I know," and he pointed with his thumb over his shoulder to the parlour door; "and now I don't care so much what I put up with myself."

"But why do you stand it, you old simpleton?" said Mrs. Nancy, laughing. "Why. should you stay with a missis you don't hold with ?"

"Why, it's just this here, Mrs. Nancy," and the old man passed his hands through his white hair; "I can't get over them words, 'Not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.' I've twisted 'em about all ways, and meditated on 'em, as the Psalmist says, night and day, but still they seems to say nothing else but this, 'Clement, you have got a missis as is hard to serve; take up your cross, and bear it.' Well, we must each mind we hear what our own conscience tells us, and that voice is my conscience; so I shall stay on, and bide the Lord's time. Your conscience said another thing to you, and you followed it: so no man can judge

another, or for another. Now, good-bye, I must be on my way; and I'll send the big boxes by the carrier to-night."

And with a few honest tears, and a fatherly blessing, the good man left the charge he had received from her mother's arms, and drove away. Before, however, he did so, Penelope had found an opportunity of putting the two gold pieces into Clement's hands, commissioning him to buy a pig for Matthew, a gown-piece for Mary, and a blanket and sundry trifles for the children. It was an errand after Clement's own heart, and he did it with a will, and silenced very cleverly the remonstrances of Mary, who was loth to be paid for her good deeds.

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'Hoping for nothing again,' it says in the Bible," said Mary, pushing the pretty chintz gown away from her (the pattern was of bright-coloured birds and butterflies on a buff ground). "I won't have none of it."

"Out upon you, Mary Meadows!" said Clement, with authority. "Thee beest a

selfish woman after all. Like Jacob, thee wantest all the blessing for thyself. Thou hast read in the Bible that it is more blessed to give than to receive,' and thou art greedy to have the blessing all to thyself."

Mary looked up with simple, wondering eyes. She was not "a scholar " herself, and she looked upon Clement as unapproachably wise. So she meekly drew the good things to her, and soon was marvelling with the children at the beauty of the pattern of the gown, and the warmth and whiteness of the Whitney blanket; while Matthew and the bigger boys, with stolid commonplace pleasure, took the little pig to the sty, and foddered him, and discussed him, and pronounced him good.

IT

see Nancy's pleasure at having at last got Penelope under her care! She waited on her hand and foot, lavished all her good things upon her, and treated her indeed as if she had been Queen Charlotte herself. Penelope was very silent, only acknowledging by smiles and thanks the loquacious outpouring of benevolence of the old servant.

"You know, Nancy, it is very nice to be here, and you make me so comfortable that I feel I am shamefully self-indulgent; but I ought not to be a charge upon you. Yet they tell me I shall have no money till Christmas."

“And I'm very glad of it,” replied Nancy. "If I could have wished for one thing to make me enjoy right thoroughly my snug little cottage, it would have been to have Miss Penelope to look after. Mind you, too, missie, I owe you a pretty heavy deal for all the sharp, cross words I gave you when you was a child. I am right down sorry for it ; but I should do it again if I had a child about me. When I see a child, I must at it, like a cat at a mouse. I was always brought up to it, and it's second nature now. But if it'll amuse you and satisfy you, I'll tell you what you might do. There's Mrs. Mercer, who keeps the fancy shop at Minsterbury. She says to me one day, 'Mrs. Nancy, you're a first-rate hand at your