his jacket, which she dusted while he was performing his ablutions.
Then, with the help of a comb to arrange his disordered hair, he seemed
quite like a new boy, and felt quite refreshed by the operation.

"Really, it improves him very much," said Hester to herself.

She couldn't help recalling a boy of her own,--the only child she ever
had,--who had been accidentally drowned when about the age of Paul.

"If he had only lived," she thought, "how different might have been our
lives."

A thought came into her mind, and she looked earnestly at Paul.

"I--yes I will speak to Hugh about it," she said, speaking aloud,
unconsciously.

"Did you speak to me?" asked Paul.

"No,--I was thinking of something."

She observed that Paul was looking rather wistfully at a loaf of bread
on the table.

"Don't you feel hungry?" she asked, kindly.

"I dare say you have had no breakfast."

"I have eaten nothing since yesterday afternoon."