nted might characterize his
future conduct was first intimated by his treatment of the "Widow
Cully," an aged and impoverished woman whose property was heavily
mortgaged to him. He had curtly summoned her to come to his office on
Christmas Day and settle up. Frightened, hopeless, and in the face of
a snowstorm, the old woman attended, but was surprised by receiving a
"satisfaction piece" in full from the banker, and a gorgeous Christmas
dinner. "All the same," said Mrs. Bigsby to Lummox, "Dan'l might hev
done all this without frightenin' the poor old critter into a nervous
fever, chillin' her through by makin' her walk two miles through the
snow, and keepin' her on the ragged edge o' despair for two mortal
hours! But it's his humorous way."

"Did he give any reason for being so lenient to the widow?" asked
Lummox.

"He said that her son had given him a core of his apple when they were
boys together. Dan'l ez mighty thoughtful o' folks that was kind to
him in them days."

"Is that all?" said Lummox, astonished.

"Well--I've kinder thought suthin' else," said Mrs. Bigsby hesitatingly.

"What?"

"That its bein' Christmas Day--and as I've heard tell that's NO DAY IN
LAW, but just like Sunday--Dan'l mebbe thought that he might crawl
outer that satisfaction piece, ef he ever wanted ter! Dan'l is mighty
cute."

VI

Mr. John Lummox was not behind his employer in developing unexpected
traits of character. Hitherto holding aloof from his neighbors in Old
Folksville, he suddenly went to a social gathering, and distinguished
himself as the principal and popular guest of the evening. As Dan'l
Borem afterward told his sister: "He was one o' them Combination
Minstrels and Variety Shows in one. He sang through a whole opery, made
the pianner jest howl, gave some recitations, Casabianker and Betsy and
I are Out; imitated all them tragedians; did tricks with cards and
fetched rabbits outer hats, besides liftin' the pianner with two men
sittin' on it, jest by his teeth. Created snakes!" said Borem,
concluding his account, which here is necessarily abbreviated, "ef he
learnt all that in his two years in Europe I ain't sayin' anythin' more
agin' eddication and furrin' travel after this! Why, the next day
there was quite a run on the Bank jest to see HIM. He is makin' the
bizness pop'lar."

"Then ye think ye'll get along together?"

"I reckon we'll hitch hosses," said Dan'l, with a smile.

A few weeks later, one