\"you\"ll find your shoe\"s by the kitchen fire; i took them there to dry,\"

said margaret.

he turned round and looked at her steadily, and then he brushed his leanhand across his eyes and went his way.

\"how proud that man is!\" said her father, who was a little annoyed at themanner in which higgins had declined his intercession with mr.

thornton.

\"he is,\" said margaret; \"but what grand makings of a man there are inhim, pride and all.\"

\"it\"s amusing to see how he evidently respects the part in mr. thornton\"scharacter which is like his own.\"

\"there\"s granite in all these northern people, papa, is there not?\"

\"there was none in poor boucher, i am afraid; none in his wife either.\"

\"i should guess from their tones that they had irish blood in them. iwonder what success he\"ll hāve to-morrow. if he and mr. thorntonwould speak out together as man to man--if higgins would forget thatmr. thornton was a master, and speak to him as he does to us--and ifmr. thornton would be patient enough to listen to him with his humanheart, not with his master\"s ears--\"

\"you are getting to do mr. thornton justice at last, margaret,\" said herfather, pinching her ear.

margaret had a strange choking at her heart, which made her unable toanswer. \"oh!\" thought she, \"i wish i were a man, that i could go andforce him to express his disapprobation, and tell him honestly that iknew i deserved it. it seems hard to lose him as a friend just when i hadbegun to feel his value. how tender he was with dear mamma! if it wereonly for her sake, i wish he would e, and then at least i shouldknow how much i was abased in his eyes.\"

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