nger of his Methodist heart, requested them to
sing "God be with you till we meet again." Every one stood up and
joined hands. Martha, with her thoughts on the butter and eggs; Tonald
McKenzie and big John with the vision of their lonely dwellings in the
hills looming over them; Jim and Camilla; Tom and Nellie, hand in hand;
little Billy, face to face with the long struggle and its certain
ending. Little Billy's voice rang sweet and clear above the others--

God be with you till we meet again,
Keep love's banner floating o'er you,
Smite death's threatening wave before you;
God be with you till we meet again!

CHAPTER XIX

PEARL'S DIARY

When Pearl got Tom safely started for the party a great weight seemed
to have rolled from her little shoulders. Tom was going to spend the
night--what was left of it--with Arthur in the granary, and so avoid
the danger of disturbing his parents by his late home-coming.

Pearl was too excited to sleep, so she brought out from her bird-cage
the little note-book that Mrs. Francis had given her, and endeavoured
to fill some of its pages with her observations.

Mrs. Francis had told her to write what she felt and what she saw.

She had written:

August 8th.--I picked the fethers from 2 ducks to-day. I call them
cusmoodles. I got that name in a book. The cusmoodles were just full of
cheety-wow-wows. That's a pretty name, too, I think. I got that out of
my own head. The cheety-wow-wows are wanderers to-night, I guess. They
lost their feather-bed.

Arthur's got a girl. Her name is Thursa. He tells me about her, and
showed me her picter. She is beautiful beyond compare, and awful savin'
on her clothes. At first I thought she had a die-away-ducky look, but I
guess it's because she was sorry Arthur was comin' away.

August 9th.--Mrs. Motherwell is gittin' kinder, I think. When I was
gittin' the tub for Arthur yesterday, and gittin' water het, she said,
"What are you doin', Pearl?" I says, "gittin' Arthur a bath." She says,
"Dear me, it's a pity about him." I says, "Yes'm, but he'll feel better
now." She says, "Duz he want anyone to wash his back?"--I says, "I
don't know, but I'll ask him," and I did, too; but he says, "No, thanks
awfully."

August 10th.--The English Church minister called one day to see Arthur.
He read some of the Bible to us and then he gave us a dandy prayer. He
didn't make it--it was a bot one.

There's wild parsley down on the crik. Mrs. M.