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 dollars—Aurely has got two other pairs, and so she has handed them over to me. To oblige you, Lucy, I'll let them go at half price."

"Thank you—I do not want them."

"Don't want them! I know what that means; well, rather than you should be disappointed, you shall have them for one dollar! it won't be like laying out money. You can take them towards your wages."

"I cannot take them at any price. My mother has occasion for every penny I earn."

Thus answered, Mrs. Simson was not ashamed still to urge; and finally, when she despaired of putting off her foolish girls broken finery, she mumbled over something of girls not fifteen asking four dollars in cash a month; and, if she paid at that rate, she should look out for somebody that could earn it; and a deal of stuff that made poor Lucy feel very uncomfortable. Mrs. Simson, however, understood her own interests too well to part with so faithful and capable a girl, and Lucy went on in her second month's service. "You can't find it pleasant there," said her mother; "Mrs. Simson is a vulgar, hard woman; but patience is a great help, and in some respects she is a desirable person with whom to serve a short apprenticeship. She is a thorough worker. With her you are every day qualifying yourself for the future. Your work at Mrs. Ardley's was quite as wearing, and her 'odds and ends' would never have fitted you to conduct business yourself. Go on, my dear child cheerfully. The future has always a harvest in store for those who diligently improve the present." As some plants grow stronger exposed to winds and