too; but then, as I said, we'd have our own home, an' our own hearth;
our morsel, if it 'ud be homely, would be sweet, for it would be the
fruits of our own labor."

"Now, Owen, do you think you could manage to get that?"

"Wait, acushla, till we get the childhre settled. Then I'll thry the
other plan, for it's good to thry anything that could take us out of
this disgraceful life."

This humble speculation was a source of great comfort to them. Many
a time have they forgotten their sorrows in contemplating the simple
picture of their happy little cottage. Kathleen, in particular, drew
with all the vivid coloring of a tender mother, and an affectionate
wife, the various sources of comfort and contentment to be found even
in a cabin, whose inmates are blessed with a love of independence,
industry, and mutual affection.

Owen, in pursuance of his intention, did not neglect, when the proper
season arrived, to place out his eldest children among the farmers.
The reader need not be told that there was that about him which gained
respect. He had, therefore, little trouble in obtaining his wishes on
this point, and to his great satisfaction, he saw three of them hired
out to earn their own support.

It was now a matter of some difficulty for him to take a cabin and get
employment. They had not a single article of furniture, and neither bed
nor bedding, with the exception of blankets almost worn past use. He was
resolved, however, to give up, at all risks, the life of a mendicant.
For this purpose, he and the wife agreed to adopt a plan quite usual in
Ireland, under circumstances somewhat different from his: this was,
that Kathleen should continue to beg for their support, until the
first half-year of their children's service should expire; and in the
meantime, that he, if possible, should secure employment for himself.
By this means, his earnings and that of his children might remain
untouched, so that in half a year he calculated upon being able to
furnish a cabin, and proceed, as a cotter, to work for, and support his
young children and his wife, who determined, on her part, not to be idle
any more than her husband. As the plan was a likely one, and as Owen
was bent on earning his bread, rather than be a burthen to others, it
is unnecessary to say that it succeeded. In less than a year he found
himself once more in a home, and the force of what he felt on sitting,
for the first time since his pauperism, at his own hear