ant room he had
occupied in the servants' quarters; of the bountiful table at which he
had sat; and, above all, of the kindness and care which Miss Bertha had
always bestowed upon him. With all his heart he wished he was there; but
when he thought of the court-house and the prison, he was more
reconciled to his fate, and was determined to persevere in his efforts
to obtain work.

It was the close of a long summer day. He had been wandering about the
wharves at the north part of the city; and as the darkness came on, he
walked up Hanover Street in search of a policeman, who would give him
permission to sleep another night in the station-house. As he did not
readily find one, he turned into another street. It made but little
difference to him where he went, for he had no destination, and he was
as likely to find a policeman in one place as another.

He had gone but a short distance before he saw a crowd of ragged boys
pursuing and hooting at a drunken man who was leading a little girl ten
or eleven years of age,--or rather, she was trying to lead him. Under
ordinary circumstances, we are afraid that Noddy would have joined the
ragamuffins and enjoyed the senseless sport as well as any of them; but
his own sorrows raised him above this meanness in the present instance,
and he passed the boys without a particle of interest in the fun.

He was going by the drunken man and the little girl, when one of the
boldest of the pursuers rushed up and gave the man a push, which caused
him to fall on the pavement. The young vagabonds raised a chorus of
laughter, and shouted with all their might. The little girl, who was
evidently the drunkard's daughter, did not desert him. She bent over
him, and used all her feeble powers to assist him to his feet again.

"My poor father!" sobbed she; and her heart seemed to be broken by the
grief and peril which surrounded her.

The tones with which these words were spoken touched the heart of Noddy;
and without stopping to consider any troublesome questions, he sprang to
the assistance of the girl. The man was not utterly helpless; and with
the aid of Noddy and his daughter he got upon his feet again. At that
moment another of the unruly boys, emboldened by the feat of the first,
rushed up and grasped the arm of the little girl, as if to pull her away
from her father's support.

"Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" pleaded the grief-stricken girl, in
tones so full of sorrow that our wanderer coul