The Owosso times., 1881-11-18

| SNeANAs tshA0 OOa hOiP VIZ OAo bheAii ohOh
Going the same way, was shep Befor
the first winter snow had settled on tn,
mothers grave, she was gone. An,
Caleb? Well, he had his dog left him
and his old Clothes and his sunshin,
wall. and whatwou you more? Poo
people can't have everything they want
you know, in this life.
When little Matte lay stretched whit,
and cold on the mattress on the foo
the bedstead had long since disappear
ed on which her mother had died, tn,
poor people came in and did the bes
they could for her; poor people are no
always thrashing horses and kickinl
dogs to death, as some think; they
sometimes do little kindnesses one fol
the other. and show refinement which
people in higher ranks occasionally for
get. So one brought clean white
sheet and wrapped the little girl in it.
another combed out her fair hair, and 9
third IA flower-grD put spray of ferr
and geranium into her small, thin
hand.
She's looking that lovely, Caleb, she
is,' said brown old woman Of sixty
with handkerchief tied over her
head.
Lord, for this oncer pleaded Caleb,
lifting his hands high above his head.
For one moment only let my eyes be
opened, that they may see the face
have loved and never known The
poor people stood back and heard his
prayer, with their breath drawn in.
Almost they expected a miracle to be
performed-had they not heard Of such
things in the churches ?-and for a mo-
ment the film to be lifted from Caleb's
eyes, that they might rest on the face
he had loved so well, before the cold
earth had shut it in for evermore.
All in vain. No answering Eph-
phatha was breathed down from the
silent everlasting heavens. Caleb's
hands fell down helplessly to his side,
and Jack crept out of corner and
licked them, and then the parish people
sent their undertakers to carry Matte
away to the same big cemetery where
her mother was sleeping.
All gone but Jack! Well, a dog is
something, after all, to have left one;
and when one is old and blind, and
poor, one doesn't expect great deal in
life, you know, but is just thankful for
a crust of bread to eat, some straw or
old clothes to lie down on at night, and
a sunshiny wall to lean against in the
day time; so the dog was altogether
something extra in the way of mereies.
How he do live on is a MARVEL one to
another would wonder, watching the
old man creeping down stairs day after
day to take his stand in the streets;
and the dog is like child to him now,
they would say as they noted Jack sit
ting on his stump of tail, waiting for
gap in the crush Of carts and car
riages before he would venture to lead
his master across the busy highroad.
1t was in those days that Jack first
began to 'fend for himself AS long as
the two Matties lived, there was always
a plate of odds and ends Of some sort
scrape it together how they might
waiting for him inside the door when
he came in from his mornings work;
but after they were gone, things were
different. 1t was hard work enough for
Caleb to get his own daily bread and
collect the eighteen pennies which
paid for his miserable little cupboard
(attic it was supposed to be) at the top
of the house; so when he came in at
four o'clock in the winters twilight
with loaf of bread and few pence,
the cord was unknotted from Jacks
neck and the poor animal let free to
forage for himself in the alleys and
cutters. Jack in this way became
very punctual in his habits. At four
O'clock he was released from duty; it
took him about an hour to fihd his din
in the streets; and punctualy at FIVE he
might be seen sneaking along some by
street with bone in his mouth, or the
remnants of some fish, lodging skill
fully between passers by till he reached
home, where at his masters feet he
would finish in calm enjoyment his
hardly earned meal, to which, be it
noted, Caleb never failed to add some
portion of his own, however scanty it
had been.
This winter of 1881 tried Jack and
Caleb sorely. In the summer things
had been little better with them; peo-
pie had a little more money to spend,
and few more half-pence would find
their way into Caleb's hat; and Jack
also would sometimes get pat on the
head and biscuit or two thrown to
him; but in the winter things began to
20 very hardly with them. Not that
the people of the house were ever un-
kind to them. Poor soulsl they were
kind enough, as far as they had where.
withal to be- kind; and one, who re-
membered the old mans wife, would
come i'm and clean up his room fol
him; and another. who remembered the
blue eyed Matties, would patch up hi.
old clothes for him; and all woald give
kind word or pat to the faithful
lack, now the old mans sole compan
ion and protector. More than thi'
they couldn't do. You see, when. peo
pie have hard work to keep their owl
and their children's bodies and soul
together, they can't be expected to g
about distributing loaves of bread, o
have many remnants of meals to ru
down in their cutters to feed stray dog
and cats.
When the long frost set i'm in Janu
ary, many and many a night did JAG
and Caleb 60 dinnerless and supperes
to bed. Times are little rough jus
now, but we'll see them out together
eh, old friendT Caleb would say whe
Jack came to lick his hand by way o
good night, and to testify his opinion
that, whatever happened, his maste
was in no sense. to blame. Then the
would turn in together, Caleb on hi