_. You should have advised
_then_. You should have yielded _then_. You should have loved your
brothers and sisters while you had them. It is too late now.'

"With this he drove on, and spoke no more, and poor Melchior stared
sadly out of the window. As he was gazing at the crowd, he suddenly
saw the dog-cart, in which were his brother and his wretched
companions. Oh, how old and worn he looked! and how ragged his clothes
were! The men seemed to be trying to persuade him to do something that
he did not like, and they began to quarrel; but in the midst of the
dispute he turned his head and caught sight of the old coach; and
Melchior seeing this, waved his hands, and beckoned with all his
might. The brother seemed doubtful; but Melchior waved harder, and
(was it fancy?) Time seemed to go slower. The brother made up his
mind; he turned and jumped from the dog-cart as he had jumped from the
old coach long ago, and ducking in and out among the horses and
carriages, ran for his life. The men came after him; but he ran like
the wind--pant, pant, nearer, nearer; at last the coach was reached,
and Melchior seized the prodigal by his rags and dragged him in.

"'Oh, thank GOD, I have got you safe, my brother!'

"But what a brother! with wasted body and sunken eyes; with the old
curly hair turned to matted locks, that clung faster to his face than
the rags did to his trembling limbs; what a sight for the
opera-glasses of the crowd! What a subject for the tongues that were
ever wagging, and complimenting, and backbiting, and lying, all in a
breath, and without sense or scruple! What a sight and a subject for
the fine friends, for whose good opinion Melchior had been so anxious?
Do you think he was as anxious now? Do you think he was troubled by
what they either saw or said; or was ashamed of the wretched prodigal
lying among the cushions? I think not. I think that for the most
foolish of us there are moments in life (of real joy or real sorrow)
when we judge things by a higher standard, and care vastly little for
what 'people say'. The only shame that Melchior felt was that his
brother should have fared so hardly in the trials and temptations of
the world outside, while he had sat at ease among the cushions of the
old coach, that had been the home of both alike. Thank GOD,
it was the home of both now! And poor Hop-o'-my-Thumb was on the front
seat at last, with Melchior kneeling at his feet, and fondly stroking
the head that reste