VOL. XT.
NEAV BLOOMFIELD, 1J.A.., TUESDAY, MARCH (5, 1877.
NO. 10.
THE TIMES.
Ad Independent Family Newspaper,
IB ruBLISHED CVKRT TUESDAY BY
F. MOltTIMKU & CO.
Subscription Price.
Within the County 11 25
" " " Hix month 7S
Out of the County, Including posture. 1 N
" ' six mouths " 8S
Invariably In Advance I
W Advertising rates furnished upon appll-Ration.
eledt Poetry.
A WASTED LIFE I
BUURNR H. MCKDAY.
" God over all !" A motto on the wall,
Urllliant to crimson, purple, silvered crosses,
golden rays ;
All 'broldered on rich velvet.
Strange, strange I that, In the sllcut night,
this this
Wakes a doad memory of a wasted life!
He was a man rarely begift by Heaven ;
His brain was largo,expanelve, seemed almost
To grasp the Infinite ; tils human heart
Hummed with Christ's charity. Ho had been
made
For noble deeds and words t for a full life I
Tet failed he (......Some defect dwarfed, stunt
ed him,
And his right royal gifts were squandered,
wasted
Fribbled away In soug, and jest,and pleasance.
Fitly, the sea washes his bones for, it is
iirand I as was bis nature watery as was his
will. .
Yet wo, who knew and loved him, long
will sing
(Low in our inner hcartB) his requium brief,
ttest, rest thy llfo was full with good Intcntl
A wasted life? So seems it! Who
can know t
" Ood over all I" Proof Sheet.
For The Times.
A LUCKY LOAN.
0
N A COLD, winter's morning, Just
as the train was starting from
station, an individual, unencumbered
with any other luggage than a very
(small carpet-bag, bustled up, rather than
was conducted, to the carriage, in which
he found a seat. What with unmuffling
Ids chin from the coat collar, which
shrouded it, and depositing the above
mentioned carpet-bng, to his own satis
faction, under the seat, the train had
fairly started before he could look around
at his traveling companions., They
were for the most part of a very ordinary
description ; and apparently, rather cross
and fidgety than otherwise, probably
from the dispiriting effect of having
risen in the middle of the night i. e.,
candle lighl V Opposite to our hero was
seated a female figure. As she rode in a
"first class" carriage, it was according
to rule to infer that sho was a lady ; and
the expression of her countenance, as
well as every gesture, sanctioned the in
ference, though, must the point have
been decided by her dress, it would have
admitted of .some dispute. Her cloak
was of common materials, and shabby ;
and her bonnet was unbecoming, which
was worse than shabby. Nothing hap
pened particurly to mark the journey.
The most important occurrences! which
might have been noticed,were the avidi
ty with which two gentleman discussing
politics, being happily of the same Way
of thinking ; the temporary popularity
gained by an old lady who about midday
drew forth, and offered for general con
sumption, certain delicate edibles and
lady-like cordials ; and the childish dis
tress of her little grand-daughter at the
long, dark tunnels. This, under differ
ent circumstances, might have annoyed
the politicians; but, in the height of
their present good humor, they vied
with each other in assuaging the child's
fears by caresses and droll stories; and
the only taciturn travellers were our
hero and his vis-ti-vi$. Once, the former
made a movement as if to take out his
watch, but started, surprised and annoy,
cd at something, and certainly no watch
was forthcoming. Alas! the young lady
did not possess a watch, or, I am sure
"he would have told him the time ; and
she was the only one who noticed the
movement. '
Arrived at the (J rand Junction, where
"many lines met," the passengers quick-,
ty angnted; and the greater part disposed
jf themselves, and in one way or other,
in an incredible short space of time.
The young lady, however, was evidently
disappointed and perplexed having ex
pected that a servant would be there to
receive her; and the gentleman without
a watch, who followed her into the ofllce
in which lie had asked permission to
wait,' becaino suddenly in a painful
perturbation. The truth was, that in
haste or excitement of mind he had not
only left his watch behind him, but had
lost his purse 1 After a moment's hesita
tion,. he advanced towards the person
who received the fares for the line of
road, on which our traveler hnd about
thirty miles to proceed, and, evidently
with some repugnance, mentioned th6
predicament in which he was plueed.
" My mission is most urgent !" he ex
claimed " having been called to nttend
most probably the death-bed of a relative
whom I have not seen for the last dozen
years. I had my purse when I paid my
fare hither in London : and in my haste.
for the train started earlier than I ex
pected I must have dropped it instead
of slipping it into my pocket. If you
will allow me to give you my name and
address, and will sutler me to go as far
as , you may rely on my sending the
money to you immediately when I ar
rive. It is of the first importance, that
I should not be detained here, which
otherwise must be the ease till I hear
from my friends."
