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twg_000012584800 | of the common lodging-houses that Sam Twitter the younger had resorted on the night he had been discovered by Number . That day he had earned sixpence by carrying a carpet bag to a railway station. One penny he laid out in bread, one penny in cheese. With the remaining fourpence he could purchase the right to sit in th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584801 | lodging-house kitchen, and to sleep in a bed in a room with thirty or forty homeless ones like himself. On his way to this abode of the destitute, he was overtaken by a huge man with a little bit of blue ribbon in his button-hole. "Hallo! young feller," exclaimed the man, "you're the chap that was livin' wi' Ned Frog | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584802 | the night I called to see 'im--eh! Sam Twitter, ain't you?" "Yes," said young Sam, blushing scarlet with alarm at the abruptness of the question. "Yes, I am. T-Twitter _is_ my name. You're the man that gave him the Bible, are you not, whom he turned out of his house for tryin' to speak to him about his soul?" "The | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584803 | same, young feller. That's me, an' Reggie North is my name. He'd 'ave 'ad some trouble to turn me out _once_, though, but I've given up quarrellin' and fightin' now, havin' enlisted under the banner of the Prince of Peace," replied the man, who was none other than our Bible-salesman, the man who contributed the memorab... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584804 | the Gospel-temperance meeting. "Where are you going?" Sam, who never could withhold information or retain a secret if asked suddenly, gave the name of the common lodging-house to which he was bound. "Well, I'm going there too, so come along." Sam could not choose but go with the man. He would rather have been alone, bu... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584805 | off. Entering, they sat down at a table together near the kitchen fire, and North, pulling out of his pocket a small loaf, cut it in two and offered Sam half. Several men were disputing in the box or compartment next to them, and as they made a great noise, attracting the attention of all around, North and his friend | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584806 | Sam were enabled the more easily to hold confidential talk unnoticed, by putting their heads together and chatting low as they ate their frugal meal. "What made you leave Ned?" asked North. "How did you know I'd left him?" "Why, because if you was still with him you wouldn't be here!" This was so obvious that Sam smile... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584807 | was a sad apology for a smile. "I left him, because he constantly offered me beer, and I've got such an awful desire for beer now, somehow, that I can't resist it, so I came away. And there's no chance of any one offering me beer in this place." "Not much," said North, with a grin. "But, young feller," (and | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584808 | there was something earnestly kind in the man's manner here), "if you feel an _awful_ desire for drink, you'd better put on this." He touched his bit of blue ribbon. "No use," returned Sam, sorrowfully, "I once put it on, and--and--I've broke the pledge." "That's bad, no doubt; but what then?" returned North; "are we n... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584809 | any more 'cause once we told a lie? Are we never to give up swearin' 'cause once we uttered a curse? The Lord is able to save us, no matter how much we may have sinned. Why, sin is the very thing He saves us from--if we'll only come to Him." Sam shook his head, but the manner of the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584810 | man had attracted him, and eventually he told all his story to him. Reggie North listened earnestly, but the noise of the disputants in the next box was so great that they rose, intending to go to a quieter part of the large room. The words they heard at the moment, however, arrested them. The speaker was, for such a | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584811 | place, a comparatively well-dressed man, and wore a top-coat. He was discoursing on poverty and its causes. "It is nothing more nor less," he said, with emphasis, "than the absence of equality that produces so much poverty." "Hear! hear!" cried several voices, mingled with which, however, were the scoffing laughs of se... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584812 | the cause of their poverty was not the absence of equality, but, drink with improvidence. "What right," asked the man, somewhat indignantly, "what right has Sir Crossly Cowel, for instance, the great capitalist, to his millions that 'e don't know what to do with, when we're starvin'?" (Hear!) "He didn't earn these mill... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584813 | father, an' _he_ didn't earn 'em, nor did his grandfather, or his great-grandfather, and so, back an' back to the time of the robber who came over with William--the greatest robber of all--an' stole the money, or cattle, from our forefathers." (Hear! hear!) "An' what right has Lord Lorrumdoddy to the thousands of acres... