The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1880-01-08

ants had been unable to scrape together
enough money TO pay the rent, so the
proctor had summoned them to attend
the sessions at Portaclare in order that
they might show cause why they should
not deliver up the whole Of their worldly
goods.
On the eventful day, which wss ush-
cred in with hurricanes Of binding
sleet, ordered Shawn TO bring out the
horse and car, that we might drive into
Portaclare together. What gathering
there was The streets Of the little
town were so crowded that it WIS almost
impossible to make ones way along. In
the market-place bevies of rosy checked
servant-girls stood waiting to be hired;
pigs grunted and squealed as the drov-
ers whipped them along; the shop
keepers stood at their doors shrieking
to the passengers to buy; the agent sat
in the cozy parlor of the inn comiorta-
bly, enjoying his glass of wine, gazing
with smile into the wild, woe.begone
faces Of the creatures whom he had sum-
moned thither, and determinedly shak-
ing his head at every heart-broken
appeal.
Don't come to me- he said; I'm
done with yea lot of lazy spendthrifts
as ye are. Yell go before them to day
as'll make ye pay
/ sat in remote corner Of the room,
and quietly watched the wretched crea-
lures who crowded around the man;
wild eyes, their famished faces, their
trembling bodies clad in the dirty rags
which were their sole protection from
the cold. And as I glanced from them
to the frozen window-panes, and the
sleet which fell, covering with thin
crystal sheet the curb-stone of the street,
my heart turned sick.
Poor, miserable, half-starved wretch
esp thought, most of you will have
sore hearts tonight, for you will lose
your little all, God help you'll and there
will be nothing but starvation left.
Heart sick at the sight of so much
woe which I was utterly powerless to
relieve, / arose and was about to leave
the room, when my eye was suddenly
arrested by figure, ragged, wild and
woe-begone, which crouched close up
by the window. Five minutes before, l
had seen this man crouched like
stricken beast before the agent, his
skeleton hands outstretched, his parched
lips suing for mercy.
For the love of God, Toney Monna-
CHAN, niver be hard on q poor boy he
had said; 'all my potatoes had the black
disease this year, and they rotted in the
ground. Ny pig took the sickness and
died. l have two little children down
wild fever, and if ye take away my COW
I'll have no dhrap of milk to give them,
and they'll diel'
This appeal, heart breaking as it was,
had met with the usual repulse:
Don't bring yer lies to me. YEN
go before them ash make ye pay
So the man had crept back into the
shadow, and as 1 saw him crouched
beside the window, noticed that the
piteous look of appeal had left his face;
his features were strangely convulsed,
his wild eyes gleomed, and his hand
clinched and unclincaed in nervous
dread.
That man means mischief, said as
/ passed out into the street.
At two o'clock the tenants cases were
to be called on, and as the hands of the
clock approached that hour made my
way through the crowded streets in the
direction Of the court. The wind blew
bitterly, thin fakes of snow we're falling,
and as l walked l felt the ice cracking
and breaking beneath my feet. / no.
ticed to my wonder that the streets
through which l passed were almost
deserted. Presently succession OF
moans and cries struck upon my ear;
then l noticed that people were running
excitedly, and following the direction
which they took, l at length found my
self on the outskirts of great crowd
which was collected in the principal
street before the open door of the court.
Seeing my own servant amongst the
tbrong, questioned him as to the cause
OF the excitement, for / noticed that
many of the people were wringing their
hands, others moaned feebly, while
others glared around them with wild
eyes, and then seemed to utter sighs of
relief. Instead Of replying to my ques.
ton, Shawn took me by the shoulders
and gently propelled me into the middle
of the throng.
There 1 saw the cause OF the dis
turbance.
Lying on the curb-stone, his head
supported in the arms Of q policeman,
his face open to the wondering gaze of
hundreds OF eyes, was the agent, stone
dead. His body was surrounded by
policemen warders OF the court--nay, at
the cry of murder the very Judge upon
the bench had stopped the course Of
justice and come forth.
Good Godl' exclaimed, recoiling
upon Shawn; how did this happenP
He was just walkin' along the street,
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