Down the steps bumped the wheelbarrow, with its owner behind, and down the street they went again, though this time on the other side of the block. There were not many pedestrians on the street, but the few Robbie met smiled at him and his load of bricks. He looked at all the houses attentively, and finally mounted the steps of one with difficulty, all the time afraid his bricks would fall out, and rang the bell a little more gently than he had at his uncle’s. The Rev. Dr. Sullivan came to the door. He knew Robbie. “Good-morning, young man!” he said. “What can I do for you?” “Nothing,” said Robbie. “I’ve brought you the first load of bricks for the new church.” “The new church!” said the doctor. “Yes, sir. You said yesterday you wanted one, and papa said you wanted a brick one. So I’ve brought the first load. They’re my very own, sir, to use just as I want to.” “Well, well!” said Dr. Sullivan, “I am very much obliged to you,” and Robbie thought his voice sounded almost as his did when he had the croup. Moreover, he took out his handkerchief and rubbed his eyes. Then he took the wheelbarrow in his arms, and having deposited the contents in his backyard, returned it to the owner. “The bricks shall be used, young man,” he said, “every one of them, for the new church. Thank you very much for your help.” Then Robbie returned home, jubilant at having been able to help his minister. As for the minister, he took a paper, and went out. The first man he met was Mr. Lawrence, the wealthiest person in his church. “Mr. Lawrence,” he said, “we have started, and the first load of bricks for the new church has arrived.” “Indeed!” said Mr. Lawrence, and after a little more talk he put down his name for quite a sum of money. Dr. Sullivan went on telling every one that the first load of bricks had arrived, and it was astonishing how encouraging those bricks were! When the congregation met that afternoon, their pastor announced that some hundred dollars had been raised for the church, and that the first load of bricks had come. Of course it was a good while before the church was really built, for there were architects and masons and carpenters to be consulted; but it was really built, and it was not till then that the minister told who had furnished “the first load of bricks,” and how he really started the whole thing. And the six bricks that Robbie had brought in his little wheelbarrow were built into the wall of the church, and everybody thanked him for his part of the work. Now the best thing about this story is that it is all true. The minister’s name may not have been Dr. Sullivan, and the boy’s name may not have been Robbie Ellsworth, and his wheelbarrow may not have been green, but it brought the bricks that are in the “Brick Church,” as it is called, of one of the largest cities in the Eastern States. PARANETE. [Illustration: NOVEMBER WOODS.]