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Patty Wise’s existence was limited had pass
ed rapidly and pleasantly away, without any
symptoms on her part to testify that she in
tended to conform to the decree of the physi
cian. At the end of that period, however, she
was seized one night with a sudden illness,
declared to be dying, and Williams and his
wife were sent for by her attendants. Lisle
heard of it, and came home to his wife quite |
triumphant. ‘‘You see.” he said, “what a
fool I shouuld have been if I had followed
your advice. Where would my five hundred
pounds have been, I should like to know ?
Whereas now I shall get the whole hack, with
five per cent interest into the bargain.” Mrs.
Lisle admitted that perhaps in this particular
instance her advice might not have turned out
well; but still, she said, as a general rule, she
thought her maxims were the best. But Mr.
Lisle laughed, and said it was very easy to
back out of the affair by taking your stand
upon general rules, but that these general
rules very rarely fitted particular instances :
however, as he was pleased with the result of
his own foresight and generalship, he said he
would not press her too hard, but let her off
easy, only he hoped that she would have
more confidence in his judgement another
time.
It was very provoking of Miss Patty Wise;
but the obstinacy of oli women on these oc
casions is proverbial, especially when they
have anything to leave. She did not die, but
was out of bed and down in her drawing-room
again at the end of a week ; but Williams
assured Lisle that this attack had given her
such a shake, that it was impossible she could
survive another. It might be that the old
lady was of the same opinion, and therefore,
took care not to expose herself to the risk ;
however that was, three months more passed
without any alarm. Still, that her disease
was mortal, was past a doubt, and a month
or two, more or less, could make no difference,
provided she ‘ hopped off',’ as Williams termed
it, before the year was expired; and that all
the parties concerned, except herself and Mrs.
Lisle, felt perfectly assured she would do.—
Poor Sophia could not resist many qualms of
uneasiness; and she frequently made her hus
band angry by shaking her head and looking
incredulous when she heard these repeated
prognostications of Miss Patty’s speedy disso
lution. Still more annoyed he was by her
occasionally proposing little retrenchments in
their expenditure. She said she had altered
her mind, and that she should not buy anew
shawl. She thought the old one would do very
well another winter; neither did she see any
necessity for taking the children to sea this
autumn they were in good health, and lodgings
were so expensive. Then Mr. Lisle was
persuaded that he saw the remains of a cold
leg of mutton upon his table much more fre
quently than he had been accustomed to; and
he never took up his knife to help his wife,
without feeling a vague sensation of displea
sure towards Miss Patty for not dying within
the limited period, as she ought to have done,
and with Sophia for obstinately continuing to
doubt that she would still die time enough to
save him from any inconvenience. He look
ed upon his wife’s retrenchments and distrust
as so many tati: reproaches! and he felt very
sorry he had ever consulted her in the busi
ness at all, as it only gave her an opportuni
ty of plaguing him.
Eight months of the year had elapsed, and
Miss Patty, though daily declining, was still
alive, when one morning Mr. Lisle received
a message from Williams to say he would be
glad if he could step to his house for a few
minutes, as he wanted to speak to him on
particular business. Lisle obeyed the sum
mons. “Where is your master'?” said he to
the shop-boy. “ Mr. Williams is up stairs,
sir; you’ll find him in the drawing-room,” re
plied the lad. “Well, Williams, what’s the
matter'?” said Mr. Lisle ; but he stopt short;
for beside Williams sat his wife bathed in
tears, with an infant in her arms, and at the
other end of the apartment sat a man with
his hat on the floor, whom he recognized at
once for a sheriff’s officer. “Oh, Lisle, my
dear fellow, I am so glad you are come!” ex
claimed Williams; “1 was sure you would.
There now, Mary, dry your eyes, and don’t
cry so. You’ll make yourself ill, and then
the poor baby will suffer. These women al
ways look to the worst side of everything,”
continued he, leading Lisle towards the win
dow. “ The least thing upsets them, and
there’s no getting them to listen to reason.”—
“But what’s the matter 1” reiterated Lisle.
“ What’s the man doing here ?”
