Morris tribune., 1883-07-07
MIR. Jk,.
An English Story

spectacles, thin, faded hair, faded overcoa
90 match, and an alpaca umbrella. He may
De good, Will, but he is one of the mos
common looking persons l have seen TO
some time"
did you ever soc an original looking
cierkY" queried Win retlectiyely, from hi!
y sofa by the fire. at seems moral neces.
sity that they should all be fashioned after
she same pattern"
Is he clerk2" asked, turning round
from the window.
$50 Ford told me this afternoon. Jay
his name Isl he's tho cashier at Grimsbys. >
The cashier had come up the street, and
let himself in at the next house. wood
yard on one side, and a long. low store shed
on the other, separated the two houses, that
and ours, from the rest of the street. The
house had been empty for months past, but
week ago the bill had been taken do IN
nom the narrow, dusty window; some old
fashioned furniture had arrived in a car,
under the charge of grim faced, deaf old
woman. and lastly the tenant himself ap-
peared upon the scene, and from the open
laths of the Venetian we anxiously SURVEY
ed him, and straightway came to the afore-
said conclusion.
Will was an invaiid-there was something
wrong III his spine, and often for weeks to-
gether he never left his sofa. There were
only the two of us now; ana necessarily
spending the greater part of our lives shut
INTO our tiny house, we had fallen into a
naoit OF Watching and specializing upon the
stray threads of buster lives that sometimes
arifted past the quiet corner where our
oarks had stranded. This was one, We
Ia built up tall castles around chs coming
unknown, and it was rather descent to find
such commonplace parsonage for the oc-
cupant.
For two or three months, his comings
and golngs were q matter of careless in
dlnerene to US. There was not shadow
OF popularity about him to awaken any in
serest. Principally at twenty minutes to
nine every morning he let himself out of
the front door; punctually at twenty-nine
minutes to six every evening he let himself
IN. Every Sunday morning he went to
church, and m the afternoon he read big
brown volume that might have been either
a family bible or Shakespeare, and after
heightened discussion the first week up.
on his possible reasons for wearing such a
remarkably dark drab overcoat, We left our
little neighbours movements unnoticed and
nncrisicized.
At length, in the middle of one bleak
october night, We inaugurated an acquain-
lance with him. Win was seized with one
OF his worst attacks; the doctors house
was nearly mile away and our maid was
stranger and knew nothing of the place;
there was no time to lose and in utter per
piexfty slipped out at the front door and
knocked loudly at the next. It was opened
after what seemed a terrible long interval
oy little MIR. Jay himself, with candle in
ms hand; he looked slightly amazed at the
sight of me.
isn't it Miss Bryce?" he asked: is any
thing the matter?"
1t is my brother-he is so i'll and I
haven't any one to send for the doctor;
would you mind"
OF course will," he interposed: and I
remembered after how promptly the re-
spouse came; where does he live?"
told him and hurried back. The doctor
came; he had helped US through many pre-
Vfous illnesses. and shortly after the parox-
ysm passed and Viii dropped quietly to
sleep.
He was not able to come down the next
day at all, and we took our tea up stairs to-
geth er In the evening. In the midst of it
there came gentle knock at the front door,
and message was brought up that Mr. jaw
would like to see me for a few minutes,
"The first call of the SERIES" commented
Win. Mind, you thank him for me for
fetching Ford
Mr.. jay was standing on the rug in the
lf-hghteG sitting room, and I delivered
Wills message in due terms. wound it
up rather abruptly, finding that my elo-
4uence was not making the impr ession
had expected.
Miss Bryce, he began eagerly the mo-
nent I had stopped. Il wanted to ask you
III 81
proper care of a young babys It's a girl +"
looked at him in considerable astonish-
ment.
TT don't know. exactly, saidI ''Have
you got one?"
L found one last night as I came back
from the doctors: it's at the police station
now. The mother was in a fit in the street.
and she died this morning."
Don't they know where she lived? Has
she no friends?" I asked dubfously,
''No; went round to. night. London's
. large place, and they can't find anything
about her, and the baby will be sent to the
workheuse unless I take it"
Babies need great deal of attention"
sagety observed. Do you really want it2'
There was q minutes silence Before he
answered.
miss Bryce, he said, 81 am q good
way past forty now, and since was six
teen have never had anything to care for
or belong to me. I'm poor and plain, but
this little creature would not know that, and
/ would be better for her than the work.
house"
What does your housekeeper think
about its
Il haven't said anything to her yet; she's
old YOU know; besides. babies sleep nearly
all day" he explained with an air of calm
confidence, and Ina always back by 6; don't
you think it's possible2 thought you
would. understand"
thought of the little mans forty lonely
years-Will and I had each other-and
turned to him suddenly. ''Mr. Jay, you
helped Us last night, and If you take it I'll
help you all can with it. I don't know
anything about babies, but it can't be very
hard to End out.
"Thank you," he said gratefully. eff
you would look at it sometimes during the
day, or tell me what to do, I'm not at all
afraid of the nights.
At half past the very next morning
there was another low knock at the door,
and Mr.. Jay came in with big bundle in
his arms. There was not shade of anxiety
In bis bright face as he proudly opened the
rough shawl to show Us his new possession.
There! isn't she bonnie little crea-
ture?" he demanded.
Indeed, she u.s." assented Will warmly,
stretching up from his sofa to look at the
Tiny face and placid blue eyes Nesting
among the gray folds on his arms. It
lacked no welcome from any of us that
night. We solemnly debated over the
merits of various feeding bottles and vague
fragments of half forgotten nursery lore
for an hour; and when Mr.Jay gathered up
his little waif and left us, it seemed almost
impossible that only two days before we had
been perfect strangers.
Before week was over, Mr.Jay's baby
was an institution; but oh! the anxious
hours before we got into that baby's
ways-it had to come to that, for it utterly
declined to fall in with ours. We read
aloud elaborate theories from ponderous
tones, on the propriety of regular hours
and firm training, but one pitiful baby cry
scattered them all to the four winds; and,
ahl the humiliating plumbers 1 made in
trying to fashion the little garments ald
make it look like other peoples babies.
Hitherto. had ranked as moderately in.
telligent and accomplished person, but