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584814 | may say that!' from an outrageously miserable-looking man, who seemed too wretched to think, and only spoke for a species of pastime.) "What right has he, I say, to his lands? The ministers of religion, too, are to be blamed, for they toady the rich and uphold the unjust system. My friends, it is these rich capitalists... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584815 | oppress the people. What right have they, I ask again, to their wealth, when the inmates of this house, and thousands of others, are ill-fed and in rags? If I had my way," (_Hear_! hear! and a laugh), "I would distribute the wealth of the country, and have no poor people at all such as I see before me--such as | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584816 | this poor fellow," (laying his hand on the shoulder of the outrageously miserable man, who said `Just so' feebly, but seemed to shrink from his touch). "Do I not speak the truth?" he added, looking round with the air of a man who feels that he carries his audience with him. "Well, mister, I ain't just quite clear about... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584817 | said Reggie North, rising up and looking over the heads of those in front of him. There was an immediate and complete silence, for North had both a voice and a face fitted to command attention. "I'm not a learned man, you see, an' hain't studied the subjec', but isn't there a line in the Bible which says, `Blessed are | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584818 | they that consider the poor?' Now it do seem to me that if we was all equally rich, there would be no poor to consider, an' no rich to consider 'em!" There was a considerable guffaw at this, and the argumentative man was about to reply, but North checked him with-- "'Old on, sir, I ain't done yet. You said | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584819 | that Sir Cowley Cross--" "Crossly Cowel," cried his opponent, correcting. "I ax your pardon; Sir Crossly Cowel--that 'e 'ad no right to 'is millions, 'cause 'e didn't earn 'em, and because 'is father left 'em to 'im. Now, I 'ad a grandmother with one eye, poor thing--but of coorse that's nothin' to do wi' the argiment-... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584820 | fi' pun note by 'er father as 'ad a game leg--though that's nothin' to do wi' the argiment neither. Now, what puzzles me is, that if Sir Cow--Cross--" A great shout of laughter interrupted North here, for he looked so innocently stupid, that most of the audience saw he was making game of the social reformer. "What puzz... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584821 | continued North, "that if Sir Crossly Cowel 'as no right to 'is millions, my old grandmother 'ad no right to 'er fi' pun note!" ("Hear, hear," and applause.) "I don't know nothin' about that there big thief Willum you mentioned, nor yet Lord Lorrumdoddy, not bein' 'ighly connected, you see, mates, but no doubt this gen... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584822 | "Of course I does," said the social reformer indignantly. "Well, then," resumed North, suddenly throwing off his sheepish look and sternly gazing at the reformer while he pointed to the outrageously miserable man, who had neither coat, vest, shoes, nor socks, "do you see that man? If you are in earnest, take off your c... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584823 | What right have you to two coats when he has none?" The reformer looked surprised, and the proposal was received with loud laughter; all the more that he seemed so little to relish the idea of parting with one of his coats in order to prove the justice of his principles, and his own sincerity. To give his argument more | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584824 | force, Reggie North took a sixpence from his pocket and held it up. "See here, mates, when I came to this house I said to myself, `The Lord 'as given me success to-day in sellin' His word,'--you know, some of you, that I'm a seller of Bibles and Testaments?" "Ay, ay, old boy. _We_ know you," said several voices. "And | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584825 | I wasn't always that," added North. "_That's_ true, anyhow," said a voice with a laugh. "Well. For what I was, I might thank drink and a sinful heart. For what I am I thank the Lord. But, as I was goin' to say, I came here intendin' to give this sixpence--it ain't much, but it's all I can spare--to some | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584826 | poor feller in distress, for I practise what I preach, and I meant to do it in a quiet way. But it seems to me that, seein' what's turned up, I'll do more good by givin' it in a public way--so, there it is, old man," and he put the sixpence on the table in front of the outrageously miserable | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584827 | man, who could hardly believe his eyes. The change to an outrageously jovial man, with the marks of misery still strong upon him, was worthy of a pantomime, and spoke volumes; for, small though the sum might seem to Sir Crossly Cowel, or Lord Lorrumdoddy, it represented a full instead of an empty stomach and a peaceful... