, 1889-09-11
IN SPITE OF LUCK.

@At - H1N CNNA bA"AA >NN
down o far as the Oldest inhabitant
knew, and old Mrs. Lyons, "nigh onto a
hundred as she said, could well remem-
Der the neutrality-suspicious. of the
late Nathan, who was a well to do man
and represented the town at the general
court, and out of courtesy was always
called Squire.
The grandfather of Nathan, though
standing high in the estimation of the
townspeople, being the old Squire's only
son, enjoyed a sort Of free and easy life,
and having what the exact and prim
housewives called n "shiftless wife" as
the years went on developed into a seedy
looking old man who liked his pipe and
his ease too well for n determined effort
in any direction. His sons, as the vii
layers said, did not amount to much and
the time came when the only descendant
left was Nathan. n grandson. Nathan's
~physiognomy showed to the close obser-
yer what effect might be expected from
such n down hill process. Fortunately
he wasn't vicious; he drank neither CT
der nor whisky, vas honest and good ma
turcd and easy. His wife, n poor girl,
who had little education but n good
heart, must have seen something TO ad-
mire, else she would not have shaved
twelve long years to keep the larder half
allied. She would doubtless nave gone
on shaving many more had not the good
Lord taken her up higher and mercifully,
too, removed Nathan only a few days
later.
The clergyman who omciated at the
~obsequies called it Fan inscrutable dis
.araauHfaU ~ DFAuflnnaa ~ L,vN H. a..
opinion Of the village doctor it was a
want Of Drainage" Little Tommy,
their only child, was then about 10 years
old, long and lank with i'll fitting clothes
from which his wrists and ankles pro-
truded in such n suggestive way the min
lster's wife, who had a large heart for
the heather in Umzilla's kingdom, said
20 Mrs. Graham, ait might be necessary
to borrow trousers and jacket for the
boy to wear to tho funeral, since it was
10 loo in the vestry."
Tommy's long hair and sallow skin did
not make him specially attractive, though
The mournful black eyes, full of unshed
tears, in n well fed and well dressed boy
who had not lived in the malarious val
ley that had beer his home, might have
found foster parents whose hearts would
have gone out to him. Instead, poor
boy, Deacon Allen, overseer of the poor,
wondered if Seth Grattan did not want
a boy TO help him on his farm; the au-
thorities would blind him OUT probably
for n term of years and get him off their
hands.
None of that shiftless tribe for me-"
said Mr.. Grattan when interviewed.
But said Deacon Allen, who with n
little opposition was always ready with
an argument, "you don't know nothin'
agin the boy, and in ten years time you
can git a heap o work out of him-be n
good investment"
'Humph, l tell ye, l believe in hered-
ity, and | don't want any such lazy ne'er-
do-wells about"
His mother wasn't lazy" said the
deacon.
Nov, don't tell me she was smart,
living there as she did"
well, but what's to be done with the
boyy"
There's the poor house"
mo, no, Mr.. Grattan, don't send the
little fellow there" and Hamil Brown
wiped away n tear, rough man that he
was, for while listening to the above CON
v~ersation his heart was filed with tender
pity. He was one of n gang of men who,
with guns and axes, were going into u
forest some twenty miles away to spend
the winter. :Let him come 10 the camp
with me, I'm going up tomorrow"
well, well, If you will take him off
our hands" said the good deacon, sit
will be a great relief. Idon't know that
there is anything he can do on the town
farm to earn his board this winter; he
would only be al expense and taxes are
high'enough now"
Hamil Brown looked at the deacon as
il he could hardly repress an oath, and
the Lord who looks into the heart might
have had one TO forgive. He shut his
teeth for n moment and then proceeded
TO make arrangements for taking the
boy along, provided he is willing" said
the man.
Willing or not, he'll have to go" was
the answer.
Hamil Brown found him sitting for
lornly on the wooden steps of the little
house that had been his home.
Poor little chap, you here alone!
Where are the women of this town, l
wonder?'
He sat down beside him in such a
friendly way, the boy suddenly burst
into tears and cried as never before.
The dazed condition that had enveloped
him had washed away and he was a
little %sorrowing boy, as full of grief as
any other who had lost his all. Mr..
Brown let him cry, till he sobbed, ''Wil
not somebody put me in the grave with
them?' Then, with one arm around
him, he talked and talked until the stars
came out.
In the spring, when the men came
down from camp, a red checked, black
eyed and handsome lad came with them.
Wholesome, hearty food, life in the
keen, clear air of the hilly forest had
worked a miracle, 1t had vitalized the
whole system. Body and brain had alike
received an impetus. Hamil Brown said
to Seth Grattan, who exclaimed over
the vigorous looking boy: "Yes, it has
been a good thing for him, / think, and
/ know it has for me and the other men.
for what think you of a boy who says