THE STORYTELLER.

Waikato Times, Volume XLI, Issue 3344, 2 December 1893, Page 13

THE STORYTELLER.

OIOJOXE,

BY R Ay: D.; Lithgow, ,p v, r o ]{ ' ~CHArTEII; 1,,-. . , r . , T For : liokiss had lived in two rooms : in Wellandstreet;;# Sob'o-squaref and for five-arid-forty .years lie had. walked daily, mormngvand/eyeningpn all kinds of weather/-'to 4 and from '■" the - large tobacco inanufactpry of Messrs. and' 'Moffat,'' in - Pulfordsquare, where he-was employed.

He had come to London when about twenty-one : yto of'age 1 ; !, but where he came from,' or under what circumstances, nobody knew, as Job had always been very reticent when questioned, and remained a!mystery to, all who.lineWihittt.,

Beyond a few people in the works, and a few of those who lodged in the same tenement, lie seemed to know nobody, and even}/those j with whom he had been acquainted for many years were never permitted to enjoy anything like familiar intercourse. His 'neighbours regarded him as , having been " crossed in life," but beyond, this f supposition p they nothing; and as he always .paid his way punctiliously, and was scrupulously regular iri' his habits, they : were forced, to content themselves by !regarding him as an

. Not that he ; was churlish: or illnatured by any means, for in times of difficulty or trouble there .was no one in the neighbourhood whose adivice was; more spiighfc after, and. no lone who could give it either so justly or so judiciously, , Job, in his appearance, was also 'something of,,.an. anachronism, reminding one of the good old days when George the Third was King, as he invariably wore a very long cloth coat, with a large velvet collar, and, whatever colour it had been • originally, it was',noW;Of a sombre , bro.wn, and 'more than a little the worse for wear; added to this, his hat was of beaver, with a low crown and broad brim; and had once been white.

; He was about the medium heiarlit, and, although his hair was white and rather long, he was active' and wiry, and walked as briskly as many a much younger: man.. In repose his face was wan, deeplined, and anxiouslooking, as if he had suffered | much 'at some period of his life; but when in conversation a sweet and tender smile stole over his features, and his steadfast blue eves gave his: listener an, impression of a sterling .nature and an. honest heart. s n.;: >

, He was ■ much respected- at the works in which the greater part 6f his life had been , spent, not only by his ' employers (of. whom he had served under' three or four 1 generations),' hilt also byall' the' employees who were brought into contact vyith him, and,' although somewhat quiet and taciturn, " Old Moke," <as lie was familiarly 'called by' everybody, was looked upon by ; all as a inan of strict, integrity and high principle, ;as a true and faithful friend who never ; made an enemy, * ;v ?!r;;iv

Unfortunately, when a comparatively young man, he. sustained, a slight attack, of paralysis, which left his right hand and arm for ever useless, and - this . had militated much against his advancement iii the factory as, otherwise, there was : no position to which he might not have' attained; in .it. But such was his force of character, he so defty educated" his left : hand that in a few years he could fold up and seal the packets of tobacco which wiere handed to him far, more'quickly rthan any-/ body else iri'the works' could do with both hands,

: Such'was the humble position" ! he occupied, 'and the-apties of whicli he had faithfully discharged; for lover thirty years without a break of a single day. - ! But the serenity of his peaceful life was at length rudely broken by a circumstance, of ; terrible and ing reality. , , : ' After, his uneventful and ' tranquil five-aiid-forty years, he returned one evening, as was his wont, to his quiet fireside and frugal evening meal, As usual,-lid doffed' 'his beaVer ! llat and long brown coat, and awaited the coming of thte : iministered to his domestic. \vants, .* Scarcely, howeyer,, had - lie'; seated himself in: ihis accustomed! corner,' wheh( a low and mysterious' sound greetbd his cars and sent 'the 'Wool}-

wave.through his heart,* with sudden " ' ,!,!!;> :i= !i-! cMy'? ';>• and increased rapidity. , ' " God 1, Ibless , 1 me!' What ' was that ?

