no THE EARLY DAYS OF 



a neighbouring fair together to sell some cows, whilst their tirst-born, 

 little Job, who had not yet been weaned, was left behind. But on 

 arrival at the fair, Keren-happuch missed her child on feeling a 

 certain tightness in the chest. Her husband advised her to drive 

 home again in order to find relief: but no! she had come to see 

 her spinster sisters, Jemima and Kezia, and then she strolled away 

 to the outskirts of the town, where soon she found the very thing 

 she wanted — a van, in which was seated a Bohemian lass giving 

 nourishment to her child. A bargain soon was struck, and in 

 almost less than no time, Keren-happuch was comfortably seated in 

 the van, enveloped in the mother's cloak, partly to deceive the 

 brat she now was nursing, and partly to avoid the recognition of 

 any friends who might be wandering by. The real mother thought 

 this interlude a favourable opportunity to execute an errand, but 

 hardly had she passed from sight, when a hurried footstep 

 approached from the other side, and a man entered the van, where 

 silently he raised the cloak, dropped something heavy into the 

 nurse's lap, and then went off as quickly as he came. 



My friend with the scripture name, subsequently informed me that 

 she could not make out at first what little game was up ; but to 

 her great surprise she found the article, which so unceremoniously 

 had been given into her charge, was no other than her husband's 

 purse crammed full of gold. Just then the mother of the child 

 returned, and after mutual smiles and thanks for favours given, 

 the farmer's wife hastened to the fair, where she soon saw an 

 excited group of people, with her husband in the midst, narrating 

 how he had sold his cows for cash, and how some rascal had 

 subsequently picked his pocket. But of course his lamentations 

 ceased, when his wife appeared upon the scene, and holding up the 

 purse, jocularly asked, whether he had ever seen " anything like 

 that" before. 



It may be briefly stated that when the owner of the van subse- 

 quently demanded the money from his wife, and she knew nothing 

 of it, he commenced to beat her. Constables appeared upon the 