"Should be happy to oblige a gentle,
man, I am Bure," said the man" but
it is quite against our rule, perhaps,
however, you have something of value
j'ou could leave as a sort of deposit
otherwise, I assure you, I dursn't be so
good as to step one side, here are two or
three gentlemen waiting for their tick
ets." The stranger paused till the ofllce was
again free; and then, with a flush that
might have been taken for guilt, he con
tinued " My good man, I grieve to say that I
inadvertently left my watch in London
nor can I much wonder, in the agita
tion of mind, my hasty summons"
" Oh, he, be I" cried the man, with a
laugh which lie intended to be very ex
pressive " it won't do in our part of the
country very sorry, but the sooner you
make yourself scarce, the pleasahter it
will be for yourself, I'm thinking."
There was an insolence implied in the
man's tone far beyond the expression of
his words ; but the short pause was bro
ken by a sweet voice, which trembled as
if almost frightened at. its own boldness,
and the words '
" I will led you a sovereign, sir," fell
upon the stranger's ear as the sweetest
music he hnd ever heard. ' '
" God bless your young unsuspecting
heart I" he exclaimed,' with emotion, as,
taking off his hat, his eyes met those of
his fellow-traveler; and certainly at thnt
moment he wondered that he had not
before observed their marvellously sweet
expression. Meanwhile, the ungloved
and delicate, but rlngless fingers of the
young girl, dived into a . purse which
looked strangely long because It was so
nearly empty, and drew from it one of
the two sovereigns it contained. '
" To whom am ; I Indebted for this
timely and generous loan, and where
can I have the pleasure of returning
it?"
" I am going to reside, 1 believe, with
in a few miles of this place, nt my aunt
Mrs. Lawford's; if you direct to Mary
to Miss," she added, as if doubtful if
she dared really assume the lady-spin-sterial
appellation "to Miss Marston, it
will reach me."
" But your aunt's address," said the
stranger; "I am so ignorant as not to
know It ; oblige me by writing it, that
there may be no possibility of a mis
take;" and drawing a card from his
pocket, ho asked the money-takerin the
frigid accents of contempt, " if he would
furnish the lady with a pen and ink."
" Oh, certainly, my dear, if yon wish
it," said the insolent fellow, addressing
himself to Mary. Blie, however, . had
found a pencil, and the pen and ink
were unnecessary ; but the red spot of
suppressed anger burned on the stran
ger's cheek, although he had sufficient
mastery of himself to conceal the ver
bal expression of it. And he gave tho
wisest reproof to tho menlal'd imperti
nent familiarity, by offering his arm to
Mary Marston, and conducting her to a
seat, at some distance, saying, as he did
so" You must allow me the honor of
remaining at your side, till your servant
arrives." ;
Mury would not have been a true- wo
man, had she not been touched by the
delicacy of the stranger's attention ; but
though gentle and refined, and well born
ns many of her sex's paragons on whose
fair brows gleam tho Jeweled coronets
of rank, she was a portionless orphan,
over whose opening youth hung the
dark and threatening cloud of poverty ;
or, In more expressive phrase, she was a
poor relation, accustomed to slights and
neglect, too trifling to lie made a matter
of complaint, and yet sufficiently palpa
ble to hnvo marvellously depressed a nat
urally sensitive heurt. No wonder, then
that she .sensibly felt his deferential
manner, when she reminded him that
the train by which he desired to reach
, was on the point of starting.
" I can wait another hour for the
next I" lie exclaimed "such n delay
would be very unimportant, compared
to that from which your con tiding good
ness has saved me."
But his politeness or that something
better, of which politeness is only in
tended to be the outward sign was
spared the test ; for at that moment a
servant bustled into the office in which
they were waiting, and after making
some short apology to Miss Marston for
his negligence, let! the way to a carriage,
into which the stranger handed her, re
maining himself uncovered until it turn
ed a corner, and was hid from his view.
The eyes of eighteen, however bright,
are apt to see matters through a lens
peculiar to youth ; and if the truth must
be owned,to them the shady side of thir
ty appears the very sere of life, but
though tho stranger had evidently passed
that bright barrier which divides a glit
tering, from a golden decade, the outline
of his noble figure, and finely- moulded
features, was more firmly impressed in
Mary's memory than that of any other
living person.
