had knelt down. She finished the prayer, rose, and, with a short
curtsey, retired from the side of the bed.

Although not recognised herself by the lady, Mary, immediately
remembered Mrs Phillips and her daughter Emma, having as we have before
observed, been at one time in Mrs Phillips's service.

"This is the young woman whom you so wished to see, Mrs Chopper, is it
not?" said Mrs Phillips. "I am not surprised at your longing for her,
for she appears well suited for a companion in such an hour; and, alas!
how, few there are! Sit down, I request," continued Mrs Phillips,
turning to Mary. "How do you find yourself to-day, Mrs Chopper?"

"Sinking fast, dear madam, but not unwilling to go, since I have seen
Nancy, and heard of my poor Peter; he wrote to Nancy a short time ago.
Nancy, don't forget my love to Peter."

Emma Phillips, who had now grown tall and thin, immediately went up to
Mary, and said, "Peter was the little boy who was with Mrs Chopper; I
met him on the road when he first came to Gravesend, did I not?"

"Yes, miss you did," replied Mary.

"He used to come to our house sometimes, and very often to meet me as I
walked home from school. I never could imagine what became of him, for
he disappeared all at once without saying good-bye."

"He was obliged to go away, miss. It was not his fault; he was a very
good boy, and is so still."

"Then pray remember me to him, and tell him that I often think of him."

"I will, Miss Phillips, and he will be very happy to hear that you have
said so."

"How did you know that my name was Phillips? O, I suppose poor Mrs
Chopper told you before we came."

Mrs Phillips had now read some time to Mrs Chopper, and this put an
end to the conversation between Mary and Emma Phillips. It was not
resumed. As soon as the reading was over, Mrs Phillips and her
daughter took their leave.

Mary made up a bed for herself by the side of Mrs Chopper's. About the
middle of the night, she was roused by a gurgling kind of noise; she
hastened to the bedside, and found that Mrs Chopper was suffocating.
Mary called in the old woman to her aid, but it was useless, the abscess
had burst, and in a few seconds all was over; and Mary, struggling with
emotion, closed the eyes of her old friend, and offered up a prayer for
her departed spirit.

The remainder of the night was passed in solemn meditation and a renewal
of those vows which the poor girl had hitherto so scrupulously adher