“Its the most unlucky thing,” replied Wil
liams “that ever happened. A twelvemonth
ago I gave Martain and Cos. a bill for five
hundred pounds, making sure that before it
became due 1 should have touched old Patty’s
legacy, and have been able to take it up.—
But the time’s expired, and my bill is returned
dishonored; and though they are literally now
@®®ttiaiheh ihairsibaib¥ ©As&inris*
keeping body and soul together by adminis
tering a teaspoonful of gruel with brandy in
it every quarter of an hour, yet alive she is ;
and, what’s more, perfectly sensible, and as
capable of altering her will as ever she was
in her life, if she chooses to do it. Now,
though certainly to be carried to jail, and
have an execution in one’s house, would be
very unpleasant, and would occasion great
loss and sacrifice of my property, not to men
tion the discredit of the thing, yet I would
submit to all the inconvenience a thousand
times, rather than make another application
to you, who have already done so much for
me, I'm sure if you had been my brother
you could not have been kinder, as Mary and
I often say; and there are very few men in
the world who have heart enough to do as
much for their own relations, much less for
those who have no claim on them. But the
less our claim, the greater has been your kind
ness, You see, if 1 am arrested, and old Patty
hears of it—and there will be plenty glad
enough to tell her—she’ll alter her will as
sure as my name is Williams; and then how
1 am ever to discharge my debt to you, I
honestly confess I don't know.”
Nothing could be more certain than the im
minence of this danger. Mr. Lisle was per
fectly aware that the only chance of saving
his money was by means of Miss. Patty’s le
gacy, and he was much disposed to think
with Williams, that, if she once became aware
of the real estate of her nephew’s affairs, she
would take very good care that her money
should not be lavished in the vain attempt to
extract him from difficulties of his own incur
ring. Now it was that Lisle began to feel the
magnitude of his first error; that had led the
way to a second ; and now here was a third
dilemma, much more potent and pressing than
the second. He certainly could pay the sev
en hundred pounds, as he had told his wife,
should the bill become due before the old la
dy’s death, because, as he had no arrears of
debt, and his credit was good, he trusted that
his own creditors would not be importunate ;
but the loss of the whole twelve hundred
pounds would be a ruinous blow, and would
involve him in embarrassments that he could
not see his way out of at all What was to
be done ? He asked Williams if he had no
other friend he could look to to assist him in
this exigency; but Williams assured him very
truly, that he had not, and added that it would
moreover, be very imprudent to risk the ex
posure of his difficulties by making hopeless
applications; there was no telling, he hinted,
what might be the consequence. Lisle
| asked a little time to consider, and to consult
his wife; but Williams suggested that con
sulting his wife could lead to nothing but
what was painful, without being of the slight
est use. “ Mrs. Lisle couldn’t advise you to
sacrifice your twelve hundred pounds,” said
he, “ though she might be very unwilling to
advise you to put your name to this other lit
tle bill; so that you’d have to decide for your
self at last, and the communication would an
| wer no purpose but to make her uneasy.—
Besides, one don’t know—woman are apt to
judge by the result—perhaps she might blame
i you for what you’ve done already ; and it is
not always very prudent,” he added, laugh
ing, “to put a weapon of that sort into our
wives’ hands—they’re apt to use it rather uti
j mercifully.”
I his last argument was a coup de maitre.
Mr. Lisle dreaded his wife’s knowing the
state of affairs, and the predicament in which,
contrary to her advice, his too-easy good-na
ture had placed him, beyond everything; and
that apprehension, with the almost certain
loss of his money if he left Williams to his
late, determined him to risk another five hun
dred. Bisk, indeed, he hardly thought there
was any—so he once more signed his name,
making himself answerable for the debt in
six months from the day of date.
“I’m sure, my dear fellow, I dont know
how to thank you,” said Williams with lears
iin his eyes, as he wrung his hand. “That
poor infant at its mother’s breast, as well as
every child I have, shall be taught to
lisp your name in its prayers before its fath
er’s and mother’s. I hope by and by, when
we are better off, we shall be able to make
you some return for all your kindness. Do
take home this box of Portugal plums with
I you,” he added, forcing the case into Mr.
Lisle's hand as they passed through the shop,
“they’ll be good for little Sophia’s cough—
they’re nice softening things; and perhaps
you and your wife will drop in about seven
o'clock and take a cup of tea with us. I
want Mrs. Lisle to taste some fine souchong
I have just got down from London—very su
perior quality indeed—eight shillings a-pound.
if she likes it, I shall beg her acceptance of a
few pounds.”
