"And is this the best dress she can give you?" he asked, trying the texture of the little gown and finding it threadbare and thin.
The child looked down at her feet, for the moment abashed, then raising her eyes to the young man's face, read only sympathy and tenderness there, and, thus encouraged, answered bravely:
"It is better than hers."
"Then we can't complain, dear, can we? Of course not, but is n't it very thin?"
"Yes, sir, but I would n't mind if it was a bit more stylish."
Moore looked at Bessie, smiling at this characteristic manifestation of femininity.
"The size of her!" he said. "With a woman's vanity already."
Then, turning to the child again, he continued:
"Well, we poor people must stick together. I 'll call on your aunt to-morrow."
"Will you?" cried the girl in delight. "And you 'll sing to us?"