The Brookhaven leader., 1885-12-24
= BROOKHAvEN MISS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, ISIS

the others that be fought to he put some
where
At last it was decided to send him to the
poorhouse.
It was not that they grudged him the little
it cost to supply his necessities: they wanted
him out of the way. Neither did they want
to send him to the almShouse as paupor,
but as a person of infr1n mnd-not de-
mented enough to he lodged in hosDital for
the insane but 100 uncertain to have his
| liberty. ......-.
The way was perfectly easy. Tho law wHs
on their sile, though humanity was not.
They even plumed themselves upon having
done more than their duty by him. They
were TO pay his board and buy his clothes.
The idea was that they wanted him ''looke
after" This was the language in which
| they clothed the verv mennest a It Of thair
| lives. They measured out justice at value
| tion of dollars and cents, and took no ac-
count Of most precious things. They were
about to hurt the helpless, forgetting it IS
written that the strong shall share their
strength with the weak.
The evening before Davy was to leave nm
ominous silence fell on the household A fire
burned in the CRATE of the pleasant little si'-
! ting room; the lamp light was brighter than
ever, but the good cheer that comes from
well-doing was absent Something invisible
but dreadful was there. and a.. felt its pres
ence but navy. The unkind decd rlanne1
/ for the morrow had already taken evil shape at
! their hearth, intangible but real The kuowl-
! edge of the invisible spectre, whose name
was In Justice, made them STRANGELY silent
all but Davy. He was exacting unlimited
amusement from toy fox that harked weakly
| ybo,x L. f1a uv,I
that came from the mouth of the Gi:nmuti*e
REWARD he would break into peals Of laugh
ter. Curously enough. the more he laughed
! the graver grew the three other faces. Hts
| ioyou ness rebuked them. His innocent hap
piness embarrassed them. His perfect trust
| put them 70 shame
Outside the wind was making wild music.
Suddenly it blew open the gate, which swung
| shut ayain with a clatter of its iron latch.
ats mother! It's mother" shouted Davy,
springing to the door and opening it; but
only the raw December night wind rushed
| in. At least that seemed to be a /, but it
brought with it chill The word 'mo.her,'
as Davv spoke it, had rent her grave and
brought her there-an actll1l presence. All
| felt her calm eyes look into their guilty
hearts with sorrowful surprise and saw her
wrap her arms lovingly and protectingly
around Davy, as they had seen her do in
life a thousand times. They did not see this
with their natural cv'"s, but their slumberng
consciences aroused by her name took this
! shape.
Davv shut the doors and sat down with a
look of disappointment in his face.
'She didn't come" he said, "but thought
all day she would
He sat silent for a minute and then said to
| Catherine:
''If mother comes tonight you'll wake me
| Katy, won't you. She'll be so glad to se+
| me-" end at the very thought he was all sun
shine again.
This innocent faith in his own Importance
| touched them. There was not one OF the
three at that moment who would not gladly
have un lone everything and declared that
Davy shoull stay there forever; but no one
put the wish into words 1t is as difficult to
give expression to COOL at first as to evil.
That curious shame which sometimes seals
the lips when the noblest feelings demand
utterance held them silent And so ths
golden moment which might have been glori-
fed by a deed of imperiShable beauty rolled
by, and an act of shameful selfshness was
recorded in its stead.
Some of the gloom that shadowed tn.
place settled upon Davv at last, and he laid
ulS uctio uEOh Julia Aop o-AA AoAA e~'aSSP'
It was ten O'Clock the next morning When
John Keller, who drove the wagon from tha'
poor farm to the town every day halted be-
fore the Carson cottage.
The December sunshine was glorious, the
air fresh and bracing and the sparrows ia
the leatiess vines were holding a lively matt
L6e. s
Davy was never so jubilant. He was full
of health, essily pleased, and was about TO
have ride. At first he thought he woubi
take the cat with him He had had her IL
his arms all morning and hated to let her gu
Finally he changed his mind and took his
doll, which, by some-to bim-unaccountabls
agency, had been freshly and gaily dressed,
and was standing in the front window az
though ready for ceremonious events. He,
modish attire was a pi;iful burlesque upon
her destination; but, happily, she and her
| owner were both unconscious Of that Dolls
| have their romances as we'll as people. The
| irony of fate does not exclude them from its
| operations Surely no one could have
dreamed that such beautiful belle of doll
dom was destined to display her charms in au
almshouse.
As soon as Davy saw her he dropped ths
| cat and seized her in his arms. declaring thai
size was the prettiest doll in the world ami
should go for ride. With the barking fox
in his pocket aud the beautiful belle in his
arms he climbed into the wagon and sat
down beside John Keller. as innocent aIst
happy a child as ever found pleasure In
childish things ss.e - @-rg't -
..Good-by, Katy; I'll be back by dinner
time" he called out, cheerily.