‘Oh, mother darling! you know it is the very thing you would have chosen had you been given your wish!’ said the girl. ‘It is sad to part, dear, but it is all for the best! You will be so happy and comfortable with Uncle Will, and the next time I see England,’ she added, in a whisper, ‘I shall not be ashamed, you know, to go down and pay you and him a visit.’
‘Ah, my poor lamb!’ said her mother, looking fondly at her. ‘Thank God! the shame you have borne so bravely is to be lifted off your brow at last. Mr Walcheren, she has been a true and steadfast wife to you! God grant you may reward her!’
Frederick Walcheren stretched out his hand, and drew Rhoda and her child within the shelter of his arms.
‘May God forsake me,’ he answered, ‘if I ever make her weep again!’
THE END.
COLSTON AND COMPANY, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
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