The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1879-11-18

can't pass the other. Won't you catch
1t from your wifeY How'll you face
her, DanY What'll she say ~
"She'll say l done quite right, re-
piled Dan, stoutly. She's good sort,
God bless her."
So are you Dan, that's fact, God
bless you too" said more than one rough
voice In softened accents. Perhaps the
brat'll bring you luck after all"
Winter-tlde again six years later, but
this season is wet and slushy. Once
more we are at Klrklington,a "A long strag-
Cling village, which might have slum-
bered on in obscurity forever, had not
the Northwestern line been carried close
by 1t, to give IL place in Bradshaw and
certain Importance as a junction and
centre for goods traffic. But the activity
was about the station. All the perma-
nent officials had houses and cottages
there; in the village lived only the field
laborers who worked at the nelghboring
estate, or sometimes lend their hand for
a job of navying on the line. The poor
folk had gruesome life Of 1t, hand-to-
mouth struggle for bare existence against
perpetual privation, accompanied by un-
remitting toll.
A new parson-Harold Teffry-had
come lately to Kirklington. He was an
earnest, energetic young man, who had
won his spurs in an East End parish,
and had now accepted this country liv-
ing, because 1t seemed to open up new
field of usefulness. He had plunged
bravely into the midst of his work; he
was forever going up and down among
his Pensioners, solacing and comforting
preaching manful endurance and truth
fulness to all.
He is now paying round of parochial
visits, accompanied by an old college
chum who is spending Christmas with
him.
"Yonder," said Teffry, pointing to
thin thread of smoke which rose from
some gaunt trees into the sullen, wintry
air, "yonder is the house-if, indeed, 1t
deserves, 80 grand name-the hovel,
rather, of one whose case Is the hardest
of all the hard ones in my unhappy cure.
This man is mere hedger and ditcher,
one who works for any master; most
often for the railway, but who is never
certain of a job all the year round. He
has swarm of young children, and has
,ot oct hfu x,,sfo To ta kan ~
trated-aghast probable at the future be-
fore him, and his utter incapacity to do
his duty to his motherless little ones.
Jack !" cried the parson, stopping short
suddenly, and looking straight into his
companions face. ~ wonder whether
you could rouse himY If you could
only get him to make sign; to cry or
laugh, or to take the smallest interest in
common affairs. Jack, believe you're
the very man. You might get at him
through the children-that marvellous
hanky-panky of yours--those surprising
tricks-a child takes to you naturally at
once. Try and make friends with these
Perhaps when the father sees them In
terested and amused he may warm
little, speak perhaps, approve, perhaps
smile, and in the end give in. Jack,
will you try ?"
Jack Newbiggin was by profession
conveyancer, but nature had intended
him for new Houden or Wizard of
the North. He was more than half
professional by the time he was full
grown. In addition to the quick eye
and the facile wrist, he had the rarer
gifts of the suave manner and the face
of brass. He had even studied mes
merism and clairvoyance, and could
upon occasion surprise his audience con-
siderably by his power. They entered
the miserable dwelling together. The
children Eight of them were skirmish-
ing all over the floor. They were un-
manageable, and beyond the control of
the eldest sister, who was busted in set
ting out the table for the midday meal;
one other child Of six or seven, a bright
eyed, exceedingly beautiful boy, the
least-were not natures vagaries we'll
known-likely to be born among and
belong to such surroundings, stood be-
tween the legs of the man himself, who
had his back TO the visitors and was
crouching low over the scanty fire.
The man turned his head for mo-
ment, gave blank stare, then an i'm