THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 Counting out some money he gave it into the hand ot 
 the young girl." Page 138. 
 
 ALL FOB MONET,
 
 ALL FOR MONEY 
 
 BY 
 
 MARY DWINELL CHELLIS, 
 
 AUTHOR OF " THE TEMPERANCE DOCTOR," "OUT OF THE FIRE," "AUNT DINAH'S 
 PLEDGE," " OLD TIMES," " AT LION'S MOUTH," " WEALTH AND WINE," ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 
 National Temperance Society and Publication House, 
 No. 58 READE STREET. 
 
 1879.
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by 
 
 J. N. STEARNS, 
 In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 
 
 ORPHANS' PRESS, CHURCH CHARITY FOUNDATION, BROOKLYN, N. y.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTERS . PAGE 
 
 I. DRIFTING ......... 5 
 
 II. THE TEMPTATION 26 
 
 til. A GIRL'S DECISION 48 
 
 IV. THE PRICE OK MONEY 69 
 
 V. THE CORNER STORE 86 
 
 VI. THE FAIRY PRINCE 108 
 
 VII. PURE. LIQUORS 129 
 
 VIII. A BROTHER'S REMONSTRANCE .... 145 
 
 IX. THE OLD APPLE-WOMAN 171 
 
 X. A LAUDABLE INDUSTRY 193 
 
 XL POOR PAT. . 212 
 
 XII. A MODERATE DRINKER 232 
 
 XIII. DECEIVED 249 
 
 XIV. THE WANDERER'S RETURN 264 
 
 XV. A REVELATION 281 
 
 XVI. AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 297 
 
 XVII. CONSISTENCY 316 
 
 XVIIL RIGHT AT LAST 332 
 
 XIX. DECISION 345 
 
 1260086
 
 ALL FOI^ MONEY. 
 
 .CHAPTER I. 
 
 DRIFTING. 
 
 T was a late November day. The snow 
 fell continuously ; while fierce gusts of 
 wind swept it in eddying- whirls through 
 the village street. Trees, which but a few hours 
 before had stood like sentinels grim and tall, 
 seeming to bid defiance to the elements, now 
 bent and swayed as the blast went by; and 
 sharp was the conflict waged between opposing 
 forces wherever a leaf clung to its parent stem. 
 Winter's herald could brook not the tiniest ban 
 ner which had been unfurled in honor of other 
 monarch than his own. 
 
 It was a study to watch the quivering and 
 fluttering of a faded, battered leaf, still battling
 
 6 All for Money. 
 
 for its place until forced to yield to superior 
 might. Then, torn from its anchorage, it drifted 
 hither and thither, sometimes finding short rest 
 in some sheltered nook, and anon pursuing its 
 trackless course. 
 
 A flock of birds appeared, poising themselves 
 lightly upon slender twigs and drooping shrubs ; 
 or leaving their footprints in the untrodden 
 snow, as they ate daintily of the grain which 
 summer suns had ripened for such as have neither 
 storehouse nor granary. A moment, and they 
 were on the wing, soaring far away like spirits of 
 the storm, fearless of danger, obeying the in 
 stinct implanted in their breasts. 
 
 Hermon Wyatt had been gazing for more than 
 an hour upon such a scene as I have described ; 
 his troubled thoughts not unfitly represented by 
 what he saw. He had fancied himself strong, 
 when circumstances revealed his weakness. Con 
 science had held him fast to rectitude and hon 
 esty ; now temptation assailed him and con 
 science was well nigh overpowered. 
 
 He was not one to see the similitudes of Na 
 ture. He was intensely practical ; rating truth
 
 Drifting. 7 
 
 at its real, rather than its ideal value, and count 
 ing that of little worth which did not give tangi 
 ble proof of its existence. But even to him, the 
 drifting leaf and soaring bird were not without 
 their significance. 
 
 The one was like a human soul Held by an un 
 certain tenure to what is deemed right and hon 
 orable ; struggling for a time against adverse 
 influences, but surrendering at last to have 
 henceforth nor stay nor shield. 
 
 The other was like to a soul stayed securely 
 by a firm, unwavering trust in the Infinite ; loyal 
 to its best impulses ; passing unscathed through 
 the storms and ills of life ; thankful for such as 
 God has given, and finding cause for rejoicing in 
 the darkest day. 
 
 Something of this found its way to the man's 
 consciousness ; and turning from the window, he 
 seated himself in a luxurious arm-chair. Before 
 him, upon a marble slab, were vases rare and 
 costly ; exquisite pictures set in quaintly carved 
 easel frames ; shells from far-off shores, and a 
 clock, whose chime of tiny bells reminded one of 
 fairv music.
 
 8 All for Money, 
 
 The elegance with which he was surrounded 
 pleased him. It told of ease and wealth. It re 
 minded him of the position he desired to attain, 
 and money seemed to him the one good in life. 
 The relative whom he was visiting, and by whom 
 he was assigned to the most luxuriously furnished 
 sleeping-room the house afforded, understood his 
 character. Yet in doing this, his host had no re 
 gard to an innate love for refinement, or an eye 
 which is charmed with beauty in its most artistic, 
 as well as in its most simple forms. 
 
 Not thus had Nature dowered Hermon Wyatt ; 
 and life had been too severe a struggle for him to 
 acquire much of that culture which develops 
 esthetic tastes. It might come to him through 
 one he loved, but as yet his higher faculties had 
 not been quickened. 
 
 He had accepted the invitation to visit his 
 wealthy cousin because he lacked employment, 
 and knew not how else to spend his time. More 
 over, he hoped that in some way it would prove 
 to his advantage. 
 
 Sitting here in an atmosphere pervaded with 
 the warmth of a glowing fire, he had ample op-
 
 Drifting. p 
 
 fportunity for reviewing the past years. He 
 recalled his childhood's home ; a low-browed 
 cottage, weather-stained, and unrelieved of plain- 
 'ness by the slightest ornament. He remembered 
 how close was the economy practiced in that 
 home ; how meagre were its resources, and how 
 weary were the faces into which he looked from 
 day to day. The barest necessities were all his 
 parents could afford their children ; and even 
 these were bestowed almost grudgingly. 
 
 There was wrong somewhere, but he was no 
 philosopher, to determine where this wrong 
 might be. He grew up with a bitter hatred of 
 poverty. He esteemed it the crowning misery 
 of existence, and resolved, at any cost, to rid 
 himself of its curse. 
 
 Sunshine and gladness are possible with 
 limited means, small rooms, and homely living ; 
 but to insure these there must be warm hearts, 
 tender sympathies, and loving deeds ; while with 
 out these there will be gloom and unhappiness 
 though the mansion be never so stately. The 
 best gifts are such as the poorest can bestow ; 
 costing at the most only some sacrifice of self,
 
 TO All for Money. 
 
 and bringing back in return more than has been 
 given. 
 
 If but the world would learn this, how much 
 of sin and wretchedness would be avoided. If 
 but the man whose mental disquiet made him 
 far too restless to think calmly or well, could 
 have known this, how different would have been 
 his future. Nine years before, at the age of 
 twenty-one, he left the country town in which 
 he had been born ; and with only his resolute 
 will and physical strength commenced his career 
 in a large city. He was one to find employment 
 readily, so that he was spared the trial of re 
 peated disappointments. He cared little where, 
 or how he commenced. He was looking to the 
 end, and not for a moment did he doubt that he 
 should reach the goal toward which he pressed. 
 
 He had the advantage of a fine personal pres 
 ence. In rustic circles he had been considered 
 handsome. His features were clear cut ; such as 
 may take on a look of purity and spirituality 
 which is in itself a dower of beauty ; or may 
 wear an expression at which one involuntarily 
 shudders.
 
 Drifting. - 77 
 
 Young Wyatt performed his work faithfully, 
 and so won the confidence of his employers. 
 Quick to see and do what was for their advan 
 tage as well as his own, he was promoted 
 rapidly ; supplying by hard study the deficiencies 
 of education which might prove barriers to his 
 success. 
 
 At twenty-eight, he had saved a few hundred 
 dollars. This he invested in goods which he 
 sold at a fair profit, and the venture proving sat 
 isfactory, he decided to engage in business for 
 himself. He bought carefully, and discriminated 
 well in regard to customers. 
 
 It was no fault of his that after a twelve 
 month of prosperity he fell upon evil times. 
 There was a financial panic, in which long estab 
 lished houses went down in utter ruin. Men 
 who had counted their wealth by millions were 
 not sure of so much as a competency, when a 
 final settlement should be made of their affairs. 
 
 Hermon Wyatt's old employers were in no 
 need of clerks. It was necessary for them to re 
 duce their expenses in order to meet the emer 
 gency. He could not return to the country.
 
 12 All for Money. 
 
 His parents were dead. His brothers were 
 seeking their fortunes in the far west. His 
 sisters were married to men with whom he had 
 no sympathy, and for whom he had little respect 
 because of their slow, plodding ways. He had 
 no friends to whom he could apply for assistance 
 even would his pride have permitted this. 
 
 It was at such a crisis that he received a letter 
 from a cousin of his mother, and in response 
 presented himself soon after at the house to 
 which he had been invited. Its owner, Leander 
 Harvey, Esq., welcomed him with the utmost 
 cordiality, while the lady wife extended her 
 hand graciously. 
 
 " I've been intending to look you up for several 
 years, but so many things have crowded, I've 
 delayed it longer than I ought to," remarked the 
 gentleman. " I saw your name in the paper the 
 other day, as one of the business men who had 
 done their best to live and then been obliged to 
 give up at last." 
 
 " Yes, sir, that is the truth so far as I am con 
 cerned. Except some personal property I felt 
 justified in retaining, I have no more than I had
 
 Drifting. /j 
 
 when I started at twenty-one," replied the 
 visitor. 
 
 "You are mistaken in that," was said, de 
 cidedly. "You have the confidence of those 
 with whom you have been associated. You 
 have established a good business reputation, and 
 that is in itself a fortune. I read as much in the 
 paper, and took pains to find out that it was 
 something more than a compliment such as men 
 pay the printers for. You know a good deal 
 more than you did when you were fresh from the 
 country ; and, judging by others, you're better 
 looking than you was then ; so you're not 
 entirely bankrupt yet. I sent for you because I 
 want some one to start up a business with me, 
 and I thought you were just the man to do it. 
 I'll advance all the money that is needed and 
 give you a generous share of the profits ; enough 
 to satisfy you. I propose to be the silent part 
 ner, and if things go on prosperously you will 
 find me as silent as you can wish." 
 
 " Thank you. One could not ask more liberal 
 terms than you offer. But what is the nature of 
 the business you propose ?"
 
 14 All for Money. 
 
 The two had been acquainted but three days, 
 when the real object for which Mr. Harvey had 
 sought his stranger relative was thus disclosed. 
 They were in his library ; a spacious room, made 
 attractive by books, paintings, and busts of dis 
 tinguished men. 
 
 The owner of all this looked up to the frescoed 
 ceiling, then down to the rug at his feet ; then 
 rose and peered out into the darkness. He had 
 expected a different reply from that he had re 
 ceived. His companion was courteous, but 
 evidently cautious. He had supposed that his 
 offer would be accepted with unquestioning 
 eagerness. Now he regarded the questioner 
 with something of doubt. 
 
 " I should not propose an illegal business," he 
 said, at length. 
 
 " Of course not. I did not think of such a 
 possibility ; but it might be that it would not be 
 suited to me. I may not have the ability to 
 manage it." 
 
 " If you are a good financier there will be no 
 trouble. Some of the smartest men in the coun 
 try are engaged in the same business I wish to
 
 Drifting. 15 
 
 establish, and there is money in it. No mistake 
 about that. What say ? If I'm not mistaken in 
 you, you'd like to make money as well as the 
 next one." 
 
 " That was what I aimed at when I left home, 
 and what I've been driving at ever since. I got 
 enough of poverty when I was a boy." 
 
 " So I thought, and so did I. You begun well, 
 and I don't doubt but what you'd gone straight 
 along if it hadn't been for these hard times. 
 Now, as you've given up, you'll have to take a 
 new start, and I want you to start with me." 
 
 " But I must know definitely what the busi 
 ness is before I commit myself." 
 
 " Well, that's fair. I don't blame you for that, 
 though you see I'm willing to take you on trust." 
 
 Here the speaker went to a cupboard, took 
 from it a heavy cut-glass decanter, and poured out 
 a glass of wine, which he offered to Mr. Wyatt. 
 
 " Thank you, I never take wine," was the reply 
 with which this was declined ; a strong em 
 phasis marking the adverb. It was not the first 
 or second time he had refused to join his host in 
 quaffing the sparkling liquor.
 
 16 All for Money. 
 
 " I'm afraid you have some fogyish notions 
 about it, Cousin Wyatt. I believe in temperance 
 with all my heart ; but when it comes to for 
 swearing wine as though it was a sin to taste it, 
 I think that is carrying matters too far. There 
 never was anything gained in a good cause by 
 pushing things to extremes. People crave 
 stimulants, and they'll have them in some form 
 or other. For my part, I believe that the pro 
 hibitory laws which have been enacted from time 
 to time have only been a hindrance to the tem 
 perance work. 
 
 " There's something in the breasts of freemen 
 which rebels against arbitrary legislation. Why 
 should a body of men say to their constituents, 
 ' There are certain beverages which we consider 
 injurious ; and because we have the power in 
 our hands, we will make it inconvenient, if not 
 impossible for you to use them. We will make 
 the sale of such beverages illegal ; and whoever 
 dispenses them shall be held amenable to the 
 law, as having committed a crime.' That is 
 what I call arbitrary legislation. How does it 
 appear to you ?"
 
 Drifting. ij 
 
 " Not as it does to you. If the sale of intoxi 
 cating liquors is an injury to society, I don't know 
 why there shouldn't be a law against it. as much 
 as against theft and robbery. There arc thou 
 sands of men in danger of becoming- drunkards, 
 where one is in danger of becoming a thief or a 
 robber. I never questioned the right of our legis 
 lature to regulate the liquor traffic, or even sup 
 press it entirely ; although it appeared at our 
 late election that the majority of voters in the 
 State were opposed to prohibition." 
 
 "That was plain to be seen, and I, for one, was 
 thankful for so fearless an expression of dissent 
 from the powers which had been. It's of no use 
 to legislate against public opinion ; and that is 
 not yet down to entire prohibition." 
 
 " Many people, in stating that fact, would say 
 that public opinion is not yet up to prohibition." 
 
 " I know fanatics would say that, but I am not 
 a fanatic. I hope you are not either." 
 
 " I have never considered myself such, al 
 though I have always been a teetotaler. I have 
 ( noticed that young men who commence by 
 drinking light wines usually end in drinking any
 
 i8 All for Money. 
 
 liquor, no matter how vile, which will produce 
 intoxication." 
 
 "There is no need of it : no need of any such 
 folly as that. I have always used wine in mode 
 ration, and brandy, too, when I chose to ; and 
 I don't think any of my friends consider me in 
 danger of becoming a drunkard. I buy my liquors 
 of a friend in the city, and feel sure that I get the 
 genuine article. He is an honorable man, doing 
 an honorable business. He takes out a license and 
 does everything aboveboard. Profitable business 
 too. When he set up, ten years ago, in a small 
 way, he borrowed every dollar of his capital. 
 Now he is a wealthy man. If a man wants to 
 make money, there's his chance." 
 
 " But I am not quite prepared to admit that 
 selling liquor, with or without a license, is truly 
 honorable business. I suppose you allow your 
 guests, as well as the community in general, to 
 express their opinions, even if they differ from 
 your own." 
 
 " Certainly, certainly, Cousin Wyatt. This is 
 a free country; and because a man sits at my 
 table, and lodges under my roof, that is no
 
 n . ifting. ig 
 
 reason why he should indorse my views. I'm 
 glad of an opportunity to talk with you on this 
 subject. Within the past few months it has been 
 kept betore the public so persistently that every 
 thinking man must have considered it. Do I 
 understand you to say that you are in favor of a 
 stringent prohibitory law ?" 
 
 " I voted for men whom I knew to be in favor 
 of such a law." 
 
 "And were you sorry that they were de 
 feated ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir, I considered it a misfortune." 
 
 For a moment an angry flush overspread the 
 face of Mr. Harvey ; but he had too much self- 
 control to allow this manifestation to continue 
 long. 
 
 Soon he said, blandly : " We are at variance 
 in this. You have a right to differ from me, and 
 I from you. It looks to me as though the radi 
 cal wing of the temperance party killed their 
 own measure. They tried to make the liquor 
 traffic so odious in the eyes of the community 
 that clear-sighted men began to look about and 
 see what were the real facts in the case. Why,
 
 2O All for Money. 
 
 my friend, who is the very soul of honor and a 
 Christian gentleman, has been stigmatized as 
 an unscrupulous wretch, making merchandise of 
 the souls and bodies of his customers. That was 
 the style in which the fanatics talked, Cousin 
 Wyatt." 
 
 " And no doubt they felt they were speaking the 
 truth. They expressed their opinion fearlessly." 
 
 " And recklessly. A man should stop and 
 consider before he accuses another of crime. 
 The sale of liquors brings an immense revenue 
 to the government, and is recognized as a 
 legitimate traffic. So long as that is the case, 
 I think we may as well accept the government as 
 good authority. I have no desire to set myself 
 up as an infallible teacher for those whose wisdom 
 and judgment are superior to my own. So long 
 as our government accepts a revenue from any 
 business, it is plain enough to me that none of 
 our citizens have cause to consider themselves 
 disgraced by engaging in it. If it was entirely 
 abandoned, how would the expenses of govern 
 ment be met ? Our revenue is none too large as 
 it is."
 
 Drifting. 21 
 
 " But if the amount of capital now invested in 
 the liquor traffic were invested elsewhere, our 
 country would he none the poorer. Neither can 
 any one deny that if the money now spent for 
 liquor by the masses were spent for necessary 
 articles of food and clothing, there would be a 
 vast amount of comfort and happiness where 
 there is now poverty and wretchedness. I have 
 been accustomed to consider intoxicating liquor 
 the curse of our land." 
 
 " The abuse of it may be. I am not arguing 
 for an indiscriminate use of liquor. No man is 
 obliged to use it. In all departments of trade 
 the supply is in direct ratio to the demand. If 
 flour is demanded, wheat will be grown and 
 manufactured into flour. The farmer will do his 
 part towards providing for the wants of the 
 community ; the miller will do his, and the 
 merchant his. If our people chose to take the 
 grain as it comes from the threshing machine, 
 the miller's occupation would be gone. Then, 
 if we all chose to buy our grain direct from the 
 farmer, there would be no place for the merchant. 
 If no one cared for grain or flour, how long do
 
 22 . All for Money. 
 
 you suppose the farmer would raise grain ? Now, 
 is not the supply of liquor regulated by the 
 demand for it, the same as any other article of 
 traffic ? Please answer that question, Cousin 
 Wyatt," added Mr. Harvey, with the air of a man 
 sure of his position. 
 
 " The farmer would not raise grain, unless he 
 desired it for home consumption, or could dispose 
 of it at a remunerative price," was the prompt 
 reply to one question, while the second was 
 ignored. 
 
 " Of course he wouldn't. Now, by the same 
 process of reasoning, I can show that the liquor 
 traffic is a natural outgrowth of the wants of the 
 community. The appetite for stimulants is uni 
 versal, and the means of gratifying this appetite 
 is confined to no country or zone. To come 
 back to first principles, 1 appeal to you, as a 
 sensible man, if the proper indulgence of an 
 appetite which is as natural as the appetite for 
 food, can, by any sophistry, be made to appear a 
 sin ? That is just the point to be considered in 
 this matter." 
 
 " That may be, Mr. Harvey ; but many of our
 
 Drifting. 23 
 
 most intelligent men and women would dissent 
 entirely from your assertion that the appetite for 
 alcoholic stimulants is universal and natural. I 
 am a living witness to the contrary. I am 
 satisfied with cold water and milk." 
 
 " Yet you drink tea and coffee." 
 
 " I do here, but I never drank either at home, 
 nor while I have been boarding." 
 
 " You would soon learn to care for both, and 
 depend upon them, too, if you should use them 
 every day." 
 
 " I presume I should ; and if I should drink a 
 glass of wine every day for three months, I 
 should learn to care for it. I have no natural 
 appetite for coffee or wine." 
 
 " Well, then, you are an exception to 
 the general rule. A large majority of men 
 would testify on my side," said the host, will 
 ing now to waive further discussion of this 
 point. 
 
 " It may be that is true. I know very well 
 that the majority of men use liquors more or 
 less moderately. It seems strange to me, and 
 stranger still that a sensible man will allow
 
 24 All for Money. 
 
 himself to become such a slave to any appetite, 
 as the drunkard is." 
 
 " It is strange. I agree with you. I never can 
 look upon a drunkard without a feeling of 
 disgust." 
 
 " Then, Cousin Harvey, how can you object to 
 a suppression of the traffic which makes drunk 
 ards ?" 
 
 The gentleman to whom this question was 
 addressed heard it with profound astonishment. 
 He did not reply at once. He desired time for 
 consideration, and made no apology for a pro 
 tracted silence. 
 
 At length he turned to his guest and said 
 deliberately : " I make no pretensions to more 
 goodness than other people possess. I have 
 money which I wish to invest where it will bring 
 me large returns, and you are out of business. 
 There's a well located, first-class liquor store 
 to be sold in twenty days. If you will appear as 
 its purchaser and conduct the business, I will 
 advance the necessary funds. You shall receive 
 such a per centage of the profits as will satisfy 
 you, and in ten years you will be a rich man.
 
 Drifting. 25 
 
 Don't answer me now. Take time to think of it. 
 Stay with us for a fortnight, at least ; and then 
 if you see fit to decline my offer I shall take no 
 offence. However you may decide, I shall be 
 glad that I have made your acquaintance."
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE TEMPTATION. 
 
 T was the next day after Hermon Wyatt 
 had been brought face to face with the 
 great temptation of his life, that he was 
 introduced to my readers. As he had said, he 
 was a poor man ; and moreover, he had nine 
 years less in which to make a fortune than when 
 he began the pursuit of wealth. He could illy 
 afford to repeat the slow process of saving from a 
 salary the means of establishing himself again in 
 business. He was in the full perfection of physi 
 cal life ; but to his distorted sense he seemed al 
 most to have passed the meridian of his strength. 
 It had been his ambition to write his name in the 
 list of wealthy men before age should have 
 whitened his hair. His unexpected failure was a 
 terrible blow to all such hopes.
 
 The Temptation. 27 
 
 After making the proposition which involved 
 so much of weal or woe, Mr. Harvey abruptly 
 changed the subject of conversation ; yet still 
 taking care not to lose sight of his purpose. He 
 talked of his own early days, when he, too, 
 longed for ample means to enable him to com 
 mand an influential place in the world. 
 
 "Say what people may, Cousin Wyatt, money 
 is king," he remarked. " In this country money 
 will accomplish almost anything, and the man 
 who calculates to do much for himself or others 
 must have it. We need money to endow semi 
 naries of learning ; build churches ; and help 
 those who have not been blessed with the ability 
 to help themselves. My friend, to whom I have 
 referred, gives largely for all benevolent pur 
 poses, and is always ready to contribute his full 
 share for the public good. What would induce 
 us to go back to the style of living our fathers 
 and mothers endured ?" 
 
 " I should wish to be better paid for it than 
 they were," was the reply. 
 
 " I think you would. It was pinching to make 
 buckle and strap meet, and then finding a gap
 
 28 All for Money. 
 
 after all at the end of the year. So they man 
 aged to drag on, worried, and troubled, and anx 
 ious ; growing old before their time ; and never 
 able to meet the smallest extra expense. For 
 my part, I should rather die than be so poor as 
 my father was. It takes all the heart out of a 
 man. If I had daughters, I would never give 
 them to poor men as wives. It would make me 
 miserable to see them look like the overworked 
 women we meet every day on our streets. Pov 
 erty means overwork for women, who should be 
 tenderly cared for." 
 
 " Poverty is a bitter thing," responded Hcrmon 
 Wyatt, who had reason to know that his host was 
 not alone in the sentiments expressed. 
 
 He had seen a gray-haired man lead from the 
 altar, as a bride, the only woman he had ever 
 wished to make his wife ; and even now his 
 breath came thick and fast as he recalled the 
 words of her father, when some involuntary act 
 had betrayed the secret of his love. 
 
 " My daughter has been accustomed to luxury. 
 The man to whom she is married must be able 
 to provide for her as I have."
 
 The Temptation. 29 
 
 Three years since then, and he was too prac 
 tical to indulge in useless regrets. He flattered 
 himself that he might have won the daughter's 
 love despite her father ; but his pride had taken 
 umbrage, and he plunged into business, more 
 than ever resolved to wrest from fate her golden 
 favors. 
 
 It was late when he left his cousin and retired 
 to his chamber to pass a sleepless night. Morn 
 ing found him dispirited and suffering from a 
 severe headache. 
 
 Mrs. Harvey did not appear at the breakfast - 
 table. Her husband apologized for her absence 
 by remarking: "Such a wind as we had last 
 night always affects her nerves. You will see 
 her at dinner, quite well, I hope." 
 
 There was some attempt at cheerfulness which 
 resulted in failure, and the storm was held re 
 sponsible for a gloom with which it was in no 
 way connected. 
 
 " I am very sorry to leave you, but I am 
 obliged to go away on business to-day," said Mr. 
 Harvey, an hour later. " Please consider your 
 self at home, and make the most of the comforts
 
 jo All for Money. 
 
 about you. I wouldn't go if it wasn't a matter of 
 importance that demands attention." 
 
 Not a word of what had transpired the previ 
 ous evening. The library door was ajar, and 
 Hermon Wyatt entered. He was too restless to 
 read. He had never been more lonely, and yet 
 he did not care for companionship. He glanced 
 down the columns of some late newspapers only 
 to find them filled with details of the financial 
 panic. Failures were occurring every hour, and 
 a feeling of insecurity pervaded all business 
 circles. 
 
 One item riveted his attention : " In the gen 
 eral depression of trade, it is a noticeable fact 
 that there is no falling off in the sale of liquors. 
 Importers, wholesale dealers, and retailers are 
 doing a large and profitable business. One 
 might argue from this that intoxicating liquor in 
 some form is one of the chief necessaries of life, 
 ilf so, our temperance reformers are all wrong." 
 
 Here was a strong argument in favor of his 
 engaging in the liquor traffic. It was not liable 
 to fluctuations and reverses. 
 
 True, his prejudices and principles were all
 
 The Temptation. j/ 
 
 opposed to it. He had once been offered ,a 
 clerkship in a wholesale liquor store, and refused 
 it with disdain ; although the salary was much 
 larger than he could command elsewhere. One 
 moment, he resolved to settle the point by 
 leaving his cousin's house : the next he reflected 
 that he had his way to make in the world, and 
 that here was the only friend from whom he 
 could expect any assistance. 
 
 Ten years ! In imagination these years had 
 passed, and at forty he was still a comparatively 
 poor man. Springing from the chair in which he 
 was seated, he rushed through the hall and up 
 the stairs to his own room. 
 
 Instantly he contrasted this with the low gar 
 ret whose bare rafters had been familiar to him 
 in his boyhood. Here was wealth. There was 
 poverty. Money made all the difference, and 
 money he must have at any cost. 
 
 He did not profess to be a Christian. Why 
 should he set up a higher standard for himself 
 than was maintained by the church ? If other 
 men could be accounted honorable while dealing 
 in intoxicating liquors, why could not he? If
 
 $2 All for Money. 
 
 others were extolled for benevolence, when their 
 benefactions were the direct gains of pandering 
 to a depraved appetite, why might not he join 
 their ranks ? 
 
 This was sheer sophistry, as he well knew ; yet 
 he welcomed it as sound logic, and allowed his 
 fancy to revel in dreams of magnificent wealth. 
 He possessed houses and lands. His ships sailed 
 away to far off lands and returned laden with 
 precious cargoes. His home was palatial in its 
 elegance. His wife for his home must have a 
 mistress was the cynosure of all eyes. 
 
 Was it the moaning of the wind, or a cry of 
 pain from his own heart which sent him to the 
 window as the storm birds flitted past with un 
 ruffled plumage ? How he envied them ! Duty 
 and inclination were never at variance in their 
 domain. The supply of their daily wants con 
 tented them ; while he was ever struggling and 
 never attaining. 
 
 Near his old home was a hill, crowned with 
 three majestic oaks, beneath whose wide-spread 
 ing branches he had often rested. He longed 
 now for the freedom and sense of isolation which
 
 The Temptation* 33 
 
 he had experienced nowhere else as there. He 
 would bare his head to the tempest nor shrink 
 from its fury. 
 
 He was brave and strong. No one ever branded 
 him as a coward. Had Leander Harvey stood 
 before him then he would have replied to the 
 gentleman's proposal as his better nature dictated. 
 He could have gone out to life-long poverty, if 
 need be, without one feeling of regret. 
 
 He turned from the sternness without to the 
 softness within, and a change passed over him. 
 The oak-crowned hill was but a bleak, desolate 
 eminence, offering neither shelter nor refresh 
 ment. The atmosphere was cold and piercing ; 
 not free and invigorating. Isolation was but 
 another name for positive wretchedness. He 
 could not forego the advantages proffered 
 him. 
 
 This he was fain to regard as a final decision, 
 and took up a paper he had brought from the 
 library. The first article upon which his eye fell 
 was headed : " Another victim of the liquor 
 traffic." He threw down the paper, but some 
 thing impelled him to its perusal.
 
 jy All for Money. 
 
 A young man with a family dependent upon 
 him had been induced to sell his services to a 
 wholesale liquor dealer, simply because the latter 
 \vas the highest bidder for these services. The 
 man was reliable and strictly temperate ; the 
 right man for his position. So said his employer ; 
 and those who had remonstrated with him hoped 
 their fears would prove groundless. 
 
 The story was told in few words. The fumes 
 of the liquor appealed to his senses. He tasted, 
 and his doom was sealed. His downward career 
 was short. In less than two years he was a con 
 firmed drunkard, realizing his degradation, and 
 yet unable to escape from the thraldom of a bru 
 tish appetite. Life became intolerable, and he 
 died by his own hand, leaving those who loved 
 him to mourn his untimely death. 
 
 The concluding paragraph of the record was as 
 follows : " The late employer of the deceased, 
 after paying all funeral charges, and giving other 
 substantial tokens of his sympathy, invested two 
 thousand dollars for the benefit of the bereaved 
 family. Has he returned a just equivalent for the 
 life of the husband and father ? Is the value of
 
 The Temptation. 35 
 
 a human soul to be estimated in dollars and 
 cents ?" 
 
 " No ! A thousand times no !" was the quick 
 response which fell from the lips of the reader. 
 
 A shrill whistle announced the arrival of a 
 railroad train, and not long after, a close carriage 
 was driven to the door. A young girl sprang 
 out, who was welcomed cordially by the servant. 
 
 " Tell Auntie I have come, and will cure her 
 headache. It was dismal enough in the cars, but 
 I knew it would be pleasant here." 
 
 " Yes, Miss Milly ; it's always pleasant where 
 you are," was the answer given to this remark. 
 
 A sweet, rippling laugh replied ; its music 
 floating up the broad stairway, and penetrating 
 the room in which Hermon Wyatt was sitting. 
 
 This was sufficient to change the current of his 
 thoughts, and make him wish to hasten the flight 
 of time. At length dinner was announced, as 
 usual, when he presented himself faultlessly 
 dressed, and looking handsomer than was his 
 wont. He was introduced to Miss Legrew,who 
 acknowledged the introduction with, well-bred 
 courtesy, and then quite ignored his presence.
 
 j6 All for Money. 
 
 Dinner over, he retired to the library ; not to 
 make business calculations, but to dream of 
 starry eyes, rose-bud lips, and dimpled chin. He 
 was idle ; else a girl's face seen for the first 
 time would never so have moved him. 
 
 Mr. Harvey returned ; and mindful of his duties 
 as host, invited his cousin to the parlor, where 
 the ladies were enjoying a tete-a-tete. Millicent 
 Legrew raised her eyes to the handsome face 
 of the young man, allowing them to rest there 
 for a moment, as if scanning his features. Then, 
 without a shadow of embarrassment more than 
 a child would have betrayed, she turned away 
 her gaze and addressed her uncle. 
 
 " You are surprised to see me here ?" she said, 
 interrogatively. 
 
 " Happily surprised," answered the gentleman. 
 " I should not have supposed anything would 
 take you from the city at this season, but I am 
 very glad to see you." 
 
 "Thank you for that assurance. I left the city 
 because it takes money to live there, and I am 
 only a poor girl, with lots of finery and no 
 fortune."
 
 The Temptation. j/ 
 
 " No fortune, child ! Have you lost it ?" 
 
 " Yes, the whole has gone at one fell swoop. 
 I had enough to bring me here, and thanked my 
 stars for that. I haven't told auntie about it 
 before. Failures are so common in these days 
 they are matters of general interest ; so that I 
 trust Mr. Wyatt will excuse me for intruding 
 this item of news upon his notice. Mother is 
 troubled, and as she would look on the dark 
 side, I felt obliged to leave her." 
 
 Few young ladies would have spoken thus 
 frankly. This was the mental comment made by 
 Mr. Harvey, and he admired his favorite all the 
 more for so doing. He understood why she had 
 chosen such a time and place to reveal her true 
 position, and he knew better than she could tell 
 him how unhomelike her own home must now be 
 to her. 
 
 Her mother, a sister of his wife, was a thor 
 oughly worldly woman, who had striven hard to 
 render her daughter as heartless and artificial as 
 herself. Sometimes it seemed that she had ac 
 complished her purpose, and for weeks Milly 
 lived in a whirl of excitement and fashionable
 
 38 All for Money. 
 
 dissipation which left no time for serious thought. 
 She was flattered by admiring attentions, and 
 dazzled by brilliant anticipations, until she seemed 
 the veriest butterfly that ever expanded its wingsj 
 in the warmth of a summer sun. 
 
 Her father was a man of sterling qualities. 
 Had he lived, he would have influenced her for 
 good ; and even now, in her gayest hours, she 
 often questioned how he would have regarded her 
 life. 
 
 So far as property was concerned, she had been 
 left independent of her mother, and having 
 already passed the age when by her father's will 
 it was to be at her own disposal, the loss fell 
 entirely upon herself. She had the consolation 
 of knowing that this loss was the result of no 
 mismanagement on her part, as her guardian had 
 invested it in accordance with her father's wish ; 
 and but for heavy failures which could not have 
 been foreseen, the investment would be secure. 
 
 " Why Milly, child, what are you going to do ?" 
 asked her aunt, in a tone of distress. 
 
 " Going to work," was the laughing reply. 
 " Mother can't afford to support me. I suppose
 
 The Temptation. 39 
 
 I can do something to earn money. I like it too 
 well to try to live without it." 
 
 " I don't think any of us would like to try that. 
 Cousin Wyatt, here, went down with the crash, 
 but I have a presentiment that he will be better 
 off for it. It's best to look on the bright side, 
 and not be easily discouraged," said Mr. Harvey, 
 looking from one to another of his companions, 
 and feeling somewhat embarrassed by the com 
 munication which had been made. " Suppose 
 now you give us some music, and so drive away 
 dull care." 
 
 The young lady needed no urging. Seating 
 herself at the piano, she played light fantastic 
 airs : then wild, stormy battle hymns, dying 
 away in mournful dirges like the sobbings of 
 breaking hearts. She paused for a little, then 
 touched again the keys in waltzing measure : the 
 very perfection of rhythmic melody. 
 
 " You have one gift left, Milly. Your music 
 has been a rare treat." 
 
 " I am glad that it has," she replied 
 to her uncle's remark. " My head aches now. 
 If you will excuse me I will bid you good
 
 40 All for Money. 
 
 night ;" and with a graceful bow she left the 
 room. 
 
 Mr. Wyatt did not long remain. He was dis 
 inclined to conversation, and judged rightly that 
 his friends would willingly dispense with his com 
 pany. 
 
 They met in the morning. Mrs. Harvey was 
 courteous and smiling ; Mr. Harvey, hearty and 
 cordial. Miss Legrewwas very pale, with dark 
 circles about her eyes, and a look of utter weari 
 ness upon her face. 
 
 It was not necessary for her to say that she 
 had watched through all the night ; counting the 
 hours as they passed ; longing for the light of 
 day, and yet shrinking from what the day might 
 bring. She sat opposite Hermon Wyatt at the 
 table ; and as she glanced at him she wondered 
 if the loss of money seemed to him such a terrible 
 calamity, while she envied him the ability to 
 retrieve his fortune. 
 
 He was very handsome ; and straightway she 
 found herself fancying the sensation he would 
 create in her set. There was Maud Clifford 
 always raving about " men of magnificent height
 
 The Temptation. 41 
 
 and figure ;" and no one would presume to dispute 
 the claims of Mr. Wyatt to these qualifications. 
 Bess Cleveland doted upon wavy locks and soft 
 silky beard ; waxing eloquent in their praise, 
 and exhausting her vocabulary of adjectives in 
 their description. Here was all she could desire 
 as inspiration for her rhapsodies. 
 
 Not one of these fair girls would have detected 
 the lack in the manly face which a skilful reader 
 of human faces would have recognized at once. 
 Milly did not see it. She was critical, but to her 
 the stranger seemed faultless in his personal ap 
 pearance. A month before she would have 
 anticipated a flirtation with so desirable a party. 
 Now, there was too much of sad reality in the 
 present too much in the immediate past to be 
 remembered ; and too much of serious work 
 waiting for her in the future, to allow her to drift 
 into a flirtation merely because a man was hand 
 some and agreeable. 
 
 She was relieved when breakfast was over, and 
 she had no further need to keep up an appear 
 ance of cheerfulness. She had been brave and 
 almost defiant when she bade her mother good-
 
 42 All for Money. 
 
 ** 
 
 bye, after having- been told that she had thrown 
 away her only chance of making a good settle 
 ment in life ; but her bravery was well nigh spent. 
 
 She loved her mother, and it was hard to resist 
 the entreaties of one she loved ; but to marry an 
 old man merely because he could count his wealth 
 by millions would have been infinitely harder. 
 She would not so degrade herself. She was not 
 a Circassian beauty, to be sold to the highest 
 bidder and wear his chains gratefully, even 
 though the chains were of gold encrusted with 
 diamonds. She was vain and foolish, but there 
 was a limit to her vanity and folly. She would 
 never perjure herself at the altar, and make a 
 mock of what should be a holy sacrament. All 
 this and much more she had said when her 
 mother reproached her for refusing the wealthi 
 est man of her acquaintance. 
 
 " You will never have another such an offer," 
 exclaimed Mrs. Legrew. 
 
 " I hope not," was the quick reply of her 
 daughter. 
 
 " Mr. Esterbrook has the respect of the com 
 munity."
 
 The Temptation. 43 
 
 " His money buys it. There is nothing in his 
 appearance or character to command it. You 
 know that, mother. If he was my father I 
 could hardly tolerate him. As it is, I am thank- 
 
 
 
 ful that I have a right to treat him as he deserves." 
 
 " What do you know of his character ? You 
 have nothing to do with it. It does not concern 
 you in the least." 
 
 "I am glad it does not. But everybody knows 
 him to be an unprincipled, hard-hearted old man ; 
 as wicked as he is disagreeable, and ugly look 
 ing as he is contemptible. How could I love 
 such a man as he is ?" 
 
 " No one is perfect. You would get over your 
 romantic notions after living in poverty for a 
 while. Love is well enough in its place, but one 
 can't eat it, or drink it." 
 
 " Better poverty than slavery : and better any 
 other slavery than a loveless marriage. I will 
 starve in the street before I will ever give Mr. 
 Esterbrook the right to call me his wife." 
 
 " Then you are no daughter of mine. How are 
 you to live ?" 
 
 " I can work and earn my living. Other girls
 
 44 All for Money. 
 
 are doing it, and what others can do I can do 
 too." 
 
 " Other girls are starving in garrets, and freez 
 ing for want of fire and clothing." 
 
 " I shall never come to that while I have a 
 mother." 
 
 " No, Milly, you never shall ;" and for a mo 
 ment the mother's heart was touched. " But I 
 have set my heart upon this match," she added 
 directly. " Think of the advantages. You will 
 have the most elegant establishment in the city. 
 You will be the envy of all your companions. 
 You can eclipse them all in the richness of your 
 dress and jewels. Love is pleasant, but people 
 can live very comfortably without it ; while it is 
 quite impossible to live without money. I told 
 Mr. Esterbrook not to regard your decision as 
 final ; so you will have an opportunity to revoke 
 it. He will call again day after to-morrow. He 
 loves you so much, and is willing to lavish so 
 much upon you, you would soon learn to think 
 of him with grateful respect." 
 
 " Never, mother, no, never. I should hate 
 him."
 
 The Temptation. 45 
 
 " Then you may be sure Stella Bond will take 
 him." 
 
 " She is welcome to him, so far as I am con 
 cerned. Diamonds would become her, and she 
 would pay almost any price for the privilege of 
 wearing them. I should pity her though. It 
 would be dreadful to be tied to such an old roue. 
 That is just what he is, mother ; and his crue 
 character can be seen through the gilding as 
 plainly as you can see his glaring porcelain 
 teeth." 
 
 An unhappy scene had followed this discussion, 
 ending finally in tears and bitter recriminations. 
 Mrs. Legrewwas ambitious of just the distinction 
 now within her daughter's reach, and would not 
 have hesitated at any personal sacrifice by which 
 she could obtain it. She did not say that in all 
 probability death would soon release the wife of 
 Mr. Esterbrook from her marriage vows ; yet in 
 her calculations this was by no means overlooked. 
 She had been too long accustomed to consider 
 possibilities and probabilities, not to lay great 
 stress upon this ; but she did not urge it as a rea 
 son why her daughter should marry the old man.
 
 46 All for Money. 
 
 Mr. Esterbrook knew that Milly Legrew was 
 penniless, and with the egotism of such as he, 
 fancied she would gratefully accept of what he 
 could give in exchange for her youth and beauty. 
 To say that he loved her would not be true. He 
 was not capable of the emotion of love. But he 
 admired her, and the time had come when he 
 must make some preparation for confinement 
 within doors. His wife would be forced to accept 
 the thankless office of nurse and companion to 
 one who had no resources of happiness within 
 himself. 
 
 He acknowledged to but sixty years ; yet 
 according to the family record in the old Bible, 
 which his sister, a poor and lonely widow, 
 treasured as her choicest possession, he had 
 already passed the allotted age of threescore 
 years and ten. Only an iron constitution, and 
 the robust health firmly established by out-of 
 -door exercise and regular habits during his early 
 manhood, would have resisted the dissipation 
 and excesses of his mature life. 
 
 He had been proverbially penurious until a 
 fortunate speculation gave him the means of in-
 
 The Temptation. 47 
 
 dulging tastes no one had dreamed that he pos 
 sessed, and of which he was himself hardly con 
 scious. From that time his private career had 
 been such as all good men and women must 
 condemn. He was unscrupulous in 'all things. 
 Wealth accumulated upon his hands, while he 
 was deaf to every call of charity, and his soul 
 was beggared. 
 
 A sinister face strongly marked by evil pas 
 sions ; a narrow, receding forehead, and small, 
 wicked eyes made up a picture by no means 
 likely to please a young girl's fancy. But his 
 horses were magnificent, and his carriages ele 
 gant. His country-seat, recently purchased, 
 was such as a queen might choose for her resi 
 dence, and he was the richest man in the matri 
 monial market to which Mrs. Legrew had brought 
 her daughter.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 A GIRL'S DECISION. 
 
 ILLY LEGREW excused herself from 
 appearing at dinner, and not long after, 
 when her aunt was out driving with Mr. 
 Wyatt, she was summoned to a conference with 
 her uncle. She came to the library dejected, and 
 with laggard steps ; yet smiled as she entered 
 and accepted the chair proffered her. 
 
 "Now, Milly, child, tell us all about this mis 
 erable business," said Mr. Harvey. " Have you 
 really lost every dollar of your property?" 
 
 " Yes, uncle, every dollar, except enough to 
 bring me here and pay my dressmaker's bill." 
 
 " Your mother has not lost hers." 
 
 " Oh, no. But, as I told you, she can't afford 
 to support me. I never thought of it till within 
 a few days ; but she must have been spending on
 
 A Girl's Decision. 49 
 
 her principal the last two years. I have been 
 making some estimates of our expenses, and I am 
 sure they are more than her income can meet. 
 She has not told me so, but I am as sure as if she 
 had. She calculated upon my making a brilliant 
 match, and I have disappointed her by refusing 
 to marry the man she has chosen for me." 
 
