all of us. I suppose you are not quite so
good as our Davie."

They all laughed.

"I will try to be good, indeed I will, Polly," said Philip.

"Well that is right," said Mary. "You should speak to mamma. She would
help you."

"Yes, I think she would. I mean to speak to her."

And so they chatted on till David came in. Philip had made good a place
among them. It was quite clear that they all liked him, as little Polly
had said. They had always liked him from the very first, but he was
more worthy of their liking now.

Mr Oswald and Frank came home in due time. There was nothing in Mr
Oswald's plans for his son to prevent the carrying out of the plan for
the new partnership, as proposed by Mr Caldwell. He was greatly
pleased with the compliment to his son, which Mr Caldwell's proposal
implied, and entered into the discussion of preliminaries with great,
interest. As for himself he had returned home with no design of
engaging immediately in business, except the business of an Insurance
Company of which he had been made the agent. He was to wait for a year
or two at least.

Frank, whose health and eyesight were quite restored, was offered the
place in the new business, which Philip would so gladly have given to
David. Of course he was as yet not so well qualified to perform the
duties of the position as David would have been, but he possessed some
qualities likely to insure success that David did not have, and he had
that which was the source and secret of David's goodness, so firmly
believed in by little Mary and them all. He was learning to live, not
to himself, but to his Master--to do His will and make known His name,
and in all things to honour Him in the eyes of the world, and so he had
also David's secret of peace. But for a time he had little to do, as
the new firm was not publicly announced till later in the year, and in
the meantime he accepted Mrs Inglis's invitation, and made himself one
of the children of the bridge house, to his great pleasure and theirs.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

One morning as Mr Philip sat at breakfast reading the paper, as was his
custom, he heard Mr Caldwell say--

"This is the twenty-second of September."

"The days and nights are of equal length," said Mrs Caldwell. "Dear!
dear! how soon the days will be drawing in!"

"This day last year Miss Bethia Barnes died."

"Well, she was a good body. I trust she went to a better place."

"And to-day her will is t