^, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) r/j I 1.0 I.I 1.25 1.8 U 1 1.6 w >> »% ■> '/ Photographic Sdences Corporation «v «^ :17 <^ ^«ls ^9> V A' 6^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716) 872-4S03 '^ " '^$^m, Ifo 7 BT J. A. PHILLIPS. #*^5 i f ■ Potttvat : [TOHN LOVELL, 23 AND 25 ST. NICHOLAS STREET. 1873, ■iMi Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, by John A. Phillips, in the office of the Minister of Agri- culture and Stt ' Istics at Ottawa. f-m^ 4* $8 t»iU J«ff . AS BETN6 THE MOST CONSTANT AND DEVOTED ADMIRER I ETER HAD, THIS BOOK IS, BY S P EC I A L P ER M I S S I O N, 'le^ir^dMB ^timUi i IN GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF MANY KINDNESSES RECEIVED DURING ♦ A LONG ACQUAINTANCESHIP, AND IN THE EARNEST HOPE OF FUTURE FAVORS. J. A PHILLIPS, iSS^*^ H Itisi )k. mythiti rhen I want this vol havoc ible foi loffensiv jto good tent; ai I have ^ why I know vi therefoi one wh< opinion Montrej Itwi] much— PBEFACE. It is the customary thing to apologise for writing a )k. I don't want to apologise. If I have written inything needing apology I am unconscious of it ; rhen I am it will he time enough to apologise. What want to say is, that I have not aimed very high in this volume, and I hope I have not struck very low ; have simply tried to write a few amusing tales suit- ible for the Christmas fireside, containing nothing loffensive and some things which might be conducive Ito good morals; if I have succeeded in that I am con- tent ; and I only hope that everyone who reads what I have written will be content also. And that is just why I have written this preface. I would like to know whether my readers are pleased or not; and, therefore, I am going to take a liberty. I ask every- one who reads this book to send me his or her candid opinion of it to my Post Office address, irfox '704J, I Montreal. It will not give much trouble, and it will not cost much — only one cent by post card — and it will afford i m m MM vl PREFACE. me great gratification to get criticisms from the people who read the book, fit I have pleased them I should like to know it ; and if I have made a fool of myself I should like to be made acquainted with the fact, so as to save me from further folly./ y^ JNO. A. PHILLIPS, Montreal; 1st December, 1873. lit CONTENTS. [preface 5 ITHOMPSON'S TQRKEY 9 ITHE CHRISTMAS ANTHEM 43 THE POLICEMAN'S CHRISTMAS 63 OUT OF THE GUTTER 105 JONES, THE LAWYER. 131 JOUT OF THE SNOW 191 I CHRISTMAS IN THE FLIES 211 I POETRY:— Z A Christmas Prayer 239 Dreamland 240 The Old Folk's Christmas 241 Music ' 244 Ghosts on the Window Pane 246 The Child's Grave 247 God in Nature ' 249 The Dying Child 261 The Factory Girl 253 Pleasant Reveries 25$ i) ■) t>o mm t'^-a = \^i -iM It Wi] I tall Igivo it that it. uwaro (J time w well av time wl well aw the tim quite \V( even t( Tliomp Thompi! The f said thai well ths v\> v\V^ ^5^ ^^^////r ^ ^ '^i^^ ^^B ^ k OC -^3^1 • ^ yt^'Z :,<^ THOMPSON'S TULvKEY. CHAPTER I. HOW THOMPSON OOT THE TURKEV It wasn't Tli.mpsovi's fault. I lake this the earliest possible opportunity, to •j^ivo it as my free, candid and disintorostod opinion that it wasn't Thompson's fault. I am quito well uware of the fact tliat there were ])eople before the time who said it was Tlionipson's fault; I am qui(o well aware of the fact that there were people at the time who said it was Thompson's fault; lam quite well aware of the fact that there were people after the time who said it was Thompson's iault; I am quite well aware of the fact that there are people who even to the present day maintain that it was Thompson's fault; but 1 never did believe it was Thompson's fault, and 1 neve" will. The fact is Thompson couldn't help it. 1 know very well there were people at the time who said that Thompson could have helped it ; I know very well that there wore people alter the time who said B >iH» 1 i. I ^i f '■% 10 TJWMrSOsWS TURKKV, I Thompson could huvo helped it; I know very well there are people now who still assort that Thompson could have helped it ; hut I never did believe Thomp- son could help it, and I never will, And, after all, what was it thfit people said Ava>| Thompson's fault ; and what was it that people said Thompson could have helped doing? Why, getting married ; that was all ! I never could see, and I never will see that it was Thompson's fault to get married; other people do i(j why shouldn't Thompson ? I never could see, and 1 never will see that Thompson could have helped it; other people can't help it, and why should Thomjxson ? And then everybody wanted to marry WiniiiJ Dumsic, why shouldn't Thompson ? But, \Yinnie — her! name was Winnetta, but we always called her Winnio for short — didn't want to marry every bod}- she didn't oven want to marry me, although I was ready and willing to marry her several times over if necessary: she didn't want to marry old Flailflax, the wealth) linen draper, although he did own a big house on the mountain side, and was reported to havr -3 mucli money in the bank, that an extra vault had had to be built on purjDose to hold it all ; she didn't want to mar]j 3'oung Grunter, the pork packer, although he was always as sleek and smooth as if just freshly rubbed with some of his own grease, and his father was said to have left him enough money to pack every j)ig in Canada, himself included ; she didn't want to marrj lilli now THOMPSON GOT THE TURKEY. 11 the Rev. Mr. Maypole, the new curate of St. Fashion- ible's, although he was so upriglit, and dressed so nice- I3-, and read prayers '^ beautifully" — so the other girls !iaid — and gave the old women snuff to brace up their nerves — the girls all said tliat was " so chai- litable" — and did a thousand and one things which lalways made unmarried curates so agreeable to the female portion of the congregation of St. Fashion- able's ; the fact is Winnie wanted to marry Thompson, land she did it. Young ladies sometimes will do such things, whether Ithcir parents like it or not; and, therefore, as Winnie had made up her mind to marry Thompson, she did marry him, and I say it w^asn't Thompson's fault, I and he couldn't help it. There were other reasons why Thompson couldn't help it. Winnie Dumsic was one of the sweetest, most lovable little bits of femininity that ever set a poor male mortal crazy ; she was so rosy, so joyous, so artless, so natural, so piquant, so winning that nobody could help loving her; I couldn't, how could Thomp- son? Then she and Thompson had grown up together from childhood ; even when she was a little thing in short frocks and frills round her pantalets nobody could help stealing apples, and cakes, and sweetmeats, and other things for her, and tearing their clothes climbing for flowers to please her, and fighting each other on her account, and wanting to kiss her and ^. s# I w 12 THOMPSON'S TLRKEY, I !: being too bashful to do it j I couldn't, and how coult Thompson ? She always looked to me like a lump of sugar, and I was not at all astonished when Thompson put her id his cup of life to sweeten it for all time ; I wasn't asl tonished, but everybody else was. You see this w^as the way of it. AVinnio was rich;! oldDumsic, her father, was a large dealer in smallj wares, pins and needles and such things, and a goodl deal of money had stuck to old Dumsic's fingers by the aid of pins and needles and such things. He was! a proud man, was old Dumsic ; very fond of his only! child, and very fond of talking of his " connections in the old country" — Rumor said he had been a pot-boyl in Dublin in his youthful days, but Bumor might have lied as she very often does ; and everybody knows that every Irishman, out of Ireland, is either an Irish king, or the descendant of one. It has often struclij me that kings in Ireland must have been very plenti- ful at some time, and that they must have beenl amongst the earliest immigrants, which would, ofl coux'se, account for so many of their descendants being found on this side of the Atlantic ; bo that as it may, Dumsic was the lineal descendant of an Irish king, so he said, and had a right to be proud, which| he was, whether he had the right or not. Being proud, Dumsic, of course, would not hear ofl Thompson for a son-in-law, foi* Thompson was poor; in fact, Thompson was only a clerk in old Dumsic's |toro, aiK icen grc ind to ould n( Kor -v^ 0, that Ion's nai You ,' erivatic fhat he ^ Informec |n fact, ( ras no rgued, { liat the hristian ritten \ ler of th he origi Surname uul the j )f time feon but )ase im *' how d- Ofcoi abused, I liis, Dui that tlie now THOMPSON GOT THE TURKF.Y. 13 w coul(|Jtorc, and although Dumsicand Thompson's father had cen great friends, and .Dumsic himself had been very ;ar, amipind to Thompson since his father's death, still ho it her iiM'ould not have dreamed of giving Winnie to him. isn't as-| Nor was poverty his only objection to Thompson; 0, that mightliave bcenovercome; but it was Thomp- as richjBon's name, that could not bo overcome, n smallB You see old Dumsic had studied o*encaloi»ies and a goodllerivations very deeply — that was hoAv he found out g'ors bjBhat he was the descendant of an Irish king — and he He waslnformed Thompson that his name was very plebeian : lis onlyln fact, old Dumsic went so far as to say that there tions ii»as no suci) thing as a Thompson with a p. lie pot-boy irgued, and with considerable show of correctness, liat the name, as a surname, Avas derived from the hristian name Thomas, and had been originally vritten Thomas' son, and applied to a younger mem- )er of the family as indicating that he was a son of he original Thomas ; that on the general adoption of iurnames the apostrophe and one s were dro2)ped, md the name written Thomason, which indue course )f time had become changed to Thomson, or Tom- ion; but Thompson — Avith a p — he looked on as a )ase impostor of a name, and triumphantly asked ' how did the p get in ?" Of course, Thompson did not like to hear his name ibused, and retaliated on Dumsic by telling him thitt lis, Dumsic's, name was originally Drumstick, and hat the r, t and k had got knocked out of the name ;hthavo knows in Irish struck ' l)lenti- e been )uld, of mdants at as it 1 Irish Avhich lear of } ])Oor ; imsic s m A ^liF I* 14 THOMPSOJS^S TURKEV. at various stages of its transmission from the Irisl king to the present owner; but that only made Dumsic mad, and when Thompson told him that h( loved Winnie, and asked his consent to their unioi when he was able to support her — for he was a prom fellow, was Thompson, and didn't want to marrj Winnie for her money, but because he loved her old Dumsic j)Oured out all the vials of his wrath, aiK vowed that if she married Thompson he would cii her off with a farthing, so that the p in her nanii should not even stand for a penny. That was a terrible time for Thompson ; of course he lost his place in old Dumsic's store ; and, o course, old Dumsic forbid his seeing or speaking t( Winnie again ; and, of course, Winnie and Thompsoi used to meet each other on the sly and vow eterna constancy and all that sort of thing; and, of course they used to write to each other every day, and I use( to deliver the notes without old Dumsic suspectini me — for he rather liked me and thought I was goin^ to marry Winnie, but Winnie didn't love me am did love Thompson, and although I liked Thompsoi Very well, I didn't care to marry a girl who loved hin and didn't love me. Thompson soon got another place, but it was no as good as the one he had lost, and the chances o matrimony seemed further off than ever ; but thing! are often nearest to us when they seem furthest off It was summer when old Dumsic discharged Thomp son, and other ; I and it "s\ or Vict( suddenly early in a very c \\\w\ ma Thom tliough Winnie Thomp!