 " Tell me all about it, Milly. You can trust 
 me, and perhaps I can give you some good advice 
 in ths matter." 
 
 " I should like the advice if it sustains me. 
 How I wish my father had lived. I never needed 
 him so much as I do now. I can't yield to my 
 mother, and I can't convince her that I am doing 
 right in refusing." 
 
 "Refusing what?" 
 
 " Refusing to marry Mr. Esterbrook." 
 
 " What ! Daniel Esterbrook, that old rowdy !" 
 
 " Yes, uncle, and that is just what I called 
 him, only I Frenchified the obnoxious epithet. 
 
 " I shouldn't take the trouble to do that even if 
 I could. I believe in plain English ; and Dan 
 Esterbrook, with all his money, is a low, coarse 
 rowdy. So he wants to marry you, does he ?"
 
 So All for Money. 
 
 "Yes, sir; he said it would be the crowning 
 glory of his life to lay his fortune at my feet." 
 "His fortune is princely, and one cannot live 
 without money ; but to be his wife would be pay 
 ing too dear a price. Your mother must be insane 
 to think of such a thing. In the first place, he is 
 old enough to be your grandfather. In the sec 
 ond place, his looks are a strong confirmation of 
 the theory that man descended from a baboon. 
 You refused him of course." 
 
 " Of course I did, but mother told him not to 
 consider my decision final. So to avoid the com 
 ing storm and take counsel with you I came 
 here." 
 
 " You did right. I never thought old Ester- 
 brook could be so presumptuous ; but money 
 hides a vast amount of conceit as well as a mul 
 titude of sins. I don't believe in a girl like you 
 marrying a poor man and settling down to 
 drudge through life, but there should always be a 
 decent regard for the fitness of things. It's not 
 necessary to choose between him and poverty, 
 if you are a penniless girl. Your mother knew 
 you were coming here ?"
 
 A Girl's Decision. 57 
 
 " Yes, sir, and she told me you would send me 
 back to act as a sensible girl should. I am will 
 ing to work, but I will never marry that old 
 wretch." 
 
 " What can you do ?" 
 
 " I don't know. You see I have never tried. 
 I have been enjoying life without thinking there 
 was any work for me. Now, as I am determined 
 not to be bargained off like a piece of salable 
 property, I intend to give my friends due notice 
 of my independence. With a little practice I 
 could give music lessons, and I could soon learn 
 to play a church organ. I was the best scholar 
 Mr. Ajrtoni had in the seminary. I ought to be a 
 music teacher, and that is just what I will be. I 
 will advertise for scholars directly." 
 
 " But your mother and your aunt will object 
 to that, and I can't say I shall be wholly pleased. 
 I shall be happy to give you a home and provide 
 for you as long as you will stay with us. Your 
 aunt would be delighted to have you for a com 
 panion ; and whether you stay or not, there's no 
 need of troubling yourself about your support. 
 It's a pity if we can't take care of one little girl."
 
 5-? All for Money. 
 
 The tears which had been trembling in Milly's 
 eyes now came trickling down beneath the closed 
 lids, and despite her efforts to suppress them, her 
 sobs were audible. 
 
 " I thought I had done all my crying," she 
 said at length. "I don't care so much about the 
 money, if mother wouldn't feel as she does." 
 
 " Don't be troubled about that. She will feel 
 differently when she comes to realize what a 
 sacrifice she has asked you to make. Just now 
 she is dazzled with the glitter of gold. Did you 
 leave her alone ?" 
 
 " Alone with Cousin Naomi and the servants." 
 
 " What did Naomi say to you ?" 
 
 "That I had more sense than she gave me 
 credit for, and she hoped old Moneybags would 
 keep out of her sight the rest of his life. She 
 always approves what mother disapproves." 
 
 " She is a sensible woman, with all her oddities, 
 and she might have been well married if she 
 hadn't been so particular. I have always won 
 dered that she chose to live with your mother." 
 
 " It is strange, but I don't know what we 
 should do without her. She is very capable, and 

 
 A Girls Decision. 5? 
 
 she has a kind heart, for all her sharp words. 
 She always comforted me in my childish troubles, 
 and when I was sick she and father always took 
 care of me. She encouraged me to come here 
 and tell you all my story. She said you were all 
 bound up in making money, but you had good 
 common sense and could be trusted in most cases. 
 So you see she had some faith in you ;" and Milly 
 smiled as she remembered the patronizing air 
 with which Cousin Naomi had made this re 
 mark. 
 
 " I feel complimented," replied the gentleman, 
 smiling in return. " I am very glad you came 
 here, and you may count on me to sustain you 
 in your refusal to marry old Esterbrook. The 
 wonder to me is that he ever presumed to think 
 of such a thing." 
 
 " But he has money, uncle, and it does seem 
 sometimes as though people would sell their 
 souls for money. I don't doubt but what some 
 girl would marry him. Some girl, too, as young 
 and as pretty as I am." 
 
 The laugh which supplemented this frank 
 reference to her own dower of youth and beauty
 
 5^ All for Momy. 
 
 was the very same which had so charmed Hermon 
 Wyatt. 
 
 Mr. Harvey responded gayly : " There is van 
 ity for you. Your trials Jjave not destroyed 
 that." 
 
 " No, sir. Why should they ? I must make 
 the most of my personal qualities, now that I 
 have no more solid attractions. I am a poor girl. 
 Just think of it. And there is no more reason 
 why Milly Legrew should go through the world 
 in a gilded chariot, drawn by prancing horses, than 
 there is that all other girls should do the same. 
 Cousin Naomi said that to me one day last 
 spring, and I didn't believe her ; but I am 
 beginning now to think she told the truth. If I 
 could stay here a year and give music lessons, 
 uncle, I should be perfectly happy. I'd rather do 
 it than anything else I can think of. Isn't Miss 
 Perry getting old-fashioned, or tired, or some 
 thing, so she would be glad to give up her 
 scholars ? You see, I have the latest style at my 
 fingers' ends, and could whirl my pupils along at 
 a waltzing rate." 
 
 "Perhaps so, Milly. I don't doubt you could
 
 A Girl's Decision. 55 
 
 teach music if you should attempt it, and of 
 course you would do it well." 
 
 " Of course I should. And Miss Perry " 
 
 " I've not seen her very lately ; but the last 
 time I met her with a roll of music in her hand, 
 she looked so pale and tired I really pitied her. 
 She is a very worthy woman, and she has done 
 for her parents what few daughters could. Her 
 father lost his property after it was too late for 
 him to go into active business again, and her 
 brother turned out a miserable drunkard, so that 
 the support of the family came upon her. She 
 was a pretty girl then, not much older than you 
 are. She has spent the best part of her life in 
 giving music lessons, just managing to make her 
 earnings meet the demands made upon them. 
 She is forty now. I shouldn't like to see you 
 spend your life as she has, and in twenty years 
 find yourself alone, with no one to care for you. 
 Miss Perry's mother died last spring, and since 
 then she must have been very lonely." 
 
 " Poor woman ! I pity her. I don't think I 
 could live alone. I mean to call on her and usk 
 her if she has more scholars than she wants ; or
 
 5<5 All for Money. 
 
 perhaps she would like to take a vacation, and 
 let me try my skill in teaching. You are willing 
 I should, aren't you, uncle ?" 
 
 " I am willing you should call upon her. 
 Indeed, I should be very glad to have you do so. 
 I am afraid we have neglected her, though she 
 lives in a comfortable way, and there's not a lady 
 in our village who can entertain company more 
 agreeably than she. But you had better talk 
 with your aunt before you make any plans for 
 supporting yourself. I know she will oppose you 
 in that." 
 
 " But I am used to opposition just now, and 
 Cousin Naomi says I ought never to give up 
 when I know I am right." 
 
 " You may be mistaken in your ideas of what 
 is right." 
 
 "Yes, sir, I am very likely to be mistaken. 
 But it can't be wrong for me to make myself 
 useful." 
 
 This conversation was prolonged until Mrs. 
 Harvey and Mr. Wyatt returned from their drive, 
 bringing with them something of the vitality 
 pervading the clear, cold atmosphere without.
 
 A Girl's Decision. 57 
 
 " You ought not to stay in the house this de 
 lightful day," said the lady to her niece. "It is 
 treason to the weather. If there was another 
 hour of daylight I should insist upon your going 
 out. You would soon forget your headache." 
 
 " I have forgotten it already," was replied. 
 " Uncle has driven away headache and heartache. 
 We have had a nice, cozy chat, and this library 
 always did seem to me a real comforting room. 
 If I was a book- worm I should take up my quar 
 ters in the sunniest corner." 
 
 " You don't look much like a book-worm," 
 rejoined Mr. Harvey, while the younger gentle 
 man mentally indulged in the most extravagant 
 praises of her beauty and grace. 
 
 For the time, she was relieved of the burden 
 which had oppressed her, and her spirits rose 
 with the occasion. Conscious of the admiration 
 she inspired, she delivered herself to the pleasures 
 of the hour. She conversed with charming viva 
 city ; investing the most common-place remarks 
 with an importance borrowed from her fascinat 
 ing manner. Mr. Wyatt led her to the piano 
 and listened enraptured to the music she evoked.
 
 58 AH for Money. 
 
 When she retired that night, she forgot to be 
 moan her fate, nor feared what the morrow might 
 bring. To talk seriously with her aunt in regard 
 to her half- formed plans had seemed a formidable 
 task ; but when a new morning dawned she felt 
 not a single misgiving. 
 
 Her face had lost the look which appealed so 
 strongly to the sympathy of those who saw her 
 the previous day. Breakfast was a cheerful meal, 
 over which all lingered as if loth to separate. 
 
 Later, Mr. Harvey went out ; Mr. Wyatt went 
 to the library ; and the ladies seated themselves 
 in a small room designated by Milly as " the 
 snuggery." 
 
 " That's just the name for such a room as 
 this," she would exclaim triumphantly, whenever 
 an objection was made to her homely word. 
 " You can call it what you please ; but to me 
 it is just a snuggery, where you can think your 
 own thoughts, and express them, too, without 
 consulting the latest bulletins to decide whether 
 they are dressed in the most fashionable style. 
 
 " Just the place for us this morning, auntie," 
 she said, coaxingly. " Because, you see, I have
 
 A Girl's Decision. 59 
 
 a proposal to make to you, and I want to be sure 
 of you in your most gracious mood. Allow me 
 to open the door into the conservatory, so that 
 our senses may be steeped in the perfume of 
 flowers, and we can fancy that we are living 
 where perpetual summer reigns. The lilies and 
 the roses ! Oh, auntie, what a beautiful home 
 you have !" 
 
 " Yes, I think it is pleasant, but I am hoping 
 that we shall some time have a more spacious and 
 elegant house than this. I like to have every 
 thing about me chaste and beautiful." 
 
 " So do I, and that is just the discomfort of 
 being poor. When it takes all your money to 
 buy bread, and butter, and coal, and plain 
 dresses, there can't be any left for flowers and 
 handsome furniture. I wonder how it would 
 seem to earn one's own living, and count pennies 
 to see whether you could afford a new pair of 
 gloves ?" 
 
 " It would be dreadful ! I've been thinking 
 about you, Milly, ever since you came here, and 
 I am very sorry for you. But there is one way a 
 woman can retrieve her fortune honorably, and I
 
 60 All for -Money. 
 
 am sure that way will be open to you. You 
 must marry a rich man." 
 
 " I wouldn't object to that, provided the man 
 was handsome and agreeable, and I loved him," 
 replied the young girl, gayly. 
 
 " As handsome and agreeable as Mr. Wyatt, 
 for instance." 
 
 " Now, auntie, isn't he just splendid ? It's too 
 bad he lost his money. But that's always the 
 way. Most all the rich men are old and ugly, 
 and so disagreeable. And to think girls will 
 marry them ! I would starve first." 
 
 " Then we must take care that the fairy prince 
 who comes a wooing you is neither old, nor ugly, 
 nor disagreeable. If he is, you will reject him." 
 
 " Yes, indeed I will, auntie." 
 
 " But you must remember, Milly, that you can't 
 expect perfection, and fortunes are not made in a 
 day. It takes years to amass a fortune, and men 
 will grow old while they are making money." 
 
 " But uncle was not old when you were mar 
 ried." 
 
 "No, Milly. Neither was he rich. But he 
 had made a good start in life, and my father saiJ
 
 A Girl's Decision. 61 
 
 he was sure to accumulate property. So I ac 
 cepted him, though it took me a long time to 
 make up my mind." 
 
 " You loved him, didn't you ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes. He was fine-looking, and my young 
 lady friends all admired him ; so there was the 
 pleasure of knowing that they envied me. I 
 really cared for him, too, but then, I was never 
 such a romantic little thing as you are. The fact 
 was, we hadn't much money to live on at home, 
 and we girls were tired of trying to keep up 
 appearances. It is hard work, Milly ; the hard 
 est a woman can do. You don't know anything 
 about it, and I hope you never will. Why, I've 
 seen the time when I would have been willing to 
 work all night to earn enough to buy a neck- 
 ribbon, if I could have done it without having 
 people know it." 
 
 " What if people had known it, auntie ?" 
 
 " We should have lost our position in society. 
 You don't associate with working girls." 
 
 " But why shouldn't I ? The girls I see in 
 shops are as ladylike as the girls in our set, and 
 I don't doubt they are just as good. There is
 
 62 All for Money. 
 
 Hester Downing. She used to be in the semi 
 nary with me, and she was the best and loveliest 
 of us all. She is in a millinery store now, trim 
 ming bonnets, and making the sweetest hats 
 anybody can think of. She could always arrange 
 laces and flowers more artistically than any one 
 else ; and when her father died, she found he 
 hadn't left much property ; so she went to work 
 to earn her own living." 
 
 " How old is she ?" 
 
 " Only a year older than I am. But she is a 
 great deal more sensible. She says she could 
 make a great deal of money if she could only 
 start in business for herself." 
 
 " Where do you see her ?" 
 
 "Oh, I go to see her at home. I found out 
 how little she gets for the work she does, so I 
 wanted to pay her instead of her employer. She 
 makes my bonnets, and mothers, too, and you'd 
 wonder how little they cost. She has a faculty for 
 pulling things to pieces and making them over, so 
 you couldn't possibly recognize the old material." 
 
 " She must be a treasure for people who need 
 to have such transformations accomplished."
 
 A Girl's Decision. 6j 
 
 " She is a treasure, any way ; and she looks 
 prettier than ever in her plain dresses. But 
 you see, auntie, I could never do as she 
 does." 
 
 " No, my dear. Why should you ?" 
 
 " Because I must do something to support 
 myself. To tell the plain truth, mamma and I 
 have had a quarrel, and I can't expect her to 
 share her property with me, especially as she has 
 no more than she needs for herself." 
 
 " What do you mean ?" asked Mrs. Harvey. 
 
 For answer, Milly repeated the story she had 
 told her uncle, expressing her aversion to Mr. 
 Esterbrook even more strongly. 
 
 " I have heard of him, and, so far as money is 
 concerned, he would be an unexceptionable 
 match," said the elder lady, by way of comment. 
 " Couldn't you possibly overcome your aversion 
 to him ?" 
 
 " No, indeed. Neither will I try. The wretch ! 
 If he was good he would be unbearable. As it 
 is, he is a wicked old sinner, without any 
 redeeming qualities. I just hate him !" 
 
 "So much that you can see another woman
 
 64 All for Money. 
 
 surrounded with every luxury as his wife, and 
 not envy her ?" 
 
 " Envy her ! I should pity her with all my 
 heart, only I am not sure she would deserve any 
 pity. No one can be deceived in regard to him. 
 And now comes the grand question, auntie. Are 
 you willing I should stay here for a year and 
 teach music, if I can get scholars without 
 intruding upon Miss Perry ?" 
 
 Mrs. Harvey looked at her companion in dumb 
 surprise, until, when moved to speak, she ex 
 claimed : " You are crazy to think of such a 
 thing. The idea of your drudging as a music- 
 teacher ! It is perfectly absurd. Stay here one 
 year, or five. I shall be delighted to have you 
 with me. But your mother will never consent to 
 such an arrangement.". 
 
 Decisive as this seemed, Milly Legrevv acknowl 
 edged no defeat. She knew her power, and con 
 tinued to plead until she gained a conditional 
 assent to her proposal. Miss Perry was univer 
 sally esteemed, and Mrs. Harvey was quite will 
 ing her niece should visit one who had proved by 
 actual experience the hardships of a music
 
 A Girls Decision. 65 
 
 teacher's life. Content to waive further discuss 
 ion at this point, the young lady hastened to 
 speak of other subjects ; coming back at last to 
 Mr. Wyatt. 
 
 " How long is he to remain here ?" she asked. 
 
 " I don't know," was replied. " Your uncle 
 invited him here and wishes to make his visit 
 agreeable to him. Now, if he was rich " 
 
 " Perhaps he will be sometime. If I was in 
 his place I would be before I was an old man, 
 too. I wonder if he will invite me to drive with 
 him this afternoon ?" 
 
 " Leave me to manage that. But don't flirt 
 too seriously. Your mother would never forgive 
 me, and I should never forgive myself if I should 
 be a party to an unfortunate entanglement. I 
 can rely upon your discretion." 
 
 ' Yes, auntie, you can trust me. I am in no 
 danger of falling in love with a poor man, how 
 ever handsome he may be. I couldn't settle 
 down in a small way, and do housework till my 
 hands grew large, and coarse, and rough. No, I 
 couldn't do that." 
 
 " I hope you never can. You might as well
 
 66 All for Money. 
 
 bury yourself to commence with. I bo Hove in 
 the old adage: ' When poverty comes in at the 
 door, love flies out of the window.' ' 
 
 "Well, for all the adage is old, I don't think 
 it ought to be so. Everybody can't be rich, but 
 it seems as though everybody might have love. 
 Love don't cost anything." 
 
 " Romantic still, Milly. I am afraid it will 
 require a great deal of discipline to cure you of 
 all your girlish folly." 
 
 " And must I be cured ? Perhaps I shall be 
 an exception to the general rule, and carry my 
 romance with me all through life." 
 
 " It will be strange if you do. I shall expect 
 you to become a sensible, matter-of-fact woman 
 within the next ten years ; but I am in no hurry 
 to have you lay aside your rose-colored specta 
 cles. They are more becoming than green gog 
 gles ; and it seems sometimes as though we must 
 wear one or the other." 
 
 "Then I prefer couleur de rose, and I thank 
 you ever so much for being so patient with me. 
 I hope mamma will take me into favor again, but I 
 am afraid it will be a long time first. I think I
 
 A Girls Decision. 6j 
 
 will call on Miss Perry this afternoon, and then 
 if I don't find her at home, I can call again to 
 morrow." 
 
 It was not Hermon Wyatt's fault that the door 
 leading from the conservatory to the library had 
 been left ajar. Hearing the sound of voices, he 
 had attempted to close it ; but finding this could 
 not be done noiselessly, he had resumed his seat 
 and taken up a new magazine. He might have 
 left the room, yet he chose to remain ; and so it 
 was that when Mrs. Harvey and her niece had 
 finished their consultation, he was tolerably well 
 informed in regard to the young lady's sentiments 
 and prospects. He understood, also, how he was 
 himself regarded, and cursed his poverty as never 
 before. 
 
 As a matter of justice, I should say that his 
 conscience accused him for having played the 
 part of listener. He was far too honorable to seek 
 to wrest from others their secrets ; and now that 
 they were in his possession he would guard them 
 sacredly. The offending door was shut, and no 
 one would ever suspect the revelation which had 
 been made.
 
 68 All for Money. 
 
 The afternoon was as pleasant as that of the 
 previous day, and MillyLegrew enjoyed a delight 
 ful drive. Nothing was wanting which could 
 add to her pleasure. She knew she was looking 
 her best. Her companion was agreeable. He 
 could manage the spirited horses he held in hand 
 without for a moment neglecting her, or seeming 
 unmindful of her comfort. She threw care to the 
 winds, and laughed a gleeful accompaniment to 
 the merry music of the bells.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE PRICE OF MONEY. 
 
 GIRL'S laugh, idle and foolish and 
 sweet," decided Herman Wyatt's future 
 course. When he returned from driving 
 with Milly Legrew, he was ready to accept any 
 proposal which would ensure to him the rapid 
 acquisition of wealth. 
 
 This, Mr. Harvey could plainly see. Yet he 
 was too wise to betray his consciousness ; and 
 moreover, other interests demanded attention. 
 A letter had been received from his sister-in-law, 
 in which she complained of the folly and disobe 
 dience of her daughter ; urging upon him the 
 duty of sending her home at once. 
 
 " Milly has some romantic notions which will 
 utterly ruin her prospects in life, unless they can 
 be driven out of her head. If you can bring her to
 
 7# All for Money. 
 
 her senses I shall be thankful. She is beggarly 
 poor, and knows no more what it means than 
 a baby. It is absolutely necessary that she 
 should be here within three days, or all is 
 lost." 
 
 The young lady thus criticised uttered an ex 
 pression of impatience, as the letter was refolded 
 and laid upon the table ; adding : " That means 
 that my mother has told old Esterbrook a plausi 
 ble story to account for my absence, and that 
 within three days I shall give him a title to my 
 precious self; said title to be witnessed and 
 sealed in Grace Church some time during the 
 holidays. Are you going to send me back ?" 
 she asked, with a smile half defiant and half ap 
 pealing. 
 
 " No, child, I am not. I would as soon send 
 you to perdition as to that old reprobate. I shall 
 write to your mother very plainly about him." 
 
 " Oh, if you only would, I should be so grate 
 ful. But I think auntie was inclined to agree 
 with mamma." 
 
 " That was because she didn't understand. She 
 didn't know the man's character as I do. I won-
 
 The Price of Money. 77 
 
 der what women can be thinking of when they 
 smile upon such fellows." 
 
 " Why, you see it is the money, uncle. You 
 don't suppose any woman with common sense 
 can really like such an eld wretch ; not to say 
 anything about loving, honoring and obeying 
 him ?" 
 
 " I shouldn't suppose it would be possible for 
 any woman to love him, and probably he has 
 brains enough not to expect it. He counts upon 
 his ability to pay in good currency for all the 
 favors he receives." 
 
 " For once he reckoned without his hostess. 
 I kuow it doesn't seem quite honorable to talk 
 about him as I do, and I never understood how a 
 girl of delicacy could boast of the offers she re 
 ceives. But this affair is so absurd, I think I am 
 justified." 
 
 "I think you are. At any rate I shall sustain 
 you, and I shall enlighten your mother upon 
 some points of which she seems to be ignorant." 
 
 Mrs. Legrew had expected that her daughter 
 would make some objections to marrying the 
 millionaire : but she had not dreamed of so pos-
 
 js All for Money. 
 
 itive and persistent a refusal. It must be con 
 fessed that she found herself in an embarrassing 
 position. She had manoeuvred to secure the offer 
 of marriage so ungraciously declined, and it re 
 quired her utmost diplomacy to appease the anger 
 of the mortified suitor. 
 
 She insisted that her daughter had been too 
 much surprised to give a considerate reply, and 
 that a young girl must be expected to have some 
 unreasonable fancies. She even cited her daugh 
 ter's absence to prove the truth of her assertions. 
 
 To say that Mr. Esterbrook was fully convinced 
 by her flattery and cajolery would not be true, 
 but he had too much at stake to express his 
 want of confidence. He could afford to wait, and 
 he resolved to do so. 
 
 He was vindictive. No one had ever made 
 him an enemy without feeling the force of his 
 revenge ; and even now there was a fearful retri 
 bution in store for Milly Legrew, if she should 
 place herself in his power. He smiled, however, 
 upon the lady mother ; professed himself the 
 most devoted of lovers ; and said with great 
 semblance of humility that he ought not to
 
 - The Price of Money. 73 
 
 expect to win the crowning glory of his life too 
 easily. 
 
 Alone in his private room, he scowled malig 
 nantly, muttering oaths between his false teeth, 
 and vowing vengeance upon any woman who 
 would trifle with him or attempt to deceive him. 
 He was in his worst possible humor, as his ser 
 vant found when summoned to do his bidding. 
 
 Three days, and he would know beyond a 
 doubt if she whom he had selected to be his con 
 fidential attendant and nurse had decided to 
 make the necessary sacrifice. He resolutely 
 turned away from the mirror in which he saw 
 a too faithful reflection of himself ; took from a 
 cabinet a package of papers and began to compute 
 his gains for the past week. But even this did 
 not distract his thoughts from the unwelcome 
 subject. 
 
 Had he known that Milly Legrew was the 
 guest of Leander Harvey he would never have 
 called again at her mother's. As it was he went 
 at the appointed time, and, to his chagrin, re 
 ceived from the servant a highly perfumed and 
 exquisitely written note, which he well knew
 
 74 ' All for Money. 
 
 contained a confirmation of his fears. The mother 
 had failed in her plans ; and in place of gratitude 
 for her intentions, he cherished the most bitter 
 hatred. 
 
 He hastened to his hotel, and after reading 
 the first lines of the note, crushed it in his hand 
 until the withered fingers relaxed their hold from 
 sheer weakness. He then lighted a match and 
 burned the crumpled paper to ashes. 
 
 The following evening he was due at a fashion 
 able party, and looking around to decide upon a 
 fitting victim to wear the crown of martyrdom 
 which he had gilded, his gaze rested upon Stella 
 Bond ; a brunette whose sparkling eyes, handsome 
 face, and well-rounded figure won for her deserved 
 admiration. She rejoiced in her dower of beauty, 
 yet she would have exchanged it gladly for the 
 plain looks of some of her companions, if with 
 them she might have taken the wealth whose 
 adornings can so nearly supply the lack of 
 personal charms. 
 
 She shrank from the dependent position she 
 occupied in her stepfather's house, and from the 
 grudging allowance made for her wants ; while,
 
 The Price of Money. 75 
 
 like Spanish beauties, whom she resembled, she 
 was too indolent to apply herself to work of any 
 kind. One lesson she had been well taught, and 
 had thoroughly learned. She must marry a rich 
 man. A fairy prince must be found. Young or 
 old, grave or gay, it mattered little. Once 
 secured, she would bide the fate to which he 
 bound her without a murmur. 
 
 Daniel Esterbrook was as disagreeable to her 
 as to Milly Legrew. But she listened to his 
 compliments ; smiled in reply, and received his 
 attentions with becoming sweetness. There 
 were a few interviews, almost intolerable in their 
 stupidity ; a few drives in which it was possible 
 to ignore the owner of the equipage which flat 
 tered her vanity, and the wedding-day was ap 
 pointed. 
 
 The bridegroom elect pleaded for short delay, 
 and Stella Bond had no wish to prolong the woo 
 ing. He knew her dependence, and governed 
 his conduct accordingly. He brought her rolls 
 of money, and gave them to her as freely as 
 though they were of little value. For the first 
 time in her life she could gratify her tastes with-
 
 76 All for Momy. 
 
 out counting the cost. Her bridal trousseau was 
 the most elegant which had ever been seen in 
 the city. Then came the wedding gifts of jewels, 
 and shawls, and laces, such as a queen might 
 wear. Her most extravagant wishes were gra 
 tified ; but alas, for the price of this splendor 1 
 
 Meanwhile Milly Legrew rejoiced in her escape 
 from the toils of her enemies. Her uncle laugh 
 ingly professed himself ready to adopt her, and 
 even wrote to her mother that he would gladly 
 take the responsibility of providing for the ro 
 mantic girl until she chose to leave him. The 
 matter of self-support was not so easily adjusted, 
 but there was a prospect that she who was most 
 interested would eventually decide it for herself. 
 She called upon Miss Perry, who talked frankly 
 both of the profits and trials of the work in which 
 she proposed to engage. 
 
 " Then you would begin anew and live the lust 
 twenty years all over again, before you would 
 marry a man who was disagreeable to you, 
 wouldn't you ?" said the young girl triumphantly, 
 after a somewhat prolonged conversation. 
 
 " Indeed I would," was the quick reply. " That
 
 The Price of Money. JJ 
 
 is just what I have done. It is not a pleasant 
 thing to be poor ; but such poverty as people 
 know who can have comfortable homes as the 
 reward of hard work, is not a curse. I have often 
 thought if my parents could look upon it as I 
 did I should have nothing to regret. The world 
 is making a great mistake in sacrificing so much 
 of truth and honesty in the mad haste to be rich. 
 You can't understand this as we older people do/' 
 added the speaker, with a smile which quite 
 irradiated her face. "I have been looking out 
 from my retreat, and I have found more cause 
 for rejoicing than for repining. Then there is 
 a compensation which comes sometimes with the 
 necessity of making the most of limited means. 
 We learn how much beauty there is in homely 
 things ; and the best we can command is seldom 
 so bad that it has not something to relieve it 
 from positive discomfort." 
 
 " I am so glad to hear you say that, Miss 
 Perry ; because you see I have always heard 
 people talk as though it took a great deal of 
 money to be at all comfortable or happy." 
 
 " Happiness is not for sale. It comes to us as
 
 78 ALL f of Money. 
 
 naturally as the air, or sunshine, provided always 
 that we are worthy of it." 
 
 "But think, Miss Perry, how many complain." 
 
 " Yes, I hear complaining every day, and some 
 times I am tempted to complain myself. But I 
 have fewer trials than some of my neighbors, if 
 they do pity me for my hard lot." 
 
 " You must be very tired." 
 
 " Yes, and I should be if I was differently situ 
 ated. You have been very tired after attending 
 a fashionable party. Everything was not just as 
 you would have liked it." 
 
 " I know it. There is almost always some 
 thing wrong. Then I couldn't avoid being tired. 
 But I could rest afterwards, and teachers can't 
 always rest when they need to." 
 
 " And yet you propose to be a teacher." 
 
 "I do, if there is room for me here without in 
 terfering with you." 
 
 | "There is plenty of room, Miss Legrew. I 
 will recommend you to some of my older pupils 
 who will be very glad to practice under your di 
 rection. Now that my expenses are reduced, I 
 can afford to give myself a little leisure. It
 
 The Price of Money. JQ 
 
 sometimes seems hardly worth while for me to 
 work at all, when I have no one to share the 
 results of my work." 
 
 Milly was delighted with her visit. She 
 thought Miss Perry quite a charming woman, 
 and expressed her opinion with great enthu 
 siasm. 
 
 " I don't wonder your mother calls you 
 romantic," said her aunt. " Your feelings will 
 tone down by and by." 
 
 " I hope not, auntie. I like to be just so 
 much pleased with people and things." 
 
 " But you are not always pleased." 
 
 " Then I am displeased. But there is a hearty 
 feeling, and that is something to be glad of. 
 When I was with Miss Perry, it didn't seem 
 such a misfortune to lose my money." 
 
 " It may not be in the end, but I think you 
 love ease and luxury, and it takes money to buy 
 them." ' 
 
 " I suppose it does, but as I have not the 
 money, I must do without." 
 
 " I wouldn't be too sure of that, Milly, child," 
 said her uncle, who had overheard her last re-
 
 8o All for Money. 
 
 mark. " All the money in this world is not in 
 the hands of old, ugly men. We will surprise 
 your mother some day. You can stay here for a 
 year or two and make yourself happy, if your 
 mother does not claim you. If your happiness 
 depends upon listening to wretched music and 
 guiding awkward fingers over piano keys, you 
 shall even do that. I shall make no more ob 
 jections to it, only don't be in haste to com 
 mence. Wait for a month and see what will 
 happen." 
 
 Mr. Harvey was really sorry for the misfortune 
 of his niece, yet he was too much elated at hav 
 ing been able to recall an unsafe investment of 
 his own, to indulge in undue anxiety. He had 
 now a large amount of money in hand, and it 
 was against his usual practice to allow his treas 
 ures to corrode from neglect. Each dollar must 
 earn for him another. 
 
 He was impatient to know of a surety how 
 this should be done ; yet he waited until a 
 fortnight after the conversation with his cousin 
 in regard to a partnership, before again mention 
 ing the subject.
 
 The Price of Money. Si 
 
 " I suppose you have considered thj proposal 
 T made to you," he then said : 
 
 " Yes, sir," was the laconic reply. 
 
 " And your decision is made ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " I hope it is a favorable one." 
 
 " It accords with your wishes." 
 
 "And you will appear as the purchaser of the 
 store in question ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " I am glad to hear that. I knew so sensible 
 a man as you are, Cousin Wyatt, would see the 
 folly of letting such a chance to make a fortune 
 slip through your fingers. It would have been a 
 great mistake." 
 
 " From one . standpoint, it would : from 
 another it would not. I am by no means certain 
 that I am not making the mistake of my life in 
 going into such a business." 
 
 "Such a business !" repeated Mr. Harvey, upon 
 whom the covert sneer contained in these last 
 words had not been lost. " I hope you'll not 
 condemn yourself by condemning a legal traffic." 
 
 " I shall say nothing about it ; but I may as
 
 82 All for Money. 
 
 well tell you the truth now, so that there may be 
 a fair understanding between us," was responded, 
 a little sharply. " I think of the liquor traffic 
 just as I have always thought. I have not 
 changed my opinion of it. The laws of the 
 country recognize it as a branch of industry, but 
 that has nothing to do with it as a moral act. I 
 am going to accept your offer simply because I 
 don't know what else to do, and I believe I can 
 make money by it." 
 
 " I am very sorry to hear you talk like this, 
 Cousin Wyatt. A man is not apt to succeed in 
 an undertaking unless he goes into it with a good 
 will." 
 
 " I shall succeed in making money. There's 
 nothing a man will pay so much for as for 
 gratifying his appetite. But for all that, selling 
 liquor is poor business." 
 
 " If I thought as you do, I would never put 
 money into the trade. I consider it as honora 
 ble as I know it is profitable." 
 
 Hermon Wyatt did not dispute this assertion. 
 Yet he was as certain that the love of money 
 ruled in his cousin's heart as in his own. He
 
 The Price of Money. 83 
 
 despised himself, as the terms of partnership were 
 arranged, but one consideration held him to his 
 purpose. 
 
 He had no reason to complain of these terms. 
 They were even more generous than he had 
 anticipated. 
 
 It was past midnight when the two men sepa 
 rated, and the next morning, after mutual greet 
 ings, Mr. Harvey remarked : " Cousin Wyatt 
 thinks he must leave us to-morrow. I told him 
 that we should miss him very much." 
 
 " Indeed we shall miss him," rejoined his 
 hostess ; and turning to the gentleman, she said, 
 in her blandest tone : " You seem like an old 
 friend rather than a new-found cousin. Milly and 
 I shall be lonely without you." 
 
 Milly looked up, smiled, blushed, and to her 
 extreme vexation, found it impossible to utter a 
 single word. She had known, of course, that the 
 gentleman was only a visitor, yet she had quite 
 ignored this fact. She was accustomed to atten 
 tion, and his presence had done much to divert 
 her thoughts from the loss she as yet hardly 
 realized
 
 84 All for Money. 
 
 With an effort she recovered her self-possession, 
 and said, gayly : " Uncle Harvey, it was hardly 
 fair to make such an announcement so early in 
 the day. Auntie and I had our plans all made 
 for the next twenty-four hours. If one gentle 
 man goes we must press another into service." 
 
 " Service is what you ladies always expect. 
 And you think it will require some pressure to 
 reduce me to servitude, do you ?" was the 
 quick reply. 
 
 " He who renders service gladly is no servant." 
 "Thank you for that, Mr. Wyatt. Now I 
 know we shall miss you sadly, unless uncle can be 
 made to appreciate his privileges." 
 
 Thus, in light badinage and raillery passed the 
 breakfast hour. Many a true word was spoken 
 jestingly, and many a smile concealed a sincere 
 regret. 
 
 Again Hermon Wyatt was standing by the 
 window through which he had looked out upon 
 the November storm. Now there was a cloud 
 less sky. Not a shadow dimmed the brightness. 
 Far as the eye could see was one vast expanse of 
 blue.
 
 The Price of Money. 8$ 
 
 It seemed to him who gazed upon this light 
 and glory that his very soul was stripped of all 
 disguises before the Almighty Father. He had 
 fancied that when once the pledge was given 
 which bound him to his cousin he would have no 
 more misgivings. Now, alone, apart from the 
 influences which had constrained him, save his 
 own cravings for wealth, he realized how low he 
 had fallen.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE CORNER STORE 
 
 HY was Lcander Harvey unwilling that 
 his name should appear as the pur 
 chaser of a first-class liquor store ? 
 Why did he insist upon such an arrangement as 
 would screen him from all public complicity in 
 the business ? Why also, if he really wished to 
 benefit his cousin, did he not advance money to 
 reinstate the young man in some familiar depart 
 ment of trade ? 
 
 All these and many kindred questions sug 
 gested themselves to Hermon Wyatt as he 
 neared the city of his destination, and answers 
 followed fast upon them. 
 
 After all the boasted legality of the traffic, 
 and the pretense of its necessity, both as a source 
 of revenue to the government and a response to
 
 The, Corner Store. 87 
 
 the demands of community, there were obvious 
 reasons why the gentleman chose that another 
 than himself should take the advanced post. 
 There was a sentiment abroad adverse to his 
 expressed opinions ; and it might be that this 
 sentiment would finally prevail. In one direction 
 he must receive full credit. He had never pro 
 fessed to be actuated by disinterested motives. 
 While regarding only his own advantage, he 
 had decided that his cousin was the very person 
 to assist him, and he had made no effort to con 
 ceal his real motive. Everything had been done 
 fairly and openly. He was ready to fulfil his part 
 of the contract, so that his partner would have no 
 cause for complaint. 
 
 " Ah, Wyatt, so you are not quite annihilated," 
 said a middle-aged man who entered the cars, 
 and looking around, recognized him as an 
 acquaintance. 
 
 "Not quite," was the reply. "I hope you 
 have weathered the storm." 
 
 "I have so far, and I hope the worst is over. 
 Going to start again ?" 
 
 " That is my intention."
 
 $8 All for Money. 
 
 " Better not hurry about it. Things will 
 straighten themselves out by spring, so a man 
 can tell where he is. Going into your old busi 
 ness, I suppose ?" 
 
 " No, sir. I should be glad to, but there's no 
 opening for me in that. I'm going to try some 
 thing new." 
 
 "Any objection to telling what ?" 
 
 " I don't know why I should have. I'm on my 
 way to buy Landers' block for a man who wishes 
 to invest money there." 
 
 " Landers, the wine merchajit ?" 
 
 "Yes, I suppose so. I never heard of him till 
 within three weeks. In these days a man can't 
 always choose his occupation. I found I couldn't." 
 
 "So you're going into the store yourself?" 
 
 " That is the understanding." 
 
 " Well, you'll make a good thing of it if you 
 share in the profits. Landers begun on a small 
 scale and worked his way up. Had a good trade, 
 and the old customers will keep right along if 
 they're well treated. Landers liked his own 
 liquors a little too well the last of his life, but he 
 was an honorable man to do business with. I
 
 The Corner Store. 89 
 
 shouldn't thought of your stepping into his shoes 
 though." 
 
 " I shouldn't have thought of it for myself. It's 
 entirely out of my line. But it came to me, and 
 I took the chance." 
 
 "Well, I've no doubt you'll do well. Only 
 take care that you don't fall into Landers' 
 mistake. Here we are. Good morning." 
 
 Was the speaker's manner less cordial, or was 
 the seeming coldness only seeming ? 
 
 By appointment, Hermon Wyatt was to meet 
 Mr. Harvey's friend, the dealer in liquors, to 
 whom reference has been already made. No 
 sooner had he glanced at the stranger, than he 
 felt a keen disappointment. This man might be 
 munificent in his gifts, but never benevolent. He 
 might be respectable, but never truly honorable. 
 He might wield a powerful influence by his 
 wealth, but never by his personal presence, 
 i He was happy to make the acquaintance of one 
 who had been so highly recommended to him, 
 and proceeded at once to speak of the business 
 which had brought them together. He had been 
 consulted weeks before by his old friend, and had
 
 <?# All for Money. 
 
 made a careful examination of the entire property 
 now offered for sale ; building, stock, and fix 
 tures. He named a sum which he considered a 
 fair price, yet thought that it could be purchased 
 for considerably less. 
 
 " The bulk of Landers' estate is to be held in 
 trust for the benefit of his sons, and the trustees 
 are anxious to dispose of this part of it. It's a 
 great pity, but the sons are dissipated, and their 
 father took this way to provide against their com 
 ing to want. It's a hard time to raise money, but 
 that will be for the advantage of the purchaser. 
 I told Harvey he would never have a better 
 chance to invest some of his loose capital. I've 
 had an eye to it ever since it's been in the 
 
 market, and shall be glad to give you any advice 
 
 
 or assistance in my power. 
 
 "Thank you. Mr. Harvey told me that he 
 should rely upon your judgment. I know nothing 
 of the value of the movable property and shall 
 be guided entirely by you." 
 
 " I consider myself a good judge, and will give 
 you the benefit of my knowledge. If you man 
 age right you can be a rich man in ten years."
 
 The Corner Store. 91 
 
 " I hope so. Nothing but the expectation of 
 that would induce me to touch the business." 
 
 " My friend told me you had some scruples in 
 regard to it. I understand all that sort of thing. 
 I have sifted scruples until you couldn't see them. 
 I believe in temperance, and trust that my cus 
 tomers believe in it too. We have the law on 
 our side, and as long as we can look to that for 
 support, fanatics can't make much headway 
 against us. I take out a license, pay my fee, and 
 then go on as I think best. You are no judge of 
 wines ?" 
 
 " Never tasted a drop of- wine in my life, and 
 never wanted to." 
 
 " Well, I must confess, you are a strange 
 fellow to take up the trade. But you will learn 
 all that, and till then, I can furnish you a man 
 who knows how to manage. He can tell to a 
 drop when a liquor is all right. He used to be 
 with me till he got so I couldn't trust him. He 
 wouldn't keep sober long enough to do his regu 
 lar v/ork. He's so poor now, he'll do better for a 
 while, and be thankful enough for a job. I advise 
 you, though, to keep an eye on him. He has
 
 $2 All for Money. 
 
 gone down terribly. He was a fine young man 
 when he first came to me. Now he is no better 
 than a sot, and far gone in health for that. You 
 can't expect to get along now without tasting of 
 wine." 
 
 " I intend to. I don't propose to make a sot 
 of myself." 
 
 " Of course not. But there's a vast difference 
 between tasting of liquor and pouring it down by 
 the quantity, as some men do. Liquor isn't 
 always just what you want it to be, and it pays a 
 merchant to look after his own doctoring. Then, 
 sometimes we find it profitable to do a little 
 manufacturing from the raw material." 
 
 " I don't understand. You import your liquors, 
 don't you, except what is distilled in this coun 
 try ?" 
 
 " Bless you man, yes, but there's not a quarter 
 part enough wine shipped to this country to sup 
 ply the trade. It must be had some way, and 
 we may as well make the profits as anybody. 
 The man I'll send you is posted in such 
 business." 
 
 " But Mr. Harvey said he was sure of getting
 
 The Corner Store. pj 
 
 the genuine article when he ordered his wine 
 from you," said Hermon Wyatt. 
 
 " I never sell poor liquor," was the prompt re 
 ply, " I deal honorably with all my customers. 
 Mr. Harvey told me he was to have nothing to 
 do with the management of the business. He 
 leaves that entirely with you." 
 
 " That is the understanding." 
 
 " Then there is no need of initiating him into 
 the mysteries of the trade. He is a shrewd 
 financier and keeps an eye out to see where 
 money can be made. If he gets his share of the 
 profits, he'll not be likely to ask many questions. 
 Now thai we've disposed of that, we may as well 
 come to some conclusion about the bargain to 
 be made. You are the man to attend to that, 
 and you are prepared to make an offer. Don't 
 give a dollar more than you are obliged to, but 
 don't lose your chance, even if you have to pay a 
 fair value. Every man must look out for his own 
 interests, and leave others to take care of them 
 selves. That's the correct way, isn't it, Mr. 
 Wyatt ?" 
 
 " That's the usual way," responded the younger
 
 p^ All for Money. 
 
 man, who felt himself positively repelled by his 
 companion. 
 
 "The proper way too. If you make an offer 
 for a piece of property, and your offer is accepted, 
 you are under no obligation to inquire the rea 
 son why it was accepted. So if you have any 
 kind of goods to sell, and people choose to buy 
 them, it's not your duty to undervalue them. 
 We offer our liquors and somebody buys them. 
 The baker heaps loaves of bread upon his counter 
 and somebody buys the bread. They are both 
 fair transactions in the way of trade. I wish you 
 success in your new enterprise, and if I can ever 
 be of any assistance to you I shall be at your 
 service." 
 
