he
county for the interest he took in plans for doing good and alleviating
the sorrows and sufferings of his poorer neighbours, called, and was
invited by Mr Huntingdon to join his family on the lawn. "And now, my
dear sir," said the squire, "I know you are out on some errand of
benevolence. You are a grand worker yourself, and a grand giver too, so
tell us what is your present charitable hobby, and we must try and give
you a help, so that you may ride him easily."

"Thank you, Mr Huntingdon, with all my heart," said the other; "you are
very kind. My hobby this time is a very robust animal, and will want a
good deal of feeding if he is to keep up his strength. But to come to
plain language, I am collecting subscriptions for a working-men's
coffee-house in Redbury--a British Workman they call it. You know, I
dare say, that two ruinous old houses of mine in the market-place are
being pulled down. Now, I am going to give the ground which one of them
stands on for the new coffee-house. It is a capital situation, just in
the centre of the town. I shall want funds, however, for the erection
of a new and suitable building, and also a few annual subscriptions to
keep the establishment going and pay the expenses of management, as I
don't suppose it will be self-supporting, at any rate not at first."

"Well," said the squire, "let me look at your subscription list, for I
see you have one with you. Ah, good! it is very generous of you to put
down your own name for so large a sum to the building fund, besides
giving the land. Put me down then for fifty pounds, and an annual
subscription of three guineas till the concern is self-supporting."

"May I look at the list?" asked Miss Huntingdon, when their visitor had
expressed his thanks to her brother. Having glanced at it, she also
signified her willingness to be a helper in the work, and gave the list
to Walter to return to the gentleman.

As her nephew was giving back the subscription list, he paused for a
moment to run his eye over the names of the contributors. "Ah!" he
said, "I see your own sons down, Mr Johnson, for a guinea a piece. I
wish I could afford to follow their example."

"Perhaps, after all, you can," said the gentleman, smiling. "I am sure
it does young people good to practise a little self-denial in helping on
a good cause like this."

"I don't doubt that, sir," replied Walter, "but I am ashamed to say that
self-denial of that sort is not much in