Only a little black dog he saw Whining and shaking a broken paw. "Well, well," cried Ben Hazzard, “I must have dreamed, But verily like a voice it seemed. Poor creature," he added, with husky tone, His feet so cold they seemed like stone, "Thou shalt have the whole of my marrow bone." He went to the cupboard, and took from the shelf Then, after binding the broken paw, Half dead with cold, went back to his straw: But again a voice called, both loud and clear: 46 Ben Hazzard, for Christ's sweet sake, come here!" Once more he stood at the open door, And looked abroad, as he looked before, This time full sure 'twas a voice he heard; Laid the cold bird on his own warm heart. And knew the voice that had called all night. 66 With a rueful shake of his old gray head.' Who giveth all of his scanty store In Christ's dear name, can do no more. Behold, the Master who waiteth for thee, Saith: Giving to them, thou hast given to me.'" Then, with Heaven's light white on his face, "Amen, I come in the name of the Lord," said Ben. "Frozen to death," the watchman said, When at last he found him in his bed, With a smile on his face so strange and bright, He wondered what old Ben saw that night. Ben's lips were silent, and never told, He had gone up higher to find his gold. BELSHAZZAR SMITH'S CURE FOR SOMNAMBULISM. Belshazzar Smith had a very bad and very dangerous habit of walking in his sleep. His family feared that, during some one of his somnambulistic saunterings, he would charge out of the window and kill himself; so they persuaded him to sleep with his little brother William, and tie one end of a rope around his body and the other around the wrist of little William. The very first night after this arrangement was made, Belshazzar dreamed that a burglar was pursuing him with a dagger. So he crept over to William's side of the bed, stepped over William's slumbering form, jumped out on the floor, and slid under the bed. He stayed there awhile fast asleep, and then, his nightmare having changed, he emerged upon the other side of the bed, and got under the covers in his old place. The rope, it will be observed, was beneath the bed, and it was pulled taut, too. Early in the morning, Belshazzar, about half awake, scrouged over against William. To his surprise the movement jerked William clear out of bed. Belshazzar leaped out to ascertain the cause of this phenomenon, and at the same time his brother disappeared under the bed. Belshazzar, hardly yet awake, was scared, and he dived beneath his bedstead; as he did so, he heard William skirmishing across the blankets above his head. Once more he rushed out, just in time to perceive William glide over the other side. Belshazzar just then became sufficiently conscious to feel the rope pulling him. He comprehended the situation at once, and disengaged himself. And perhaps little William was not mad. He was in the hospital undergoing repairs for about three weeks, and when he came out had a strange desire to sleep alone. Belshazzar anchors himself now to an anvil. RUSTIC COURTSHIP. The night was dark when Sam set out He kinder felt as if he must, His heart against his waistcoat throbbed, Which nearly conquered him despite The candle in the window shone But still, as he drew near the house, The beating of his heart ne'er beat Says he "Now, Sam, don't be a goose, Knock all your thoughts a-skelter so, So Sam, he kinder raised the latch, At last the old folks went to bed- It wasn't often that she had And somehow when she came up stairs, There seemed a difference in the chairs, His stalwart arm dropped round her waist, Her head dropped on his shoulder, And Sam-well, he had changed his tune And grown a trifle bolder. But this, if you live long enough, You surely will discover, There's nothing in this world of ours And Kitty she walked smiling back, GRANDMOTHER GRAY.-MARY KEELEY BOUTELLE. Faded and fair, in an old arm-chair, Silently knitting, sits Grandmother Gray: I see as I look from the window seat, "There's a low barouche, all green and gold, A turnout like that I hope to get. How they prance and shine in their harness gay! "To-morrow, I know, a great ship sails In the old far lands of legend and lay I long to roam-and I shall, some day." 66 Money will do it," says Grandmother Gray. "And when you are old, like me," says she, “And getting and going are done with, dear, That money won't buy," says Grandmother Gray. "And, sure enough, if there's nothing worth AN APPEAL FOR PROHIBITION.-JOHN B. GOUGH. I heard a young man in a railway carriage tell his own story, while conversing on the Maine Law. Said he: "My father was a drunkard for years; my mother was a strongminded, energetic woman; and with the help of the boys, she managed to keep the farm free from debt. When my father signed the pledge, that which pleased her most, next to him having signed it, was that she could tell him there was not a debt nor a mortgage on the farm. My father used to drive into the city, about eight miles distant, twice a week; and I recollect my mother saying to me: I wish you would try and persuade your father not to go any more. We don't need that which he earns; and George, I am afraid of temptations and old associates.' 'Oh,' said I, 'don't think of it; father's all right.' One evening we had a heavy load, and were going toward home, when my father stopped at one of his old places of resort, and gave me the whip and the reins. I hitched the horses, tied up the reins, and went in afterward. The landlord said: 'I am glad to see you; how do you do? You are quite a stranger. How long is it since the temperance whim got hold of you?' |