= and ga> next aft a frozen thouglil hor. ^ B oftercd forii:ive] It wi to sec c ha])pcn would { would, Ins hci time tc decent! and so first th u PI llOW TIIOMPSOS GOT TllIC Ti'HKKV. it < s „; son, and the lovers agreed to wait five years for each other ; but, somehow as the cold weather came on, and it was not so pleasant waiting in Viger Garden, or Victoria Square to meet each other, both parties suddenly changed their minds, and one morninir jearly in December Thompson entered my office in I a very excited manner and asked me to come and see liim married. Thompson and I were alwaj^s very friendly, al- tliough we did love the same girl ; it wasn't his fault if Winnie cared for him and not for me,so I couldn't blame Thompson, could I ? So I went to see them married, and gave away the bride, I did and I kissed her next after Thompson, I did ; and it made me feel as if a frozen poker had been run down my back when I thouii'lit it was the last time 1 Avould ever kiss her. But I didn't let them sec that I felt it, and otfercd to take Winnie's note to her father asking for forgiveness and deliver it in person. It was as c'reat a refresher to me as a shower bath to see old Dumsic get mad when I told him what liad ha])pened; he turned so red in the fjice I thought he would go off in a fit of apoplexy, and I half wished he would, for I knew he had made a will leaving AVinnio his heiress, an<] if he died right off he would not have time to alter it; but he didn't know enough to die decently, he must live to make himself disagreeable, and so, after a while he recovered himself, and the first thing he said was : '' Phillips, you're a fool." 'I 1 if I. ft 16 TIfOJirSOS\S TUUKEV. lit" \W: lii, ' m\ I told liim tliJit possiMy he iiii<;lit ho eorrcctj hut I did not think it polite to state it quite so plainl}-. He did not mind that at all, hut repeated the ohnox- ious expression ]U'efacing the word fool Avith a very ohjectionahle adjective which made me so angry that for a moment a desperate desire to seize him h}^ the throat, choke him to death, and say he died of apo- plexy on hearing the news, came over me; hut I thought of the marks I should leave on the neCk, of the coroner's jury, of a trial for murder, of a rope and other unpleasant tilings, and stifling my indignation contented myself with saying ''you're another." But if I stifled my wrath old Dumsic didn't siifle his; he raved terribly, and used shocking bad lan- guage for so old a man ; he swore he would never forgive Winnie, that he would drive Thomi)son to despair, and so many more dreadful things, that I was forced to leave him, and the old fool made a new will that same day and took himself off on an express train that night no one knew whither. Poor Thompson had a hard time of it at first; his salary was small, and Winnie had been accustomed to so many luxuries that it seemed a shame to deprive her of. But they both put their ,sho aiders bravely to the wheel, and it was astonishing how well they got on. Winnie would not hear of boarding, and deter- mined to keep house herself. They got the upper part of a house in a cheap and quiet by-street and it was surprising how nicel}^ and cosily they fitted it up, CO always but for althoui jocts, ai not tQ IIow other, nobody than I < by the like th( that it had flc happy Thomp He V he was things I and thi fellow, nicely write i charge talents to the were \ to pay butter i/o\r T/io.vpsox GOT Till-: ri'iiiif:): it lip, coiisiclci'iii*^ tluMi' liinlUHl moans. Tliompsou always used to say that ho eoiihl never ha\'e done it but for the timely aid of a kind friend ; but Thompson, although a good fellow, is rather foolish on some sub- jects, and sometimes talks about things that ho ought not tQ spc[dv of to everybody.' IIow^ happy they were; liow much they loved each other, and how they cheered and helped each other nobody knows better than 1 ; and nobody felt it more than I did the first evening I spent with them and sat by the fire crying, lialf with pleasure, half with pain, like the great fool that 1 am, and swearing all the time that it was a splinter from the crackling wood which had flow^i into my eye and made it water. Very happy and very contented they were, and very hard Thompson worked to sustain his humble home. He wasn't a fool, w^asn't Thompson ; far from it, he was a clever sort of chap, and could do lots of things besides wait behind a counter and sell ribbons and things to young ladies. lie was a avoU educated fellow, was Thoixipson, and could wn-ite poetry so nicely that the girls were always wanting him to write in their Albums ; and so, Avhen old Dumsic dis- charged him, Thompson thought he would turn his talents to account and he sent some of his writings to the American papers, for the Canadian papers were willing enough to publish, but very unwilling to pay, and as Thompson was writing for bread and butter he could not afford that kind of business. if 18 fllOMPSOVS rURKEY. wm\ if 1 ' ! Ill lii V\\\ K. Very nice stories did Thompson write, and his now de plume of "Phontoms" — anagram of Thompson, foi* ho would stick to his name — soon got to be well known and lilted. But at first he got very little pay for his productions, and what he did get, added to his salary, Avas scarce enough to keep Winnie and himself, even with the exei'ciso of great economy. It was about three weeks before Christmas that they were married and commenced housckeej^ing, and Winnie had set her heart on giving a " party" at Christmas and askiiitr some of her old friends to come and witness her triumphs of housekeeping; but it was a great undertaking, and had to be calmly considered and gone about in a serious manner. Dinners are expensive things, and economical as she tried to be, Winnie found that the plainest fare she could afford to set before the half dozen friends she had invited would make a deep hole in her scanty purse ; and very little would be left to jn-ovide refresh- ments for those who had been asked to come after dinner and spend the evening. "I don't see how I can manao'e it," said Winnie pushing back her hair and loolcing r.p from a little red book, in which she had been making some entries, at her husband who was busy writing at the centre table ; '' Do you think we could do without any dessert, Charlie, dear!" I forgot to mention before that Thompson's other name w^as Charles, but I suppose it don't make much diflerence. a i I now TllOMPSOX GOT THE TURKEY. Id ." *' Do without clcssort, darling ? well, it wouldn't look very well for Christmas ; but you know best, if wo can't afford it, don't do it. I have given you all the money I have, and I wont run in debt; a man in debt never belongs to himself, and I mean to belong to myself if nothing else does." *' Nothing else ?" inquired an arch voice, as a pair of loving arms were wound round his neck and a dainty little form threw itself into his lap with an impetuous rush which sent all the papers flyiug. *' Well nothing worth speaking about; of course, you don't count now, you arc part of me, and the hiw does not recognize you as a good and chattel." ''But do you recognize me as a good? I don't like to be called a chattel." " The best good in the world to me ;" and then there was a little joyous squeeze, ajid a great deal of non- sense was said, and the ink bottle escaped being over- turned on the new table cover by a miracle before common-sense conversation was resumed. They were very nonsensical people, were Thompson and his 3'oung wife, and they were notj^et through their honeymoon you must remember. "But about the dinner, Charlie," resumed Winnie presently. ''I've stretched the money as far as it will go and if I have dessert there wont be enough for the turkey ; we ought to have a turkey, oughtn't we ?" "I suppose so ; people do generally have a turkey for Christmas dinner; but if we can't afford it we w. 26 TiioMr SOX'S ruRKi'jr. iii^'; liii' miiHt, do witliout it. I wislj wc had the one I have descrihcd in tliat Cliristmas story I senttollarpors." *' Wc can't cat a turkey out of a Christmas story,' said Winnie, sententious! y. '' Wc might as well try an entire banquet out oC ' ^Plic 7\rabian Niglits' at onco." ^ ^' Then Phil" — Winnie always would ahbrcviato my name somehow — '' and the otliers must be content with roast beef and plum puddinij; I'm going to make a phim pudding, Charlie, for it wouldn't be Christmas without it." ''Say you are going to try to make one, puss, but don't expect me to cat an}' of it; I liave too much re- spect for my digestive organs." " Then you shan't have a bit of it, sir, for your im- pudence, and Phil shall have thcAvholo of it." " Poor Phil, I pity him,'' sighed Thompson with mock concern for which he got the tiniest possible slap on the ear and the sweetest possible kiss on the lips. "Now then, puss, jump down and let me go on with my writing," and so the turk(;y w^is dropped for the time being. But Thompson did not forget it; he thought of it several times the next day, and determined to stretch a point, if possible, and get a turkey if only to sur- prise and please Winnie. Luck favored Thompson, and two days before Christ- mas he received a polite note from Harpers enclosing a cheque for twenty-five dollars for the accepted Hlllii now TiioMvsox aoT the tuhkey. 