 How Hermon Wyatt chafed at the patronizing 
 manner of his adviser. But for the memory of 
 Milly Legrewand her luxurious tastes he would 
 even now have receded from his engagement. 
 Again the battle was fought, and again wrong 
 was triumphant. 
 
 Two days were spent in negotiations. Landers' 
 block exchanged owners, and a teetotaler be 
 came the purchaser of a large stock of liquors,
 
 The Corner Store. 
 
 95 
 
 all of which were offered to the public as pure 
 and unadulterated. Mr. Reeves sent the assist 
 ant who had been promised, and the man 
 presented himself to his new employer, sober 
 and well dressed. 
 
 " What have you for me to do, sir ?" he 
 asked. 
 
 " I don't know," was the reply. " I don't 
 know what needs to be done ; and if I did I don't 
 know how to do it. Mr. Reeves said I could 
 depend upon you." 
 
 "Yes, sir, I know the dodges as well as any 
 body. The only trouble with me is that I've 
 got an appetite for the cursed stuff and I can't 
 always govern it. But I can get along for a 
 while, so you wont have any reason to complain 
 of me. I'm hard up, and I want to earn some 
 thing for my wife and little girl. I can't do 
 without my priming, but I'll do my best to stick 
 to that. Shall I go below and see what's wanted ? 
 Old Landers' best man died near the time he did, 
 and both died pretty much the same way, though 
 one was rich and the other poor. Hellish busi 
 ness, the best you can make of it. But there's
 
 $6 All for Money. 
 
 money in it. Excuse me, sir, I'm a little shaky, 
 or I shouldn't talk so much." 
 
 How pitiful was all this ! The confession of 
 weakness ; the denunciation of the drink his 
 appetite craved, and for which he was bartering 
 soul and body. Abject wretch, and yet strug 
 gling to retain the semblance of decency. 
 " Hellish business," indeed ! Who dares to call 
 it otherwise gives his testimony to a lie. 
 
 But there is money in it. Monej' to be made 
 by dealing out death and destruction to the 
 dwellers on this fair earth ! Money to be made 
 by degrading the intellects and hardening the 
 hearts of such 'as God has made in his own 
 image ! Money to be made by quenching the 
 light of love in happy homes, beggaring innocent 
 children, and dooming to slow, lingering torture 
 wives who should be tenderly cherished ! 
 Money to be made by maddening the brain and 
 nerving the arm of the assassin ! Money to be 
 made by fostering crime and enormity of every 
 kind the mind of man can conceive or the de 
 pravity of a demon execute ! 
 
 Hermon Wyatt was alone in his counting-room
 
 The Corner Store. gj 
 
 with the door fast closed. He was alone, lean 
 ing his head upon his hand, the veriest coward 
 that ever turned his back upon duty and honest 
 labor. But the die was cast. With a resolute 
 will worthy of a better cause, he decided to put 
 aside all scruples and give his entire energies to 
 the work before him. 
 
 I need not write of his continued struggles 
 with conscience and his loathing of the influences 
 which surrounded him. He was not likely to 
 yield to the temptations he prepared for others. 
 Come what might to him, he would never taste 
 intoxicating liquor. He raised his head and 
 brought his hand down heavily upon the desk as 
 he mentally registered this vow. 
 
 With the exception of Dummer, the forlorn 
 creature just introduced to my readers, every 
 man* in the establishment had been employed by 
 the late proprietor and understood what was ex 
 pected of him. Chief among these was the con 
 fidential clerk, who knew the whole routine of 
 the business and was competent to give all de 
 sired information. 
 
 Mr. Landers had trusted him, as also had the
 
 PC? All for Money. 
 
 customers. Now, gentlemen coming to make 
 their purchases were introduced to the new pro 
 prietor, who met them cordially and then referred 
 them to Mr. Crown as authority in matters of 
 trade. 
 
 A variety of customers visited this store, which 
 was likely to lose none of its former prestige. 
 Here came men with clear cut intellectual faces, 
 broad, high foreheads, and finely strung nerves, to 
 whom stimulants are a threefold curse. There 
 were young men with vigorous minds and fine 
 physiques, paying a price for what would rob them 
 of both strength and grace. Old men, too, there 
 were, stamped with the seal of their habits, and 
 ordering large supplies of liquors as freely as they 
 would have ordered necessary food for their 
 families. Not drunkards and vagabonds ; but 
 men whose names represented millions of prop 
 erty, and whose homes were decorated with the 
 most elaborate appointments of wealth. 
 
 Aside from all these was a coarser grade ol 
 customers ; business men in middle life, who 
 complained of hard times ; having nothing to 
 bestow upon their poorer neighbors, and yet
 
 The Corner Store. 
 
 99 
 
 squandering for intoxicating drinks what would 
 suffice for the support of many a suffering fam- 
 ily. 
 
 " There's no falling off in our trade," remarked 
 Mr. Crown, a few weeks after the establishment 
 had changed owners. " Every other trade suffers, 
 but good liquor is always good property. Men 
 will have that, any way. We've lost a few cus 
 tomers that have failed. They've gone to cheap 
 er places for their drinks, but that's more than 
 made up by the retailers. They buy more than 
 usual." 
 
 " How do you account for that ?" 
 
 " Well, there are a good many men idle. 
 They can't get work to do at much of any 
 price, and they must do something. They'll get 
 together somewhere ; so they go to the saloons 
 where they're sure to find good company and 
 cheerful rooms. Of course, when they get there 
 they want something to drink. One treats, and 
 then another, till there's a good deal of liquor dis 
 posed of." 
 
 l< Such men had better spend their money for 
 something else."
 
 ioo All for Money. 
 
 " I know that as well as you do, but a man 
 that's used to liquor don't give it up so easily." 
 
 "I've heard of men reforming." 
 
 " Yes, but fortunately for your business there 
 are not many such. There's Dummer now, the 
 best man for his place I ever saw. He's making 
 money for you faster than Sharp ever made it for 
 Landers; turning out better liquors at a cheaper 
 rate. Killing himself, too, while he does it, if I 
 can judge from appearances. It's a shame for a 
 man to drink so that has such a daughter as he 
 has. She's a beauty. Comes with him every 
 morning, and then comes after him every night. 
 I've only seen her once, but the men say she 
 comes every day." 
 
 " How old is she ?" 
 
 " I should think she might be fourteen or 
 fifteen." 
 
 " I didn't know he had a family," said Mr. 
 Wyatt. 
 
 " It's a pity he has. I don't call myself weak- 
 headed, but I can't get over thinking about that 
 girl. I was near enough to hear what she said 
 to him when she left him."
 
 The Corner Store. 101 
 
 " What was it ?" 
 
 " ' Do be careful, father. We shall love you 
 all day.'" 
 
 " They are poor, aren't they ?" 
 
 " Men always are when they get where 
 Dummer is. I should know it, too, by the way 
 the girl was dressed." 
 
 " Where do they live ?" 
 
 " I don't know, but I can find out." 
 
 " Don't take the trouble. I will ask him my 
 self. I don't want to feel that any man who 
 works for me has a suffering family. Perhaps I 
 ought to pay him higher wages." 
 
 " He is glad enough to get what he does. 
 You said Reeves turned him off, and you are 
 running a risk to employ him." 
 
 " But you say he is doing well." 
 
 "So he is. I don't know of anybody who 
 could fill his place." 
 
 Later in the day Dummer looked up from 
 his work to meet the eye of his employer. 
 He was "primed," and therefore sure of him 
 self. 
 
 "Any orders ?" he asked.
 
 IO2 All for Money. 
 
 " None from me. You fill orders before they 
 are made." 
 
 "Yes, sir. I know what to expect." 
 
 " Are you satisfied with your place ?" 
 
 " It's all I'm fit for, and I must do some 
 thing." 
 
 " You have a family." 
 
 A. look of defiance passed over the man's face, 
 but after a moment's hesitation, he replied : 
 
 " I have a wife and daughter good enough for 
 the best man in the country." 
 
 " Excuse me, Dummer, but where do you 
 live ?" 
 
 There was a still longer delay before an an 
 swer was given, but at length he named the 
 street and number where his family could be 
 found. 
 
 A poor tenement it was. Only three rooms, 
 scantily furnished, and attractive for no other 
 reason than its cleanliness. 
 
 Hermon Wyatt was not accustomed to visit 
 such localities ; yet in this instance he departed 
 from his usual custom. He, too, had seen the 
 young girl who waited for her father ; seen her
 
 The Corner Store. 
 
 spring to his side and cling to him as though she 
 would save him from himself. 
 
 The next day, when he went to look for her 
 home, he saw her entering a door over which 
 was a modest sign, informing the passers by that 
 milk, yeast, eggs and groceries could be found 
 within. Some fine apples displayed in the win 
 dow gave him a pretext for following the young 
 girl and learning her errand. 
 
 " Well, dear, what can I do for you to-day ?" 
 a motherly-looking English woman was saying. 
 " I've got grand things for little money. Coffee 
 that's worth more than it'll bring me, and sugar 
 cheaper than ever." 
 
 Before answer could be made she turned to 
 the gentleman ; when he remarked : " I'm in no 
 hurry. I came in for some apples, but I'm wait 
 ing about for a short time, and shall be obliged if 
 you will allow me to stop here." 
 
 " Sure, sir, you're welcome. I'd offer you a 
 chair, but the room is that narrow, sir." 
 
 "I prefer standing.;" and directly he seemed 
 engrossed by what he saw through the glass 
 door, while in reality he was listening to the
 
 104 All for Money. 
 
 half-whispered conversation of the shopkeeper 
 and her customer. 
 
 He knew that both were calculating carefully 
 how the contents of an old pocket-book could 
 be expended to the best advantage. Coffee, 
 sugar, milk, and a half dozen of eggs were 
 bought. Then, last, a tumbler of jelly, which 
 extravagance was finally ordered only after long 
 deliberation. 
 
 " It will be so nice for father with his toast, 
 and I earned almost the price of it yesterday," 
 said the daughter, by way of apology. " Poor 
 father !" 
 
 " Yes, dear, but he's rich in having you. I 
 hope your mother's comfortable." 
 
 " She's anxious. If it wasn't for that she'd be 
 comfortable. We've enough of everything." 
 
 " Then be thankful for that, dear. There's 
 always a worry for them that's not alone, and 
 the lone ones pine for somebody. I mind me 
 many such both ways, and there'll always be the 
 same. If you need a friend I'll do you a turn as 
 far as I'm able." 
 
 The young girl passed out hastily, brushing a
 
 The Corner Store. 705 
 
 tear from her eye, and another entered. Mrs. 
 Ilsley glanced at the gentleman ; but as he had 
 resumed his former position she did not speak to 
 him. 
 
 This customer was quickly served, and as the 
 door closed behind her, Mr. Wyatt said : " I will 
 pay you for a dozen apples." She named the 
 price, which he placed in her hand, adding: "I 
 don't wish to take them. Please give them to 
 the young lady who came in just before me." 
 
 " Lizzie Dummer, sir ?" 
 
 " I think that is her name. Can you tell me 
 anything of her family ?" 
 
 Mrs. Ilsley looked sharply at the man, and 
 then, as if satisfied with her scrutiny, answered : 
 
 " Well, sir, I'm thinking I can, as much as any 
 body about here. They're not long in the city, 
 and they keep close. But you see they must buy 
 somewhere ; and I keep a decent place. I only 
 charges fair profits, and the neighbors mostly 
 come to me. Lizzie comes every day, poor thing, 
 but it's not often she buys much." 
 
 " She has a father ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir, But I'm thinking she'll not have
 
 io6 All for Money. 
 
 him long. He's nigh dead with drink, and just 
 giving his last bit of strength to earn for his 
 family. I'm thinking there's somebody got to 
 
 
 
 answer for what I wouldn't in the great day. 
 Lizzie wouldn't say a word against her father, 
 but he's working in the big liquor store that used 
 to be Landers'. I'm not given to cursing, sir, but 
 if I was I'd curse the man that sells liquor." 
 
 The speaker was too much absorbed in what 
 she was saying to observe her companion closely, 
 and his next question turned her thoughts in a 
 new channel. 
 
 " Is Mr. Dummer very poor ?" 
 
 " It must be he is, sir. Sure, sir, might I be so 
 bold as to ask if you know him ?" 
 
 " I have seen him, and I wish to help his family 
 without having them know who does it. Can 
 you tell me how this can be done ?" 
 
 " Well, sir, I don't know. They're that inde 
 pendent ; and his wife, dear woman, is saving his 
 earnings against the time he can't work. If 
 you've a mind to help them I'll do my best for 
 anything you'll leave with me. You can ask the 
 neighbors if I'm an honest woman."
 
 The Corner Store. 107 
 
 " I'm willing to trust you without asking 
 questions ; " and he laid five dollars on the 
 counter ; the largest sum he had ever bestowed 
 in charity of his own free accord. 
 
 Was this an actual gift, or was it but a small 
 instalment of his indebtedness to one who was 
 coining his fortune by imperilling the lives of 
 others ?
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE FAIRY PRINCE. 
 
 ILLY LEGREW had been at her uncle's 
 three months, when the gentleman gave 
 her a letter, remarking : " Your mother 
 has written at last." 
 
 " Oh ! I'm so glad," she exclaimed. " It has 
 been so long to wait, and I really love my 
 mother." 
 
 " Mother has lost a great deal of money," she 
 said, soon after, coming back to the room from 
 which she had carried her precious letter that she 
 might read it alone. " She seems almost dis 
 tracted, and don't know what to do." 
 
 " She has something left, Milly. It can't be 
 that she has lost everything. She has her house, 
 at least." 
 
 4< I don't know. She don't say anything about
 
 The Fairy Prince. iog 
 
 that. Dear me ! What will she do ? Now she 
 will blame me more than ever. She wants you 
 to go and see her, Uncle Harvey. Cousin Na 
 omi has added a half sheet to mother's letter." 
 
 " What does she say ?" 
 
 " She is entirely out of patience with every 
 body and wants me to go home the next train. 
 She says old Moneybags is at the bottom of this. 
 He managed to get a run on the bank where 
 mother's money was invested, and it failed. 
 That's Cousin Naomi's version of the affair, She 
 hates Mr. Esterbrook." 
 
 " As every good woman has reason to do. 
 You and I had better go down. We shall be just 
 in season to hear of the wedding festivities. You 
 are quite sure you'll not envy the bride ?" 
 
 " Envy her ! I'd live in a garret with my 
 mother sooner than be in her place, and such liv 
 ing would be dreadful. This decides me about 
 giving music lessons. I must do something. 
 Cousin Naomi thinks I may come out a tolerably 
 sensible woman, and I ought not to disappoint 
 her." 
 
 " Cousin Naomi is a sensible woman herself.
 
 no All for Money. 
 
 We can depend upon her. I hope she will save 
 what property she has." 
 
 " I hope so. She has always doubted city se 
 curities.'" 
 
 " I have heard her say that, although she made 
 an exception in favor of real estate. There is 
 some likely to come into her hands not a hundred 
 miles from here. It would long ago if she hadn't 
 such a soft heart where others are concerned." 
 
 " I know she has. She is something like a 
 shag-bark walnut. That is hard-shelled, but 
 when you get at the meat it is delicious. I have 
 a weakness for walnuts. Dear, good soul ! I 
 should be very glad to see Cousin Naomi. But 
 after all, uncle, it will be hard to go home and 
 have people cut me because I am poor. Not 
 many knew about my loss when I came away, 
 and then mother let our set believe that I was 
 engaged to Mr. Esterbrook. Of course I 
 shouldn't be slighted. Oh, dear ! It don't seem 
 as though it could be so. It's such a little while 
 since we were living along from one day to an 
 other, doing nothing more than calling, shopping, 
 receiving calls and attending parties. I'm begin-
 
 The Fairy Prince. in 
 
 ning to feel that it's a dreadful thing to be poor ;" 
 and she burst into tears, sobbing bitterly. " 1 
 don't think I realized what it is till now," she 
 added, before her uncle had decided what to 
 reply. 
 
 Then he hastened to comfort her ; telling her 
 that matters might not be so bad as had been 
 represented, and even if they were there would 
 be some way out of the difficulty. " We can 
 trust Cousin Naomi's judgment, and she thinks 
 you should go home directly," he said. 
 
 " But I presume mamma won't care to see me, 
 and I don't feel as though I could bear being 
 scolded. I know how she feels towards me. She 
 will blame me for all the trouble. I wish people 
 could live without money. Just think, uncle, I 
 havn't had anything new since I came here. To 
 be sure, I don't know as I've needed anything, 
 but then I might. I havn't even had a pair of 
 new gloves." 
 
 " You shall have dozens if you want them ; so 
 don't worry about that," responded the gentle 
 man smiling. " So dry your eyes and look on 
 the bright side."
 
 112 All for Money. 
 
 " Oh, I'm not crying for gloves. I bought a 
 dozen pair of the best the week before I came 
 here. But it all seems so dreadful, and mother 
 cares a great deal more for money than I do/' 
 
 Affairs were looking serious. Mr. Harvey ac 
 knowledged this to his wife while making hurried 
 preparations for visiting his sister-in-law. Milly 
 added much to the attraction of their home ; but 
 Milly's mother was far too capricious and exacting 
 to make her long a welcome guest. 
 
 No miser craved money more than did she. 
 Not that she might hoard it in glittering coins, 
 but that she might surround herself with luxury 
 and challenge the admiration of those with whom 
 she associated. She had drawn more heavily 
 upon her personal property than her daughter 
 supposed, so that the loss she now suffered was 
 in reality greater than it seemed. Shutting 
 herself into her room, she refused to be seen by 
 any one except Cousin Naomi, who was too much 
 accustomed to her demonstrations to treat them 
 with much respect. 
 
 " It ain't the worst thing that could happen," 
 remarked this comforter, after an outburst of
 
 The Fairy Prince. 
 
 grief, in which the unhappy woman bewailed her 
 misfortune. " You might lose your daughter, as 
 Stella Bond's mother has lost her." 
 
 " Naomi Dodge, don't speak to me of that 
 again. Mrs. Esterbrook's mother has reason to 
 congratulate herself." 
 
 " Millicent Legrew, stop and thank the Lord 
 that your plans were upset. Have you forgotten 
 what Leander Harvey wrote to you ? The mon 
 ey he would condemn as ill-gotten must bring a 
 curse with it. You may be sure of that. Old 
 Moneybags owns some of the worst houses in the 
 city. There are more than forty liquor saloons 
 paying rent to him ; low, miserable groggeries, 
 some of them." 
 
 " What difference does that make to him ? He 
 gets good rents for them." 
 
 " Yes, better than if they were used for respec 
 table purposes, and if he only gets the money, 
 that is all he cares." 
 
 " Well, money is everything. It will bu> 
 everything and pay for everything that is worth 
 having." 
 
 " Will it ? Will it buy health ? Will it buy
 
 ii4 All for Money. 
 
 happiness ?" asked Naomi Dodge sharply. " No 
 use talking to that woman," she soliloquized as 
 she crossed the hall. 
 
 It was a wonder to all her friends that this 
 cousin should remain with Mrs. Legrew. The 
 two had few sympathies or interests in common. 
 Cousin Naomi was not obliged to accept her po 
 sition as a means of support, although she was 
 paid a stipulated sum quarterly, and would by 
 no means have waived her claim to this. Her 
 home had been here for twenty years, and during 
 that time she had made herself indispensable to 
 the family. Now she was the only one who 
 could think calmly. 
 
 Mr. Harvey and Milly arrived, as was ex 
 pected ; the latter going directly to her mother 
 and offering such comfort as she could. All her 
 efforts, however, availed nothing. Mrs. Legrew 
 protested again and again that she would rather 
 die than change her style of living and be 
 slighted by people who had been proud of her 
 notice. 
 
 Her daughter listened in silence while she 
 portrayed the disgrace and humiliation which
 
 The Fairy Prince. 115 
 
 awaited them, unless some relief could be 
 found. 
 
 " I cannot survive it !" she exclaimed ; and 
 then followed reproaches, such as no true- 
 hearted woman would ever utter. 
 
 " But mamma, auntie says you didn't have very 
 much money at home," said the young girl, at 
 last, when she felt constrained to speak in self- 
 justification. 
 
 " We didn't, and that is why I know so well 
 the misery of trying to live without it. 1 
 shouldn't have married your father if any richer 
 man had offered himself to me. When I was of 
 your age I had too much sense to refuse Mr. 
 Esterbrook. I suppose you think it is dreadful 
 for me to say that about your father, but when 
 you have learned by experience what it is to be 
 poor, you will talk very differently from what 
 you do now. Mrs. Esterbrook can dress like a 
 princess ; and a woman who has money enough 
 at her command can be happy under almost any 
 circumstances." 
 
 Milly knew this was not true ; but it would be 
 strange if she had not gone out from that inter-
 
 n6 All for Money. 
 
 view with an intense longing for what seemed to 
 her mother the dearest boon of earth. Well for 
 her that at that moment she met no temptation 
 to sacrifice herself upon the altar of mammon. 
 
 " Well," said her uncle, when she returned 
 to him. 
 
 " It is anything but well," she replied. " Mother 
 is in despair." 
 
 " Not so bad as that, I hope." 
 
 " Yes, just as bad. And why shouldn't she be 
 in despair ? How would you feel if you had lost 
 nearly all your property and could never accu 
 mulate any more ? Don't you consider money 
 the one thing needful in this world ? Isn't it 
 what men work for, and what they sell their 
 souls for sometimes ?" 
 
 " Why, Milly, child, you are really getting 
 logical. Don't trouble your head about such 
 things. Let men work, if they will. They were 
 made to work." 
 
 " But they don't work any more than a great 
 many women. I've seen women looking so poor 
 and wretched. O dear ! How could I live as 
 they do ?"
 
 The Fairy Prince. 
 
 "You couldn't, child. There'll never be any 
 occasion for your living wretchedly. You will 
 live happily. If you can't wear diamonds like 
 Dan Esterbrook's wife, you can wear silks and 
 satins. Come, Milly, I can't have you spoil your 
 eyes. Trust me to take care of you until some 
 one has made a fortune for you." 
 
 Naomi Dodge, who had been out to attend to 
 some business, now came in with characteristic 
 greetings for the man of the world, and the girl 
 to whom, as yet, the real world was all unknown. 
 
 " You've come none too soon," she said to Mr. 
 Harvey, when they were alone. 
 
 "What can I do, now I am here?" was his 
 response. 
 
 " I don't know ; but something must be done 
 by somebody. If I hadn't promised Robert 
 LegrewI'd stay with his wife and child as long as 
 they needed me, you wouldn't find me here. But 
 I promised, and I'm not in the habit of breaking 
 my promises. Milly might be a sensible woman 
 if she could be taken away from her mother. 
 There's a good deal about her like her father, 
 and he knew there was something worth living
 
 ii 8 AIL for Money. 
 
 for besides making money ; though Millicent 
 tried her best to make him think as she did 
 about it. Things ain't so bad here as she pre 
 tends. She's got enough to live on comfortably, 
 if she only thought so. You aren't the right one 
 to say much to her about that, Leander Har 
 vey. You are all bound up in getting rich, but 
 you have some common sense." 
 
 " Thank you for saying that. Cousin Naomi." 
 
 " You needn't thank me. I'm not used to pay 
 ing compliments, but I hope I'm willing to give 
 everybody their due. I know you do things for 
 money that no true Christian would do. I don't 
 mean anything in particular, Cousin Harvey. 
 I've never heard of your taking a widow's last 
 cent, or turning a poor girl into the street be 
 cause she couldn't pay her rent ; but there are 
 other things the Lord looks upon with displeas 
 ure. It's as true now as when it was written, 
 that ' The love of money is the root of all 
 evil.' " 
 
 " Then you don't believe in money, do you, 
 Cousin Naomi ?" 
 
 " I believe in it if it comes honestly. I always
 
 The Fairy Prince. 
 
 did, but I can get along with a little and not 
 fret myself to death either." 
 
 "That is more than most women can do." 
 
 " You're mistaken in that. Most women aren' 
 brought up as your wife and Millicent were. 
 They were poor enough at home, just because 
 they tried to make more show than they could 
 without pinching themselves out of some com 
 fort. That was the trouble. I know all about 
 it. I know, too, that a good many girls are 
 brought up to think any man will do for a hus 
 band if he only has money enough ; and that's 
 what makes some men determined to have money 
 at any cost. The fault isn't all with the women, 
 though. You and I know better than that. 
 Rich men want rich sons-in-law. Old Moneybags 
 made a mistake once in calculating on a girl's 
 heart, but Mr. Baldwin thought his step-daugh 
 ter very fortunate," 
 
 " Money gives a person power. Neither you 
 nor I can deny that. But as far as Dan Ester- 
 brook is concerned, I think worse of him than 
 you can. That is done with now." 
 
 " He is never done with a person who deceives
 
 I2O All for Money. 
 
 or opposes him. If he isn't at the bottom of 
 Millicent's loss, I'm mistaken." 
 
 " Tell me about it." 
 
 All was told which the woman could substan 
 tiate as facts, while Leander Harvey knit his 
 brows as he listened. 
 
 "I wouldn't advise you to say much about this," 
 added his companion. " This is a bad time to 
 make an enemy of such a man." 
 
 " I have no fears of him," was the quick reply. 
 " I know how to bring him to terms. I know 
 more of Dan Esterbrook's past life than he will 
 be willing to have told, and he knows that I 
 know it. I shall see him, and perhaps it will be 
 better for me to call on him before I see Millicent. 
 I shall have time for that before dinner." 
 
 " Yes, plenty of time. But you must have 
 luncheon first. You know your own business, 
 but you must allow me to caution you against 
 making an enemy of such a man. There is no 
 use in running risks when nothing is to be 
 gained." 
 
 " That is true. I allow you to say what you 
 please to me, Cousin Naomi. I shall consult one
 
 The Fairy Prince. 121 
 
 or two parties, and then run no risk at all. Do 
 comfort Milly, if you can. She has great confi 
 dence in you." 
 
 " I'll look after her. She needs a friend, if any 
 body does, and it's sorry comfort she'll get from 
 her mother." 
 
 An active business man, an acquaintance of 
 Mr. Harvey, who observed closely the progress 
 of events, corroborated all which had been al 
 ready told him in regard to the bank in which 
 Mrs. Legrew's funds were invested. Considering 
 this the most secure of her investments, she had 
 allowed it to remain, without withdrawing any 
 part of the original amount, so that she was 
 wholly unprepared for its loss. 
 
 " Between you and me, Esterbrook is capable 
 of any meanness, and I have heard that he had 
 a purpose to serve in what he has done," said the 
 acquaintance. " Any way, it is better to lose 
 money than happiness. If Stella Bond was my 
 daughter, I should rather see her in her coffin 
 than in her husband's home. There is no account 
 ing for tastes, however, and she may be satisfied 
 with her life. She has the most magnificent
 
 122 All for Money. 
 
 diamonds. Her chains are of solid gold, and 
 crusted with pearls ; but they are chains, for all 
 that. I know she must hate her old ogre of a 
 husband, and woe be to her when she betrays 
 her hatred." 
 
 Mr. Harvey did not trust himself to reply, lest 
 he might say more than seemed to him wise ; 
 but went at once to call upon the man whom so 
 many feared, and so few trusted. Despite the 
 servant's assurance that his master saw no one 
 without first signifying his willingness to do so, 
 this visitor waited for permission to enter from 
 neither master nor servant. Bidding the former 
 lead the way, he confronted Daniel Esterbrook 
 in a magnificently furnished room. 
 
 " It may be that you have forgotten me," he 
 said coldly. 
 
 A supercilious smile rendered the wizened face 
 still more repulsive, as with a trembling hand he 
 adjusted his glasses, and surveyed the intruder. 
 
 " You are a stranger to me," was his response. 
 
 " You are mistaken in that. It is more than 
 twenty years since I have spoken to you, but I 
 think you remember the night the old warehouse
 
 The Fairy Prince. 123 
 
 was burned. A frightful accident occurred there, 
 and I am certain you have not forgotten that." 
 
 " Leander Harvey !" 
 
 " The very same. Perhaps you remember me 
 now." 
 
 " Yes, yes, I do. Be seated, and tell me how 
 I can serve you. Is is is your friend living ?" 
 
 "Jack Hanson is living. You gave him an 
 ugly blow and it crippled him for life, but his 
 wife and children make up for all he lacks." 
 
 " I I hope he don't bear me any malice." 
 
 " I can't answer for that, only a man wouldn't 
 be likely to love another who attempted to kill 
 him. Murder has a bad sound. But Jack agreed 
 to your terms, and he's not one to go back on a 
 bargain of any kind. You got a heavy insurance 
 on that warehouse. No more than it was worth, 
 though, if all it contained was valued. You made 
 a pile of money, then, Dan Esterbrook, and rid 
 yourself of a woman who was getting trouble 
 some. It was done in a quiet way, too, and with no 
 proof that would be allowed in a court of justice. 
 How about your last operation, having regard to 
 Mrs. Legrew ? She is my sister-in-law, and her
 
 All for Money. 
 
 daughter is my niece. Perhaps you didn't know 
 that." 
 
 The miserable man looked at his accuser as if 
 deprecating further reminder of his guilt ; making 
 an effort to say something in self-defence, yet 
 able only to articulate a single letter : I I . 
 The small, pinched features expressed such agony 
 as was pitiful to see. At length Mr. Esterbrook 
 stammered out : " I've no wish to injure Mrs. 
 Legrewor her daughter." 
 
 " Then why did you ? It was poor revenge 
 because a young girl refused to give herself to 
 such an old debauchee as you are. I would have 
 prevented the match if I had snatched her from 
 you at the altar. It is enough for men to sell 
 themselves for money. You have sold yourself 
 what little there was of you, for money ; and 
 by this time you know whether it was a profitable 
 transaction. You are a rich man, Dan Ester- 
 brook ; so rich, that you can't help adding to 
 your riches every day, but I don't envy you. No, 
 I don't." 
 
 Up to this time Mr. Harvey had been standing. 
 Now he seated himself and looked around upon
 
 The Fairy Prince. 125 
 
 the display of wealth which met his gaze. He 
 had never dreamed of attaining to such magni 
 ficence ; and yet, as he said, he did not envy its 
 possessor. 
 
 "You had an object in coming here," remarked 
 his host, when somewhat recovered from the shock 
 of an unexpected accusation. 
 
 " Certainly," was the reply. " I should not 
 have come for the pleasure of seeing you." 
 
 "Tell me your object." The speaker was 
 gaining courage. 
 
 A few words sufficed to explain what my 
 readers have been told, and a demand was 
 squarely made that Mrs. Legrew's funds should 
 be returned to her in such a way that the 
 transaction would seem to be only a matter of 
 business. 
 
 " It shall be done within three months, or I will 
 forfeit double the amount," said her enemy. 
 
 " Give me a writing to that effect," was re 
 sponded, and this he did. " I have no fears that 
 you will play me false," then added the visitor. 
 
 "If you attempt it I shall know how to meet 
 you."
 
 126 All for Mousy. 
 
 No parting salutations were exchanged as the 
 unwelcome guest passed into the hall, where a 
 servant was waiting who bowed him obsequiously 
 to the door. 
 
 "Now I am sure of my man. He is a murderer 
 as well as an incendiary. It will be for his inter 
 est to keep his agreement with me, and Millicent 
 will be saved from what she considers poverty." 
 
 Thus soliloquized Leander Harvey as he walked 
 rapidly through the thronged streets, while it 
 never occurred to him that he was making mer 
 chandise of the lives and happiness of others. 
 
 Murder and arson are capital crimes : recog 
 nized as such by the laws of the land. Would 
 they be less criminal if they were sources of rev 
 enue to the government ? In that event would 
 the gentleman have indorsed them as honorable ? 
 He had effected his purpose, and with Pharisaic 
 pride he congratulated himself upon his superior 
 ity to the ciaven wretch he had just left. 
 
 Miss Dodge met him as he entered the house 
 of his sister-in-law. 
 
 " You were right," he said. " I have seen Dan 
 Esterbrook." Soon after, when opportunity
 
 The Fairy Prince. 127 
 
 offered, he asked : " Do you remember Lydia 
 Scott ?" 
 
 " Very well," was the reply. 
 
 " What became of her ?" 
 
 " I never knew. I have wondered a great deal 
 about her. She was a handsome girl and a good 
 girl too. She went away from home and I heard 
 that her parents lost all trace of her. I havn't 
 heard her name spoken before for more than 
 twenty years." 
 
 " Dan Esterbrook was acquainted with her." 
 
 " Yes, he was, and I always had my suspicions 
 that he knew more of her fate than any one else." 
 
 "I presume your suspicions are correct; but 
 unless something can be gained it is of no use to 
 express them." 
 
 " I have no wish to do so. Money covers a 
 multitude of sins, but ill-gotten gains bring a 
 curse with them. We all need to remember 
 that ; you and I as well as others. I wish you 
 didn't care so much for money, Cousin Harvey. 
 It is a convenient thing to have, but it is not 
 worth what many people pay for it." 
 
 Meanwhile, Milly Legrevv was examining her
 
 128 All for Money. 
 
 wardrobe with reference to future needs ; smiling 
 bitterly as she recalled the occasions when various 
 articles of dress had been worn. There were 
 shimmering silks and softly-flowing muslins ; 
 cashmeres and cambrics ; purchased with hardly 
 a thought of their price, and thrown aside with 
 no concern as to the waste involved. She ques 
 tioned, even now, if the time would come when 
 she must submit to petty economies and narrow 
 means. 
 
 Her mind reverted to Hermon Wyatt, who she 
 knew was established in a profitable business, and 
 whom she had found so delightful a companion. 
 She had missed him far more than she had sup 
 posed possible, and wished for maidens will in 
 dulge in wishes that he might be her fairy 
 prince.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PURE LIQUORS. 
 
 OOR Dummer ! He failed to appear in 
 his accustomed place, and his absence 
 was reported with this comment : 
 " There couldn't be a worse time for him to stay 
 away. There's a large order to be filled, and he's 
 the man to do it. He's kept sober longer than I 
 expected, but he ought to have held out a while 
 longer. He's most used up any way." 
 
 " Yes, that he is," replied his employer. " I am 
 afraid he is sick. Let me see the order that is to 
 be filled." 
 
 He took it, read it carefully, then turned to his 
 private desk, taking from this a note-book which 
 he consulted. " I think I am equal to that," he 
 remarked. " I may not do as well as Dummer. 
 I don't expect to. But I have watched him at
 
 fjo All for Money. 
 
 his work, and with his assistants. I think I can 
 turn out a respectable article." 
 
 " I hope so. The house has a good reputation. 
 Landers was particular. Never any poor stuff 
 went out of his cellars." 
 
 " Do we sell at much pure liquor as he 
 did ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir, about the same. The fact is, pure 
 liquor is something you read about but don't 
 often see. It's all of a piece, though not of a price, 
 whether wine and brandy are made here or in 
 Europe. Our merchants may as well have the 
 profits as foreigners, and money is what you are 
 after." 
 
 Nothing was said ; for although committed to 
 his business, Mr. Wyatt could not talk of it with 
 freedom. He had been well initiated into the 
 secrets of the trade, and could already count his 
 gains as something real and substantial. He 
 was less troubled with conscientious scruples 
 than he had been when these were only antici 
 pated. He still revolted from the wholesale frauds 
 carried on with his consent ; yet for this he jus 
 tified himself by the fact that others were engaged
 
 Pure Liqiiors. /j/ 
 
 in the same nefarious work. His liquors were as 
 pure as could be bought elsewhere. 
 
 He had taken out a license for his business, 
 and \vas recognized as a merchant in good stand 
 ing. He gave to those who bought of him a fail- 
 measure of such goods as they desired. He urged 
 no one to buy, and would have scorned the im 
 putation of luring men to drunkenness. He would 
 have abolished the bar, so long known as an at 
 tractive feature of the establishment, had it been 
 possible to do so without offending his best cus 
 tomers. 
 
 Yet, truth to tell, he was degenerating rapidly, 
 although still maintaining what he was pleased 
 to consider a proper respect for himself. His 
 place of business was closed on the Sabbath, and 
 he attended church regularly. He was abste 
 mious in his personal habits ; allowing himself no 
 more indulgence than had been his wont. 
 
 Now he was troubled in regard to the father 
 of the girl whose face haunted him. He wished 
 this man would come, at least, to receive the 
 wages due ; and despite all sophistry, he could 
 not but question how far he was himself respon-
 
 132 All for Money. 
 
 sible. Mr. Reeves had told him that Dummer 
 was a miserable sot ; half dead with disease 
 induced by habits of drinking, and that the fellow 
 would be thankful for any work at any price. 
 " Past hope." But if left to himself, with no temp 
 tation from without, who knew that at the last 
 extremity some friend might not have appeared 
 to save him ? 
 
 Had Hermon Wyatt possessed a more sympa 
 thetic nature, or finer sensibilities, he would have 
 thought of this man with a tenderness which was 
 now impossible to him. 
 
 A.S it was, he did not forget the humble home 
 where it might be there was positive suffering. 
 
 His time was so occupied that it was late in 
 the afternoon before he found an opportunity to 
 visit Mrs. Ilsley's ; and when there, he said 
 directly : "I have come to inquire for Mr. Dum 
 mer.". 
 
 " And bad enough he is," was the reply. 
 " Come home last night with a pain such as he 
 never had before, and his wife not knowing what 
 to do. He's easier now. The doctor's been to 
 see him and stopped to tell me on his way. He
 
 Pure Liqiiors. 
 
 says it's a hard case, but he hopes he'll get him 
 through this spell. You see, sir, his blood's all 
 poisoned with the drink. If he'd only give it up." 
 
 " Would there be any hope of his getting well 
 again ?" 
 
 "There's always hope, sir, when the like of him 
 give up their cups. The doctor says he's a fine 
 constitution in his favor. Sure our doctor would 
 fetch him through if anybody could, and without 
 a drop of the stuff either. He's troubled about 
 his work ; but Lizzie says she hain't the face to 
 go there. She's only a shadow to-day, though 
 she's handsome as handsome can be. She minded 
 the shop while I went up to see her father. 
 'Twant long I could stay, but they never ask 
 neighboring from any other." 
 
 " I am glad they have one friend." 
 
 " O sir, they've many, only they don't take to 
 everybody. We've a decent neighborhood as 
 any, since we're quit of the drink shops." 
 
 " Is Mr. Dummer's family in need of food or 
 fuel ?" 
 
 " I'm thinking they're not over well off for 
 firing, though it's likely they've got money. I've
 
 134 All j or Money. 
 
 sold as cheap as I dared, and they not find out 
 I was giving more than they paid for, but I've 
 used up the five dollars you left. I've kept ac 
 count, if you're wanting to see it." 
 
 " Thank you. I am willing to trust your hon 
 esty. Here is another five, and I will call round 
 again in a few days. Is there anything more I 
 can do for them ?" 
 
 The door opened, arid Lizzie Dummer sprang 
 in with an exclamation upon her lips, which was 
 suppressed as her eyes rested upon the stranger. 
 
 " Please, sir, are you Mr. Wyatt ?" she asked 
 timidly. 
 
 " My name is Wyatt," he replied, with a feeling 
 of positive shame at the acknowledgment. 
 
 " Then my father has been working for you, 
 sir. ' My father is Mr. Dummer." 
 
 " Your father has worked for me." 
 
 " Don't tell me the gentleman is him that 
 bought old Landers' liquor store, and just pour 
 ing out the horrid stuff by casks and hogsheads !" 
 cried Mrs. Ilsley. "It can't be him, Lizzie. 
 You've made a mistake, child." 
 
 It was a terrible mistake, yet Hermon Wyatt
 
 Pure Liquors. 
 
 was forced to admit the charge made against 
 him. 
 
 " Well, I wouldn't thought it," said the woman, 
 in a tone of mingled surprise and sadness. You're 
 no more like old Landers than " Here her 
 comparison failed, and she stood staring blankly 
 at her visitor, until she found voice to add : " I 
 nevcr'd thought it, and you looking so clean and 
 decent, so like a gentleman. It's not my place 
 to say it, sir, but you're not fit for your business." 
 
 " Why not, my good woman ?" 
 
 " Because, sir, it's a pity to spoil a fine face and 
 fine figure, and you must be after drinking your 
 own liquors." 
 
 " I never taste of liquor. It is against my prin 
 ciples," answered the merchant, in his confusion. 
 
 "Sure, I'm thinking that may be true, by your 
 looks ; but it's strange to be selling the stuff 
 you'd not taste yourself, sir. It's bold in me, 
 but you're in a bad business, sir. I'd rather stand 
 behind my little counter and sell taffy by the 
 pennyworth, than take my chance with you in 
 the long." 
 
 " O sir !" sobbed Lizzie, whose feelings had
 
 136 All for Money. 
 
 been so overwrought that they must needs find 
 vent in tears. 
 
 Was ever man in a more awkward position ? 
 He wished himself anywhere else, yet would not 
 go without accomplishing the purpose for which 
 he came. 
 
 " I am sorry you disapprove of me, Mrs. Ilsley," 
 he said, with an effort to speak lightly. 
 
 " It's not you, sir, at all. You're a proper look 
 ing man, and well spoken. But it's the business 
 you're at. I'll not be saying more of that though. 
 I've been overbold." 
 
 " I m not disposed to blame you. I know peo 
 ple look at the business differently. But, Miss 
 Dummer, I wish to be a friend to your father, and if 
 I can assist him or his family in any way I shall be 
 glad to do it. He was recommended to me as a 
 man I could depend upon for certain work, and 
 he has done it well. I have paid him the 
 wages we agreed upon, but I am willing to 
 double the amount. He has fairly earned it, so 
 it is no chanty. Shall I pay the money to 
 you ?" 
 
 " I don't know, sir. I don't know what father
 
 Pure Liquors. 
 
 would say. You are kind, but I wish he could 
 do some other kind of work." 
 
 " I wish he could, Miss Dummer, and if I could 
 help him to some other kind of work I should be 
 very glad to." 
 
 " Sure, sir, will you walk into my bit of a 
 kitchen ? There's customers coming, and they'll 
 maybe wonder." 
 
 The bit of a kitchen was so tidy, and so bright 
 with sunlight that it seemed almost spacious ; 
 and Hermon Wyatt half envied the man or 
 woman who could be content to dwell in such a 
 place. He knew that greed of gain was dwarf 
 ing his soul and perverting his better nature. He 
 looked at the young girl before him, pale and 
 drooping. Why was she doomed to poverty ? 
 Why must she be jostled rudely by the crowd, 
 while others were sheltered lovingly ? 
 
 "I hope your father will soon be better," he 
 said at length. 
 
 "I hope so, sir. The doctor says perhaps he 
 might if he would give up drinking anything but 
 tea, and coffee, and milk, and water." By the 
 use of so many substitutes Lizzie Dummer had
 
 138 All for Money. 
 
 avoided the one word which was to her the 
 synonym of all evil. 
 
 " Is he disposed to follow the doctor's prescrip 
 tion ?" asked her companion. 
 
 " He says he'd be glad to, sir. He loves 
 mother and me, but it's so long since he begun 
 this way, he thinks he can't change. If he only 
 would !" 
 
 " He could. Other men have. Let him try 
 in the right way." 
 
 " Oh, please tell me how, sir." 
 
 " Let him keep out of the v r ay of liquor ; keep 
 where he won't see it or smell it." 
 
 " That's what mother says, sir. But poor fa 
 ther ! He's so bad, and now he says he's only fit 
 for one kind of work, what he does for you. But 
 I'm troubling you, sir. I ought not to." 
 
 " You are not troubling me, Miss Dummer. I 
 came here to inquire for your father," said Mr. 
 Wyatt ; and counting out some money he gave 
 it into the hand of the young girl. 
 
 Then seeing that Mrs. llsley was alone in her 
 shop, he passed through into the street. 
 
 "That's the strangest man, dear. The stran-
 
 Pure Liquors. 139 
 
 gest man, and I speaking to him as though he was 
 one of the neighbors. What ever he'll think I 
 don't know, but 'twas the truth I told him." 
 
 " See what he has given me," responded Lizzie, 
 displaying her roll of bills. " He's not all bad, 
 Mrs. Ilsley." 
 
 "No, dear, and I mind me I've heard liquor 
 men have hearts, though it don't seem so. Now 
 take the money home and tell your father all 
 about it. Give him the best of everything till 
 he's strong again." 
 
 " Oh, Mrs. Ilsley, will he ever be ? I'm afraid." 
 
