186

THE YOUTH’S CABINET.

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children. I shall lose my sixteen shil-
lings and sixpence.”

‘How 2” cried I, “ have you no money
from John?”

“John!” repeated the old woman,
“he has fallen, poor fellow, from the
mizen-top.”

“ And is hurt ?”

“He is dead !”

I am not quite certain that I compre-
hended at the first moment, all the mean.
ing of the words, “he ts dead ;” but it
seemed to me as if I had received an in-
ternal blow. I mechanically sat down
on the fence by the side of the road,
without uttering a word.

 

WILLIAM IN DISTRESS,

“Yes, dead!” repeated the old wo-
man, “and I lose my sixteen shillings
and sixpence. Ah! you may weep,
boy, you may weep.”

But I did not weep; softly I repeated
to myself, “John is dead !” without the
power of bringing it home to my mind.
I scarcely remembered having seen our
eldest brother ; I knew him only through
the good which he bestowed on us.
Therefore to me he was not so much a
“man, as a good genius. In all emer-
gencies, in reference to every distant
hope, I was in the habit of saying, “If
John pleases,” just as we say, “If God
wills.” For me, John was a beneficent,
protecting power, whom I had invested
with no corporeal form, and therefore I

could not associate the remembrance of
him with the idea of death. However,
after having remained sitting by the side
of the road for some time, I slowly arose
and proceeded toward old Kitty’s cot-
tage. As I approached the door, I
heard little Richard erying, and the
harsh voice of the old woman saying,
“You have eaten more bread already
than I shall be paid for.”

At this moment I crossed the thresh-
old, and saw my sisters standing in the
darkest corner, with Richard seated at
their feet. Instead of the bacon-broth
which formed their usual repast, each
of them was holding a piece of dry black
bread, which had been baked for dame
Kitty’s poultry.