A Great Man

was just writing the very name

with all the experience of three months' practice. It was Sunday morning, and they had finished breakfast in the sitting-room.

. But, oh Henry! Your name's just Henry Knight, and I want his

appealingly with bright eyes at the man who for he

ght,' the father pers

night shoo

shing Tom before her. Tom was magnific

Annie demanded, as soon as sh

, the situation became serious. It jumped up, as domestic situations sometimes do, suddenly

head again. 'Nothing,'

r. Knight began s

uld like him to be called

Mr. Knight interrupted. '

niffed, threw back her head so that the tears should not fall out of her eyes, and gently patt

ked in a

, as soon as he can talk, I could say, "How do, Cous

etween you, you silly boy!' said Aunt Annie

ld be Big Tom, and of course he'd only be Little

. And, by way of indicating that the cord of tension had at last

r tears, and they escaped. She

eep. Put him in the

how how well she knew that poor women must always cling

n entitled to her whims and fancies, she was so no longer. He felt, in fact, that Susan was taking an unfair advantage of him. The logic of the thing was

you know,' said

child seemed

, who lay peacefully in his

ent.' Mr. Knight was ca

ouch the cradle. And if baby b

, au

cted to close the door behind

ter courageously fighting temptation, and suffering defeat, he touched the baby's broad, flat nose. He scarcely touched it, yet the baby stirre

down, he seized the baby in both hands, and tried to nurse it as his two aunts nursed it. The infant's weight was considerable; it exceeded Tom's est

ted, shooing and bala

ning, Tom's spiri

, imitating Uncle Henry's tone. 'Will you be silent, sir!' He

the passage. Tom had no leisure to right the cradle; he merely dropp

. 'You've taken baby out of his cradle! Oh, my

ately. 'I've never stirred from here all t

'There's a black place on

e to the rescue, and Tom was declari

ing details. 'I saw it. It put its hand on the edge of the cradle and pul

osterous lie was c

r the second time that morning. 'I won't have him

curried to the kitchen for some butt

itself!' To

minister think?' M

ut itself!

ed for attempting to murder her baby. But Mr. Knight insisted that the punishment was for lying. As for the baptism, it had necessarily

sseverated solemnly the nex

ivably, the impossible was possible-in regard to one particular baby. Mrs. Knight had often commented on the perfectly marvellous muscular power of her baby's hand when it cl

e him a sweetmeat. Tom threw it away, but in the end, after much coaxing, he consented to enjoy it. Aunt Susan detected the fi

ed over the Communion-rail to take the wonder-child from its mother

' began the minist

smiled confid