What with Nannie's wages, and her own work, and Pat's board, besides an
occasional perquisite from their kind friend, Mrs. Bates was quite
looking up in the world. She had been able to cover the floor with a
nice list carpet, and to add a few comfortable and pretty articles of
furniture from time to time, so that the little family began to feel
that their humble abode was the most luxurious place they had ever seen.
Their hearts were so filled with gratitude for even these homely
comforts, that there was no room in them for envious feelings toward
those who were possessed of more bounteous gifts. A little stand by the
window now held Nannie's plants, that were ever green and flourishing,
and there was scarcely a week but some sweet bud peeped out from the
fresh leaves of the one, or pure blossom burst forth from the other to
greet them. The big Bible occupied its accustomed place in the corner,
and a couple of neat shelves, the work of Pat's ingenuity, held the few
books and little ornaments that had been accumulating since their good
fortune commenced. Winnie's cradle was put away in her mother's bedroom
with the rag-baby still lying beneath the small counterpane, and in its
place was Pat's couch newly covered with a gay flowered chintz. A bright
oil-cloth was nailed beneath the stove, and in the center of the room
stood a table, around which was gathered a loving trio every evening
when Nannie could be spared from her little charge.
Mrs. Minturn's house, to be sure, was grand and magnificent, and
abounded in every thing that was costly and elegant, and yet, to Nannie,
the square attic room with its modest apurtenances was far more
beautiful and attractive. The eye of a stranger could see only the bare
objects that served to fill the vacant nooks; but the heart's strong
affections, and the devotion that counts nothing a toil that can bring
blessings to another, and the motives of love and purity that dictated
this or that offering, were the hidden associations that manifested
themselves to Nannie's vision and made their inestimable value, so that
could she have chosen between them and the wealth of her employers, she
would gladly have taken the simple home.
Wasn't it here that peace had first spread its soft wings to shelter her
long-time troubled being! Was it not here that she had learned what it
was to be smiled upon and beloved; and was it not hallowed to her by the
visits of her kind friend and the noble Pat; and, more than all, was it
not consecrated by the footsteps of the death angel that came for dear
little Winnie? Oh! there is no space there for a murmuring, grasping
spirit, to take the good gifts handed out by a wise and loving father,
and to use them with a grateful feeling is all that the righteous poor
can wish. Even in their lowliness are they often the objects of envy to
the harassed and care-ridden rich, who would willingly forego all their
superfluous gains for one hour of contented ease.
Mrs. Minturn went frequently to Nannie's home when the girl took little
Dora out for a walk, for she wished to accustom her child to the sight
of the various conditions of life, so that if she were spared to
womanhood she might not be so far removed from her fellow-creatures as
to hesitate to enter any abode, however humble, and to minister to the
needy; and the gentle lady sat with her silken robes falling over the
home-spun carpet, and her soft features exposed to the glare and steam
of that common room, looking with a happy heart upon the joyous group
before her. The poor widow, with her gown of print and checked apron,
laid down her weary needle to attend to the sweet voice that ever
sounded so soothingly in her ear, and the delighted child shook its
rough toys, holding them up to the view, first of one, and then the
other, and laughing aloud in her boisterous glee.