e way to the church, passed
out upon the high road, and turned the pony's head in the direction
which she had taken with Dr. Sandford the day before. She did not go
quite so fast, however; so that it was a little time before she came in
sight of the poor old house which she recognized as Molly Skelton's.
Daisy drew the reins then and let Loupe walk slowly up a slight ascent
in the road which led to it. But when the chaise was fairly opposite the
house door, Daisy drew the reins still more and brought Loupe to a
stand-still. She peered forth then anxiously to see if the poor old
inmate of the house were to be seen anywhere.

As she looked, the house door opened; and with a very straitened and
touched heart Daisy watched the crippled old creature come from within,
crawl down over the door step, and make her slow way into the little
path before the house. A path of a few yards ran from the road to the
house door, and it was bordered with a rough-looking array of flowers.
Rough-looking, because they were set or had sprung up rather confusedly,
and the path between had no care but was only worn by the feet of
travellers and the hands and knees of the poor inhabitant of the place.
Yet some sort of care was bestowed on the flowers themselves, for no
weeds had been suffered to choke them; and even the encroaching grass
had been removed from trespassing too nearly on their little occupation
of ground. The flowers themselves shot up and grew as they had a mind.
Prince's feather was conspicuous, and some ragged balsams. A few yellow
marigolds made a forlorn attempt to look bright, and one tall sunflower
raised its great head above all the rest; proclaiming the quality of the
little kingdom where it reigned. The poor cripple moved down a few
steps from the house door, and began grubbing with her hands around the
roots of a bunch of balsams.

Daisy looked a minute or two, very still, and then bade the boy hold her
pony; while without troubling herself about his mystification she got
out of the chaise, and basket in hand, opened the wicket and softly went
up the path. The neat little shoes and spotless white dress were close
beside the poor creature grubbing there in the ground before she knew
it, and there they stood still; Daisy was a good deal at a loss how to
speak. She was not immediately perceived; the head of the cripple had a
three-cornered handkerchief thrown over it to defend it from the sun and
she was earnestly grubbing