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584828 | miserable night to one wreck of humanity. The poor man swept the little coin into his pocket and rose in haste with a "thank 'ee," to go out and invest it at once, but was checked by North. "Stop, stop, my fine fellow! Not quite so fast. If you'll wait till I've finished my little business here, I'll take you | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584829 | to where you'll get some warm grub for nothin', and maybe an old coat too." Encouraged by such brilliant prospects, the now jovially-miserable man sat down and waited while North and Sam went to a more retired spot near the door, where they resumed the confidential talk that had been interrupted. "The first thing you m... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584830 | North, kindly, "is to return to your father's 'ouse; an' that advice cuts two ways--'eaven-ward an' earth-ward." "Oh! no, no, _no_, I can never return home," replied Sam, hurriedly, and thinking only of the shame of returning in his wretched condition to his earthly father. It was at this point that the couple had come... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584831 | of Number , who, as we have seen, went quietly out and conveyed the information direct to the Twitter family. CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. THE RETURNING PRODIGAL. For a considerable time the Bible-seller plied Sam with every argument he could think of in order to induce him to return home, and he was still in the middle of his... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584832 | the door opened, and two young men of gentlemanly appearance walked in, bearing a portable harmonium between them. They were followed by one of the ladies of the Beehive, who devote all their time--and, may we not add, all their hearts--to the rescue of the perishing. Along with her came a tall, sweet-faced girl. She w... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584833 | who, after spending her days at steady work, spent some of her night hours in labours of love. Hetty was passionately fond of music, and had taught herself to play the harmonium sufficiently to accompany simple hymns. After her came the missionary, whose kind face was familiar to most of the homeless ones there. They g... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584834 | but some of their faces assumed a somewhat vinegar aspect when the tall form of Sir Richard Brandon followed Seaward. "A bloated haristocrat!" growled one of the men. "Got a smart little darter, anyhow," remarked another, as Di, holding tight to her father's hand, glanced from side to side with looks of mingled pity an... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584835 | had a not uncommon habit of investing everything in _couleur de rose_, and the stern reality which met her had not the slightest tinge of that colour. Di had pictured to herself clean rags and picturesque poverty. The reality was dirty rags and disgusting poverty. She had imagined sorrowful faces. Had she noted them wh... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584836 | indeed have seen kindly looks; but when her father passed there were only scowling faces, nearly all of which were unshaven and dirty. Di had not thought at all of stubbly beards or dirt! Neither had she thought of smells, or of stifling heat that it was not easy to bear. Altogether poor little Di was taken down from a | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584837 | height on that occasion to which she never again attained, because it was a false height. In after years she reached one of the true heights--which was out of sight higher than the false one! There was something very businesslike in these missionaries, for there was nothing of the simply amateur in their work--like the... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584838 | father. They were familiar with the East-end mines; knew where splendid gems and rich gold were to be found, and went about digging with the steady persistence of the labourer, coupled, however, with the fire of the enthusiast. They carried the harmonium promptly to the most conspicuous part of the room, planted it the... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584839 | front of it, and one of the brightest diamonds from that mine--in the person of Hetty Frog--sat down before it. Simply, and in sweet silvery tones, she sang--"Come to the Saviour." The others joined--even Sir Richard Brandon made an attempt to sing--as he had done on a previous occasion, but without much success, music... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584840 | the passage from which he had prepared to speak that evening. And so eloquent with nature's simplicity was the missionary, that the party soon forgot all about the Twitters while the comforting Gospel was being urged upon the unhappy creatures around. But _we_ must not forget the Twitters. They are our text and sermon ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584841 | risen with the intention of going out when the missionary entered, for words of truth only cut him to the heart. But his companion whispered him to wait a bit. Soon his attention was riveted. While he sat there spell-bound, a shabby-genteel man entered and sat down beside him. He wore a broad wide-awake, very much slou... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584842 | and a coat which had once been fine, but now bore marks of having been severely handled--as if recently rubbed by a drunken wearer on whitewashed and dirty places. The man's hands were not so dirty, however, as one might have expected from his general appearance, and they trembled much. On one of his fingers was a gold... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584843 | incongruity was lost on Sam, who was too much absorbed to care for the new comer, and did not even notice that he pushed somewhat needlessly close to him. These things were not, however, lost on Reggie North, who regarded the man with some surprise, not unmixed with suspicion. When, after a short time, however, this ma... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584844 | gently on that of Sam and held it, the boy could no longer neglect his eccentricities. He naturally made an effort to pull the hand away, but the stranger held it fast. Having his mind by that time entirely detached from the discourse of the missionary, Sam looked at the stranger in surprise, but could not see his face... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584845 | of the disreputable wide-awake which he wore. But great was his astonishment, not to say alarm, when he felt two or three warm tears drop on his hand. Again he tried to pull it away, but the strange man held it tighter. Still further, he bent his head over it and kissed it. A strange unaccountable thrill ran through th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584846 | boy's frame. He stooped, looked under the brim of the hat, and beheld his father! "Sammy--dear, dear Sammy," whispered the man, in a husky voice. But Sammy could not reply. He was thunderstruck. Neither could his father speak, for he was choking. But Reggie North had heard enough. He was quick-witted, and at once guess... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584847 | gen'lm'n," he whispered, "don't you go an' make a fuss, if you're wise. Go out as quiet as you came in, an' leave this young 'un to me. It's all right. I'm on _your_ side." Samuel Twitter senior was impressed with the honesty of the man's manner, and the wisdom of his advice. Letting go the hand, after a parting | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584848 | squeeze, he rose up and left the room. Two minutes later, North and Sammy followed. They found the old father outside, who again grasped his son's hand with the words, "Sammy, my boy--dear Sammy;" but he never got further than that. Number was there too. "You'll find the cab at the end of the street, sir," he said, and... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584849 | moment Sammy found himself borne along--not unwillingly--by North and his father. A cab door was opened. A female form was seen with outstretched arms. "Mother!" "Sammy--darling--" The returning prodigal disappeared into the cab. Mr Twitter turned round. "Thank you. God bless you, whoever you are," he said, fumbling in... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584850 | and had no money there. "No thanks to me, sir. Look higher," said the Bible-seller, thrusting the old gentleman almost forcibly into the vehicle. "Now then, cabby, drive on." The cabby obeyed. Having already received his instructions he did not drive home. Where he drove to is a matter of small consequence. It was to a... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584851 | perfect stranger to Sammy opened the door. Mrs Twitter remained in the cab while Sammy and his father entered the house, the latter carrying a bundle in his hand. They were shown into what the boy must have considered--if he considered anything at all just then--a preposterously small room. The lady of the house eviden... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584852 | "The bath is quite ready, sir." "Now, Sammy,--dear boy," said Mr Twitter, "off with your rags--and g-git into that b-bath." Obviously Mr Twitter did not speak with ease. In truth it was all he could do to contain himself, and he felt that his only chance of bearing up was to say nothing more than was absolutely necessa... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584853 | ejaculatory phrases. Sammy was deeply touched, and began to wash his dirty face with a few quiet tears before taking his bath. "Now then, Sammy--look sharp! You didn't use--to--be--so--slow! eh?" "No, father. I suppose it--it--is want of habit. I haven't undressed much of late." This very nearly upset poor Mr Twitter. ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584854 | disrobe with a degree of awkwardness that tended to delay progress. "It--it's not too hot--eh?" "Oh! no, father. It's--it's--v-very nice." "Go at it with a will, Sammy. Head and all, my boy--down with it. And don't spare the soap. Lots of soap here, Sammy--no end of soap!" The truth of which Mr Twitter proceeded to ill... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584855 | with a lather that caused him quickly to resemble whipped cream. "Oh! hold on, father, it's getting into my eyes." "My boy--dear Sammy--forgive me. I didn't quite know what I was doing. Never mind. Down you go again, Sammy--head and all. That's it. Now, that's enough; out you come." "Oh! father," said the poor boy, whi... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584856 | his wet face, as he stepped out of the bath, "it's so good of you to forgive me so freely." "Forgive you, my son! forgive! why, I'd--I'd--" He could say no more, but suddenly clasped Sammy to his heart, thereby rendering his face and person soap-suddy and wet to a ridiculous extent. Unclasping his arms and stepping bac... