The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-11-06 00:00:00

164

SUPPL

made the sign of hanging under his chin. At
this there was a shout of laughter that might be
heard through the whole village. But, when the
boy asked for the nuts, it turned out that the
man who had promised theni had none ; and a
fresh shout arose as the bOy ran up to the cheat
and gave him a kick. Meanwhile the new parson
had come down the little hill by the court-house,
and stood watching all that passed ; but, just as
the boy Peter was going to be beaten for his de-
mand of the nuts, the parson stepped quickly up
and snatched the boy away. Instantly all the
peasants drew back, and took off their caps. The
parson now beckoned to the sexton, who happened
to be standing by, to accompany him through the
village, and learnt from him the whole story about
the enmity of the brothers, and all that we have
related above. The following Saturday, as Con-
rad was breaking stones in the village, he re-
ceived an invitation to call upon the parson the
next morning after service. He stared at the
sexton, his pipe went out, and for a minute the
stone remained unbroken under his wooden-soled
shoe. He could not conceive what was to happen
at the parsonage, and would gladly have gone
that very instant. The invitation was brought to
Michael just as he was " polishing the Sunday
boots" of an old horse, for so he called cleaning
the hoofs. He was whistling a snatch of a song,
but stopped short in the middle, knowing full
well the lecture that was in store for him, and
glad to have time to prepare a saucy reply, scraps
of which he muttered to himself.

On Sunday morning the parson preached a
sermon from a verse of the 133rd psalm : " Be-
hold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren
to dwell together in unity." He pointed out how
all earthly happiness and fortune are as nothing,
unless shared and enjoyed with those who have
rested with us on the same mother's breast. He
showed how those parents can never be happy in
this world, nor blest in the next, whose children
are estranged from one another by envy, hatred,
or malice; he quoted the example of Cain and
Abel, and showed how brotherly hate was the
first cause of sin. All this, and much more, the
parson spoke with a clear and thundering voice,
till the people said, one to another, " He'll bring
the walls about our ears !" But, alas ! it is often
easier to move stone walls than the hardened
hearts of men. Barbara wept bitterly as she
thought of the conduct of her brothers ; and,
although the parson addressed his remarks to his
auditors at large, and urged every one to lay his
hand upon his heart, and ask himself whether he
had a true affection for his kindred, nevertheless
every one present felt sure that he referred to
Michael and Conrad.

The two brothers were standing not far from
one another ; Michael bit his cap, -which he held
between his teeth, but Conrad stood listening,
with open mouth ; and once, when their eyes
met, the cap fell from Michael's hand, and he
stooped down quickly to pick it up.
The psalm tune ended with a soft and peace-
ful close ; but, before the last sounds died away,
Michael had left the church, and was standing at
the parsonage door. It was still locked, so he
went into the garden, and stood for a time be-
side the bee-hives, watching the busy activity of
the little creatures. " They know not what
Sunday is !" thought he to himself ; " and I, too,
have no Sunday in my way of living, for I have
no regular day of work." Then, again, he
thought, " How many hundred brothers and
sisters live together in such a hive, and all work
like their parents !" But he did not give way to
these thoughts long, and resolved not to let the
parson lecture him. As he turned toward the
church-yard, the last words of Conrad recurred