and toiled, and planned, and hoped at Berryhill that
day. And infinite was the good that was done by such efforts as
these. That they could not hinder God's work we all know; but much
they did do to lessen the sufferings around, and many were the lives
that were thus saved.

They were all standing behind the counter of a small store that had
been hired in the village--the three girls at least, for Aunt Letty
had already gone to the glebe, and Herbert was still down at the
"water privilege," talking to a millwright and a carpenter. This was
a place at which Indian corn flour, that which after a while was
generally termed "meal" in those famine days, was sold to the poor.
At this period much of it was absolutely given away. This plan,
however, was soon found to be injurious; for hundreds would get it
who were not absolutely in want, and would then sell it;--for the
famine by no means improved the morals of the people.

And therefore it was found better to sell the flour; to sell it at a
cheap rate, considerably less sometimes than the cost price; and to
put the means of buying it into the hands of the people by giving
them work, and paying them wages. Towards the end of these times,
when the full weight of the blow was understood, and the subject had
been in some sort studied, the general rule was thus to sell the meal
at its true price, hindering the exorbitant profit of hucksters by
the use of large stores, and to require that all those who could
not buy it should seek the means of living within the walls of
workhouses. The regular established workhouses,--unions as they were
called,--were not as yet numerous, but supernumerary houses were
provided in every town, and were crowded from the cellars to the
roofs.

It need hardly be explained that no general rule could be established
and acted upon at once. The numbers to be dealt with were so great,
that the exceptions to all rules were overwhelming. But such and
such like were the efforts made, and these efforts ultimately were
successful.

The three girls were standing behind the counter of a little store
which Sir Thomas had hired at Berryhill, when a woman came into the
place with two children in her arms and followed by four others of
different ages. She was a gaunt tall creature, with sunken cheeks and
hollow eyes, and her clothes hung about her in unintelligible rags.
There was a crowd before the counter, for those who had been answered
or served stood staring