170 THE YOUTH’S CABINET.

cocoons of silk, which a manufacturer

had entrusted to the poor widow. Ce-

line, Louisa, and their governess, each a
reeler in her turn, labored, under the
direction of Mother Durand, who laughed

a good deal at the zeal of her three ap-

prentices, until they had filled a bobbin

with silk.
Before they left, that morning, the

girls made the widow promise that she

would not tell any one about their visits.

The next day, the three came again ; and

every day, during all the month of June,
and half of July, before sunrise in the

morning, this pilgrimage to the poor

widow’s cottage was repeated. At the

moment when the old clock of the castle

struck the hour for breakfast, they
returned ; and the family, supposing that

they had been merely taking a pleasant

morning ramble, thought but little of
their absence.

The neighbors of Mother Durand
could not conceive how it happened
that, with the help of one hand only,
she was able to perform her tasks, and
maintain herself as she did. They ex-
pressed their surprise to her. “ Why,”
she said, “don’t you know that God
never abandons those who trust in him?
I am getting better of my palsy every
day. For several weeks past, I have
been taking a certain remedy, which has
enabled me to use my arm a little, and

_ which. has saved me from the poor-

house.”

By and by, the father of Celine and
Louisa, from what he saw in the conduct
of his daughters, began to think there
was something mysterious aboyt their

“morning walks, and determined to clear
ait up. In vain, however, he asked seve-

ral questions of the discreet governess.

 

 

She knew how to keep the secret, and
she did keep it.

The captain was not a man to be foiled
‘n those matters which he had set his
heart upon ; so one morning, before sun-
rise, he walked to the hamlet of St.
Michel, followed the children in their ac-
customed pilgrimage, and saw them en-
ter a cottage situated on the banks of
the Cher. Celine was carrying a little
basket, apparently containing provisions.
Louisa held fn her hand a parcel of
linen, and the governess, who accompa-
nied them, had under her arm a score
of bobbins, which were tied together by
a cord. The brave mariner had confi-
dence in the good intentions of his chil-
dren. Still there was a mystery about
this matter; and he placed himself
where he could see all that took place
in the cottage. He had not been in this
position long, before he saw one of the
most touching spectacles he. ever be-

held.

Celine held the left arm of the widow,
and bathed it with some kind of lotion,
while Louisa rubbed it with a piece of
flannel, which the governess from time
to time renewed by a similar piece that
she had warmed at the fire. Mother
Durand, her eyes raised toward heaven,
seemed to be asking God to bless the
three spirits who were so earnestly en-
gaged in her behalf. From the conver-
sation that took place, the captain soon
learned, that what he saw had been a
common thing for more than six weeks ;
and not only so, but that these girls,
with the assistance of their governess,
had been in the habit of occupying the
time they could spare from their studies,
and other duties, in reeling the cocoons
of silk which had been entrusted to