32 | TRUE RICHES; OR,

 

mother, needs the tenderest guardianship. At best,
the case is hard enough.”

Jasper did not respond to this humane sentiment,
for there was no pity in him. The waves of feeling,
stirred so suddenly a few hours before, had all sub-
sided, and the surface of his heart bore no ripple of
emotion. He thought not of the child as an object
claiming his regard, but as a trouble and a hinder-
ance thrown in his way, to be disposed of as summa-
rily as possible.

“I’m obliged to you, Edward, for the trouble you
have taken in my stead,” he remarked, after a slight
pause. “To-morrow, I may wish you to call there
again. Of course, the neighbours will give needful
attention until the funeral takes place. By that
time, perhaps, the child will have made a friend of
Some one of them, and secure, through this means,
a home for the present. It is, for us, a troublesome
business at best, though it will soon be over.”

A person coming in at the moment, Claire left
his employer to attend at the counter. The new
customer, it was quickly perceived by the clerk, was
one who might readily be deceived into buying the
articles for which she inquired, at a rate far in ad-
vance of their real value; and he felt instantly
tempted to ask her a very high price. Readily, for
it was but acting from habit, did he yield to this
temptation. His success was equal to his wishes.
The woman, altogether unsuspicious of the cheat
practised upon her, paid for her purchases the sum
of ten dollars above their true value. She lingered
a short time after settling her bill, and made some
observation upon a current topic of the day. One