I brought
it with me an' over these hundreds o' miles I could hear the tongue
o' gossip. Every night as I lay down I could hear the whispering
of all the people I ever knew. I could see them shake their heads.
Then came this locket o' gold.'
"A beautiful, shiny thing it was, an' he took out of it a little
strand o' white hair an' read these words cut in the gleaming
case:--
"'Here are silver an' gold,
The one for a day o' remembrance between thee an' dishonour,
The other for a day o' plenty between thee an' want.'
"It was an odd thought an' worth keeping, an' often I have repeated
the words. The silvered hair, that was for remembrance; an' the
gold he might sell and turn it into a day o' plenty.
"'In the locket was a letter,' said the poor man. 'Here it is,'
an' he held it in the light o' the candle. 'See, it is signed
"mother."'
"An' he read from the letter words o' sorrow an' bitter shame, an'
firm confidence in his honour,
"'It ground me to the very dust,' he went on. 'I put the money in
that bundle, every dollar. I could not return it, an' so confirm
the disgrace o' her an' all the rest. I could not use it, for if I
lived in comfort they would ask--all o' them--whence came his
money? For their sake I must walk in poverty all me days.
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