marked with care; but
at the same time a light came into it like a sunbeam on a winter
landscape; the grey changed to golden somehow; and the set of the
girl's lips, gentle and glad, was very sweet.

"Do I love him?" she repeated. "He is with me here all the day when I
am sweeping the snow. Yes, I love him! and he loves me. That is how I
live."

"That's how I want to live too," said Matilda; "but sometimes I forget."

"I shouldn't think _you'd_ forget," said Sarah. "It must be easy for
you."

"What must be easy?"

"I should think it would be easy to be good," said the poor girl, her
eye going unconsciously up and down over the tokens of Matilda's
comfortable condition.

"I don't think having things helps one to be good," said Matilda. "It
makes it hard, sometimes."

"I sometimes think _not_ having things makes it hard," said the other,
a little wistfully. "But Jesus is good, anyhow!" she added with a
content of face which was unshadowed.

"Good bye," said Matilda. "I shall see you again." And she ran off to
get into a horse car. The little street-sweeper stood and looked after
her. There was not a thing that the one had but the other had it not.
She looked, and turned to her sweeping again.

Matilda on her part hurried along, with a heart quite full, but
remembering at the same time that she would be late at lunch. At the
corner where she stopped to wait for a car there was a fruit stall,
stocked with oranges, apples, candies and gingerbread. It brought back
a thought which had filled her head a few minutes ago; but she was
afraid she would be late. She glanced down the line of rails to the car
seen coming in the distance, balanced probabilities a moment, then
turned to the fruit woman. She bought a cake of gingerbread and an
orange and an apple; had to wait what seemed a long time to receive her
change; then rushed across the block to where she had left Sarah,
stopped only to put the things in her hands, and rushed back again; not
in time to catch her car, which was going on merrily out of her hail.
But the next one was not far behind; and Matilda enjoyed Sarah's lunch
all the way to her own.

"But this is only for one day. And there are so many days, and so many
people that want things. I must save every bit of money I can."

She was late; but she was so happy and hungry, that her elders looked
on her very indulgently, it being, as in truth she was, a pleasant
sight.

That evening Judith proposed ano