OR, CLARENCE MORTIMER. oo

 

_ €¢¢Tt will be dreadful when he does come
home,’ said the boy, soberly.

6 ‘J know it,’ said the girl; ‘but Iam
not going to think of that to-day. It will
be bad enough when it comes.’

‘¢¢ Mother says she used to have such
merry times at Christmas before she was —
married,’ said the boy. ‘It seems almost
like a fairy tale to hear her tell about it.
And do you know, she says that her father
used to help them out with their games, and
enjoy it as much as the children did.’

« The girl sighed.

«<¢ How nice it must be to have a father
that doesn’t drink,’ she said. ‘ Sometimes
when I see a girl out walking with her
father, and see how happy she seems, and
_ how kindly he looks at her while she talks to
4