LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 2020, 14 August 1880, Page 3

LITERATURE.

BEFRIENDING A "POOR OLD MAN," AND THE RESULT, { Continued .) The old man by degrees recovered his aenses ; he was presented with food in small quantities, and in a thort time animation was restored. Too weak to thank his benefactors, he could only express his feelings by looks of the moat touching gratitude, particularly when they rested on the young girl, still occupied near the hearth. To the stranger she appeared nothing else than a charming and mysterious vision. Who could this young creature be, who so earnestly and effectively devoted herself to a work of charity, when her own attire gave every judication of penury ? Cold as the weather was, the bonnet which encircled her beautiful featorss was of black straw; tho silk gloves, mended in several places, served to cover her hands, but certainly n-.t to guarantee them, from the cold. An old cashmere shawl, worn to the last extremity, was thrown over a faded gown of dark sflk, and her whole appearance betokened the absence of any warm garment. The young mau would undoubtedly have been struck by the extreme beanty of her features had there been no other charm to attach him; but there was about her that indescribale something, which pleases more than beauty—and that is, a union of goodness and elegance, which is, iudetd, but seldom to be met with, but when seen is irrestible. At last her eeif-imposed task was over—she approached the old mau, and, stooping down towards him, nodded her head kindly as she uttered the words, • I will soon return' She then took up a small case which she had put down on her entrance, and, saluting the ttranger, she left tha room and descended the narrow stairs with a rapid Etep. Tho young mau gaz3d on her a moment, and then turned towards the invalid. 'I, on the contrary, shall not return, for 1 lfave Paris this evening ; but you shall soon hear from me.' He then pressed the old man's hand kindly and departed. When he emerged from the gateway of the house into the street, though hopeless af seeing his young assistant in the work of beuevolence in which he had been engaged, he could not avoid looking round to see if by chance she was still in sight. As chance would have it, she was ttanding, as if undecided, at the door of a jeweller's shop at some distance. At last she appeared to have formed her determination, for she opened the door and entered; without exactly analysing the cause of his curiosity, tha stranger approached the window of the shop and observed what was going on within ; he saw the young girl take off her gloves, and whilst he was admiring the dazzling whiteness and aristocratio form of the hand, she drew, with some emotion, a ring from her finger, and presented it to the person at the counter. He took it, examined it carefully, rubbed and tested the stone, and then methodically took a small pair of scales, and having ascertained the weight, offered his customer a price, which it was easy to Bee she accepted, from the movement of assent with which she bent her head; the jeweller opened a drawer, and counted ont some money, which he pushed over the counter; and having written down the name and address, he cast the ring into another drawer, amongst a heap of jewels of all sorts and colors ; the girl then departed, and in a minute afterwards the young man entered tho shop

In a short time afterwards she turned into a plain-looking house in one of the streets off the Rue St. Honors, and, opening the door o£ a room on the Hue de Cfaaussee, she entered hastily, crying— * Here I am, dear mother. Yon must have been nneasy at my long absence ?' Madame Revial, the person to whom these words were addressed, appeared infirm, though more from trouble than from year* She was stretched on a sofa, and appeared in delicate health, Her features, unusuilly pale, assumed an appearance of animatioa when her daughter entered, and then immediately became more sombre than before. ' Dear Anna,' eaid she, ' I have an unpleasant piece of nsws to acquaint you with ; it was this, perhaps, that made me rather fear your return than take note of your pro. longed Absence.' Anna, having cast on a chair her shawl and bonnet, immediately seated herself on a low stool near the end of the sofa which supported her mother's head. The latter pissed her hand affectionately over the dark hair of her daughter, and then continued : —'You know that your father had promised yonr hand to the son of M. Barsao, of Bordeaux, his oldest friend. The death of your father —the lengthened illness which has so much reduced me —had not overcome my courage, as long as I could live in the hope of seeing you one day rich and happy, under the protection of a worthy husband. This very morning the scaffolding of happiness, which I lovad so much to build np for you, fell to the ground. This let er, addressed to our old habitation, ought to have come to hand yeaterday. Here, read for yourself.' Anna took the letter which her mother held ont to her, and looking at the cigcature, remarked— * It is from Jules Barsac himself.' She then read the contents aloud:—

