46 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST, 



welcome to their first granddaughter who bore their 

 joint names. They had not named any son or daughter 

 after themselves, and it pleased them well that their 

 " Oy " (granddaughter) should be so named. 



Mam Willa and the family cradle reappeared, and 

 there was peace and gladness in our mother's heart for 

 a few brief years. She had lived to see seven of her 

 children grown up, — some married, all " doing for 

 themselves," yet ever needing the mother's love, and 

 ever coming when circumstances would allow, to pour 

 into her sympathetic hearing their joys and cares. 

 Four were " at Home," and she had learned to speak 

 composedly of them as waiting her coming. 



She said (for health was then failing fast, and she 

 did not expect to live many years more) that she had 

 only one bit of work left to do. 



This was the writing of her eldest son's " Life," and 

 this she was given time to do. I observed that while 

 engaged upon this work she spent most of her time in 

 the old room, and during those days her thoughts were 

 much in the Past. She loved to talk then of family 

 matters, which hitherto she had rather avoided as being 

 too sad to dwell upon. 



When the MS. was nearly completed the storm 

 burst once more. The little " Oy " was quickly called 

 Home, and the grandmother's heart was broken. 



I went " to tell mamma," but being cautioned on 

 the stair to try and control myself, as she was very ill, 

 and feeling the child's death acutely, I for the first 

 time realised that our positions were reversed in part. 



