. Why should I fear that my welcome home would be less full of
love and forgiveness than his?"

It was Christmas eve, a wild and stormy day. The wind raged ceaselessly
round the old house, howling down the chimneys, and beating the branches
of the trees outside against the window panes.

Milly had been very busy for some hours helping Ford to decorate the
hall and rooms with holly and evergreen, though Ford would every now
and then pause in his work, saying:

"There, Miss Milly, I'm sure we're overdoing it. If the house was full
of company now, I would take a pride in it, but I don't believe the
master will notice whether it's done or not. It seems to me as he is
getting more and more shut up into hisself lately. Christmas is a dull
time with us."

All was finished at last, and Milly went up to the nursery and stood at
the window, her bright brown eyes eagerly scanning and taking note of
every object out of doors.

"It's a perfect hurricane," said nurse, presently, as she sat with her
work in a comfortable chair by the fire. "If we feel it inland like
this, what must it be at sea!"

"I should like to be on the sea," said Milly. "I love the wind, but I
think it is getting a little bit too rough this afternoon. I'm rather
afraid it will hurt the little trees. Ford said if I went out I should
be blown away. Do you think, nurse, if the wind was very, very strong it
would ever be able to blow me up to heaven?"

"I am afraid not," said nurse, gravely, "and I don't think we could
spare you, my dear. You would not like to leave this world yet awhile."

"Sometimes I think I should, and sometimes I think I shouldn't. I think
I should like to be blown up to spend a day there, and then come back
again. Oh, nurse, Goliath is screaming and cracking so! I wish the wind
would knock him over, he is a horrid old tree. I always think he is
making faces at me when I run past him. Wouldn't it be nice to see him
blown down?"

"You mustn't wish that," said nurse, getting up from her chair and
moving towards the door; "it's a dangerous thing for an old tree to be
blown down. Now I am going downstairs for a short time, so be a good
child and don't get into mischief while I am away."

Milly remained at the window for some minutes after nurse's departure,
then her quick eyes noticed a poor wretched little kitten mewing
pitifully as she vainly tried to shelter herself from the violent blasts
by crouching close to a tree.

In an insta