But he is a strong man,--no stronger puts his foot down with cool, resolute tread; and to-night there is a thrill on his lips that never rested there before,--a kiss, dewy and warm.

Something, some new belief, too, stirs in his heart, like a subtile atom of pure fire, that he hugs closely,--his for all time.

No poverty or death shall ever drive it away.

Perhaps he entertains an angel unaware.
After that night Lois never left her little shanty.

The days that followed were like one long Christmas; for her poor neighbors, black and white, had some plot among themselves, and worked zealously to make them seem so to her.