The evening bulletin., 1894-12-22

smiled cheerily as he spoke, and the child
answered:
II have lost my money, my groschen
We never have anything nice for supper,
but because it is Christmas time my moth
er gave me the money to buy sausage
and an apple pie, but i have dropped my
groschen in the snow. We have no more,
and now wo can have no Christmas sup
per-"
"Where did you drop it?" asked her lis
tener, and when she pointed to the spot
he knelt down and began turning over the
snow, when he gave cry Of triumph and
held up q coin in his fingers
"Oh, you must be an angelo cried the
little girl joyfully, and he added, with a
smile:
"A Florentine angel, then. My name is
Maso Napone-remember it, Now, good
by. Go buy your supper"
"Not until have been to the midnight
mass, " replied the girl. my mother is
i'll, so 1 must go and pray for her.
''Then 1 will go with you, said Maso,
taking her hand What is your namef"
christine Dachs. My mother is the
Widow Gudule."
Poor little thingl Do you remember
your fatherS'
Perfectly. He used to hush me to sleep
by the fire every night, and sometimes
seem to feel his arms round me still. Ah,
how we'll he loved mel"
"Your mother has to work?"
"Yes; she does beautiful embroidery l
do little of it, but have not learned to
work very we'll yet Pretty soon / shall
do 1t better, and then mamma can rest"
II am all alone in the world, " said the
youth when Christine stopped speaking.
&c / have no parents, no money no home.
My fathers creditors took everything ex-
cept my lutte, so left Florence and now
earn little money by singing In the
streets, but / often have to sleep in the
open air and without supper, but am
very strong so I do not mind it, and /
have many happy hours Beautiful ladies
call ME into their houses to sing to their
guests, and then / am well treated and
we'll fed
The little girl nodded approvingly, as ii
such conduct were the most natural in the
world, and at that moment she and her
companion reached the door of the church.
AS they entered Maso doffed his hat rev.
erentially, dipped his fingers into the holy
water fount and touched them to Chris
tines Then the two children knelt down
In the shadow of great pillar which rose to
the high arched roof. The whole congre-
cation joined in singing the carols, and
the weak, broken voices of the aged, the
silvery ones of the children, the sweet
tones of the maidens, the clear high notes
of the young men and the strong, deep
ones of their elders combined to produce
harmonies both powerful and sweet. Maso
could not keep silence. Suddenly, his
voice rose aboye the rest, and it was SO
full, so clear and so sweet that every one
near turned to look at him. A tall man
wrapped in great cloak left his place.
and coming nearer to the lad listened at
tentively, with his eyes fixed upon Maso's
face as long as he continued to sing.
Neither of the children noticed the stran'
ger.
Poor me' Maso thought. "No one on
earth loves me; no one cares what becomes
Of me. II / should die tonight, there
would be not one to shed tear for me.
am all alone. This little girl who mistook
me for an angel will return to her home
and receive her mothers kiss, but / do
not know what mother is Iwould give
anything to have one kiss me-"
Tears filed his eyes without his know
ing It, and Christine, seeing them, said to
herself: