n'
guid kens where she is, an' John ta'en awa' jist when oor battle was
beginnin' to get easier. Noo you hae been laid aside yoursel', an' God
kens hoo we are to do, for hinna a penny left in the hoose! Oh, dear,
but it's a hard lot we hae to suffer!" and she sobbed in silence, while
her husband stroked her pale, thin, toil-worn hands that hid her weeping
eyes.

"Wheesht, lassie!" he said brokenly. "Dinna you break doon noo, for you
hae been the mainstay o' us a', when we wad hae lost heart often. I used
to think that oor lot couldna be harder, when the bairns were a' wee,
an' we were struggling frae haun' to mooth, to see them fed an' cled.
But wi' a' the hardships, thae days were happy. We were baith young, an'
I was aye fairly healthy an' when we locked the door at nicht, we were
satisfied that a' that belanged to us were inside, an' in safety, even
though their wee stomachs maybe werena' ower fu'. But noo we canna do
that, wife. Some hae gane to where want an' poverty canna hurt them, an'
that is a consolation; but where will oor lassie be, that never gi'ed us
a wrang word a' her days? Is she in want this nicht, the same as we are
oorsels? Will she be hungry an' homeless, ill clad, an' oot in the
storm? If she is, then God peety her. If only we had her aside us,
hunger wad be easier tholed for us a'," and Matthew, unable to control
himself longer, completely broke down and wept, mingling his tears with
those of his wife, because of their misery and poverty and suffering.

The girl outside could hardly restrain herself at thus hearing her
parents speak. She sobbed and held on to the window ledge, her eyes
fixed greedily upon the open chink in the shutter, listening to, and
looking at her parents in their misery, as they sat and talked so kindly
and anxiously about her--talked so that every word was a stab at her
heart; for she had never heard them open their hearts like this before.

"Ay, wife," he said after a time, "it was a sair blow to me. I could hae
fain dee'd at the time; I was fair heartbroken. It's a gey queer world
that brings the keenest pangs frae them that yin likes best. I could hae
dee'd gladly to hae saved that bairn frae the slightest hurt!"

"Matthew," said the mother, speaking with all her soul in her eyes, as
she looked at him, "if by ony chance it should turn oot that Mysie gaed
wrang an' fell into disgrace, wad ye tak' her back, if she should come
hame again?" and there was a world of pleadin