olved to give up that
pleasure. So he parted from a couple of spaniels he had: for he
said he could not bear that his dogs should be eating the meat, or
the milk, which so many men, women, and children wanted.

THE WHITE LOAF.

One day, it was about the middle of last July, when things seemed to
be at the dearest, and the rulers of the land had agreed to set the
example of eating nothing but coarse bread, Dr. Shepherd read,
before sermon in the church, their public declaration, which, the
magistrates of the county sent him, and which they had also signed
themselves. Mrs. White, of course, was at church, and commended it
mightily. Next morning the Doctor took a walk over to the farmer's,
in order to settle further plans for the relief of the parish. He
was much surprised to meet Mrs. White's little maid, Sally, with a
very small white loaf, which she had been buying at a shop. He said
nothing to the girl, as he never thought it right to expose the
faults of a mistress to her servants; but walked on, resolving to
give Mrs. White a severe lecture for the first time in his life. He
soon changed his mind, for on going into the kitchen, the first
person he saw was Tom the thatcher, who had had a sad fall from a
ladder; his arm, which was slipped out of his sleeve, was swelled in
a frightful manner. Mrs. White was standing at the dresser making
the little white loaf into a poultice, which she laid upon the
swelling in a large clean old linen cloth.

"I ask your pardon, my good Sarah," said the Doctor; "I ought not,
however appearances were against you, to have suspected that so
humble and prudent a woman as you are, would be led either to
indulge any daintiness of your own, or to fly in the face of your
betters, by eating white bread while they are eating brown. Whenever
I come here, I see it is not needful to be rich in order to be
charitable. A bountiful rich man would have sent Tom to a surgeon,
who would have done no more for him than you have done; for in those
inflammations the most skillful surgeon could only apply a poultice.
Your kindness in dressing the wound yourself, will, I doubt not,
perform the cure at the expense of that threepenny loaf and a little
hog's lard. And I will take care that Tom shall have a good supply
of rice from the subscription." "And he sha'n't want for skim-milk,"
said Mrs. White; "and was he the best lord in the land, in the state
he is in, a dish of good rice milk would be better for