o out to ride Sundays," said Katy.

"But I do."

"What does your mother say to it?"

The clerk bit his lip again. He did not like these allusions to his
mother, who perhaps lived far away in the country, and had taught him
to "remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy." Very likely his
conscience smote him, as he thought of her and her blessed teachings in
the far-off home of his childhood.

"I will give you two cents," said the clerk.

"I can't take that; it would hardly pay for the molasses, to say
nothing of firewood and labor."

"Call it three cents, then."

"No, sir; the wholesale price is five cents for six sticks."

"But I am poor."

"You wouldn't be poor if you saved up your money, and kept the Sabbath.
Your mother----"

"There, there! that's enough. I will take a dozen sticks!" exclaimed
the young man, impatiently interrupting her.

"A dozen?"

"Yes, a dozen, and there are twelve cents."

"But I only ask ten."

"No matter, give me the candy, and take the money," he replied,
fearful, it may be, that she would again allude to his mother.

Katy counted out the sticks, wrapped them up in a paper, and put the
money in her pocket. If she had stopped at the door to study the young
man's face, she might have detected a shadow of uneasiness and anxiety
upon it. He was a very good-hearted, but rather dissolute, young man,
and the allusions she had made to his mother burned like fire in his
heart, for he had neglected her counsels, and wandered from the
straight road in which she had taught him to walk. If she could have
followed him home, and into the solitude of his chamber, she could have
seen him open his desk, and write a long letter to his distant
mother--a duty he had too long neglected. We may not follow the
fortunes of this young man, but if we could, we might see how a few
words, fitly spoken, even by the lips of an innocent youth; will
sometimes produce a powerful impression on the character; will
sometimes change the whole current of a life, and reach forward to the
last day of existence.

Katy, all unconscious of the great work she had done, congratulated
herself on this success, and wished she might find a few more such
customers. Glancing into the shop windows as she passed along, to
ascertain whether there was a good prospect for her, she soon found an
inviting field. It was a crockery ware store that she entered this
time, and there were several persons there who seemed not to be ve