And then there will be the doctor's bill to pay--what
then?"
By this time I had so thoroughly realized the position of the needy
family, that I had forgotten it was not a real case, or rather, that
no special one was meant. And I begged, with tears in my eyes, that I
might apply the contents of my alms-box to paying the doctor's bill.
Many a lesson like this, with oft-repeated practical remarks about
healthy situations, proper drainage, roomy cottages, and the like, was
engraven by constant repetition on my mind, and bore fruit in after
years, when the welfare of many labourers and their families was in my
hands.
It is difficult to convey an idea of the learning I gained from my
good friend, and yet to show how free he was from priggishness, or
from always playing the schoolmaster. He was simply the most charming
of companions, who tried to raise me to his level, and interest me in
what he knew and thought himself, instead of coming down to me, and
talking the patronizing nonsense which is so often supposed to be
acceptable to children.
Across all the years that have parted us in this life I fancy at times
that I see his grey eyes twinkling under their thick brows once more,
and hear his voice, with its slightly rough accent, saying--
"_Think_, my dear lad, _think_! Pray learn to think!"
CHAPTER XVIII
THE ASTHMATIC OLD GENTLEMAN AND HIS RIDDLES--I PLAY TRUANT AGAIN--IN
THE BIG GARDEN
It was perhaps partly because, like most only children, I was
accustomed to be with grown-up people, that I liked the way in which
Mr.
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