MY FARE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 15 October 1891, Page 4

MY FARE.

(Cone luded.) I When I draws up I puts the nosebag on . the old horse, for him to amuse himself 1 with, and so as I could leave him, for he ; wouldn't stir an inch with that bag on to please all the pleacemen in London. Then I rings, and waits, and at last gets my orders to 30 and help the young lady down. j 1 takes off my hat, wipes my shoes weii, j and goes up, and there she was waiting, and '■■ smiled so pleasantly again, and held out her 1 hand to me, as though I'd been a. friend, ' instead of a rough, weather-battered street j cabman. And do you know what I did, as I went in there, with my eyes all dim at seeing her so, so changed? Why, I felt as if I ; ought to do it, and I knelt down and too!; her beautiful white hand in mine, and kissed it, and left a big tear on it ; for something seemed to say so plainly that she'd soon be 1 j where I hoped my own poor gal was, whon: j ! I always say we lost, but my wife says, j ' " No, not lost, for she is ours still." , ( She was so light now that 1 carried her I down in a minute; and when she was in tin: cab and saw the wilets, she took 'em down, I and held "em in her hand, and nodded and ' smiled again at me, as though she thanked me for them. " Go the same way as you went first time. Stephen," she says. And I pushed over all the quieter bits, and took her out beyond Hamstead ; and there, in the greenest and prettiest spot J could, find, I pulls up, and sits there Jisterrnc; to the soft whispers of her voice, and lee.in;; 1 somehow that it was for the last time. After a bit I goes gently on again, mom and more towards the country, where the: hedges were turning beautiful and green, and all looked so bright and gay. Bimeby I stops again, for there was a. . ! pretty view, and you could see miles away Of course I didn't look at them if I couJd help it, for the real secret of people enjoyin •.•; a ride is being with a driver who seems n ■■» more to 'em than the horse— a man, you see . who knows his place. But I couldn't help just stealing one or two looks at the inside where that poor gal lay back in the corner, 1 looking out at the bright spring-time, and', holding them two bunches o' wilets close to, her face. I was walking backwards and ; forwards then, patting the horse and straight- i ening its harness, when I just catches the old ■ lady's eye, and saw she looked rather frightened, and she leans over to her daughter and calls her by name quickly ; but the poor girl did not move, only stared straight out at the blue sky, and smiled so softly and sweetly. I didn't want no telling what to do, for I was in my seat and the old horse flying a'most before you could have counted ten : and away we went, full pace, till I come up in a doctor's, dragged at the bell, and had him up to the cab in no time ; and then he rode on the footboard of the cab, in front of the apron, with the shutters let down ; and he whispered to me to drive back softly, and l did. The old lady has lodged with us ever ' &ince, for I took a better place on purpose I and my missus always attends on her. She'- | »verry fond o' talking with my wife aboiu their two ga.'s who have gone before ; bui though I oftem take her for a drive over thi* old spots, she never says a word to me abou' such things; while soon after the funera' she told Sarah to tell me as the wilets were not taken from the poor gal's hand, same time sending me a ii-pun note to buy a suit o' mourning. Of course I couldn't wear that every day, but there was a bit o' rusty crape on my old shiny hat not such a werry long time ago and I never buy wilets now, for as they lie in the baskets in spring-time, sprinkled with the drops of bright water, they seem tc have tears upon 'em, and make me feel sad upset, for they start me off thinking about " My Fare." TWO PER CENT. DISCOUNT. - A train in Arizona was boarded by robbers, who went through, the luckless passengers. One of them happened to be a Hebrew " drummer" from New York, who, when his turn came, with reluctance fished out /200, but radidly took £4 from the pile and placed [ it in his vest pocket. " What do you mean I by that ?" asked the robber, as he toyed with his revolver. Hurriedly came the answer : I " Mine frent, you surely vould not refuse me two per zent. discount on a strictly cash transaction like dis ?" ) WAS HE SOBER? He was not intoxics .ted He said so himself as he walked into the office one morning, snd sat down on the o'rum head of a pot ol blue ink, and then flopped over into a heap of bronze. He offered to multiply 4jd by 55 to show that he was perfectly sober, and finally one of the crowd proposed that he should walk a chalk line to prove his claim : to sobriety, to which he eagerly consented !A line was drawn, aad he was placed at one end of it, and the referee cried •' Go !" but he didn't start. " Well, why don't you get a move on you?" asked the boys. He turned'a pair of fishy eyes on his tormentors, and' inquired with great impressiveness, " Which one of theesh linesh do you fellersh want me to walk ?" THE WORD PUZZLED HIM. There are many good Scotch anecdotes which will bear telling. One is that of a careful mother, who had a smattering oi higher talk gained from association with "the quality." . "Ye maun gang to the minister and tell him to come and baptise the bairn, but mind John, that ye dinna say bairn— say infant." Her better half pondered the word, and when he had committed it to memory he had reached the n.'inister's house. As soon as he saw the reverend gentleman- he began his message. " Maggie says ye air to come over and baptise the " " Is it the bairn ye mean, John ?" " Na, na, it's noo that at a'," said John in distress; "it's the— the— it's the elephant, menister !" HE WANTED HIS MULE. While travelling in Virginia sometime ago with a doctor we came upon an old coloured man who was standing by a mule hitched to an old two-wheel vehicle. "Dis mule am balked, boss," said the old man, ••an' I'll jis gib a dollah to de man what can start 'im.'j • I will do it for less than that, uncle," -. d the doctor. He took his case from the •'vrriagf: and selected a small syringe, which ie filled with morphia. He went to the ,ide of the mule, and quickly inserting the vringe in his side pushed the contents into iie animal. The mule rearedupon his hind -s, and giving an astonishing bray started imv'n the road at a break-neck speed. The vf-d coloured man gave a look of astonishment 1 ilie doctor, and with a loud "Whor'" ■ Hned down the road after the mule. In he course of ten minutes we came up to ne eld man, standing in the road' waiting or us. The mule was nowhere in sight. " Say. boss," said thedarkey, "how much ■s dat stuft you put in dat mule ?" • Oh, about ten cents," laughingly replied . he doctor. • Well, boss, yo 'kin squirt twenty cents, Am in me right away. Heah am de cash. I must ketch dat ar mule." A hridegkoom in Chicago, recently, after the marriage ceremony, slipped a two-dolUr hill into the minister's band, aad murmurtft, »pplogrtically, "X'U do brtttr ntxt Hlty^ _-