Midwinter had passed away ; for though
snow lay on tho ground, the day had
lengthened, and a bright sun gleamed
upon the icicles which hung from the
veranda of Mrs. Lawford's drawing
room ; retained probably in their fantas
tic pendulcs by the keen easterly wind,
which scem'ed to penetrate through ev
ery crevice. In an easy chair, drawn
close to the blazing fire, the old lady sat
knitting, while her two daughters were
busily occupied with the many tinted
Berlin wools. At a table near the bay
window stood Mary Marston, In the
midst of her morning duties. She had
conferred with the cook touching the
state of the larder she had combed the
poodle, and dusted the china, and now
she was tending 'some rare hyacinths,
much prized by Mrs. Lawford, who had
a passion for floriculture. But a sad uc
eldent had happened one of them had
slipped from her cold fingers (she had
not been near a fire that morning,) and
the flower had snapped from the stem.
A bright drop stood in each of her soft
durk eyes, for she had been chidden
somewhat harshly for her carelessness.
Her heart was too full of regret to mako
excuses, and she only murmured, "I am
most unlucky."
"Now I do not think you are," said
Matilda Lawford, who was a good-natured
girl, and wished to bring round
the mind of her mother, a most irritable
tempered woman, to a pleasant subject.
" I know we all thought you very lucky
to have a present of the splendid bou
quet the very night of our ball. Was
not it a piece of sheer luck to come so
appropos V And you were a dear girl to
divide it between us. Every body thought
the flowers were from our own conserv
atory." " Surely you were not so silly as to
undeceive them," chimed in the matron,
ly lady ; who, l)esides being ill-tempered,
was ono of those weak and narrow-minded
mothers, whose children, if they have
good qualities, possess them in spile of
evil culture; " we should have had quite
as fine a show," she continued, "if that
stupid Ellis had not let out the fires on
Christmas-eve ; and there is no use in
proclaiming one's mortifications."
"I think the greatest piece of luck was
getting back your sovereign with tho
flowers I" exclaimed Hannah, in a tone
which proclaimed her to be a great deal
more "her mother's daughter" than
Matilda. I am sure I never expected
you would see it again. And the white
and silver purse in which It was return
ed, is a love of a thing, just fit for a card
purse." (Miss Lawford was elght-and-
twenty, and had lately grown a des
perate whist player.) "I don't think
you ever use it, do you, Mary V"
This was not the first 'gentle hint' her
cousin Hannah had" given with reference
to tho white and silver purse; but Mary,
usually as quick nt understanding as
ready toylold,scemed unaccountably dull
or uncomplying whenever this subject
was named. But the arrival of the pest
man changed the conversation ; and
among the letters was one for Mary,
which being rather nn unusual occur
rene, excited a proportionate degree of
interest.
"The contents were scanned in a few
moments; but as short as they were,
they alternately blanched and flushed
the cheekof Mary Marston. Then burst
ing into tears, she dropped the letter
exclaiming .
'It is a hoax a cruel hoax ; It cannot
be real 1 '
But that official letter was no hoax.
Indeed the steady, old-established firm
who signed themselves "her most
obedient servants," would have shudder
ed at tho perpetration of any thing bo
outrageous. No, no; the fact was too
well authenticated for doubt or hesita
tion on the subject ; Mary was no longer
poor and dependent old Sir Digby
Handle, known throughout the county
as a most eccentric character, and whose
death had been chronicled three days
before in the paper, had bequeathed
Mary, by a codicil to his will, the sum of
ten thousand pounds, in trust for
her sole use till she should become
of age, when it would pass into her own
hands ! The strange part of the story
was, that not to her knowledge had
Mary Marston ever seen, or been seen by
her kind benefactor !
4
The icicles had departed, and the frost
bound streams were again ebbing gently
along as they sparkled in the sunshine;
the birds were trilling merrily, and tho
trees were unfurling their pale green
leaves hoary winter had departed, and
the spirit of youth was again abroad in
the world. On a morning early in May,
Mary Marston commenced her journey,
by railway to the metropolis. But
though a few months older than whon
we introduced her to the reader though
her worldly knowledge was. somewhat
Increassd, and her purse extremely well
lrned it was not considered proper, ex
pedient or safe, for her to travel, as she
had done before, unprotected. Accord
ingly, an old dependent of tho family,
whose ofllce was something between
nurse and housekeeper, was deputed as
her attendant to London, wheroshe had
other near relatives to receive her. We
do not attempt to account for this differ
ent arrangement, wo but state the fact,
and shall only observe that on this
occasion she wore a remarkably pretty
bonnet, one indeed which was quite the
the chef cfceuvre of a country milliner.
