Jack spent the evening with us at home, and then he left us hurriedly, for our farewells had been said in the wood, and it was one hearty kiss, given and taken before the old people, and then good-bye. But I saw him pass soon after daybreak, and he saw me, and waved his hand, for I had sat by the window all night, lest I might let him go by, and I asleep. And then time glided on sadly, but pleasantly as well. Mine was a busy life, for soon my father took to his bed, ill--a bed he never left again, for he gradually bank and died, leaving my poor mother in very indifferent circumstances. It was a hard blow for us both, for he had been one of the kindest and truest of men; but while poor mother pined and waited, I had my hopeful days in view, and from time to time letters from dear Jack, all so frank and honest, and full of trust in the future, that I felt as if I could not repine, even when greater troubles fell upon me. For at the end of two years I was standing by the bedside where lay poor mother sinking fast. She had had no particular ailment, but had literally pined and wasted away. The bird had lost its mate of many years, and when at last she kissed me, and said, "Good-bye," it seemed to me to be in a quiet rest-seeking spirit, and she spoke like one looking hopefully forward to the meeting with him who had gone before. But she could think of me even then, and almost the last whispered words were-- "Only eleven months, Grace, and then he will be back to fetch you." Poor mother! she would not have passed so peacefully away if she had known that which I withheld--namely, the news that had come to me from our lawyer. For, through the failure of the enterprise in which my father's savings had been invested, and which brought us a little income of sixty pounds a year, I was left penniless--so poor, in fact, that the furniture of the cottage in the little town, to which we had moved when we left the farm, had to be sold to defray the funeral expenses. It was very hard to bear, and for a month I was terribly depressed; but there was that great hopeful time ever drawing near--the end of the three years, when Jack would come to fetch me to be his wife. It was now for the first time that I remember feeling particular about my personal appearance, and I studied my glass to see if Jack would find me looking careworn and thin, and my glass told me truly--yes. But I had to be up and doing, and before another month was over, through the kindness of people whom we had known, I was placed where I could work contentedly for the bread I must earn till Jack should come to fetch me away. It was at a large West-end dressmaker's, and it was hard work to get used to the hurry and excitement of the place, where there were twelve girls living in the house, and as many more came every day.