John Brown's Christmas Hamper.

cannot be reminded of anybody . Perhaps a letter Avill como to explain it . " " Perhaps it isn ' t for us , after all , " said Mabel dispassionately . This was a terrible thought . Mrs . BI ' OAVU stopped doAvn and examined the label once more . There AVUS no mistake about it"John Zacchary BroAvn , Esq ., Ashford ROAV , " though not A * ery distinctly Avritten , AVUS quite legible . And there Avas certainly no other John Zacchary BroAvn in Little Ashford .

Jack settled the question in his usual practical fashion by distributing rosy-cheeked apples to every member of the jntrty , and stuffing tA \ 'o or three into his own pocket for the benefit of Kathleen and Nora .

CHAPTER II . Now there Avas in Great Ashford a thoroughfare which bore the name of Ashford Road . It stretched aAvay from the toivu , on the opposite side to the one on AA'hich Little iVshford lay ; and it Avas a very p leasant-looking road in summer , though someAvhat dreary in the Avinter timo . On each side of tho road stood detached houses in the

midst of pleasant gardens . Some ot the houses and gardens were not very large , some were decidedly imposing , and in one of the largest and most imposing there lived an old and solitary man , who had , to use a homely expression , " more money than he kneAv Avhat to do with . "

It A \ as ou Christmas Eve that this old gentleman sat alone in his comfortable dining-room , in front of a glorious fire . The room was plainly but handsomely furnished ; itAA'as rather a gloomy room , too , in spite of tho Avealth that had evidently been expended upon it . There AA'as nothing lig ht , or bright , or pretty about its decorations . Thev Avero solid , heavv . and eminently resnectable .

The OAvner of the room had draivn his arm-chair close to tin ; lire , and Ava . s sitting Avith his feet on the fender , his elbows on the arms of his chair , and his chin pillowed on his breast . He AVUS a tall , gaunt man , Avith stooping shoulders and grey hair ; ho had long , rugged features and grizzled eye-broAA-. s bent into a perpetual froAvn above his fierce groy eyes ; his mouth had a trick of turning doivn at the corners in a rather truculent wav , and his forehead and thin

cheeks were covered with a netAvorkof fine Avrinkles and lines Avhich did not add to the pleasantness of his expression . And vet , fierce and aggressive as he looked , there AVUS a touch of melancholy in his face which redeemed it from being utterly disagreeable ; one could fancy that the eyes might , under certain circumstances , soften , and the lines about the grim mouth grow tender . But certainly chose AVIIO lived in this old man ' s houso had never seen anything approaching softness or tenderness in his stem face .

As the daylight began to Avane , he put forth his wrinkled hand and rang the bell . A stout , comely-looking Avoman iu black silk , Avith hands demurely folded at her Avaist appeared in answer . " Did you ring , sir ! " " Of course I ranjr . What else have vou come for Y I want to

know if that hamper s come . " No , sir . " " Just like those Kirby ' s . Promising all sorts of things and never keeping their word , " grumbled her master . " In their letter yesterday they told me what they had sent , or were going to send , too . "

"les , sir , said the housekeeper , bridling a little , and patting one of her wrists Avith the other hand , " and you told me not to get anything for Christmas Day in consequence ; and so there is not anything in the house , sir , except a piece of beef for the servant ' s dinner , and the plum puddings that I made a 1 ' days ago . "

" And quite enough , too ! snarled the old man . What do the servants want more than that ! - ' AVhat do I tcitnt with more than that Y I'll have the roast beef to-morroAV myself , and they can dine off the joint afterwards . "

John Brown's Christmas Hamper.

Ihe housekeeper paused . " That ' s not usually the way on Christmas Day in gentlemen ' s houses , UIIOAV me to remind you , sir , It ' s late , I knoAv , but I should haA'e no objection to stepping out and ordering a turkey for you , or anything of that sort , for to-morroAV . You see , sir , half apologetically , " Christmas is not exactl y like an ordinary sort of day . "

" No , confound it , I Avish it Avere , " said her niaster , so savagely that Mrs . Ellaby drew back aghast . " I won't haA'e any fuss about my dinner at any rate . Keep your roast beef if you Avant it , by all means . Send mo up anything you please . I hate your plum pudding and Christmas messes . I'll haA-e a plain , ordinary dinner , and nothing more . "

" Very well , sir . And should ' nt I telegraph to Mrs . Kirby for you , sir , to say that the hamper has not come Y From what you said , sir , and from what Mrs . Kirby said when she Avas here , Ave rather depended upon her sending certain things , and " " If I Avant to telegraph , I'll telegraph myself , " said the old man curtly . "Probably the hamper Avill arrive the day after to-morroAV , with half the things spoilt . Get Avhat you like , Ellaby , and don't bother me . "

Ho turned round to the tire again with a jerk , and Mrs . Ellaby , after waiting for a moment , left the room . " What a temper he has got , to be sure ! " sho soliloquised , as she returned to her OAVH quarters . "But not a bad master in some Avays . He ' s near , vary near , Avhen it como to his own expenses ; but he don ' t grudge us a fair supply , nor fair Avages neither . It ' s odd about that hamper . Mrs . Kirby made such a fuss about it when she

was here , and considering Avhat she hopes to get Avhen master dies , it ' s little enough for her to send him some homc-groAvn poultry and farm produce HOAV and then . I . wonder she didn ' t send it olf sooner , so as to get here in good time . There ' s nothing niaster hates more than people promising and not performing , and if that hamper doesn ' t arrive I shouldn ' t be surprised if Mrs . Kirby found that she had cut her OAVH throat , and that master wouldn ' t have any more to do with her . "

So mused shrcAvd Mrs . Ellaby , and mcnmvhilc her master had fallen into a reverie Avhich Avas not altogether unlike her own . " Alice Kirb y ' s a plausible Avoman , " he Avas saying to himself , as he thought of the kinswoman AVIIO ahvays made such a jileasant fuss about " poor , dear Cousin John " whene \ 'er she came to see him ; " a ' plausible Avoman , and a cleA-er one , but a little too apt to let her

tongue run aAvay Avith her . ' A hamper , a good big Christmas hamper , cousin John '—I can hear her saying it!— ' ivith a turkey and some fowls , and a Christmas cake , and one of my OAVU Christmas puddings ! Ay , ay , she thought she Avould get over the old man in that way , and put him in a good temper by these little attentions ; but I ' m not so blind as all that . I knoAv what her Christmas presents mean . They mean flattery and subserviency , and calculation and self-interest ;

and I value them no more than I A'aluo the blessings of a beggar AA'hen you give him a copper in the street . Alice Kirby longs for my death—longs for the time Avhen she may stand in my house and call it her OAVU—instal her strapping boys in the library , and her buxom daughters in the draAving-rooin , and persuade her husband to giA'C up his thriving farm and settle here in Great Ashford . Don ' t bo too sure of that , cousin Alice Kirby . If I had anyone else to leave my money to , you'd stand a A'ery poor chance , I assure you . "

Then the old man paused , and his face took on that softer expression which none of his household kneiv .

" I AA ' onder Avhat ' s become of Jack , " he murmured to himself . "Dead b y this time , perhaps . Vanished as utterly tis if he'd never been born . And I hoped that I should have had his children about me now . " He si ghed heavily , and looked into the fire , until he became conscious that the li ght of thc leaping flames AA-US blurred a little by a curious mist—it could not , surely , have been a mist of tears Y Hc

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