MARTIN RATTLER. 291

In the course of time Mr. Jollyboy made Martin
his head clerk; and then, becoming impatient, he
made him his partner off-hand. Then he made
Barney O’Flannagan an overseer in the warehouses;
and when the duties of the day were over, the versa-
tile Ivishman became his confidential servant, and
went to sup and sleep at the Old Hulk; which, he
used to remark, was quite a natural and proper
and decidedly comfortable place to come to an an-
chor in.

Martin became the stay and comfort of his aunt in
her old age, and the joy which he was the means of
giving to her heart was like a deep and placid river
which never ceases to flow. Ah! there is a rich
blessing in store for those who tenderly nurse and
comfort the aged, when called upon to do so; and
assuredly there is a sharp thorn prepared for those
who neglect this sacred duty. Martin read the Bible
to her night and morning; and she did nothing but
watch for him at the window while he was out. As
Martin afterwards became an active member of the
benevolent societies with which his partner was con-
nected, he learned from sweet experience that “it is
more blessed to give than to receive,” and that “it is
better to go to the house of mourning than to go to

the house of feasting.”