might cheer up my lonely life; and his 
coming might buing me “good luck,” as the 
saying runs. 
“If I teil you a story, you will tell one. 
Is that a bargain?” said the boy. Yes, I 
said it was a bargain, and he told his first. 
I cannot repeat it all, but it seems he had 
been living on the town farm and old Joe 
and Aunt Polly were paupers, and the lad, 
whose dame was Ned Marlstone, had run 
away to find his lost Christmas. 
What should I tell him? Well, he want¬ 
ed to know something about Christmas and 
“what it meant.” I told him the sw T eet 
story that has been told over a thousand 
years; of the blessed Child born in the 
lowly manger, of His dear and holy Moth¬ 
er, of Plis noble life and works, and His 
noble death. 
The lad listened with wrapt attention; 
and then I told him of the old-time custom 
of hanging up the stocking on Christmas 
eve and hunting for treasures in them on 
Christmas morning. 
And when my w r aif went to bed that 
night he hung up both of his “footings,” 
and the next morning he found an orange 
in one and an a, pJe in the other; so he 
felt sure Santa Claus had not forgotten him. 
But the next morning came the overseers 
of the Town Farm, as I thought they 
would, in search of my Christmas gift, 
for the lad was not missed until then, and 
the only way they could trace him was to 
call at every house. 
The boy was loth to leave me and I was 
loth to have him go, so the select men 
agreed that the lad should stay with me 
until able to look out for himself, and I 
was to have a sufficient sum for his board 
and clothing; thus his coming would be a 
help to me, and the people thought I would 
be better company for him than Old Joe or 
Aunt Polly. So he stayed. Well, I can’t 
say it was all smooth sailing for the lad 
had his temper and he was always getting 
into some mischief and keeping me in a 
worry lest he should be brought to me 
dead, or maimed for life; for he was a 
courageous fellow and did not seem to 
know what fear was. With all his daring 
and mischievousness he had a true, good 
and honest heart and I learned to love him 
as though he were my own son. 
So time went on until it was the eighth 
Christmas eve from the one on which he 
had presented himself to me, and lie was 
about sixteen years of age. The December 
of that year had been very stormy, and the 
wind had blown the snow into the roads 
and filled them up to such an extent that 
the cars were often snow-bound and had to 
move along with the greatest caution. The 
engine panted and puffed and w^ould ad¬ 
vance a little way and have to stop. The 
snow plow was in constant use, and travel¬ 
ing was by no means pleasant. This Christ¬ 
mas eve the train due at our station was 
very late, and Ned was down at the depot 
watching for its coming and I was all 
alone, just as I was on that other mem¬ 
orable Christmas eve. And I was thinking 
of the bygone days, just as I w T as then, 
and did not hear the cars come, nor had I 
any idea of their arrival, until brought 
back from my wanderings, by the opening 
of the door, and the boy coming in 1 earing 
a young lady in his arms. Before I could 
ask what it all meant the lad had a seat 
by the fire for the young lady, and then lie 
enlightened me as to the cause of his 
actions 1 . The lady was on her way to New 
Hampshire, but was tired out with so long 
a journey, and not feeling as though she 
could continue on her travels, until the 
next day, asked the conductor if there was 
not some place where she could remain 
until the next morning; he asked the 
station master; and he, in his turn, spoke 
to my boy, as he knew mine was the near¬ 
est house to the station. Ned said he would 
bring the lady home in his arms for she 
looked as light as a feather. The lady did 
not seem to object to such a novel way of 
being conveyed, and there she was. 
Although she was quite tired, she was 
quite talkative and communicative. She said 
her father was a lawyer and they had not 
been a great while in this country; in fact, 
her father had come over from England 
on some law business and she had accom¬ 
panied him. 
“I really cannot say what all this busi¬ 
ness is,” said the young lady, “but I know 
it worries poor papa dreadfully, and he 
says it is just like chasing a Jack o’ Lantern, 
