"Sister Mary, I will lead the horse. When all is in readiness, and the priest waits, we cannot turn back on such a slight cause." As the driver of the cart knew Mary Martin, he offered no objection, and descended from his seat. Cluny took the reins, and, walking by the side of the horse's head, led it through the gates as these were opened, the others following behind. As soon as they were through, the gates closed behind them, and they were safely out of the town of Berwick.
KINDNESS REWARDED.
FROM "CAPTAIN BAYLEY'S HEIR."
[The daughter of Captain Bayley, a wealthy old Indian officer, made a marriage much beneath her, and was disowned by her father. Her husband dies, and when in the extremity of poverty she meets with an accident in the streets of London. She is taken in and kindly cared for by John and Sarah Holl, the former being a dustman. The lady dies, and her infant is brought up by John Holl and his wife as their own. The child is one day run over by a passing cart and grows up a cripple.
An accident leads to the discovery of his parentage. Captain Bayley at once recognizes him as his heir, and by the advice of the doctors he calls in determines to take him to some foreign baths which might bring about a cure.]
Before starting abroad, Captain Bayley carried out his plan for rewarding John and Sarah Holl for the kindness they had shown to Harry. After consultation with his grandson, he had concluded that the best plan of doing so would be to help them in their own mode of life. He accordingly called upon the dust-contractor for whom John Holl worked, a man who owned twenty carts. An agreement was soon come to with him, by which Captain Bayley agreed to purchase his business at his own price, with the whole of the plant, carts, and horses. A fortnight after this John's master said to him one day—
"John, I have sold my business; you are going to have a new master."
"I am sorry for that," John said, "for we have got on very well together for the last fifteen years. Besides," he added thoughtfully, "it may be bad for me; I am not as young as I used to be, and he may bring new hands with him."
"I will speak to him about you, John," his master said; "he is a good sort of man, and I daresay I can manage it. The thing is going to be done well. Three or four new carts are to be put on instead of some of the old ones, and there are ten first-rate horses coming in place of some of those that are getting past work. The stables are all being done up, and the thing is going to be done first rate. Curiously enough his name is the same as yours, John Holl."
"Is it, now?" John said. "Well, it will be odd to see my own name on the carts, 'John Holl, Dust Contractor.' It doesn't sound bad, either. So you will speak to him?"