Child returned late
at night without the letter which they had longed for with such
feverish impatience. The six dollars upon which they had depended
for a supply of food were in notes of the Farmer's Bank, which at
that time would not pass for money, and which the roguish purchaser
of the cow had passed off upon this distressed family.
Oh! imagine, ye who revel in riches - who can daily throw away a
large sum upon the merest toy - the cruel disappointment, the bitter
agony of this poor mother's heart, when she received this calamitous
news, in the midst of her starving children. For the last nine weeks
they had lived upon a scanty supply of potatoes; they had not tasted
raised bread or animal food for eighteen months.
"Ellie," said I, anxious to introduce the sack, which had lain like
a nightmare upon my mind, "I have something for you; Jenny baked
some loaves last night, and sent them to you with her best love."
The eyes of all the children grew bright. "You will find the sack
with the bread in the passage," said I to one of the boys. He rushed
joyfully out, and returned with Mrs. - - and the sack. Her bland and
affectionate greeting restored us all to tranquillity.
