Friends and Neighbors Part 5

"DO you recollect Thomas, who lived with us as waiter about two years ago, Mary?" asked Mr. Clarke, as he seated himself in his comfortable arm-chair, and slipped his feet into the nicely-warmed, embroidered slippers, which stood ready for his use.

"Certainly," was the reply of Mrs. Clarke. "He was a bright, active fellow, but rather insolent."

"He has proved to be a regular pickpocket," continued her husband, "and is now on his way to Blackwell's Island."

"A very suitable place for him. I hope he will be benefited by a few months' residence there," returned the lady.

"Poor fellow!" exclaimed Mr. Joshua Clarke, an uncle of the young couple, who was quietly reading a newspaper in another part of the room.

"There are many of high standing in the world, who deserve to go to Blackwell's Island quite as much as he does."

"You are always making such queer speeches, Uncle Joshua," said his niece. "I suppose you do not mean that there are pickpockets among respectable people?"

"Indeed, there are, my dear niece. Your knowledge of the world must be very limited, if you are not aware of this. Putting your hand in your neighbour's pocket, is one of the most fashionable accomplishments of the day."

Mrs. Clarke was too well acquainted with her uncle's peculiarities to think of arguing with him. She therefore merely smiled, and said to her husband:--

"Well, Henry, I am glad that neither you nor myself are acquainted with this fashionable accomplishment."

"Not acquainted with it!" exclaimed the old gentleman. "I thought you knew yourselves better. Why, you and Henry are both regular pickpockets!"

"I wonder that you demean yourself by a.s.sociating with us!" was the playful reply.

"Oh, you are no worse than the rest of the world; and, besides, I hope to do you some good, when you grow older and wiser. At present, Henry's whole soul is absorbed in the desire to obtain wealth."

"In a fair and honourable way, uncle," interrupted Mr. Clarke, "and for honourable purposes."

"Certainly," replied Uncle Joshua, "in the common acceptation of the words _fair_ and _honourable_. But, do you never, in your mercantile speculations, endeavour to convey erroneous impressions to the minds of those with whom you are dealing? Do you not sometimes suppress information which would prevent your obtaining a good bargain? Do you never allow your customers to purchase goods under false ideas of their value and demand in the market? If you saw a man, less skilled in business than yourself, about to take a step injurious to him, but advantageous to you, would you warn him of his danger--thus obeying the command to love your neighbour as yourself?"

"Why, uncle, these questions are absurd. Of course, when engaged in business, I endeavour to do what is for my own advantage--leaving others to look out for themselves."

"Exactly so. You are perfectly willing to put your hand in your neighbour's pocket and take all you can get, provided he is not wise enough to know that your hand is there."

"Oh, for shame, Uncle Joshua! I shall not allow you to talk to Henry in this manner," exclaimed Mrs. Clarke perceiving that her husband looked somewhat irritated. "Come, prove your charge against me. In what way do I pick my neighbour's pockets?"

"You took six shillings from the washerwoman this morning," coolly replied Uncle Joshua.

"_Took_ six shillings from the washerwoman! Paid her six shillings, you mean, uncle. She called for the money due for a day's work, and I gave it to her."

"Yes, but not till you had kept her waiting nearly two hours. I heard her say, as she left the house, 'I have lost a day's work by this delay, for I cannot go to Mrs. Reed's at this hour; so I shall be six shillings poorer at the end of the week.'"

"Why did she wait, then? She could have called again. I was not ready to attend to her at so early an hour."

"Probably she needed the money to-day. You little know the value of six shillings to the mother of a poor family, Mary; but, you should remember that her time is valuable, and that it is as sinful to deprive her of the use of it, as if you took money from her purse."

"Well, uncle, I will acknowledge that I did wrong to keep the poor woman waiting, and I will endeavour to be more considerate in future. So draw your chair to the table, and take a cup of tea and some of your favourite cakes."

"Thank you, Mary; but I am engaged to take tea with your old friend, Mrs. Morrison. Poor thing! she has not made out very well lately. Her school has quite run down, owing to sickness among her scholars; and her own family have been ill all winter; so that her expenses have been great."

"I am sorry to hear this," replied Mrs. Clarke. "I had hoped that her school was succeeding. Give my love to her, uncle, and tell her I will call upon her in a day or two."

Uncle Joshua promised to remember the message, and bidding Mr. and Mrs.

Clarke good evening, he was soon seated in Mrs. Morrison's neat little parlour, which, though it bore no comparison with the s.p.a.cious and beautifully furnished apartments he had just left, had an air of comfort and convenience which could not fail to please.

Delighted to see her old friend, whom she also, from early habit, addressed by the t.i.tle of Uncle Joshua, although he was no relation, Mrs. Morrison's countenance, for awhile beamed with that cheerful, animated expression which it used to wear in her more youthful days; but an expression of care and anxiety soon over shadowed it, and, in the midst of her kind attentions to her visiter, and her affectionate endearment to two sweet children, who were playing around the room, she would often remain thoughtful and abstracted for several minutes.

