and had made astonishing progress. Every day
when school was out, she would meet him at the
gate, take him by the hand and lead him home.
If any of the other boys dared to make sport of
her, or to tease him for his dependence upon
her, it was sure to cost that boy a black eye{.}
He soon succeeded in establishing himself in
the respect of his school-mates, for he was the
strongest boy of his own age, and ever ready to
protect and defend the weak and defenseless.
When Thomas Bright (for that was the name
by which he was known) was fifteen years old
he was offered a position as clerk in the office of
a lumber-merchant, and with his mother's consent
he accepted it. He was a fine young lad
now, large and well-knit, and with a clear
earnest countenance. In the evening he would bring
home books to read, and as it had always been
Brita's habit to interest herself in whatever
interested him, she soon found herself studying
and discussing with him things which had in
former years been far beyond the horizon of
her mind. She had at his request reluctantly
given up her work in the lumber-yards, and now
spent her days at home, busying herself with
sewing and reading and such other things as
women find to fill up a vacant hour.

One evening, when Thomas was in his nineteenth
year, he returned from his office with a