XXXVI. MRS. L. N. MONMOUTH, AND HOW SHE LIVED ON FORTY DOLLARS A YEAR. HERE is a true tale of a lady, still living among us, who rescued her home, her life, her happiness, and her dignity as a gentlewoman, from an abyss of circum- stances that threatened to engulf them all. She is that Mrs. L. H. Monmouth, of Canterbury, New Hampshire, of whom the reader may have casually heard, who in mid- dle age, half disabled, and an invalid, suddenly lost her fortune. She had been living in comfort and apparent security in the receipt of a modest, but sufficient income, much of which she spent in charity. She awoke one morning and found herself without a dollar — every- thing gone but the old homestead that sheltered her. Too ill to work, afflicted with a crippled arm and one blind eye, and dazed by the suddenness of her misfor- tune, she was at her wits' end to know what to do. In this emergency, friends were not backward in offering their advice. "Take boarders," said one. " Sell your place and buy a cottage," said another. "Let it, and hire your board," said a third. Others, perhaps as well-meaning, but even less prac- tical, counseled her to be resigned, to rely on Providence, to trust and pray. A few added the vague though kindly phrase : "When you want anything, be sure and let us know." If these various suggestions were of any assistance to Mrs. Monmouth in her trouble, it was only in showing (430)
