and not his own i honour him for it kiss him child and come away he spoke to her and treated her as if she had really been but a child he held her while she stooped down and kissed the dead man s face he supported her with his arm into the next room and placing her in a chair with her white face hid in her hands he left her alone with her sorrow the blow had utterly her its suddenness had been so far merciful that it had her sense of loss the of her mind was at first only able to retain its last impression could it be possible that that was a correct one p the wildest nightmare dream she had ever experienced had never suggested to her anything more monstrous than the that had dropped from her dying father s lips yet there were the words engraved as it were with some that burned into her very core i wish you to marry mr presently they began to fade away the slowly growing perception of what had happened afterwards he waa dead his voice his smile were gone the kindly gracious man who called her daughter and whom all the little world she had ever known bowed down to in admiration waa no ta of her own did i� t much aa a sense of loss � a from a thorn rather than the empty place beside her then came the the awful sense of her utter loneliness in the world not a soul to care for her not one human being bound to her by tie of blood or no heart to love her here a little hand stole into her own and a child s voice whispered tenderly in her ear don t cry don t cry darling we are so sorry for you i do love you so don t you know me i m little then the tears came for the first time she threw her arms about the child and him to her bosom and hid her face in his and sobbed with him and he with her as though their hearts would break together chapter a in need there is plenty of kindness in the world � but largely mingled with the fear of responsibility in our hour of sorrow that much despised class of persons who act on instinct come to the front and win our hearts while the wise and the prudent are picking their words the promise of the former may be but their present sympathy is sincere and of value they do not give twice but ten times over who give quickly and even if they have nothing to give their obvious desire to be of service is a material help the touch of little s cheek as it up to s waa worth very much to her though it might not have been in the city when she looked out through her dim eyes at the world again there was sunshine in it � a streak of light among the menacing masses of cloud papa told me to say only i forgot it said that whatever you wished should be done at once that he was � i don t remember what he said exactly � but i know he loves you almost as much as i do the streak of light vanished away from poor s mental horizon and a sharp chill as from a november sky seized her tell your father that i am obliged to him she answered firmly but that i want nothing you should not stop here darling it is not fit for you go and play nothing loth for a child is soon tired of another s sorrow got off her lap i ll give papa your love he said shall i tell him what i told you to say that i am obliged to him � deeply obliged to him � but that i want nothing there was a knock at the � th same door at which the had entered not t i� ct l c c ii a chamber of s u r a friend in need her father s body was hardly cold that mr should be coming to offer assistance to her in person that such an idea should have entered her mind � that any thought at all should have done so save that of her may seem strange but the fact was that the one fact suggested the other her father and her father s dying words were for the moment associated in her mind together oh mrs the pathetic welcome in her voice would have moved a harder heart than that of the wife of the there was genuine gratitude in it but also an expression of relief which of course that lady did not understand my pretty dear he sobbed � my own pretty dear i what can we do for you she did not mean what she could do herself nor what she and her husband could do though that of course was included but what could the whole world do for this desolate and girl to show its tenderness and sympathy p she did not know that she herself was a woman of ten thousand she spoke believing herself to be a common type of humanity and had come to comfort her in the name of it she was one oi those simple ones who in all sincerity would have asked when saw we thee hungry and gave thee meat it was her nature to do such things and not to remember them could only blindly kiss her and thank her with a hand clasp you must not stay here my darling continued the old lady you must come into my room john has moved out of it shook her head and pointed to the next room i cannot leave him she whispered he will be 