"Be silent, you incorrigible papist; what need is there of flying off
at such a tangent?" said Mr. Stillinghast, with a grim smile; "I did
not mean _that_, but what will become of you when I am dead?"
"I have a head, sir, and hands, and great faith in Him, who has
promised to be a father to the orphan. I shall never want. In honest
exertion I shall be happy and content," she said, earnestly.
"And you do not regret or envy the fortune?
"Not on my own account, sir."
"On whose, then?"
"There are many, sir, who might be benefited by it, if properly
applied. I think, _now_, if I had a fortune, I could do a great deal
of good with it."
"You'd do harm, May Brooke--you'd do harm. You'd squander it--you'd
encourage pauperism, and worthlessness, and beggary!" he burst out.
"I shall never have it to do good or evil with, uncle; but if I had, I
would _endeavor_, for God's sake, to bestow it where it was needed; and
because it would be offered for the love of Him, my works would not
fall useless or fruitless to the earth. HE would bless and aid me."
"Profit--gain--loss," again muttered the old man. "But, as you will
never inherit a fortune, I suppose your good intentions must suffice."
"Yes, sir, for the present."
"And, now that you have nothing to expect from me, of course you will
feel quite independent of me and my wishes. If I should be ill, I
suppose you'd take off and leave me to my fate," he said, bitterly.
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