Canton Weekly Register

Miscellaneous.
The Fortunate Loss.
BY HARRY HARTLAND.

"That will do, I think," soliloquized Frank
Stanley; "it will not do to be too explicit;
and then, if it belongs to a poor person, a
short advertisement will not cost them as much
as a long one;" and he read—

FOUND--A small sum of money, which the owner
can have by proving property, on application to
Frank Stanley, 409 Palace avenue.
f6-3t

Then he rang a bell and handed it to a ser-
vant, who appeared to answer his summons,
with instructions to carry it to the office of
the Herald, and have it inserted three times.

Frank Stanley had only recently come into
the possession of a large property, by the
death of a bachelor uncle, whose last words
to his nephew were, "take the property, my
boy; I've willed it all to you; live comforta-
bly; don't spend it too freely; and, above all
things, NEVER GET MARRIED."

Now, committing matrimony was some-
thing that had hardly entered Frank's head;
but his uncle was not in his tomb one month
before he was wondering why his uncle should
have expressed such a desire as that, and also
wondered if it was not better for man to be
married; then he began to think that he should
rather like matrimony; and, finally, he deci-
ded that he would make Mrs. Frank Stanley
of the first lady whom he should like well
enough—that is, if he could gain her con-
sent.

Frank's means, until since the decease of
his uncle, had been very limited; and, although
he was of a good family, and was possessed of
a good education, fine accomplishments and
pleasing manners, yet he was not considered a
"good catch" by managing mamma and mar-
riageable daughters; therefore, he had re-
ceived but few invitations to their soirees,
and, at the few which he had attended, he no-
ticed that he was by no means a great favorite
with the ladies; so he became disgusted with
female society, more especially that which is
called fashionable; and if his wealthy uncle
had advised him to remain a bachelor, he
would have readily promised to, and would
have devoted his life to his books.

Frank was in no ways inclined to dissipa-
tion; he despised the company of fast young
men more than he did that of fashionable
young ladies; and all their efforts to inveigle
him into their mode of life proved fruitless.
But since he has become a man of property,
he found that there was something wanting
to complete his happiness; what it was, he
was at a loss to conceive, unless it was a
wife.

table at some dozen gilt-edged, perfumed, po-
lite-worded requests that he would favor the
senders with his company; and he thought of
his lonely situation in life, and of course be looked on the
dark side of matters; then he looked upon the
the inditer of each and every one, and won-
dered if there was one among the fair dozen
who would contribute to make his life any
happier.

He thought and wondered until he was quite
tired of thinking and wondering; he took his
hat and walked out in order to change the
channel of his thoughts. As he walked down
the broad avenue, musing on the easiest way
to relieve his mind of the troublesome subject.
his eyes fell upon a purse, through the meshes
of which a gold coin was shining. His med.
itations were brought to an abrupt termina-
tion, as he picked the purse up. He imte-
diately turned upon his heel and retraced his
steps. Arriving at the house, he laid the
purse upon the table, and bethought of the best
plan to find the owner. As a matter of course,
he decided on advertising, which he did, as
my readers have seen.

The remainder of the forenoon, Frank spent
with his books; but, after dinner, he began to
be besieged with visitors. It was strange how
many money-losers there were! The adver-
tisement had only been in the evening edition,
and he had over fifty callers; some had lost a
porte monaie containing about five dollars;
some wallets, with from ten to thirty: others
had dropped purses with three or four dollars
in them; one gentleman had lost a roll of bank
bills; quite a number had dropped bills, some
ten, some five, some three, some two dollars.
and some one; one young girl came who hoped
Mr. Stanley had found the quarter she had
lost down one of the gratings on Washington
street, about two weeks before; and an old
man just dropped in to see if it was the half-
dime that he had dropped in the omnibus that
morning. All of these callers the servant had
to show to the door disappointed.