But again tile sound', was repeateli with unequivocal and unmistakable intensity. f y'; Poor Job' saJ 1 folt jiipright, and gave a quifck glance round'his humble abode, fc search ing eiio ugh to recogr liise the'cause i of'the.''commotionas. proceeding from a hamper in bile corner of tlieroom; which must have somehow been placed there by. mistake.' y, - lt i .The;'sounds.noW succeeded eacli other with -sacfr' marvellous' rapidity as to constitute .one uninterrupted wail, and } Job's instincts prompted him, V|rith fear and t ttemliling, to iivveistigate the cpntents of the hamper. The'lid was rioi ' fastened, and as lie gently raised it, his , action was rewarded'by his sqeing laid: upon a pillow, and ..with a ! half-emptied bottle' of. milk, beside it', ! a healthy-looking babyi " :; 1 ' 1 ; ' /At; this H moment :i Mrs.' Judkins entered to 1 prepare ' Job's. homely meal." 7 ■ "/ 7 " li Oh, Mokey, Mokey, what do I. see and hear, and whatever have you been a doiF of to 1 bring this Messed babby iiito such a place as this ?" '.' "1 assure you,7MrSv 'Judlcms, I: know nothing of it, more than you do yourself," said Job: ; f 4 \Oh, 1 very likely!" Judkins; •' I've "heard , that ' 'tale

afore!" ' i ,"'v, ' ' At this moment, however,' the baby gave a piercing shriek, 1 much as to say, 1; " Do stop jabbering,' and attend to me at once." M " V ' ■

| Mrs. Jlicllciris accordingly' lifted the baby from, the .hamper, and Job, to make sure that there was nothing else;in it, took up the pillow on which it'had reclined, and was astonished to find a letter pinned to. one side of it,' ! aiid addresse'l to liiiiiself! •: : To slip" this into 1 'his pocket 1 for futuj-e'consideration ,was tlie.work"of a moment, as,; for obvious reasons, he thought it expedient to: keep the con-' tents of the letter unknown, ! for:the' present, at any rate, :to anyone but' himself especially as it was evidently intended 'that he alone : should receive it'.' :: '' ' !i

" Well, this 'ere's a nice' job, Moke, 1 and no; mistake ; and what will tlie neighbours'say 1' I calls it a wicked scandal, 1 do! ." 1 '

■ Job, however, said little in reply, but let his • old factotum. ruii on, hoping she would stop the sooner. " It's a purty little dear, at any; rate!. Look, at its lovely blue eyes, and its beautiful hair!' Did it want' its bottle, poor dear ? It shall have it, then, that it shall," , ' . Here she busied herself : in prepaid ing a fresh 1 supply,, of milk for. the "little angel," which 'tlie said'angel' vigorously _ imbibed, , and , almost, immediately fell asleep, Judkins, looked at Job as she crooned to the sleeping infant on her lap, and at length, as if unable to contain herself any longer,: exclaimed; : 1 " Why do you sit there, Moke, never saying'a word, and the blessed hinfant brought 'ome to you ? What I wants to knoti is,' whose is it, where did it come from, and what are you going to.do with it ?" : Poor Job's expression was really most pitiable to behold, and much as lie resented Mrs. Judkins' imputations as to himself, he ,was really more eager to find out something about the poor stray little lamb from the missive in his pocket. ' He could only deny any knowledge whatever of the infant in any way;. but Mrs, Judkins knew " ali 'about men and their wickedness, : 'drat 'em ["• -and' although ; no means, assured, by Job's denials she ended by anathematising.' 'eartless 'ussey as could thus leave her own flesh and blood without a mother's or even a woman's protection." -■ 1 : r ' ; . ''What's to be done, Moke? Shall I makeja p'lice job of it, or are you going to keep it like a.man if it's your'n? Who's to look after itl'shbuld'liketoknow?'' ! Jpb looked appealingly at her, and'could only saythat .he would have to think it over what was best to be ; done, " as Providence had brought this child into his humble home it was for some good 'and wise purpose, and he would do ,what. seemed ;right; with the' poor little'innocent.", WelV Moke, I must say this': You are either one of the ' biggest hyppercrites : or'else jOae)of ffiej best' old chaj)s as

