nd about his going
with his father when he preached his funeral sermon at the North Gore.

"And an excellent sermon it was," said Miss Bethia. "Don't you remember
telling me about it that night when I was helping Letty to do the week's
ironing when Debby was away?"

"Yes," said David, laughing a little, "I remember it quite well." But,
he added, gravely in a minute, "I think that must have been the very
last time my father preached when he was quite well."

"I am afraid he was not quite well then," said Miss Bethia, "though the
sermon was good enough to have been his last. The night you repeated it
to me was the first time I thought you had better be a minister. You
might tell it over now, if you haven't forgotten it."

David said to himself that he would be past remembering most things when
he should forget what his father had said that day, and all that grew
out of it. But he did not tell Miss Bethia so. He would not speak of
the sermon, however--he would not go over it as a mere trial of memory;
and, besides, it was not to be supposed that the children would listen
patiently on this last night, when there was so much to be said. So,
after that, the talk was mostly left to the little ones, and wandered
away in various directions. Sometimes it was guided past week-day
subjects by the mother, and sometimes it was gently checked, but, for
the most part, this was not needed. The feeling that it was the last
night was on them, and they were very quiet and a little sad.

Miss Bethia was sad, too, and said little. She did not so far forget
her duty as to omit her usual words of caution and counsel to each and
all; but she did not mete it with her usual decision, and very nearly
broke down in the middle of it.

"Aunt Bethia, why don't you come home with us?" said Polly. "Mamma, why
don't you ask Aunt Bethia to come home and stay with us till next
summer?"

"Where should we put her? There is no room in our house," said the
practical Jessie, before her mother could answer.

"That's so," said Miss Bethia. "Old as I have got to be, there ain't
room for me in anybody's house but my own. I guess Debby and I will
have to get along the best way we can till next summer, and then you
must all come back again."

"We don't know what may happen before next year," said Jessie.

"And it is no good making plans so far ahead," said Ned.

"And we shall hope to see Miss Bethia before summer, and then we can
make our p