128 ‘A DOG OF FLANDERS. -

poor, feeble, paralyzed old man, who
could not raise a hand in their de-
fence, but he had loved them well ;
his smile had always welcomed their
return. They mourned for him un-
ceasingly, refusing to be comforted,
as in the white winter day they fol-
lowed the deal shell that held his
body to the nameless grave by the
little gray church. They were his
only mourners, these two whom he
had left friendless upon earth;— the
young boy and the olddog. “ Surely
he will relent now and let the poor
lad come hither?” thought the mil-
ler’s wife, glancing at her husband
where he smoked by the hearth.
Baas Cogez knew her thought, but
he hardened his heart, and would not