140 The Love of God.

that he had forgotten his real home altogether !
Bound by no ties of kindred and comfort to this
world. “ He is more defolate than I am myfelf!”
repeated Theodore, again and again.

After a time he approached the boy again.

“The woman will fay you are her child, and
make you go back and beg for her if the gets better,
will fhe not?”

*¢ She doefn’t want me now.”

“ How fo?”

“¢ She fays, I’m too hungry, and eat all the bread
away from her, and don’t get enough for us both.”

A curious expreffion pafled acrofs Theodore’s
face as he turned away and fat.down in his chair
once more. It looked like a gleam of fatisfaCtion.
The boy, meanwhile, fat quite ftill, looking round
the room. He had a grave and fomewhat inter-
efting face, but that the dark eyes looked a little
too keen and reftlefs to be quite pleafant. Still,
when he fmiled, and he had {miled brightly when
he firft faw the bread, his countenance improved ;
and there was, befides, fomething about his open
forehead which redeemed the covert expreffion of
his eye. He was about feven years old, and pre-
cocious in quicknefs of a particular kind, as is very
often the cafe with vagrant children.

Theodore’s reverie was broken at laft by the
arrival of his good old houfekeeper, who came in,
flurried and indignant, to inform him that the wo-
man fhe had been in fearch of was no where to
be found. She had been, “ fhe was fure,” up