when Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild came to his house;
but his wife Mary was at home, and was just giving a crust of bread and
a bit of cheese to a very poor woman who had stopped at the gate with a
baby in her arms.

"Why, Mary," said Mr. Fairchild, "I hope it is a sign that you are
getting rich, as you have bread and cheese to spare."

"Sir," she answered, "this poor woman is in want, and my children will
never miss what I have given her."

"You are very right," answered Mrs. Fairchild; and at the same time she
slipped a shilling into the poor woman's hand.

John and Mary Trueman had six children: the eldest, Thomas, was working
in the garden; and little Billy, his youngest brother, who was but
three years old, was carrying out the weeds as his brother plucked them
up; Mary, the eldest daughter, was taking care of the baby; and Kitty,
the second, sat sewing: whilst her brother Charles, a little boy of
seven years of age, read the Bible aloud to her. They were all neat and
clean, though dressed in very coarse clothes.

When Lucy and Emily and Henry divided the cake amongst the poor
children, they looked very much pleased; but they said that they would
not eat any of it till their father came in at night.

"If that is the case," said Mrs. Fairchild, "you shall have a little
tea and sugar to give your father with your cake;" so she gave them
some out of the basket.

As Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild and their children passed through the village
they stopped at the schools, and found everything as they could
wish--the children all clean, neat, cheerful, and busy, and the master
and mistress very attentive. They were much pleased to see everything
in such good order in the schools, and having passed this part of the
village, they turned aside into a large meadow, through which was the
path to Nurse's cottage. Many sheep with their lambs were feeding in
this meadow, and here also were abundance of primroses, cowslips,
daisies, and buttercups, and the songs of the birds which were in the
hedgerows were exceedingly delightful.

[Illustration: "_They ran on before._"--Page 7.]

As soon as the children came in sight of Nurse's little cottage they
ran on before to kiss Nurse, and to tell her that they were come to
spend the day with her. The poor woman was very glad, because she loved
Mr. Fairchild's children very dearly; she therefore kissed them, and
took them to see her little grandson Tommy, who was asleep in the
cradle. By this