Wichita eagle., 1888-01-11

man iiung himself round and into fne middle
of the passing crowd. carrying his eager,
wild, accusing face into the turmoil of the
great city.
Jerry. still huggjng to his breast the dead
dog moved slowly and painfully down the
street, turned the corner and stopped at
last before the lighted windows of the cook
shop to which he had been directed A de-
licious perfume came from the open door. the
window, aglow with gas, showed dainties so
coarse to you or me, but SO delicate to the
famished boy that he almost tainted at the
sight of them. For q minute or two he let
his gaze feast itself upon the rich display and
then slowly opened his dirty, emaciated little
hand to look at the talisman that should give
him his share of the good things he craved.
His silver sixpence lay upon his palm, and the
child's eyes grew bright again, half conquering
the death sleep that had so nearly closed them
only now, as he stared at it. A whole, whole
sixpence!
Alas! two other eyes behold that si1lpence
at the same moment A great rough, vii
famous looking creature, half boy, half man,
peered over the child's shoulder, saw the coin,
stopped yet little nearer as a hawk above
its prey. and then the little dirty palm was
empty, the blessed life giving money gone!
Poor Jerry! A sensation as of deadly
chill ran through him, and for a moment he
reeled heavily against the bars of the win
dow But after that it seemed to him that
he thought no more Of it, he gave in, and
though not conscious Of the fact, quietly sur
rendered himself to death. 1t was all over.
No hope, no hfe-nothing was left! Perhaps,
indeed, he scarcely knew how things went
with him for awhile, but instinct at least led
his dying footsteps back TO the old horrible
home-the loathsome cellar in the squalid
court. With faltering feet, with a dull stu
pid despair upon his half dead little face,
with the now cold and stiff puppy pressed to
his heart, ne descended the stone steps, and
like wild thing stricken sore, sought his
lair
Inside all was still, all vas dark. A horri-
BILE silence prevailed, very blackHess of
darkness that might be felt. He began to be
frightened, horribly frightened. He put the
dog down and pressed the palms of his hands
tight-tight against his eyeballs that he
might not see the grewsome shapes of which
the dread gloom seemed full. Teeming shapes
that changed ever and ever, and drew nearer,
and touched him is he thought-sonetimes
his hair, and now-ah--now his cheek.
And then the harsh racking cough that had
been his for twelvemonth caught him and
shook his thin little frame SO roughly in its
rude grasp that he had to take down his hands
from his eyes to press them to that side where
the pain was most cruel; but he still kent his
eyes fast closed lest he should see those weird
awful creatures dancing here and there in
the obscurity.
He was cold-so cold! He shivered and
shook with terror, and with something else
that last dread icy chill that every moment
crept closer and closer to his heart And
after awhile lie sat down ard let himself fall
lay upon the damp pavement. He put out
feeble hand, and finding the dead dog, me-
chanically drew it nearer to him.
And then wonderful thing happened. AL
at once the cellar, it seemed to him, grew full
of light A light, strange. awful. marvellous,
such as you and have never yet seen. And
in it Aood-Onel
A most gracious fgure Tall, little
bowed and clad in long garment, than
which no snow freshly fallen was ever half so
white. And the face-who shall tell the di-
vine fairness of it!
Little jerry could not have described it
then, but as he gazed on it he knew all at
once the fullest meaning of the words "Love"
and peace" and "Rest."
And the figure stopped and gathered to his
breast the little frozen boy, and suddenly a
soft delicious glow ran through his numbed
veins And Jerry let his tired head fall
gently back against that tender bosom
And heavier and heavier grew the weary
limbs, and then suddenly, oh, so light! and
presently he felt himself lifted up-ever up
wards-and carried awsy--away.
And never more did little Jerry know cold
OF hunger or fear or dispar, and never again
did darkness trouble him, for
There shall be no night there
Author of MOLLY Bawn" in London Soci-
ETY..