Mr. Armstrong felt more composed the next day, and in the afternoon, accompanied by Faith, went to the dwelling of the widow. They found her engaged in ordinary family affairs. The duties to the living must be respected. To neither rich nor poor does sorrow furnish an excuse for their neglect. Let the mind find something to occupy it, the hand something to do. Thus do we become sooner reconciled to those dispensations of Providence at which our weakness, and ignorance, and presumption rebel.
The poor woman received them kindly, and offered chairs. Faith took into her lap the younger child from the floor on which it was sitting, gnawing a crust of brown bread, and began to talk to him. The round eyes of the boy expressed his astonishment, but as he looked into the loving face and heard more of the sweet voice, the alarm he at first felt at the approach of the stranger subsided, and he smiled with the confiding innocence which children return to the caresses of those who are fond of them.
"Jimmy doesn't know what a loss he's had," said Mrs. Sill.
"Jimmy will grow up to take care of his mother bye and bye, and repay her for some of her trouble, won't he?" said Faith, addressing the boy.
"O, Josiah and Jimmy are my only comfort," said the widow—"now that he's gone. I don't know what I should do without them, I'm sure."
Mr. Armstrong had called the elder boy, Josiah, to his side, and the little fellow had quickly become familiar enough to play with his gold watch-chain. Seeing it pleased the child, he took the watch and held it to his ear, at which the countenance of the boy became radiant with delight. "O, Jimmy," he cried, "it talks."
Mr. Armstrong released the watch into the hands of Josiah, who ran with it to his brother.
"He will drop it," exclaimed Mrs. Sill, starting forward, taking the watch from the hands of the disappointed boy, and offering it to Mr. Armstrong.
"Keep it," he said, "for Josiah, to associate me, when he grows up, with his father's death."
"You don't mean to give away your gold watch?" said Mrs. Sill, still holding it out towards him.