Uncle Joshua was an attentive observer, and he saw that something weighed heavily upon her mind. When tea was over, and the little ones had gone to rest, he said, kindly,

"Come, f.a.n.n.y, draw your chair close to my side, and tell me all your troubles, as freely as you used to do when a merry-hearted school-girl.

How often have listened to the sad tale of the pet pigeon, that had flown away, or the favourite plant killed by the untimely frost. Come, I am ready, now as then, to a.s.sist you with my advice, and my purse, too, if necessary."

Tears started to Mrs. Morrison's eyes, as she replied.

"You were always a kind friend to me, Uncle Joshua, and I will gladly confide my troubles to you. You know that after my husband's death I took this house, which, though small, may seem far above my limited income, in the hope of obtaining a school sufficiently large to enable me to meet the rent, and also to support myself and children. The small sum left them by their father I determined to invest for their future use. I unwisely intrusted it to one who betrayed the trust, and appropriated the money to some wild speculation of his own. He says that he did this in the hope of increasing my little property. It may be so, but my consent should have been asked. He failed and there is little hope of our ever recovering more, than a small part of what he owes us. But, to return to my school. I found little difficulty in obtaining scholars, and, for a short time, believed myself to be doing well, but I soon found that a large number of scholars did not insure a large income from the school. My terms were moderate, but still I found great difficulty in obtaining what was due to me at the end of the term.

"A few paid promptly, and without expecting me to make unreasonable deductions for unpleasant weather, slight illness, &c., &c. Others paid after long delay, which often put me to the greatest inconvenience; and some, after appointing day after day for me to call, and promising each time that the bill should be settled without fail, moved away, I knew not whither, or met me at length with a cool a.s.surance that it was not possible for them to pay me at present--if it was ever in their power they would let me know."

"Downright robbery!" exclaimed Uncle Joshua. "A set of pickpockets! I wish they were all shipped for Blackwell's Island."

"There are many reasons a.s.signed for not paying," continued Mrs.

Morrison. "Sometimes the children had not learned as much as the parents expected. Some found it expedient to take their children away long before the expiration of the term, and then gazed at me in astonishment when I declared my right to demand pay for the whole time for which they engaged. One lady, in particular, to whose daughter I was giving music lessons, withdrew the pupil under pretext of slight indisposition, and sent me the amount due for a half term. I called upon her, and stated that I considered the engagement binding for twenty-four lessons, but would willingly wait until the young lady was quite recovered. The mother appeared to a.s.sent with willingness to this arrangement, and took the proffered money without comment. An hour or two after I received a laconic epistle stating that the lady had already engaged another teacher, whom she thought preferable--that she had offered me the amount due for half of the term, and I had declined receiving it--therefore she should not offer it again. I wrote a polite, but very plain, reply to this note, and enclosed my bill for the whole term, but have never heard from her since."

"Do you mean to say that she actually received the money which you returned to her without reluctance, and gave you no notice of her intention to employ another teacher?" demanded the old gentleman.

"Certainly; and, besides this, I afterwards ascertained that the young lady was actually receiving a lesson from another teacher, when I called at the house--therefore the plea of indisposition was entirely false.

The most perfect satisfaction had always been expressed as to the progress of the pupil, and no cause was a.s.signed for the change."

"I hope you have met with few cases as bad as this," remarked Uncle Joshua. "The world must be in a worse state than even I had supposed, if such imposition is common."

"This may be an extreme case," replied Mrs. Morrison, "but I could relate many others which are little better. However, you will soon weary of my experience in this way, Uncle Joshua, and I will therefore mention but one other instance. One bitter cold day in January, I called at the house of a lady who had owed me a small amount for nearly a year, and after repeated delay had reluctantly fixed this day as the time when she would pay me at least a part of what was due. I was told by the servant who opened the door that the lady was not at home.

"What time will she be in?" I inquired.

"Not for some hours," was the reply.

Leaving word that I would call again towards evening, I retraced my steps, feeling much disappointed at my ill success, as I had felt quite sure of obtaining the money. About five o'clock I again presented myself at the door, and was again informed that the lady was not at home.

"I will walk in, and wait for her return," I replied.

The servant appeared somewhat startled at this, but after a little delay ushered me into the parlour. Two little boys, of four and six years of age, were playing about the room. I joined in their sports, and soon became quite familiar with them. Half an hour had pa.s.sed away, when I inquired of the oldest boy what time he expected his mother?

"Not till late," he answered, hesitatingly.

"Did she take the baby with her this cold day?" I asked.

"Yes, ma'am," promptly replied the girl, who, under pretence of attending to the children, frequently came into the room.

The youngest child gazed earnestly in my face, and said, smilingly,