ine mother, and having none of her own, was free
to spend all her love on John's little ones. Not only this, but she
treated Ma Harris with such respect and kindness that complaint was
well-nigh impossible. Altogether, Ma Harris began to realize that the
way of the fault-finder is sometimes as hard as that of the
transgressor.

"Well, Mary," she said, as she dropped heavily into a rocking-chair, "I
heard yesterday that you had a new dressmakin' chart and all the
neighbors was usin' it, and says I to Maria, 'I reckon Mary's forgot me,
and I'll have to go up and remind her that Ma Harris is still in the
land of the livin' and jest as much in need of clothes as some other
folks.'" And she threw a withering glance in Sally's direction.

"Why, Ma Harris!" said Mary. "Didn't John give you my message? I sent
you word about the chart last week, and I've been looking for you every
day."

Ma Harris's face brightened, for Mary's words were as a healing balm to
her wounded self-love.

"There, now!" she exclaimed, "I didn't think you'd slight me that-a-way,
Mary. So it was John's fault, after all. Well, I might a' known it. It's
precious few men that can remember what their wives tell 'em to do, and
I used to tell Joel that if I wanted to send a message I'd send it by
the telegraph company before I'd trust him with it."

Mary breathed a breath of deep relief. Peace was restored between Ma
Harris and herself, but she knew that between her two guests there
yawned a breach that time and frequent intercourse only widened and
deepened. Once in an uncharitable moment Sally had likened Ma Harris to
Dan's old wall-eyed mare, and more than once Ma Harris had made
disparaging remarks about Sally's cooking. The bearer of tales had
attended to her work, and thereafter the two seldom met without an
interchange of hostile words. Mary was of those blessed ones who love
and who make peace, and for the next hour she stood as a buffer between
two masked batteries. If a sarcastic remark were thrown out, she caught
it before it could reach its mark, and took away its sting by some
kindly interpretation of her own. If a challenge were given, she took it
up and laughed it off as a joke. If the conversation threatened to
become personal, she led its course into the safe channel of
generalities; and for once the two enemies were completely baffled in
their efforts to bring about a quarrel. But only Mary knew at what cost
peace had been purchased, whe