p into his soul. At Basle he advanced in holy zeal and
knowledge.

The brethren of his order began to see in him a descendant of the saints
and martyrs.

CHAPTER LXXVI

THE HEARTH

When little Gerard was nearly three months old, a messenger came hot
from Tergou for Catherine.

"Now just you go back," said she, "and tell them I can't come, and I
won't: they have got Kate," So he departed, and Catherine continued her
sentence; "there, child, I must go: they are all at sixes and sevens:
this is the third time of asking; and to-morrow my man would come
himself and take me home by the ear, with a flea in't." She then
recapitulated her experiences of infants, and instructed Margaret what
to do in each coming emergency, and pressed money upon her, Margaret
declined it with thanks, Catherine insisted, and turned angry. Margaret
made excuses all so reasonable that Catherine rejected them with calm
contempt; to her mind they lacked femininity,

"Come, out with your heart," said she "and you and me parting; and
mayhap shall never see one another's face again."

"Oh! mother, say not so."

"Alack, girl, I have seen it so often; 'twill come into my mind now at
each parting, When I was your age, I never had such a thought, Nay, we
were all to live for ever then: so out wi' it."

"Well, then, mother--I would rather not have told you--your Cornelis
must say to me, 'So you are come to share with us, eh, mistress?' those
were his words, I told him I would be very sorry.

"Beshrew his ill tongue! What signifies it? He will never know,

"Most likely he would sooner or later, But whether or no, I will take
no grudged bounty from any family; unless I saw my child starving,
and--Heaven only knows what I might do, Nay, mother, give me but thy
love--I do prize that above silver, and they grudge me not that, by all
I can find--for not a stiver of money will I take out of your house."

"You are a foolish lass, Why, were it me, I'd take it just to spite
him."

"No, you would not, You and I are apples off one tree"

Catherine yielded with a good grace; and when the actual parting came,
embraces and tears burst forth on both sides.

When she was gone the child cried a good deal; and all attempts to
pacify him failing, Margaret suspected a pin, and searching between his
clothes and his skin, found a gold angel incommoding his backbone.

"There, now, Gerard," said she to the babe; "I thought granny gave in
rather sudden."

Sh