II. Old Lady Lloyd
I. The May Chapter
Spencervale gossip always said that "Old Lady Lloyd" was rich and mean
and proud. Gossip, as usual, was one-third right and two-thirds wrong.
Old Lady Lloyd was neither rich nor mean; in reality she was
pitifully poor--so poor that "Crooked Jack" Spencer, who dug
her garden and chopped her wood for her, was opulent
by contrast, for he, at least, never lacked three meals a day,
and the Old Lady could sometimes achieve no more than one.
But she WAS very proud--so proud that she would have died rather than
let the Spencervale people, among whom she had queened it in her youth,
suspect how poor she was and to what straits was sometimes reduced.
She much preferred to have them think her miserly and odd--
a queer old recluse who never went anywhere, even to church,
and who paid the smallest subscription to the minister's salary
of anyone in the congregation.
"And her just rolling in wealth!" they said indignantly.
"Well, she didn't get her miserly ways from her parents.
THEY were real generous and neighbourly. There never was
a finer gentleman than old Doctor Lloyd. He was always doing
kindnesses to everybody; and he had a way of doing them
that made you feel as if you was doing the favour, not him.
Pages:
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37