21 Cliristmas story, and offering t(> purolm«o more of his productions. This was tlio hirgest sum lie had ever receivod tor an article, and a proud man Avas Thompson as ho walked into a neighboring broker's office and got his cheque cashed. ''One ten and the rest in ones, it' you please," said Thompson, thinking how he would surprise AVinnie by presenting her with the turkey, and then raining one dollar bills on her afterwards The broker gave him the money, and smiled quite pleasantly as he said, " Making your fortune fast now, eh, Thompson, my boy ? That's right. A merry Christmas to 3'ou," and Thompson felt himself grow half an inch taller as he walked out. It was a busy day at the store that day, and it Avas quite late when Thompson took down his overcoat to start for homo where he knew tea Avas ready and AVinnic anxiously expecting him; he Avas a little late already, and, besides, ho had tho turkey to bu}^. " Wait a minute, Thompson," called out the junior partner as Thompson" passed the office, "I have some- thing to say to you before you go." And so ho had to wait another five minutes; but the " something" proved very pleasant to hear, for the junior partner told him that the head of the firm — who Avas the junior partner's father — Avas A'ory much pleased Avith tho Avay ho had conducted himself since he had been in the employ of the firm, and presented >: .* Il 99 TJIOMPSON'S TUIiKNY, m !'i! Ill: III ';Hi i pM ! H'i;.i:i him with a choquo for fifty dollars, and proinitsod him an increase of one hundred dollars salary next year. Happy Thompson ! He almost kissed the junior partner on the spot, and with difficulty restrained himself from executing a little impromptu dance of joy ; but he managed to stammer out a few words of tiumks and reserved his ter2:>sichorcan performance until ho should have reached home, '' That's right," said the junior partner approvingly to what Thompson had said, " you always take an interest in your employers' business, and be sure they will take an interest in you. Here," he continued to a cash-boy who was passing, '* take that to the cashitjr and ask him to give me small bills, ones or twos, for it. I am going off to Toronto to-night, Thompson," ho went on as the boy departed on his errand. '' I shall eat my Christmas dinner there, and bo away three or four days ; look after the store for mo a bit while I am gone." "The cashier says ho aint got no small bills, sir," said the cash-boy returning and holding out a ten dol- lar bill to tho junior partner. *' That's very provoking," said that gentleman, "I have nothing but tens and twenties and I want to buy some car tickets. Do you happen to have any small bills, Thomj^son?" Of course Thompson had, and he handed ten of them to the junior partner, buttoned uj) the ten dollar bill with tho cheque and his other money, and went on his way rejoicing to buy the turkey. i« CJrAPTKPi TT. now THE TIUKEV OOT Tllo.Ml'SOX. I' It was :i liJii'd turkey to buy, aiul took 8onic time to select. Thompson luul never done iiny marketing l>e(bro, and had a»' ind satisfied herself was young and tender. " That will do very nicely indeed, thank you. AVhat is the price?" to the stall keeper. " Seven and sixpence." ''A dollar and a half ! " cried Mrs. AVe.slerville in 2^retended astonishment. '^ It's downright robbery. 1 paid a dollar for one only yesterday ; these market people ahvays take advantage of you men, they sec you know nothing about it, and cheat you in the most barefaced manner." After a little haggling the turkey was purchased for a dollar and a quarter, and Tliompson liaving bought some vegetables which he tliought Winnie %^ in JIOW THE TURKEi' (JOT THOMPSON. it LOSS i){ low is 3. Oh oil the kc." ;-l;id to •: qiiar- people Poor e your r out {I breast, and V'ounji; AVhat illc ill )ery. 1 larkel ) most 'hai-etl laviiig iniiie might want for the dinner, and some graj^es which lie intended for lier own special eating, changed one of his ten dolhir bills so as to get plenty of small change again, and having loaded himself vi\) like a paclv horse trotted homeward happy. Very much delighted wasAVinnie, and very scepti- cal about the quality of the turkey until told that Mrs. Westerville had bought it, and th(3n she suddenly subsided before the suj^erior wisdom of that matron of nearly a year's standing. Very much deliglited was Winnie, and a very pleasant, happy evening they passed, she sitting on his lap eating grapes and occa- sionally holding one between her rosy lips and making him take it from them with his — I^told you they were a very (>^il!y couple; and very animated was Winnie with herdetailsof the grand preparations — in a small way — wliich she h:id made for the eventful Christmas ; vciy merry and joyous she was, and a little inquisitive too, for she asked Thompson more than once where he had got all the money fi-om to buy " turkeys" — slio said turkey's, although there was but one — ''and i;i'a])es, and vegetables and all manner of things." l^ut he was a dark and mj^sterious Thompson that night, and for the first time in liis life deceived his darling a little ; for he was a plotting and a scheming Thompson also, and was laying a deep plan for sur- ])rising his little W'ife the next night; and so he answei'ed evasively that he luul " found that he had more money than he expected, and could aflord a little H 2r> THOMPSON'S TURKEY. H' Ml. extra expenses," and so put lier oft* with ti kiss. Yavy hiippy and very merry were they, and many a litth> joke was cracked about the turkey. Next morning Thompson was up briglit and early and oft' to business with a light heart; and sevevnl times during the day he cauglit himself whistling snatches of gay little songs as lie attended on the customers who thronged the store. A little before dinner time he got his cheque changed by the cashier, receiving as many small bills as that gentleman could spare — it was wonderful how much Thompson seemed to want small bills — and four tens. As soon as the clock struck twelve he ran out ostensibly to diimer, but that was surely only an excuse, for he had told Winnie he would be too busy to come home and that he would get something to eat down town. Kowhere near home, nor any restau- rant did Thompson go, but right to old Dumsic's store in Notre Dame street, and entered it as large as life just as if he was going to hwj the whole store and pay! for it on the sj)ot. But he didn't want the whole store, he only wanted | a very small portion of some of the goods in the store for be it known that amongst the '^ small wares" iiij which old Dumsic dealt were sundry articles of jewellery, and one of these articles, a dead gold brooch [ with a small amethyst in it, Thompson had set his heart on possessing and presenting to AVinnie as a Christmas present. Very glad were his old fellowi •eturnc where, a word he put at the ] grantee them ir Very c but Th( full of j and he turned enquire cigar h blunder was pi obligat He conist's 1 :i iJslli III r- now TJiiJ TURKiiY aor Thompson. ii clerks to SCO him, and many a merry little jol:c was passed about his " changed appearance since he be- came a double man," and other kindred pleasantries ; uiid when he pulled out two ten dollar bills to pay for the brooch — the price was twelve dollars and a half — one of the clerks began to chaff him and asked if he had " struck a mine," or " robbed a bank," ov '' made them himself," and such like playful questions And when he went to the cashier's desk to get his change there sat old Dumsic hiinself, who had •eturned suddenly that morning from nobody knew where, looking as cross as he could, and he never said a word to Thompson, or as much as look at him ; but he put on his spectacles and peered very suspiciously at the bills as if he thought they were bad, and he grunted in a disappointed sort of way as he threw them into the drawer and counted out the change. Very cross and savage indeed did old Dumsic look, but Thompson never heeded him, his heart was too full of joy for him to mind how old Dumsic looked; and he went whistling gaily out of the shop and turned into a tobacconist's, wdiere he was known, and enquired the price of a handsome little meerschaum cigar holder which he wished to present to a stupid, blunderimr, foolish sort of a friend of his whom he was pleased to think himself under some sort of obligation to. He changed another ten-dollar bill at the tobac- conist's, and after he had received the change counted V. M 28 THOMPSON'S TURKET. ' 111 11^ but twenty-five dollars in one-dollar bills and put that away carefully in one pocket, and laughed slily as he did so, did that artful Thompson, and put the re- maining twenty-two dollars — two tens, and a two into another pocket ; then he Went back to business, and every now and then during the afternoon he chuckled to himself in a satisfied sort of way. As Thompson had not gone home to dinner he was allowed an hour and a half for supper, and he went off sharp at six whistling all the way and in the best possible humor with himself. But all the good spirits in which he had been all day were as nothing to his uproarious hilarity when he heard Winnie's little shriek of delight at the production of the brooch, and saw her look of wonder when he pelted the one dollar bills at her, one at a time to make them last longer ; and then she climbed on his lap and made him tell her all about it ; and beautiful castles in the air they built of the great things which they were to do when Thompson had become a world renowned author and made an imm^ .ise fortune — authors always do make immense fortunes, in books you know, although they very seldom do in real life. Very merrily and gaily they chatted away without thinking of supper, and Thompson's hour and a half was almost all gone when he suddenly remembered that he was very hungry and fell to with a good appetite. But Thompson was not destined to enjoj^his supper that ni the roil at the pushed Thoi as ton is whom uniforr ^< Wh{ looking with tl one tlu her ari] ''Th him be '•I'n tive, w " will 3 at Win '' JS"o could s] before " Th countei wanted to tell of pass her \\m ^'Tel S>1 HO W THE TUKKEy GOT THOMPSON. 