342 
THE BEAUTIFUL LADDER. 
to pervade the place. The mother was happy, 
and seemed to have a deep and abiding sense 
of the kindness of the noble friends who had 
so liberally cared for them, especially the gen¬ 
erous benefactor who had for so long a time 
furnished the means to restore her precious 
child to health. The one great want now was, 
to learn who these dear friends were, that they 
might convey to them the deep gratitude which 
their hearts felt and carried as a burden because 
they had no opportunity for adequate expres¬ 
sion. The desire of the daughter to know this 
secret was not less than the mother’s, coupled, 
perhaps, with a deeper sense of the kindness 
which had been so long continued, and was 
now only withheld because her self-respect 
would not allow its longer manifestation. 
After listening, with much embarrassment, to 
these praises of himself, so unconsciously given, 
as long as he could well endure the strain, he 
solicited the pleasure of Alice’s company in a 
stroll to the pleasant grove near the cottage. 
What was said and done during that interview 
must be left unwritten, but perhaps an inference 
can be drawn from what transpired after their 
return to the cottage. When they entered the 