* 'ain|t; whichever •' way : it is, ! you'just thibfe: over what you would like, to-d6 p and koep irn' eye- on the ; 'amper while I goes : to; seb Widdy Fiji* long s daughter, Lizzys as. lost her own blessed hinfant, only, last week from the 'oopinsr cough, and A „ maybe, she/would look after your 7 ® for you! If the child cries be surd* to take her,up and carry ieis a bit I'm reg'lar knocked stupid, that I aiay but n'ot be long." ' Baby didn't cry, however, and during Mrs, Judkin's absence Job Had time to peruse the mysterious message whicj accompanied the' equally mysterious little stranger.: After an interval of twenty minutes or half-an-hoiir ! Mrs r Judkins returned with her friend Lizzy, and they were both as sur-l : prised as alarmed to find poor job lying motionless on the floor. l Howjever, they set about restoring him, and their, eiforts.were soon successful ; but the old man seemed dazed for some time, although profuse iit his apologies for the trouble he had given tliera. 1 . ; Mrs. j Judkins accounted for his fainting as the result of .the shock he; had had, and, suddenly recollecting that she,had not, yet prepared histea,; was 8oon : busily ; engaged witht; cups and saucers;, murmuring, asshe .bustled , about, " Poor old; Moke !Jt's;a bad business!" ; ; < ; . Job felt in no humour for eating, Mrs. Judkins insisted upon his s swallowi.ng ,a cup of tea,- with a' little drop of ; brandy in it, and, as sopn as he had swallowed it, she directed his attention to Lizzy, who had come, with her to what .• could be done about the baby. v Job' had the baby, brought ,to him, and, examining it carefully, he at length impressed, a kiss upon.; its little white forhead, and handed it' back to" ( Mrs. Judkins. Then, with some emotion he said— . V 1

| " It 1 is .the unexpected which generally happfens, and recognising the hand 6f Providence' as having' brought this poor little babe into my care,'l am 1 willing to bring her up as' if ' she were my own," and then' ; veheiiiently' exclaimed, " and I will, so help me God I" It was then : arranged that, for a consideration, lizziei was to take' full charge of the*infant, Job, in order to secure' his proprietary right,' insisting 'that' ahe should be brought to: s see ■ him .every morning before he left, and every evening when he returned. To this Lizzy agreed; , rand i as Mrs, '-'Judkins* handed s the baby over to her she; nestled and fondled it in her bosom with /passionate tenderness, doubtless prompted alii the more by thoughts of her owri> dear little one which; she [ had ■;>. lost so ; recently. Job and Mrs, Judkins looked on sympathising!^, : and when. Lizzie took her chargeaway ■ they were both: too- overcome, to speak for some minutes. ...

In; process of time the novelty wore off, and gradually Job ceased to be annoyed bv, the quizzing of his friends and neighbours. : Meanwhile, under Lizzie's care the child grew up healthy and vigorous, and was a source of. untold happiness,;to her foster-j father whom, she lved dearly,. and who doted on her.

iAt Job's , special request, she had been: christened " Louisa Bertrand," ; but he gave no reason for. His;fancy, nor was he at all. inclined to discuss . the' question•, with 'anybody. :' Uneventfully the years passed awav ; ; but when little' Louisa was about five years old circumstances', occurred wnicli completely changed the even tenor - of- their way, and made a complete break in her daily life and siirrouiidings.' ' ! ■ (To be continued).