friends. He felt a certain responsibility for this little girl, and
congratulated himself upon feeling an instinctive fondness for her.
The good old minister had said only that morning that love is the
great motive power, that it is always easy to do things for those whom
we love and wish to please, and for this reason we are taught to pray
for love to God, and so conquer the difficulty of holiness. "But I
must do my duty by her at any rate," the doctor told himself. "I am
afraid I have forgotten the child somewhat in past years, and she is a
bright little creature."

"Have you been taking good care of yourself?" he added aloud. "I was
very tired, for I was out twice in the night taking care of sick
people. But you must come to see me again some day. I dare say you and
Marilla have made friends with each other. Now we must go, I suppose,"
and Nan Prince, still silent,--for the pleasure of this time was
almost too great,--took hold of the doctor's outstretched hand, and
they went slowly up the garden walk together. As they drove slowly
down the street they met the people who were coming from church, and
the child sat up very straight in the old gig, with her feet on the
doctor's medicine-box, and was sure that everybody must be envying
her. She thought it was more pleasant than ever that afternoon, as
they passed through the open country outside the village; the fields
and the trees were marvelously green, and the distant river was
shining in the sun. Nan looked anxiously for the gray farmhouse for
two or three minutes before they came in sight of it, but at last it
showed itself, standing firm on the hillside. It seemed a long time
since she had left home in the morning, but this beautiful day was to
be one of the landmarks of her memory. Life had suddenly grown much
larger, and her familiar horizon had vanished and she discovered a
great distance stretching far beyond the old limits. She went gravely