"Now," continued Mr. Johnson, "my plan is, that the shepherd should
take that house immediately; for as the poor man is dead, there will
be no need of waiting till quarter-day, if I make up the
difference." "True, sir," said Mr. Jenkins, "and I am sure my wife's
father, whom I expect to-morrow, will willingly assist a little
toward buying some of the clerk's old goods. And the sooner they
remove the better, for poor Mary caught that bad rheumatism by
sleeping under a leaky thatch." The shepherd was too much moved to
speak, and Mary could hardly sob out, "Oh, sir! you are too good;
indeed this house will do very well." "It may do very well for you
and your children, Mary," said Mr. Johnson, gravely, "but it will
not do for a school; the kitchen is neither large nor light enough.
Shepherd," continued he, "with your good minister's leave, and kind
assistance, I propose to set up in this parish a Sunday School, and
to make you the master. It will not at all interfere with your
weekly calling, and it is the only lawful way in which you could
turn the Sabbath into a day of some little profit to your family, by
doing, as I hope, a great deal of good to the souls of others. The
rest of the week you will work as usual. The difference of rent
between this house and the clerk's I shall pay myself, for to put
you in a better house at your own expense would be no great act of
kindness. As for honest Mary, who is not fit for hard labor, or any
other out-of-door work, I propose to endow a small weekly school, of
which she shall be the mistress, and employ her notable turn to good
account, by teaching ten or a dozen girls to knit, sew, spin, card,
or any other useful way of getting their bread; for all this I shall
only pay her the usual price, for I am not going to make you rich,
but useful."

"Not rich, sir?" cried the shepherd; "How can I ever be thankful
enough for such blessings? And will my poor Mary have a dry thatch
over her head? and shall I be able to send for the doctor when I am
like to lose her? Indeed my cup runs over with blessings; I hope God
will give me humility." Here he and Mary looked at each other and
burst into tears. The gentlemen saw their distress, and kindly
walked out upon the little green before the door, that these honest
people might give vent to their feelings. As soon as they were alone
they crept into one corner of the room, where they thought they
could not be seen, and fell on their knees, devoutly