A strange coincidence, however, occur
red, for sho was handed into the carriage
by the v ery same gentleman to whom
she had lent the sovereign on the former
occasion,' and who It appeared was re
turning to town by the very same train
as herself. Indeed he took his seat as
before, exactly opposite to her ; but after
a smile of recognition had passed be
tween them, Mary observed an expres
sion half-mirthful, half-scornful, pass
over his face, as old Nurse entered the
carriage ; but it was evidently not
occasioned by patrician distaste at the
prospect of a plebeian fellow-traveller,
for he paid the respect due to age, and
assisted her in with care and attention.
It was somewhat remarkable that no
attempt was made to admit any other
passengers into the vacant seats jof the
carriage our travellers occupied. What
passed on the journey has therefore
never been clearly ascertained, for old
Nurse pleads guilty to having fallen
asleep, and the other parties to this day,
refuse to give any. account of their con
versation. About a month after this event, Matil
da Lawford received a long letter from
her cousin Mary. It treated of divers
mutters ; and towards the end, just on a
corner of the paper, communicated the
fact that she, the writer, was engaged to
be married, of course to the handsomest,
cleverest, and most delightful person in
Europe. She added,' however, that he
was not rich, being yet "struggling up
wards at the bar," and , expressed In
touching language her own thankful
ness to Vrovldence for that fortune which
would always relieve them from the
pressure of poverty. The postscript,
however, contained the pith of the letter.
It ran thus : "I mny as well tell you at
once, what you must . know sooner or
later don't quiz me! but Mr. Bay.
mond is the stranger who sent me the
beautiful bouquet, and whije and silver
purse. He managed to procure an In
troduction to uncle William, who knew
him very well by report, and has visited
here constantly since I came to Lon
don." One surprise, however, was to mount
on another ; for the next morning's
post brought a short and almost in
coherent letter from Mary. From it
enough was gathered to contradict some
of tho assertions contained in the former
epistle, for it stated that though Mr.
llaymoud had been for some years
"struggling at the bar," he was no
longer a poor man, but sole heir after
the payment of a few eccentric legacies
to the Immense wealth of Sir Digby
Handle, who itappeared was his mother's
elder and half-brother. "Slanderous
tongues had poisoned truth," and they
had been for years separated ; but on a
sick bed the heart of the kind old man
yearned for his only relative, and when
they met.and the past was explained,the
pent-up feelings of SirDlgby gushed forth
and seemed anxious only to live long
enough to make amends for past neglect
by granting, almost forestalling, every
wish of his nephew. What induced
him to leave Mary Marston a legacy, or
how Dlgby Raymond discovered the
precise hour Of our return to London,
and how he contrived that the remaining
seats in the .carriage should be unoccu
pied, we pretend not to determine; but we
know "love or money" can perform
wonders. , Why he passed himself off as
still "a struggling barrister," Is another
affair ; but it was just the conduct that
might have been expected from a man
who, having found a heart whieh pov
erty had failed to render suspicious and
selfish ; and knowing its priceless value,
was inclined once more to test It ; but
by the opposite ordeal.
An Elastic Conscience.
A TOUCHING incident illustrating
the power of conscience even in the
most hardened criminal, recently occur
red in Washington.
A well-dressed stranger rang at the
door of one, of tho houses, and, on being
admitted, said to the proprietor :
"You do not, sir, recognize my face,
"fls well. " Listen. Your pocket was
picked about a twelvemonth since."
" It was, and I lost $12.65." '
" I was the thief. Nay; sir, spare your
reproaches. For seventeen days I had
not tasted food, and my wife and eleven
small children lay at home oa their mis
erable pallets, crying with hunger and
cold. The money I stole from you then,
sir, saved them, for with part of it I
bought coal, with part of it bread, and
the remaining portion I played upon the
eight, coppered the king, and ran it up
to but pardon me for intruding the de
tails of my humble business upon your
attention."
" I became an altered man, and deter
mined to reform and lead a better life. I
am now well employed, and night and
morning my wife aud children, bless
your name, though they, innocent ones!
do not know that I stole the money. I
have long since sought you, but was un
able to find you ; but, fortunately, my
friend and benefactor, I recognized you
on a Madison street car yesterday ; I
followed you home and learned your
name, and to-night I come to restore to
you the money of which I robbed you."
So saying the penitent gave the gentle
man a $20 bill, received $7.35 change,
blessed his benefactor warmly, and left
the house. Next morning the old man
found that the bill was a counterfeit, and
that tho thief had, on leaving the house,
taken the old man's hat and umbrella.
C35"A contemporary recalls an anec
dote of the celebrated Admiral Paine.
On one occasiou he received from a
friend, who was rather addicted to the
venal vice of betting, a note that ran
somewhat to the following effect;
" Dear Talne I -have wagered fifty
pounus mat you were bred to the sea."
To which the gallant admiral curtly
replied, "Wrong, the sea was bread
tome." '.'.''