who could help her without feeling the effort? If I didn't find it
so hard to make both ends meet, I would pay off her arrears of rent
for her, and feel happy in so doing."

"Ah!" exclaimed the kind-hearted wife, "how much I wish that we were
able to do this. But we are not."

"I'll tell you what we can do," said Mr. Lyon, in a cheerful
voice--"or, rather what I can do. It will be a very light matter
for, say ten persons, to give a dollar a-piece, in order to relieve
Mrs. Arnold from her present trouble. There are plenty who would
cheerfully contribute for this good purpose; all that is wanted is
some one to take upon himself the business of making the
collections. That task shall be mine."

"How glad, James, to hear you say so," smilingly replied Mrs. Lyon.
"Oh! what a relief it will be to poor Mrs. Arnold. It will make her
heart as light as a feather. That rent has troubled her sadly. Old
Links, her landlord, has been worrying her about it a good deal,
and, only a week ago, threatened to put her things in the street if
she didn't pay up."

"I should have thought of this before," remarked Andrew Lyon. "There
are hundreds of people who are willing enough to give if they were
only certain in regard to the object. Here is one worthy enough in
every way. Be it my business to present her claims to benevolent
consideration. Let me see. To whom shall I go? There are Jones, and
Green, and Tompkins. I can get a dollar from each of them. That will
be three dollars--and one from myself, will make four. Who else is
there? Oh! Malcolm! I'm sure of a dollar from him; and, also, from