ry there developed at last a certain respect
for the lazy, good-natured, droll old man. Opinions which she had
heretofore laughed at suddenly became of value; criticisms which she had
passed over in silence seemed worthy of further consideration.

Peggy, however, fitted into all the tender places of her heart. She had
never known her own mother; all she remembered was a face bending close
and a soft hand that tucked in the coverlet one night when she couldn't
sleep. The memory had haunted her from the days of her childhood--clear
and distinct, with every detail in place. Had there been light enough in
her mother's bed-room, she was sure she could have added the dear face
itself to her recollection. Plump, full-bosomed, rosy-cheeked Peggy
(fifteen years younger than Tom) supplied the touch and voice, and all
the tenderness as well, that these sad memories recalled, and all that
the motherless girl had yearned for.

And the simple, uneventful life--one without restraints of any kind,
greatly satisfied her: so different from her own at home with Prim as
Chief Regulator. Everybody, to her delight, did as they pleased, each
one following the bent of his or her inclination. St. George was out at
daybreak in the duck-blinds, or, breakfast over, roaming the fields with
his dogs, Todd a close attendant. The judge would stroll over to court
an hour or more late, only to find an equally careless and contented
group blocking up the door--"po' white trash" most of them, each one
with a grievance. Whenever St. George accompanied him, and he often did,
his Honor would spend even less time on the bench--cutting short both
ends of the session, Temple laughing himself sore over the judge's
decisions.

"And he stole yo' shoat and never paid for him?" he heard his honor say
one day in a hog case, where two farmers who had been waiting hours for
Tom's coming were plaintiff and defendant. "How did you know it was yo'
shoat--did you mark him?"

"No, suh."

"Tie a tag around his neck?"

"No, suh."

"Well, you just keep yo' hogs inside yo' lot. Too many loose hogs
runnin' 'round. Case is dismissed and co't is adjourned for the day,"
which, while very poor law, was good common-sense, stray hogs on the
public highway having become a nuisance.

With these kindly examples before her, Kate soon fell into the ways of
the house. If she did not wish to get up she lay abed and Peggy brought
her breakfast with her own hands. If, when she did le