money left to paa for her jarney. But the young gentleman
made a gatherin' for her, and when the nuss went with her to the station,
he holp her into the cab, and gov her the money. Whue he was she din't
know, and I don't now, but I alluz saa, 'God bless him for it.'

"One mornin' the owd parson--he was yar father--sent for me, and he saa,
'John,' sez he, 'I ha' had a letter to say that Susan ha' been in the
horspital, but she is better now, and is cummin' home to-morrow. So yeou
must meet her at Halser, {55} and yeou may hiv my cart.' Susan coon't
write, so we'd nivver h'ard, sin' her aunt went away. Yeou may s'pose
how I felt! Well, I went and met her. O lawk, a lawk! how bad she did
look! I got her home about five, and my wife had got a good fire, and
ivrything nice for her, but, poor mor! she was wholly beat. She coon't
eat nawthin'. Arter a bit, she tuk off her bonnet, and then I see she
han't no hair, 'cept a werry little. That wholly beat me, she used to
hev such nice hair. Well, we got her to bed, and for a whole week she
coon't howd up at all. Then she fare to git better, and cum down-stairs,
and sot by the fire, and begun to pick a little. And so she went on,
when the summer cum, sometimes better and sometimes wuss. But she spook
werry little, and din't seem to git on no better with my wife. Yar
father used to cum and see her and read to her. He was werry fond of
her, for he had knowed her ivver sin' she was born. But she got waker
and waker, and at last she coon't howd up no longer, but took wholly to
her bed. How my wife did wait upon her! She'd try and 'tice her to ate
suffen, {56a} when yar father sent her a bit o' pudden. I once saa to
him, 'What do yeou think o' the poor mor?' 'John,' sez he, 'she's werry
bad.' 'But,' sez I, 'dew she know it?' 'Yes,' sez he, 'she dew; but she
een't one to saa much.' But I alluz noticed, she seem werry glad to see
yar father.

"One day I'd cum home arly; I'd made one jarney. {56b} So I went up to
see Susan. There I see my wife laad outside the bed close to Susan;
Susan was kind o' strokin' her face, and I h'ard her saa, 'Kiss me,
mother dear; yeou're a good mother to me.' They din't see me, so I crep'
down-stairs, but it made me werry comforble.

"Susan's bed laa close to the wall, so that she could alluz make us know
at night if she wanted anything by jest knockin'. One night we h'ard her
sing a hymn. She used to sing at charch when she was