The Tupelo journal., 1906-04-06

AkV
did you make one false step and have to
GO to gaol?"
Armytage looked round daily:
What the" he commenced; but his
benefactor interrupted him, all the
more %unctuously as already there was
a small crowd assembled around.
do not thank me-" he cried. Il only
do my duty. Stay, here is another pen
ny; but, / implore you, do not spend it
in debauch."
Armytage was trying to remember
where he was; whether he was mad, or
only dreaming. The crowd increased;
for it is astonishing in this London of
ours, where everyone is SO busy and the
world walks so fast, how many people
a be found to stop and look at some
thing that does not concern them in the
least.
multitude, how hungry he looks! It's
a long time, | expect, since he has tasted
food"
Which fallacy Armytage's breath
could at once have belied; but charity,
though it begins at home, never stops
anywhere else afterwards.
Come on, old man." said the mer-
chant who sold matches farther down
the road, you and nell go into Lock-
hart's and have a Yarmouth steak
Armytage turned round YEARLY: Il
hardly think" he remarked, that my
;pfalIaoi &c onuol RI tho cfrain IF tho
conversation"
Just listen to 'im!" commented a
newsboy on the outskirts. Il lay he's
been a clergyman or something"
'Or a hactor," said a sandwich man,
who had had a good deal of experience
in his way.
A policeman now forced his way to
the front, and was cycling Armytage with
a suspicious glare. Move along.
please" he said, nudging everyone
round him.
do not hurt him." protested the
young philanthropist; "he is weak and
not used to kindness. He will be bet
ter by-and-by."
A corpulent city man hustled up.
you come to my offices tomorrow" he
said, "and I'll give you a job as a light
porter and he left his card in the as
tonished authors outstretched hand,
which still contained the two pennies.
Hes a fake, he Isl" cried an itinerant
musician in a straw hat and an ebony
countenance, "a blooming professional
fraud" And a mendicancy officer who
was passing stopped to lend a hand.
IF you like" he observed. you can
come to one of our shelters for a bit.
You get your bed and breakfast, and it's
better than sleeping on the embank-
ment."
why don't he go to Westminster"
again interrupted the minstrel of
Ethiopia; they're wanting men down
there to clear the snow away. But he's a
fraud, l tell you!"
A thin. pale-faced lady had found her
way to the front.
\ Poor mani" she sighed, do not lose
heart. Here is a little booklet l will
leave you. "A Brand Plucked from the
Burning; or the Repentant Housebreak-
err You must read it very carefully, and
take it we'll to heart; it meets your case
exactly"
The traffic On the pavement was by
this time completely blocked; pedes-
TRANS who were in a hurry had to pass
into the road, where they impeded the
omnibuses and seriously annoyed the
oohnonn pucinlcc Woc of q cfon6CtIn
and stray reporters hurried up, note
books in hand, and wanted to know
who did the murder.
1t was then that Armytage recovered
his presence of mind; hurting the money
to the ground, he said, as quietly as
the consciousness that his sanity was
slipping away would let him
MY good people, it is O your fault
you are not all in Colney Hatch; though
why you are not there is certainly ow-
ing to the gross neglect of the author
tiles. l am no beggar," he cried. Here,
look at that"
And in conclusive proof he drew a
handful of gold and silver from his pock-
ct. The policeman's worst suspicious
were confirmed; he approached and
tapped Armytage on the shoulder:
You had better come quietly, young
man."
What for?" asked Armytage.
THAT money was not come by hon.
estly, you know"
"Of course not; | am a literary man."
Don't force me to produce the hand
cuffs" cried the policeman, in ultima
tum.
"You are madden than the rest"
shouted Armytage. beside himself, this
time, with rage. Here's my card with
my name and address; and I'm going
home now, so make ROOM"
mot so fast" said the policeman; but
he took the card, and found underneath
it a five-shilling piece. That altered the
complexion of affairs a little. At last
Armytage, with much explanation.
managed to satisfy the policeman; that
satisfied the crowd. who. indignant at
being cheated out of their excitement.
turned their anger against the kind
hearted young gentleman who had COM
menced it. But he had gathered up the
twopence and fled into Somerset house
in search of his father.
The crowd dispersed, grumbling.
Armytage moved down the Strand at a
pretty brisk rate. On the other side of
the way. Mrs. Armytage was nearly
choking herself trying to laugh and
drink tea at one and the same time.
Greatest Hide Consumer.