The next morning Frank had dismissed
some dozen applicants for the treasure, when
an Irishman was shown into the room: with-
out removing his hat for an apology, he ex-
claimed, "Well, man, dear, let me have my
dollar and a half, and I'll trate you to the
whisky for yer honesty." When told that
it
was more than a dollar and a half that was
found, he desired to know the amount; this
Frank very properly refused to tell; where-
upon the visitor became saucy, calling Frank
an "old cheat," and threatening to pound him
if he did not give the money up, and finally
vowing that he would sue him for an impos-
ter. Frank had just rung the bell to have
his servant remove the man, when the door
bell rang, and the porter showed in a young
lady.

She was a very pretty young lady, and,
somehow, Frank received an impression that
she must be as good as she was pretty; and he
almost blushed as he rose to receive her, and
say "good morning."

"I called," she said, "to see if the money
which you advertised is mine."

"Could you describe your property?" ask-
ed Stanley.

"Yes, sir; there was fifty dollars, all in
gold; one eagle, three half eagles, six quarter
eagles, one three dollar piece, and seven gold
dollars; it was all in a faded green silk net
purse, and my name, 'Mary Edmonds,' was on
the inside, near the mouth. I dropped it yes-
terday morning, about ten o'clock, somewhere
between the residence of Mr. Ralton and No.
T-street."

"This, then, must be your money; I found
it not a dozen rods from Mr. Ralton's house,"
and he handed her the purse,

"Oh, I am so glad," she exclaimed; "and so
will mother be, for we never expected to find
it. Mother thought it useless to call upon
you, as you advertise it as a small sum; but as
it was on my way to Mr. Ralton's, I thought
that there could be no harm in calling. It
probably seems a larger amount to us than it
does to you, as it is all we have, and I have
been all winter earning it."

All winter earning it! and Frank Stanley
was astonished.

"Are you employed at Mr. Ralton's?" he
inquired.

"Yes, sir; I have been making shirts for
Mr. Ralton, and other sewing."

Making shirts for Mr. Ralton! thought
Stanley; and he was again surprised, for Rose
Ralton had boasted to him, only a few days
before, that she made all her father's shirts,
and that she had made him two dozen dur-
ing the winter, besides doing some other nee-
dle work.

"And how many shirts have you made for
the Raltons?" inquired Frank, inclined to un-
ravel the mystery.

"A dozen pair, sir."

"Has Miss Ralton assisted you?"

"No, sir."

"I presume she makes the anti-macassars
and the lamp-rests?"

"No, sir; I did them all, and have engaged
to make another lamp-rest for her, which she
wishes to present to a friend."

"Ah, I understand it now," said Frank, in
an under tone.

Miss Ralton had promised to work him a
lamp-rest similar to the one he had admired in
her parlor. She was trying to catch him by
a pretense of industry, by claiming the handi-
work of others as her own.

"Have you a permanent engagement?" he
inquired, abruptly.

"No, sir."

"Then I wish you to make some fine shirts
for me."

"I should be happy to, after fulfilling my
engagement with Mr. Ralton."

"But I cannot wait. What does Miss Ral-
ton pay you for making shirts?"

"Two dollars a pair."

"Well, I will pay you four dollars a pair
and for other work in proportion. I will give
you work for one year, and you shall make
this your home. I will introduce you to my
house-keeper;" and he pulled the bell-cord, as
he said so.

"But I should prefer returning to my mo-
ther every evening, as she is an invalid."

"Where does she live?"

"In L- street."

"Tell John to bring the carriage around to
the door as soon as possible," said Frank to
the servant who had answered the bell. Then
turning to the astonished Mary Edmonds, he
said:

"I will go to your mother's with you, if you
have no objection."

Mary had scarcely got over her surprise
when the carriage drove up to the door. As
she and Frank descended the broad marble
steps, Miss Ralton happened to be just passing
the door.

"Ah, good morning, Frank," she said, her
face all smiles. "You must not steal away
my seamstress before she has finished her en-
gagement with us," and she laughed. "She
is a very plain sewer, though," she added.

"Owing to a better engagement, Miss Ed-
monds will be obliged to break her contract
with you," said Frank, coolly.

"Are you her silent partner, or merely a
confidential adviser?"

"I hope to have the honor of being both at
a future day," replied Frank, quietly.

