that's so thankful for a common kind word.'

'O Mother, keep him!' said Alfred; 'don't you know how the Psalm says,
"God careth for the stranger, and provideth for the fatherless and the
widow"?'

Mrs. King almost smiled. 'Yes, Alf, I think it would be trusting God's
word; but then there's my duty to you.'

'You've not sent Harold off for the cart?' said Alfred.

'No; I thought somehow, we have enough for to-day; and it goes against me
to send him away at once. I thought we'd wait to see how it is
to-morrow; and Harold won't mind having a bed made up in the kitchen.'

Tap, tap, on the counter. Some one had come in while they were talking.
It was Mr. Cope, very anxious to hear the truth of the strange stories
that were going about the place. Ellen and Alfred thought it very
tiresome that he was so long in coming up-stairs; but the fact was, that
their mother was very glad to talk the matter over without them. She
knew indeed that Mr. Cope was a very young man, and not likely to be so
well able as herself, with all her experience, to decide what she could
afford, or whether she ought to follow her feelings at the risk of debt
or of privations for her delicate children; but she also knew that though
he had not experience, education had given him a wider and clearer range
of thought; and that, as her pastor, he ought to be consulted; so though
she did not exactly mean to make it a matter for his decision (unless,
indeed, he should have some view which had not occurred to her), she knew
that he was by far the best person to help her to see her way, and form
her own judgment.

Mr. Cope heard all the story with as much eagerness as the Ragglesford
boys themselves, and laughed quite out loud at Harold's spirited defence.

'That's a good lad!' said he. 'Well, Mrs. King, I don't think you need
be very uneasy about your boy. When a fellow can stand up like that in
defence of his duty, there must be the right stuff in him to be got at in
time! And now, as to his ally--this other poor fellow--very kind of you
to have taken him in.'

'I couldn't do no other, Sir,' said Mrs. King; 'he came in so drenched,
and so terribly bad, I could do nothing but let him lie down on Harold's
bed; and now Dr. Blunt thinks he's going to have a rheumatic fever, and
wanted me to send in to the relieving officer, to have him removed, but I
don't know how to do that; the poor lad doesn't say one word against it,
but I can see it cuts him