The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1886-12-23

! which hung SO loosely about his tall, gaunt
frame contrastcd piteously With hi; dis
t;ngGishej bearing. At the same time there
was no trace in his countenanco, which was
that Of z refined thinker, OF any vice which
might hare brought him so low in the social
scale as to desire TO conceal himself in the
miserable attic of one OF the mean.st houses
in the street, where the most poverty
stricken gave him the name of the @poor
lodSer."
| The little tailor's aside to his wife: 'Thcm
was swell clothes once, mother, and nothing
viii get the gentleman out of them any more
| than it will out OF him, showed that others
thought rs did.
Then came tie old soldier, brisi, and neat
and upright as soldier with q bullet in his
leg could be expected to be. Everything
about him, from his clear, keen gray eyes to
his carefully brushed and mended clothes and
well polished boots, bearing witness to lifo
Of discipline. By tie hand he led Annie, tho
little Inotherless girl, whose father, the
drunken cobbleT, lived in the same house
with him. He had dcne what he could for
her III tlse way OF adoTnHent, brushing the
beautiful golden hair ard tying it up with a
| piece of string into funny little knob at tho
top of her head, brightly polishing her poor,
shabby boots and presenting her with gay
pictured pocket handkerchief 70 carry in her
hand; and lie he'd paid respect to the season
| by piiIning few holly berries i'll the front OF
her thin, worn froc!l.
rs they entered the room she hung back.
clingins rervousiy to him, and looking Is
scared as though she expected she was going
| to lie beaten. Honor had some difficulty in
4
taio the stool provided for her in a warm
corner near the fire When she at length sat
down she sfirsuik timidly against the wall, as
though only desirous to escape notice.
All felt that little annie needed sympathy
and kindness more than did any guest there,
| if the soul was to be kept much longer in tbs.
great mournful eyes. Most pitiful of all was
the old look in the pinched, white face She
seemed to regard US wis, kind of calm in
| dulgence, as growr-up children playing q;
LIE, which she had long seen the sad real
| ity OF.
Ali went well, and with music and chatting
| the time was spent very happily until 0
o'clock Then, before the queer company
was seated around the table, Honor proposed
that each one relate the history of the hap
| piest moment of his life.
zled, half doubtful expression in some Of the
faces as thought Travelled back into the past;
but it presently disappeared, and there was a
smile more or less expansive upon every ones
face. Even the poor lodger had reticent
smile upon his lips, as he turned Lis eyes med
itatiyely toward the FIRE.
Johnnie led of. He admitted without
shame that the bappiest moment of his lie
was VIXEN he had been invited to the party,
and Sally had assured him that there would
I've all the turkey, mince pie and pudding that
he could eat. Els mother blushed over his
very materialistic idea of happiness. Her
own story was this: Il think the very hap
piest moment have ever had was when the
manager at the warehouse promised to give
me shilling dozen extra for making the
shirts, for" she added, locking round with q
deprecatory little smile, rs though to apollo
gizs for the hoIeliness of the cause Of her
happy moment, growing boys are Almost
always hungry
Mrs. Parnell, when called upon to relate
her story, cougl.cd n,etlitative,y behind her
fen fer a moment CT two, arid then gracious
II said that the happiest moment of her life
was when she danced with Lord Langland at
TIE tenactry bali, when she was Just is.
Grace Fairlie end Honor he'd some difficulty
in keapiny their coante-anccs as they e--
changed glances. Even the apoor lodSer'
was evincing some signs of having once known
how to laugh. But the others appeared sufH-
cientiy impressed to satisfy Mrs. Parnell, had
she had any misgivibgs upon the point. She
WIS gazing complncen.ly into the fire. She
had simply related q fact, and was too much
tbscrbed IN the pleasant recollections it had
called Up to notice cry ones face.
Old Nann;c thought the greatest amount
Of bliss sho ever experienced was when she
outwitted the poor guardians and got her
"iowance out stead of going into the house,
The old soldier described how q feeling
that his mother was near Kim pulling him
away from e trench during battle, gave
him his happ:est moment, because Just as he
was fairly out shell burst in the trench and
be knew that lie had been saved from certain
death by the watchfui spirit Of his dead
mother.
"But why didn't you have another dream
to tell you to put your leg out of the way
when the bullet was coEning:" asked Johnnie
q chose to take it into the way my lad" ("
somewhat abaently replied James Brooks;
"Desides, that did me no hurt"
40 hurt to lie shot!n
aNell, my boy, there's different ways Of
being hurt, as perhaps You'll find out Us you
get older. I'd had my lesson, you see, Gnd
didn't need to be taught over again"
sBut amt you going TO tell us how you got
the bullet il Your leg!' persisted Johnnie
Yea didn't have that through tine drearn!n
swell, got shot while l was fetching out
young He paused, ruffiing up his
scanty hair, "5ut l am 10 hand at telling
them sort of things It isn't for me to say
why I'm bit proud Of the bullet l carry
about with me, ladies and gentlemen. Perhaps
it will be enough il / say that it brought me
this" touching the cross upon his breast, and
rather shyly adding: at was French Off
Ger that was saved, an only son"-here
he gazed afar OF dreamily and cut short his
story.
The apoor lodger," when asked to tell his
story, begged to be excused for little longer,
and gave way to Sally, who, after some
stammering, said, il high delight, glancing
shyly round:
sit was last night, then. he met me fetch
ing the supper beer, and lie said he'd got
enough saved for tidy bit of furniture, and
little put by for rainy day, as well as reg
ular work, SO there was 10 call to wait"
Everybody congratulated Sally, and Aunt
Margaret said that he ought to have been
invited, a. which, amidst merry laugh from
all. Sally, with very rcd face, said: @He
isn't so fur off rs he couldn't be found by
supper time, If you please, na'am. He said
something about being somewhere handy, to
see il he could be Of any use in bringing up
fha tr,vS er,, s5t ITO "