l to me. Made a fortune _first_, nobody to spend it _last_. Yes,
yes," continued the old man, in a thoughtful strain, "old Job Carson
will soon slip off the handle; 'poor old devil,' some bloodsucker may
say, as he grabs Job's worldly effects, 'he's gone, had a hard scrabble
to get together these things, and now, we'll pick his bones.' Well, let
'em, let 'em; serves me right; ought to have known it before, but blast
and rot 'em, if they only enjoy the pillage as much as I did the
struggles to keep it together, why, a--it will be about an even thing
with us, after all."

"Yis, massa, here I is," chuckled Banquo, again putting his black bullet
pate in at the door.

"You are, eh? Well, clear yourself--no, come back; go down to Oatmeal's
store, and tell him to let old Mrs. Dougherty, and the old blind man,
and the sailor's wife, and--and--the rest of them, have their groceries,
again, this week--only another week, mind, for I'm not going to support
the whole neighborhood any longer--tell him so."

"Yis, massa, I'se gone."

"Wait, come here, Banquo; well, never mind--clear out."

But Banquo returned in a moment, saying:

"Dar's a lady at the doo-ah, sah; says she wants to see you, sah, 'bout
'ticlar business, sah."

"Is, eh? Well, call her into the parlor, I'll be down--ah-h, that
infernal _twinge_ again, ah-h-h-h, ah-h! What a stupid ass a man is to
hang around in this world until he's a nuisance to himself and every
body else!" grunted old Job, as he groped his way down stairs, and into
the parlor.

"Good morning, ma'am," said he, as he confronted the widow, who, in
the utmost taste of simple neatness, had arranged her spare dress, to
meet the umpire of her future fate.

Mrs. Glenn respectfully acknowledged the salutation, and at once opened
her business to the bluff old man.

"Yes, yes; I'm a poor, unfortunate creature, ma'am; I'm nothing, nobody,
any more. I want somebody to see that I'm not robbed, or poisoned, and
that I may have a bed to lie upon, and a clean piece of linen to my back
occasionally, and a--that's all I want, ma'am."

The widow feigned to hope she knew the duties of a housekeeper, and
situated as she was, it was a labor of love to work--toil, for those
misfortune had placed in her charge.

"Eh? what's that--haven't got _incumbrances_, have you, ma'am?"

"I have three children, sir," meekly said the widow.

"Three children?" gruffly responded the old gentleman; "ah, umph, what
business