\"the steps of the bearers, heāvy and slow,the sobs of the mourners, deep and low.\"

shelley.

at the time arranged the previous day, they set out on their walk to seenicholas higgins and his daughter. they both were reminded of theirrecent loss, by a strange kind of shyness in their new habiliments, andin the fact that it was the first time, for many weeks, that they haddeliberately gone out together. they drew very close to each other inunspoken sympathy.

nicholas was sitting by the fire-side in his accustomed corner: but hehad not his accustomed pipe. he was leaning his head upon his hand,his arm resting on his knee. he did not get up when he saw them,though margaret could read the wele in his eye.

\"sit ye down, sit ye down. fire\"s welly out,\" said he, giving it a vigorouspoke, as if to turn attention away from himself. he was ratherdisorderly, to be sure, with a black unshāven beard of several days\"

growth, making his pale face look yet paler, and a jacket which wouldhāve been all the better for patching.

\"we thought we should hāve a good chance of finding you, just afterdinner-time,\" said margaret.

\"we hāve had our sorrow too, since we saw you,\" said mr. hale.

\"ay, ay. sorrows is more plentiful than dinners just now; i reckon, my

dinner hour stretches all o\"er the day; yo\"re pretty sure of finding me.\"

\"are you out of work?\" asked margaret.

\"ay,\" he replied shortly. then, after a moment\"s silence, he added,looking up for the first time: \"i\"m not wanting brass. dunno yo\" think it.

bess, poor lass, had a little stock under her pillow, ready to slip into myhand, last moment, and mary is fustian-cutting. but i\"m out o\" work a\"

the same.\"

\"we owe mary some money,\" said mr. hale, before margaret\"s sharppressure on his arm could arrest the words.

\"if hoo takes it, i\"ll turn her out o\" doors. i\"ll bide inside these four walls,and she\"ll bide out. that\"s a\".\"

\"but we owe her many thanks for her kind service,\" began mr. haleagain.

\"i ne\"er thanked yo\"r daughter theer for her deeds o\" love to my poorwench. i ne\"er could find th\" words. i\"se hāve to begin and try now, if yo\"

start making an ado about what little mary could sarve yo\".\"

\"is it because of the strike you\"re out of work?\" asked margaret gently.

\"strike\"s ended. it\"s o\"er for this time. i\"m out o\" work because i ne\"erasked for it. and i ne\"er asked for it, because good words is scarce, andbad words is plentiful.\"

he was in a mood to take a surly pleasure in giving answers that werelike riddles. but margaret saw that he would like to be asked for theexplanation.

\"and good words are--?\"

\"asking for work. i reckon them\"s almost the best words that men cansay. \"gi\" me work\" means \"and i\"ll do it like a man. them\"s goodwords.\"

\"and bad words are refusing you work when you ask for it.\"

\"ay. bad words is saying \"aha, my fine chap! yo\"ve been true to yo\"rorder, and i\"ll be true to mine. yo\" did the best yo\" could for them aswanted help; that\"s yo\"r way of being true to yo\"r kind; and i\"ll be true tomine. yo\"ve been a poor fool, as knowed no better nor be a true faithfulfool. so go and be d--d to yo\". there\"s no work for yo\" here.\" them\"s badwords. i\"m not a fool; and if i was, folk ought to ha\" taught me how tobe wise after their fashion. i could mappen ha\" learnt, if any one hadtried to teach me.\"