He handed Mary into the carriage as though
she were a titled lady; and springing in beside
her, they drove off, leaving Rose upon the
sidewalk, surprised and chagrined.

Upon their way to L- street, neither
spoke, so I will take the opportunity to inform
the reader that Mary, an only child, had lost
her father five years before; he left her noth-
ing but a good education and an invalid mo-
ther. She had attempted teaching several
times, but she was unsuccessful; for, although
she was a fine scholar, she was too quiet, clev-
er, too good-natured for an instructor; so, to
support herself and mother, she had recourse
to her needle.

It was before one of the many "model hou-
ses," so-called, (which are one of the Boston
notions, and a very good notion they are, too.)
where Mr. Stanley's carriage stopped. Up
two pair of stairs were the rooms of Mrs. Ed-
monds and her daughter. Into these he was
shown, or, rather, into one of them--a very
neatly furnished parlor. In one corner stood
a piano, and over it was suspended a guitar;
in another stood a what-not, upon which were
a few of the standard poets, a fresh cut maga-
zine, a work-basket, a portfolio of sheet mu-
sic, and a few other articles. Upon the walls
hung works of Mary's pencil; and everything
in and about bore signs of ease and comfort,
which might have been looked for in vain in
houses of greater pretension.

"You play, then," remarked Frank to Ma-
ry, after he had been introduced to her moth-
er; and his eyes for the third time rested on
the piano.

"Yes, sir; I am very fond of music when I
can devote my time to it; but I find little time
to practice now."

"Do you sing?"

"In my way."

"Will you favor me with this?" and Frank
took up "Gentle Annie," which lay upon the
piano.

"With pleasure;" and Mary took her seat
at the instrument, and sang, in fine taste, first
the piece asked for, then another piece which
Frank wished to hear; then they sang a duet,
after which Frank sang a comic song with
good effect; and there is no telling how much
longer they would have sung, had not the bell
of a neighboring church rang the hour of noon
so loud as to call Stanley to a sense of duty.

He apologized for detaining them so long, but
he had really forgotten himself in such excel-
lent company. He then informed them of his
uncle's death, the advice and property he had
left to him, his possession of the property, and
his doubts in regard to the advice; of 'Miss
Ralton's deception in claiming Mary's needle-
work for her own; of his thoughts of marry-
ing and of his thoughts of her and one or two
fashionable young ladies the morning that he
found the purse, He then invited Mary and
her mother to make his house their home for
a year at least; there Mary could find time to
devote to her music, her drawings and her
books; and if, upon a riper acquaintance, they
were mutually pleased, he should be happy to
make her Mrs. Stanley.

Need I tell my readers that Mrs. Edmonds
was surprised? all my other characters have
been, in their turn, why should not she?-
Frank was surprised when he learned that
Rose Ralton did not net those anti-macassars;
Mary, when Frank expressed his determina-
tion to visit her mother, and Miss Ralton,
when she saw him hand her seamstress into
his carriage with so much grace. Now, as it
is nothing more than right the Mrs. Edmonds
should take her turn, dear reader, please con-
sider her surprised.

Notwithstanding her surprise, the more
Mrs. Edmonds thought of Frank's offer, the
more she was inclined to accept it; and it was
but a few weeks ere they were both domiciled
beneath the roof of Stanley Hall. A large
room, with windows facing to the south, was
assigned to Mrs. Edmonds; the walls hung
with Mary's drawings, and her parlor furni-
ture was here. In a recess by a window Frank
had placed an arm chair, and to this room
Mary and he came every afternoon and read.
played and sung to her mother—was she not
a happy mother? Her health has improved
much, and she often rides out with Mary and
Frank.

Last night there was a wedding at Stanley
Hall. Mary Edmonds is no more. As they
stood before the man of God, and she vowed
to "love, honor and obey," Frank forgot alike
Rose Ralton and her fibs, and the advice of his
uncle.

Mrs. Edmonds thinks it was a most fortu-
nate loss when Mary dropped that purse; but
Frank always interrupts, by reminding her
of the loss to him if he had failed to adver-
tise it !