\"poor lass, poor lass!\" said her father in a low tone. \"i\"m none so sure o\"

that; but it\"s a fort to thee, poor lass, poor lass. poor father! it\"ll besoon.\"

margaret was shocked by his words--shocked but not repelled; ratherattracted and interested.

\"where do you live? i think we must be neighbours, we meet so oftenon this road.\"

\"we put up at nine frances street, second turn to th\" left at after yo\"vepast th\" goulden dragon.\"

\"and your name? i must not forget that.\"

\"i\"m none ashamed o\" my name. it\"s nicholas higgins. hoo\"s calledbessy higgins. whatten yo\" asking for?\"

margaret was surprised at this last question, for at helstone it wouldhāve been an understood thing, after the inquiries she had made, thatshe intended to e and call upon any poor neighbour whose nameand habitation she had asked for.

\"i thought--i meant to e and see you.\" she suddenly felt rather shy ofoffering the visit, without hāving any reason to give for her wish tomake it\" beyond a kindly interest in a stranger. it seemed all at once totake the shape of an impertinence on her part; she read this meaning tooin the man\"s eyes.

\"i\"m none so fond of hāving strange folk in my house.\" but thenrelenting, as he saw her heightened colour, he added, \"yo\"re a foreigner,as one may say, and maybe don\"t know many folk here, and yo\"ve givenmy wench here flowers out of yo\"r own hand;--yo may e if yo like.\"

margaret was half-amused, half-nettled at this answer. she was not sureif she would go where permission was given so like a fāvour conferred.

but when they came to the town into frances street, the girl stopped aminute, and said,\"yo\"ll not forget yo\"re to e and see us.\"

\"aye, aye,\" said the father, impatiently, \"hoo\"ll e. hoo\"s a bit set upnow, because hoo thinks i might ha\" spoken more civilly; but hoo\"llthink better on it, and e. i can read her proud bonny face like abook. e along, bess; there\"s the mill bell ringing.\"

margaret went home, wondering at her new friends, and smiling at theman\"s insight into what had been passing in her mind. from that daymilton became a brighter place to her. it was not the long, bleak sunnydays of spring, nor yet was it that time was reconciling her to the townof her habitation. it was that in it she had found a human interest.

..。

0 0