29 good ru^i' that night, for he had scarcely taken two bites out of the round of toast when there was a great knocking jit the door, and on Winnie's opening it three men pushed j)ast her and entered the room. Thompson knew then^ in a moment, and rose in astonishment ; they were old Diimsic, a detective — whom Thonapson knew by sight — and a policeman in uniform. '* What does this intrusion mean ?" asked Thompson looking with surprise at the intruders, while Winnie, with that instinctive feeling which women have that one they love is in danger, came to his side and put her arm around him as if to shield him. '' There he is," said old Dumsic savagely, '' catch him before he runs awa}'." '• I'm very sorry, Mr. Thompson," said the detec- tive, who was a mild eyed, gentlemanly looking man, " will you step outside for a minute ?" and he glanced at Winnie. " Xo, he won't," she interrupted, before Thompson could speak: " Whatever }■ on have to say you can say before me. What is it ?" " There is a little trouble about some one passing counterfeit bills," said the detective, '• and he's wanted down at the Station ;" somehow he didn't like to tell that brave looking little woman that a charge of passing counterfeit bills had been made against her husband. <' Tell the truth," said old Dumsic sharply, '^ he's di ir 30 THOMPSON'S TURKEY. arrested for passing counterfeit notes ; the woman ho bought a turkey from last night has made a charge against him, and he passed two on me to day. I'll make an affidavit to-morrow. The rascal to steal my daughter and then try to rob me ; he ought to bo hung." '' It's all a confounded lie," shouted Thompson taking a step towards old Dumsic in so fierce a manner as to make that gentleman skip nimbly behind tho policeman, "I know nothing about any counterfeit bills ; all the money I have had for the last two days I got from Mr. Stamps, the broker, and from tho cashier of our store." " Well, perhaps you'll be able to make it all right, sir," said the detective kindly ; " but if you'd take my advice you wouldn't say much now. I may have to use it as evidence against you." ''Use whatever you please," said Thompson savagely. " I've got nothing to conceal in the matter. Take me anywhere you please at once and let me ex- j)lain this matter." " Oh, yes," said old Dumsic peeping cautiously from behind the policeman, " he can explain, of course! He can explain where he got the money to \y turkeys" — he said'turkeys too, although there '' -^'s but one — '' and give dinner, parties, and buy Li'ijoches, and throw bank notes about like this," and he pointed to the heap of dollar bills which Winnie had left on the table. JlOW TUE TURKEY GOT TlWMrSON. 51 u I'll I will explain nothing, except before the proper authorities," said Thompson calmly: *' I am ready to go at once. I scarcely thought, Mr. Dumsic," he continued, turning to that gentleman, "that 3'our spite against me would have carried you as far as this. May God forgive you the injustice you do me, and the pain you cause your own flesh and blood." *' It isn't him," said thedetective, ''it's the poultry dealer who made the complaint; she found out this morning that the bill was bad, and I went to the store to find you. The cashier told me you were hero, and as I was coming along I met Mr. Dumsic who told me you had passed two counterfeits on him ; he hasn't made any charge yet." '' Yes, I have," cried old Dumsic, '' I make it now, and I will swear to it to-morrow morning." " Let us go," said Thompson reaching for his hat '' I want to get this thing settled at once. Cheer up darling," he continued to Winnie, "it is nothing- serious, I will be back soon." "Do you think I am going to let you go alone ? No, Charlie; I'm your wife, and wherever you go I go with you. I know this is a base, wicked calumny, a plot to separate us, but it shan't; no matter where they take you, they must take mc too." Her face was very pale, but her lip never trembled, and her eyes shone bright and trusting up to Thomp- son's. " Stay where you are," said old Dumsic speaking m 32 TliOMrSON'S TUUK/'Jy. to Winnie, and looking at her for the first tinic. '' T am your father, I will take care of yon, you shan't go to prison with this fellow." '' Father, I always tried to bca good dutiful daughter to you; I loved you dearly until you endeavored tt> rnake my life miserable and forced mo to an act of disobedience ; I am happy now in the love of thu man who loves me, and I cannot and will not leave him," She disengaged herself from Thomp.sonVarms and quickly put on her bonnet and cloak. ''Come, wo are ready now. Can you go round by St. Urbain street?" she asked the detective. " I have a friend there I should like to consult." " All right, ma'am," replied the detective, '' we can make it in the way." ''You'll go quietly, sir?" he inquired of Thomp- son, "Certainly." ' " Come along then," he said, and Avalked out of the room followed by Thompson and Winnie, which con- duct so astonished the policeman who was a French- man, and had understood nothing of what had j^assed and who had come to assist at arresting somebodj', that he seized old Diimsic by the collar and led him q^ in triumph, Idol tiling with h to He i elevate conifoi cd pip< per. ] supper of whi my usi charge partici sitting ancien by mi>; funny He little c bit of been j storief alway CHArTEB III. now THE TURKEY GOT EATEX. m I do like k) enjoy n good smoke. I don't know any- thing more calculated to make a man feel at peace with his washerwoman and the rest of mankind than to lie in an easy chair, with one's slippered feet duly elevated, and slowly and luxuriously inhale peace, eomfort and bliss through the medium of a well season- co?ice, for old Dumsic had resisted considerably as llio damaged condition of the police- man's face showed ; and there was old Dumsic tearing and swearing like a wild man, and threatening ever}'- body with destruction if he was not instantly re- leased. But when the Sergeant ordered old Dumsic to be searched and two counterfeit ten-dollar bills were found in his pocket, matters began to look seri- ous, and old Dumsic would probably have been locivcd up if Jack and I with Moyson had not happened to arrive a^ the time, just as the detective entered with Thompson and Winnie. . Of course it did not take very long to explain mat- ters to the Sergeant, and Moyson' s capture threw an entirely new light on the subject of Thompson's pass- ing the counterfeit bills; for when he was searched a. large number of counterfeits were found on him, and seeing there was no chance of escape — for Jack ^eon undeceived him about his being a detective — he con* fessed that he had given the bad bills to Thompson, and also that when the junior partner hal sent to him for change he had kept the good bill and substituted another. It was quite evident that there was no ground for ■Al 40 TIJOJIl'SOA'S rURKEr "'11 o a charge against Thompson, but as a warrant had been issued, he had to be taken up to the house of the magistrate, who, on a representation of the case being made, accepted bail for his appearance on the day after Christmas. Old Dumsic sat on a bench in the Police Station and abused that French policemen for a good hall hour, which must have been very entertaining to the man, who did not understand a word of English ; and the man fully explained how the mistake of arresting- him occurred, in French, which was all a mystCry to old Dumsic, who was quite ignorant of that language. At last old Dumsic got tired of that kind of conversa- tion, and, having deposited a sufficient sum as liis bail to appear and answer the charge of assault, left the station and went home ; but a great change seemed to have come over him, and he appeared to be arguing something over to himself as lie went along. 1 suppose it is scared}^ necessary to say that the Christmas dinner next day w^as a great success. Of course Jack was there and had a storj^ all ready tcD^toil about a friend of his who had got into a scra])e very similar to the one Jack had got into buying liis tur- key ; and very handsome the turkey looked when it was brought on the table lying helplessly on its l)ac'k with its legs in the air ; and very meriy and jolly we all prepared to be. * But the funniest thing of all hapj^ened just as Thompson had his knife raised to carve the turkey, for the warning ashame smile p and, oft '^ Chf been in rying ^ feel lik( have he to Thoi day anc not ma! Then nodded gave hi with hi very fii It w; thawed Ji Y^A h< got too. body la of wine too mu( the oth didn't b all, and name I J/0\V THE TCKKlii- GOT EATEN. 41 for the door suddenly opened, without any previous Avarning, and in walked old Dumsic looking a little ashamed of himself I thought, but doing his best to smile pleasantly. He walked right up to Thompson and, offering his hand, said, '' Charlie, I've come to the conclusion that I have boon in the wrong, and as I can't prevent your mar- rying Winnie now, I give my consent. Home don't fool like home at all without Winnie, and I want to have her back. Oh, you shall come too," he continued to Thompson. " I'm going to turnover a new leaf to- day and what I can't cure, I'm going to endure, and not make myself a fool about it." Then Winnie looked at Thompson, and Thompson nodded his head, and she tripped up to her father and gave him a sounding kiss, and Thompson shook hands with him and made him sit down to dinner, and the very first cut of the turkey was given to old Dumsic. It was quite w^onderful to see how old DumsiC thawed, just as quick as an icecream pyramid when a rt^d hot poker is applied to it ; and awfully jolly he got too, and he and Jack told stories that kept every- body laughing, and old Dumsic had ordered a basket of wine in, and I am afrjiid Jack and he drank rather too much, for they vowed eternal friendship after all the others had left the table; and Dumsic told Jack ho didn't believe he w^as the descendant of an Irish king at all, and that he would not be at all surprised if his name had originally been Drumstick as Thompson ^■■i V :,; ; 42 THOMPSON'S rmh'Ef. i mi' said, and that a very jolly old Drumstick he felt, which evoi*ybody knows Dumsic Avould never have done if he had been quite sober. And the fun we had after the friends who had been invited for the evening arrived, was too much for me to tell, and there was old Dum- sic running about making love to all the girls, and declaring he wanted to get married again. That was last Christmas, and I am going to dine with Thompson again this year, but he doesn't live in *' queer quarters" now, iMit with old Dumsic, who has given him an interest in the pin-and-needle busi- ness ; and there is to be something mor than a Christmas fjarty for there is to be a christening too, and the young gentleman's name is to be Phil after his godfather, and Dumsic after his grandfather, so I will finish my story by wishing long life and happi- ness to Philip Dumsic Thompson, Esq. w: w and dl; le iilittsimjis I til 1 * «, m '' ij " You had better talk to the minister, sir, he is 8o| much wiser, and knows so much better than mo." "No. It was your voice roused mo, not his; l'(l| rather talk to you." " Jessie," called her mother coming to the door, " why don't you come in, dinner's waiting on thc| table ? ' Jessie looked ft'om the old man to her mother and I seemed in doubt what to do ; at last she asked the old man to ** wait a minute," ana going to hor mothor| said, "Mother, here is an old gentleman who was atl church and walked home with mo, asking me such queer questions, and he says he wants to talk with me. What shall I do?" " Well, child," her mother replied, " you knowl your father's notions abgut Christmas ; he would'nt let a dog go from his door on a Christmas Day. Ask the gentleman in to dinner and you can talk to him| after; the turkey is small, but it will be enough." Jessie did as she was bid. At first the old maul would not hear of it, and insisted upon going to the inn and returning after dinner ; but Jessie fina]lj[ persuaded him and he went in. " Father, this gentleman is a stranger in the village,! he says he would like to talk to me about something;] and I have asked him to dine with us." '* Quite right, Jessie," said Mr. Barton rising anill advancing toward the stranger, with outstretched hand, addres! there ii I have mas, ai on that a heart thing, and the Mr. I tall,bro with h« just she was sof fond of Take h seeing ] Thei develop of him subject, whaling tral Afi the Ind Nevada dotes h during After Mr. Bar V'. THE CURlSTxMAS ASTHEM. 