at
highest of all work,--a pure, unselfish charity,--should be taken away,
and the slothful, dependent, ease-loving, selfish ones left. The Darcys
felt that Mrs. Lawrence could have been spared much more easily, and
served a higher economy in point of usefulness. But God, who sees every
end from the beginning, and is all-wise, judges differently. Miss Barry
had done her work, no light life-task either. Only God knew what it had
been, days of toil and nights of watching and prayer, such pain as only
a strong soul could have kept to itself, and smiled over. Yet she had
her exceeding sweet reward in this world,--years of peace and comfort,
the child-love she had missed in one way, supplied in another, the hope
of her days crowned more wisely by the waiting.

They did not think it worth while to keep up the two households; indeed,
Mrs. Lawrence would not have been separated from her son: so she and
Irene brought their worldly possessions over to Larch Avenue. The old
house was large enough. Sylvie was a courteous and charming mistress;
though Fred realized, with the sensitiveness of true tender love, the
burthen he had brought to her.

"It is not without its wise compensation," she said, tears in her sunny
brown eyes. "You see, I shall miss auntie so much less! She would not
desire me to grieve despairingly for her, and here is the new claim to
take her place. Beside," with a sad yet arch smile, "we shall have to
strive against the temptation to selfishness that besets newly married
people, when their pursuits are identical, as ours are. It will give a
greater breadth, a purer tone, to our lives."

CHAPTER XXV.

HOPE MILLS passed through a very prosperous six months. With some new
processes, invented by the combined energy and ingenuity of the men,
they made a new line of goods which was a perfect success. Interest and
discount vanished; and there was a snug balance in the bank, of which
every man was duly proud. They were beginning, too, to take a great
interest in the finances of the country, and to see that a stable
currency and wise economy and honesty were the best friends to
commercial and industrial prosperity. One little incident made them
exceedingly jubilant.

They had been undersold, in the same line of goods, with quite a large
customer. Winston was rather blue about it at first, then laughed it off
as one of the fluctuations of trade. To his great surprise, six months
after, he received the larges