e then. Does Mary Elizabeth mean angel of rebuke?"

"Sir?"

"Where do you live, Mary Elizabeth?"

"Nowhere, sir."

"Where do you sleep?"

"In Mrs. O'Flynn's shed, sir. It's too cold for the cows. She's so kind,
she lets us stay."

"Whom do you stay with?"

"Nobody, only Jo."

"Is Jo your brother?"

"No, sir. Jo is a girl. I haven't got only Jo."

"What does Jo do for a living?"

"She--gets it, sir."

"And what do you do?"

"I beg. It's better than to--get it, sir, I think."

"Where's your mother?"

"Dead."

"What did she die of?"

"Drink, sir," said Mary Elizabeth, in her distinct and gentle tone.

"Ah--well. And your father?"

"He is dead. He died in prison."

"What sent him to prison?"

"Drink, sir."

"Oh!"

"I had a brother once," continued Mary Elizabeth, who grew quite
eloquent with so large an audience, "but he died, too."

"I do want my supper," she added, after a pause, speaking in a whisper,
as if to Jo or to herself, "and Jo'll be wondering for me."

"Wait, then," said the young man. "I'll see if I can't beg enough to get
you your supper."

"I thought there must be an extry one among so many folks!" cried Mary
Elizabeth; for now, she thought, she should get back her five cents.

And, truly, the young man put the five cents into his hat, to begin
with. Then he took out his purse, and put in something that made less
noise than the five-cent piece and something more and more and more.

Then he passed around the great room, walking still unsteadily, and the
gentleman who gave the five cents and all the gentlemen put something
into the young man's hat.

So, when he came back to the table, he emptied the hat and counted the
money, and, truly, it was forty dollars.

"Forty dollars!"

Mary Elizabeth looked frightened.

"It's yours," said the young man. "Now come to supper. But see! this
gentleman who gave you the five-cent piece shall take care of the money
for you. You can trust him. He's got a wife, too. But we'll come to
supper now."

* * * * *

So the young man took her by the hand, and the gentleman whose wife knew
all about what to do with orphans took her by the other hand, and one or
two more gentlemen followed, and they all went into the dining-room, and
put Mary Elizabeth in a chair at a clean white table, and asked her
what she wanted for her supper.

Mary Elizabeth said that a little dry toast and a cup of milk would do
nicel