till the boat was going. And she'd stand on the end of the pier
and wave her handkerchief and mop her old eyes with it
until she was removed by force.

"God bless her old heart! There wasn't so much affection wasted on me at home
that I felt crowded by hers; and I never lost anything by her seeing
the last of me.

"I do wish the Oracle would stop that confounded fiddle of his --
it makes you think over damned old things."




Two Boys at Grinder Brothers'



Five or six half-grown larrikins sat on the cemented sill of the big window
of Grinder Bros.' Railway Coach Factory waiting for the work bell,
and one of the number was Bill Anderson -- known as "Carstor Hoil" --
a young terror of fourteen or fifteen.

"Here comes Balmy Arvie," exclaimed Bill as a pale,
timid-looking little fellow rounded the corner and stood against the wall
by the door. "How's your parents, Balmy?"

The boy made no answer; he shrank closer to the entrance.
The first bell went.