Page:The Poor Rich Man, and the Rich Poor Man.djvu/157

Rh it—"Pray tell her that our home shall be her home—our friends her friends.". The elder children knew it belonged to their parents, and not to them, to give such an assurance; but the younger ones thought only of the quickest way to solace the poor child; and Ruth, putting her cheek to Juliet's whispered—"Mother will be your mother, and, if you want an aunt, you shall have a part of my Aunt Lottie."

Little Phil, the youngling of the flock and grandfather's pet, echoed Ruth's meaning, shouting—"And if you want a danfather, you shall have a piece of my danfather!" How certain it is that children will imbibe the qualities of the moral atmosphere in which they live. Parents, remembering this, should trust more to their examples, and expect less from their precepts. Tears fell from Mrs. Aikin's eyes—tears from the fountain of those feelings "that have less of earth in them than heaven;"—"My good little children," she said, "we will try not to disappoint you—wipe away your tears, Juliet—think of another thing Mr. Aikin said in his prayer—'God is the father of the fatherless;' be sure, therefore, you cannot be alone in the world."

"Come here, Juliet," said Mr. Barlow; and Juliet turned to him with a brightened face, verifying the wise man's saying, that, "as the dew assuageth the heat, so is a kind word."—You and I, Juliet," continued the good man, "have been led into the same fold, and, please God, we will not separate again. Will you live with me and be my little housekeeper—or room-keeper? I have now," he added, turning, as if in explanation, to Susan