 " Well, it's not strange, dear, that you are. 
 There's only one way, and the doctor knows 
 that. And be sure you're loving always to your 
 father. He's not one that wants to be bad. He's 
 been led astray." 
 
 The sick man was waiting anxiously for his 
 daughter when he heard her step, and directly she 
 was saying : " Now, father, you haint anything 
 to do but get well. I've got lots of money, and 
 you can have everything you want. Mr. Wyatt 
 was in Mrs. Ilsley's shop, and I saw him." 
 
 " You did, Lizzie ! How came he to be. there ?"
 
 140 All for Money. 
 
 " He said he came to inquire for you, and he 
 spoke kind to me, as if he was real good." 
 
 " He's not a bad man, as men are judged. He's 
 fair to deal with, and he's always treated me well. 
 He's new to his business ; and if I can judge he 
 don't like it over well. It's the profits he's 
 after. But you said you had money. Where did 
 you get it ?" 
 
 This question was answered, and the conversa 
 tion between Lizzie Dummer and Mr. Wyatt 
 repeated. 
 
 "That's something I never heard of being done 
 before," remarked Mr. Dummer. " If there was 
 enough left of me to pay for saving I don't know 
 but I'd try what I could do. But it's no use, wife, 
 is it ? I'm most gone, and the sooner I'm out of 
 the way the better." 
 
 He was not permitted to speak longer in this 
 strain. His wife and daughter pleaded with him 
 to make one more effort to reform. 
 
 " I can't do it," was his despairing reply ; and 
 yet the next morning, when Dr. Magee visited 
 him, he consented to submit to any regimen 
 which should be prescribed.
 
 Pure Liquors. 141 
 
 " It will be up-hill work, and you'll be ready to 
 faint by the way," said the young physician. 
 " You must expect that, and it may be, after 
 all, you will never be well ; but you can die a 
 sober man, and that is worth all the effort you 
 will be obliged to make. I will try to see you 
 every day, and I will do what I can for you." 
 
 " But I can't pay for so many visits." 
 
 " You can pay what I shall ask. There will 
 be no trouble about that." 
 
 Mrs. Ilsley, hearing the result of this call, said 
 to the daughter: "Then your father's through 
 with Mr Wyatt." 
 
 " Yes, ma'am. He wont go back there. I wish 
 Mr. Wyatt wouldn't sell such bad stuff." 
 
 "I wish so too, but it's likely money makes 
 him. That's what they're all after. Mrs. Riley 
 says she never'd sell another drop, only she must 
 feed her children and she could get money for 
 liquor." 
 
 " She might sell coffee. That's always good." 
 
 " So it is. But many a man who wont pay the 
 price of a cup of coffee will buy rum and whiskey. 
 The poison stuff whiskey is too. Not a shadow
 
 142 All for Money. 
 
 like the old Scotch whiskey I've heard my 
 father talk about. That was stilled in out-of- 1 he- 
 way places, cheating the government, but 'twa-; 
 made of wholesome things. Them that drinked 
 it was drunk, but they warn't poisoned like as 
 they be in the drinking dens here." 
 
 "I don't think whiskey could ever be good." 
 
 " O no, dear. I'm not saying that, but there's 
 a difference as how it's made." 
 
 Mr. Dummer knew far more of this than did 
 the woman who thus spoke. He knew, also, 
 that his physical system had been subjected to a 
 process of slow poisoning, and that there was but 
 one possibility of its effects being eradicated. 
 As he had said, there was not much left of him. 
 But what remained was fully alive to the misery 
 of quivering nerves and wildly throbbing veins. 
 The very pangs of death seemed to have taken 
 hold upon him. 
 
 How many others, throughout the length and 
 breadth of our land, are enduring a like torture : 
 themselves responsible, and yet not alone re 
 sponsible ! 
 
 Mr. Wyatt filled the order of which mention
 
 Pure Liquors. 143 
 
 has been made ; sending out in skilfully stained 
 casks a manufactured liquor, upon which was 
 realized a profit sufficiently large to satisfy the 
 most avaricious dealer. 
 
 " Did ye mind that the masther niver tasted a 
 dhrap himself?" asked one Irishman of another. 
 
 "Faith, an' I did," was the reply. "He's not 
 the ould man at all, but mayhap he'll grow. 
 What'll iver he do without Dummer ?" 
 
 " Ye may well say that, though the poor 
 crathur's on his last ligs intirely. I'd not be 
 stannin' in his shoes for money. Wyatt's civil 
 spoken, but he'll be the masther. He kapes an 
 eye out." 
 
 The liquor sold to a licensed retailer was sold 
 again to be retailed by the glass, or half glass, to 
 customers so poor, they would never presume to 
 call for their drink except in the lowest grog- 
 geries. And yet each man made a profit ; adul 
 terating and cheapening ; at the same time 
 adding the most potent acids to give it the 
 requisite strength. If tears flowed from the eyes 
 of some poor wretch as he drank, so much the 
 more sure was he that he had received the worth
 
 144 All for Money. 
 
 of his money. As he gasped for breath, he 
 extolled the poison which nearly strangled him. 
 
 Licensed and unlicensed. What was the dif 
 ference, save that in one case the vender was 
 protected by law, while he paid a stipulated sum 
 for the privilege of making drunkards ; and in the 
 otner, some bloated creature pocketed the entire 
 proceeds of his miserable sales ?
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 A BROTHER'S REMONSTRANCE. 
 
 ERMON WYATT had been making up 
 his monthly account, calculating ex 
 penditures and receipts ; and as he 
 closed his ledger, the most careless observer 
 would have noticed the grim smile of satisfaction 
 upon his face ; and so far as dollars and cents 
 were concerned, he had abundant reason for sa 
 tisfaction. Mr. Harvey's predictions had been 
 more than realized, and this gentleman was ready 
 to advance any amount of funds which might be 
 desired. 
 
 Frequent letters were exchanged between the 
 partners ; always having reference to business, 
 and yet never one was written by the senior 
 partner, in which was not some allusion to Milly 
 Legrew. She had been driving with her aunt ;
 
 All for Money. 
 
 or she was sitting at the piano ; or, perhaps, she 
 had been chatting with the writer, and the echo 
 of her laughter still lingered around him. The 
 young man read these letters again and again ; 
 dreaming over the lines which revealed some 
 thing of the home-life he could so well enjoy. 
 
 " Letters, sir," said the boy whose duty it was 
 to bring the mail. 
 
 One from the many was selected and perused 
 eagerly, and one paragraph of this riveted the 
 attention of the reader. 
 
 " Milly is to remain with us through the com 
 ing summer, and we are anticipating the pleasure 
 of seeing you whenever you can take a vacation." 
 
 Mr. Harvey judged rightly that his cousin's 
 ambition for wealth would be stimulated by such 
 seemingly careless reminders of both the past 
 and future. One man might die from the effects 
 of poison. Thousands of others might be ruined 
 ?oul and body. But for all this, Hermon Wyatt 
 must have money, let the consequences be what 
 they might. Each man must regard his own in 
 dividual interests. Liquor would be manufac 
 tured and sold. Why not by him, as well as his
 
 A Brother s Remonstrance. 
 
 neighbor ? The supply would never exceed the 
 demand, and he was in no way responsible for 
 the demand. 
 
 In employing Dummer, and paying extra wages, 
 he had really done the man a kindness. He had 
 also sent messages of warning and advice. It 
 was far easier to sustain his position than to as 
 sume it, and he flattered himself that no more 
 accusers would rise up to confront him. 
 
 Throughout the establishment there was a 
 busy activity. Panic and hard times were un 
 known here. If men failed and became despond 
 ent, there was a panacea, the price of which 
 would be paid though wives and children starved. 
 
 After an unusually busy day the merchant 
 went to his hotel undecided how he should spend 
 the evening. He might remain quietly by him 
 self, or he might attend a concert, and so gratify 
 a taste for music which with him was almost a 
 passion. 
 
 He was debating the point when a servant an 
 nounced a visitor, and a plainly-dressed man 
 bearing a striking resemblance to himself was 
 admitted to his room. The exclamations :
 
 148 All for Money. 
 
 "Brother George " and "Brother Hermon " at 
 tested to their relationship. 
 
 " I'd lost track of you till I saw your name in 
 the paper a month or two ago, and since then 
 I've wanted to see you so I couldn't very well 
 stay away," remarked the elder brother, a little 
 later in the evening ; adding directly : " You're 
 a good looking man, Hermon." 
 
 " So are you, George," was the reply. " I am 
 glad to see you, although I didn't expect you." 
 
 " You ought to be glad, Hermon. I couldn't 
 afford to take such a journey these hard times, 
 but I wanted to sec you." 
 
 " I've thought a good many times about going 
 West to visit you and the other boys, but I was 
 waiting till I made my fortune." 
 
 " Well, I didn't wait for that. You've got a 
 handsome place here." 
 
 " Yes, it's comfortable." 
 
 " Not much like the old home, and not much 
 like my house either, though I built a new one a 
 few years ago. You've changed a good deal 
 since the last time I saw you." 
 
 " A man changes from fifteen to thirty. You
 
 A Brother s Remonstrance. 
 
 have changed, but I should have known you any 
 where. I hope you left your family well." 
 
 " I did, and I have quite, a family to leave. I 
 have six boys and three girls ; six more of us 
 than when we went West." 
 
 " That is a respectable number for one house. 
 I hope your boys are all brave, and your girls all 
 fair." 
 
 " They look well enough, and so far I've 
 nothing to complain of in their behavior. Not 
 one of my boys uses tobacco or liquor. You see 
 I bring them up as mother brought us up. I 
 don't forget." 
 
 " No more do I. I never used tobacco or 
 liquor." 
 
 George Wyatt looked sharply at his brother, 
 remarking : " A man who sells liquor generally 
 drinks it." 
 
 Up to this moment the merchant had not 
 thought of his business during the interview. 
 Now a burning blush overspread his face, and it 
 was with difficulty that he said : " It is true that 
 I sell liquor, and equally true that I do not drink 
 it."
 
 150 All for Monzy. 
 
 l< Why not ?" 
 
 "Because I don't believe in it. I made up my 
 mind when I left home, and I havn't seen any 
 occasion to change it." 
 
 " I'm glad to hear it, and your looks bear out 
 your words. You don't look like a drinking man. 
 I'm dead set against drinking and selling both. 
 Selling liquor is the meanest business a man can 
 do. How in the world did you come to go into 
 it ? Perhaps you think I havn't any right to talk 
 so to you, but I came on purpose. I couldn't 
 sleep nights after I saw by the paper you'd bought 
 out the best located liquor store in the city. 
 The last I heard of you before that you was sell 
 ing grain and flour. Why didn't you stick to it ?" 
 
 " Because I couldn't meet my liabilities. It 
 wasn't through any fault of mine either. Some 
 of my best customers failed, and everything went 
 wrong. I shouldn't have given up if I hadn't been 
 obliged to ; and if I'd had a chance I should have 
 started again in the same line. But I was out 
 of money and out of work. I couldn't get either, 
 and I hadn't anything to live on. I gave up 
 everything, square and honest, and was ready to
 
 A Brother s Remonstrance. 151 
 
 begin at the foot of the ladder. But a man must 
 have standing room, and I couldn't get so much 
 as that. Leander Harvey sent me an invitation 
 to make him a visit and I went. He wantec 
 somebody to use some monc-y for him and made 
 me the offer of it. He is the owner of the store. 
 He furnished every dollar that was paid for it, 
 and I am really only his agent." 
 
 " Then let him run the store himself." 
 " He don't want to do that, and if he did there 
 would be no place for me. He has enough else 
 to do." 
 
 "And I wish you had. If I had my way you 
 wouldn't dare to sell liquor another day. You 
 wouldn't do it any more than you'd commit high 
 way robbery. The two ought to be ranked to 
 gether ; though to my thinking robbery is the 
 smallest crime. I believe in prohibition ; prohi 
 bition, too, that means something. I suppose you 
 sell under a license ?" 
 
 "Yes, I mean to be fair and honest." 
 "You can't be. There's no such thing as a 
 fair, honest liquor-seller. Selling is a fraud 
 every time, and license is a fraud. Government
 
 I 52 All for Money. 
 
 has no right to protect an evil it ought to pro 
 hibit." 
 
 " There is a vast amount of money and an army 
 of men engaged in the liquor business. Has 
 government any right to confiscate this property 
 and turn these men out of employment ?" 
 
 "Yes, it has a perfect right to do it. Why 
 not ? There ain't many that believe in free rum, 
 and everybody who don't, acknowledges that 
 government has the right to put restrictions on 
 the traffic. A man can sell wholesome food 
 without taking out a license or being restricted. 
 I know he's not allowed to traffic openly on the 
 Sabbath, but that regulation is no burden. He 
 can sell to minors and drunkards, to anybody who 
 will pay him." 
 
 " He sells what people call for, and so do I. 
 You talk as if the money made in the liquor busi 
 ness was thrown away. Families are supported 
 with the profits, and if you had your way there 
 would be more men out of employment than there 
 are now. The country would be bankrupt for 
 want of a sufficient revenue." 
 
 So you have learned to talk in that way, and
 
 A Brother s Remonstrance. 
 
 if you believe what you say you are far gone. I 
 didn't reckon on your being so bad. I'm trying 
 to do something for temperance in our State, and 
 I thought perhaps I could have some influence 
 with you. I wanted to see." 
 
 " I am glad you came," said the younger 
 brother, who then proceeded to speak of other 
 members of their family, thus turning attention 
 from himself ; but this was only for a time. 
 
 " Now, Hermon, let us come back to business," 
 was the remark which changed abruptly the sub 
 ject of conversation. " I'm troubled about you. 
 You aint the right kind of a lookinar man to be 
 selling liquor." 
 
 " I don't know about that." 
 
 " I do, and as I said before, if I had the power 
 I'd send you to State's prison if you kept your 
 store open another day." 
 
 " That would be a tyrant's act." 
 I " An act demanded by the good of society can 
 never be tyrannical. I know all there is to be 
 said on your side of the question, and it don't 
 amount to anything. It wouldn't have a feather's 
 weight with any disinterested person, and you
 
 r $4 All for Money. 
 
 know it. Liquor selling is a crime against 
 humanity and an abomination in the sight of 
 God." 
 
 " That is wholesale condemnation of the gov 
 ernment that sanctions it. It is recognized as 
 laudable and honorable." 
 
 " I aint sure about that. In giving it the 
 sanction of law, I rather think there's an 
 acknowledgment of it's being an evil that must 
 be regulated. If government has a right to re 
 strict it, it has just as good a right to prohibit it. 
 Then, of course, it has a right to punish anybody 
 that defies its power. You can't help seeing 
 that. Now answer me, brother. Would you 
 ever think of defending the traffic if you hadn't 
 engaged in it ?" 
 
 "Well, to tell the truth, Brother George, I 
 don't suppose I should. But I have had new 
 light on the subject since I began to think about 
 it seriously, and 1 have come to the conclusion 
 that a man has a perfect right to sell any article 
 that the community wish to buy. The fact is, if 
 there was no one to buy liquor there would be no 
 one to sell."
 
 A Brothers Remonstrance. 
 
 " Turn it round. It's as true one side as the 
 other. Then there are a good many who don't 
 care enough about it to go far out of their way 
 for it. They wouldn't go to a low, tippling 
 saloon. They'd be ashamed to be seen in such 
 a place, and I don't wonder ; though, after all, 
 one place is as good as another. It's not the 
 place, but the business that brings disgrace." 
 
 " That is saying too much, George. You'll 
 not see any drunkards about my store ; and 
 another thing : I'm not defrauding the govern 
 ment, like the keepers of these low saloons. I 
 will insist that there's a decided difference be 
 tween us." 
 
 " You sell under a license, and so throw the 
 responsibility upon the government that licenses 
 you. The man who sells without a license does 
 it at his own risk, and takes the responsibility. I 
 believe, on the whole, he has as much claim to 
 be respected as you have." 
 
 " That's fanaticism with a vengeance, George. 
 That's a little ahead of anything I've heard 
 before. Don't you think government has a right 
 to license a traffic that will bring it a large
 
 1 56 All for Money. 
 
 revenue ; especially, if the traffic is sure to be 
 carried on any way ?" 
 
 " No, I don't. There are such things as right 
 and wrong. There's a higher court of reference 
 than any in this world." 
 
 " If you are going to discuss the matter from 
 a Christian standpoint, you will have me at dis 
 advantage. I make no pretensions to religion." 
 
 " I'm sorry you're not a Christian, but if a man 
 is serving the evil one with all his strength of 
 mind and body, I don't want him to pretend he 
 is serving the Lord ; and if the ruler of darkness 
 has any servants in this world, they are the rum- 
 sellers, no matter where they do their business." 
 
 Hermon Wyatt was angry ; all the more so 
 because he could not conscientiously deny the 
 truth of what had been said. 
 
 " You think I'm saying very severe things," 
 continued the visitor, who had waited vainly for 
 a reply to his last remarks. " You think I've no 
 business to talk so, but I came here to do my 
 duty. I want to turn you from your evil way, 
 and if I say what I think I can't help being severe. 
 Don't lay it up against me, Brother Hermon. I
 
 A Brothers Remonstrance. 
 
 sha'n't stay long with you. It may be we sha'n't 
 see each other again after this little visit, till we 
 meet in eternity ;" and the speaker extended his 
 hand, while looking affectionately into the face of 
 his companion. 
 
 " I wont lay up anything against you," re 
 sponded the younger man. " I know things seem 
 to you just as you represent them." 
 
 " They art' just as I represent them." 
 
 " I can't agree with you. Now suppose I should 
 give up my business. Do you think there would 
 be any less wine and brandy sold in the city ?" 
 
 " I don't know. And besides, that aint the 
 question for you to settle." 
 
 " I can tell you. There wouldn't be a drop 
 less sold. Somebody would buy our store just as 
 it is, and the purchaser might be a worse man 
 than I am. If my giving up would put a stop to 
 the business, I'd give up to-morrow morning, if I 
 had to go to the poor house for my life-time." 
 
 " I wish to heavens the whole responsibility 
 was on your shoulders. I should be glad to have 
 you put to the test." 
 
 " In that case you would see me do as I say."
 
 158 All for Money. 
 
 " Then you don't believe in your business. 
 You don't consider yourself engaged in a whole 
 some, remunerative industry." 
 
 " It is remunerative. There is no reason to 
 dispute that. Fortunes are made in it." 
 
 " And ten thousand times ten thousand for 
 tunes squandered in it. It may be remunerative 
 to you and a few others, but not to the masses 
 of the people. It is draining the resources of the 
 country to a frightful amount. We shall be a 
 nation of paupers unless there is some change for 
 the better. Rum manufacturers and rumsellers 
 get rich, if they don't get to be such drunkards 
 that they lose all control of themselves. But the 
 consumer grows poorer and poorer. Many a man 
 spends half his earnings for drink, wastes what 
 might give him and his family every comfort 
 they need. We wont say anything about the 
 time he spends in tippling, nor the time he loses 
 from sickness, but all these ought to be counted 
 if you're going to make a square calculation of 
 profit and loss." 
 
 "But I have nothing to do with that man," said 
 the merchant. " He is a free moral agent, and
 
 A Brother s Remonstrance. 
 
 I couldn't control him if I would. Can't you see, 
 George, that I'm not to blame for what he 
 does? If my customers didn't buy their liquors 
 of me they would buy them of somebody else. 
 So the only question for me to consider is whether 
 I shall take the profits of their trade. I am do 
 ing what I think best, and I am not likely to for 
 feit the conditions of my license. A man must 
 have a good moral character in order to obtain a 
 license." 
 
 " I wouldn't give much for his morality. Money 
 to pay the fee is pretty near all that's needed. 
 Men who believe in license aint generally them 
 that believe in teetotalism. Either they're paid 
 for voting on that side, or else they like some 
 kind of liquor themselves ; unless they've money 
 in the business, or they want office. It may be 
 that some honest temperance men believe in 
 license, but they don't live where I do." 
 
 "There are some such," was the curt reply. 
 
 " Grant that there are. Can you imagine a 
 more inconsistent set of human beings ? Do you 
 think they are really working for the cause they 
 profess to love ?"
 
 160 All for Money. 
 
 " They say they are, and I've no right to doubt 
 their word." 
 
 "Perhaps not, but by their fruits ye shall 
 know them. How is it about yourself? Which 
 side are you on ?" 
 
 " I've always considered myself a thorough 
 going temperance man." 
 
 " You can't have the face to call yourself so 
 now." 
 
 " I havn't found it necessary to say anything 
 about it before." 
 
 "Do you belong to the league that fights 
 against anything like legislation on the subject 
 except license ?" 
 
 This was a home question Hermon Wyatt 
 would have preferred not to hear. Only a few 
 days before he had felt obliged, as a matter of 
 policy, to join this league, of whose existence he 
 had hardly known until its claims were presented 
 to him by a brother merchant. 
 
 In conclusion his visitor had said : " You see, 
 we've got to have a square fight with the fana 
 tics. Our craft is in danger, but if we all hang 
 together we can beat them. It's only a princi-
 
 A Brother s Remonstrance. 161 
 
 pie with them, while it's dollars and cents with 
 us. There's too much money invested in the 
 liquor trade of the country to have it sacrificed to 
 the prejudices of men and women that think the 
 devil is in the wine cup. One way and another 
 we can carry the elections, and then they may 
 whistle for their birds." 
 
 This decided the matter. The young man 
 enrolled his name with others of his profession. 
 Of course, he also subscribed to the fund neces 
 sary to be raised, and hoped that so far as he 
 was personally concerned he should be troubled 
 no further in regard to it. Now he was brought 
 face to face with the act, and his brother waited 
 for a reply. 
 
 " I expect to do what is best for my present 
 interest," he said at length. " If I am in the 
 wrong track it won't help my case if I leave it as 
 poor as I started. If I stay in the trade I'm 
 bound to make money out of it. I'll do it in a 
 fair way, though ; and to tell the whole truth, I 
 have joined the league you mentioned." 
 
 " I might have expected it, Hermon. I sup 
 pose I ought to, but some way I didn't. I hoped
 
 162 All for Money. 
 
 you'd give a square no to my question. That's 
 the wickedest society there is in the country, 
 and the wickedest things are done through its 
 influence." 
 
 " But every class of men have a right to do 
 what they can to protect themselves." 
 
 "Yes, if they are in the right ; but not other 
 wise. You know you are doing wrong, Hermon. 
 You can't deny it. You have said things, too, 
 that you don't believe yourself. You said it 
 would be an act of tyranny on the part of govern 
 ment to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquor." 
 
 " I don't think I used just those words." 
 
 " No, but they amounted to the same thing. 
 A law without a penalty is no law at all. Now 
 it's as plain as daylight that if government has 
 the right to restrict a business because it is 
 doing an injury to society, it has a right to pro 
 hibit the business altogether. You can talk 
 about gunpowder, nitro-glycerine and dualine, if 
 you want to, but they're no more to the point 
 than forty other things men say when they're 
 trying to deceive themselves and other folks. I 
 have told the truth about this thing. Did you
 
 A Brother s Remonstrance. i6j 
 
 ever know a family to be made happier by the 
 use of intoxicating drinks ? Should you be will 
 ing that a young girl you loved should marry 
 your best customer ?" 
 
 " What do you know of my best customer ?" 
 
 " Nothing, only he must be a drinking man, 
 and a rich man. I suppose you know a good 
 deal more about him than that." 
 
 " I do I have seen him, and I don't think any 
 young girl would be likely to fancy him. He 
 has a wife and grown children." 
 
 " Got a good wife ?" 
 
 "As good as he deserves probably. I have 
 been told that she considers herself a good judge 
 of wine." 
 
 " Has she any sons ?" 
 
 "Four." 
 
 " Well, there's no need of asking questions 
 about them. They'll be good customers for some 
 rumseller, but they'll have to come down from 
 their father's style before they die. Money melts 
 away in such hands. But you havn't answered 
 my question." 
 
 "What was it?"
 
 164 All for Money. 
 
 "Did you ever know a family made happier by 
 the use of intoxicating drinks ?" 
 
 " No, I never did." 
 
 " But it can't be used without producing some 
 effect. It don't make happiness, -but it does 
 make misery. Don't it fill our poor houses, our 
 jails, and our States' prisons ? Don't it make 
 more wretchedness than everything else ? Now, 
 Hermon, if you never speak to me again while 
 you live, I want you to answer these ques 
 tions." 
 
 " I answer, yes. I'm not such a fool that I can't 
 see it, and I'm not such a knave as to den}' it. 
 But I am only one of a great many. I am in the 
 business and I can't leave it. I'm under contract 
 for three years, and I can't give it up." 
 
 " Are you under bonds ?" 
 
 " No. Why should I be ? My name is good 
 for all the contracts I make, and my word is as 
 good as my bond." 
 
 ' I'm glad of that. But if you felt as I do, 
 you'd find a way to get released from your con 
 tract. Come west and take up some land. Mar 
 ry a good, sensible woman, and settle down to an
 
 A Brother s Remonstrance. 165 
 
 honest life. You'll have to work hard a few 
 years, but you can do it without hurting yourself 
 or anybody else. You'll be a happier man than 
 if you stay where you are, making money by 
 destroying others.'' 
 
 " Thank you, Brother George. It may be 
 your plan is the best one. But I am committed, 
 When three years are gone I may change. 1 
 can't before." 
 
 " Then I've lost my trouble in coming. I'm 
 sorrier than you have any idea of. I can't bear 
 to think of your doing so much evil in the world." 
 
 Hermon Wyatt gave no heed to these last re 
 marks. He was thinking how unlike the woman 
 his brother would consider good and sensible, 
 was she who grew every day dearer to him. She 
 was to him all that was pure and lovely ; but 
 one could not expect from her much of practical 
 common sense. She was too fair and sweet to 
 encounter the rough, every-day world. She must 
 be surrounded with luxury ; must wear soft rai 
 ment, and be served daintily. How would Milly 
 Legrew exist as the wife of a poor western farm 
 er ? The very idea was absurd.
 
 166 All for Money. 
 
 "You are dreaming, Hermon." 
 
 "I was thinking. Pardon my absent-minded 
 ness. I am sorry to disappoint you. I appreci 
 ate all your motives in coming, and I shall be 
 very happy to do everything in my power to 
 make your visit pleasant to you. If I was a rich 
 man I could act independently, and I should talk 
 very differently from what I have talked. But a 
 man must appear as consistent as circumstances 
 will allow, and it would be foolish in me to con 
 demn myself. I am saying this to my brother in 
 confidence. You will understand that. I had no 
 idea that you were such a zealous reformer." 
 
 "I havn't been very zealous till within a year. 
 I didn't get fairly waked up to the need of reform 
 before then. I was a teetotaler, and trained my 
 boys to follow my example ; but I didn't inter 
 fere with others, unless it was to speak a word of 
 warning sometimes. About eighteen months ago 
 a man opened a store in the village nearest to us, 
 and among other things, he sold whiskey and 
 other cheap liquors. He had something, too, he 
 called wine and brandy. We'd been a pretty 
 sober community, but it warnt two months after
 
 A Brothers Remonstrance. 167 
 
 that concern was opened before there was a 
 crowd there every evening, and in three months 
 most of the boys and young men within six miles 
 had got a taste for liquor. 
 
 " My boys were the exception, and I don't 
 know but I should let things gone without trou 
 bling myself anything about them, if a poor 
 woman hadn't come to me for help to save her 
 only child. She was a widow, and he was all she 
 had. Her whole heart was bound up in him, and 
 no wonder. He was smart and handsome, and 
 as kind hearted a young fellow as ever lived. I 
 begun to look round then and see what was going 
 on, and I stirred up the best of our folks to get 
 together and talk the matter over. We did, men 
 and women, and we made up our minds to pro 
 hibit the sale of liquor in our town. 
 
 " My oldest girl was all engaged, and she 
 offered to go round with a pledge against drink 
 ing, or selling, or buying any kind of goods of 
 anybody that did sell. 'Twas a good square 
 pledge, covering the whole ground. My Nell 
 is as handsome a girl as you'll generally see, and 
 she can carry a point anybody can. She went
 
 i68 All for Money. 
 
 through the town faithfully. She didn't slight 
 the rumseller, but when it come his turn she 
 went into his store and asked him to sign her 
 pledge. He was a crusty old fellow at any 
 time, and just then he was pretty mad at the 
 way things were going, so he ordered her out 
 doors. 
 
 " He had two or three customers he thought 
 would help him, but instead of that they took up 
 for Nell, and signed the pledge. That settled 
 the business. When she got ready she went 
 along, and it warn't but about six weeks before our 
 storekeeper left town. Now perhaps you think 
 we hadn't any right to save our boys and young 
 men. Perhaps you think that rumseller had a 
 better right to make money out of them than 
 we had to make good respectable citizens of 
 them." 
 
 " I don't think any such thing, Brother George. 
 Public opinion was on your side and against the 
 storekeeper, and public opinion should rule. If 
 nobody would buy of me I should close up my 
 store. To my mind the responsibility rests with 
 the buyers."
 
 A Brothers Remonstrance. 169 
 
 " Some of it does. There's no denying that. 
 But there are two parties to a transaction. You 
 say public opinion should rule." 
 
 " Yes, I believe in that ; and whenever you 
 zealous temperance men and women can get a 
 majority of the people on your side you are sure 
 to win." 
 
 " How is public opinion made, Hermon ? It 
 don't generally grow without cultivation. You 
 rumsellers are no more willing to have the ques 
 tion agitated than you are to have it legislated 
 upon when the legislation goes against you. Let 
 a man or a woman who can talk so as to reach 
 the hearts of people go through the country 
 lecturing, and men of your style will be up in arms 
 about it. You know that as well as I do. There's 
 danger to you in an enlightened public opinion. 
 You all pretend to believe in moral suasion, but 
 the truth is you don't believe in anything but the 
 almighty dollar. I believe in moral suasion for 
 the drunkard, and legal suasion for the drunkard- 
 maker. If you think the responsibility is all 
 with buyers you are mistaken. But you know
 
 All for Money. 
 
 better about that than you talk. If he who gives 
 a cup of cold water receives his reward ; he who 
 puts the wine-cup to his neighbor's lips shall also 
 be rewarded according to his deserts."
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE OLD APPLE WOMAN. 
 
 T may seem strange to my readers that 
 Mr. George Wyatt should have taken a 
 long journey when he could illy afford 
 it, merely for the purpose of appealing to his 
 brother ; but those who knew him best would 
 not count it a marvel. 
 
 He had just been roused to something like a 
 true appreciation of the evils of intemperance 
 and the need of reform. By observation within 
 narrow limits he had learned that supply often 
 creates a demand for the article supplied, and 
 that the majority of drunkards are made such 
 by temptations which they do not seek. 
 
 When he found that one of his family was 
 engaged in the traffic he abhorred, he fancied it 
 would be easy for him to remove this disgrace.
 
 All for Money. 
 
 He could not doubt that Hermon would listen to 
 reasonable argument and be convinced of wrong 
 doing. But he did not know with whom he had 
 to deal. He had not taken into account the 
 overmastering desire for gain. He was sadly 
 disappointed, and when morning dawned he had 
 no wish to remain longer in the city. 
 
 " I'm so near, it's a pity not to see the girls, so 
 I think I'll make them a little visit," he said, after 
 announcing his intention of leaving in an early 
 train. 
 
 " But you have hardly seen me yet. I can't 
 consent to part with you so soon," was the reply. 
 
 " I have seen you, Brother Hermon. I think I 
 am pretty well acquainted with you, and I am 
 convinced that I can do you no good. I wanted 
 to see you." 
 
 " I am sorry your visit has been such a disap 
 pointment, Brother George. I wish I could see 
 my way clear to gratify you, but I can't. There 
 is no need of quarrelling, though, because we can't 
 see things in the same light. I should be very 
 glad to have you stop with me." 
 
 " Thank you, Hermon, but it's best for me to
 
 The Old Apple - Woman. 
 
 go. Come out and make us a visit when you 
 can. I've got some good children, and they're 
 as smart, too, as the average. Nell is the queen, 
 but the others are just as near to me as she 
 is." 
 
 " I showld like to see your Nell." 
 
 " She would like to see you. She would talk 
 to you different from what I have, and if you 
 could turn her off as you have me you're harder 
 than men she's used to seeing." 
 
 "What do you do with such a girl on the 
 prairies ?" 
 
 " Do with her? Give her the best we can and 
 let her manage herself pretty much for the rest. 
 She's a good scholar, and full of music to the 
 ends of her fingers. About four years ago, we 
 all went to work and bought a piano for her. 
 We had to pinch some to make out the price, 
 but the boys said that Nell should have a good 
 one. We didn't begrudge the work nor the 
 pinching, and we've got our pay for it all a 
 hundred times over. The piano didn't cost so 
 much either as a great many families drink up in 
 a year."
 
 All for Money. 
 
 " I presume not. I'm glad you have such fine 
 children." 
 
 " / am thankful for them, and I think I've a 
 right to do what I can to keep them out of the 
 way of temptation." 
 
 " You certainly huve, George." 
 
 " Other parents have the same right ; and no 
 man has a right to count money of more value 
 than human souls. God bless you, Brother Her- 
 mon, and make you to see the evil of your ways. 
 Good-bye." 
 
 " Hands were clasped closely for a moment, 
 while each looked into the eyes of the other, and 
 thus they parted. Softening influences had done 
 their work with one, while the other yielded a 
 ready obedience to the spirit of worldliness 
 
 Hermon Wyatt did not throw off the yoke of 
 his master, yet his obedience was less cheerful, 
 He was not turned from his purpose ; but he 
 entered his store that morning with a feeling of 
 aversion to everything connected with it. As 
 he overlooked the various processes of business 
 he loathed the very atmosphere he was forced 
 to breathe. It was utterly distasteful to him ;
 
 The Old Apple - Woman. 175 
 
 utterly unworthy of him. Then came back 
 thoughts of his contract and the motives which 
 had prompted him to accept its terms. 
 
 " We're doing what I call a first-class trade," 
 remarked Mr. Crown, the confidential clerk. 
 "Landers' never did better, for all he knew the 
 ropes so well. That last batch of champagne 
 Dummer turned out was a great card for us. 
 Hope he'll be able to come back for a while be 
 fore he goes up. He can match the best of them 
 the other side the big pond, and the profits all 
 kept at home. The lot you ordered will be here 
 soon now, and there'll be a scramble for the 
 genuine article ; but ten chances to one if 
 there's much genuine about it. We must make 
 something out of that lot." 
 
 The cargo of liquors came as was expected, 
 and in broad daylight was transferred from the 
 hold of the vessel to the spacious cellars of 
 " Wyatt & Co." No need of concealment here. 
 The firm had paid for a license, and in point of 
 law had even a better right to sell their stock in 
 trade than had the woman shivering at the street 
 corner to sell her apples and peanuts.
 
 /7<5 All for Money. 
 
 She was poor, and wrinkled, and old ; but she 
 could remember when her wants were lovingly 
 supplied ; when her face was the fairest among 
 her companions, and she looked forward to a life 
 of happiness. From her childhood's home she 
 had gone forth gladly to assume new responsibili 
 ties without doubt or fear. How could she dream 
 that he who had wooed her so tenderly, and who 
 was dearer to her than all the world beside, could 
 ever doom her to wretchedness. Hers was the 
 old story, told so often that it loses half its 
 horror for those who hear it, yet never losing 
 aught of its fearful significance to those whose 
 sufferings are thus coined into words. The syren 
 of the wine-cup lured astray the husband, until 
 his feet slipped on the dangerous ground, and he 
 fell to rise no more. 
 
 It was well, perhaps, that his ruin should be 
 sudden and complete, since his wife was saved 
 the lingering agony of alternate hopes and fears ; 
 but she did not so see it. In her loneliness and 
 poverty her heart cried out for sympathy and 
 comfort, half forgetting that an enemy more 
 cruel than death had robbed her of both. Aa
 
 The Old Apple - Woman. 
 
 she wrapped her scanty cloak around her, shrink 
 ing from the gaze of the passers by, she thought 
 had he lived, her lot would have been less 
 unhappy. 
 
 Not so. Winter's winds are pitiless, but the 
 heart of a drunkard is more pitiless still. Hur 
 rying crowds are unheeding, but the besotted 
 wretch who turns from all things pure and holy, 
 that he may indulge his hellish appetite, is far 
 more unheeding than the veriest stranger. 
 
 Why the handsome man who had so often 
 passed without once looking towards her should 
 stop and select a rosy apple, leaving twenty 
 times its value in exchange, the poor woman 
 could not understand. How should she know 
 that it was a peace-offering to his conscience ? 
 She had no opportunity to thank him, but his 
 kindness brightened all the day for her, and his 
 gift purchased a luxurious supper. 
 
 Not many days after he stopped again, throw 
 ing down the same amount, when she said, hur 
 riedly : " Please wait till I give you your change." 
 
 " I am satisfied with my bargain, and want no 
 change," he answered.
 
 178 All for Money. 
 
 She detained him, however, by grasping the 
 skirt of his coat, and looking up into his face, 
 responded with quivering lips : " I can't take it, 
 sir. I can't take it." 
 
 "And why not ?" 
 
 " Because, sir, you own the big liquor store on 
 the- corner ; don't you ?" 
 
 "That is where I do business." 
 
 "I'm sorry, sir. You're not the right looking 
 man to sell liquor. How can you do it ? If 
 somebody hadn't sold it to my husband I'd not 
 be sitting here to-day. I can't take any of the 
 profits of such trade. Indeed I can't, sir, poor 
 as I be." 
 
 He was gone, and a child stood before her who 
 wanted the very biggest apple in her basket for 
 a sick mother ; and directly she was saying : 
 Yes, dear, you shall have it and welcome. Keep 
 your pennies to buy bread." 
 
 " How good you are !" exclaimed her humble 
 customer, hastening away ; leaving her to won 
 der at her boldness in addressing Mr. Wyatt as 
 she had done. 
 
 "I couldn't help it I couldn't help it," she
 
 The Old Apple - Womui. 
 
 murmured. " I couldn't take the price of another 
 woman's happiness. I'd starve before I'd do it," 
 and she shuddered as she remembered how near 
 this fate had come to her. 
 
 " What a nuisance these sidewalk dealers are ! 
 I wish to mercy it was against the law to sell 
 anything from a basket. It's time such sales 
 were prohibited. Somebody ought to petition 
 the legislature to abate this nuisance. I can 
 bear it in summer, but in cold weather these 
 hungry looking women annoy me terribly. 
 When they look at me I always feel as though 
 they were blaming me for their poverty." 
 
 So the speaker did believe in prohibition, after 
 all, notwithstanding he opposed it as unconstitu 
 tional and tyrannical. Consistency was no part 
 of his own character or his companion's. They 
 talked loudly of justice and equal rights ; yet 
 denounced all who opposed them in any of their 
 schemes ; and the fact that they were on their 
 way to talk with Mr. Wyatt in regard to matters 
 of common interest, betrayed their vocation. 
 
 Quick to see where danger threatened, they 
 were anxious to bring to the front one whose
 
 i8o All for Money. 
 
 antecedents and fine personal appearance would 
 command respect. There was to be a liquor 
 dealers' convention, and it was necessary that 
 the craft should be represented by its best mem 
 bers. All this was frankly stated ; but to their 
 surprise, he whom they most wished to influence 
 manifested no enthusiasm in the cause they, ad 
 vocated. 
 
 " Our business is the most important in the 
 country," was said, at length. " There is mor; 
 money invested in it than in any other. Th-> 
 money paid for liquor every year is millions more 
 than is spent for flour, meal, cotton and woollen 
 goods, boots, shoes, clothing, books, news 
 papers and job printing. According to the 
 census of 1860 the value of liquors which paid 
 duty and were consumed in the country was 
 seven hundred and thirty-nine millions of dollars. 
 You can see for yourself, Mr. Wyatt, setting 
 aside all selfish considerations, that our govern 
 ment can never afford to lose such a revenue." 
 
 " Then, as the case is so plain, gentlemen, I 
 don't see the necessity of conventions and 
 leagues. It seems to me the government can be
 
 The Old Apple - Woman. 181 
 
 trusted to protect itself. I have never thought 
 much about it, any way, and can't reasonably be 
 expected to know the arguments for and against." 
 
 " You must have found out one thing by this 
 time, Mr. Wyatt. Ours is a money-making 
 business. We can afford to bid high for the 
 privilege of carrying it on. I don't care much 
 what is charged for a license. Anything but 
 prohibition. That is too arbitrary to be tole 
 rated. A man has a right to choose his own 
 trade or profession, and having chosen it, he has 
 a right to protection in the discharge of its 
 functions." 
 
 " That is true." 
 
 " Yes, absolutely true, Mr. Wyatt," said the 
 gentleman who had hitherto been silent during 
 the discussion, but who had expressed himself in 
 favor of prohibition when annoyed by the sight 
 of the poor apple woman. "The fanatics admit 
 this to a certain extent ; but they say that every 
 owner of property holds it under the implied con 
 dition that its use shall not work injury to the 
 equal enjoyment and safety of others who have an 
 equal right to the enjoyment of their property ;
 
 182 All for Money. 
 
 nor be injurious to the community. I think I 
 have quoted their very words, and they quote 
 from the ruling of some supreme court. Now, 
 then, the question is, does our trade work injury to 
 others ? I say, when carried on under proper re 
 strictions, it does not. I don't believe in free rum, 
 sold over every counter ; and drunkenness is my 
 detestation. But stimulants have their use, and 
 in their way are as necessary as food. I know 
 that is denied, but the denial comes from our 
 enemies. They oppose us by every argument 
 they can command." 
 
 " And I suppose they have a right to do that, 
 Mr. Marston. Of course you believe in fair play, 
 and as long as we have the law on our side we 
 can afford to let people say what they please." 
 
 " That's all very well, friend, but to come down 
 to a fine point, we can't afford to have them stir 
 up such a feeling in the community as they're 
 aiming at. A great many will be influenced to 
 act against us, and there's always danger that we 
 may lose any given election and the law be 
 turned against us. As long as the license party 
 is in power, we are all right ; but if it comes to
 
 The Old Apple - Woman. 183 
 
 prohibition, as it has in some other States, we 
 shall be hard up. If the fanatics call conventions, 
 we must call conventions too. You may depend 
 upon it they'll have telling speeches from the 
 smartest men and women in their ranks, and we 
 must match them." 
 
 " Do you mean to say that you expect women 
 to meet you in conventions, and speak in favor 
 of the trade ?" asked Mr. Wyatt. 
 
 "No, I don't expect it. I think we men are 
 capable of managing our business without any 
 of their help. And besides, the platform-women 
 of the country are all on the other side. Perhaps 
 it is as well they should be. I don't believe in 
 such women, though they have an influence, and 
 their number is increasing every year." 
 
 " Then, of course, their influence is increasing." 
 
 " Certainly it is, and there is so much the more 
 need of combined action on our part. I can't 
 afford to give up my business. It's the only de 
 partment of trade that holds its own through all 
 sorts of times. Now, what we want of you, and 
 what your interests demand, is that you take an 
 active part in our efforts."
 
 184 All for Money. 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Wyatt, that is just what we want," 
 chimed in another voice. " It wont do to be 
 lukewarm in this matter, and we can say it 
 among ourselves it wont do to be over-squeamish 
 as to the means we use to effect our purpose. All 
 is fair in love and war ; and the prohibitionists 
 have inaugurated a war. They mean business 
 too." 
 
 "They have some show of reason on their side." 
 
 " Well, I don't know but they have ; but it 
 wont do to make any such concession. We've 
 got to stand on the defensive, and not yield an 
 inch. The question is, are you ready to help ? I 
 hope you're not ashamed of your business." 
 
 This last was said a little sharply, and the man 
 thus addressed saw that he was in danger of los 
 ing the confidence of his associates. There was 
 but one way open to him. 
 
 " I entered the business because at the time it 
 seemed the best thing I could do, and I expect to 
 identify myself with it," he replied. " Yet I still 
 claim the right to my own private opinion. 
 There are some things connected with the traffic 
 that I don't approve."
 
 7 he Old Apple - Woman. 185 
 
 " If you come down to the plain truth, I wonder 
 who does approve of them. Nobody pretends 
 that we are evangelizing the world. That's not 
 our trade. We are only doing the best-paying 
 business we can, and leaving other people to lock 
 out for themselves." 
 
 " That is true," responded Mr. Wyatt quickly. 
 " I don't know as we ought to be expected to 
 look out for other people. I shall be ready to do 
 my part for the protection of our trade. I have 
 too much at stake not to do so." 
 
