Longer here they might not stay;
They have reached a fairer region,
Far away-ee, far away--
They have reached a fairer region,
Far away-ee, far away.


The guests listened with a beery sadness in their eyes, suddenly reminded
that you were here to-day and gone to-morrow, pierced with a sense of the
tragic brevity of Life, their hearts oppressed with a pleasant anguish at
the pity and wonder of this insubstantial world.

Mrs Yabsley had put the baby in her bed, where it had slept calmly through
the night till awakened by the singing. Then it grew fretful, disturbed
by the rude clamour. At length, in a sudden pause, a lusty yell from the
bedroom fell on their ears. Everyone smiled. But, as Mrs Yabsley crossed
the room to pacify it, the women called for the baby to be brought out.
When Mrs Yabsley appeared with the infant in her arms, she was greeted
with yells of admiration. Ada turned crimson with embarrassment. The
women passed it from hand to hand, nursing it for a few minutes with
little cries of emotion.

But suddenly Jonah walked up to Mrs Swadling and took his child in his
arms. And he stood before the crowd, his eyes glittering with pride as
he exhibited his own flesh and blood, the son whose shapely back and limbs
proved that only an accident separated the hunchback from his fellows.
The guests howled with delight, clapping their hands, stamping their feet,
trying to add to the din. It was a triumph, the sensation of the evening.
Then Old Dad, shutting one eye to see more distinctly, proposed the health
of the baby. It was given with a roar. The noise stimulated Dad to