Mother Meg

can walk as we

ind swept along the streets as if determined to clear them of every loiterer who

gh to have winter wraps drew them closer, and hurried along, the sooner to get into some shelter. The omnibus men dashed

who was walking slowly along by the side of

gh his worn trousers, and his whole appearance was most deplorable. The woman by his side was as poorly clad as himself, outwardly at least, but seemed to suffer less from it. She

rribly weak, and when he was set down by the man he looked as if he would have fallen. But the woman disengaged one of her

then tottered on silently, occasionally rubbing h

to be everywhere, and at every gust the miser

" asked the man, as if h

ter some fumbling she said in a low v

ld, he went on, "'E'll not walk many more steps, and if you don't take care

eak, when a respectable couple, dressed in

," she said in a wheedling tone, "'e's tired

man's arms, and laid his head on his shoulder, and the party paused,

r such little ones to be out," said the

Bridge, sir,

e exclaimed; "and you all l

as a-saying that though we hadn't took a ha'penny, sir, this day, we must give it u

and the weak little child shut his eyes, as a fres

on such a day as this at all,"

e's no food; and surely we'd be better to get a bit of broken victuals or a cop

kes one's heart ache, Clarissa. Here, my good woman, go home n

ceman whom she recognized bearing down upon them, they hastily turned the oth

very ill. His light weight, however, was not a great trouble, for he was very small for his age, an

umanity were left in his heart, and he had not carried that tender little mite

urls of 'is, what allers takes the ladies, and 'is small size for carryin'; and then yer know as well as I do as 'is mother's dead, and 'is

his imperious wife, but sometimes as now, he walked alo

, "but I've thought that 'afore, and it ain't no use. Sti

e main thoroughfare, and again under a long low archway running beneath the first floor rooms of one of

er arms for little Dickie, and without vouchsafing more than one dark look at the woman's face, and then another hopeless one at her little brother's,

e soft waves of his golden-brown hair felt like silk against