upon
US. grandpais great failure, with the
loss Of nearly everything we had. Like
mny things at the very moment
when needed, a certain most import
ant and invaluable legal document
had mysteriously disappeared. with
out which grandpa's great firm went
down before the storm blasts OF ad-
versity. This is how we came to
dwell in this little cottage, living
that hard life, the life of the poor
yet well born. The few things the
law and our creditors allowed us to
retain were with us here, among
which was an old-fashioned clock, of
English make, tall and stately, which
had been in our family for genera
lions.
Grandpa had been very i'll about
year before his failure; and when
he recovered, although his mind was
as keen and clear as ever, yet at un-
certain intervals he would have long
lapEes Of memory; times when all
that had passed before, be it for hours
or days. was an absolute blank to
him; and at such times, unfortunate
ly, he had strange mania for hiding
things. On this account, and to keep
him from his Office (for we feared the
old man might encourage some ser.
ious business blunder) papa encourag-
ed him in the idea that he alone could
!, put the old clock in order; for time
had sadly worn it, that all important
part, the pendulum, being bent and
injured beyond repair So in the lit
tie workshop adjoining his library,
for grandpa always held that he was
natural born clock maker, for fully
a month and more he worked happy
and contented: and the old time-piece
when he had finished was like thing
Of life, newborn. The damaged pendu-
lum he discarded altogether, replac-
ing It with one of wood, the bob be-
ing long cyclinder goodly painted.
LIST into q groove In front Of the cylin-
der was large disc, painted and gild-
cd to resemble gorgeous sunfower.
This was the regulator. Grandpa
was original, certainly, if nothing
moro.
Once only, during all this time, did
grandpa seem confused in mind; but
as 1t passed off entirely within day
or two. we thought no more of
the matter. Yet, during this brief
period. he, unkncwingly, wrecked our
fortunes and our lives. Then came
the great financial crash throughout
the business world, followed by the
utter and complete collapse of our
proud firm; for. lacking proof of GER
tain most important transactions,
down we had to go, dragging with us
many smaller houses in our fall. Long
and unavailingly we searched for that
document, which would have brought
us triumphant through our many bust.
ness troubles IL found; it had vanish
ed as completely as does the thin
mist beneath burning sun. Later We
learned that the old man had one
day visited his office when both papa
and his private secretary were absent
and had opened the safe. II then he
abstracted and carried away this pa
per, as papa always firmly believed,
stealthily hiding it somewhere, still
all memory of the fact had left him
wiped out, as when a wet sponge pas.
SEES over a slate.
Grandpa's end was fast drawing
near. Suddenly from the head of the
stairway we heard the deep tones OF
the old clock as 1t began to strike the
hour Of twelve. The old man struggl
Cd, partly rising and muttered, point
ing with a trembling toward the
clock. "The clock, the clock. 1t is
-" Then he fell back, his life had
ded-hed at the sixth stroke of the
hour Of twelve; and the sentence new.
Gr was finished. Nor was the strlk