"Madame, —As long as fortune smiled on me, I thought with delight on the alliance which M. Kevial and my father contracted for me ; but the late failure o£ the firm of Dandelias and Co. has drawn on ours ; aud as a man of honor I deem myself bound to restore to you your piomiee. If your daughter and myself were well acquainted, and if mutual affection had been the basis of the projected union, 1 would have bent my knee before you, madam, and prayed to wait until I repaired our disaster; but have 1 the right to call on another to partake in my poverty, and to join in my labors ? Do I even know what space of time it will take to acquire a fortune equal to that which I have lost ? He that is above can only tell. Your daughter, brought up under your protecting care, is, so I am informed, both amiable and lovely. Who is there, then, who will not be proud and happy to give her an honorable name, and a position in society equal to that in which she was born 1 As to me, I have nothing left, and unwillingly I am forced to renounce the favor designed for me. Ton will pardon me, madame, for leaving Paris without paytog my respects to you; but I should fear, after having seen your daughter, to carry with me a keen regret, which might trouble the calm of an existence now consecrated to labor. Parawell, then, madame; believe me to be penetrated with every sentiment of respect for you, and to remain, your most humble and obedient servant, ■' Jules Bapsac '

The young girl paused a moment after reading the note, and then raising her eyes to meet her mother's, she remarked, as she placed it on the work-table —' Do you not think, mother, that letter is perfect, except the too high opinion expressed of me. I really think that M. Barsac writes with the utmost good sense. I almost regret that I had not seen such a man whose conduct is actuated by such honourable motives.' * This letter,' said Madame Revial mournfully, ' certainly augments my regret. I feel that I could have loved this young- man as a son. Now, what a different lot awaits you! Are you not terrified at the idsa of being obliged to work for your poor mother ?' ' How unkind,' said Anna ; * how unlike yourself ! Why, what is it, after all ? Formerly I embroidered to amuse myself, now I do the same to contribute to your comfort. The latter will be surely the more agreeable. Besides, I can do it now so much more cheerfully. Look, I have disposed of the collar' and she showed the empty case which she had brought out, ' and here's the price obtained for it,' placing the three pieces of money on the table. A light knock at the door interrupted the conversation. Anna cast a look of inquietud e at her mother, for since the loss of their fortune no visit had broken their s:litude. • Go and open it,' said the lady. With a smile she opened, and the opened door gave entrance to a man, whom she immediately recognised a 9 the itrarger who had assisted the poor old sufferer. The countenance of Mademoiselle Revial at once assumed a grave and severe expression. Her mother perceived the change, but before she could make an Inquiry Into the cause, the stranger advanced and saluting her with respect, said —' Madame, you are, I presume, the mother of this young lady ?' Madam Revial made a Bign of assent, and pointed out a chair to the stranger. He took it, and continued— ■ Chance this morning brought mademoiselle and mysalf together, in affording assistance in an unhappy——'

* Oh. mother,' interrupted the young girl, whose neck and face were covered with, blushes at this allusion to the morning'* adventure, ' I have not had time to tell you about it. Do you remember the poor old man who generally took up his station at tho door of our hotel formerly T He always wore a green bandage over his eyes, to conceal his face from the passers by, and held a. small banket of matches in his hand ' ' Yes,' interrupted |Madame Revial In herturn ; ' I remember him well; yonr father always dropped some money into the basket when returning from the Bourse. Yob always called him your poor old man ; and yon, as little as you were, delighted in giving him everything you could scrape together.' ' Well, since our departure from the hotel, wo have asked each other a hundred times what could have become of him.' ' Yes,' said Madame Revial, with evident interest 'Well, mother, I found him to-day, at last, but in such a wretched state that I was really shocked Stretched on the enow, dying, absolutely, of cold acd hunger; and, without the kind assistance of this gentleman, he muEt have re-ished where he lay.* (To be cvntimted.')