boy; then
came Katie, and Willie, and Fred, and, last of all, wee Jennie.

Though Harry was the oldest, yet _he_ was not very old. Just
twelve--a thin, white little fellow, with eyes that always looked as
if they wanted more. More what? Well, more sunshine; more warm
clothes, and bright, hot fires, and, O, very much more to eat!
Sometimes he would make fifty cents in a day, selling newspapers, and
then he would hurry joyfully home, thinking of the hungry little
mouths it would help to fill. But some days he would hardly earn ten
cents the whole long day. Then he would go slowly and sadly along,
wishing all sorts of things--that he could take home as much meat as
he could carry to the little ones who had not eaten meat for so long
they had almost forgotten how it tasted; or that the gentlemen, who
owned the clothing stores which he was passing, would say to him,
"Come in, my little fellow, and help yourself to as many warm clothes
as you want for yourself and your little brothers at home;" or that he
could find a heap of money--and his mouth would water, thinking of the
good things which he could buy and take home with some of it.

The other children always knew whether it had been a good or bad day
with Harry, by the way he came up the stairs. If he came with a hop,
skip, and a jump, they knew it meant a good day; and a good day for
Harry was a good evening for them all.

Though Katie was really the name of the second child, she hardly ever
was called so; for her mother, and the children, and all the
neighbors, called her Sweetie, she was so good and so thoughtful for
others, so sweet-tempered and kind. She did everything so gently that
none of them could ever love her half as much as she deserved. Though
only ten years old, and very small and pale, she did every bit of the
housework, and kept the ugly old room and its faded furniture so neat,
that it seemed almost home-like and pretty to them all. It was
happiness enough for the little ones to get her first kiss when she
came back from an errand, to sit by her at table, and, above all, to
lie closest to her at night. Willie, and Fred, and Jennie, all slept
with her on a straw bed in the corner; and they used to try to stretch
her little arms over them all, so that even the one farthest off might
feel the tips of her fingers, so dearly did they love her.

They had once owned more than one bedstead, and many other comfortable
things besides; but when their father was