And, more than this, it isn't just certain that James could get work right away if he came back.

Foolish fellow that he was, not to keep a good situation when he had it! But it's the way of the world, Mrs.Markland, this ever seeking, through change, for something better than Heaven awards in the present." "Truly spoken, Mrs.Elder.How few of us possess contentment; how few extract from the present that good with which it is ever supplied! We read the fable of the dog and the shadow, and smile at the folly of the poor animal; while, though instructed by reason, we cast aside the substance of to-day in our efforts to grasp the shadowy future.

We are always looking for the blessing to come; but when the time of arrival is at hand, what seemed so beautiful in the hazy distance is shorn of its chief attraction, or dwarfed into nothingness through contrast with some greater good looming grandly against the far horizon." Mrs.Markland uttered the closing sentence half in reverie; for her thoughts were away from the sick woman and the humble apartment in which she was seated.

There was an abstracted silence of a few moments, and she said: "Speaking of your daughter and her husband, Mrs.Elder; they are poor, as I understand you ?" "Oh yes, ma'am; it is hand-to-mouth with them all the time.

James is kind enough to Lotty, and industrious in his way; but his work never turns to very good account." "What business does he follow ?" "He's a cooper by trade; but doesn't stick to any thing very long.