Mr. Lisle walked slowly home, with his
hands in his pockets and his eyes on the
ground, and with an uncomfortable some-
thing at his heart that kept importunately
whispering that all this hospitality and liber
ality which he had so much admired in Wil
liams was somehow or other practised at his
own expense; and a mortifying suspicion
would intrude itself that his wife’s maxims
were not altogether so absurd as he had been
in the habit of pronouncing them. Still, he
argued it was utterly impossible that a wo
man of seventy-five, who was kept alive by
teaspoonfuls of gruel every quarter of an
hour, could survive in that state four months
longer ; and he thought it would be foolish to
make himself uneasy, and still more so to an
noy his wife and risk a quarrel, which was
likely to be the result if he communicated the
affair to her; for the more he was disposed to
blame himself, the less he was inclined to
bear with her reproaches and lamentations—
so he determined to say nothing about the
matter; and as it could not make matters
worse than they were, he saw no reason why
they should not drink tea with Williams, and
accept the tea too, if he choose to give it to
them. “ Certainly,” as he said to himself,
“ nobody could have a better right to it,” so
they went at the hour appointed; and, after
concluding a very pleasant evening with a
luxurious little supper, they returned home
laden with a basketful of French plums, and
almonds, and raisins, and sugar-candy for the
children, and found on their parlor-table six
pounds of the eight-shillings souchong, which
Williams had directed his shopman to put up
and send during the course of the evening ;
and the only difference arising out of the trans
action of the morning was, that when Mrs.
Lisle remarked, with a sigh, that she wished
Williams would not force so many things on
them, Mr. Lisle instead of launching out in
praise of his friend’s generosity, merely said,
“Psha! what does it signify?’, and snatch
ing up his candle, retired to bed.
We must now take a leap of several
months; and we regret to be under the neces
sity of admitting that—to the confusion of the
doctor, and the astonishment of all the world,
who had declared, and indeed still declared,
the thing impossible—Miss Patty was yet in
the land of the living. True, she was bed
ridden, and the apprehension of her altering
her will no longer existed; for her intellects
were entirely gone, and she was nearly speech
less; but still she breathed, and the legacy
was for the time being as unattainable as if
she had been eating beef-steaks and walking
five miles before breakfast. It was a cold
morning, about three weeks after Christmas,
and Mr. and Mrs. Lisle were sitting at break
fast with their children, when the servant an
nounced that “Mr. Grainger wished to speak
with master.”
“ He’s come for the rent, I suppose,” said
Mr. Lisle. “Have you the money ready ?”
“ Let him come in, Sarah,” said Mr. Lisle,
addressing the maid. “No,” he continued in
answer to his wife’s question; “I can’t pay
it till Williams has paid me; but a few days
more must settle that business.”
“I wish to Heaven it were settled!” ex
claimed Mrs. Lisle; “it keeps one in contin
ual hot water. It is so mortifying to be
obliged to send people away without their
money. There was the man here yesterday
that made the ward-rote; it is only nine
pounds, but he said he was a young beginner,
and had his bills coming in, and he hoped I
would not send him away without payment,
as he had given us a year’s credit. I declare
I could have cried when the man went out of
the room —he looked so disappointed, and I
felt so ashamed,”
“Well, well, Sophia, it’s no use grumbling
now,” said the husband impatiently; “the
annoyance will be over in a few days, we’re
sure. Dr. Ramsey was called in to see Miss
Wise on Thursday, and he said nothing could
|be done for her. All we can do is to take
care never to get into such another scrape,
and be glad we've got so well out of this.—
How are you, Grainger, this cold morning ?
Take a seat by the fire, and let my wife give
you a cup of tea. Capital stuff, I assure you
I —a present of Williams;” and Mr. Lisle
| laughed. Mr. Grainger laughed too.
“Well, sir,” said he, “I never got anything
from Williams myself, but he was liberal
enough with his presents, I believe, as long
as he’d anything to give.”
“ He’s a kind-hearted, hospitable fellow
| Williams is as ever lived,” said Mr. Lisle, ra
i ther offended at the slight way in which Mr.
Grainger (a man whom he considered in an
inferior way of trade to himself) spoke of his
friend.
“Oh ay, sir——l dare say he is,” answered
Grainger: “I've nothing to say against him
myself. I’ve no reason; I shall lose nothing
by him ” 6
“Nor will anybody else,” replied Lisle ra
ther tartly,
“Well, sir, I’m glad to hear it, I’m sure
sir,” answered Grainger. “Things may be
better than we've heard, hut I’m told the debts
are heavy. Mr. Bostock says the creditors
may make up their minds to a shilling in the
ponnd or thereabouts.”
