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Page 54
Mr. Boyd had been chopping wood for a farmer, and had received his pay;
but instead of going dutifully home and consulting with his wife about
what he should buy, he was going to "look around" and see what Munger
had. He was touched at the sight of Jack's poor little package of
gifts, but I doubt if it would have made much impression on his mind if
somebody hadn't walked in to Munger's and asked in a brisk, loud voice:
"Got any Brazil nuts, Munger?"
The man with the brisk voice bought I don't know how many quarts of
Brazil nuts, and walnuts, and filberts, and almonds, with all the
loungers looking on, very much interested in the spectacle. Then he
bought raisins, and candy, and oranges, Mr. Munger growing more smiling
every minute.
"Going to keep Christmas, I guess," said he, rubbing his hands
together.
"That I am; 'Christmas comes but once a year,' and there are little
folks up at our house who've been looking for it with all their eyes
for a fortnight."
Then he bought a bushel of apples, and, filling a peck measure with
them, passed them around among the men who sat and stood about the
stove.
"Take 'em home to your little folks if you don't want 'em," he said,
when any one hesitated.
There were three or four apples apiece, and Mr. Boyd put all his in his
pockets, with a slight feeling of Christmas warmth beginning to thaw
his heart.
After this cheery purchaser had gone, some one asked: "Who is that
chap?"
"He's the new superintendent of the Orphant Asylum," answered Mr.
Munger, rubbing his hands again; "and a mighty nice man he is, too.
Pays for all them things out of his own pocket. Very fond of children.
Always likes to see 'em happy."
There were two or three men around that stove who hung their heads, and
Mr. Boyd was one of them. He hung his the lowest, perhaps because he
had the longest neck. I don't know what the other men did,--something
good and pleasant, I hope,--but Mr. Boyd thought and thought. First he
thought how the "orphants" were going to have a brighter and merrier
Christmas than his own children, who had both father and mother. Then
he thought about sweet, patient little Janey, and quiet Mary, and
generous Jack, who had taken so much pains to give pleasure to his
sisters, and a great rush of shame filled his heart. Now, when Mr. Boyd
was once thoroughly aroused, he was alive through the whole of his long
frame. He thumped his knee with his fist, then arose and walked to the
counter, where he dealt out rapid orders to the astonished grocer for
nuts, candies and oranges; not in such large quantities, to be sure, as
the "orphants'" friend had done, but generous enough for three
children. And he bought a calico dress for his wife, a pair of shoes
for each of the little girls, and a cap for Jack. That store contained
everything, from grind-stones to slate-pencils, and from whale-oil to
peppermint-drops. These purchases, together with some needful
groceries, took all Mr. Boyd's money, except a few pennies, but a
Christmas don't-care feeling pervaded his being, and he borrowed a bag,
into which he stowed his goods, and set out for home.
It was a pretty heavy bagful, but its heaviness only made Mr. Boyd's
heart the lighter. When he reached home, he stood the bag up in one
corner, as if it held turnips, and said, "Don't meddle with that,
children." Then he went out and spent the rest of the short day in
chopping wood, which was very cheering to his wife. So many Sundays had
dawned with just wood enough to cook breakfast, that Mrs. Boyd began to
dread that day particularly, for her husband was almost sure to go
right away after breakfast and spend the whole day at the neighbors'
houses, while his own family shivered around a half-empty stove.
Mr. Boyd said never a word about the bag, and the unsuspecting
household thought it contained corn or some other uninteresting
vegetable, and paid little attention to it. It also stood there all the
next day, and the children grew quite used to the sight of it.
Sunday went by quietly, and, to the surprise of all, Mr. Boyd stayed at
home, making it his especial business to hold Janey on his lap, and
keep the stove well filled with wood. Janey wasn't feeling well that
day, and this unusual attention to her made the family very kindly
disposed toward their father, whom of late they had come to regard
almost as an alien.
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