THE TIRED WATCHEK. 17 



and only of her as connected with the caged Lady -birds, shall 

 we repeat a part of his relation. In her seventh year she, 

 his little Each el, was seized by gevere illness, through which 

 her heart-stricken father was her sole and constant nurse. If 

 he had possessed the means, no hireling would he have paid to 

 tend his darling child : but he was poor, and thus poverty and 

 will met for once in sweet consent. 



On the morning of the fourth day after her attack, the rest- 

 less uneasiness of the little sufferer subsided into a deep and 

 quiet slumber. The tired watcher, who, while fatigue and 

 despair together weighed down his broken spirit, had found it 

 hard to resist the drowsiness of exhausted nature, was roused 

 to trembling wakefulness by the flutter of hope within his 

 heart. He knelt beside the bed " Oh ! let not this blessed 

 hope prove a mere delusion. Save, merciful God, my only 



treasure ! or if ." The weakness of the flesh forbade 



to express in words, the dread alternative, but with head 

 bowed low, the father remained for a few moments in an 

 attitude, at least, of resignation. When he rose from his 

 knees, the rush-light had expired, and a ray of bright sunshine, 

 entering at the round hole in the shutter, fell upon the 

 slumberer's features which were still composed in quiet rest. 

 Poor Gregory drew the window-curtain quite close; then 

 quitted the chamber and descended to the garden. The air 

 refreshed his throbbing temples, but chilled by his night vigil, 

 the morning sun as it glistened on the dew-drops, seemed to 