59 hand. " You are heartily welcome, Sir," he continued addressing his gnest, "our fare is plain, but what there is I shall be happy to have you with us to share. I have some queer notions, folks tell me, about Christ- mas, and I never allow any stranger to pass my door on that day ; if there is nothing else to offer there is a hearty welcome, and I take it that's worth some- thing. So come right in. Sir, dinner's on the table, and the wife will fret if we let it got cold." Mr. Barton was a hale, hearty specimen of a farmer ; tall, broad -chested,bronzed with exposure,his hand hard with honest labor, and the frost of over fifty winters just showing itself through his dark locks. His face was soft and kindly, and a pleasant sort of smile was fond of playing about the corners of his mouth. Take him for all in all one would be ajit to say on seeing him, " that is an honest man." The dinner passed off merrily; the old gcntlema i developed a fund of wit which no one had expected of him, and seemed- to be well informed on every subject. Ho had travelled a great deal, had been whaling in the Arctic Seas, and hunting tigers in Cen- tral Africa ; he had been amongst the pearl divers in the Indian Ocean, and had mined in California and Nevada. Many strange stories and amusing anec- dotes he told, and kept his audience fully amused during the meal. After dinner they went into the parlor, and while Mr. Barton took his usual nap, Jessie opened the piano ' « i ^^ "'( ^i! 60 THE CHRISTMAS A^^Tll/'JJL If* B ' m and sung some of hor favorite hymns for the old man. " Thank you, my dear," he said, when she had finished. ** And now I want to ask you a question ; you have treated an old man and a stranger very kindly, and ho does not cvon know who to thank. "What is your name ?" ** Jessie Barton." ^' Barton, Barton !" he exclaimed in some surprise. *' Any relation to the Bartons who used to live in Sher- brooke many years ago ?" " We are the same family, sir. I w^as born in Sher- brooke, father moved to Goschen years ago." The old man bowed his head in his hands for a minute and said softly to himself, ''I believe it now, " Peace on earth, good will toward men." Just then the farmer stirred in his sleep and wak- ing with a sudden snort looked about him, and tried very hard to pretend he had never been asleep at all. The old man rose and crossing to him said, very solemnly : '' Alfred Barton, do you remember thirty years ago quarrelling with your brother in the old homestead in Sherbrooke ?" ^' Aye, aye, Bob was always a hasty lad; but he had a good heart." " Do you remember how he cursed you, and swore he would never break bread w^ith you, or recognize you as a brother again ?" " Aye, aye, but I know he was sorry for it after- wards ; come hi "Ho it," exc "Good( I ed so mi each otl The I nearly a I grip, am " Eob. " Alfr And sc After [brother's " Eobe Ifarni is a [left; but ^ibr so I L lie said i Wore dea( '^ And \i tear be^ " Aye, Welcome. '' And I jng his ha I'iglit ban Ivards all filE CHRISTMAS ANTHEM. 61 wards ; and if ho hud lived I believe ho would have come back years ago and told me so." " Ho does live ; ho has come back ; ho is sorry for it," exclaimed the old gentleman in excited tones. "Good God, Alfred, is it j)ossible wo have both chang- ed so much in thirty years that w^o cannot recognize each other ?" The two men looked into each other's faces for I nearly a minute, then their hands mot with a hearty (grip, and two words escaped them. "Eobort!" " Alfred !" And so the quarrel of thirty years ago was made up. After a w^hile the farmer spoke, still holding his [brother's hand : " Eobort, lad, you've come back at a bad time ; the Ifarm is about to be sold, and there will not bo much [left; but much or little, we'll share it together, lad, for so I know the father would have wishoU, although he said nothing about it in the will, thinking you were dead." " And so you'll share with mo," said tho old man, [i tear beginning to creep into the corner of his eye. " Aye, lad, there's not much ; but there's a hearty kelcomo." "And I'll share wuth you," said tho old man, bring- ing his hand down with a jolly smack into the farmer's right hand which he had seized and turned palm up- Ivards all ready to be smacked. '' I'll share with you n \ • 1 1 li i i B2 THE CHRISTMAS ANTHEM, mi fv a and you won't got the worst of the bargain, for the rolling stone has gathered some moss this time, and Robert Barton is good for a quarter of a million any- time. Yes," he continued after a pause, "I am a rich man, Alfred, but a very lonely, solitary one. I have never known what it was to have a home since I left the old j)lace ; no wife, no children, I stand all alone in my old days ; let me end them with you ; let us old men try to bring back some of our boyhood's " days ; let your daughter be my daughter, and let us spend what little of life is left us, together. I have done enough for riches, let me do something for hap- piness." My story is as good as finished ; Brookside w^as not sold, and Jegsie did not go to Montreal. Mr. Hayes, somehow, found courage to finish that little speech he commenced in the church, and Jessie did not interrupt | him; and when his father found he was going to marry a rich heiress instead of a penniless girl, he gave him a splendid house and made over the business ' to him. There is a little " Bill," and a little " Jessie," and a I little '' Bob" now, and Jessie looks quite matronly although she still leads the choir; and the old man sits in the strangers' seat — he will take no other — and listens to her pure voice, and says that he never began to feel what true happiness meant, until, hc| heard that Christmas anthem : *^ Peace on earth and mercy mild, ** God and sinners reconcil'd.'' (^ mtmm^ hthiwM. E Peril a I :i police other fc |lievx' tht [beat," a jvery sjDO miles loi burglary- a child j drunken |dent occ do, that i rpec |l>ra-s bul Ito bo an ( W/' SOI |ialf locu Ikind. Ijc pnixing w it its woi < H V, Si THE POLICEMAN'S CIIIUSTMAS. BY ONE OF THE FORCE. Perhaps you arc one of the people who don't think :i policeman ought to want to keep Christmas like other folks ; maybe you belong to that class who be- lievx' that a policeman ought always to be '' on his beat," and that he should never fail to be just on the very spot in that beat — no matter if it be two or three miles long, as it often is — at the very moment that a burglary is being committed, or a fire breaks out, or a child gets run over, or a fight takes place, or a drunken man slips on the sidewalk, or any other acci- dent occurs. Possibly you think, like a great many do, that a policeman hasn't got the same feelings as > 1' jK^ople, that, when he puts on his blue coat with l>ra-s buttons and sticks his staff in his belt he ceases to be an ordinary man and becomes " a limb of the law," something of a nondescript animal, half man, half locust "lub. I)on't you believe anything of the kind, liong service, getting used to rough life and mixing with the lowest classes ; seeing human nature at its worst and always having to keep a brigiit look- d6 THE POLICEMAN'S CHRISTMAS. \m out for othefi's' fiiiliiigSj don't tend to elevate a man ; I admit chatj it isn't the sort of work that tends to im- ? j)rove a man's oj)inion of humanity; it's not the sort of thing to make a man think uetter of his fellow men ; still, I don't believe you can ever make a police- man quite a machine like we are told a soldier can bo made — though I have my doubts about that, too. You see we have to mix too much with the people to get all the man taken out of us and leave nothing but the machine, doing ils duty and knowing or caring nothing beyond. It isn't natural to suppose that we can be on the force for any length of time without making a good many acquaintances, and, perhaps, a few friends. We are for the most part pretty nearly always on the same beats ; of course, we are changed about every now and then so that we may get well acquainted w4th the city, biU we keep pretty well to one station, and get to know most of the people we meet. It isn't always that, we know them to speak to, but just by sight, and many a time on a cold, raw, winter's morning, it has given me a sort of comfort- able feel to meet some great gentleman I knew by sight, and to feel that the wind and the snow, and the cold didn't have anymore respect for him than it did for the poor policeman who was v.early dead with the three hours' freezing he had got on his beat. When I say, '' g^.t acquainted," I don't mean in the way you read in thrashy novels — written by people who know nothing of the force — about police- men, being always dodging down urea woys to spark THE POLICEMAN'S CIIRlSTMAk 67 )s. a cooks, and arresting small boys, and never being on their beats when wanted, and running away when they hear a row; that's for the most part all stuff written by people who don't know what they are writing about. I ask you as a sensible person — I suppose you are a sensible person, tho' I may be mis. taken, — did you eve I* see a policeman hanging about area railii'gs making love to the cook or the house maid, either for her own sake, or for the sake of the broken victuals ? Did you ever see a policeman arrest a small boy, except those nuisances who will go coasting down steep streets when there's any snow, to the great danger of their own necks and of damage to all passers-by — that sort have to be arrested once in a while just to frighten the rest a bit ; but did you ever know a policeman who made it a practice of arresting only small boys? I'll bet you never did, and never saw one except on the stage, or in a comic paper. And as xOy running away from rows — well, if you're greei? enough to believe that, I'm sorry for you, that's all. No, ^hc sort of acquaintances I mean that a policeman makes is mostly the people he passes and repasses on the street uiid the people ho has to arrest. Were you ever arrested ? Well, you needn't get mad at the question, quite as good men as you have been arrested, and it don't always prove, because a man is arrested that he has done anything wrong ; but if you ever should be arrested it might, perhaps, surprise you to find yourself known by some one or ['» *'■, ^r, 6§ TltE FOLIC EMAILS CHRISTMAS. more of the force, if not by name iit least by sight, altho' you are a very quiet, respectable citizen, " unknown to the police," as the saying is. You might not know a single policeman by sight, but the chances are that some of them know you ; why. Lor' bless me ! put the police force of Montreal, small as it is, in the middle of the Champ the Mars, and let all the grown up men and women — and a good show of the children too — pass round them, and I'll bet my buttons, and that's a good deal for a policeman to bet, that at least a quarter of them could be recognized by some member of the force. \ ou see it's sort of natural — at least it is to me, and I suppose it is to most of the force — to look pretty sharp about us as we go up and down our beats, and from meeting the same people frequently and forming acquaintances'with the shop-keepers and such like, who are generally very glad to be ac- quainted with '' the policeman on the beat," — we get to know pretty nearly everybody who passes along our beat every day or so. I remember when I first went to the Ottawa Street Station, I was quite a stranger to that part of the city, and knew very little about Griffin town except that it had a bad name, and I didn't feel as if my life was quite safe there at first, but, bless you, a name is all in this world. " Give a dog a bad name and hang him," you know the old saying; Griffintown i^n't really much worse than many other localities where the poor live, but it's got the name and it will stick to it. ] soon ha ness an ting sir young i himself to " ha] Ottawa 3IcCord age. Abou who we who ha( cases i] Diickwc I the sohr\ I was dru I that I h but I m ing beei I down fo Eowd I when h policem found I to be qi house s( Iriondly las long 1^*., THE rOLlCFMAA'S CHRISTMAS. 69 to it. I usod to* keep my eye pretty well open, and I soon had to make a good many arrests for drunken- ness and conier lofvung. Corner loafing is the beset- ting* sin of the youth of Griflintown. Whenever a young fellow can beg, borrow, or steal the time from himself or anybody else, he thinks it the proper thing to " hang on " at one of the corners. Kempt and Ottawa is the most fashionable corner, but Colborne, 3IcCord and other streets get a good share of patron- age. xVbout the first man I arrested was a young fellow who went by the nickname of Eowdy Ducks," and who had the reputation of being one of the '* hardest " cases in Griffintown; his right name was Eoderick Duckworth, but he was best known to the police by \i\\Q sobriquet his L isconduct had earned for him. He j was drunk when I arrested him, ard resisted a bit so that I had great trouble in getting him to the station ; but I managed it at last, and next morning, he hav- uig been up very often of late, the Hecorder sent him [down for two months. Eowdy's friends told me to '' look out" for myself hvhon he came out, as he never forgot or forgave a policeman who had once arrested him; but I soon found I. had nothing to fear, and after a little we got to be quite friendly, and he used to come up to my house some nights when T was oft' duty to smoke a friendly pipe. He was quite a decent young follow as long as ho would leave drink alone, and quite intel- *s I wvr 70 THE POLICEMAWS CHRISTMAS. it '< m Ilk. 1 pi m ligent. He was a plumboi* by trade, and a first-rate workman, so that he never wanted long for a job. He got a little steadier that summer, and was only arrested two or three times for drunkenness, but as he had money he paid his fine and was not sent down. A couple of nights after his last arrest I was otf duty, and he ^came up to my house, so I took the opportunity of talking to him a bit. '' Look here, Eowdy," I said,' — we genej^ally called him Howdy, — " what is the good of your going on this way ; you're a young man and a good workman, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself to go to the dogs the way you are going now j why don't you marry and settle down ?" He flushed u]3 a little when I said this, and tried to laugh it off; but after a while he said, quite serious like : '* I've thought about it Barnes," (my name is Barnes — S. C. Barnes — S. C. stands for Samuel Charles, not Sub Constable, although I am one) " but I don't know exactly how it would do. You see the devil seems to get into me when I have a drop of drink, and I don't know what I am doing. I am half afraid to trust myself, for I should hate myself if I married MoUie and then abused her as I see some men do." " Oh, ho I" I said, " it's gone as far as that has it ; well, Eoddy, my man, take a fool's advice, swear off drink, marry MoUie, and settle down for a while out of Grifiintown, where you will be away from yoUr old \mir it: I've as good perhaps ^' Goo hition." Host the win It was c and ha( better ( stations better t Ever^ one ha the oth( nine In and taU to be at are the the firs o'clock patrol fK'f THE POLICEMAN'S CURISTMAS. n companions and out of the way of temptation. You ought to be too much of a man to let drink get the best of you at your age ; if you don't put your foot down like a man and kill your taste for it now, you won't be able to do it in ten years time, if you live so long." ^* Well, old man," he answered, ''I'll think about it: I've got a good place now, and this would be about as good a time as any for me to turn over a new leaf; perhaps, I'll do it. Good night, old man." *' Good night, my boy, and stick to your good reso- lution." I lost sight of Roddy for some time after that, and the winter was nearly gone when I met him again. It was one morning when I was one of the first relief, and had the Wellington Street beat ; perhaps, I had better explain here how the men are divided at the stations, as you may possibly understand my story better then. Every policeman is on duty for twelve hours dm*ing one half of the month, and sixteen hours a day for the other half — how is that for work, you eight and nine hour men who grumble at what you have to do, and talk about " the lazy police?" The day men have to be at the station at six o'clock in the morning, and are then divided into two reliefs, first and second • the first relief goes on duty on the boats from six o'clock until nine, and are then relieved, going on patrol again at twelve o'clock for three hours more j 1*3 't <* n !■.! r |{;" ' f< ■ Ut li- fe , ?• -'i Wf' 72 THE rOLlCEMAN'S CHRISTMAS. both reliefs remain on duty — either on the beats or fit the station — until six o'clock in the evening. The night duty men have to report at the station at two o'clock in the aftei^noon — except those who make prisoners the night before and have to attend the Re- corder's Court, they are generally allowed until five o'clock to report — and remain on duty until six next morning. That is pretty good time it seems to me, and the pay was only a dollar a day L on — it's been raised to eight dollars a week now for ( \ hands, and little enough it is at that I say. The night men have to report in the afternoon because they have to do odd jobs, notifying persons who have committed a breach of any of the Corporation By laws, by keeping dogs without paying the tax and such like matters. Ever}- two weeks the day men become the night men, so that we change and change about. I think that is enough explanation for the present, so I'll get back to my storj-. I was on the first relief of the day duty men, and just as I walked down Wel- lington Street, I saw Roddy crossing the bridge— this was before the present railway bridge was built — coming from Point St. Charles way. He was looking better than lever saw him look before, neat and tidy, and his clothes all nicely brushed, and altogether quite smartened up froii^ what he used to be. He saw mo about as quick as I saw him and came across tho street, laughing and holding his hand out ; " Well, old man," he smd as soon as we had .shakeif hands, '' ] little girl and I'm 1 *' That; didn't lik changed more hea: and who Montreal '* I'm n " but I he own and look ahej know\" It was moment, father of '' Well, chickens like looki spoke to 1 '' Yes. '' Well, I .shall be glad to ki " That walked o You s(. ceremony THE POLICEMAX'S CJHUiSTMAS, 73 hands, '' I've taken your advice. I've got as nice a little girl as you could find in a day's travel, for a wife, and I'm living out at the Point and keeping steady." *' That's right, Duckworth," I said — somehow I didn't like to call him '* Eowdy "^ now he was so much changed for the better, " nobody congratulates you more heartily than I do ; stick to your new way of life, and who knows but what you may be Mayor of Montreal one of these days." '* I'm not such a fool as to expect that," renliod ho, " but I hope in a couple of years to start a shop of my own and begin business on my own hook. I've got to look ahead now a little more than I used to, you know." It was astonishing how paternal he looked at that moment, anybody might have thought he w^^^s the father of a large family. ''Well," I said, laughing, "you are counting your chickens before they are hatched, but there is nothing like looking ahead. And who is the wife, the one jow spoke to me about ?" " Yes. I'd like you to see her, Barnes." " Well, just you bring her up next Sunday evening; I shall be olf duty at six, and my old woman will be !»:lad to know her." "That I will, and thank you too," he said, and walked olf to his business. You see we poor people can't afford to stand on leremony like rich folks; there's no need of calling i 'iSM Ml ■ -rt^ . ■■ *i'i }'^'JB&jUB ij\r" '-'J-.