“What can Mr. Bostock mean by making
such an assertion !” exclaimed Mr. Lisle.
turning pale betwdxt anger and affright, whilst
his wife set down the teapot she had lifted,
for her nerves failed her, and she could not
hold it.
“I don’t think Mr. Bostock would say any
thing of that sort he wasn’t pretty sure of.”
observed Mr. Grainger; “ but perhaps, sir,
you may have better information. Howsom
ever, I think them’s best off as have had no
thing to do with him ; he always went too
fast for my money. But I must be moving.”
continued he as he rose to place his cup and
saucer on the table; there's a great lot of
timber to he sold by auction at S— to-day.
at one o'clock, that's expected to go cheap,
and I’ve no time to lose.”
Mr. Lisle was perfectly aware that Grain
ger had come for his rent; and the object of
the visit was so well understood between them,
that it was quite unnecessary to name it. In
fact the payment had already been put oft
once; and ihis was the second period appoint
ed by Mr. Lisle, who had reckoned confident
ly on getting his money from Williams before
it arrived. It was therefore very painful to
be obliged to ask a further delay : but as
Mi ss Patty’s senses were gone, and she could
not alter her will now, he had intended to tell
his landlord the real state of the case, and
soothe him with the promise of being able to
answer his demand in a few days; but the
estimate Grainger appeared to have formed
with respect to Williams’ responsibility made
this rather a hopeless expedient. “ You have
called for your rent, I suppose, Mr. Grainger?”
at length said Mr. Lisle, clearing his throat,
seeing that the landlord made no move to
wards resuming his seat, but stood sturdily
with his hat in his hand betwixt the table and
the door.
“In course I have, sir,” replied Grainger,
as if he thought the question wholly super
fluous. “It’s a week past the time you ap
pointed, and I want to go to S- with the
money in my hand.”
“I'm really very sorry, Grainger,” began
Mr. Lisle, whilst poor Sophia's cheek turned
crimson, and her eyes filled with tears; “but
really ”
“You're not a-going to put me off again,
are you ?” exclaimed Grainger in an angry
tone.
“Only for a few days,” said Mr. Lisle.
“I’m sure of money in a few days.”
“So you said before,” roughly answered
Grainger. “Besides, sir, 1 want my money
to go to market with, and I must have it.”
“But I can’t give it you, Mr.Grainger,” re
plied Mr. Lisle. “Be reasonable; a very
few days must see me out of my difficulties,
and the moment 1 get the money—in short,
to be plain with you, don't mention it, and 1
promise yours shall be the very first debt I
pay; but the very moment the breath is out
of old Patty Wise's body ”
“Stop sir!” said Mr. Giainger, setting his
arms akimbo; “do you mean to tell me as
that’s all you've y-d to look to to pay me my
year and a half’s rent?”
“I’ve got a bond from Williams for seven
teen hundred pounds, with five percent inter
est on it,” replied Lisle; “to be paid on the
very day he touches the old woman’slegacy.”
“ Light the fire with it!” answered the land
lord roughly; “it’s all the use it'll ever be.
Seventeen hundred pounds!—seventeen hun
dred rotten eggs! Why, don’t you know
that afore Miss Patty lost her intellects, when
she found from Dr. Ramsay that she was re
ally going, she sent for Williams and told him
that, as she knew very well that he’d bring
her niece to the workhouse if she gave him
any power over the money, she had taken
j care to tie it up so that he could never touch
| a shilling of it ?”
“ She did!” cried Mr. Lisle, starting from
| his seat.
“To be sure she did !” answered Grainger;
| “and what’s more, Williams took the hint
and vanished, without ever coming back here
!to say good-by to anybody. He’s across the
| water by this time, and there’s an execution
|in the house. 1 saw the officers there just
I now as I came past.”
We have not space, neither can it be nec
essary, to paint the despair of the unhappy
Lisle. Not only all the money he had was
gone, but more than he had, for he had been
obliged to borrow five hundred pounds to an
swer the last bill he had given to Williams-
His creditors were pressing, for his situation
was soon whispered abroad; and those who
would have waited patiently whilst he was
prosperous, soon took the alarm when they
I heard of his distress. He was made a bank
rupt. His poor wife was obliged to leave her
comfortable house—at a time, too, that she