The Newtown bee., 1896-07-17
The Home Circle.
NolFe HattoD's Vengeance.

It W.T. as he rla4. t ummcr 1ay. ala the s.9 v.. sunLz ur.y :"d as.r the hills 4 s,u H h. D5uo .~>u 0t.cN. for con. nn1,~, atu. .a. .D..rer.
 Tho people htl r,t,a Iej- supp rs. and tn" .alr .o. u- ot lh. uustrs h%d come .u' it. t.uL: If Il r 4.,s.- E.. smoAr r.d r..-. E.: uaa re s,-a5: 7 paper. Ihoso sha Lad l.vre"e> ulsN their rockers out ou thrm sud -ac will their feet uu the railing. Uahsr to"L their mosr huub1r po=5lto~s ou the iron. steps. whi,o -li5 others, whose hnusrs were flush with the street. wrut even -t far as to bring th !. yhair7 put upon the sidewalk. qDu oyer nj lhr5o Va- Hu air of palmuces 4nd r~pu=t aavo Wh.u a g'anr" through the Iwu o,tncs revealed the hou.e" ives buy at ,i"ir evening dishes, or the hl.thr q"jrc- of lnr chia rcn pA} ang in tl*l arrre' told lhaJ Sally "ater~ waa a.slttjng in a saucer or a6- serted With doubtful ycHrjty that Lond )n Bridge was falling down, Hcrr and there bclAtpd Gshcruau came struggling up tue street that led from the river, every now and then holding up his string of sljmy, wjggliug catfish in sn@wer to the query "Wha'd you hetch@"
 To Dnc who knew the generous and unptcIudiccd spirit of the Dextortes, it was no matter of wonder that ono Of their soundest and most highly rczI,~ctc,i citizens was a coIored man and that hi= home should nestle unrcbukud among the homes of his white nejghb1r5.
 Nelsc Hatton had won the love and respect of his fulI0w.cililons by the straightforward honesty of his conduct and the warmth of hls heart. Every body knew him. He had been doing chores about Dexter cutting grass jI summer, cleaning and laying carpets il the spring and fall, aud tending furnaces In the winter, since the time when, q newly omAncipated man, he had passed over from Kentucky into Ohio. Since then through thrift he had attained qtite a competence, and, as he himself cx- pressed if, owned some little property. He was one among the number who had arisen to the dignity of porch; and or Jhis evening he was sitting thereon. laboriously spelling out the sentenl cs n the Evening News-hs reading was q post bellum accOmpiishmcnt--whcn the oldest of his three children, Theodore, a boy of twelve, interrupted him with the intelligence that there was an "0ld straggler at the door,
 After admoDishing the hope of his years as to the impropriety of applying such a term to a unfortunate, the father sought the place where the "strag- gler' awaited hum.
 Nelse's sympathetic heart throbbed with pity at the sight that met his eye. Tine 'straggler,' thing of shreds and '. patches, was a man about his own age, nearing fifty; but what contrast he was to the well preserved, well clothed black man. His gray hair struggled .carelesslY about hts sunken temples, and the face beneath 1t waa thin and emac- lated. The hands that pulled at the fringe of the ragged coat were small and hony. But both the face and the hands were clean, and there was an open look In tho bold dark eye. sa~. %'+ 'f in strong contrast, too, with bis ap- pearanee was the firm, weH-modulated voice, soinegahat ronghenea by exposure, fu which he said Fl am very hungry; will you give ma something to eat q. " was a voice that might have spoken with authority There was none of the beggaF'a whine in 1t. It was clear and ssralRhtforYerd sand the man spoke the simple sentence almost aa if 1t had been | protest against his sad condition.
 s.sJes set down en the step an git cool, answered Nelse, "an' fsn have something put on the tablet
 phe atranger silently did aa he was bidden, and his host turned ineo the house.
 Eliaa Hstton had been quietly watch