'Yes, ma'am,' said the old man, as he prepared to take his leave; 'and as
you look at it, think of that Good Shepherd who is seeking you. He wants to
find you, and take you up in His arms, and carry you home; and He won't
mind the wounds it has cost Him, if you'll only let Him do it.

'Good-day, ma'am,' said the old man; 'I shall, maybe, never see you again;
but I would like the Good Shepherd to say those words of you.'

He went carefully down the steps of the caravan, and Rosalie stood at the
window, watching him picking his way to the other shows, to which he was
carrying the same message of peace. She looked out from between the muslin
curtains until he had quite disappeared to a distant part of the field, and
then she turned to her mother and said eagerly--

'It's a very pretty picture, isn't it, mammie dear?'

But no answer came from the bed. Rosalie thought her mother was asleep, and
crept on tiptoe to her side, fearful of waking her. But she found her
mother's face buried in the pillow, on which large tears were falling.

And when the little girl sat down by her side, and tried to comfort her by
stroking her hand very gently, and saying, 'Mammie dear, mammie dear, don't
cry! What's the matter, mammie dear?' her mother only wept the more.

At length her sobs brought on such a violent fit of coughing that Rosalie
was much alarmed, and fetched her a mug of water, which was standing on the
shelf near the door. By degrees her mother grew calmer, the sobs became
less frequent, and, to the little girl's joy, she fell asleep. Rosalie sat
beside her without moving, lest she should awake her, and kept gazing at
her picture till she knew every line of it. And the first thing her mother