Children -- Death -- Juvenile fiction; Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction; Farm life -- Juvenile fiction; Siblings -- Juvenile fiction
"Then, yer honour, I wouldn't wish anything better to meself,
if I could ha' helped it. If meself had been in the box, I
couldn't ha' taken it more tinder, till we began to go, and
then, plase yer honour, I hadn't no hoult of anything at all
at all."
"Take hold now, then," said Winthrop, "and set this up
straight; and then see if you can get a sixpenny worth of rope
anywhere."
The man went off, and Winthrop gathered up his stray
possessions from the street and the gutter and with some
difficulty got them in their places again; and then stood
mounting guard over the wheelbarrow and baggage until the
coming of the rope; thinking perhaps how little he had to take
care of and how strange it was there should be any difficulty
in his doing it.
More care, or an evener way, brought them at last, without
further mishap, to Diamond St., and along Diamond St. to Mr.
Forriner's house and store. Both in the same building; large
and handsome enough, at least as large and handsome as its
neighbours; the store taking the front of the ground floor.
Mr. Forriner stood in the doorway taking a look at the day,
which probably he thought promised him little custom; for his
face was very much the colour of the weather.
Winthrop stopped the wheelbarrow before the house; went up and
named his name.
"Winthrop Landholm!" -- the touch of Mr. Forriner's hand said
nothing at all unless it were in the negative; -- "how d'ye do,
sir. Come to make a visit in Mannahatta?"
"No, sir. I have come here to stay."
"Ah! -- hum. Sister well?"
"Very well, sir."
"Left home yesterday?"
"No sir -- three days ago."
"Ah? where have you been?"
"In bed, sir -- caught cold in the rain Tuesday."
"Tuesday! -- yes, it did rain considerable all along Tuesday.
Where were you?"
"By the way, sir."
"Just got here, eh? -- bad time."
"I could not wait for a good one."
"What are you calculating to do here?"
"Study law, sir."
"Law! -- hum. Do you expect to make money by that?"
"If I don't, I am afraid I shall not make money by anything,"
said Winthrop.
"Hum! -- I guess there aint much money made by the law," said
Mr. Forriner taking a pinch of snuff. "It's a good trade to
starve by. How long have you to study?"
"All the time I have to live, sir."
"Eh? -- and how do you expect to live in the meantime?"
"I shall manage to live as long as I study."
"Well I hope you will -- I hope you will," said Mr. Forriner.
"You'll come in and take breakfast with us?"
"If you will allow me, sir."
"You haven't had breakfast yet?"
"No sir, nor supper."
"Well, I guess wife's got enough for you. If that's your box
you'd better get the man to help you in with it. You can set
it down here behind the door."
"Is it the right place, sir?" inquired Michael as Winthrop
came out to him.
"No" said Winthrop. "But you may help me in with the trunk."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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