 This was true. When left alone he consulted 
 his ledger, as he was accustomed to do whenever 
 he felt troubled, and the expression of annoyance 
 faded from his face. He was reassured. He 
 could afford to run some moral risks, and these 
 risks did not seem so momentous as they had 
 done a few months before. Spring was at hand, 
 and summer would come. This thought was 
 sufficient to inspire him with new energy. 
 i He was no man's keeper. The right of choice 
 remained to each one of his customers. They 
 could come and go at their pleasure without 
 restraint from him.
 
 186 All for Money. 
 
 He avoided passing the old apple-woman's 
 stand, but he could not avoid thinking of Mr. 
 Dummer. He wished to hear from the sick man, 
 and in order to do this it was necessary that he 
 should again visit Mrs. Ilsley. Accordingly, he 
 did so, and somewhat to his surprise he was 
 welcomed cordially. She could not find it in her 
 heart to condemn him with others of his class ; 
 pleading as an apology for her want of severity, 
 that he was a pleasant-spoken gentleman, and 
 ready to do a kindness. 
 
 " Mr. Dummer has been having the hardest 
 time, sir," she said, in answer to his question. 
 " The doctor says it's just doing without liquor, 
 and 'twas the liquor that brought on all the 
 trouble, to begin with." 
 
 " I hope he can be persuaded to let it alone in 
 future." 
 
 "Well, sure sir, it's kind in you to say that, 
 and you in the business. There's a fine lady 
 there now ; not fine in silks and satins, but just 
 in real goodness. She's Mr. Dummer's aunt, and 
 she's come for him to go home with her. Lizzie
 
 The Old Apple -Woman. 187 
 
 thinks she's almost an angel, and you wouldn't 
 wonder, if you'd hear her talk." 
 
 " Can Mr. Dummer be moved ?" 
 
 "'The doctor says he may be soon, perhaps, if 
 all goes well with him, and he's promised solemn 
 to let liquor alone forever. His aunt will be sure 
 to look close after him. She lives on a farm, and 
 she says there's room enough in her house for 
 them all." 
 
 " Then I hope he will go, and the sooner the 
 better. Please tell him so for me, Mrs. Ilsley, 
 and tell his daughter that I hope he will live to 
 be as good a man as she deserves to have for a 
 father. I never wish to see him in my store 
 again." 
 
 "Sure, sir, I'll tell them, and they'll be that 
 glad to hear it. I wish you'd see their aunt, but 
 then she'd not be particular what she said." 
 
 " I should like to see her, but I've no time to 
 spend to-day." 
 
 "You'll be seeing Mr. Dummer, I hope, sir, 
 before he goes ?" 
 
 "I don't know. I am interested for him and 
 should be glad to help him. 1 have been trying
 
 i88 All for Money. 
 
 to think of some country place where he could 
 go, but it seems he is provided for." 
 
 There was one window in the room which 
 served as kitchen, parlor, and dining-room for 
 Mr. Dummer's family, through which it was 
 possible to see a small section of the street and 
 catch glimpses of the people who were passing. 
 Lizzie had been standing at this window, think 
 ing so earnestly that she hardly noticed what was 
 transpiring around her, when she exclaimed : 
 " There's Mr. Wyatt ;" and bounding away, was 
 down the stairs and in the street before any one 
 could guess her purpose. There was not a mo 
 ment to lose if she would detain him. 
 
 "Mr. Wyatt." 
 
 The name was uttered softly. The gentleman 
 turned, and with a look of surprise responded : 
 " Miss Dummer, what can I do for you ?" 
 
 " Please come and see my father," was her re 
 ply. " He wants to see you, and we're going 
 away. Please will you come ?" 
 
 He did not wish to go, yet how could he re 
 fuse such a request. He allowed himself to be 
 guided across the street ; up rickety stairs, and
 
 The Old Apple - Woman. 189 
 
 through dark, narrow halls, until a door was 
 opened into the cleanest of all clean rooms. 
 Here sat Mr. Dummer, who made an effort to 
 stand as his employer entered. 
 
 " Don't rise," was said, hurriedly. "I am glad 
 to see you better than you have been." 
 
 " Thank you. You have been very kind to 
 me, and I am glad of an opportunity to acknowl 
 edge your kindness." 
 
 " I have done no more than was my duty. I 
 should be glad to do more for you." 
 
 Again the sick man expressed his appreciation 
 of the favors he had received, and then intro 
 duced his wife and his aunt to their visitor. It 
 needed no second glance to see that the daugh 
 ter's dower of beauty was a direct inheritance, 
 although the mother's face was pale and faded. 
 
 Miss Dummer, or Aunt Lucy, as she was 
 addressed by the family, was a woman who had 
 lived in the world for half a century without 
 being soured by disappointment or disheartened 
 by adversity. Brothers and sisters were settled 
 in homes to which she had no claim. Her 
 parents had died, and she was left alone in the
 
 All for Money. 
 
 brown cottage where she had first opened her 
 baby eyes. She looked about to see how she 
 might fill ^the vacancies death had made ; and 
 tracing her nephew to this city, had come here 
 with the firm determination to save him. He 
 had been a favorite with her when he was a boy, 
 and now when even his own mother had given 
 him up as past hope, she resolved to make one 
 last effort in his behalf. 
 
 She was not one to condemn a person as wholly 
 bad, so long as aught could be said in his favor ; 
 and notwithstanding she was sternly severe in her 
 condemnation of the liquor traffic, she was ready 
 to believe that men engaged in it might have 
 some redeeming qualities. Her mantle of charity 
 was scant covering for their sins ; yet she willingly 
 extended it to its utmost length and breadth. 
 
 She looked at Mr. Wyatt with a steady gaze ; 
 scanning every liniament of his face, and then said 
 frankly : *' I should never take you for a rum- 
 seller. You were made for something better. I 
 told Joseph there must be some good about you, 
 or you wouldn't give him the money and advice 
 you have."
 
 The Old Apple -Woman. 
 
 "I hope there is some good about me," replied 
 the embarrassed merchant. 
 
 "I hope so too, and I wish theie was a ereat 
 
 D 
 
 deal more. I'm going to take Joseph away into 
 the country, so you'll lose his help." 
 
 " I am glad of that. I never wish for any 
 more of his help until I am in a different busi 
 ness." 
 
 "Then I'll be glad to come, Mr. Wyatt, if I'm 
 living," said Joseph Dummer, heartily but sadly. 
 "You've treated me well, but it warnt the place 
 for me, though 'twas all I was fit for. I was 
 pretty near finished up at Reeves, and he thought 
 I could help you get started before my breath 
 left my body. That's all he cared for me. I 
 understood that. I've made thousands of dollars 
 for him, but I might have starved before he'd 
 given me a penny. He gives his money where it 
 will make a show, and where his name will get 
 in the papers. Pretends to be a Christian, but I 
 wouldn't give any more for his chance up yonder 
 than I would for my own. If you was like him, 
 you wouldn't trouble yourself about what become 
 of me."
 
 192 All for Money. 
 
 "There was some further conversation, and 
 then Mr. Wyatt bade them all farewell, hoping 
 to meet them again under happier auspices. 
 
 " Good-bye, sir," said Miss Lucy Dummer, 
 adding seriously : " God give you eyes to see 
 your sins, and grace to repent of them. We 
 shall remember you and pray for you."
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A LAUDABLE INDUSTRY. 
 
 AYS, weeks, and months went by. With 
 the advance of spring had come some 
 improvement in financial matters, so 
 that men took heart again and applied themselves 
 to various departments of business with renewed 
 courage. 
 
 At the hotel table Hermon Wyatt met an old 
 acquaintance whom he had not seen before since 
 his failure. Their meeting was cordial, and 
 when both were at leisure they sat down to. a 
 quiet talk. 
 
 " How are you doing now, Forsyth ?" asked he 
 who assumed the office of host. 
 
 " Doing a little more than support my family," 
 was the reply. " Couldn't do that either if my 
 wife wasn't the best manager in the world. I
 
 All for Money. 
 
 never expected it of her, but I've found out I 
 didn't half understand her. We've taken part of 
 a tenement and live as happily as the richest 
 man in the city." 
 
 "Your part of a tenement must be spacious to 
 accommodate the furniture that was put into 
 your house when you were married." 
 
 " Most of that furniture was sold under the 
 hammer. We made a terrible sacrifice on it, but 
 'twas the best we could do. We kept just 
 enough to make our rooms habitable ; and since 
 then we've been adding articles of home manu 
 facture, not so elegant, but quite as comfortable. 
 When we began to retrench I gave up wine and 
 cigars, and I'm as jolly a fellow without them as 
 you can find anywhere. I remember you used to 
 be a teetotaler." 
 
 " Yes, I was, and I am now. Glad to hear 
 you've joined the ranks." 
 
 " It's something I'm more than glad of. I'm 
 thankful. I'm beginning to think my failure was 
 the best thing ever happened to me. I got 
 credit after awhile and started business in a small, 
 safe way, that gives us a living, and that's all a
 
 A Laudable Industry. 
 
 man ought to expect these hard times. Now, 
 how is it with you, Wyatt ? I didn't quite believe 
 it when I heard you were in the liquor trade. 
 Excuse me, but you are the very last man I should 
 have expected to hear such a report of." 
 
 People always would say something like this to 
 Mr. Wyatt, until he fancied he should be glad 
 never to see another person who had known him 
 previous to his failure. His companion waited 
 for him to speak ; and because he could not avoid 
 it he explained the circumstances which had de 
 cided him in a choice of business. 
 
 " You are protected by law in this State," 
 remarked Mr. Forsyth. 
 
 " Yes, I have a license, and I don't know why 
 I need have any scruples about a trade that is 
 indorsed by the government." 
 
 " There's a good deal in that, Wyatt, but since 
 I've joined the teetotalers I'm a convert to pro 
 hibition. The expense of drinking liquor and the 
 misery it, causes would justify the most arbitrary 
 measures for its suppression. I called myself a 
 very moderate drinker, and I don't think any one 
 of my friends ever thought of me as being worse
 
 1 96 All for Money. 
 
 than that ; but it is true that we have lived some 
 weeks on less money than I used to spend in the 
 same time for liquor and cigars." 
 
 " That may be, but you were never obliged to 
 spend your money in that way. There are now as 
 many places where you can buy liquors and cigars 
 as there were then, and you could do as you 
 please about patronizing them then, the same as 
 you can now." 
 
 " I understand your argument, and your state 
 ment is undeniably true. But it's not every man 
 who can exercise his free will as I did. There 
 are thousands of poor fellows so far gone that the 
 very thought of liquor drives them nearly crazy 
 with longing for it. It was a hard case for me to 
 give it up, myself, and to-day I can't see a glass 
 of wine poured out without an impulse to seize 
 it. You can't understand this, Wyatt. No one 
 can who has never acquired an appetite for such 
 stimulants. It's a miserable thing to do ; a 
 miserable thing ; and all you or any other 
 man whose money interests are concerned can 
 say, your craft pander to an appetite which, 
 to state it moderately, brings ruin more or
 
 A Laudable Industry. 
 
 less complete to one-half its possessors. I wish I 
 could make you see these things as I do." 
 
 "If I did I should be no happier man than I am 
 now. I am under contract, and must serve my 
 time." This was said with a sorry attempt at 
 pleasantry; the speaker adding : "If my business 
 is an evil, I must insist that it is not an unmiti 
 gated evil. It brings an enormous revenue to 
 the government and gives employment to quite 
 an army of men. There's money in it in more 
 ways than one." 
 
 "There's money in it for the manufacturer and 
 the seller, with death for the consumer and 
 shame for our government. I suppose that 
 sounds harsh to you, Wyatt, and it wouldn't be 
 strange if you should think I had lost my courtesy 
 with my property. If you choose, you can tell 
 me that I am trespassing on your private 
 domains." 
 
 "I don't choose to tell you that, and I don't 
 know why I should," was the hesitating reply. 
 "A business sustained by government ought to 
 stand upon its own merits. I am surprised to 
 find you so ultra in your opinions, but I suppose
 
 All for Money. 
 
 it is to be accounted for by the fact that new con 
 verts are al \vays zealous. I shall take no offence 
 at what you say, and if you get the best of the 
 argument I'll not deny it, although I may still 
 maintain my right to act in accordance with my 
 judgment." 
 
 " Certainly. I am not the keeper of your con 
 science, neither can I give account for you in the 
 day of judgment. You must act as you please 
 and bear the responsibility for yourself. But 
 have you ever examined the statistics of the 
 country with reference to the cost and expend 
 iture for liquor ?" 
 
 " No, I never have, Forsyth. The truth is that 
 up to the time of my going into the business I 
 never thought much about it ; and since then 
 I have had no inclination to trouble myself 
 with an array of figures that don't concern 
 me." 
 
 " They do concern you. They concern every 
 man, woman, and child in the country. The 
 welfare of the humblest individual is affected by 
 the facts they represent. I want to ask you a 
 question, and I know you will answer it honestly.
 
 A Laudable Industry. 
 
 Do you consider the use of intoxicating liquors 
 beneficial ?" 
 
 ("No, Forsyth, I do not. I never used them." 
 "One might know that by your splendid 
 physique. There's not a mark of it from your 
 head to your feet. That's a compliment, Wyatt, 
 but it came spontaneously. I had no thought 
 of it. Now let us go back to the question. If 
 the use of liquor is not beneficial it must be inju 
 rious. Such an enormous quantity can't be 
 consumed without producing some effect. You 
 will admit that ?" 
 
 " Of course I will. I'm not so stupid as to 
 deny self-evident facts." 
 
 "I knew you were too sensible to do it, but 
 there are some who deny everything which can 
 possibly tell against them." 
 
 "They feel obliged to do it in self-defence, 
 Forsyth. Some of the leader= of the crusade 
 against liquor make the most extravagant state 
 ments, and I suppose they think the good of the 
 cause demands it." 
 
 " They think it demands that the truth should 
 be spoken. At first sight it seems as though
 
 2oo All for Money. 
 
 their startling statements must be false, but I am 
 beginning to think that it is impossible to over 
 estimate the evils of which liquor is the cause. 
 It costs the country over six hundred millions of 
 dollars every year ; and if nobody is benefitted, 
 there is, at least, an enormous waste no country 
 on earth can afford." 
 
 "Are you sure of what you say?" asked Her- 
 mon Wyatt, looking fixedly at his companion. 
 
 " Figures never lie, and the statistics I am 
 quoting have been gathered from the most 
 reliable sources. I can give you my authorities." 
 
 " No matter about it. I presume you are cor 
 rect." 
 
 " I know I am, and the estimate is less than 
 the truth. The whole number of dram shops is 
 reckoned at two hundred and fifty thousand. It 
 will require at least five hundred thousand men 
 to take charge of them, and five hundred dollars 
 would be a very moderate salary for each man. 
 But to pay them that, two hundred and fifty mil 
 lion dollars would be expended. Then the grain, 
 fruit, and molasses destroyed by being made into 
 alcohol must be set down at fifty millions of dol-
 
 A Laudable Industry. 201 
 
 lars. Now if all this money was invested in some 
 pursuit which would benefit the country, think 
 how much more prosperous we should be. If all 
 these men were at work in some useful calling, 
 think how much they might accomplish for them 
 selves and the world. If all the grain, fruit and 
 molasses were distributed among the poor of our 
 land, how much comfort they would give. You 
 can see all that." 
 
 " Yes, I can" ; and for the moment the speaker 
 forgot that he was engaged in the unholy traffic. 
 
 "But bad as is the story my figures have told, 
 the end is not yet. Everybody knows that the ex 
 cessive use of intoxicating liquor makes a brute 
 of a man and disposes him to commit the most 
 terrible crimes. No man is wholly given over to 
 evil unless he is under the influence of some alco 
 holic stimulant. That is what fills our states 
 prisons, jails and poor-houses. It is what makes 
 husbands murder their wives by inches, if not by 
 a single blow of the knife. It makes fathers leave 
 their children to starve, and fills our land with 
 the wailing of breaking hearts." 
 
 " Well, Forsyth, I must say that you have a
 
 202 All for Money. 
 
 gift for talking I never dreamed you possessed. 
 You would make an eloquent advocate of teeto 
 tal temperance." 
 
 " I try to advocate that cause. But when I 
 am most anxious to influence my audience I find 
 that I fail altogether. So long as the law sus 
 tains men in selling the poison, just so long it 
 will be sold." 
 
 " Probably it will be. A trade that is legal is 
 very likely to be pursued ; especially when it is 
 lucrative." 
 
 " That is just the point, Wyatt. The govern 
 ment must prohibit it and make it illegitimate. 
 That is why I believe in prohibition and intend 
 to work for it. Government has a right to pro 
 hibit it. There's not a shadow of doubt about 
 that ; and having the right, it is under the most 
 solemn obligations to exercise it. The assertion 
 that this would be arbitrary and unjust is dis 
 proved by those who claim that government can 
 rightfully restrict the sale ; making it a crime to 
 sell without license. Alcoholic liquors should 
 be made contraband, except when used for me-
 
 A Laudable Industry. 203 
 
 dicinal or art purposes ; and every year our best 
 physicians are using them less." 
 
 " Well, Forsyth, suppose I should agree with 
 you, and acknowledge the whole thing to 
 be as bad as you have represented. What 
 then ?'' 
 
 "Then, if you are the man I take you for, you 
 would never sell another drop of the stuff while 
 you live." 
 
 " Suppose I shouldn't sell another drop. What 
 would be gained ?" 
 
 "The approval of your own conscience." 
 
 " Possibly. But you were considering it in 
 relation to others. What other gain would there 
 be ?" 
 
 " There might be one less engaged in the 
 wretched business." 
 
 " That would make small difference with five 
 hundred thousand, and it is more than doubtful 
 if there would be that. As I look at it, there is 
 only one question for me to decide. Shall I take 
 a share of the profits of this trade, or shall some 
 other man take it and make no better use of the 
 money than I should ? Then, as I told you, this
 
 2OJ. All for Money. 
 
 was the only thing that offered, and I couldn't 
 afford to remain idle." 
 
 " You and I were both brought up in the 
 country, Wyatt. We know how to work on a 
 farm, and I made up my mind to go to work as I 
 did when I was a boy, if nothing better offered." 
 " I might have done that, Forsyth, but I got 
 enough of farm-work before I was twenty-one. I 
 want to make money faster than I can by raising 
 corn and potatoes." 
 
 "I don't- blame you for that. I like to get 
 well paid for my work." 
 
 " So does every man, and he's not to blame for 
 it either. You've talked very plainly to me and 
 I don't blame you for it. Now I'm going to take 
 the liberty to give you some advice. If I was 
 engaged in the reform you urge so zealously, I 
 should appeal to the drinkers of liquor, and that 
 is what I advise you to do. You can make a 
 strong case against them, and it seems to me 
 there's the very place for you to begin. Moral 
 suasion is the best of suasions, and when a drun 
 kard is sober he knows he is the most miserable 
 creature in the world. His whole material inte-
 
 A Laudable Industry. 205 
 
 rest is on your side, and there is everything- for him 
 to gain by abandoning his cups." 
 
 " True, every word of that, Wyatt, but it deals 
 with only one side of the question. Moral sua 
 sion is good so far as it goes, but there are those 
 who are not touched by it. So I say moral sua 
 sion for the drunkard, and legal suasion for the 
 drunkard-maker. Your material interests are all 
 on the side of wrong. You have acknowledged 
 that ; and money is often a too powerful argu 
 ment for mere words to combat. If a victory is 
 to be achieved we must use all the weapons at 
 our command." 
 
 " Then you have faith that you shall achieve a 
 victory." 
 
 " As truly as I believe our nation shall endure. 
 We shall be ruined unless temperance and sobri 
 ety gain the ascendancy. Intemperance is the 
 curse of the land. The entire population is taxed 
 to meet the expense of crime and pauperism in 
 duced by it. You know that as well as I do." 
 
 "I have denied none of your statements, For- 
 syth ; I have allowed you to say your say." It 
 was evident, however, that he who had listened
 
 206 All for Money. 
 
 with something of grace and patience was now 
 strongly tempted to decline hearing further of 
 this matter. 
 
 ' 1 know you have," was replied good naturedly, 
 ' but I can't flatter myself that I have influenced 
 you in the least." 
 
 " You have told me some things I shall be sure 
 to remember ; some, too, I didn't know before." 
 
 " But I have not told you the worst. The 
 darkest side of the picture has been turned away 
 from you. Desolated homes and broken vows " 
 
 "I know all about that," exclaimed Hermon 
 Wyatt impatiently, interrupting his friend. 
 "Everybody knows that a drunkard is a perjured 
 wretch. There's no use in talking about it." 
 
 " But just now you advised me to appeal to 
 drunkards, and told me I could make a strong 
 case against them ; and thinking of that reminded 
 me of the wretchedness they bring to others." 
 
 " But I am not one of that class. Pardon me, 
 Forsyth, but you are wasting your words. They 
 will produce no effect, so far as my life is con 
 cerned." 
 
 " I am sorry for that. I always thought of you
 
 A Laudable Industry. 207 
 
 as a man of eminent practical sense, and such 
 men are open to conviction. If they can be made 
 to see that they have been mistaken they are 
 glad to retrieve their error. You have made a 
 mistake." 
 
 " That remains to be proved. If I accomplish 
 my purpose, that is all I expect." 
 
 " You may do that. It is easy to make money 
 in your business. I used to consider myself a 
 pretty good judge of wines, but I presume I often 
 paid a high price for what cost the merchant not 
 a hundredth part of what I paid him. I am not 
 absolutely certain of this, and I am not going to 
 ask for any confession on your part. But it is 
 well known that liquors are adulterated to such 
 an extent that they are really and truly poison. 
 Of course, I understand that is how the enormous 
 profits are made, and I don't wonder that a dealer 
 in liquor gets to feel that it makes no difference 
 'what he sells if his customers are only satisfied. 
 But they can't claim the protection of law yi 
 doing that. A man isn't licensed to sell a de 
 coction of logwood, alum, lead, sulphuric, prussic 
 and other acids, with a host of other ingredients.
 
 208 All for Money. 
 
 Queer grapes are the copperas stones used in the 
 manufacture of port wine." 
 
 'You seem to be well posted in what outsiders 
 call the tricks of the trade, Forsyth. I wonder 
 how you learned so much ?" 
 
 " I've been spying out the enemy's country ; 
 making a study of its weak points, so I shall know 
 where to direct my batteries. Whatever may 
 be said of the right to sell pure alcoholic liquors, 
 no man dares to claim the right to sell a solution 
 of mineral poisons as a health-giving beverage. 
 Government prohibits this, although the law 
 against it is little more than a dead letter. 
 Everybody knows such things are done ; but 
 the free masonry of the trade, and the money 
 spent for its protection cover up the frauds. 
 I don't expect you to criminate yourself, but 
 you've been initiated into the mysteries before 
 now." 
 
 No response was made to this assertion, and 
 for a time not a word was spoken. At length 
 Mr. Forsyth said : " If you are angry with me I 
 can't blame you. I had no intention of holding 
 forth in this strain, but I am so full of my mission
 
 A Laudable Industry. 209 
 
 I forget to temper zeal with prudence. I owe 
 you an apology." 
 
 " I wish for no apology from you," was replied 
 with an effort to speak cordially. " I like to see 
 a man in earnest in whatever he undertakes. I 
 respect any man who tries to do his best, even 
 if his efforts are misdirected. When I have 
 committed myself to a certain course of action 
 I feel bound to persevere at all hazards. That is 
 my present position, Forsyth. I make no excu 
 ses, and offer no plea for my justification. I am 
 simply doing what I have decided to do, and I 
 see no good reason for changing my decision." 
 
 " I understand that. You have spoken plainly, 
 and I have no wish to make myself obnoxious to 
 you. Still I wish to ask you one more question 
 pertaining to a general principle. Don't you 
 consider that the different States have a right to 
 prohibit the sale of liquors within their pre 
 cincts ?" 
 
 " Certainly I do. It would be sheer folly in 
 me to pretend otherwise. License men know 
 that, and act with reference to it. It's not a 
 question of right, but of self-interest. It would
 
 21 o All for Money. 
 
 be considered treason in certain quarters for me 
 to say that, but it is true." 
 
 " It is true ; and I thank you for acknowledg 
 ing it. If we can't act alike in this matter, it 
 gratifies me to know that we think alike." 
 
 " Possibly we do think alike," answered Her- 
 mon Wyatt, yet none the less was he resolved 
 to make haste to be rich. 
 
 Had a fortune come into his possession by in 
 heritance, he would have torn down the sign 
 upon which his name was blazoned before the 
 rising of another sun. He could have talked 
 even more eloquently than Mr. Forsyth of the 
 abominations committed under sanction of law. 
 The half had not been told. 
 
 Illicit stills in mountain fastnesses, and deep, 
 damp cellars defraud the government of its dues 
 in dollars and cents. Distilleries and licensed 
 liquor establishments rob the country of its 
 choicest possessions the health, happiness and 
 virtue of its inhabitants, and there are few to 
 sound the note of alarm. It is not that men 
 hate their fellows, and therefore seek to drag 
 them down to the lowest depths of sin and mis-
 
 A Laudable Industry. 211 
 
 ery ; but that every noble, loving instinct is 
 overpowered by an inordinate greed of gain. 
 They cannot serve God and mammon, and for 
 the service of the latter they are repaid in glit 
 tering coin whose baseness they fail to recog 
 nize.
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 POOR PAT. 
 
 AT McQUADE, occupying a back-room 
 on the ground-floor of a large tenement 
 house, was suspected of selling liquor, 
 and a watch was kept upon his movements until 
 the officer was sure of him. 
 
 Tin cups and battered pails, bottles, and cracked 
 cups of the coarsest earthernware had been 
 carried carelessly through the filthy alley and 
 then brought out carefully, as though they con 
 tained the very elixir of life. Some of these cups 
 being seized, they were found filled with what in 
 common cellar-parlance is styled rotgut whiskey; 
 a compound so abominable that only the poorest 
 will purchase it ; and tolerated by them for no 
 other reason than that they must have some 
 stimulant, and this is all they have the means to 
 procure.
 
 Poor Pat. 213 
 
 It is sharp and pungent, giving them a sensa 
 tion of warmth, and if by any good fortune they 
 can secure a sufficient quantity, rendering them 
 insensible to their surroundings. Fastidious 
 wine-drinkers exhaust themselves in denouncing 
 the villanous stuff; but there are many now drink 
 ing it eagerly who once sipped sparkling cham 
 pagne with the best. 
 
 Poor Pat ! He was out of work, and he had a 
 family dependent upon him. He was willing to 
 perform the most menial labor and accept the 
 smallest wages. But day after day he returned 
 empty-handed to his poor home ; finding his only 
 solace in smoking whenever he chanced upon a 
 bit of tobacco thrown aside by one more affluent 
 than himself. Hard times for such as he. 
 
 One morning he was surprised by the sight of 
 a face familiar to him in the old country, and upon 
 comparing notes with his humble friend, learned 
 how money could be made without working for it. 
 A keg of whiskey was equivalent to a mine of 
 wealth. So he was told, and forthwith taught 
 the process of cheap adulteration. The sample 
 submitted to his taste was quite as good as he
 
 214 All for Money. 
 
 had bought of others when he had been able to 
 pay for " a dhrap." 
 
 To start in business required but a small out 
 lay, which unfortunately he was able to make. 
 His profits were large upon a small scale ; and 
 but for the fact that he was too good a customer 
 at his own bar which bar consisted of a rough 
 board supported by two barrels his family might 
 have lived in comparative comfort. 
 
 His prosperity was of short duration. He had 
 not paid for the privilege of doctoring and selling 
 his whiskey, and it would never do to allow such 
 a crime to go unpunished. 
 
 " Be jabbers, what's that ye're afther sayin' ?" 
 exclaimed the Irishman, when told that he was 
 under arrest. 
 
 A short explanation sufficed to enlighten him 
 upon this point, and then his indignation was 
 poured forth in a torrent of words well nigh over 
 powering. 
 
 " Sure, whuskey's as frae as wather in the strates 
 if you've but the money to pay. Ye know that 
 yerself, sir, and I'm not dootin' ye're afther drink- 
 in' it. License, is it, ye talk aboot ! What sort of
 
 Poor Pat. 
 
 a crathur might that be ? I'm jist doin' a bit of 
 thradin' in rne own house ; an' what right have the 
 likes uv ye to be interfarin'r I'm an honest lad, 
 jist thryin' to git a sup for me family. There's 
 niver sich another counthry. It's all chate and 
 hoombug. Wa'nt I tould the puir had their rights 
 the same as the rich uns, an' niver a word of truth 
 til the story. Sorra the day I iver left me own 
 tourf cabin beside the bog, and firm' for the cootin. 
 Be ye afthar pickin' up the jintlemen that sells 
 whuskey and wine, and sich like ?" 
 
 " We don't arrest any who have a license for 
 selling." 
 
 " Wall, it's quare now, and I can't onderstand 
 it at all, at all. It's worse than the ould counthry, 
 onless may be it's the same that lords can shoot 
 and poor uns can't." 
 
 These few sentences will give my readers an 
 idea of the Irishman's sense of injustice ; and as 
 no more than these were understood by the officer 
 to whom they were addressed, I may be pardoned 
 for making no fuller report. 
 
 His stock of liquor was at this time very low ; 
 so there was really but small loss from the de-
 
 216 All for Money. 
 
 struction which seemed to those who witnessed it 
 to be so unnecessary. In his harangue Pat more 
 than once referred to the corner store where the 
 liquor was " poured out in a big strame, an' niver 
 a dam to hould it back." It was impossible for 
 him to comprehend why he should be called a 
 criminal, while others, who he claimed were 
 engaged in the same business as himself, should 
 be treated like gentlemen. He was " selling on 
 the sly ;" but if he could afford it he would have a 
 " big place and a painted sign. He'd not be 
 stay in' for choice in a back room with only a 
 passage for his store. Wouldn't he like things 
 foin and convanient ? Sure he was the bye that 
 would. And what would Kathleen an' the chil- 
 ders do without him ?" 
 
 Finding that his angry appeals and denuncia 
 tions effected nothing, he was convulsed with fear. 
 A prison seemed to him more dreadful than a 
 tomb. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and his 
 lamentations were most piteous. Even when 
 brought into court it was impossible to silence 
 him. He told his story over and over until 
 something like pity moved the heart of a man
 
 Poor Pat. 
 
 whose clemency was usually purchased with 
 heavy bribes. 
 
 " Might have sent the poor fellow up for a term, 
 but what would be gained by it ?" he said, as he 
 half apologized for letting such an offender go 
 free. " No money to be got out of him ; and if 
 there was, the city would be obliged to more than 
 pay it back to his family. We've got enough like 
 him locked up." 
 
 " But the dignity of the law must be main 
 tained, judge. You know that," responded one 
 of the bystanders, whose face betrayed his drink 
 ing habits, and who was able to pay the price of 
 self-indulgence. 
 
 Pat McQuade went home, too happy at having 
 escaped from the clutches of the officer to be 
 anxious as to the future, and firmly resolved to 
 " lave whuskey alone, either for sellin' or drink- 
 in'." Yet he was no less indignant than before his 
 acquittal ; and late that evening gave vent to his 
 anger by shaking his fist at the big corner store, 
 and mentally anathematizing the man whose 
 name he had often read upon the conspicuous 
 sign. His mutterings were more emphatic than
 
 2i8 All for Money. 
 
 polite ; but had they been overheard by Mr. For- 
 syth I am quite certain that gentleman would 
 have endorsed poor Pat's conclusions as to the 
 fitness of things. 
 
 " It's all the money makes the differ. If ye've 
 got it ye're all right, and if ye haint got it ye're 
 all wrong. I'm thinkin' that's the way in Amer- 
 iky, same as the ould counthry ;" and with this 
 consolatory thought he turned away. 
 
 "With money, all right; without money, all 
 wrong." 
 
 Strange that there should have been any bond 
 of sympathy between two so utterly unlike, but 
 Hermon Wyatt was thinking the same thing that 
 evening ; and it was this thought which helped 
 him to stifle the good impulses awakened by the 
 remonstrances of his friend. 
 
 It was easier to do this now than at any previ 
 ous time. He was quoted as the best man in the 
 trade, upright and honorable ; so that he was 
 universally trusted. Landers was a model in his 
 way, but Landers' successor would have acquitted 
 himself well under any circumstances. His em 
 ployees wondered at his watchfulness and care ;
 
 Poor Pat. 
 
 219 
 
 fearing to offend him and yet sure of just appre 
 ciation. He was always on the alert. He had 
 not only learned " the secrets of the trade," as 
 this term is generally understood, but had ac 
 quired such a general knowledge of the business as 
 enabled him to take full advantage of the market. 
 
 He was no longer an absolutely poor man. In 
 a year he might safely count upon being able to 
 marry and support a wife in good style. At 
 this point he assured himself that he was pros 
 perous and happy. Mr. Harvey congratulated 
 him warmly, and when the heat of summer sent 
 many from the city, he was' welcomed to the 
 country home of his partner. 
 
 " Glad to see you, Cousin Wyatt ; very glad to 
 see you," was the cordial greeting he received 
 from his host. 
 
 " Indeed we are very glad to see you," said 
 Mrs. Harvey, beaming upon him with her most 
 gracious smile. " Now, Milly and I shall have 
 the delightful drives we have been anticipating. 
 Don't fear, though, that I shall play the part of 
 Madame de trap. I am too proud and too kind 
 for that," she added, laughingly.
 
 22O All for Mousy. 
 
 At that moment Milly entered the room, 
 dressed simply and becomingly ; meeting the 
 visitor with a frank expression of pleasure which 
 might or might not be mere conventional civil- 
 ity. 
 
 11 Well, Cousin Wyatt, you are getting to be 
 a prosperous man," remarked Mr. Harvey, when 
 the two gentlemen found an opportunity to talk 
 of business. 
 
 " Yes, thanks to you, I am," was the reply. 
 "No thanks. You have benefitted me as 
 much as I you, and perhaps more. I am satisfied 
 with the returns from my investment, and I hope 
 you are satisfied too." 
 
 " I am perfectly satisfied." The tone in which 
 this answer was given was too hearty to allow a 
 doubt of its sincerity. 
 
 " I am very glad. I thought you would be 
 satisfied if I could only induce you to try the 
 experiment. I had faith to believe that your 
 scruples would vanish at the touch of gold." 
 
 " Don't speak of them, Cousin Harvey. They 
 are nothing to the purpose now." 
 
 " Nothing at all. Beg your pardon. You are
 
 Poor Pat. 221 
 
 a grand business man I hear that on every hand. 
 Now I want you to enjoy a month's recreation, and 
 make the most of your opportunities for pleasure. 
 One horse will always be at your service, and 
 you'll not care for two unless you have two ladies 
 as companions. Milly will enjoy driving with 
 you. I sometimes think it is rather dull for her 
 here, although she is a favorite with the young 
 people of the village. She has received two 
 advantageous offers of marriage and declined 
 both. We are in no hurry to be rid of her, but 
 when the right man comes I suppose she will 
 leave us. It is the way with girls." 
 
 Mr. Harvey did not look at his companion 
 while speaking of Mill)'- Legrew, and in the next 
 breath he was asking a question wholly discon 
 nected with pleasure or Milly. Notwithstanding 
 the frequent letters exchanged between the 
 partners, there were many details of business 
 which could be better discussed in person than 
 upcm paper. 
 
 "If the prohibitionists should succeed in carry 
 ing the next election it would be a severe blow 
 to us, Cousin Wyatt."
 
 222 All for Money. 
 
 " Indeed it would, but there's no danger of 
 their doing it. We are too well organized, and 
 have too large a fund to draw upon for necessary 
 expenses to leave a possibility of that. The 
 machinery to secure a legislature pledged to our 
 interests is already in good running order. We 
 can count sure upon another year." 
 
 " Well, I shall allow you to know whereof 
 you speak," responded the elder cousin com 
 placently. " I hope you are a true prophet." 
 
 " I know I am. We don't make so many public 
 speeches as our opponents, but we do more 
 effective work. It will take several years for them 
 to bring public opinion to their standard, unless 
 they spend money more freely than they have 
 yet. Human nature is on our side, and we shall 
 have plenty of time to make our fortunes before 
 money will fail to buy a license in our State. Our 
 party have the reins in their hands, and it will be 
 hard work to change drivers. There are some 
 good people who can be made to believe that 
 license is the handmaid of temperance. We're 
 sure of them any way. We can buy thousands of 
 votes outright. There are other people who can
 
 Poor Pat. 
 
 be bribed with office and then made to do as they 
 are told. I am beginning to think " 
 
 Here Hermon Wyatt paused. He remembered 
 that his host knew the price for which he had sold 
 himself ; and but for the tact of this same host 
 there would have been an awkward silence. 
 
 " I see that you can be trusted with the entire 
 management of the interests of the firm, Cousin 
 Wyatt. You are the right man in the right place, 
 and I am glad you are appreciated." 
 
 " Thank you, but just now I care more for pe 
 cuniary success than such appreciation," was the 
 reply. "As for being in the right place, I leave 
 others to judge of that. Do you care to examine 
 these papers this evening ?" 
 
 "I think not. I ought not to keep you here 
 longer. The ladies are waiting for you, and 
 Milly will give us some music. You are fond of 
 music." 
 
 "So fond of it that I sometimes stop in the 
 street to listen to a hand-organ. There are two 
 boys who play before the store nearly every day. 
 One has a tambourine, and the other an organ. 
 Handsome little fellows, too, and when I have
 
 224 All for Money. 
 
 time, I go out and speak to them and give them 
 a few pennies." 
 
 " That is all well, Cousin Wyatt, but it seems 
 to me it would be better to give them work. 
 That kind of street-life isn't calculated to make 
 them the men they ought to be." 
 
 The merchant had often thought the same, but 
 he knew that his store was even a worse place 
 for them than the street. His heart was touched 
 whenever he saw them. On a few occasions they 
 had sung to him, and if for any reason they failed 
 to appear as usual, he was troubled. 
 
 He forgot them, however, when Milly Legrew 
 touched the keys of the piano, and he stood 
 watching her jewelled fingers, from whose tips the 
 witching sounds seemed dropping like a shower 
 of pearls. 
 
 "You will have one appreciative listener while 
 Cousin Wyatt remains," remarked her uncle, as 
 she rose from the instrument. " There will be no 
 danger of your getting out of practice." 
 
 " I hope not," she answered, blushing. Then 
 turning to Mr. Wyatt, she added : " Uncle some 
 times goes to sleep while I am playing. Auntie
 
 Poor Pat. 22 3 
 
 thinks I have a great deal of patience with 
 him." 
 
 " Oh, yes, Milly, you are a model of patience. 
 I can bear testimony to that as well as your 
 pupils. Cousin Wyatt, perhaps you didn't know 
 that Miss Legrew is a popular music teacher." 
 
 " I didn't know it," answered the gentleman. 
 
 "I can hardly believe it myself, but it is even 
 so," responded Mr. Harvey. " At first she in 
 sisted upon giving lessons, and now others insist 
 upon it. She is having a vacation just now, but 
 I suppose she will resume her labors by and by." 
 
 " Certainly I shall, uncle. I enjoy teaching." 
 
 " You mean that you enjoy polishing the dia 
 monds Miss Perry has cut ready for you. Milly 
 only puts the finishing touches to work another 
 has nearly done." 
 
 "Yes, sir, but if it was necessary I could cut 
 diamonds for myself." 
 
 " I don't doubt it, but I should be very sorry 
 to have you obliged to do it." 
 
 Mr. Harvey had well described the position of 
 his niece as a music teacher. Miss Perry recom 
 mended her to some pupils who were well
 
 226 All for Money. 
 
 advanced, and these pupils found her so delight 
 ful that they made every effort to please her ; 
 while the praise and flattery she received more 
 than compensated her for what she had lost in 
 withdrawing from city gayeties. 
 
 Now that Hermon Wyatt was to be domesti 
 cated under the same roof with herself during a 
 long summer month, she had no regrets for the 
 past. She hummed a love song softly as she 
 unbound her hair before a mirror in which she 
 saw a reflection of her own beauteous self. 
 Stella Bond was more than welcome to the old 
 millionaire with his ugly face and horrid manners. 
 She might trail her velvets and clasp a necklace 
 of diamonds about her white throat ; our queen 
 of beauty did not envy her. 
 
 The next morning the whole house seemed 
 pervaded with music and gladness. Mr. Harvey 
 examined the papers which had been placed in 
 his hands the evening before, and the result 
 proved beyond a doubt that he had made no 
 mistake in regard to his partner or the business 
 in which they were engaged. This confirmation 
 of a previous conclusion made him a most genial
 
 Poor Pat. 227 
 
 host, and it was he who proposed "a drive for 
 the young people." 
 
 As this day passed, so passed others, all too 
 quickly ; each hour bringing with it some plea 
 sure ; until at length Hermon Wyatt remem 
 bered that duty called him elsewhere. Then 
 was told the story which eyes had long before 
 revealed, and lovers' vows were plighted between 
 two who had been brought together by what 
 seemed the merest chance. 
 
 Mrs. Legrew might feel that her daughter 
 would be sacrificed to a foolish sentiment in mar 
 rying a man whose fortune was yet to be made, 
 but the mother had small claim to consideration 
 in the matter. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey were well 
 pleased, and congratulated the parties warmly. 
 
 " I would live with Hermon in a garret and 
 have only a crust of bread and a cup of water for 
 breakfast, dinner and supper, before I would 
 marry Mr. Esterbrook and live in regal style," 
 said the young girl emphatically, when speaking 
 of her prospects. 
 
 " You had better do it, Milly, child," said Mr. 
 Harvey. " You had better do it, and be thankful
 
 228 All for Money. 
 
 that you had the privilege of choice. Hermon 
 Wyatt is an honorable man, and in ten years he 
 will be a rich man." 
 
 " Then my mother will be ready to acknowl 
 edge him." 
 
 "No doubt she will, and before that too, I 
 hope," responded the gentleman. 
 
 " I hope so, but I don't know. She will have 
 another plan for me this winter, unless she has 
 given me up entirely. Cousin Naomi says she 
 thinks of me." 
 
 Of course she thinks of you, and if she doesn't 
 live to rejoice that you have more sense than she, 
 I am no prophet." 
 
 The next letter written to Naomi Dodge con 
 tained the intelligence of Milly's engagement ; 
 and as was intended, the letter was read to Mrs. 
 Legrew. 
 
 " Is the girl perfectly insane ?" was the 
 exclamation with which this news was received. 
 " How does she expect to live ? Here I have 
 stayed at home this season and economized to 
 save money to buy her a handsome outfit for 
 winter, and so give her another chance to make a
 
 Poor Pat. 229 
 
 suitable marriage. She don't deserve it from me, 
 and now all my saving is lost. What shall I do, 
 Cousin Naomi ?" 
 
 " I don't see that there is anything you can do 
 except give her your blessing. She says her 
 uncle and aunt approve of her choice, and they 
 know the man." 
 
 " But I disapprove of what they have done for 
 Milly, any way. They had no right to sustain her 
 in her disobedience to me. Why didn't I send 
 for her to come home when she first went away ?' 
 
 " You did send for her. You remember that 
 you commanded her to come home and marry 
 Old Dan Esterbrook. Lucky for her she had the 
 sense not to mind you." 
 
 " Don't say any more about that unless you 
 wish to drive me crazy ! How did I know he 
 would make a slave of his wife and abuse her, as 
 people say he does ?" 
 
 " You might have known it. When a woman 
 sells herself for so many dollars, she has no right 
 to complain if her purchaser insists upon his own 
 ership. That is all Old Esterbrook does. He 
 paid for his wife and his horses in the same coin,
 
 2 jo All for Money. 
 
 and brings them out for exhibition whenever he 
 pleases. When he don't please, he shuts them 
 up in stalls, with all the modern improvements. 
 That's the whole story. I'm thankful he couldn't 
 buy Milly. He's at his country seat now, and if 
 his wife don't kill herself to get rid of him, it 
 must be because she has too much principle to 
 do it." 
 
 " There is no need of her doing that. He 
 can't live many years, and when he's gone she 
 can spend money like a queen, with no one to 
 dictate her." 
 
 " Trust him to attend to that. He'll tie up 
 his money so she'll have small good of it at the 
 best ; and if she offends him he'll leave her with 
 out a dollar he can keep away from her. You 
 don't know that man as well as some others do." 
 
 " I know enough of him," was the impatient 
 reply. " I wish I had never seen him." 
 
