Year: 1871

BY JRAN NGEL0w


Who is this? 4 careless little midship.
man, idling about in a great city, with his
pockets full of money. He was waiting for a
coach it comes up presently aod he goes
on the top Of it and begins to look about
him


They soon leave the chimney-tops behind
them His eyes wander with delight over the
harvest fields, he smells the honey-suckle in
the hedge-row, and he wishes he was down
among the hazle bushes, that he might strip
them Of their milky nuts; then he sees a great
vain piled with barly and he wishes he was
on the top Of it then the chcckered shadows
Of the trees lying across the white road, and
then a squirrel runs on bough, and he can
not lorbear TO whoop and haloo though he
can not chase il to its nest.


The other passengers were delighted with
his simplicity and childlike glee, and they en-
couragcd him TO talk about the sea and the
ships, especially her majesty wherein he
had the honor to sail In the jargon Of the
seas he describes her many perfections and
onarges upon her peculiar advantages he
then con6des to them how a certain MILDLY,
having been ordered to the masthead as
punishment. had seen, while sitting on the
top mast cross-tree, something uncommonly
like the sea serpent but finding this hint re.
ceived with incredulous smiles he begins to
tell how he hopes that some day he shall be
promoted to have charge Of the poop The
passengers hope he will have the honor !;
thew have no doubt he deserves H. His checks
{ a. a


and he little thinks that they have no notion
in what .. that honor may happen to con.
sst.


The coach stops the midshipman with his
hands in his rockets. sits rattlinp his money.
and singing There is poor woman standing
/ by the door of the village inn she looks care
worn and well she NAV, for ia the spring ber
husband went up to London to look for work
lie goes for work, and she was expected to
/ ioin him there. when. alas fellow. workman
wrote her word how he had met with an ac.
cident, how be was very bad, and wanted his
wife to come in and nurse him. But she has
Two children. and is destitute she mus, walk
all the way, and she is sick at heart when
she thinks that perhaps he may die among
strangers before she can reach him


She does not think of begging, but seeing
the boys ewes attracted to her, she makes a
courtesy, and he withdraws his hand and
throws her down a sovereign. She looks at


it with incrcdulous JOY, and then she looked
E at him.


"lts all right he says, and the eoaef


starts again, while, full Of gratitude, she hire
a cart to take her across the country to tn
railway, that the next night she may sit by tn
, bedside OF her sick husband.
b The midshipman knows nothing about tha
o and he never will know.


b The passengers go on talking the littl
b midshipman has told them who he is, an'
where he is going. But there is one who ha
g never Joined in the conversation be is darl
looking and restless man--he sits apart h
| sees the glitter Of the falling coin, and nov
he watches the boy more closely than he die
before.
He was a strong man, resolute and deter
, mined the boy with pocket full of none!
e will be no match for him. lie has told tn
t others that his fathers house was the parsor