e of a young
gentleman's comfort destroyed, solely by other people's perverse
determination to be happy in their own way instead of in his. Surely,
no young gentleman ever knew better that if his brothers and sisters
would yield to his wishes, they would not quarrel; or ever more
completely overlooked the fact, that if he had yielded more to theirs
the same happy result might have been attained. At last he lost
patience, and pulling the check-string, bade Godfather Time drive as
fast as he could.

"'For,' said he, 'there will never be any peace while there are so
many of us in the coach; if a fellow had the rug and glass, and,
indeed, the coach to himself, he might drive and bow and talk with the
best of them; but as it is, one might as well go about in a wild-beast
caravan.'

"Godfather Time frowned, but shook his glass all the same, and away
they went at a famous pace. All at once they came to a stop.

"'Now for it,' says Melchior; 'here goes one at any rate.'

"Time called out the name of the second brother over his shoulder; and
the boy stood up, and bade his brothers and sisters good-bye.

"'It is time that I began to push my way in the world,' said he, and
passed out of the coach, and in among the crowd.

"'You have taken the only quiet boy,' said Melchior to the godfather
angrily. 'Drive fast now, for pity's sake; and let us get rid of the
tiresome ones.'

"And fast enough they drove, and dropped first one and then the other;
but the sisters, and the reading boy, and the youngest still remained.

"'What are you looking at?' said Melchior to the lame sister.

"'At a strange figure in the crowd,' she answered.

"'I see nothing,' said Melchior. But on looking again after a while,
he did see a figure wrapped in a cloak, gliding in and out among the
people, unnoticed, if not unseen.

"'Who is it?' Melchior asked of the godfather.

"'A friend of mine,' Time answered. 'His name is Death.'

"Melchior shuddered, more especially as the figure had now come up to
the coach, and put its hand in through the window, on which, to his
horror, the lame sister laid hers and smiled. At this moment the
coach stopped.

"'What are you doing?' shrieked Melchior, 'Drive on! drive on!'

"But even while he sprang up to seize the check-string the door had
opened, the pale sister's face (a little paler now) had dropped upon
the shoulder of the figure in the cloak, and he had carried her away;
and Melchior stormed and raved