expenses."

"Very well; as you please," she said; and Tom proceeded to hand
over to her all his ready money, except a shilling or two. After
satisfying his mind thus, he looked at her, and said--

"Do you know, Katie, I don't think I ever saw you so happy and in
such spirits?"

"There now! And yet you began talking to me as if I were looking
sad enough to turn all the beer in the parish sour."

"Well, so you ought to be, according to Cocker, spending all your
time in sick rooms."

"According to who?"

"According to Cocker."

"Who is Cocker?"

"Oh, I don't know; some old fellow who wrote the rules of
arithmetic, I believe; it's only a bit of slang. But, I repeat,
you have a right to be sad, and it's taking an unfair advantage
of your relations to look as pleasant as you do."

Katie laughed. "You ought not to say so, at any rate," she said,
"for you look all the pleasanter for your visit to a sick room."

"Did I look very unpleasant before?"

"Well, I don't think you were in a very good humor."

"No, I was in a very bad humor, and talking to you and poor old
Betty has set me right, I think. But you said hers was a special
case. It must be very sad work in general."

"Only when one sees people in great pain, or when they are
wicked, and quarreling, or complaining about nothing; then I do
get very low sometimes. But even then it is much better than
keeping to one's self. Anything is better than thinking of one's
self, and one's own troubles."

"I dare say you are right," said Tom, recalling his morning's
meditations, "especially when one's troubles are homemade. Look,
here's an old fellow who gave me a lecture on that subject before
I saw you this morning, and took me for the apothecary's boy."

They were almost opposite David's door, at which he stood with a
piece of work in his hand. He had seen Miss Winter from his
look-out window, and had descended from his board in hopes of
hearing news.

Katie returned his respectful and anxious salute, and said, "She
is no worse, David. We left her quite out of pain and very
quiet."

"Ah, 'tis to be hoped as she'll hev a peaceful time on't now,
poor soul," said David; "I've a been to Farmer Groves', and I
hope as he'll do summat about Harry."

"I'm glad to hear it," said Miss Winter, "and my cousin here, who
knew Harry very well when they were little boys together, has
promised to help him. This is Harry's best friend," she said to
Tom, "who has done more