," she said--but said no more, for her heart was too
full.

Mrs Frog was led to the platform, to which multitudes of men, women,
and children were pressing, and the little badge was pinned to her
breast.

Thus did that poor woman begin her Christian course with the fruit of
self-denial.

She then set about the work of putting her house in order. It was
up-hill work at first, and very hard, but the promise did not fail her,
"Lo! I am with you alway." In all her walk she found Hetty a guardian
angel.

"I must work, Hetty, dear," she said, "for it will never do to make you
support us all; but what am I to do with baby? There is no one to take
charge of her when I go out."

"I am quite able to keep the whole of us, mother, seeing that I get such
good pay from the lady I work for, but as you want to work, I can easily
manage for baby. You know I've often wished to speak of the Infant
Nursery in George Yard. Before you sent Matty away I wanted you to send
her there, but--" Hetty paused.

"Go on, dear. I was mad agin' you an' your religious ways; wasn't that
it?" said Mrs Frog.

"Well, mother, it don't matter now, thank God. The Infant Nursery, you
know, is a part of the Institution there. The hearts of the people who
manage it were touched by the death of so many thousands of little ones
every year in London through want and neglect, so they set up this
nursery to enable poor widowed mothers and others to send their babies
to be cared for--nursed, fed, and amused in nice airy rooms--while the
mothers are at work. They charge only fourpence a day for this, and
each baby has its own bag of clothing, brush and comb, towel and cot.
They will keep Matty from half-past seven in the morning till eight at
night for you, so that will give you plenty of time to work, won't it,
mother?"

"It will indeed, Hetty, and all for fourpence a day, say you?"

"Yes, the ordinary charge is fourpence, but widows get it for twopence
for each child, and, perhaps, they may regard a deserted wife as a
widow! There is a fine of twopence per hour for any child not taken
away after eight, so you'll have to be up to time, mother."

Mrs Frog acted on this advice, and thus was enabled to earn a
sufficiency to enable her to pay her daily rent, to clothe and feed
herself and child, to give a little to the various missions undertaken
by the Institutions near her, to put a little now and then into the
farthing bank, and even to give a li