 " You can't wish that as his poor wife does. I 
 suppose she thought money would buy happiness, 
 and if it would she would be happy. Her mother 
 says she has a weekly allowance of as much as 
 she had in a year at home, and perhaps her
 
 Poor Pat. 231 
 
 old husband allows her to spend it as she 
 pleases." 
 
 " Of course he does ; so she don't need so much 
 pity, after all." 
 
 " Millicent Legrew, I wonder if you have any 
 heart. Is there anything in the world so dear to 
 you that you couldn't estimate its value in dollars 
 and cents ?" 
 
 " Cousin Naomi, you are the strangest woman, 
 and you ask questions no one else would think of 
 asking." 
 
 " More's the pity. If men and women don't 
 need to ask straight out questions I'm mistaken 
 in my calculations ; and if you don't see the day 
 when you'll wish you'd taken time to consider and 
 honestly answer some of my strange questions, 
 I'm twice mistaken. As for Milly, you ought to 
 ask her to come home, and then treat her kindly. 
 You ought to make some acknowledgments to 
 her too. I don't know anything about the man 
 she has engaged to marry ; but I have no doubt 
 he is as good as any one you would have selected 
 for her, and I am glad her prospects are settled."
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A MODERATE DRINKER. 
 
 Y readers do not need to be told that 
 Herman Wyatt continued to prosecute 
 his business with unflagging energy. 
 There was not a man in the trade who looked 
 more sharply to its interests not one who was 
 more ready to assert his right to buy and sell at 
 pleasure. 
 
 Few presumed to remonstrate with him, and 
 these few soon found that remonstrance was 
 vain. His brother George did not even write to 
 him. Mrs. Ilsley never saw him unless she 
 chanced to meet him upon the street ; and he 
 might have forgotten Mr. Dummer entirely had 
 not a box of choice fruit, with a note from Lizzie, 
 assured him that his kindness was gratefully 
 remembered. He avoided the old apple-woman,
 
 A Moderate Drinker. 233 
 
 except at stated intervals, when he managed to 
 leave with her far more than the value of what he 
 took in exchange. She did not object to this 
 now, although she half accused herself for taking 
 any share of his profits. The burden of poverty 
 pressed more heavily upon her with each suc 
 ceeding day, and she was forced to accept the 
 charity she had once refused. 
 
 " Thank you, sir," she would say, and then 
 offer a silent prayer that this man might " see the 
 error of his ways, and be converted." Always 
 this one petition, repeated often in her lonely 
 upper room, as she prepared the homely meal his 
 bounty had provided. She could do no more. 
 She had no influence save in the courts of Heaven, 
 and she sometimes feared she had lost even this. 
 Her sense of isolation and want of companionship 
 weighed her down with despondency which was 
 \vell nigh despair. Pitied by and scorned by 
 many, it remained to Hermon to give her sub 
 stantial aid. 
 
 One winter day, when the cold was so intense 
 that every one felt its power, this poor woman 
 had neither fuel nor money with which to pur-
 
 234 All for Money 
 
 chase it. She must go out and try her fortune, 
 or remain within and die ; unless in some mira 
 culous way supplies were brought to her. The 
 way was never so long ; the wind never blew so 
 fiercely ; and never were people in such haste as 
 those who swept past her. Not a penny did she 
 receive, and she was about turning homeward 
 when Mr. Wyatt appeared, followed by the two 
 boys of whom he had spoken to Mr. Harvey. 
 
 " Bitter day," he said, abruptly. 
 
 "Yes, sir," she replied, without looking up. 
 
 ' You have a shelter somewhere." 
 
 " Yes, sir. Thank God for that, but it's all I 
 have except a few pieces of furniture." 
 
 " Here are two boys who havn't as much as 
 that. Turned into the street yesterday, and not 
 a mouthful to eat since. Can you take them 
 home with you and cook a meal of victuals for 
 thcfn ; and then let them sleep somewhere where 
 they'll have a roof over their heads ? I'll vouch 
 for their honesty." 
 
 " Yes, sir. I can take them with me. I've 
 seen them before and I ain't afraid to trust them. 
 They have a hard time, but they're good boys."
 
 A Moderate Drinker. 235 
 
 11 Yes, mother, we try to be," responded one. 
 " We hain't come round for apples lately, because 
 we didn't have much money." 
 
 " You're half froze." 
 
 " No, mother, not that. We've been warming 
 over a grate, but we're hungry. We've got 
 enough to pay for a loaf and a bundle of wood if 
 you'll let us go home with you." 
 
 " To be sure you may go. It'll warm me to 
 see somebody there, though I hain't a bit of 
 firing. I was just going. I'm most froze, and 
 nobody buys to-day." 
 
 That was her experience, but trade had been 
 brisk in the store of Wyatt & Co., so brisk that 
 the proprietor did not notice the young musi 
 cians who came again and again, hoping to see 
 him and receive some assistance. At length, to 
 their great joy, he spoke to them, when they told 
 him their story. This reminded him of the apple- 
 woman, and a plan at once suggested itself which 
 he proceeded to put in execution. 
 
 Mrs. Souther could not express a tithe of her 
 gratitude as a bank bill was placed in her hands 
 with the injunction to remain at home and make
 
 2j6 All for Money. 
 
 herself comfortable until the weather was less 
 severe. " By that time you can tell what is best 
 to do," added her benefactor, leaving the trio to 
 care for each other. 
 
 The younger boy, who was called Ally, stopped 
 to purchase bread and wood, yet did not lose 
 sight of his companions ; and together they 
 climbed the stairs leading to Mrs. Souther's 
 room. Out of this a door opened into a large 
 closet, with a long, narrow window near the 
 ceiling, which had been darkened by the present 
 occupant. She thought of this closet the mo 
 ment Mr. Wyatt proposed that she should find a 
 lodging-place for these boys ; and she took 
 courage as she reflected that poor as she was she 
 could confer a favor upon others poorer than 
 herself. 
 
 She had known Davy and Ally since they 
 came to the city, two years before. They 
 addressed her as mother, and this title was in 
 itself full recompense for all she could do for 
 them. The fire blazed and crackled in the little 
 stove, as lump by lump the coal was added 
 which Davy had purchased at a neighboring yard,
 
 A Moderate Drinker. 237 
 
 and presently the room was pervaded with a 
 grateful warmth. 
 
 "There's tea and sugar, mother," said the elder 
 boy. " I thought you'd want tea, and when we 
 make lots of money we'll all have coffee and 
 milk. We'll have roast beef too. Can't we stay 
 here always, and we work and buy things for us 
 all, so you needn't sell apples and peanuts any 
 more ? Wouldn't you like that, mother ?" 
 
 " Yes, Davy, I'd like it more than you can 
 think, but you shouldn't be earning for me." 
 
 " But we'd play you was our real mother, same 
 as other boys have, and you'd make a home for 
 us same as other mothers do. Ally and I'd like 
 it tip-top, shouldn't we, Ally ?" 
 
 " Guess we should, though I don't know 
 about a real mother. That old woman we run 
 away from warnt our mother." 
 
 "No, she warnt. We'd had a better one if 
 we'd had any. But no matter about her now. 
 You'll let us stay, wont you, Mother Souther ?" 
 
 - " It's I that'll be the trouble to you, boys 
 Seems as though I was most done getting money 
 for myself. I thought there warnt much more
 
 2j8 All for Money. 
 
 for me in the world. I thought so all day, till 
 Mr. Wyatt come with you." 
 
 " We was discouraged, too, mother. We was 
 turned out last night and most froze, but them 
 gratings warms a fellow up. This is worlds bet 
 ter though. It's good here." 
 
 " And I with my bill all whole, while you're 
 hungry and spending money for me." 
 
 "We're used to the hungry, so we don't mind over 
 much, and we'll wait till you've made your tea." 
 
 Mrs. Souther had some food in reserve, and 
 this she brought forward while the tea was mak 
 ing ; and then the three sat around the small 
 table, luxuriating in their possessions. Of sup 
 per, such as was spread before them, there was 
 enough. Folding her hands reverently, the host 
 ess thanked God for his mercies and asked that his 
 blessing might rest down upon them. These 
 street Arabs had in various ways been better 
 taught than their fellows,, but they gazed with 
 wondering awe into the face of her who had 
 " spoke to God." The prayers they had heard 
 were so unlike the few words uttered by one so 
 near to them that they fancied there must be a
 
 A Moderate Drinker. 239 
 
 real, spiritual difference. These words, however, 
 hallowed all things for them, and were a pro 
 phecy of good to come. 
 
 This man, whom some extolled as intelligent, 
 enterprising, and public spirited ; but whom 
 others denounced as unprincipled, selfish, and an 
 enemy to the public welfare ; might well con 
 gratulate himself upon having performed one good 
 deed that winter day. He had brightened three 
 lives. It was pleasant for him to remember this ; 
 so pleasant that he did not lose its influence as he 
 wrote to Milly Legrew ; whose letters came to 
 him with an exact regularity which bore witness 
 to her constancy. 
 
 She was spending the winter with her mother ; 
 her prestige somewhat dimmed by her loss of 
 property, yet still a favorite. Twice she had met 
 Mr. and Mrs. Esterbrook at fashionable parties ; 
 the former looking uglier than ever before, and 
 'the latter, with a pale, wan face, which lighted up 
 only with an unmistakable effort of will, and from 
 which the light died out as suddenly as it had 
 appeared. 
 
 Mrs. Legrew affected not to see this ; denying
 
 24.0 All for Money. 
 
 indeed that there was aught to be seen ; yet in 
 secret she rejoiced that it was not her daughter 
 whom society commiserated as the slave of a 
 tyrant. 
 
 " Your mother never'll own it, but she's as glad 
 as she can be of anything, that you didn't give up 
 to her last winter," said Cousin Naomi to Milly, 
 after a conversation in which Mrs. Esterbrook's 
 prospects had been thoroughly discussed. " She's 
 the most worldly woman I ever knew, and she 
 thinks money is worth more than anything else ; 
 but she has some sense, for all that. She would 
 have married Old Money-bags herself if he had 
 asked her to, and I should have been afraid he 
 would, only such men want the youngest and 
 prettiest that are in the market." 
 
 " That's a dreadful way to talk, Cousin Naomi." 
 
 " I know it, but not so bad as it is to act that 
 way. I'm so old-fashioned that I believe in mar 
 riage between a man and woman ; not a bargain 
 where each pound of flesh is sold for a stipulated 
 price. I'm ashamed of women for holding them 
 selves so cheap." 
 
 " There's another strange speech."
 
 A Moderate Drinker. 24.1 
 
 " Strange or not, it's true. I am ashamed when 
 I look around and see how the world goes. I am 
 out of patience, too, but it does no good. It's of 
 no use for me to find fault. Money is the God of 
 this world, and I don't know but it always will 
 be." 
 
 " Cousin . Naomi, why are you not married ?" 
 now asked Milly abruptly. 
 
 " Because the only man I ever loved married an 
 other woman ;" was the prompt reply. "That's 
 why, and to my mind that's enough. Now don't 
 you ever say anything more about it. There's 
 the postman. He'll be likely to bring something 
 for you, and I must go and look after dinner." 
 
 A letter from Hermon Wyatt. Milly knew it 
 was from him without so much as looking at the 
 address. It contained the best of news too. He 
 was coming to the city on business, and would 
 see her within forty-eight hours. Then time 
 seemed to lag until she met her lover with a shy 
 gladness which made ample amends for the 
 haughtiness of his prospective mother-in-law. 
 The latter could not accuse her daughter of want 
 of taste, or find aught to criticise in the manners
 
 242 All for Money. 
 
 of the gentleman ; yet she was as ungracious as 
 it was possible for her to be, thus manifesting her 
 disapprobation of the existing engagement. 
 
 " If he was worth a half million there would be 
 some sense in Milly's marrying him," she ex 
 claimed, when alone with her cousin, who was 
 sure, sooner or later, to hear hen- true sentiments. 
 
 "Of course you would think so," was the 
 somewhat impatient reply. " For my part I'm 
 glad he isn't, and I shouldn't be sorry if he and 
 Milly had to set up housekeeping pretty much 
 as our fathers and mothers did." 
 
 " I should expect most anything of you, Naomi 
 Dodge, but I wouldn't believe you'd say that if 
 I hadn't heard you." 
 
 " Well, I've said it and I mean it. If they 
 were willing to make the most of as much as our 
 fathers and mothers had, and not try to do what 
 they couldn't afford to, they'd be comfortable 
 enough. There's so much sham and pretension 
 a body don't know where there's any substance. 
 If a woman can't afford to wear silk, she ought 
 to be satisfied with print, and not make herself 
 miserable about it either. If my home was in a
 
 A Moderate Drinker. 
 
 log cabin, I'd make it a happy home if it de 
 pended upon me." 
 
 Milly would have found it hard to accept such 
 a home, even with Hermon Wyatt ; and fortu 
 nately, as. she regarded it, there was no need of 
 such a sacrifice on her part. Another summer 
 would see her the bride of a prosperous man. 
 
 Returning from this visit, the merchant found 
 his proteges, Ally and Davy, waiting at the 
 depot for an opportunity to carry some light 
 luggage, and so earn a few pennies. 
 
 " Glad to see you," he said heartily. " I was 
 just wishing I could dispose of my valise. Where 
 are the organ and tambourine ?" 
 
 " At home, sir. Mother Souther thought we 
 might do better at some work. This is but the 
 second day, and the folks are afraid to trust us. 
 They're afraid we'll steal the luggage." 
 
 " That's because they don't know you. Come 
 here for a week or two, and by that time there'll 
 be somebody ready to recommend you. Then if 
 you keep right along you may get something 
 better to do." 
 
 " Yes, sir, that's what we thought."
 
 244. All for Motiey. 
 
 " All right at home ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir, jolly good. Mother Souther stays 
 there all the time and we have enough to eat. 
 Ally thinks maybe he'll take her stand, and sell, 
 same as she used to." 
 
 " He might do that, and you might give a 
 concert there, some day, when people would be 
 likely to stop and hear you. You can try differ 
 ent things, and don't be discouraged if you don't 
 make much to begin with. If you're likely to 
 go hungry, come round to me and I'll see what 
 I can do for you." 
 
 " Yes, sir. Thank you. But you've paid me 
 too much." 
 
 "It's all right. Tell Mrs. Souther from me 
 that you need to learn something about books." 
 
 " Yes, sir. She has us at the books every 
 evening." 
 
 " That is well. Do your best to learn." 
 
 "The next moment the merchant had entered 
 his store, which no longer offended him with any 
 of its appointments. He looked around com 
 placently. Mr. Crown reported favorably of 
 business during his absence, and offered some
 
 A Moderate Drinker. 245 
 
 suggestions warranted by new developments ; 
 adding : " We must make hay while the sun 
 shines. The prohibitionists are after us in earn 
 est this year, and it'll take good engineering to 
 keep out of their way. Two or .three of their 
 heaviest men have given liberally within a few 
 days to promote their cause, and if others follow 
 their example, there'll be something done. You 
 can measure a man's interest by the money he's 
 willing to give." 
 
 " That's true. But the chances are that the 
 examples wont be followed. It's reasonably 
 safe to calculate on that." 
 
 " I know it is, unless that affair of Miller's stirs 
 up a- permanent excitement. It's a bad case. 
 No mistake about that. To tell the truth, there 
 hasn't anything happened lately that surprised 
 me as that did." 
 
 " What is it ? I only heard a whisper of some 
 thing that wasn't quite right before I went away. 
 I always thought Miller was a fair, honorable 
 man." 
 
 " So he is in business, and people supposed, of 
 course, that he was kind in his family."
 
 246 All for Money. 
 
 " He ought to be. He has a lovely wife and 
 two beautiful children. I saw them with him 
 last summer, and he seemed devoted to them." 
 
 " No doubt he was, and would always be, if he 
 didn't stimulate too much. That's the trouble 
 with him. I knew he bought more than usual 
 lately. Everybody knows he is one of our 
 customers, and you must be prepared for any 
 accusation that may be brought against you. 
 The one that sold liquor to him will be consider 
 ed the guilty party." 
 
 "I am not Miller's keeper," said Mr. Wyatt 
 in an earnest tone. " He bought of Landers 
 before I came here, and if I refused to sell to him 
 he would only go to some other store for what 
 he wants. That would benefit a rival dealer, but 
 neither him nor his family ; and I don't feel dis 
 posed to do it." 
 
 There were few men who attended more regu 
 larly to business than did Henry Miller ; and no 
 one of his acquaintances had suspected him of 
 the habits which his brutality made it impossible 
 for his wife longer to conceal. Through the day 
 he drank sparingly, and sometimes not at all ;
 
 A Moderate Drinker. 24? 
 
 while after returning home at evening, he in 
 dulged his appetite until he was in a state of 
 beastly intoxication. Such excess could not fail 
 to tell upon his looks ; yet so well guarded was 
 his secret, that the change was attributed to 
 any other cause rather than the true one. 
 
 At length, screams and cries for help were 
 heard by the servants ; and rushing to the room 
 occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Miller, the former 
 was found standing over his wife, who was 
 prostrate upon the floor, with a severe wound 
 caused by a heavy fall. Assistance was called, 
 and the infuriated man secured until morning, 
 by which time he had slept off his debauch and 
 was his usual self again. But his wife was so 
 seriously injured, fears were entertained that she 
 might not recover, and naturally he was the 
 object of marked attention. If she died, he 
 would be held responsible for her death. 
 
 Yet he was not one whit more guilty than thou 
 sands of men who never raise their hands against 
 those they have sworn to protect. Such murders 
 by slow torture are common ; so common as to 
 divest them of half their horror for those who
 
 248 All for Money. 
 
 look on with strange apathy while the deed is 
 wrought. 
 
 In this case, the respectability of the parties, 
 and the unavoidable publicity gave it an impor 
 tance not easily ignored. It remained to be seen 
 whether others would take warning ; and look 
 ing below the surface, measure the length and 
 breadth of a moderate drinker's moderation.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 DECEIVED. 
 
 RS. MILLER convalesced slowly, en 
 deavoring to screen her husband by 
 taking blame to herself: doing this 
 more persistently as his health failed, and he was 
 confined to -the house by a disease physicians 
 pronounced incurable. There was no antidote 
 for the poison rioting- in his veins. 
 
 He had put the fatal draught to his own lips. 
 But others standing by had consented thereto, 
 and God would not hold them guiltless. Hermon 
 Wyatt paused but a moment to regard the fune 
 ral procession moving slowly past his place of 
 business, and then resumed his ordinary avoca 
 tions as though he had neither part nor lot in the 
 matter. Some word of pity for the bereaved 
 family escaped his lips. But words are cheap,
 
 250 All for Money. 
 
 and he could well afford them, as he doubled and 
 trebled his profits by skillful adulteration. 
 
 He had no time to waste on trivial events. His 
 wedding-day was near at hand, and when it ar 
 rived there was given to him a bride as lovely as 
 his heart could desire. If there was less of extra 
 vagant display than characterizes many bridals, 
 there was infinitely more of truth and loyalty 
 Whatever might be the foibles of one or the faults 
 of the other, their marriage was the result of 
 genuine affection. 
 
 The wedding ceremonies took place at Mr. 
 Harvey's ; an arrangement to which Mrs. Legrew 
 gladly acceded ; as she had closed her house and 
 did not wish to re-open it until late in the au 
 tumn. She was disappointed, dissatisfied, and 
 thoroughly unhappy. She complained to Cousin 
 Naomi,' and when away from this friend she 
 complained of her. 
 
 After stopping with her sister a few weeks, she 
 went to a place of resort for pleasure seekers, 
 where she hoped to find some new experience to 
 distract her thoughts. The crowd had left ; but 
 among those who remained, was a gentleman who
 
 Deceived. 251 
 
 at once sought to ingratiate himself in her favor. 
 His dress and manners were unexceptionable, 
 as befitted one of ample means. He talked of his 
 houses, horses, and lands, and threw out occa 
 sional hints of European trips. His bills were 
 promptly paid, and his display of money, although 
 not ostentatious, was calculated to impress ob 
 servers with a sense of his wealth. 
 
 The flattery lavished upon the fair widow was 
 well chosen and delicate ; and it required no 
 prophet to foretell the event should his devotion 
 continue. The lady had sneered at love, and it is 
 doubtful if she was capable of the emotion ; yet 
 it must be recorded that she listened with blush 
 ing delight to the protestations of one who ac 
 cording to his own words would die to save her 
 a moment's annoyance. 
 
 Had this man sought her daughter's hand two 
 years before, she would have inquired of his an 
 tecedents, and made herself certain that his seem 
 ing wealth was not a myth. But in her infatuation 
 she forgot to be cautious ; and promising herself 
 the pleasure of surprising her dear five hun 
 dred friends, she yielded a modestly reluctant
 
 2 52 All for Money. 
 
 consent to an early marriage. She consulted no 
 one, foolishly thinking she was thus securing the 
 grateful homage of her husband, and counting 
 upon future display to compensate for the privacy 
 of her wedding. 
 
 "Millicent Legrew married!" exclaimed Cou 
 sin Naomi, as the letter containing this an 
 nouncement dropped from her hands. "She was 
 no more fit to be married than a baby. Ten 
 chances to one if she haint thrown herself away 
 on some fortune hunter. She's acted as though 
 she was possessed this last year or two. I can 
 have a home with her the same as ever, and 
 she'll be glad to have me have the house open 
 ready for them when they return from their 
 bridal trip ! She'll find I shan't do any such 
 thing. She don't need me now, and if she did I 
 couldn't do her any good. My promise is can 
 celled, and now I can look out for myself." 
 
 " I hope you will," replied a sister who had 
 listened to the above expression of her feelings. 
 " I never could understand why you would stay 
 there and put up with Millicent's hateful ways. 
 For my part I'm glad she's married ; and pre-
 
 Deceived* 
 
 cious little do I care what becomes of her. She 
 don't deserve a good husband. Robert Legrew 
 couldn't have done worse than take her for a wife. 
 You were worth a dozen of her if she did have a 
 pretty, baby face." 
 
 " I hope I was always worth more than she ; 
 but it isn't true that Robert couldn't have done 
 worse than to marry her. She thinks she's got a 
 rich man now, and if she has, she wont care for 
 much else." 
 
 "And if she hasn't" 
 
 " She'll be mortified almost to death. She 
 wont need any other punishment for the way she 
 treated Robert and Milly. I'd write and tell her 
 not to depend on me, if I knew where to direct. 
 But I don't ; so she must make the best of it 
 when she comes back. Fine housekeeping 
 there'll be, with new servants and no house 
 keeper ! I wonder what Mill)'- will say to it ? 
 Perhaps she'll know more about her mother's 
 plans than I do." 
 
 Settled in her elegantly furnished rooms, with 
 never a care save that of rendering herself 
 charming to a doting husband ; the days went by
 
 254 All for Money. 
 
 for Milly Wyatt like delightful dreams. The 
 news ol her mother's marriage was a rude awaken 
 ing ; and if she did not express herself as strongly 
 as Cousin Naomi had done, she thought no less. 
 
 Then came a letter from this cousin, request 
 ing her to communicate to Mrs. Norcross the 
 fact that the arrangement existing between them 
 for so many years was now at an end. " Mamma 
 will be in despair," thought Milly, and yet she 
 did not wonder at the decision. 
 
 " I know no more than you where to direct to 
 mamma, and I fear the worst. We must wait 
 and see what transpires," she wrote in reply. 
 
 Mr. Wyatt endeavored to persuade his young 
 wife that all would be well ; while with his larger 
 personal experience and his more intimate 
 knowledge of the world, he could anticipate only 
 misfortune as the result of this hasty marriage. 
 
 Sooner than she had expected, Mrs. Norcross 
 returned to the city, and was obliged to open her 
 own house ; a hardship she lamented bitterly. 
 But the glamour fancy threw around her husband 
 had not yet vanished. He was as devoted as in 
 the days of his wooing.
 
 Deceived. 
 
 There was, however, one drawback to her 
 happiness. Mr. Norcross seemed troubled ; and 
 when questioned in regard to this, he acknowl 
 edged that his funds were running low ; and that 
 much as he regretted the necessity, he must ask 
 her for a loan, which should be repaid at the 
 earliest possible moment. 
 
 " And now let us say no more about it. Money 
 is too gross an object to be considered between 
 lovers," he remarked, as he took from his wife a 
 roll of bank bills, which truth compels me to say 
 she gave to him reluctantly. 
 
 The home coming had been at his suggestion ; 
 and now, dependent as they were upon each 
 other, the domestic qualities of both would be 
 put to the test. He enjoyed the luxurious ap 
 pointments of the house, and made no complaints 
 of muddy coffee, burned steak and heavy muffins. 
 For these discomforts, at which he smiled as 
 unworthy a serious thought in the midst of so 
 much happiness, he solaced himself with well- 
 cooked breakfasts at a restaurant later in the 
 day ; while Mrs. Norcross, with no such resort, 
 grew dyspeptic and complaining.
 
 2 56 All for Money. 
 
 Meanwhile, she found her expenses rapidly 
 increasing. There were more calls for money 
 than she could conveniently meet. At length 
 she ventured to speak of this ; and contrary to 
 her fears, Mr. Norcross replied frankly that she 
 had cause for dissatisfaction. He had long 
 known that he ought to look after his business, 
 but his reluctance to leave her had prevented his 
 doing so. Now he would go as soon as he should 
 receive a remittance from his agent, who had 
 assured him by the mail of yesterday that several 
 thousand dollars would be forwarded within a 
 week. 
 
 Of course this was believed, especially as the 
 letter bearing post-mark and date as represented, 
 was shown as proof of the statement. A sufficient 
 sum was advanced to pay the gentleman's travel 
 ling expenses to the western city where his 
 property was situated, and the husband and wife 
 parted with mutual expressions of love and 
 devotion. 
 
 When separated from this man, Mrs. Norcross 
 reviewed the events of the last few months, and 
 realized, as she had not done before, how strange-
 
 Deceived. 
 
 ly she had been influenced. Still she would not 
 admit that she could have been deceived. Had 
 not her husband assured her again and again 
 that he loved her for herself alone ; and that he 
 had no mercenary motive in seeking to win her 
 for his wife ? 
 
 She was to hear from him the next day, and 
 each succeeding day of his absence. True to his 
 word, he wrote, and in such fashion, that every 
 misgiving on her part was dispelled. Six letters 
 were received, which she read and re-read with 
 the eagerness of a young girl who has not yet 
 learned to question the sincerity of the most 
 extravagant utterances. But on the seventh day 
 a communication of quite a different sort lay 
 open before her. 
 
 In it, the writer frankly confessed that he had 
 never felt for her the least affection ; that he had 
 found it necessary to obtain the means of support ; 
 and seeing that she could be easily flattered, it 
 had occurred to him that he might spend a few 
 months with her not unpleasantly. Now having 
 decided to try his fortune elsewhere, she would 
 see no more of him.
 
 258 All for Money. 
 
 He also informed her that she had no claim to 
 be addressed as Mrs. Norcross ; since, were she 
 his wife, he could not give her what he did not 
 possess ; and his real name was not that by 
 which she had known him. Moreover, he had so 
 often vowed to love and cherish some charming 1 
 woman, that it would be unwise for her longer to 
 regard him as a husband. 
 
 He thanked her for her kindness and gene 
 rosity ; assuring her that he had been very happy 
 with her, while he trusted she had found him an 
 agreeable companion. As for property, he had 
 always been a poor man ; living by his wits, 
 and dependent upon his friends for whatever of 
 luxury he had enjoyed. 
 
 It is no exaggeration to say that the deserted 
 woman was in despair. " Mortified to death," 
 and yet she did not die. She might do as she 
 had done before ; shut herself in her room and 
 indulge in wholesale lamentations ; but small 
 comfort would this be, with no one to give her 
 sympathy or assistance. 
 
 In her extremity she sent for Mr. and Mrs. Har 
 vey, to whom she made full confession of her folly.
 
 Deceived. 
 
 259 
 
 "I don't know how I could have done as T 
 have," she exclaimed helplessly. " The man 
 deserves to be hanged." 
 
 " That may be, Millicent, but the best thing 
 you can do is to say nothing about him," replied 
 her brother-in-law, who was thoroughly dis 
 gusted with the whole affair. 
 
 "I know it. I know it," she responded, fully 
 sensible that silence was her only refuge. "But 
 so much of my money is gone, how am I to 
 live ?" 
 
 " As others live who have no more than you." 
 
 " But I can't. I'm not used to living so. I 
 think Milly ought to show some interest in me. 
 And there's Cousin Naomi. Everybody forsakes 
 me in my trouble. How can a man be so 
 wicked !" 
 
 What could be done with such a woman, weak, 
 selfish, and heartless as she was ! She had never 
 learned to rely upon herself, and this was no 
 time to teach the lesson successfully. Others 
 must act for her. Mr. Harvey leased her house 
 to a family, who took immediate possession ; 
 while she accepted his invitation to return with
 
 260 All for Money. 
 
 his wife and himself to their home. She would 
 not be a pleasant addition to their family, but 
 they felt a responsibility in regard to her which 
 they could not ignore. 
 
 Here Milly visited her, endeavoring to do what 
 a daughter might to comfort a mother, yet find 
 ing all efforts repulsed. Sometimes the unhappy 
 woman wept for hours, refusing to speak ; while 
 at other times she moaned continually, uttering 
 piteous ejaculations, which would have appealed 
 strongly to the sympathy of those who heard 
 them, had they not listened to the same under 
 far different circumstances. 
 
 She grew thin and shadowy ; disclaiming all 
 interest in what was passing around her, until it 
 really seemed that she was losing her hold upon 
 life. Milly was again summoned, and trusting 
 still the tried friend of her childhood, she en 
 treated Cousin Naomi to come. There was a 
 short struggle, and then the old duty was. 
 resumed. 
 
 " I'm so glad you'll stay with me," murmured 
 Mrs. Legrew, pressing her pale face to that of her 
 cousin. " I'm so glad," she repeated. " I've
 
 Deceived, 261 
 
 been going wrong ever since you left me. Don't 
 leave rne again. I'm sorry for what I've done, 
 but I can't help it. You know I can't help it. I 
 don't know how I could do so. Cousin Naomi, 
 I'm beginning to think money isn't everything 
 that's worth having ; though 'twas so hard to 
 get things when I was a girl at home, I thought 
 I could be happy anywhere, if I only had money 
 enough. Don't blame me." 
 
 " Blame you, child !" replied Naomi Dodge, 
 with tears in her eyes. " I've done a host of 
 wrong things myself, and what right have I to 
 blame you !" 
 
 " I don't know what you've done wrong, Cousin 
 Naomi. It seems to me you've always been 
 good. You've been a great deal better to me 
 than I deserved ; and now I want to ask you to 
 forgive me for taking Robert away from you. I 
 knew he loved you, but he had money, and I 
 wanted the money. Will you forgive me for 
 that ?" 
 
 " Yes, Millicent, I forgive you as I hope to be 
 forgiven for all my sins. But don't speak of it 
 again. I can't bear it. You and I, both of us,
 
 262 All for Money. 
 
 need to think of something else. This world 
 isn't all there is for us." 
 
 " I know it. I've always known it, but I 
 wouldn't think of it. Now I must, because there 
 isn't much more of this world for me. I've said 
 a great many times, when I was crossed in my 
 wishes, that I should die, but I didn't realize 
 what it means to die. Now I don't know. What 
 is it, Naomi ? Oh ! how can I die ! Do you think 
 I must ? But I don't want to live. How could I 
 have been so deceived ! You're sure you've for 
 given me ?" 
 
 " Yes, Millicent, I'm sure. Now try to think 
 of all you have to live for." 
 
 " What is it ? Do you think Milly loves me ? 
 She seems so strange. I didn't know Mr. Ester- 
 brook was such a bad man. I'm glad she didn't 
 marry him, but I can't tell her so. I think I've 
 been making mistakes all my life ; all my life, 
 Naomi. But it's too late to change. I'm a 
 trouble to everybody. This isn't the right place 
 for me to stay, and Milly don't want me with 
 her. If you'd only take me away with you some 
 where, Cousin Naomi, I should be so glad. I've
 
 Deceived. 263 
 
 enough to pay you, and I'd try to be patient and 
 reasonable." 
 
 " We will see about moving by and by," was 
 the cheerfully spoken reply. "Trust me for not 
 allowing you to be a trouble to your friends. I 
 am going to take care of you myself." 
 
 With this assurance Mrs. Legrew was some 
 what comforted, and henceforth deferred to her 
 cousin's judgment in all things. She did not 
 again speak of dying, but it was evident that she . 
 thought of it ; while it was equally evident that 
 she had by no means renounced the vanities to 
 which she had all her life done homage.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 THE WANDERER'S RETURN. 
 
 MORNING in spring. Sunlight flooding 
 the earth with its glory, and the air 
 redolent of perfumes, sweet and subtle 
 as the fabled odors of Araby. 
 
 A woman was bending over a bed of hyacinths, 
 and hearing a footfall, looked up to see a man, 
 with figure slightly bowed and hair as white as 
 snow, coming towards her. He walked slowly 
 but firmly, as though in no haste, and yet having 
 a definite purpose in view. 
 
 There was something familiar in his appear 
 ance which the woman could not define. He was 
 surely a stranger. She had never seen him 
 before. He drew nearer, and still unmindful of 
 her rudeness, she continued to gaze at him. At 
 length he was beside her.
 
 The Wanderer s Return. 265 
 
 "Cousin Naomi, have you a welcome for the 
 wanderer ?" he asked in a husky voice. " I know 
 you are Cousin Naomi." 
 
 " And you. You are Russell Parsons." 
 
 "I am. But not the same Russell Parsons 
 who left his home thirty years ago. Thank God, 
 I'm a different man from what I was then ; else 
 you wouldn't see me here. I've not come back 
 to be a burden to my friends, or to disgrace 
 them. I remembered my sisters, and I longed to 
 see some one in whose veins flowed the same 
 blood as in my own. Have you a welcome for 
 me ?" 
 
 " If what you say is true, Russell Parsons, I 
 have." 
 
 " As God hears me, I speak the truth." 
 
 It was thirty years since he had gone forth 
 from a home in which there was little to develop 
 a noble manhood, but where he had already 
 become a sorrow and disgrace. Few parting 
 words were bestowed upon him. Who knew if 
 he had not a heart which might yet be won to 
 truth and duty ! 
 
 Cousin Naomi was the last to bid him adieu, as
 
 266 All for Money. 
 
 she was the first to welcome him on his return. 
 She had thought of him kindly. It was not 
 wholly his fault that he had fallen into evil 
 companionship, and learned to drain the intoxi 
 cating cup. There was some excuse for his 
 reckless career ; some reason for the hardness of 
 which his parents complained. 
 
 Mr. Harvey had heard of this man, but sup 
 posed him to be dead. He met the stranger now 
 with sufficient cordiality, and then called to his 
 wife. Mrs. Harvey came forward ; some memory 
 of the olden time giving to her manner an un 
 wonted tenderness. 
 
 " I never expected to see you again," she said, 
 as she stood looking up into her brother's face, 
 while he held her hands close clasped in his own. 
 " Millicent is here too." 
 
 " I knew she was, before I came. I wished to 
 see you both. I shall go before you are tired of 
 me." 
 
 Millicent, the youngest of the family, had been 
 his pet and favorite. The meeting between them 
 was without a witness, but when next they were 
 seen there were traces of tears upon the cheeks of
 
 The Wanderer s Return. 267 
 
 both. Whatever there was of sincerity and hon 
 est affection in this woman's nature was stirred 
 to its depths. The brother had neither wife nor 
 child. Perhaps with him she might find a way 
 out of her difficulties. 
 
 His story was told only to his cousin. His 
 sisters would find little in it to interest them, 
 since they could but vaguely comprehend the 
 struggles of a soul fast bound by evil habits, yet 
 still retaining some aspirations for a God-given 
 freedom. He had been so poor he had not where 
 to lay his head. He had been so wretched, that 
 he longed for death, and so vile, that the veriest 
 outcasts of the street shrank from him. 
 
 But here he stood, redeemed and saved : a 
 better man by far than he who watched so nar 
 rowly each movement of the stranger, lest his 
 guest might prove unworthy of confidence. 
 Russell Parsons had the manners of a gentleman ; 
 and so much of self-control, that he would not 
 betray his consciousness of the scrutiny to which 
 he was subjected. Yet when a week had passed 
 he prepared to take his leave. 
 
 " I am going in the morning," he said to Cousin
 
 268 All for Money. 
 
 Naomi. "I don't blame any one for distrusting 
 me." 
 
 "Who distrusts you ?" was asked in reply. 
 
 " Not you, and perhaps neither of my sisters. 
 Mr. Harvey is right to be on his guard. When I 
 have a place I can call my own, I shall come back 
 for Millicent. Will you go with us ?" 
 
 " I have promised to take care of Millicent," 
 was the hesitating response. 
 
 " And I have promised her that she shall live 
 with me. I am not a poor man. There is no 
 need that I should be indebted to any one for so 
 much as a piece of bread. Millicent will be 
 happier with me than she can be anywhere else, 
 and I owe something to my family for the trouble 
 I have made them. Poor child ! She has 
 brought a great sorrow upon herself. She has 
 thought too much of money and show. She must 
 learn to think of other things. She says you 
 have always been a true friend, although she did 
 you a great wrong." 
 
 An impatient gesture warned the speaker that 
 this wrong was a forbidden subject, and he has 
 tened to apologize.
 
 The Wanderer s Return. 269 
 
 A sense of relief was felt by both host and 
 hostess when their guest had departed. They did 
 not talk much of him, but they made no effort to 
 conceal from each other the fact that his visit had 
 been an annoyance. 
 
 "It's not best to let Milly know anything about 
 it," remarked Mr. Harvey. " I presume she docs 
 not know she has such an uncle. If he needs 
 pecuniary assistance he shall have it. I can 
 afford to do more for others than I have done, and 
 another year, if all goes well in business, you 
 shall have the new house you have wanted so 
 long." 
 
 " Then I shall have my heart's desire, if I can 
 decide upon the plan." 
 
 " You can have it as you please, and I hope 
 by that time Milly and her husband will estab 
 lish themselves in a home of their own. They 
 can afford to start in good style, and we can give 
 them a handsome outfit. That reminds me that 
 Dan Esterbrook is in the land of the living. I 
 heard from him yesterday, and his wife is an 
 object of pity. He hardly allows her out of his 
 sight, and for weeks together she is confined to
 
 2 jo All for Money. 
 
 the house with him. If she receives any visitors, 
 it must be in his presence, and he is getting so 
 unbearable, that her stepfather thinks of inter 
 fering in her behalf." 
 
 :< Would his interference benefit her ?" 
 
 " Not at all. It would only make her lot harder. 
 Silence and submission are her only safeguards. 
 Millysaid she was extravagantly fond of dress, and 
 he insists upon her dressing in silks and satins, 
 even when she sees no one but himself. She 
 wears her diamonds, too, to gratify him." 
 
 " How tired she must be of them ! What a 
 mercy it is that Milly is not his wife !" 
 
 " Mercy, indeed ! She never should have been 
 his wife. I could have prevented it, and I would. 
 If Stella Bond was a niece of mine I would take 
 her away from Dan Esterbrook and compel him 
 to give her half his fortune. If the truth was 
 told, I presume he has no right to it himself." 
 i People might say that Mrs. Esterbrook was 
 unhappy ; that she led a slave's life, and that 
 the most forlorn beggar might well refuse to 
 exchange places with her ; yet all this did not 
 express one tithe of the wretched truth.
 
 The Wanderers Return. 271 
 
 She had coveted money. She could not earn 
 it. How else could she secure it than by selling 
 herself ? Now, of how little worth it seemed ! 
 
 A.S they pronounced her name, men sneered, 
 because she ha-d thus degraded her womanhood ; 
 but was not money their God, as it was hers ? 
 The sacrifice they were making might be less ; 
 but was not the motive prompting to this sacri 
 fice the very same ? 
 
 Long before this, Hermon Wyatt had heard 
 for the second time how Milly had been tempted 
 and how bravely she resisted. He did not, 
 however, tell her in return for her confidence 
 that he had known it all before. The time for 
 this confession had not yet come. He smiled 
 his approval as she congratulated herself upon 
 her present good fortune, and wisely kept his 
 secret. 
 
 His business did not trouble her. She never 
 gave it a serious thought. It was sufficient for 
 her that her wants were all supplied, and she was 
 the petted wife of a prosperous man. She looked 
 forward to housekeeping, yet was quite willing 
 to postpone its responsibilities. She had ample
 
 2j 2 All for Money. 
 
 time for the cultivation of her musical tastes, and 
 enjoyed with ever new delight the praises of 
 those who listened to her brilliant playing. 
 
 Her husband told her of his niece, whose father 
 and brothers had worked to earn the price of a 
 piano ; and from time to time Mrs. Wyatt sent 
 this young lady rolls of music she had herself 
 learned. Letters came in reply, expressing so 
 much of gratitude and pleasure, that the writer 
 came to be considered a friend ; and at length a 
 regular correspondence was commenced between 
 these two. Then photographs were exchanged, 
 and the face of each became familiar to the 
 other. 
 
 " Isn't she handsome ?" exclaimed Milly to 
 her husband. " She is just as handsome as she can 
 be," was added in girlish fashion before he could 
 reply. " When we go to housekeeping we must 
 have her spend the winter with us. She says 
 she can cook, and do every other kind of house 
 work. What a paragon she must be, Hermon. 
 And there are so many others in the family, they 
 will hardly miss one." 
 " Don't count upon that. If you had heard
 
 The Wanderer s Return. 27 j 
 
 her father talk of her, you would know that no 
 other child can ever take her place with him." 
 
 " Of course not, but we must have her here. J 
 love her already. I should, any way, she looks 
 so much like you. And my husband is the very 
 handsomest man." 
 
 " To you, my flatterer. You can tell Niece 
 Nelly that she may consider herself engaged to 
 spend the winter with us, and we will do our 
 best to make the time pass pleasantly." 
 
 Mr. Wyatt would be glad to see his niece, but 
 it must be confessed that he had some fears in 
 regard to her. He had not forgotten her mis 
 sion for the suppression of liquor-selling, and he 
 knew she was not one to change her sentiments 
 without good reason for so doing. She was de 
 cided, independent, and self-reliant. 
 
 So much could be learned from her letters. It 
 was, also, easy to see that she was accustomed 
 to make the most and best of all which came to 
 her ; and once having decided that an object v/as 
 worthy of accomplishment, she gave herself to it 
 with all the enthusiasm which characterized her. 
 
 She might be too pronounced in her mariners
 
 All for Money. 
 
 for fashionable society ; but it was impossible 
 that she should be otherwise than brilliant and 
 attractive. She might have positive opinions, 
 quite opposed to the careless crowd ; but it was 
 sure that she could maintain these opinions with 
 out giving offence. 
 
 Her interest in this relative made Milly forget 
 something of her grief and chagrin at her mother's 
 misfortune. Cousin Naomi, too, had assumed the 
 burden she could not herself bear ; and now that 
 she believed the worst was over, she put aside, so 
 far as possible, all anxious thoughts. 
 
 While her mother remained at Mr. Harvey's, 
 she knew nothing of the uncle v/hose acquaint 
 ance she had yet to make ; but when in the early 
 summer a new home was prepared, to which 
 Russell Parsons welcomed his sister and cousin ; 
 a long letter was written to Mrs. Wyatt, contain 
 ing an outline of his history with an urgent invi 
 tation to visit him. 
 
 Her astonishment was unbounded, and waiting 
 only to consult her husband, she prepared for the 
 journey. What to expect at its termination she 
 knew not ; but what she found was a spacious
 
 The Wanderer s Return. 275 
 
 house, furnished with all needed comforts and 
 elegance, and three people who seemed admi 
 rably suited to dwell together. 
 
 " Why, my dear mamma, what a surprise this 
 is," she exclaimed. 
 
 " I knew it would be," was the reply. " It is a 
 surprise to me every hour. Your uncle, too, is so 
 good ; so much better than I am. You must 
 love him, Milly." 
 
 " I know I shall do that, mamma. What a 
 pleasant face he has, and what a sweet voice. Is 
 he rich ?" 
 
 " I don't know. He says he has enough to sup 
 port us all comfortably, but there is no need of 
 my being dependent upon him. I have something 
 left." 
 
 " A great deal left, mamma. You have this 
 dear, good brother, and cousin Naomi, and me, 
 if you will count me as one of your posses 
 sions." 
 
 " I will count you, my child. I do count you, 
 and I'm thankful you didn't yield to me when I 
 insisted upon your marrying Mr. Esterbrook. I 
 was thinking of his money, and I didn't know he
 
 276 All for Money. 
 
 was so bad. Will you forgive me for the trouble 
 I made you ?" 
 