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584857 | down at himself. "You dirty boy! what d'you mean by it?" "It's your own fault, daddy," replied Sam, with a hysterical laugh, as he enveloped himself in a towel. A knock at the bath-room door here produced dead silence. "Please, sir," said a female voice, "the lady in the cab sends to say that she's gettin' impatient." ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584858 | in the cab to drive about and take an airing for ten minutes," replied Mr Twitter with reckless hilarity. "Yes, sir." "Now, my boy, here's your toggery," said the irrepressible father, hovering round his recovered son like a moth round a candle--"your best suit, Sammy; the one you used to wear only on Sundays, you extr... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584859 | on with some difficulty from want of practice, and, after combing out and brushing his hair, he presented such a changed appearance that none of his late companions could have recognised him. His father, after fastening up his coat with every button in its wrong hole, and causing as much delay as possible by assisting ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584860 | him down-stairs and into the cab, where he was immediately re-enveloped by Mrs Twitter. He was not permitted to see any one that night, but was taken straight to his room, where his mother comforted, prayed with, fed and fondled him, and then allowed him to go to bed. Next morning early--before breakfast--Mrs Twitter a... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584861 | put them on chairs in a row--according to order, for Mrs Twitter's mind was orderly in a remarkable degree. They ranged from right to left thus:-- Molly, Willie, Fred, Lucy, and Alice--with Alice's doll on a doll's chair at the left flank of the line. "Now children," said Mrs Twitter, sitting down in front of the row w... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584862 | so solemn that they all immediately made their mouths very small and their eyes very large--in which respect they brought themselves into wonderful correspondence with Alice's doll. "Now children, your dear brother Sammy has come home." "Oh! how nice! Where has he been? What has he seen? Why has he been away so long? H... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584863 | with which the news was received. "Silence." The stillness that followed was almost oppressive, for the little Twitters had been trained to prompt obedience. To say truth they had not been difficult to train, for they were all essentially mild. "Now, remember, when he comes down to breakfast you are to take no notice w... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584864 | notice at all." "Are we not even to say good-morning or kiss him, mamma?" asked little Alice with a look of wonder. "Dear child, you do not understand me. We are all charmed to see Sammy back, and so thankful--so glad--that he has come, and we will kiss him and say whatever we please to him _except_," (here she cast | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584865 | an awful eye along the line and dropped her voice), "_except_ ask him _where--he-- has--been_." "Mayn't we ask him how he liked it, mamma?" said Alice. "Liked what, child?" "Where he has been, mamma." "No, not a word about where he has been; only that we are so glad, so very glad, to see him back." Fred, who had an | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584866 | argumentative turn of mind, thought that this would be a rather demonstrative though indirect recognition of the fact that Sammy had been _somewhere_ that was wrong, but, having been trained to unquestioning obedience, Fred said nothing. "Now, dolly," whispered little Alice, bending down, "'member dat--you're so glad S... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584867 | you to know, my darlings," continued Mrs Twitter, "that Sammy has been wandering and has come back." "Listen, Dolly, you hear? Sammy's been wandering an' come back. Dat's 'nuff for you." "You see, dears," continued Mrs Twitter, with a slightly perplexed look, caused by her desire to save poor Sammy's feelings, and her ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584868 | approach to deception, "you see, Sammy has been long away, and has been very tired, and won't like to be troubled with too many questions at breakfast, you know, so I want you all to talk a good deal about anything you like--your lessons,--for instance, when he comes down." "Before we say good-morning, mamma, or after?... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584869 | extremely conscientious. "Darling child," exclaimed the perplexed mother, "you'll never take it in. What I want to impress on you is--" She stopped, suddenly, and what it was she meant to impress we shall never more clearly know, for at that moment the foot of Sammy himself was heard on the stair. "Now, mind, children,... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584870 | preternatural solemnity induced by this injunction was at once put to flight by Sammy, at whom the whole family flew with one accord and a united shriek--pulling him down on a chair and embracing him almost to extinction. Fortunately for Sammy, and his anxious mother, that which the most earnest desire to obey orders w... