heart would break.

'Don't cry, my little boy, don't cry; I'll buy your ballads--all of
them;' and I gave him two half-dollar pieces--all the silver I had.

'I haven't got so many as that, sir; I haven't got only twenty, and
they're only a cent a piece, sir;' and with very evident reluctance, he
tendered me back the money.

'Oh! never mind, my boy, keep the money and the ballads too.'

'O sir! thank you. Mother will be so glad, _so_ glad, sir!' and he
turned to go, but his feelings overpowering him, he hid his little face
in the big blanket-shawl which he wore, and sobbed louder and harder
than before.

'Where does your mother live, my boy?'

'Round in Anthony street, sir; some good folks there give her a room,
sir.'

'Did you say she was sick?'

'Yes, sir, very sick; the doctor says she can't live only a little
while, sir.'

'And what will become of you, when she is dead?'

'I don't know, sir. Mother says God will take care of me, sir.'

'Come, my little fellow, don't cry any more; I'll go with you and see
your mother.'

'Oh! thank you, sir; mother will be so glad to have you--so glad to
thank you, sir;' and, looking up timidly an my face, he added: 'You'll
_love_ mother, sir!'

I took his hand in mine, and we went out into the storm.

He was not more than six years old, and had a bright, intelligent, but
pale and peaked face. He wore thin, patched trowsers, a small, ragged
cap, and large, tattered boots, and over his shoulders was a worn woolen
shawl. I could not see the remainder of his clothing, but I afterward
discovered that a man's waistcoat was his only other garment.

As I have said, it was a bleak, stormy night. The rain, which had fallen
all the day, froze as it fell, and the sharp, wintry wind swept down
Broadway, sending an icy chill to my very bones, and making the little
hand I held in mine tremble with cold. We passed several blocks in
silence, when the child turned into a side-street.

'My little fellow,' I said, 'this is not Anthony street--that is further
on.'

'I know it, sir; but I want to get mother some bread, sir. A good
gentleman down here sells to me very cheap, sir.'

We crossed a couple of streets and stopped at a corner-grocery.

'Why, my little 'un,' said the large, red-faced man behind the counter,
'I didn't know what had become of ye! Why haven't ye bin here to-day?'

'I hadn't any money, sir,' replied the little boy.

'An' haven't ye had any bread to-day, sonny