Year: 1871

| essary arrangements.


As he lay upon his bed, it occurred
to him that his great fanlt in life had
been a want of economy and having
heard that money increased in savings
banks he called his little daughter to
him and said:


"My dear, I can only leave you one
poor copper penny-piece. But mind
you must be sure and put that in the
savings bank, where 1t will grow more
and more"


Yes, papa said the little girl, who
had one day been rebuked by neigh
Dor for saying &c father y to count.


And so he died, and she was left to
shift for herself The penny she found
in her fathers left-hand waistcoat pock-
eft, and she resolved to say nothing
about it to anybody, but Immediately
to look out for a savings-bank to put 1t
in, according to her fathers directions.
II


Of course she did not look like a
nobleman's daughter, for her hair was
all anyhow, and her clothes in rags; but
the people took to calling her countess
all the same, considering that she had
inherited her fathers title. AS for get
ting living, she used to go out to work,
and especially to wait upon people who
were poorly, and as she always asked
but little, and was a most beautiful
nurse, she did not want for food and
lodging. One of the first places, if not
the very first, she ever went to after her
fathers death was toy-shop, where the
mistress was i'll. When her engage
ment was over, this mistress, who had
been much pleased with her, said:


"Now, Countess, what shall [ give
you for your services ?''


eff you please, ma'am," said Count
ess, Z" the little savings bank that I see
in your shop window"


The mistress thought this was a
great deal too little; but her husband,
who was a stingy man, gave her bad
pinch, and whispered in her ear:


"Why should you give her any more
than she asks Give her the savings.
bank and have done with her."


So Countess got the toy savings
bank, and went away happy, to seek
another engagement.


III.


Now, Countess was a most generous
child, and what was running in her
head was just this: she thought to her.
/ self, "It is such a great pleasure to do
kind things, to help the weak and nurse
the sick, that it is a shame to take any
thing for doing it; especially now I can
put my penny IN the savings bank,
where, as papa told me, it will grow to
! be more and more" So she made up
her mind to go ont helping and nurs-
ing, but took no wages for it, only now
and then an old frock, or pair of
worn-out shoes, or something of that
sort, you know. When people found
she did not name price for her ser
vices, some of them said, "Oh, that is
her pride; she thinks it would demean
her TO take wages, being a countess !"
They SAID "demean," not knowing that
the proper word is fbemean;" but
then, what can you expect from folks
that have such stingy thoughts! For,
of course, it was only an excuse, though
they were all glad enough to take ad-
vantage of it, and get help for nothing.
There were two exceptions to this rule,
bat one of these was far topoor to pay,
and the other died suddenly before
/ giving the necessary orders.


[ must here tell you that there was
another reason why people did not pay
her wages. As she grew older she be-
came uncommonly pretty; and one of
the songs she used to sing in low
voice, when the people she had nursed
were getting better and could bear it,,
had in it the words, "My face is my
| fortune, sir, she said. So stingy peo-
pie, and even people who were not
usually what you would call stingy,
would look at her, and-thinking of
their own plain daughters, perhaps,
would observe:


/ ''Well, she is pretty; and if her face
is fortune, to her why should we give
her anything Enough is as good as a
/ feast"


! These sentiments were not often
/ spoken out loud, you must understand,
and they were not quite universal But
| Countess was one of those strange
people who are never, or are very sell
dom, understood by people in general
so what could she expect? However,
now she had got her savings-bank, she
was very happy. OF course she did not
mean anything when she sang, "My
face is my fortune, sir, she said," and
she had not the least idea she was pret-
ty. All the fortune she thought about
was her fathers bequest of a penny
She put tha at into the savings bank, hid
that under her pillow, and looked every
morning to see if the penny had got
any more during the night. She was a
little disappointed that it did not at
once begin to increase, but she was as
cheerful and hopeful as a river at it's
source, which feels sure of growing
wider and wider, and of reaching the
sea some day.


One time she had to go little way
into the country to fulfil an engage
ment, and in the course of her journey
lost her way in the green open fields,
not far from just such river, and near
to it's source-at least [ am sure it was
stream of water, sweet and clear, with
shady trees and ferns close by. While
she was resting, to consider which way
she should go, the night came down,
and, being very tired, she took out her
wallet and had her supper, dipping in
the stream for drink. Forth came the
stars IN troops, and, as she did
not know astronomy, she thought there
were hundreds of thousands of them Wis
BILE to the naked eye. The wind, which
nad been rather high all day, sank
down to the least sigh among the
boughs, and Countess felt inclined to
go to sleep there and rest. ''There is
nobody anywhere near said she to
herself, "and if there was, he would
not dare to hurt me, I think, with so
many stars twinlling and watching" "
This was another proof that she did not
know astronomy, or understand the
true nature of the heavenly bodies. So
she went to sleep on the grass, with
her little saylngs-bank lying at her
side, and did not dream that night.


".


By remarkable coincidence, some
where about the very time that the
count, whose real name, as you may
see, was Accountant, died and left a
daughter, count who a0as a noble.
man, born and bred, died and left 8
son. This took place in a neighborine


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