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584871 | brought about by the native selfishness of poor humanity, for, the first burst of welcome over, Alice began an elaborate account of her Dolly's recent proceedings, which seemed to consist of knocking her head against articles of furniture, punching out her own eyes and flattening her own nose; while Fred talked of his ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584872 | hopes in regard to soldiering, and Lucy of her attempts to draw and paint. Mr and Mrs Twitter contented themselves with gazing on Sammy's somewhat worn face, and lying in watch, so that, when Alice or any of the young members of the flock seemed about to stray on the forbidden ground, they should be ready to descend, l... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584873 | wolves on the fold, remorselessly change the subject of conversation, and carry all before them. Thus tenderly was that prodigal son received back to his father's house. CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. CANADA AGAIN--AND SURPRISING NEWS. It is most refreshing to those who have been long cooped up in a city to fly on the wings of s... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584874 | take refuge among the scents of flowers and fields and trees. We have said this, or something like it, before, and remorselessly repeat it--for it is a grand truism. Let us then indulge ourselves a little with a glance at the farm of Brankly in Canada. Lake Ontario, with its expanse of boundless blue, rolls like an oce... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584875 | far distance. We can see it from the hill-top where the sweet-smelling red-pines grow. At the bottom of the hill lies Brankly itself, with its orchards and homestead and fields of golden grain, and its little river, with the little saw-mill going as pertinaciously as if it, like the river, had resolved to go on for eve... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584876 | sheep are there, horses and wagons are there, wealth and prosperity are there, above all happiness is there, because there also dwells the love of God. It is a good many years, reader, since you and I were last here. Then, the farm buildings and fences were brand-new. Now, although of course not old, they bear decided ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584877 | to the weather. But these marks only give compactness of look and unity of tone to everything, improving the appearance of the place vastly. The fences, which at first looked blank and staring, as if wondering how they had got there, are now more in harmony with the fields they enclose. The plants which at first strugg... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584878 | on the dwelling-house, now cling to it and climb about it with the affectionate embrace of old friends. Everything is improved--Well, no, not everything. Mr Merryboy's legs have not improved. They will not move as actively as they were wont to do. They will not go so far, and they demand the assistance of a stick. But ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584879 | has improved--though it was pretty good before, and his tendency to universal philanthropy has increased to such an extent that the people of the district have got into a way of sending their bad men and boys to work on his farm in order that they may become good! Mrs Merryboy, however, has improved in every way, and i... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584880 | blooming than ever, as well as a trifle stouter, but Mrs Merryboy senior, although advanced spiritually, has degenerated a little physically. The few teeth that kept her nose and chin apart having disappeared, her mouth has also vanished, though there is a decided mark which tells where it was--especially when she spea... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584881 | become as pure white as the winter snows of Canada. Wrinkles on her visage have become the rule, not the exception, but as they all run into comical twists, and play in the forms of humour, they may, perhaps, be regarded as a physical improvement. She is stone deaf now, but this also may be put to the credit side | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584882 | of her account, for it has rendered needless those awkward efforts to speak loud and painful attempts to hear which used to trouble the family in days gone by. It is quite clear, however, when you look into granny's coal-black eyes, that if she were to live to the age of Methuselah she will never be blind, nor ill-natu... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584883 | less pleased with herself, her surroundings, and the whole order of things created! But who are these that sit so gravely and busily engaged with breakfast as though they had not the prospect of another meal that year? Two young men and a young girl. One young man is broad and powerful though short, with an incipient m... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584884 | fluff of whisker. The other is rather tall, slim, and gentlemanly, and still beardless. The girl is little, neat, well-made, at the budding period of life, brown-haired, brown-eyed, round, soft--just such a creature as one feels disposed to pat on the head and say, "My little pet!" Why, these are two "waifs" and a "str... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584885 | again. Is not the stout fellow our friend Bobby Frog, the slim one Tim Lumpy, and the girl Martha Mild? But who, in all London, would believe that these were children who had bean picked out of the gutter? Nobody--except those good Samaritans who had helped to pick them up, and who could show you the photographs of wha... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584886 | once were and what they now are. Mr Merryboy, although changed a little as regards legs, was not in the least deteriorated as to lungs. As Granny, Mrs Merryboy, and the young people sat at breakfast he was heard at an immense distance off, gradually making his way towards the house. "Something seems to be wrong with fa... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584887 | I think," said Mrs Merryboy, junior, listening. Granny, observing the action, pretended to listen, and smiled. "He's either unusually jolly or unusually savage--a little more tea, mother," said Tim Lumpy, pushing in his cup. Tim, being father-and-motherless, called Mr Merryboy father and the wife mother. So did Martha,... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584888 | declined, though he did not object to call the elder Mrs Merryboy granny. "Something for good or evil must have happened," said Bobby, laying down his knife and fork as the growling sound drew nearer. At last the door flew open and the storm burst in. And we may remark that Mr Merryboy's stormy nature was, if possible,... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584889 | more obtrusive than it used to be, for whereas in former days his toes and heels did most of the rattling-thunder business, the stick now came into play as a prominent creator of din--not only when flourished by hand, but often on its own account and unexpectedly, when propped clumsily in awkward places. "Hallo! good p... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584890 | morning--morning. Boys, d'ee know that the saw-mill's come to grief?" "No, are you in earnest, father?" cried Tim, jumping up. "In earnest! Of course I am. Pretty engineers you are. Sawed its own bed in two, or burst itself. Don't know which, and what's more I don't care. Come, Martha, my bantam chicken, let's have a c... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584891 | that stick, it can't keep its legs much better than myself. How are you, mother? Glorious weather, isn't it?" Mr Merryboy ignored deafness. He continued to speak to his mother just as though she heard him. And she continued to nod and smile, and make-believe to hear with more demonstration of face and cap than ever. Af... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584892 | loss of hearing made little difference, her sentiments being what Bobby Frog in his early days would have described in the words, "Wot's the hodds so long as you're 'appy?" But Bobby had now ceased to drop or misapply his aitches--though he still had some trouble with his R's. As he was chief engineer of the saw-mill, ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584893 | quite a mechanical genius, he ran down to the scene of disaster with much concern on hearing the old gentleman's report. And, truly, when he and Tim reached the picturesque spot where, at the water's edge among fine trees and shrubs, the mill stood clearly reflected in its own dam, they found that the mischief done was... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584894 | by which the frame with its log to be sawn was moved along quarter-inch by quarter-inch at each stroke, was indeed all right, but it had not been made self-regulating. The result was that, on one of the attendant workmen omitting to do his duty, the saw not only ripped off a beautiful plank from a log, but continued to | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584895 | cross-cut the end of the heavy framework, and then proceeded to cut the iron which held the log in its place. The result, of course, was that the iron refused to be cut, and savagely revenged itself by scraping off, flattening down, turning up, and otherwise damaging, the teeth of the saw! "H'm! that comes of haste," m... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584896 | he surveyed the wreck. "If I had taken time to make the whole affair complete before setting the mill to work, this would not have happened." "Never mind, Bob, we must learn by experience, you know," said Tim, examining the damage done with a critical eye. "Luckily, we have a spare saw in the store." "Run and fetch it,... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584897 | Bob to the man in charge of the mill, whose carelessness had caused the damage, and who stared silently at his work with a look of horrified resignation. When he was gone Bob and Tim threw off their coats, rolled up their sleeves to the shoulder, and set to work with a degree of promptitude and skill which proved them | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584898 | to be both earnest and capable workmen. The first thing to be done was to detach the damaged saw from its frame. "There," said Bob, as he flung it down, "you won't use your teeth again on the wrong subject for some time to come. Have we dry timber heavy enough to mend the frame, Tim?" "Plenty--more than we want." | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012584899 | "Well, you go to work on it while I fix up the new saw." To work the two went accordingly--adjusting, screwing, squaring, sawing, planing, mortising, until the dinner-bell called them to the house. "So soon!" exclaimed Bob; "dinner is a great bother when a man is very busy." "D'ye think so, Bob? Well, now, I look on it... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
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