5

This conversation, which Lucy over heard, increas-
ed her distress, almost beyond endurance. She
covered her head and wept until in silent
anguish. This, agitation accellerated the
hour of trial, and before the old
lady left the cabin, Lucy was a mother,
tho' one of the most forlorn and wretched mo-
thers that ever brought a luckless babe
into the world.
Not one article of cloathing had been pre-
pared; the whole stock our poor wanderer
possessed was insufficient to keep herself
warm, and Becky and her children were not
better off. Yet from their scanty store, something
must be taken and the pious widow, with a
kindness, which puts to shame the cold
heartedness of the rich, took off her cotton
apron to wrap round the new born babe.
Hearing Lucy's sobs, she carried the infant
to her, saying, "be of comfort poor soul, and
rejoice that a child is born into the world,
and a fine, beautiful boy he is.