A GAPING CROWD. 59 



some ghostly enemy. "The lad (thought he) is certainly 

 dead; but there's no knowing, and I can't leave him here to 

 fetch a neighbour, and I able to carry him home myself." 



So, though he nothing liked it, and would rather have 

 carried on his brawny back a Daniel Lambert than the 

 shadow of the man now before him, he lifted his light yet 

 onerous burthen, and trudged onwards, whistling as he went 

 to keep up his courage, till, joined on the way by stragglers, 

 he reached the cottage of Dame Huggins. We have already 

 brought him with his escort to the door. 



Had he carried such a burthen home to any other house in 

 the whole village, there would have been shrieks and sobs, 

 hurry and confusion ; but here there were none of these. It 

 was only the body of Tim, the fatherless, motherless, friend- 

 less boy who had abode so long like one dead among the 

 living, and spent in the graveyard so much of his existence 

 living among the dead. There was no frantic alarm, no 

 melting tenderness for him ; but among the collected and fast- 

 increasing crowd, there was no lack of conjecture and wonder 

 and words nor of shuddering fear and even repugnance as 

 Joe's history of the morning and partly of the night was 

 passed eagerly from mouth to mouth ; and while the bystand- 

 ers were all thus busy with their tongues, . not one among 

 them not even the women stirred hand or foot to give aid, 

 if aid might be afforded to the unconscious object of all 

 this silly, gaping, heartless curiosity. 



