Year: 1866




wringing her hands.


Then give me that shawl off o your
shoulders" said the old woman, fercely


Rachel pulled it off and held it out pite-
ously to her


q saw a dark place among the holes of
the earth, and there were great wheels and
fiery furnaces and as | looked, the young
man was struck down by the fierce heat,
and torn asunder by the whirl and there
he lay dead"
/ Poor Rachel walked away, stunned, with
out a word. She hardly noticed a young
man with a peaked hat and peacock s
feather in it, who came up in front of her
when he saw the intereew was over


The old hag looked slowly after her -
Pve settled her." she muttered, with a
pain i'll her heart and salt tears in her eyes. ;


Why do you hate her, mother ?"


g The old clerk has turned us out Of the
church lane, and done us grief scores O.
times" answered she and love to hurt
them as hurt u.s."


That evening, as Leverton was sitting
with the old clerk. Rachel rushed breath
lessly in. Why, what's come to yer ?"
said her grandfather and what's come
o yer shawl 2" at were the old gypsy
wife as said she had news O Maurice and
| gived it to her for to tell me " and she
burst into an hysterical flood of tears as
she wrung her hands passionately. Lever
ton swore deep oath as he rose angrily at
the rascally old randy queen" He had
robbed Rachel of what was more precious
to her than many shawls, and yet he was
furious at the old woman for thus exacting





David's. was all reserved for the minor Of
fender


The old clerk grew more infrm. Rachel
was til most patient and attentive nurse,
but whenever Leverton was away for a
day or two he kept up whining complaint
against her of how " i'll woke behaved to
him" A grievance with some people is
the dearest thing they possess, and they re-
gard you with infinite ill-will if you rob
them of their property by explaining it
away.


The following Sunday Silas got down
with great difficulty to the church An as
sistant had been appointed, but the great
dignitary, clerk, cannot be removed he
held to his rights, and whenever he was
able he hobbled down and read the re-
sponses, together with the remplacQm,
which did not improve the service When
he and Rachel arrived in the churchyard,
they found the parliament or talking-place
of the village in great agitation about the
stealing of Farmer Bakers horse. The
gypsy encampment was so near that it
was all laid to the door of Geordy Stanley,
horse breaker and householder, grandson
of the old queen. The gypses had so
much the best of it in ordinary life, that
the whole community seized greedily on
any opening for retaliation.


"But | saw VIII Smell riding away on
the horse, that evening"" said Rachel, sim
ply.


She Immediately found herself the centre
of interest, to her great dismay she had
to tell her story over and over again they
! crowded round her But could ye assay
for certain sure it were Will ?" said the
clerk, sternly.


Rachel was thankful when the bell car
ried off her tOrmentors.


The following week, however, poor Geor-
dy was lodged in the county jail. The
horse had been found at great fair, farth-
er down in the west, at which Geordy was
present, and though the link between the
! two was still wanting, society" cOnsid-
cred him guilty without more ado. a day
or two after, tall gypsy, with a sullcn
| look on her handsome face, appeared sud
denly at the door of the clerks cottage,
having carefully watched him go out
| Rachel was leaning against the chimney,
gazing sadly into the fire, and she shrank
! back as she saw the red cloak
You've no call to fear me, Rachel Rus
/ sell ," said the woman " it's | as come to
you for help. | hear ye say you saw that
fellow Smell riding off on the horse that
they've lay at my poor boys door. He's
as innicint of it as a babe unborn. 1e
saw him yersell that night along VII my
mother at the tents, arter We met SMELL
! Will ye come up and swear so at the
sizes ?"


| Rachel shuddered it was terrible to her
timid nature to think Of standing up before
" Grandfa Judge" at the court


Rachel" said the woman, striding up
to her, and catching hold of her arm, do
ye know what it is | ask? It's hanging
matter to steal horse hearken to me
I'll swear by anything you please he didn't
do it. You know you saw him yersell art
er the horse were gone. Will ye let him
be killed afore my eyes What's all that
| praying and singing tor, II ye let the lnnI-
cent suffer and the rascals go free ?" she
added solemnly, standing over the chair
where Rachel had sunk in her agitation
1t was against all her class preiudices the
gypsies were feared and hated by every
one round her they were considered be-
yond the pale, outcast, an accursed race
and she knew she should encounter hel
grandfather's wrath if she actively helped
them, as well as the, to her, terrible ordeal
of the trial.


" If you'd mother" the woman went on
the great veins swelling in her throat with
her efforts to conceal her agitation, d" you
would Mt serve a mother So"


I" | can swear | seed un after Will Smell
rode off, FL bear true witness for you
God Almighty help us a." said the poor
girl with gasping sob and white face


" Is it God or the other as is the baC
un y said the woman drearily, as she seiz
ed her hands with a passionate expression
of gratitude, and disappeared in the noise
less way she came in.


At last the rheumatics grew 50 bad tha
old Silas took to his bed, and sore work
Rachel had in the nursing, till at last hel
fried Mrs. Ten-boy $50 called to distinguish
her from other of the name) interferred