afternoon when with Fido they had romped in the orchard and rested beneath
the bell-flower-tree. And Seth's voice grew fainter, and his eyes were,
oh! so dim; but to the very last he spoke of the dear old days and the
orchard and the clover and the Hampshire hills. And when Seth fell asleep
forever, Abner kissed his brother's lips and knelt at the bedside and said
the prayer his mother had taught him.

In the street without there was the noise of passing carts, the cries of
tradespeople, and all the bustle of a great and busy city; but, looking
upon Seth's dear, dead face, Abner could hear only the music voices of
birds and crickets and summer winds as he had heard them with Seth when
they were little boys together, back among the Hampshire hills.

1885.




+EZRA'S THANKSGIVIN' OUT WEST+




EZRA'S THANKSGIVIN' OUT WEST


Ezra had written a letter to the home folks, and in it he had complained
that never before had he spent such a weary, lonesome day as this
Thanksgiving day had been. Having finished this letter, he sat for a long
time gazing idly into the open fire that snapped cinders all over the