 " Forgive you, mamma ! Of course I will. I 
 have nothing to forgive either, if you will only 
 love me a little. I knew all the time you were 
 blinded by that old man's wealth, the same as 
 other people were. It's all over now, and we'll 
 never think of it again. But, mamma, why didn't 
 I know about Uncle Russell ? You never told 
 me you had a brother." 
 
 " I know I never did. I had almost forgotten 
 it myself, and besides, he was no credit to us. 
 I think father and mother were glad when they 
 lost all trace of him." 
 
 " Was he a drunkard ?" 
 
 " Not so bad as that while he was at home, but 
 he must have grown worse afterwards. Now he 
 wont taste a drop of wine, or have it in the 
 house. I miss it, and it seems as though I couldn't 
 get through one day after another without it. 
 But he and Naomi are agreed, and I am obliged 
 to submit to them." This last was said in the 
 complaining, querulous tone to which the daugh 
 ter was so well accustomed ; and presently came
 
 The Wanderers Return. 277 
 
 the question : "Didn't you bring some wine, 
 Milly ?" 
 
 " Why no, mamma, I shouldn't think of such a 
 thing-. Hermon don't like to have me taste of it, 
 and he never brings any to our rooms." 
 
 "But he sells it to everybody that will buy, 
 and somebody drinks it." 
 
 " I suppose so, mamma, though I never think 
 about it. He manages his own business, and I 
 never think of interfering. He would be aston 
 ished if I should. He wants me to enjoy myself, 
 while he makes money for me to spend. That's 
 the way it is. I don't care for wine and cham 
 pagne, so it's no self-denial for me to give them 
 up." 
 
 Mrs. Legrew sighed, and said no more in regard 
 to the stimulants she so much craved. But Milly 
 did not forget it. 
 
 "Mamma needs some cordial," she said later, 
 when talking with Cousin Naomi. 
 
 "You mean wine, and such things," was the reply. 
 
 " Yes, and I don't understand why she is not 
 to have them, if she chooses. I don't know what 
 right uncle has to dictate what she shall drink.
 
 2j8 All for Money. 
 
 She is capable of judging for herself. If she needs 
 medicine, she ought to have it, of course." 
 
 " Of course she had, Milly. But your uncle 
 knows more about such medicine than you or I 
 do. He hates it. He thinks it is a sin to make it, 
 or sell it, or drink it. I suppose you don't, and 
 I'm only beginning to think about it at all. But I 
 know that your mother is better off without her 
 cordials than she was with them. She was 
 discouraged and unhappy, and glad to take any 
 thing that would make her forget her troubles, 
 even for a little while. I found that out as soon 
 as I went to your Uncle Harvey's." 
 " What do you mean, Cousin Naomi ?" 
 " I mean that she drank more wine than she 
 ought to, and I know now that the habit has 
 been growing upon her for a long time. I didn't 
 think of it, but your Uncle Russell has opened my 
 eyes to see some things I never saw before. 
 Your mother'll be well taken care of; better 
 than she could be anywhere else ; and it seems 
 to me a blessed providence that sent your uncle 
 back just now. This is a pleasant place. Don't 
 it seem like home ?"
 
 The Wanderer s Return. 
 
 " Mamma's rooms look home-like, with her 
 furniture, and everything seems cozy and com 
 fortable, as Hester Downing used to say. You 
 remember her ?" 
 
 " Yes, indeed. She was the most sensible of 
 all your friends. I've wondered a good many 
 times how she prospered." 
 
 " So have I. I mean to write to her and find 
 out. What a brave girl she was, and how ashamed 
 I used to feel of myself, sometimes, when I went 
 to see her. I don't think my life is worth much 
 to the world, Cousin Naomi." 
 
 " It's worth a good deal to some people in the 
 world, and if there's anything of much account in 
 you, you may be sure there'll be something to 
 draw it out. You don't know what's before you. 
 It wont be likely to be all smooth sailing. It's 
 shallow water, where the waves never run high." 
 
 " Don't prophesy evil, Cousin Naomi. I'm so 
 happy. Only when I think of mamma, I am 
 afraid it can't always last. But I can endure any 
 thing if I can only keep my husband." 
 
 " Could you bear poverty with him ?" 
 
 " Yes, I know I could," was the quick reply,
 
 280 All for Money. 
 
 " I could bear anything, so long as I was sure of 
 him. I don't think I deserve to be so happy as 
 he makes me. You don't know how good he is." 
 
 Here the conversation ceased, but enough had 
 been said to lead Mrs. Wyatt's thoughts in an 
 unwonted direction. 
 
 Her uncle was a mystery to her. He talked 
 upon subjects of general interest, while she was 
 curious to know of his own life. He said nothing 
 of his wealth ; but he must have well invested 
 property, else he could not live as he did. He 
 had seen much of the world. He knew the 
 emptiness of mere show and pretence, and de 
 spised the sham which passes current among so 
 many as real and substantial good. 
 
 He studied the character of his niece, and 
 seeing much of which she had not herself 
 dreamed, hoped better things of her than she had 
 yet achieved. Her husband's business he de 
 spised ; but he knew how strong were the in 
 ducements to engage in it, when money was 
 the one object to be attained. He would nofr 
 condemn the man without a hearing.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A REVELATION. 
 
 S Mrs. Legrew continued an invalid, 
 Cousin Naomi occupied the position of 
 both mistress and housekeeper ; and it 
 was wonderful to see how the more genial quali 
 ties of her nature developed. She seemed to have 
 lost the asperity and sharpness of manner which 
 had sometimes concealed the real kindness of her 
 heart. Mr. Parsons treated her with the utmost 
 respect, and seconded every plan for his sister's 
 comfort. 
 
 Here Milly was made to feel the influence of 
 different principles from those with which she had 
 been familiar. Her uncle was a religious man, 
 and she had never before been domesticated in a 
 family in which God was truly honored. She 
 felt something l ; ke awe as she listened to the
 
 2$ 2 All for Money. 
 
 morning and evening devotions ; and at first de 
 clined to join in the singing which was a part of 
 each evening's worship. 
 
 "Where did you learn those old hymns?" she 
 one day asked her uncle. 
 
 " In a mission chapel," he replied. " I ought 
 to have learned them when I was a boy, but I 
 was differently employed then. I have carried 
 my hymn book with me ever since it was given 
 to me by a good lady, and when Cousin Naomi 
 came here I found she had one like it." 
 
 " I never saw her have one when she lived with 
 us." 
 
 " I presume not. You had plenty of other 
 songs, but nothing can ever take the place of 
 these dear, old hymns with me. They express 
 just my feelings, and I must sing something. I 
 used to play the piano a little, but I was out of 
 practice a good many years, and I don't take it 
 up again easily. I have tried some of these tunes, 
 but I can't satisfy myself with them." 
 
 " I will play them for you, uncle," said Milly. 
 " I ought to have done it before."
 
 A Revelation. 283 
 
 " Thank you. I shall be very glad to have you, 
 and perhaps you will sing them too." 
 
 " Certainly I will." 
 
 Naomi Dodge paused in her work to listen to 
 the two voices with their harmonious accompani 
 ment ; and smiled as she thought of all the hap 
 piness to be garnered in this house. Leander 
 Harvey and his wife were expected, and she was 
 busy in making preparations for their reception, 
 that nothing might be wanting to enhance the 
 pleasure of their visit. 
 
 In his own home the gentleman had carefully 
 refrained from tempting his brother-in-law to 
 the use of intoxicating liquor ; feeling himself the 
 superior, from the fact that he could indulge in a 
 glass of wine or brandy without danger of drink 
 ing to excess. He had wondered at the ready 
 confidence of Mrs. Legrew and her cousin ; and 
 objected strongly to their trusting themselves 
 with the stranger, relative though he was. Since 
 then his feelings had been somewhat modified, 
 although he was not yet prepared to vouch for 
 the man who brought no vouchers for the truth 
 of statements which might well be doubted. He
 
 2$ 4. All for Money. 
 
 was now glad to accept the invitation which 
 would give him a better opportunity to judge 
 what manner of man Russell Parsons might be. 
 
 " I waited to see you. Mamma thought I 
 must, and I am learning to be very obedient, "said 
 Milly to her Uncle Harvey, soon after his ar 
 rival. 
 
 " I am glad if you are learning the lesson, even 
 at this late day," was replied. " You have been 
 a spoiled child all your life. I am afraid your 
 husband has never insisted upon his right to your 
 obedience, as I warned him he ought to do." 
 
 " What an idea !" exclaimed the young wife, 
 laughing merrily. " He wouldn't think of such a 
 thing. He spoils me more than any one else 
 ever did. I wish he was here to answer for 
 himself. Uncle Russell hasn't seen him yet, and 
 I am anxious they should meet. How strange 
 that I never knew I had such an uncle. I am so 
 glad he has come back. He is very kind to 
 mamma. She is happier with him than she could 
 be with any one else." 
 
 " But her health doesn't seem to be improv- 
 ing."
 
 A Revelation. 
 
 " No, sir. The doctor says we can't expect 
 that ; though she may live for years. Poor ma 
 ma ! She was never very strong. I hope she 
 will be able to spend the evening with us." 
 
 " I hope she will. I suppose we shall have 
 some music from the grand piano." 
 
 " Yes, sir, and from Uncle Russell too. He 
 has a remarkably fine voice, and he loves music 
 as well as I do. Mamma sings a little sometimes, 
 and then we have quite a concert. I wish Her- 
 mon was here to enjoy it, but he thinks he can't 
 leave his business. I tell him I hope he will 
 make his fortune before he is an old man, so that 
 we can enjoy some leisure together." 
 
 " He is in a fair way to make his fortune, and 
 take good care of his little wife at the same time. 
 Your husband is doing splendidly." 
 
 " There that's my word, uncle. I think Her- 
 mon is a splendid man, anyway. You'll begin to 
 laugh at me if I stay much longer, and I must 
 look after Aunt Sarah. She hurried away to 
 mamma's room so quick, I have hardly seen her. 
 Uncle Russell is waiting for an opportunity to 
 talk with you. He is coming this way."
 
 286 All for Money. 
 
 Mr. Parsons had not been unmindful of his 
 guests, but it was necessary that he should give 
 some instructions to a workman, and he had 
 depended upon his niece to entertain Mr. Harvey. 
 He entered the room as Milly left, and addressed 
 some remark to his brother-in-law, who responded 
 courteously, adding," You have a fine place here." 
 
 "I think it is," the host replied. " I consider 
 myself fortunate in having found it for sale. I 
 should enjoy it more if I had built it up year by 
 year, but at my time of life it didn't seem best to 
 begin at the foundation stone. This suits me 
 very well as it is. It commands a fine prospect, 
 and we have agreeable neighbors." 
 
 " This is the finest house in the neighborhood," 
 
 " Yes, sir, much the finest. The former owner 
 was ambitious to outshine his town's people, but 
 he neglected to sit down and count the cost 
 before beginning to build." 
 
 "That is the way with many men," remarked 
 Mr. Harvey. 
 
 " And women too," said his companion. 
 "They desire a certain good, and resolve to 
 obtain it at any cost. Contentment with godli-
 
 A Revelation. 287 
 
 ness are what the world most needs. Having 
 these, and one friend who can be implicitly 
 trusted, a man may count himself rich beyond 
 the possibility of becoming poor. That is my 
 belief. Perhaps you think differently." 
 
 " Well, I don't know about that. Content 
 ment is a desirable quality ; and when I was a 
 boy, my mother taught me that godliness was 
 profitable unto all things. Since then the world 
 has taught me otherwise, but I have no doubt 
 that my good old mother was right." 
 
 " Your experience Differs from mine. The world 
 has taught me what your mother taught j>0#, and 
 I pray God I may never forget the lesson." 
 
 " But you have acquired more substantial 
 riches, Brother Parsons." 
 
 " Not more substantial. More tangible, per 
 haps, while they are mine, but never half so real. 
 Of all a man dares call his own, material wealth 
 is the most unsatisfying and fleeting." 
 
 " And yet you have labored to acquire it." 
 
 " That is true, but my heart was never set upon 
 it as a chief good. I have been diligent in busi 
 ness, while I trust I feared the Lord. I never
 
 288 All for Money. 
 
 engaged in any avocation on which I could not 
 ask God's blessing, and I gave to others of my 
 abundance. I had a strong motive urging me to 
 diligence. I looked forward to coming home, 
 and I wished to come so that my relatives would 
 be willing to receive me. I remembered that 
 money was a passport to their favor. I could 
 live very humbly, and yet be happy. The hap 
 piest year of my life, I lived in one room and was 
 my own housekeeper." 
 
 " You must have a faculty for making yourself 
 comfortable which few people possess." 
 
 " Comfort goes by contrast, and I was thank 
 ful for any place where I had a right to be. That 
 one room was more to me than this whole house 
 is now. It was there I began a new life : and 
 putting the past behind me so far as I could, 
 reached forward to the future. It was a small 
 beginning, but the Lord blessed me." 
 
 With some people, this constant reference to 
 God would have seemed to Mr. Harvey mere 
 hypocritical cant ; yet here there was no mistak 
 ing the reverent sincerity of the speaker. 
 
 "I think I can understand your feelings to a
 
 A Revelation-, 289 
 
 certain extent, Brother Parsons. The first thou 
 sand dollars I managed to save was more to me 
 than fifty thousand would be now. One reason 
 of this, it was the promise of more to come, as 
 your one room was the promise of an elegant 
 mansion." 
 
 " Hardly like that," said the host, in reply to 
 his guest, who had not come nigh to the deep ex 
 perience which gave significance to this small 
 beginning. "You can have little idea of what 
 it promised to me. When I had paid the rent of 
 my room for a month, and bought a few articles 
 of second-hand furniture, I had but ten cents left 
 in my pocket, and I didn't know where I could 
 get an hour's work, except in the saloon where I 
 had been employed the last six months ; and I 
 would have starved rather than go there. I 
 speak advisedly, too, for I know what it is to 
 suffer the pains of hunger." 
 
 " You have had a chequered life," was remarked. 
 
 " Truly I have, and my last days will prove 
 my best days. I have that within me which no 
 man can take from me." 
 
 " I am very glad you are so prosperous,"
 
 290 All for Money. 
 
 replied Mr. Harvey. " I am very glad, too, that 
 Sister Millicent can be with you. She has been 
 unfortunate, and her old home seems to have lost 
 all attractions for her. The gentleman now oc 
 cupying her house has offered to purchase it, 
 with the furniture, if she wishes to sell. I received 
 a letter from him yesterday in regard to it, and I 
 presume she will do as you advise her." 
 
 " I am not sure that I know how to advise her. 
 She is not much accustomed to business herself. 
 I should trust Cousin Naomi's judgment, and I 
 think Millicent would. It will make but little 
 difference with her. While she lives I shall have 
 a care for her, and she will probably never have 
 sufficient health to engage in fashionable gayeties 
 as she has done." 
 
 " I had hoped she would be better." 
 
 " She is better than when she came here, and 
 since Milly came she is more cheerful than I have 
 seen her before since my return." 
 
 " Milly always carries sunshine with her where- 
 ever she goes. She seems like a daughter to me. 
 Perhaps you know she was with us most of the 
 time for a year and a half before she was married."
 
 A Revelation. 291 
 
 "Cousin Naomi told me." 
 
 " And did she tell you the cause of the es 
 trangement between Milly and her mother?" 
 
 " She did, and it seems to me Millicent must 
 have been insane to desire Dan Esterbrook as a 
 son-in-law. If she had known as much of him 
 as I did thirty years ago, she would have felt his 
 very presence to be an insult." 
 
 " Then you knew the villain." 
 
 " I did, and I have reason to remember him. 
 There are some wrongs for him to right before he 
 dies. A worse criminal than he never cheated 
 the gallows of its due. It is more than twenty- 
 five years since I saw him, but I should recognize 
 his ugly face anywhere. There can't be another 
 like it in the wide world." 
 
 " He is immensely rich." 
 
 " I should expect he would be. A man as 
 unscrupulous as he, with just the amount of 
 shrewdness and low cunning that he possesses, 
 is sure to be rich, if he can once succeed in laying 
 the foundation of a fortune. If he can manage to 
 get together a few thousand dollars, he will find 
 plenty of opportunities for increasing the sum.
 
 292 All for Money. 
 
 It makes no difference how he does it. His 
 conscience is never in the way." 
 
 " If Dan Esterbrook ever had a conscience, it 
 was burned to death years ago." 
 
 " Not burned to death, but seared, Brother 
 Harvey. So sure as God reigns, it will yet assert 
 itself. I hear that the villain has maintained a 
 position in society." 
 
 " His money purchased all the position he has 
 ever had. Money will do almost anything in this 
 country." 
 
 " The more shame to us that it will. The 
 inordinate greed of gain for \vhich our nation is 
 proverbial, is one of our greatest misfortunes. 
 The love of money, and the love of strong drink, 
 will degrade and demoralize the finest nature." 
 
 " But you would not choose poverty." 
 
 " No, Brother Harvey ; I would not. I like to 
 have beautiful things about me, such as I couldn't 
 have without money to buy them ; and I want to 
 help others more than I could if I was a poor 
 man. But for all that, my happiness does not 
 depend upon riches." 
 
 " Cousin Naomi will agree with you. She is a
 
 A Revelation. 
 
 good calculator, and she has quite a little for 
 tune ; but she always insists that if people look 
 upon life as they should, they can be comfortable 
 with very little money." 
 
 " She is right. But when children are brought 
 up to think that only the wealthy are worthy of 
 respect, you must expect them to have false 
 ideas of life. If I had offered Millicent a home 
 in a cottage, she would have thought herself 
 abused; and I presume my niece would think it im 
 possible for her to live in a close, economical way.'' 
 
 " / should think it impossible for her to do it. 
 1 should never allow it. Fortunately, there is no 
 danger of such a calamity. Hermon Wyatt is 
 well established in a lucrative business." 
 
 Mr. Parsons made no answer to this last 
 remark. His cousin called to him, and he has 
 tened to join her. 
 
 " What I feared, has happened," she said in a 
 low tone. " Millicent has been drinking wine, or 
 brandy, and is insensible. Milly thinks her 
 mother is very sick ; but it is the same old story. 
 Sarah must have brought the liquor, and there is 
 more somewhere."
 
 All for Money. 
 
 " I will see that no more is drank. Please tell 
 Sarah that I wish to see her in the library 
 alone." 
 
 The lady came as requested, looking a little 
 anxious, and by no means at ease in the presence 
 of her brother. 
 
 " Millicent is prostrated again," he remarked. 
 
 " Yes, she is. I thought she was stronger." 
 
 " You brought her a case of liquors." 
 
 " I brought nothing but what she wished me to 
 bring." 
 
 " I suppose not. But her wishes were not to be 
 regarded in this matter. You should have con 
 sulted Cousin Naomi before giving her any 
 stimulant. You have done us all an injury." 
 
 "I shall not consult other people to know what 
 I may do for my own sister," responded Mrs. 
 Harvey haughtily. 
 
 " She is my sister as well as yours, Sarah, and 
 she is in my house. There has been one drunkard 
 in our family. It is not desirable that there 
 should be another." 
 
 " Russell Parsons, you forget yourself," ex 
 claimed his sister.
 
 A Revelation. 
 
 " Never," he replied emphatically. " I never 
 forget myself. I have too good reason to re 
 member. I am sorry to seem severe, or do 
 anything which seems inhospitable. It will be a 
 grief to me to have you feel unkindly towards me, 
 but there must not be a drop of intoxicating 
 liquor in this house another hour. Can you tell 
 me where to look for what you brought ?" 
 
 " Millicent took it," answered the woman, 
 whose face had alternately flushed and paled 
 while her brother was speaking. 
 
 " Is it in her room ?" 
 
 "I think so." 
 
 " And she is intoxicated." 
 
 " I think she drank more than she intended." 
 
 " Then you know that she craves it. You 
 knew that when your brought it." 
 
 " I didn't know what I know now, Brother 
 Russell. But you must be mistaken," added the 
 sister quickly ; thus seeking to retract the con 
 fession implied in her last words. 
 
 " I am not mistaken," was the reply. " Cousin 
 Naomi cannot be mistaken. Millicent was in 
 toxicated more than once during the week I
 
 2g6 All for Money. 
 
 spent in your home. I know it sounds harsh to 
 say that, but it is true, Sarah ; and I have no 
 doubt from appearances that the habit has been 
 indulged in for years. It has helped to under 
 mine her health, and render her irritable and 
 dissatisfied." 
 
 " I never thought of such a thing, and now I 
 hardly believe it," said Mrs. Harvey. " Cousin 
 Naomi is reliable authority in most matters, but 
 she is fanatical in this." 
 
 " You are mistaken, sister. She has thought 
 very little about it. She is beginning to look at 
 the drinking habits of the community in their 
 true light, I trust. I have talked with her, and as 
 I speak from experience, I can speak with autho 
 rity. Millicent cannot probably live many years, 
 but she must not die a drunkard." 
 
 " How can you speak so ! As if it were possi 
 ble for her to sink so low !" 
 
 " Many a woman has done it. Many a one as 
 fair and delicate as she has gone down to a 
 drunkard's grave. Drunkenness is not confined to 
 the men of our land. Would God it was ! Then 
 might we hope soon to banish it."
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. 
 
 ILLY WYATT went to her mother's 
 room, and seeing at a glance the pros 
 tration which had so often alarmed her, 
 she hastened to Cousin Naomi. 
 
 " Why, mamma is just as she used to be some 
 times at Uncle Harvey's," she said, in an excited 
 tone. 
 
 " And as she used to be in her own home, too ?" 
 was responded questioningly. 
 
 " Yes, only I never saw her when I couldn't 
 rouse her before. Aunt Sarah says she is asleep, 
 but I am afraid " 
 
 Milly did not complete the sentence, but turn 
 ing abruptly, sought the retirement of her 
 chamber. Until that moment she had forgotten 
 the suspicions induced by what had before been
 
 298 All for Money. 
 
 said to her in regard to the use of wine. All her 
 life, she had been accustomed to see intoxicating 
 liquors used moderately, without a thought that 
 that there could be danger or wrong in so doing. 
 Now she would not rest until she knew the whole 
 truth. 
 
 Composing herself as best she could, she went 
 in search of some one who would tell her frankly 
 what she wished to know. Her aunt was with 
 her uncle in the library. Cousin Naomi was with 
 her mother, and she watched for an opportunity 
 to ask the question which trembled upon her lips. 
 At length this opportunity offered. 
 
 " Is mamma sick, or is she under the influence of 
 wine ?" The woman to whom she thus appealed 
 hesitated to answer ; when she exclaimed impa 
 tiently, " You must tell me. I have a right to 
 know. I am not a child to be deceived." 
 
 " No, Milly, you are a woman. But you know 
 less than a child of some things. If your aunt 
 hadn't given your mother wine, she would be able 
 to spend the evening with you. As it is, she 
 cannot. Now don't ask me another question. If 
 you do, I sha'n't answer. When we have time
 
 An Unexpected Meeting. 299 
 
 we'll talk it all over, but there's no time for it 
 now. Not another word. Go to your Uncle 
 Harvey and entertain him. We can't have his 
 visit spoiled. Will you attend to him ?" 
 
 " Yes, I will. But poor mamma ! How sad it 
 is ! And I can hardly believe it, after all." 
 
 Mrs. Harvey came out from the interview with 
 her brother looking pale and weary. She had 
 been obliged to lay aside the haughty conven 
 tionalism with which she ordinarily repelled all 
 unwelcome subjects, and respond unequivocally 
 to plain statements and inquiries. She fulfilled 
 her promise. The case of liquors was placed in 
 Mr. Parsons' hands and nothing more was seen 
 of it. 
 
 This unpleasant episode terminated, the host 
 exerted himself for the entertainment of his 
 guests. With music and intelligent conversation 
 the evening passed pleasantly ; marked, for 
 those who witnessed them for the first time, by 
 the devotions which were as fitting as they were 
 impressive. 
 
 Nothing was said of the absent one. If Mr. 
 Harvey suspected the cause of this absence, he
 
 All for Money. 
 
 was far too wise to betray the fact. When all 
 others had left the parlor, Mrs. Wyatt sat down 
 by a window, through which the moonlight was 
 streaming, and looked out upon the beautiful 
 landscape. It was like her life fair, peaceful, 
 and harmonious. The mountains, steep and rug 
 ged, were far in the distance. Would her feet 
 ever climb them ? Would she ever stand upon 
 their summits and view the prospect beyond ? 
 Now, and she started from the low ottoman 
 on which she was sitting, as some one ap 
 proached. 
 
 " Uncle Russell, I owe you an apology for 
 being here," she said in some confusion. " The 
 moonlight tempted me, and I forgot that I ought 
 to be in my own room." 
 
 " There is no reason why you should apologize 
 to me," was his reply. " I wish you to consider 
 yourself so much at home that you will stay in 
 whatever part of the house you please. I knew 
 you were here, and I came to talk with you. Will 
 you tell me of what you were thinking ?" 
 
 " I was thinking of mamma and her strange 
 illness."
 
 An Unexpected Meeting. joi 
 
 " I supposed you might be. You have seen 
 her in the same condition before."' 
 
 " Yes, sir ; several times." 
 
 " And you thought it an illness produced by 
 disease." 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " And do you know now ?" 
 
 " I am afraid. Please, Uncle Russell, wijl you 
 tell me the truth ? Was it the wine which made 
 her as she was ?" 
 
 " Yes, my dear, it was. I am sorry to say it, 
 but it is best that you should know. You thought 
 me unkind because I forbade her the use of stim 
 ulants." 
 
 " Yes, Uncle Russell, I did. I thought mam 
 ma knew best about it. But I see now that you 
 were right, and I beg of you never to let her 
 have another drop. Anything but that." 
 
 " She shall never have it if it is in my power 
 to prevent it. But you see that abstinence from 
 it makes her restless and unhappy. That may 
 seem a little thing to you. You don't know how 
 to pity her. But I do. The torment of the thirst 
 for intoxicating drink is something terrible. No
 
 All for Money. 
 
 words can describe it. It is so unnecessary, too, 
 that the suffering is aggravated by an accusing 
 conscience. Don't indulge in the habit of drink 
 ing wine, I beg of you." 
 
 " I never do, Uncle Russell," sobbed out his 
 niece. " My husband would be troubled if I did, 
 and I never cared for it. But poor mamma ! I 
 am so sorry. I think sometimes I ought to take 
 her to live with me. I am the one to take care 
 of her." 
 
 " In doing that you would deprive me of a 
 great pleasure. I consider her my especial 
 charge. My home would be no home without 
 her and Cousin Naomi. I have drifted about the 
 world so long that I am thankful for anchorage. 
 You know very little of this uncle of yours, Milly." 
 
 " Very little/' she replied, adding directly : 
 " I wish I knew more." 
 
 " My story is too sad for you to hear. But I 
 Iwill tell you what wrought my ruin. False ideas 
 of what constitutes respectability and happiness, 
 and a love for strong drink. The first I acquired 
 when I was but a child, the second before I had 
 reached manhood."
 
 An Unexpected Meeting. joj 
 
 " Perhaps I have false ideas of respectability 
 and happiness, Uncle Russell." 
 
 V It wouldn't be strange if you have, and you 
 could hardly be blamed for them either." 
 
 The clock struck twelve before Mrs. Wyatt 
 went to her chamber, and and even then she 
 had no inclination to sleep. The morning, how 
 ever, found her ready to do her part towards dis 
 pelling the restraint which seemed to rest upon 
 the household. Her mother did not appear at 
 breakfast, and Cousin Naomi told Tier privately 
 it would be best to defer her usual visit until 
 later in the day. 
 
 She was standing upon the piazza, from which 
 could be seen an extended view of the surround 
 ing country, when she was joined by her Uncle 
 Harvey. Here they conversed upon indifferent 
 subjects, until a ray of sunlight illumined a dis 
 tant scene they had not before observed. 
 | " What a lovely spot !" exclaimed the lady 
 admiringly. 
 
 " Where is it ?" asked Mr. Parsons, appearing 
 at that moment. 
 
 " I was looking at the white house surrounded
 
 All for Money. 
 
 with trees on the hill side," she replied, pointing 
 to the spot thus described. 
 
 " That is the finest situation in town, take it 
 for alV in all ; and the home of a most interesting 
 family. A woman owns the farm." 
 
 "And does she manage it herself?" 
 
 " Principally. She has a nephew living with 
 her, but he has only been there a little more 
 than two years, and he is something of an invalid 
 besides. He has a wife and daughter, so there 
 is quite a family in all. I am not certain, 
 Brother Harvey, but you would drive over there 
 for a glimpse of Lizzie Dummer's face, if you 
 have an eye for beauty." 
 
 " I always had an eye for beauty in a woman's 
 face," was the laughing reply. 
 
 " Lizzie is a young girl about seventeen years 
 of age, and the charm of her beauty is that she 
 seems unconscious of it. Cousin Naomi has taken 
 a great fancy to her and her aunt, who has 
 enough of energy to make her a kindred spirit 
 to our energetic cousin." 
 
 "We must see these paragons, Milly," said 
 Mr. Harvey. "Why can't we drive over there
 
 An Unexpected Meeting. 305 
 
 by ourselves, and make some errand, so that we 
 shall be admitted to the house ? We might stop 
 and ask for a glass of milk." 
 
 " Better ask for strawberries. They have great 
 quantities, which they give to their friends, or 
 sell to strangers." 
 
 " Then we can buy some, Uncle Harvey. Do 
 let us go." 
 
 "I should like nothing better if there is a 
 horse at our disposal." 
 
 " One horse, or two, and the choke of car 
 riages," replied their host. " I can give you 
 directions so you will be in no danger of missing 
 the way, and we who remain at home will help 
 you dispose of your strawberries when you 
 return." 
 
 The morning was delightful. Each leaf and 
 blade of glass was gemmed with drops of dew ; 
 while the song of birds filled all the air, waking an 
 echo in the hearts of those who listened. 
 
 " How glad and happy every living creature 
 seems," said Milly. 
 
 " And you, I hope, are happiest of all," re 
 sponded her companion.
 
 jo6 All for Motiey. 
 
 "I have enjoyed the drive. I left behind me 
 everything unpleasant." 
 
 " That is what you should do. Never allow 
 yourself to be anxious or troubled. Let some 
 one else do the hard thinking, and the hard 
 work, while you enjoy the fruits of their la 
 bors." 
 
 " I am not certain I ought to do that, uncle. 
 I am afraid I have done it too long already." 
 
 " Never fear, child. I will answer for you. 
 Don't get lines of care in your face. If you do I 
 shall be disheartened. Your husband is both 
 able and willing to make a smooth path for your 
 feet, and there is some one to care for your 
 mother better than you could." 
 
 " I know it. How kind Uncle Russell is, and 
 what a dear, good man he is. It don't seem pos 
 sible he could ever have been bad." 
 
 " He doesn't appear like it, and it is best to 
 forget the past for him, as it is for many others. 
 Few people in the world but have sometimes 
 done what they are sorry for." 
 
 "There is not one, uncle. The best are not 
 perfect. But some are a great deal worse than
 
 An- Unexpected Meeting. 307 
 
 others ; though Uncle Russell says it's not always 
 those we call the worst who are really so." 
 
 " I presume he is right. But we are moralizing, 
 and that is out of order such a morning as this. 
 We must begin to think of our business. The 
 next house is where we are to stop, and if you 
 wish to negotiate you can do so." 
 
 " I should like to ;" and presently Mrs. Wyatt 
 waited at an open door for a response to the 
 clang of the heavy brass knocker. 
 
 A young girl stepped lightly through the long 
 hall ; smiling as she came, and uttering the 
 customary greeting in a low, musical voice. The 
 visitor was in danger of'forgetting the purpose of 
 her call, The half had not been told her in re 
 gard to Lizzie Dummer. She had intended to 
 ask for strawberries in a business-like way, as she 
 would have bargained for them at a market stall, 
 but she could not do this. 
 
 'My uncle, Mr. Parsons, told me it was a 
 delightful drive from his house here, and when I 
 had come so far, I wished to stop." 
 
 " We are always happy to see Mr. Parsons, or 
 his friends," was the courteous reply. " Please to
 
 All for Money. 
 
 come in, and I will call Aunt Lucy. We have 
 all been in the garden this morning." 
 
 " Please, will you let me go there with you ? 
 We were to get some strawberries, if you have 
 them for us." 
 
 " Certainly we have. Aunt Lucy wouldn't 
 refuse them to any one from Mr. Parsons." 
 
 Fine lady manners were out of place here, and 
 it would have required a more artificial character 
 than Mrs. Wyatt's to attempt them. She fol 
 lowed her guide through the house into the gar 
 den ; which was not a small patch of ground, 
 with here and there a few vegetables and strag 
 gling vines, but a garden in very deed. Here 
 everything was grown at its best, while the sup 
 ply of smalt fruits seemed almost inexhaustible. 
 
 'This is Mr. Parson's niece, Aunt Lucy," said 
 Lizzie, as they came near to the owner of this 
 garden. 
 
 " Mr. Parson's niece, I am very glad to see 
 you," was the hearty and amusing welcome given 
 in response. " I am Miss Lucy Dummer." 
 
 " And I am Mrs. Milly Wyatt. I drove over 
 with my uncle, Mr. Harvey, who is visiting at
 
 An Unexpected Meeting. 309 
 
 Uncle R assell's. We saw your place from the 
 piazza, this morning, and it looked so lovely in 
 the sunlight, that we wished to come here. Then 
 we were wondering what excuse we could make 
 for calling, when Uncle Russell told us we might 
 ask for strawberries." 
 
 " You needn't have made any excuse, Mrs. 
 Wyatt. We are plain people, alw-ays glad to see 
 our neighbors ; and such a morning as this 
 enlarges the boundaries of a neighborhood great 
 ly. I told Lizzie it was too bad to be looking 
 down to the beds, when we ought to be looking 
 ofifto the hills. But you didn't come over alone." 
 
 " No, ma'am. My uncle, Mr. Harvey, is wait 
 ing in the carriage." 
 
 " He ought not to wait there Joseph, please 
 go and invite the gentleman to come here, and 
 then take care of his horse. He is a friend of 
 Mr. Parsons." 
 
 At this, a man whose face Mrs. Wyatt had 
 not before seen, came down the path near which 
 she was standing ; and as he passed, was intro 
 duced as " My nephew, Mr. Dumrner." A little 
 later, Mrs. Dummer was presented to the lady,
 
 jio All for Money. 
 
 and both being interested in the berries which 
 lay before them, red and luscious, they entered 
 at once into conversation. 
 
 Directly, Mr. Harvey appeared ; and then 
 there was an animated flow of words, until the 
 party seemed like old friends, rather than ac 
 quaintances of an hour. When the guests 
 departed, they carried with them baskets of 
 carefully selected fruit, for which their hostess 
 refused to be paid. 
 
 " I am indebted to Mr. Parsons, and am glad 
 to -make him some return. I shouldn't think of 
 your giving me money," she said, with a decision 
 which could not be gainsaycd. 
 
 "Auntie, do you suppose that beautiful lady's 
 husband is the Mr. Wyatt we used to know ?" 
 asked Lizzie, after they had gone. 
 
 " Yes, dear, I think he is. I heard her 
 call him Hermon, and she lives in the same 
 city." 
 
 " Then she must be ; but she can't know how 
 bad it is for him to do as he does. She looks so 
 good, she wouldn't want him to do wrong, and 
 he can't help loving hsr so well that he'd do
 
 An Unexpected Meeting. 
 
 anything to please her. Don't you think so too, 
 auntie ?" 
 
 " I don't know just what to think, but I feel 
 sure she's the wife of the man your father used 
 to work for. They're a handsome couple. I 
 should like to see them together." 
 
 "Oh! I wish he'd come here, auntie. Shouldn't 
 we be glad to see him ! It seems as though 
 father might tell him about it, till he wouldn't 
 sell any more liquor." 
 
 " I wish somebody could do it, or something 
 happen to stop him. But it wouldn't be easy to 
 do it. It's my opinion he acted against his con 
 science when he went into the business ; and he's 
 been growing harder ever since. It will take 
 the spirit of the Lord to move him, and that may 
 come in answer to prayer." 
 
 " Oh ! I hope it will, and I hope Mrs. Wyatt 
 will come here again before she goes home. I 
 heard her say she wished her husband was 
 here." 
 
 " And I asked her if she was expecting him." 
 
 " And is she, auntie ?" 
 
 " She said she had written to him to come,
 
 All for Money. 
 
 but she was afraid he'd think he couldn't leave 
 his business." 
 
 Hermon Wyatt was longing for the presence 
 of his wife, when he received her letter, and de 
 termined at once to accept the urgent invitation 
 it contained. He was curious to see the uncle, 
 so highly praised, and besides, he was by no 
 means unwilling to spend a few days -in the 
 country. 
 
 Mr. Crown was not so reliable as he had been, 
 yet it seemed probable that the man might be 
 trusted for a brief length of time. The truth was, 
 this confidential clerk began to show the effects 
 of hard drinking ; and some mistakes had oc 
 curred which his employer found it necessary to 
 rectify. Recently, however, he had promised to 
 be more on his guard, and this promise was 
 accepted as a guaranty for the future. 
 
 Every one was surprised to see Mr. Wyatt, but 
 his welcome was sufficiently cordial to repay 
 him for some sacrifice in the way of business. 
 
 " Quite a family reunion," said Mr. Harvey, 
 looking around complacently. 
 
 Next to being the possessor of wealth himself,
 
 An Unexpected Meeting. 
 
 it pleased him that his relatives and friends 
 should be prosperous ; and here there was no 
 lack of prosperity with either host or guest. 
 Ye he was somewhat troubled. He knew that 
 Mr. Parsons would not be guilty of discourtesy ; 
 but he also knew that if certain questions came 
 up for discussion there would be no compromise 
 of principle on the part of his brother-in-law. 
 
 The morning after his arrival, Milly invited her 
 husband to drive with her, and without telling 
 him that she intended to call upon any one, 
 took the road leading to Miss Dummer's farm. 
 
 " Isn't it delightful here ?" she asked, as they 
 came near to the house. 
 
 " Everything is delightful to me this morn 
 ing," he replied gallantly and truthfully. 
 
 " And to me as well as you," responded the 
 happy wife. '' We are going to stop here for a 
 chat with the nicest people, and a treat of the 
 finest strawberries you ever saw. I was here 
 with Uncle Harvey day before yesterday, and 
 Miss Dummer invited me to come again. She 
 saiJ I must come on :e and eat strawberries with 
 some of her cream. We carried them all home
 
 All for Money. 
 
 before. The whole family are out in the garden, 
 the same as they were then, and we can go there, 
 without waiting to knock." . 
 
 " Wouldn't it be better to wait ?" asked jhe 
 gentleman, to whom the name of Dummer 
 brought many unpleasant recollections. 
 
 " You can if you wish to," was Milly's laugh 
 ing reply. " I will go alone, and tell them you 
 are here " 
 
 " I was thinking of you," said Miss Dummer, as 
 she advanced to meet her visitor. "We have a 
 new variety of strawberries all ready for picking 
 this morning. You have come at the right 
 time." 
 
 " And my husband came with me." 
 
 " I am very glad of that. Joseph, Mr. Wyatt 
 drove over here with his wife." 
 
 " I will take care of his horse," the man re 
 plied, and then walked hurriedly from the gar 
 den. 
 
 " Mr. Wyatt !" 
 
 " Mr. Dummer ! Is it possible ?" 
 
 " It is possible, and I am very glad to see 
 you."
 
 An Unexpected Meeting 
 
 " I am glad to see you. But I had no idea I 
 was coming into your vicinity " 
 
 " This is Aunt Lucy's place." 
 
 " And a fine place it is." 
 
 " Yes, sir. It's been a fine place for me and 
 mine. I'm not the man I was v/hen I came 
 here." 
 
 " Your looks tell that. You have taken a new 
 lease of life." 
 
 " Yes, sir, thanks to you and Aunt Lucy, I 
 have." 
 
 "No thanks to me, Mr. Dummer. I did very 
 little for you." 
 
 " You did more for me than any one else, 
 except my aunt. You treated me like a man 
 while I worked for you, and that made me think 
 that perhaps there was some manhood left in 
 me, after all." 
 
 " You have proved that there A\ r as a good deal, 
 and I am glad to know it. You have my best 
 wishes for your future."
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 CONSISTENCY. 
 
 HERE was no visible change in Mr. 
 Wyatt's thoughts and purposes, as the 
 result of the meeting with his old em 
 ployee. After his return from the country he 
 applied himself to business with an energy which 
 provoked the criticism of those who observed 
 him. He was ready to suggest new measures 
 for the maintenance and protection of the traffic 
 in which he was engaged. 
 
 The influence to which he had been subjected, 
 and which he could not but feel, had roused in 
 his breast a spirit of opposition. His pride had 
 taken alarm, and he resolved that money should 
 place him in a position to command the silence, 
 if not the respect of those who now condemned
 
 Consistency. 317 
 
 him. He would still pursue the avocation he 
 had chosen. 
 
 The profits of his trade were enormous. His 
 ambition tended to its fulfilment. He was 
 glad, however, that Mr. Dummer had reformed, 
 and he was scrupulous to hold himself, in certain 
 particulars, strictly to the terms of his license. 
 
 One day late in the autumn a brother merchant 
 called upon him, and when they were alone to 
 gether, asked abruptly : " Does my son patron 
 ize you ?" 
 
 " I think I have seen him here a few times," 
 was the reply. 
 
 " I thought so. I know he bought liquor in 
 quantity some where, and he is fastidious about 
 where he goes. I don't know how long he will 
 be, but I hope he wont get so low as to be seen 
 in a groggery." 
 
 " I hope not. I have always considered your 
 son an honorable man." 
 
 " I used to consider him so myself, but I know 
 him better now. It's a terrible thing, Wyatt, to 
 see one of your own flesh and blood going 
 straight to perdition. My son has started, and
 
 318 All for Money. 
 
 there isn't a sot in the city who loves liquor 
 better than he does. Where he acquired such 
 an appetite is more than I can tell. But it has 
 almost ruined us both, and I refused long ago to 
 let him have a drop from my store. I've come 
 to ask you not to sell to him. He's of age, and 
 ought to be capable of managing his own affairs, 
 but he isn't, and I must look after him. I pro 
 mised his wife I would come here. She will 
 leave him unless something can be done." 
 
 " He shall never have any more liquor from 
 this store, Mr. Andross. I am glad you came 
 to me, and I wish I could help you further. 
 Your son is too much of a man to ruin himself 
 in that way." 
 
 " I know it I know it. But what can I do ?" 
 
 What could he do ? Were not other sons as 
 dear to their fathers as was his son to himself ? 
 Had he forgotten a note received from a lady 
 only a few days before, begging him tc sell no 
 more liquor to her brother ? 
 
 He lighted his cigar with this note, and smiled 
 at the folly which dreamed that such a prayer 
 might be granted. He was a hard man. He had
 
 Consistency. 
 
 accumulated a large property, but he was a 
 beggar in every noble sentiment. His one 
 vulnerable point was his love for his only son. 
 
 He could not tell how this son had acquired a 
 love for strong drink. He had been blind to 
 what was going on around him, while he was 
 profoundly ignorant of the relations of cause and 
 effect. He was considered a moderate drinker 
 himself simply because he could imbibe so much 
 without being overcome by its effects. 
 
 It cost him an effort to ask the favor Mr. 
 Wyatt had so readily granted ; and judging from 
 his own conduct under somewhat similar circum 
 stances, he doubted of his success. But he did 
 not doubt that the promise which had been 
 made would be sacredly regarded. 
 
 Not long after this the son called at the corner 
 store, and in obedience to instructions, was shown 
 into the presence of the proprietor, who said : 
 
 "Mr. Andross, for reasons valid to me, I have 
 decided to sell you no more goods." 
 
 " Why not ?" was asked angrily. 
 
 "I have no fault to find with you, but I must 
 refuse to sell to you ; and if you will allow me, I
 
 All for Money. 
 
 advise you, as a friend, to give up the use of 
 liquor." 
 
 " You're a fine man to give such advice as that. 
 About as consistent as my father, who mourns 
 over the degeneracy of his only son. Probably I 
 am indebted to him for your pious decision. You 
 aren't made of as good stuff as he is. If you 
 were, you wouldn't have lost a sixpence for the 
 sake of gratifying a heart-broken father. He 
 never interferes with other people's business, 
 unless there's a prospect of making something by 
 it. You need to take lessons of him before you 
 are fully qualified for your business. Will you 
 let me have the goods I came to purchase ?" 
 