^im 74 THE rOUCEMAN'S CHRISTMAS. ^ ^1 Lfc I*' ! St' ■ cirds, and previous introductions, and formal invi- tations with us ; if wo want a man to come and see us I wo ask him right off, and if ho wants to come, ho comos ; and if ho don't want to como ho stays awajj that's all. » Eoddy camo on tho Sunday night, and brought his| wife. Sho was a very protty girl, was Mollio Duck- worth, almost too pretty I thought, and seemed voryl fond of Eoddy ; but somehow, I can't say, I took al fancy to her, and my old woman didn't like her at| all. '^Slio's a wild, flirting thing, that cares for nothiii^'l but dress and nonsense," said my old woman aftorl they were gone, '* and is no fit wife for a workiiij man like Eowdy. Mark my words," she continuodi "he'll be sorry for it before a year is out;" havingj delivered w^hich opinion she marched off to bed. I used to see Eowdy pretty often that summer goiiigl to work in tho morning, and two or three times hel came to see us, and one Sunday my old woman and l| took tea with him at his house. He had been marr: near a year then and was still living out at the PoinlJ but talked of coming up to the city iu the winter, aJ he said he was too far from his business, His wifj seemed anxious for him to come into town too, declarj ing she was " moped to death" out there, and althouvent to the dogs," as the say- ing is, faster than ever. He soon was out of work, land spent most of his time loafing at street corners I or drinking in the saloons. I saw him drunk several I times, but he kept away from me, and as he behaved ! himself quietly and did not make a row I didn't arrest him, and he managed to keep out of the station house. I I knew he and Mollie wore getting on worse than ever together, for I heard some of his companions i taking about it; but Roddy evidently did not want to speak to me of it, and avoided mo as much as [possible.* It was two nights before Christmas, and I was rest- |ing myself a bit in the statioi\ and thinking whether I the old woman would have a turkey or a goose for Christmas dinner, when a boy came running in and [said, the police were wanted down in Barre street, I that a man had killed his wife there. It was almost eleven o'clock, and I was pretty well '■\\. 7S TJlIi! rOLWFuMA.VS CHRISTMAS. i' ht tired out, having boon on duty since two o'clock ti-y- ing to catch some boj's who would insist on coast iiivorth ! " I was thoroughly sur2)rised for I did not know he had been re-arrested, and I hastily arose to go into the box, thinking it was my case. *' Why, it's Rowdy! " exclaimed His Honor, a smile of recognition playing over his good humored coun- tenance as the ju-isoner stepped into the dock, ''so you've come back again Rowdy, eh?" ''My name isn't Rowdy," said Roddy sulkily. "The more reason fov you to be ashamed that yoiir I l!l §2 THE POLJCEMAN'S CllRTST^f AS. y\ inisconduc't has gMiiicd such a sobn'quet for you," ro- tuniod His Honor, taking him up quite sharp. "What is the charge ?" The officers who arrested liini stated that he had heen found in 8t. Charles Borromee Street about three o'clock in the morning* very drunk, and taken to the Central Station, where it was discovered that ho had been arrested in Grif down and snbsefpiently resc ued. "What was lie arreste;! f)r, Uie first time?"' asked His Honor. " He was drunk in his own house, vour Honor,"' rejilied the So-geanf, "and beat his wife." " Oh," said His Honor, looking crossly at Roddy, "3'ou have added that to your other accomplishments, have 3"ou. Well, go on with the case ; has the Avomau made a charge against him ?" There was a pause for an instant and T saw Roddy look up and throw an anxious, inquiring glance around the Court to see if Mollie was tliere. Not finding her his face cleared, but it clouded over again in an instant as he saw the Clerk of the Court enter with a sheet of paper in his hand, closely followed by Mollie Avho had a handkerchief ostentatiously tied across her face covei'ing her left eye. His Honoi' read the deposition and putting on his sternest look, said, "Duckworth, you are chai'gcd with committing a violent assault on your Avife, b)' Htrikiui*' hci' with Aour fist in the face inflictimi- ii THE POIJCEMAXS CJIHISTMAS. ^:\ severe woiiiul. There i« no elass of men,'" eontiiuied His Honor, bcttliiig himself down for a little lecture, '' whom I more corditilly abhor than the mean, cow- ardly wretches who raise their hands against Aveak, (Icfenseless women; there is nothing more cowardly, nothing more riUlianly than the wife-heater, and I oft(^n rei>Tet that tlie law does not allow me to con- (]»'iun them to a inimber of lashes with the cat-o'-nine tails, so that they maj^ feel some of that corporal suf- fering the;^" are so fond of inflicting upon others. Vou have long been known to this Court asadruidvcn loafer, and now vou have added another crime to the long ii>- already against you, one too, of the worst eriines a man can he guilty of. Here is a young, deli- cate woman — scarcely more than a girl — whom 3'ou have sAVorn before God's liolv altar to cherish and protect, and 1 find you using brutal violence towards lier, such as no man with any feeling Avould use to a ;ain for the same ott'ense I shall send you down for two months. FivedoHars or one month." Koddy made a sign to mc as lie loft the dock, and I went down stairs to him. '•'Get the money from MoUie and ])ay the fnie tor me, Barnes," he said, ''don't let me be sent down. I liave the money at home.'" I Avent to MoUio and asked hor to pay the fine ; but she tossed hei- head at me and said ; '^ It would serve him right, if I let him rot in jail, the brute " I didn't have time to go back to Eoddy then, as I had a good many things to look after, and I had pro- misorime of his youth and goose- hood; and I stool with the knife suspended over him ■■V {'■««H if THE rOLlCEMA.VS C/IRISTMAS. SO for a momonl, while tlic old woman and the children \vaited in longing* expectation. But 1 was not destined to carve that goose. Just as the knife was descending there came a sudJ(- ing. Policemen like good things as well as other people, and I doubt that I should have given up the •^'oosc for Koddy's sake if it hadn't been for my old woman. '•Samuel," she said, ''you had bettor go with Roddy." Roddy was a fav^ourite with my old woman, altho' Mollie wasn't. " You may be wanted to arrest that thief and bring him back, for mark my words, lie's no gentleman, but some loafer who has stolon some good clothes and run away with Mollie for what little money she could get. Take 3'our dinner with I you," she continued as she saw me look again at the goose, " and you and Eoddy can eat it on the way," I and before I could say a word she had seized the niife, cut both legs off the goose, folded them up in [paper with several slices of bread, some butter, a iHcrevv of salt, a couple of knives, and stood with my [coat all ready for me to jmt it on. Of course I went ; somehow I generally do what wy old w^oman wants me to, and the last thing I fieard as we drove away was my old woman calling )nt, " Be sure you bring back the knives." It was a long cold drive, and we talked very little )n the way. We stopped for a minute at St. Lam- bert's, and took our dinner just as we left there, but [he goose did not taste nearly as good as I expected, fud as for Roddy he scarcely tasted a morsel, but i^ s^. .^^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A ^ >^^% 1.0 I.I 11.25 14 11.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRKT WiBSTIR.N.Y. I4S80 (716) 472-4303 V qv ^ L1>^ \ :\ \ ■^ i\ ^2 THE POLICEMAN'S CHRISTMAS. m? t m m. kept lashing at tho horso in a vicious kind of way, altho' there was really no occasion to touch him, for he was a good one to go and warmed up to his work first rate. Wo hoard of them at St. Johns. They had dined there and left about half an hour ahead of us. We made an effort to counterbalance that disac' vantage by getting a fresh horse, as we found out they had not changed theirs. Just as we were getting into the sleigh I made a discovery. Eoddy's coat swung open for a moment as the wind caught it, and sometliing hard struck my hand. I recognized the touch in an instant. It was a pistol. Then I remembered the queer way Eoddy had said " I must catch him," and I gave myself a kind of a shake up as I said to myself: " Now look here, Mr. S. C. Barnes, Sub Constable, just attend to what you are about ; if this here man shoots that there man it won't be pleasant for you ; if you must go run- ning after men who run away with other men's wives on Christmas Day, instead of staying at home and eating your hot goose like a sensible policeman, you must not let anybody get shot; for if you do some of| those bothersome newspapers will get hold of it and give you a hauling over the coals about it, and yon will find yourself ia trouble. So look sharp and get hold of that pistol or look out for squalls." It did not take me long to make up my mind wliat^ to do. ' TJW rOUCEMAN'S CHRISTMAS. 93 I asked Eoddy to have a smoke and pulled out a meerschaum, but in dragging out my coat tail to get at my tobacco pouch I pulled Roddy's coat a little away from his body, and quicker than I ever thought I could have done it, I whipped the pistol out of his pocket and put my pipe case in it. He drew his coat up pretty quick and touched his side with his elbowj but the pipe case felt all right, and ho didn't suspect anything. If I had been asked two minutes before if I could pick a pocket I should have laughed at the idea ; but after I had done it I could not help thinking either that pocket picking was a good deal easier than is generally supposed, or that a first-class pickpocket was spoiled when I became a policeman. We had not got more than about three miles out of St. Johns when we sighted a sleigh just going round a little bend in the road about a hundred yards ahead of us, w* th three people in it ; the driver and a man and woman sitting pretty close together on the back seat. Roddy gave a start as ho saw the sleigh, for he recog- nized MoUie ; and I took that opportunity — the first I had — to give the pistol "a push off the seat on to the bottom of the sleigh. Now I never was jjartial to pistols; and I have always specially objected to tliose self-cocking, self- firing off things called revolvers. A good old-fashioned horse-pistol that measures about half a yard or so in ■I 94 THE POLICEMAN'S CHRISTMAS. f jj. length, takes a young steam engine to cock it, and a good strong kick by a full-grown bull to fire it oif, I don't so much mind ; that gives a man time and warning, so that there is a good square chance to dodge ; but the^e revolving things always go off when they are not expected to, and nothing can persuade them to go off when wanted, if they don't happen to have a mind to. !N'ow, nobody wanted that pistol of Roddy's to go ou when I touched, but off it went. Whether I pulled the trigger without knowing it. or whether it fell on the caps, or whether Roddy or I stepped on it and set it off there is no means of knowing now. All I do know is that two barrels of it did go off the minute I pushed it from the seat, and in another second our old horse had his tail up, the bit in his teeth and was tearing down that road at a pace that would have astonished Dexter; while Roddy gave a jump that nearly threw him out of the sleigh, and let a howl out of him loud enough to scare a whole churchyard. That miserable revolving machine had sent one ball through the dashboard, taking about four inches of skin and a handful of hair oft* the old horse's tail ; and driven the other ball tl^i-ough the calf of Roddy's left log. Then I made a grab at the reins, which Roddy had dropped, and moved my right foot in so doing, and the machine shot oft* again ; but whether it did any damage or not I never found out, for by th'J^t time our hoi*se ha4 caught up with the sleigh TUJi: rOLlCEMMTS CHRISTMAS. 