ht about a child that is in Heavenly
keeping and a wife that doesn't know what is good either for herself or
anybody else. Listen to me! I am going to give thee a grain of solid
truthful sense. The best man in the world will cease giving sympathy
when he sees that it does no good and that he must give it over and over
every day. I wonder John gave it as long as he did! I do that. If I was
thee, I would try to forget myself a bit. I would let the sunshine into
these beautiful rooms. If thou doesn't, the moths will eat up thy fine
carpets and cushions, and thou will become one of those chronic,
disagreeable invalids that nobody on earth--and I wouldn't wonder if
nobody in heaven either--cares a button for."

Jane defended herself with an equal sincerity, and a good many truths
were made clear to her that had only hitherto been like a restless
movement of her consciousness. In fact the Lady of Hatton Hall left her
daughter-in-law penetrated with a new sense of her position. Nor was
this sense at all lightened or brightened by her parting remarks.

"I am thy true friend, Jane, that is something better than thy
mother-in-law. I want to see thee and John happy, and I assure thee it
will be easy now to take one step thou must never take if thou wants
another happy hour. John is Yorkshire, flesh and bone, heart and soul,
and thou ought to know that Yorkshiremen take no back steps. If John's
love wanes, though it be ever so little, it has waned for thee to the
end of thy life. Thou can never win it back. _Never!_ So, I advise thee
to mind thy ways, and thy words."

"Thank you, mother. I know you speak to me out of a sincere heart."

"To be sure I do. And out of a kind heart also. _Why-a!_ When John said
to me, 'Mother, I love Jane Harlow,' I answered, 'Thou art right to love
her. She is a fit and proper wife for thee,' and I made up my mind to
love thee, too--faults included."

"Then love me now, mother. John minds your lightest word. Tell him to be
patient with me."

"I will--but thou must do thy best to even things. Thou must be more
interested in John. Martha is with God. If she hed lived, thou would
varry soon be sending her off to some unlovelike, polite
boarding-school, and a few years later thou would make a grand feast,
and deck her in satin and lace and jewels and give her as a sacrifice to
some man thou knew little about--just as the old pagans used to dress
up the young heifers with flowers and ribbons before th