a ragged urchin about her own age, who
was tumbling about over the floor with a little dirty-faced baby,
"here, take this jack-knife and go down to the river by Mrs.
Campbell's new house and cut some hemlock boughs. Be quick, and bring
them back as fast as you can". Pat started at once.

Adele then deliberately took off her bonnet and shawl, rolled them up
into as small a package as she could make, and placed them on the
nearest approximation to a clean spot that could be found. Then she
stooped down, took the baby from the floor and handed him to his
mother.

Here, Bridget, take Johnny, wash his face and put him on a clean
dress. I know he has another dress and it ought to be clean".

"Yes. He's got one you gave him, Miss Ady, but it aint clane at all.
Shure it's time to wash I'm wanting, it is".

"Now, don't tell me, Bridget, that you have not time to wash your
children's clothes and keep them decent. You need not spend so many
hours smoking your pipe over the ashes".

"You wouldn't deprive a poor cratur of all the comfort she has in the
world, would ye, hinny?"

"You ought to take comfort in keeping your house and children clean,
Bridget".

In the meanwhile, Bridget had washed Johnny's face, and there being no
clean dress ready for the little fellow, Adele said, "Come, Bridget,
put on a kettle of water, pick up your clothes, and do your washing".

"Shure, and I will, if ye say so, Miss Ady".

The poor shiftless thing having placed the baby on the floor again,
began to stir about and make ready.

Adele sat poking and turning over the chubby little Johnny with her
foot.

At last, Pat appeared with a moderate quantity of hemlock boughs,
which Adele told him to throw upon the floor,--then to hand her the
knife and sit down by her side and learn to make a broom. She
selected, clipped, and laid together the boughs, until she had made
quite a pile; sent Pat for a strong piece of twine and an old broom
handle and then secured the boughs firmly upon it.

"Now Pat", she said, "here is a nice, new jack-knife. If you will
promise me that you will cut boughs and make your mother two new
brooms, just like this, every week, the knife shall be yours".

Pat, with eyes that stood out an unmentionable distance, and mouth
stretched from ear to ear, promised, and Adele proceeded vigorously to
sweep the apartment. In the course of half an hour, the room wore a
wholly different aspect.

"And who tould the like of ye, how