She and her sister were the only children of a poor widow, whose health
was so delicate that it was almost impossible to support herself and
daughters. She was obliged to keep them out of school all winter, as
they had no suitable clothes to wear, but she told them that if they
could earn enough to buy each of them a new dress, by doing odd chores
for the neighbors, they might go in the spring.

Very earnestly had the little girls improved their stray chances, and
very carefully hoarded the copper coins which usually repaid them. They
had nearly saved enough to buy a dress, when Nelly was taken sick, and
as the mother had no money beforehand, poor Nelly's money had to be used
for medicine.

"Oh, I did feel so bad when school opened and Nelly could not go,
because she had no dress," said Mary. "I told mother I wouldn't go
either, but she said I would better, for I could teach sister some, and
it would be better than no schooling.

"I stood it for a fortnight, but Nelly's little face seemed all the time
looking at me on the way to school, and I couldn't be happy a bit, so I
finally thought of a way by which we could both go. I told mother I
would come one day, and the next I would lend Nelly my dress and she
might come; that's the way we have done, this week. But last night,
don't you think, somebody sent sister a dress just like mine, and now
she can come too.

"Oh, if I only knew who it was, I would get down on my knees and thank
them, and so would Nelly. But we don't know, and so we've done all we
could for them,--we've prayed for them,--and Oh, Miss M----, we are all