95 ahead of us and tried to take the shortest cut out of reach of the shooting machine behind him hy going over the sleigh, occupants and all. The driver had hoard our little bombardment and saw us coming ; he tried all ho could to give us room to pass and pulled well over into the snow bank on the left, but it was no use ; the road was too narrow, and our horse, having nobody to guide him, did just what seemed best to his misguided fancy, and the last discharge of that miserable revolving machine had scarcely reverberated in his startled ears before wo collided with the sleigh in front of us. We struck about midships, as the sailors would say —at least I should judge so from the fact that our sleigh broke very nearly in half, and the old horse ran away with the front part while the back part was left with Roddy and I — but I could not be very certain of anything more than that we did strike ; and that inside of half a second afterwards five feet nine and a half inches of policeman was describing a parabola through the air, and that just before he disappeared head first beneath the snow, he had a sort of vague and indistinct vision of a large flock of petticoats, buffalo robes, men's legs, splinters of sleighs, pieces of harness and other things, too numerous to mention, flying about in all directions ; while the entire British Army, Volunteers and all, seemed to be firing a fusil- lade of joy at the event, such a tremendous noise did that miserable revolving machine make in letting oft' its last two shots. !»' A - U 96 THE POLICEMAN'S CHRISTMAS. m r... ■ I: ! i. IIow long it took mo to got my hoad out of the snow, I can't tell ; it felt like an hour, but I don't think it could have been over a minute, for the snow was soft, and although I went in far I came out easy. "When I got up and looked around the first thing 1 saw was the tail of our old horse sticking up like a sign post, while he was tearing down the road like mad with the fragment of the sleigh behind him, and the other horse and sleigh, with two people in it, close after him. Then I looked to the left and saw a pair of legs trying to kick themselves out of the snow, so I got hold of one of them and gave it a good strong pull and brought out a smooth faced, rod-headed man, I did not re^'ognise, and as he sat down to recover him. self I looked around for Eoddy. He had fallen under what portion of the sleigh was left us, and was partially stunned by a blow from some piece of the broken sleigh, and that added to the loss of blood from the wound in his leg had made him quite faint, so that it took some little time before I could bandage up his leg with my handkerchief and recover him a bit. He soon came to himself, and as quick as he recovered his senses he asked, ^' Where is Mollie ?" * I turned and pointed down the road when we could still see the race between our old horse and the other horse and sleigh, ours still having the best of it, and said. " 6^ne/' THE POLICEMAys CHRISTMAS. 97 Ho first looked at mo for a second, and then with a great cry he jumped past me, and the next thing I yaw was two men rolling over together in the snow, tearing and fighting, and a black curly wig and big black moustache lying in the road. Of couj'se I got at them at once and tried to sej)ar- ato them, but I should have had a poor chance if the bandage hadn't slipped off Eoddy's leg, and it began to bleed again, so that he turned faint and loosed his hold ; then I got out a pair of handcuffs I had in my pocket and slipped them on the other man. Why I did it, I couldn't have told, except that I was fighting one to two, but I was glad of it afterwards. When he found himself fast he just gave me a good hearty curse or two, and then sat down on the broken sleigh in a sullen manner and didn't say a word more. It took me some time to quiet Eoddy, and I don't know how I could ever have got them both into St. Johns if a farmer hadn't happened to drive rp just then, and I got him to help me and let me use his sleigh. We managed to hire a sleigh in St. Johns, and after making arrangements for having the horse and the remnants of the cutter sent after us, if our old horse ever allowed himself to be caught, we started for Montreal. Before leaving, I searched my red-headed friend, who proved, when he had his black wig and moustache on, to be the same n>an who had spoken to mtiire ; that my red headed friend was no less a personage than Mr. William Sinclair, alias Dick Smith, alias Augustus Hamilton, against whom three or four warrants had been issued in Toronto and Hamilton, and for whose arrest a reward of $1,000 was offered. It appeared that Sinclair had been clerk in a large business house in Hamilton, and had robbed his employers of several thousand dollars, but had managed it so cleverly that it was some time I after he left before it was discovered. Meanwhile he I had gone to Toronto, where he passed under the name of Dick Smith, and thei'o forged two cheques jfor about fifteen hundred dollars on the National Sand tank of that city ; having accomplished which he I had run off with the wife of one of the Bank clerks, mnd had been tracked to the States, where all tract; ., 1 k^m 100 TUt: roucKMAS's c/mhSTJiAs, 1 '^ 'fl i'is ■I of him was lost, and ho was supposed to have gone to California. This was about a year boforo I saw him ; our dotoctivos hero had boon on tho look out for him at tho time, and had his description, photograph, &c., but tho scent had grown pretty cold, and when Mr. Augustus Hamilton appeared in Montreal as a gen- tleman ** just out from the old country," ho was not suspected. What ho wanted in Montreal, or whether ho had committed any robbery here never trans- pired, as no charge was made against him, Roddy re- fusing to prosecute when ho found there were already 1 so many more serious crimes for him to answer for. He was transferred to Toronto, where he was tried and condemned to grace tho Penitentiary for seven years, and he is still there, his close cropped red] head being much admired, and being quite an orna- ment to the place. Boddy went to St. Albans as soon as his leg was I bettor, but could not find Mollie, who had gone on to New York. He followed her there, and found her so much worse than he expected that he left her to fol- low her evil courses and went to California, where he| remained for a couple of years. Two Christmasses came and went, and I made my| dinner off that noble bird the goose in jDoace and com- fort, without interruption; and the third one was I well on its way to us when one fine night, just as my| old woman and I and a large number of small Bar- neses were sitting down to supper, in walked Roddy fllK POLICEMAN'S bllltlSTilAS. lol looking so bronzed and sto it that for a moment I hardly know him. Ho told 113 all his adventures, Which were very in* terosting to us, but would most likely only bore you as they were j>rincipally an account of hard workj so I shall not repeat 4hom. Enough to say that he had tried gold mining a while, found it didn't pay, and had finally settled down to his old trade in San Fran- cisco, where he could make from four to six dollars a (lay. But he did not like the place, and had just re- turned to Montreal, bringing a couple of thousand dollars with him, with the intention of setting up in business for himsijlf. All the time he was talking I could see that my old woman was itching to ask him a question, 1 knew what, for there was one name ho had never men- tioned, and at last she could keep back no longer but blurted it right out: '' Roddy, what has become of Mollie ?" He grew very pale for an instant, but said quite softly and reverently, '' Dead. She died six months ago in a brothel in St. Louis. Poor girl, may God be merciful to her for her sin, and forgive me my share in making her what she turned out to be, a drunkai-d and a prostitute. Fes, old man, a good deal of it was my fault. I ought to have been kinder to her, and checked her flirting ways gently, instead of get- ting into mad fits of jealousy as I used to. Oh, you never knew half of the quarrels we had, although. \\ '" 1 1 102 Tlir: POLICEMAN'S ciiristMas. PL' r thank God, I never struck her but once. Yes, old man, I was some to blanio, I was not steady enough to marry such a young girl ; she was pretty and^fond of admiration, and it was only natural when I made a beast of myself by getting drunk and abusing her, that she should turn to someone else. Poor girl, let us leave her memory in peace, I can't bear to talk much about her." We didn't say another word, but my old woman got up and w ent to the cupboard, and very soon came back with something in a glass which smoked and smelled very refreshing, which she i)ut by his side and said, " Take a drop of something hot, Eoddy, it will warm your stomach and cheer you up a bit." Somehow my old woman has a motion that there is no remedy in the world for any complaint, whether mental or physical, like " a drop of something warm ;" and I think if I was taken home some night with my neck broken or my brains knocked out my old woman would administer, " a drop of something warm to cheer me up a bit;" but Roddy pushed the glass from him and said gently, but firmly, " Thank you kindly, Mrs. Barnes, but since the last night I was in your house, I have not tasted a drop of strong liquor, and with God's help, I never will again. I don't say anything against a man taking a glass if he can control himself, but I can't ; if I drink at all I must drink too much, and then I am 77/ a; roLicicvAXs cimisr.WAs. 103 more like a devil than a man, so the only wafe 2)lan for me is to swear oft' altogether and I have done it. Drink and jealousy together nearly made me commit one murder — you know, old man — and I can't but feel that is partly responsible for Mol lie's death. No, I have taken the ]>UMlge, and I mean to keep it." And he has to this day. You need not ask for Sub-Constao'i^ "Barnes in the force after New Years, for I have sent in my resigna- tion ; but if you want any plumb g or glaring done just lool for the firm of Duckworth