 " No, Andross, I can't do it. If my goods 
 were of any other description I would." 
 
 " Then what do you keep such goods for !" ex 
 claimed the young man, emphasizing his question 
 with an oath. " If you are selling poison, why 
 don't you advertise yourself as a vender of poi 
 sons ? If you are in a respectable business, why 
 do you refuse custom when it is offered to you ? 
 You can keep your liquors, and my father can 
 keep his, but I'm not a boy to be held in leading
 
 Consistency, 321 
 
 strings. One place is as good as another. You'd 
 better shut up shop, and earn an honest living 
 by selling something besides fusil oil and log 
 wood. You see I know what the stuff is, as well 
 as you do, but if a man proposes to burn himself 
 up, he might as well do it in five years as 
 fifty. Consistency is a jewel I never heard of a 
 rumseller having in his possession. I would 
 suggest that you attend church constantly, and 
 take an active part in society matters. Good 
 morning, Mr. Wyatt." 
 
 This last was a severe thrust. Hermon Wyatt 
 was always in his pew on the Sabbath, and 
 always gave liberally whenever a contribution 
 was taken up. 
 
 Recently, the pastor of the church had died, 
 and a young man had been engaged to supply 
 the pulpit during the next few months. For 
 some reason this young preacher had quite cap 
 tivated his liquor-selling parishioner. No one 
 was more anxious that he should remain, and no 
 one gave him more cordial greeting whenever 
 they met. 
 
 The Sabbath following the interview I have
 
 322 All for Money. 
 
 described, the preacher announced as his text 
 the injunction of St. Paul : " Whatsoever ye do, 
 do all to the glory of God." 
 
 Then looking around upon the congregation, 
 he said : " Not one present but believes that 
 they who have publicly taken upon themselves 
 the vows of God are under obligations so to live, 
 that whatever they do shall glorify their Lord 
 and King. 
 
 " My friends, the same Lord rules over all, and 
 demands of all the same consecration. Has any 
 voice whispered to you, or you, or you, that an 
 exception has been made in your Not favor. 
 Oh ! no, not favor. Who would stand without 
 the pale of God's government ? Would you, or 
 you, or you ? 
 
 "Are you engaged in any business upon 
 which you cannot ask God's blessing ? Do you 
 transact your business in such a way that you 
 would feel it a mockery to ask God's blessing 
 upon it ? If so, then, my friend, you stand con 
 demned. 
 
 " Have you defrauded your neighbor of his just 
 dues ? Have you taken from him his good
 
 Consistency. 323 
 
 name ? Have you put the wine cup to his lips ? 
 Have you, for gain, sold to him what you know 
 will ruin him soul and body? Then are you liv 
 ing in open rebellion to your rightful Sovereign, 
 cind one day he will call you to stand before his 
 throne, and listen to your sentence of condem 
 nation." 
 
 Beside Hermon Wyatt sat his wife, and be 
 yond her was his niece ; the Nell to whom her 
 father had rendered so loving a tribute of praise. 
 She had come from her western home in response 
 to an invitation which could hardly be declined, 
 accompanied as it was by a liberal draft to 
 defray her expenses. 
 
 The question of her going had been earnestly 
 discussed by parents, brothers, and sisters, until 
 it was decided that she should go ; although it 
 seemed hardly possible that the different pur 
 suits and pleasures of the family could be main 
 tained without her. She might be of service to 
 her uncle's wife in commencing housekeeping ; 
 an 1 with an independent resolve to render some 
 equivalent for the favors she would receive, she 
 bade her loved ones farewell.
 
 324 All for Money. 
 
 She had reason to expect a most cordial 
 reception ; but in this her expectations were 
 more than realized. The aunt who insisted that 
 she was " only Milly," welcomed her guest with 
 girlish enthusiasm ; so little had she known of 
 the cares and responsibilities which so often 
 transform the laughing maiden into the serious, 
 half-saddened woman. Knowing nothing of 
 housekeeping, she trusted to servants who had 
 been recommended as fully qualified to do the 
 work assigned them. 
 
 There was no opportunity for Nelly to display 
 her accomplishments as a housekeeper. Nothing 
 to do but enjoy herself, and practice music as 
 much as she pleased. When she remonstrated 
 against such idleness, she was quickly silenced 
 by arguments and appeals to which she could 
 make no reply. 
 
 Her uncle was delighted with her. He had 
 never tired of the society of his wife, but it was 
 very pleasant to see two fair young faces light 
 up as he entered his home. He was glad, too, 
 to make some return to his brother George for the 
 kindness which had so signally failed of its purpose.
 
 Consistency. 325 
 
 He was now so identified with his business 
 that he fancied he could easily put aside any 
 appeal she might presume to make. He had 
 even persuaded himself that his vocation was an 
 honorable one. 
 
 Were not many professing Christians pursuing 
 the same openly, and were not many others 
 sharing its profits, while holding themselves 
 aloof from whatever odium might attach to it ? 
 Were not men lauded for large benefactions of 
 money gained by the sale of intoxicating liquors ? 
 
 He had been surprised at the truth in this 
 matter, and wondered at the inconsistency of 
 those who, professing to live for God and human 
 ity, made the accumulation of wealth the one 
 purpose of their lives. He condemned such mem 
 as hypocrites, and sneered at the artifice they 
 practiced. 
 
 He believed in honest dealing with one's self 
 as well as others. Were he a Christian, he would 
 at once renounce a traffic, which was, at best, 
 the outgrowth of an unnatural appetite for stim 
 ulants which madden the brain and deaden the 
 conscience. Because he was not a Christian, he
 
 326 All for Money. 
 
 reasoned that he was at liberty to do what 
 seemed to him good. 
 
 This Sabbath morning, when with eyes fixed 
 upon the face of the preacher, he listened to the 
 remarks and questions I have quoted, he felt that 
 he was personally addressed. 
 
 There might be others in the house more 
 guilty than himself, yet he was verily guilty of 
 the sins enumerated. 
 
 Ask God's blessing upon his business ! Never ! 
 Ask God's blessing upon the adulteration with 
 poisons and potent acids ! Never ! It would be 
 mockery. It would be blasphemy of which he 
 could never be guilty. 
 
 For a moment, he was angry at having been 
 chosen as an example to point an illustration ; 
 but as the sermon proceeded, his anger died out 
 in a profound sense of his own ill-deserts. 
 
 His niece was enthusiastic in her admiration of 
 the entire service. In all her-life she had heard 
 nothing which so nearly realized her idea of the 
 presentation of gospel truth. It was plain and 
 simple, while grand and uncompromising. 
 
 " Then you think the man who makes no pre-
 
 Consistency. 327 
 
 tension to being a Christian is under as much 
 obligation to live a consecrated life as his neighbor 
 who is a member of the church ?" remarked Mr. 
 \Vyatt to Nelly, who had been speaking of the 
 sermon. 
 
 "Yes, sir, in a certain sense, I do. The ten 
 commandments are binding upon both, and in 
 obeying them, God is glorified. Do you believe, 
 Uncle Hermon, that any person has ever lived 
 who was not under the most sacred obligations 
 to obey the moral law ?" 
 
 " Of course I don't, Nelly. I believe the Bible, 
 although I don't profess to live according to its 
 doctrine. You liked the singing," he added, 
 unwilling to pursue further the subject under 
 consideration. 
 
 " Indeed I did. I could hardly forget it while 
 the minister was preaching. The anthem was 
 glorious. I never heard it before, but some of 
 the strains seemed familiar to me." 
 
 Having said this, she went to the piano, and 
 gliding her fingers over the keys, played a soft 
 accompaniment to some disconnected strains 
 sung in a rich contralto voice.
 
 J28 All for Money. 
 
 " Why, that is an improvement upon the orig 
 inal," exclaimed her uncle. " You really surprise 
 me. I must invite my boys here some evening 
 and treat myself to a parlor concert. I havn't 
 told you about my boys, but you shall see 
 them. Milly thinks they are prodigies, and 
 they think she is an angel. One of them is 
 taking lessons on the piano, and the other is 
 learning to play the violin." 
 
 " But who are they, Uncle Hermon ?" 
 
 " Two poor boys, who were regular street 
 Arabs when I first saw them : one grinding an 
 organ and the other beating a tambourine. 
 They sang some simple songs, and depended 
 for their living upon what people gave them. 
 Milly, I was just telling Nelly about my boys," 
 added the gentleman as his wife came into the 
 room. " We must invite them here some even 
 ing." 
 
 "So we must. I know you will be delighted 
 with them, Nelly. And to think what they were ! 
 I don't see how any one can live as they used 
 to." 
 
 " You don't see how any one can live without
 
 Consistency. 329 
 
 being surrounded with luxury," said Mr. Wyatt, 
 smiling upon the speaker indulgently. 
 
 " No, I don't," she answered. " Perhaps I 
 could learn. Others have, and I suppose I could. 
 Cousin Naomi says it would be a good discipline 
 for me to be the wife of a poor man. I don't 
 know how it would seem, but Nelly wouldn't 
 mind it much." 
 
 "Not if the man was good, honorable, ener 
 getic, and " 
 
 " So much in love with you, that he would 
 consider it his highest happiness to make you 
 happy." 
 
 " Yes, uncle, that would be an indispensable 
 qualification ; and it would be equally indispen 
 sable that I should return his love in full meas 
 ure," replied the laughing girl. 
 
 " Heaven send you such a husband, with plenty 
 of money, to give you the home you deserve." 
 
 " It wouldn't require very much money to lay 
 the foundation of a home, and after the founda 
 tion is laid, I can help to build it myself. That 
 is the way we western people do. Poverty is no 
 disgrace with us."
 
 33 All for Money. 
 
 "It ought not to be considered a disgrace 
 anywhere, but you must acknowledge that it is a 
 great inconvenience." 
 
 " Sometimes it is, but then there is so much 
 the more pleasure in making things do, and con 
 triving to get the most comfort out of what you 
 have." 
 
 " But the raw material must be provided in 
 some way." 
 
 "I know it must, and that we earn by honest 
 work. You see, uncle, the oldest daughter in a 
 family of nine children, where there is never a 
 surplus of money, needs to understand economy, 
 and make that economy attractive." 
 
 " And that is one of your accomplishments, is 
 it, Nelly." 
 
 "I have credit for it at home, but I presume 
 Milly would think my plans very homely." 
 
 " Nothing could be homely you would do, and 
 I am beginning to think people might be much 
 happier and more independent, if they cared less 
 for money. I know a great many women marry 
 for money, when they almost hate the men they 
 accept for husbands. Uncle Russell says, too,
 
 Consistency. 
 
 that men do what they know to be dishonorable 
 and mean, just for the sake of getting rich. So I 
 don't see how they can blame the women for 
 thinking so much of money. But I should rather 
 live ever so plainly, and not have a new dress 
 once in six months, than have my husband act 
 dishonorably."
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 RIGHT AT LAST. 
 
 EAR old Mother Souther was so happy 
 with her boys, she seemed to have 
 taken a new lease of life. The one 
 room, with its adjoining closet, had been long 
 ago exchanged for more comfortable apartments 
 in the suburbs of the city, where air and sun 
 shine came to them as freely as to the proudest 
 dwellers in the land. It reminded her of her old 
 home, and gradually she gathered around her 
 many of the comforts to which she had been 
 accustomed in other days. 
 
 Davy and Ally were as thoughtful for her as 
 though she was their mother, and as they had 
 assumed her name, strangers supposed them to 
 be her grandsons. They were all she had in the 
 wide world, and she gave them of her best. She
 
 Right at Last. 
 
 taught them the precepts of the Bible, and 
 warned them against evil habits. She told them 
 her own story, thus enforcing her precepts. 
 
 " We've seen lots of drinking, Mother Souther," 
 said Davy, the first time she talked with them in 
 regard to it. " It's that makes folks so awful poor. 
 There was a man lived in the garret, over where 
 we lived with the old woman, that they said had 
 a million of dollars once. You wouldn't think it 
 to see him so ragged and dirty, but it might 
 hrve been true." 
 
 " Yes, it might," replied Mrs. Souther. 
 " There aint anything so strange about it but 
 what I could believe it. It's all dreadful, and I 
 pray God you and Ally never'll taste the cursed 
 stuff." 
 
 " We sha'n't, Mother Souther. You needn't 
 be afraid of that. We did once, and it made us 
 awful sick, and we most froze to death, and didn't 
 know where we was for ever so long. 'Twas 
 the worst time we ever had." 
 
 " How came you to do it ?" 
 
 " We didn't exactly know what we were doing. 
 And then we were so bad off, we didn't care much
 
 334 All for Money. 
 
 if \ve could only be warm. 'Twas most night 
 one day, when there hadn't anybody give us a 
 cent, and we hadn't had anything to eat, except 
 some potato skins we picked out of an ash heap ; 
 and a man on a back street told us if we'd help 
 him clean up his store, he'd give us spme supper. 
 So we went to work, and did everything he told 
 us ; but when we got done, he give us some 
 crackers, and told us that was all we'd get, 
 except something hot to drink. We didn't mind 
 much what 'twas. We drinked it, and curled 
 down on the floor, as close in one corner as we 
 could get. Pretty soon we both of us felt queer, 
 as though we were going to be sick, and we 
 don't remember much more till in the night. 
 Then Ally come to, and told me he was freezing. 
 We was on the ground, in the dirtiest alley you 
 can think of. The man we worked for threw us 
 out. He didn't care whether we lived or died. 
 He kept a groggery, and of course he was wicked." 
 
 " Mother Souther, aint it awful wicked to sell 
 stuff that makes folks drunk ?" asked Ally. 
 
 " Yes, it is one of the wickedest things a man 
 can do."
 
 Right at Last. 
 
 " Well, don't Mr. Wyatt sell it ?" 
 
 " Yes, he does, and it makes me feel bad every 
 time I think of it. He'd be a great deal better 
 man if he wouldn't. I'm praying the Lord to 
 show him how wrong it is, and I'm going to keep 
 on praying as long as I live." 
 
 More than two years had gone by since this 
 conversation, and still Hermon Wyatt remained 
 the friend of these boys, and the woman who 
 made for them a home. 
 
 He advised them in regard to study ; intro 
 duced them to an evening school ; and when 
 they had made some proficiency, found situations 
 for them, where they would improve, while 
 earning wages which seemed to them munifi^ 
 cent. 
 
 Others, too, became interested in them. A 
 music teacher who had heard Davy sing, and who 
 discovered how anxious he was to learn to play 
 'a keyed instrument, offered to give him lessons 
 upon the piano. Ally managed to purchase a 
 violin, and was doing his best to charm the spirit 
 which lurked within. 
 
 Their singing was a passport to favor, and
 
 ll for Money. 
 
 after Mr. Wyatt's marriage, they had occasionally 
 spent an evening in his rooms. But during all 
 the time they had known him, he had never 
 invited them to enter his store.- When he was 
 asked by the acquaintance to whom he applied 
 to furnish them with work, why he did not hire 
 them himself, he said at once that he had no 
 place for them. 
 
 This was true in a broader sense than was un 
 derstood by the questioner. He wished Davy 
 and Ally Souther to grow up strong, pure, and 
 brave ; and in order to do this, he knew they 
 must acquire a knowledge of business away from 
 the contaminating influence of intoxicating liquor. 
 All this came back to him as he talked with his 
 niece, and as his wife frankly confessed the change 
 which had been wrought in her feelings. 
 
 Little did she know of living plainly, and dress 
 ing as became a poor man's wife ; but since her 
 visit to the country, she had looked out upon the 
 world with a more thoughtful gaze. She did 
 not speak of the sermon ; yet her husband was 
 certain she had noted every point which might 
 tell against him, and would at some time remind
 
 Right at Last. JJ7 
 
 him of them. Lest some unwelcome allusions 
 might now be made, he proposed that they should 
 sing the old-fashioned hymns Milly had learned 
 at her uncle's. 
 
 " Do you know them, Nelly ?" he asked, enu 
 merating several which most pleased him. 
 
 "Indeed I do," she replied. "I could sing 
 most of them before I could talk plainly ; and 
 we have sung them hundreds of times in our 
 home. We sing them, too, in our evening meet 
 ings, so they are familiar to me as household 
 words." 
 
 " Do you go to church in the evening ?" asked 
 Milly. 
 
 " Not to church. We have a prayer-meeting 
 Sabbath evening, and our family always go. 
 Our minister depends upon us for the singing." 
 
 " Is your minister like ours ?" 
 
 " Not at all. But he is a good man and does 
 his best. We can't pay such a salary as churches 
 pay in the city ; and father says it is right that 
 the smartest ministers should be settled in the 
 largest places, where there is so much to draw 
 the attention of people from religion."
 
 33 s All for Money. 
 
 " Your father is a good, sensible man, if he is 
 rny brother." 
 
 " And my mother is as good and sensible as 
 he is." 
 
 " I know that, Nelly. Your father told me he 
 always consulted her about everything he under 
 took, and that he would trust her judgment be 
 fore he would his own." 
 
 "That is the greatest compliment I ever 
 knew a man to give his wife," exclaimed Milly, 
 looking earnestly at her husband. " She must 
 be very different from most of the women I have 
 known, and she is certainly very different from 
 me." 
 
 " Yes, very different. My mother was never 
 so handsome as you are. Then she has a differ 
 ent experience from yours. You don't know 
 what a practical woman you may become. 
 Uncle Hermon may consult with you the same 
 as father does with mother, and then pay you 
 the greatest compliment a man can pay his wife." 
 
 Not for many a month had the merchant been 
 so troubled as on this evening. All the night 
 through he was painfully conscious that he had
 
 Right at Last. 
 
 not lost entirely his sense of responsibility for 
 others. He arose unrefreshed ; complaining of a 
 headache as the excuse for his haggard looks. 
 He went to his store with vague apprehensions 
 of impending evil ; but finding everything here 
 as usual, soon smiled scornfully at his foolish 
 fancies. 
 
 His trials for the day, however, were not yet 
 over. He received a call from Rev. Mr. Melvin, 
 the preacher he so much admired. To say that 
 he was disconcerted would but feebly describe 
 the utter confusion of his thoughts as he greeted 
 the unexpected visitor. His first impulse was to 
 ask the reason of the visit ; and after a desultory 
 conversation, in which the clergyman bore a 
 prominent part, they were about to separate, 
 when Ally Souther came into the counting-room 
 he had never before entered. 
 
 " O Mr. Wyatt, Mother Souther is dreadfully 
 sick, and she wants to know will you please come 
 and see her," exclaimed the boy almost breath 
 lessly. " We've had the doctor, but I'm afraid 
 she's going to die." 
 
 " I hope not, Ally," replied his friend, laying
 
 All for Money. 
 
 a hand lightly upon his head. " I will go over 
 and see what can be done. Mr. Melvin, this is 
 one of your parishioners, Ally Souther." 
 
 " I recognized him. I have seen him, with 
 another larger lad every Sabbath I have preached 
 here, and if I can be of any service, I should be 
 glad to go with you.' 1 
 
 " Oh, I wish you would. Mother Souther will 
 be so glad !" exclaimed AJly impulsively. 
 
 The three went into the street together, and 
 not long after Hermon Wyatt was standing by 
 the bedside of the sick woman. 
 
 " This is my last sickness," she said in a husky 
 voice. "I've lived longer than I expected to. 
 I kept up for the boys' sake, but it's most over 
 now. You'll be the only friend they'll have to 
 depend upon then. You've been good to us all. 
 You've been the best friend I've ever had since a 
 good while before my husband died. 
 
 " I couldn't do anything for you, only pray ; 
 and you'll forgive an old woman like me who's 
 on her death-bed. I've prayed that you might 
 be a true-hearted Christian. I didn't pray for 
 you to be rich, nor great, nor honored among
 
 Right at Last. 
 
 men ; but I prayed that you might have a pure 
 heart and clean hands in God's sight. 
 
 " O Mr. Wyatt, if I could say something that 
 would make you give up selling the cursed 
 liquor ! If I only could, I'd be willing to suffer a 
 great deal. How can you do it ? Don't you 
 know it's a terrible sin against God and man, for 
 which you must give account in the day of 
 judgment ?" 
 
 The voice was no longer husky. These, ques 
 tions, fearful as denunciations, rang out in clear, 
 distinct tones ; while he to whom they were 
 addressed stood speechless, looking into the face 
 of his accuser. He had been judged and pro 
 nounced guilty. 
 
 " Mr. Wyatt, don't you know you are commit 
 ting a terrible sin ?" 
 
 He could not but reply. He dared no longer 
 keep silence. 
 
 " Yes, I do know it," he answered. 
 
 The words were spoken. He could not recall 
 them if he would. To-morrow he might wish his 
 tongue had been palsied ere they were uttered ; 
 but now he only knew that all disguises had
 
 342 All for Money. 
 
 been torn away, and he confronted with his own 
 soul. 
 
 " Then why do you continue in sin ? Why do 
 you ? Is it for money ?" 
 
 " Yes, for money." 
 
 He had not intended it. He was hardly aware 
 that his lips opened. Yet he had revealed the 
 inner workings of his life. 
 
 " Then God pity you ! And my boys ! My 
 boys ! What will become of them when I am 
 gone ? Who will care for them ?" 
 
 " I will care for them, Mrs. Souther." 
 
 " And teach them to be such as you are : to 
 count money as of more value than their immor 
 tal souls ! God in heaven, hear my prayer, and 
 send them the friend they need. I can say no 
 more to you," she added, extending her hand to 
 the man before her. " Forgive me." 
 
 " I have nothing to forgive. I am the one to 
 ask forgiveness. You have only done your 
 duty." 
 
 " May God give you grace to do yours. There's 
 Davy's step on the stairs, and Ally said the 
 minister came with you. I should be glad to see
 
 Right at Last. 
 
 him. Maybe he'll care a little for my boys when 
 they're left." 
 
 Davy came in and looked tearfully at his ben 
 efactress, while he pressed his lips to her hand. 
 He knew full well that the end was near ; that 
 his home would soon be broken up ; and he 
 could not but weep. 
 
 In an adjoining room sat Mr. Melvin with 
 Ally, whose heart he had already won, and much 
 of whose history he learned during the short 
 time they were together. When he saw her for 
 the first time, Mother Souther v/as no stranger 
 to him. He knew so much of her character, that 
 he was assured of her Christian faith, although 
 she was able to speak to him only in monosylla 
 bles. 
 
 " Pray," she whispered, and four knelt rever 
 ently around her bed, while a prayer was offered, 
 the fervor and pathos of which was equalled only 
 by its simplicity. 
 
 " Thank you," murmured the dying woman. 
 " And, sir, will you have a thought for the boys, 
 when they're left alone ?" 
 
 " I will."
 
 344 
 
 All for Money. 
 
 " God bless you for the promise." 
 " And will you deal faithfully with this man, 
 who is wronging his own soul for money ?" 
 " As God hears me, I will."
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 DECISION. 
 
 OTHER SOUTHER died, and the four 
 \vho had knelt around her bed followed 
 her to her last resting-place. It was 
 only the burial of a poor woman ; but no more 
 sincere mourners ever looked into an open grave 
 than were the boys who had called her mother. 
 " Being dead, she yet speaketh," said Mr. Mel- 
 vin to the man at his side, after they had left the 
 carnage, and were walking arm-in-arm through 
 an unfrequented street. " I was surprised into 
 making a promise I shall find it hard to redeem. 
 I have prayed for you, Mr. Wyatt. What more 
 can I do ?" 
 
 " Whatever you feel to be your duty." 
 
 " It is never a man's duty to injure the cause
 
 All for Money. 
 
 he wishes to serve, or make an enemy of one he 
 has counted a friend." 
 
 No reply was made to this, and directly the 
 two separated ; Mr. Wyatt going to his home, 
 where he found a new order of things established. 
 Both of the servants had given unmistakable 
 evidence of being intoxicated, and retired to their 
 room. This moved Milly to make an investiga 
 tion of the kitchen, with its closets and cupboards, 
 when a state of things was revealed which 
 roused her to a sense of the imposition practiced 
 upon her. 
 
 " The creatures sha'n't stay in the house an 
 other night," she exclaimed. " We will go with 
 out dinner, before we will eat another mouthful 
 of Bridget's cooking. To think of her and Kate 
 both being drunk ! I detest dram-drinking in 
 any one." 
 
 " And I detest both dram-drinking and drain- 
 selltng" responded Nelly. " If it is right to 
 sell intoxicating liquor, it is right to drink it ; 
 and to my mind the seller is worse than the 
 drinker." 
 
 " Hermon sells it."
 
 Decision. 
 
 " I know he does, but it is a wicked thing to 
 do for all that. It is dishonorable too." 
 
 " My husband is not dishonorable," replied 
 Milly. " He is good and honorable." 
 
 " But he is not doing a good and honorable 
 business. I don't wish to find fault with him, 
 Milly dear, but if you would only think about it, 
 you would see that he is engaged in a sinful busi 
 ness, and then I know you would influence him 
 to give it up. Oh ! if you only would." 
 
 " Don't, Nelly ! Don't talk to me so ! I have 
 thought about it, and since. I came from Uncle 
 Russell's, I've known we weren't living as we 
 ought to. Are you a Christian, Nelly ?" 
 
 " I profess to be, and I trust I am." 
 
 " I wish Hermon and I were Christians. In 
 deed I do, Nelly." 
 
 A short time sufficed to rid the house of 
 drunken servants ; and this done, Nelly Wyatt 
 assumed the office of cook. The dinner was a 
 success, but the group around the table were in 
 no mood to do it justice. 
 
 Milly inquired in regard to the home prospects 
 of Davy and Ally, and this reminded her husband
 
 All for Money. 
 
 of what had transpired at the death-bed of Mrs. 
 Souther. The bo)'s were to remain where they 
 were ; arrangements having been made with a 
 neighbor to attend to their wants. 
 
 " I believe I have done the best I can for them," 
 said their friend. " They are good boys, and if 
 we all live, I shall see that they have a fair start 
 in the world. I should like to have their busi 
 ness training entirely in my own hands ; but sit 
 uated as I am, I can do no better than leave them 
 with Mr. Parkhurst." 
 
 " You might go into different business, Her- 
 mon, and take them as clerks. Then you could 
 have them all to yourself." 
 
 Different business ! He had been counting the 
 cost of such a change. He was disinclined to 
 conversation, even with his petted wife ; but he 
 could not long resist her affectionate appeals ; 
 and surprised to find how entirely she sympa 
 thized with him, he told her of the impression 
 produced by the sermon of the preceding Sabbath. 
 
 " I thought of you," she responded sadly. "I 
 thought it would seem to you that Mr. Melvin 
 had singled you out from all the congregation."
 
 Decision. 
 
 " It did seem so, but I couldn't blame him. I 
 have seen the time when I denounced the sale of 
 intoxicating liquor in as severe terms as it is 
 possible to use." 
 
 " Why did you change ?" 
 
 " Do you wish me to tell you ?" he asked. 
 
 " Yes, please do," she answered. 
 
 "You don't quite know what you are asking, 
 and a week ago I shouldn't have thought of 
 talking to you of my business. But my little 
 wife is fast developing into a strong, noble wo 
 man." 
 
 " O Hermon, do you think so ?" 
 
 " Yes, darling, I do, and I am very glad. Now 
 do you wish to hear my story ?" 
 
 "Every word of it," was the emphatic reply to 
 this question. 
 
 The story was long, and there were many in 
 terruptions ; but at length it was all told : the 
 struggles with conscience ; the temptation in 
 which a laughing girl had borne so large a part ; 
 the final surrender ; and the subsequent endeavors 
 to forget all scruples in the one desire to accu 
 mulate wealth.
 
 All for Money. 
 
 " I knew I could never win you without money,' 
 he said, for the second time. 
 
 "Perhaps not," she answered hesitatingly. 
 " But now that I am won, I am willing to make 
 any sacrifice, if you will only never sell another 
 drop of liquor, and never drink it either. You 
 have drank it sometimes lately." 
 
 " Yes, darling. I would not have believed I 
 should, but I have drank it oftener than you 
 know, and it is time for me to give that up. I 
 will do it. You have my word, and you may 
 trust me." 
 
 " And the selling ?" 
 
 " I can't see my way clear about that, yet, but 
 I will try to do what is right." 
 
 Another Sabbath morning, and again the con 
 gregation assembled to hear words from the 
 preacher's lips. The love of Christ to a sinful 
 world was the theme which inspired these words ; 
 and many an eye, all unused to weeping, grew 
 dewy with unshed tears, as this wondrous love 
 was portrayed. 
 
 " For you and me the Saviour died. For you 
 and me the Saviour lives. For the richest and
 
 Decision. 
 
 the poorest ; for the proudest and the lowliest ; 
 for the king upon a throne, and the beggar at 
 the gate, our Saviour died, arid now lives, ever 
 more to make intercession for every dweller 
 upon this earth. 
 
 " It is for you to accept, or reject the happi 
 ness his blood has purchased. It is offered freely, 
 but it is only offered. It will never be forced 
 upon you. You can turn away from love and 
 mercy if you will ; but, remember, my friends, 
 you will do it at the cost of your soul's salvation." 
 
 It was fitting that thus the appeal should close ; 
 and when God's blessing had been invoked to 
 give power to the truth spoken, those who lis 
 tened felt that the Holy Spirit was in their very 
 midst. 
 
 The preacher sat down, and covered his face 
 with his hand until he was left alone, when he, 
 too, went out, wondering whither his steps would 
 be led. He knew that Mr. Wyatt had been 
 deeply moved, and he hoped that the time was 
 at hand, when he might, without offence, press 
 home to the conscience of this man a sense of 
 unforgiven sin.
 
 352 All for Money. 
 
 Strange as it was, he was hardly surprised to 
 see the merchant, with the ladies of the family, 
 present in the evening. Davy and Ally came 
 with them, and Mr. Melvin could not but observe 
 them closely. After the benediction was pro 
 nounced he hastened to speak to them. 
 
 Mr. Wyatt met him with even more than usual 
 cordiality ; and as they were going in the same 
 direction, they walked on together, while the 
 other members of the party left them far behind. 
 They were .talking earnestly when they reached 
 the house, and the clergyman was invited to 
 enter. 
 
 The pride of the host was broken down. The 
 world seemed to him of small value, compared 
 with the worth of an immortal soul. It was the 
 first time he had ever really felt his accounta 
 bility to God, and the new emotion quite over 
 powered him. 
 
 Still he was not willing to make a full surren 
 der of himself, asking pardon for his sins, for 
 Christ's sake. He could not decide to give up 
 all things, that he might secure the blessing of 
 God. When urged to do so, he frankly acknowl-
 
 Decision. 
 
 edged that his business held him in bondage. 
 Another's interests were involved with his own, 
 and it would be hard to extricate himself from 
 the difficulties which surrounded him. 
 
 " No one can decide for you," said Mr. Melvin 
 at a late hour that night. " The matter is 
 between you and God. I can say no more. Mr. 
 Wyatt, have I redeemed my promise so fully, 
 that I shall be held guiltless in the day of judg 
 ment, if your soul is lost ?" 
 
 This question was asked solemnly, and as 
 solemnly answered. 
 
 " Mr. Melvin, come what may to me, you will 
 be guiltless." 
 
 A long, searching look, each into the eyes of 
 the other, and they parted. 
 
 No sooner had the hall door closed, than Milly 
 went to her husband, and threw herself, sobbing, 
 into his arms. She had waited so long and so 
 anxiously. She would not intrude, but she could 
 hardly have endured more protracted suspense. 
 
 " O Hermon, tell me what I shall do," she ex 
 claimed through blinding tears. " I have been 
 doing wrong all my life, and I am so wretched."
 
 All for Money. 
 
 He comforted her as best he could, and pres 
 ently her sobbings ceased. After a little, she 
 raised her head from its resting-place, and in 
 a tone which gave startling emphasis to her 
 words, said : " That store will drag us both 
 down to perdition. Do give it up ! We can live 
 without the money you make there, but we can 
 not live under a curse. Why didn't I think of it 
 before ? I don't know why I didn't." 
 
 Monday morning, Hermon Wyatt was debat 
 ing how he should communicate to Mr. Harvey 
 his half-formed resolution to retire from his pres 
 ent business, when he received a telegram 
 announcing the death of Mrs. Legrew. She had 
 died suddenly, without warning ; and everything 
 else was forgotten while preparing for the unex 
 pected journey. 
 
 There was little to be said of the last days of 
 this woman. She had lived on, sometimes cheerful 
 and hopeful, sometimes sad and desponding ; 
 until the angel of death called her away. Her 
 life had seemed of little value, and yet she would 
 be missed in her home. She was mourned by 
 those who had loved her, despite her faults and
 
 Decision. 
 
 follies ; and who trusted that some ray of light 
 from the Infinite had illumined her soul. 
 
 Here Mr. Wyatt met his partner, and while a 
 solemn awe pervaded the house, he sought an in 
 terview in which to talk of business. It seemed 
 ill-timed to the elder man ; yet as he listen 
 ed, he found that the interests of another world 
 were uppermost in the mind of his companion. 
 
 '' It is a matter of eternal life or death with 
 me," said the latter, after a short conversation. 
 " When I accepted your offer, I acted against 
 my strongest convictions of duty. Should I re 
 new my contract with you, I verily believe I 
 should sign the death-warrant of my soul. I 
 have reached a point where I must choose for 
 eternity ; and thank God, I have chosen. I have 
 five thousand dollars invested outside of our 
 business. This amount I shall use for my pres 
 ent benefit, while I hold myself bound to give 
 the interest to further the cause of temperance ; 
 and as soon as I can consistently do so, I shall 
 give the whole. Everything belonging to the 
 store I shall leave in your hands, to be disposed 
 of as you please. I want no part in it."
 
 3 $6 All for Money. 
 
 "Is this decision final ?" asked Mr. Harvey. . 
 
 " It is final," was the emphatic reply. " For all 
 your kindness I thank you. I found the greatest 
 blessing of my life in your home, and I have 
 spent many happy hours there. I would serve 
 you in any way my conscience could approve, 
 but I will be a poor man all my life rather than 
 continue in my present business a day longer 
 than I am holden by our contract." 
 
 " And Milly." 
 
 " She is of the same mind. She was first to 
 propose giving it up." 
 
 " She will have some property now." 
 
 " It will be hers, not mine. She can do as she 
 pleases with it. I shall start in my old business 
 and build up an honest trade. My wife will be 
 satisfied to live in the style I can afford. I 
 know she will, and I know I can make her 
 happy." 
 
 Never had Leander Harvey thought more 
 seriously than he now thought. He knew not 
 how to dispose of the business thus suddenly 
 thrown upon his hands. He could offer no in 
 ducement sufficient to retain the services of his
 
 Decision. 
 
 piesent partner; and he was far from cer 
 tain that he would do so if this were possi 
 ble. 
 
 Mrs. Legrew was laid to rest by the side of 
 her husband in the city cemetery ; and then Mr. 
 and Mrs. Wyatt returned to their home, where 
 Nelly had kept the fires burning, and given to 
 Davy and Ally Souther glimpses of a life which 
 seemed to them well nigh like heaven. The 
 next day, with characteristic energy, the gentle 
 man leased a store, and commenced fitting it up 
 for the trade in which he proposed to engage. 
 He made arrangements with Mr. Parkhurst for 
 the services of the boys, whose business educa 
 tion he could now safely assume, and was seldom 
 seen in the old place, where, for three years, he 
 had been the ruling spirit. 
 
 Mr. Melvin congratulated him, as one man con 
 gratulates another who has passed a fearful or 
 deal, and escaped unharmed. His wife cheered 
 him by her constant sympathy, and would gladly 
 have placed her property at his disposal. She 
 joined him in his efforts to live as God would 
 have them ; and with Nelly, who was at once
 
 All for Money. 
 
 an inspiration and an assistant, made for him 
 such a home as no money can purchase. 
 
 Mr. Reeves bought the corner store, and in 
 process of time, Mr. Harvey paid to his former 
 partner the sum to which the latter was entitled ; 
 which sum was bestowed upon various charities, 
 with the prayer that it might be the means of 
 accomplishing some good, to atone for the sin 
 of which it was the price. 
 
 The church received into its communion two 
 who would adorn the professions they made. 
 The new enterprise prospered, and the cauae of 
 temperance gained a zealous advocate, who knew 
 whereof he affirmed. Those with whom he had 
 been associated in opposing this cause yielded 
 him an involuntary respect, even while they 
 privately sneered at his fanaticism. 
 
 At the close of a twelve month, when accounts 
 were settled, Milly Wyatt was surprised to find 
 how much of comfort had been secured at com 
 paratively small cost. She had learned from 
 Nelly, who was still associate housekeeper, to 
 make the best of what she possessed ; and counted
 
 Decision. 
 
 herself rich in more substantial wealth than is 
 represented by dollars and cents. 
 
 "Cousin Naomi" was now "Aunt Naomi;" 
 the happy wife of a man who, in the autumn of 
 his days was binding himself to life with ties the 
 habits of his youth had denied him. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Harvey regarded him with some 
 thing like wonder ; and yet they felt their social 
 position elevated by relationship to one whose 
 wealth won for him the consideration of those 
 who would have refused it to his goo.dness and 
 intelligence. 
 
 " Here is a notice of Dan Esterbrook's death," 
 he said to his brother in-law, laying down the 
 paper he had been perusing, while the two were 
 seated in his library. 
 
 " The world is rid of a black-hearted villain," 
 was the quick reply. " How about the wrongs, 
 you once told me he must right before he died ?" 
 
 " I intended to force a confession from him 
 which would free other parties from suspicion, 
 but I found nothing would be gained by it, and I 
 was unwilling to meet him. The paper says he 
 has left the bulk of his immense fortune in the
 
 360 All for Money. 
 
 hands of trustees for the benefit of his wife, who 
 has been in an insane asylum the last three 
 months.'' 
 
 "No wonder she is insane. I hope the im 
 mense fortune will restore her to reason. It 
 ought to do some good, now he is out of the way. 
 He sold his soul for money, and the final transfer 
 of property has been made before this. There 
 was never anything good about him, but if he 
 had cared less for money, he could hardly have 
 been so bad as he was." 
 
 "The love of money is the root of much evil, 
 Brother Harvey, and the meanness men will 
 practice in order to obtain it is almost past 
 belief. Dan Esterbrook, at one time, sold whis 
 key by the gill, peddling it from flasks he carried 
 in his pockets. He manufactured whiskey, too, 
 in holes not fit for a human being to stay in, and 
 from material a hungry beast would reject. First 
 and last, I believe he has made more money from 
 the sale of liquor than almost any other man in 
 the country, and you know I consider that an 
 accursed business." 
 
 "I know you do, Brother Parsons, and I must
 
 Decision. j6i 
 
 confess that I look upon it differently from what 
 I did a few years ago, although I am hardly 
 ready to join the ranks of the ultra prohibitionists. 
 I still believe in a well-regulated license law." 
 
 " Brother Harvey, you know, and every intelli-" 
 gent man and woman knows, that where the 
 experiment has been made, license has encour 
 aged and fostered the trade. It has protected it, 
 intrenched it in the strongholds of the govern 
 ment, and given it a nominal place among 
 laudable industries. I know I am talking strong 
 ly, but honestly. Don't you believe that our 
 country would be more prosperous if all intoxi 
 cating liquors were banished from the land, and 
 the money now paid for them was spent for food, 
 clothing, good houses, and good books ?" 
 
 " Yes, Brother Parsons, I do believe we should 
 be infinitely more prosperous. I'll not stultify 
 myself by denying it." 
 
 " And don't you believe that a stringent pro 
 hibitory law, as faithfully executed as other laws 
 upon our statute books, would tend to thn 
 result ?" 
 
 " Yes, I think it would."
 
 362 
 
 All for Money. 
 
 " Then, in the name, and for the sake of all that 
 is good, and pure, and holy, let us give our in 
 fluence for prohibition. Let us pray for it, work 
 for it, and vote for it."
 
 For Sunday-School Libraries, 
 
 THE National Temperance Society and Publication House 
 have published Eighty-seven Books specially adapted to Sun- 
 ilay-school Libraries, which have been carefully examined and 
 approved by a Publication Committee of Twelve, reo' esenting 
 the various Religious denominations, and they nave been 
 highly recommended by numerous Ecclesiastical bodies and 
 Temperance Organizations all over the land. They should be 
 in every Sunday-school Library. The following is the List, 
 any of which can be ordered through any bookseller, or direct 
 from the rooms of the Society, 58 Reade Street, New York. 
 
 At Lion's Mouth $1 25 Esther Maxwell's Mistake $1 00 
 
 Adopted 60 Fanny Percy's Knight Er- 
 
 Andrew Douglass 75 
 
 Aunt Dinah's Pledge 1 25 
 
 rant 1 00 
 
 Fatal Dower, The 60 
 
 Alice Grant 1 25 i Fire Fighters, The 125 
 
 All for Money 1 25 | Fred's Hard Fight 1 25 
 
 Brewery at Taylorville, The 1 50 
 
 Barford Mills 1 00 
 
 Best Fellow in the World, 
 
 The 1 25 
 
 Broken Rock, The 50 
 
 Brook, and the Tide Turn 
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 Brewer's Fortune, The 1 60 
 
 Come Home, Mother 50 
 
 OoalsofFire . 100 
 
 Frank Spencer's Rule of 
 
 Life 50 
 
 Frank Oldfield; or, Lost 
 
 and Found 1 60 
 
 Gertie's Sacrifice 60 
 
 Glass Cable, The... 128 
 
 Harry the Prodigal 1 38 
 
 History of a Threepenny 
 
 Bit 75 
 
 Hard Master, The 85 
 
 C arse of Mill Valley, The . . 1 25 ^ Harker Family, The 1 25 
 
 Drinking Fountain Stories. 1 00 History of Two Lives, The. 50 
 
 Dumb Traitor, The 125 Hopedale Tavern, and 
 
 Eva's Engagement-Ring. . . 90 i What it Wrought 1 00 
 
 Echo Bank 86 ' Hole in the Bag, The 100
 
 FOR SUNDAY-SCHOOL LIBRARIES. 
 
 How Could He Escape P $125 Piece of Silver, A f 51 
 
 Humpy Dumpy 125 Pitcher of Cool Water 50 
 
 Image Unveiled, The 1 00 Queer Home in Rugby 
 
 Jewelled Serpent, The 1 00 j Court, The.... 1 50 
 
 John Bentle> 's Mistake 50 
 
 Job Tufton's Rest 1 25 
 
 Joe's Partner 50 
 
 Jugr-or-Not 1 25 
 
 Little Girl in Black 90 
 
 Life Cruise of Captain Bess 
 
 Adams, The 1 50 
 
 McAllisters, The 50 
 
 Mill and the Tavern, The. . 1 25 
 
 Model Landlord, The 60 
 
 More Excellent Way, A.. . . 1 00 
 Mr. Mackenzie's Answer... 1 25 
 National Temperance Ora 
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 Nettie Loring- 1 25 
 
 Norman Brill's Life- Work. 1 00 
 
 Nothing to Drink 1 50 
 
 Old Times 1 25 
 
 Our Coffee-Room 1 00 
 
 Old Brown Pitcher, The 1 00 
 
 Out of the Fire 1 25 
 
 OurParish 75 
 
 Packing-ton Parish.. . 1 25 
 
 Paul Bre water and Son 1 00 
 Philip Eckert's Struggles 
 and Triumphs 60 
 
 Rachel Noble's Experi 
 ence 9C 
 
 Red Bridge, The 9C 
 
 Rev. Dr. Willoughby and 
 
 his Wine 1 50 
 
 Ripley Parsonage 1 25 
 
 Roy's Search; or, Lost in 
 
 theCars 125 
 
 Saved 1 25 
 
 Silver Castle 1 25 
 
 Seymours, The 100 
 
 Strange Sea Story, A 150 
 
 Temperance Doctor, The... 1 25 
 Temperance Speaker, The. 75 
 
 Temperance Anecdotes 1 00 
 
 Time Will Tell 1 00 
 
 Tim's Troubles... 160 
 
 Tom Blinn's Temperance 
 
 Society. 1 25 
 
 Ten Cents 1 25 
 
 Vow atthe Bars 40 
 
 Wealth and Wine 1 25 
 
 White Rose, The 128 
 
 Wife's Engagement-Ring. . 1 25 
 
 Work and Reward. 
 Zoa Rodman 
 
 50 
 1 OC 
 
 Either of the above will be sent by mail, post-paid, on receipt of price. 
 
 Address J, N, STEAENS, Publishing Agent, 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
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