84 THE POOR WOODCUTTER.

 

the man’s residence, and on being told, went
away.

In a small room, in the third story of a
house in the lower part of the city, sat a
man in adeeply desponding attitude. Three
children were near him, the oldest not over
seven years of age; and a woman stood by
the fire of a few coals that scarcely took the
chill from the air of the small apartment,
washing. The woman worked on in si-
lence, and the man sat with his eyes
gloomily cast upon the floor.

“Indeed, Jane,” said the man, ‘I must
go out and earn something today. All
that I received yesterday is gone; and
when our dinner is eaten, there will not
be a mouthful of food left.”

The man, as he walked across the room,
staggered, and had to lean against the wall
to support himself. He was very pale, and
his eyes were drooping and dim.

The wife left her washing instantly, and
going to her husband’s side, took hold of
his arm and drew him towards the bed