The old
Mr. Richmond ran forward and pressed him to his breast. Lucy and her
brothers kissed his hands and wet them with their tears. "Oh, that your
father were with us," was all Mr. Richmond could say.
George then seated himself and learned the history of his father's last
days. Mr. Richmond told everything as he remembered, and every eye was
moist. He told, too, how rough, mean and cruel the heirs had been,
particularly Mr. Bond.
Hours passed like seconds to George, who listened breathlessly. He
assured them of his good will and promised them soon to return and
better their condition. He then left to make a few visits and to attend
to some important business.
In the meantime, the affairs in Mr. Bond's household were not very
agreeable. Following the unfortunate feast and revelry, Mr. Bond and his
wife and daughter had passed the remainder of the night planning what
they would do next.
"Nothing worse could have befallen me," said Mr. Bond, "than the return
of this boy. I would rather that this house had tumbled in on us, and
killed us all as we stood there. When I return my inheritance to George
Acton, I become a beggar. What we have wasted, is twice as much as we
ever had, and nothing will be left for us."
"Oh," said his wife, "then we must sell our jewels and our carriages,
and I must again walk to the theatres, like other ordinary people. I
shall never survive it!"
"You will, most likely, never get to a place of amusement," said Mr.
Pages:
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128