He heard a hearty laugh at a little distance, and perceived that the picture, which at first had seemed to spread out over the whole wall, was really divided into two parts, something like an exhibition he remembered of dissolving views. This was delightful. The first picture faded out into gloom, and gave place to a bright, cheerful room in the third story of a house in the city. There were only two rooms,--this, and a small anteroom. The furniture was simple, even poor. Through the window the snow was seen falling, and the blaze flickered, in cheerful contrast, on the hearth. A woman, neither young nor pretty, stood with an astonished expression, and an elderly man laughed loudly, and sat down before the fire. "What in the world shall I do?" said the woman. "Do, my dear?--why, bring me my dressing-gown"; said he, laughing again so cheerily, that it was contagious; and as she brought the coarse wadded garment he asked for, she laughed too. "A pretty kettle of fish!" said she. "Yes! Now what shall we do? Not a dollar in our pockets!" "Nor a coat to your back!" broke in the woman. Then they both laughed again, loudly and heartily. Fred remembered now what they were laughing at. The man was a minister, well known in Boston, and the woman was his wife. He had just come in, running through the storm, and almost out of breath. "Wife! my coat! Don't you see I am in my shirt-sleeves? I've got a snow-bank on my back!" "Why! where in the world--what have you done with your coat?" "Oh! that I am almost ashamed to tell you; it seems such a parading sort o' thing to do in the streets! But you may depend, I didn't stand at the corners long, to be seen of men, in this driving storm! Fact was, wife, I just took it off of my back, and gave it to poor old M'Carty;--he'd nothing on but rags, and was fairly shaking with the cold. I knew I'd another to home,--and what does a man want of two coats? One's enough for anybody. Besides, didn't our Lord particularly tell his disciples not to have but one? Say, now, wife!" The wife looked blank and embarrassed. "Well, wife! what now?" "Only"----and she paused again. "Only what? Out with it! You think it was silly! But, wife, you'd 'a' done the same thing;--you couldn't 'a' helped it, nohow. Providence seemed to 'a' cast him in my way o' purpose. I tell you, wife, it was as plain-spoken as it could be,--'Be ye warmed!' Why, you'd 'a' done the same thing, wife!" "My goodness! I _have_ done it, husband! A man and his wife and three little children came along, not half an hour ago, looking so miserable and cold, that, as I thought, as you say, you had one coat, and that was all you really needed, I just out with the other, and put it on the man's back. The thankfullest creature you ever saw!" And here the man had broken into the hearty laugh Fred heard. When the man put on his dressing-gown, which was comfortable for the fireside, the wife renewed her question. He answered with a bright smile,--