girl, received an education which raised her somewhat
above the other villagers of Tipping; and of an evening she was in
the habit of helping Reuben with his lessons, and trying to correct
the broadness of dialect which he picked up from the other boys.
She was an active and bustling woman, managed her little shop well,
and kept the garden, with Reuben's assistance, in excellent order.

Mrs. Ellison had, at her first arrival in the village three years
before, done much to give her a good start, by ordering that all
articles of use for the house, in which she dealt, should be
purchased of her; and she highly approved of the energy and
independence of the young widow. But lately there had been an
estrangement between the squire's wife and the village shopkeeper.
Mrs. Ellison, whose husband owned all the houses in the village, as
well as the land surrounding it, was accustomed to speak her mind
very freely to the wives of the villagers. She was kindness itself,
in cases of illness or distress; and her kitchen supplied soups,
jellies, and nourishing food to all who required it; but in return,
Mrs. Ellison expected her lectures on waste, untidiness, and
mismanagement to be listened to with respect and reverence.

She was, then, at once surprised and displeased when, two or three
months before, having spoken sharply to Mrs. Whitney as to the
alleged delinquencies of Reuben, she found herself decidedly,
though not disrespectfully, replied to.

"The other boys are always set against my Reuben," Mrs. Whitney
said, "because he is a stranger in the village, and has no father;
and whatever is done, they throw it on to him. The boy is not a bad
boy, ma'm--not in any way a bad boy. He may get into mischief, like
the rest; but he is not a bit worse than others, not half as bad as
some of them, and those who have told you that he is haven't told
you the truth."

Mrs. Ellison had not liked it. She was not accustomed to be
answered, except by excuses and apologies; and Mrs. Whitney's
independent manner of speaking came upon her almost as an act of
rebellion, in her own kingdom. She was too fair, however, to
withdraw her custom from the shop; but from that time she had not,
herself, entered it.

Reuben was a source of anxiety to his mother, but this had no
reference to his conduct. She worried over his future. The receipts
from the shop were sufficient for their wants; and indeed the widow
was enabled, from time to time, to lay by