Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Taavi Kalju and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net How Deacon Tubman and Parson Whitney Kept New Year's _And Other Stories_ BY W.H.H. MURRAY _Illustrated_ BOSTON CUPPLES & HURD _94 Boylston Street_ 1888 CONTENTS How Deacon Tubman and Parson Whitney Kept New Year's The Old Beggar's Dog The Ball Who Was He? LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS I HOW DEACON TUBMAN AND PARSON WHITNEY KEPT NEW YEAR'S (Illustrated by THOMAS WORTH) Vignette Initial--"New Year's, eh?" "What's the matter with the pesky thing?" "Miranda belonged to that sisterhood commonly known as spinsters" Miranda's chirography--"A Happy New Year" "Ha, none of that, you woolly-coated rogue, you" "I want to talk with you about the church" "Tell the folks that you won't be back till night" "It was found that the parson could steer a sled" "Little Alice Dorchester begged him to stay" "Old Jack was a horse of a great deal of character" "Hillow, Deacon, ain't you going to shake out old shamble-heels to-day?" "Jack was going nigh to a thirty clip" "Go it, old boy!" Tail piece II THE OLD BEGGAR'S DOG (Illustrated by A.B. SHUTE) Vignette Initial--"Trusty" "The old man and his dog were constant companions" "He was teaching the dog a new trick" "It was to the honor of the crowd that they hooted the officer roundly" Tail piece III THE BALL (Illustrated by A.B. SHUTE) Vignette Initial--"It was evening" "The Lad began to play" "The God of Music was there" "Even the waiters caught the infection" "The music stopped with a snap" Tail piece IV WHO WAS HE? (Illustrated by J.H. Snow) Vignette Initial--"John Norton watched the approaching fire" "A deer suddenly sprang from the bank" "Past mossy banks where the great eddies whirled" "Come ashore--you and your companion" "The four sat in silence by the fire" Tail piece How Deacon Tubman and Parson Whitney Kept New Year's I [Illustration: Vignette Initial N] "New Year's, eh?" exclaimed Deacon Tubman, as he lifted himself to his elbow and peered through the frosty window pane toward the east, where the colorless morning was creeping shiveringly into sight. "New Year's, eh?" he repeated, as he hitched himself into an upright position and straightened his night-cap, that had somehow gone askew in his slumber. "Bless my soul, how the years fly! But that's all right; yes, that's all right. No one can expect them to stay, and why should we? there's better fish in the net than we've taken out yet," and with this consolatory observation, the deacon rubbed his head energetically, while the bright, happy look of his face grew brighter and happier as the process proceeded. "Yes, there's better fish in the net than we've taken out," he added, gayly, "and if there isn't, there's no use of crying about it." With this philosophical observation, he bounced merrily out of bed and into his trousers.