It was so long since they had had enough to eat. "Food gives heart," say the Lancashire people; and the next day Mary made time to go and call on Mrs Wilson, according to Margaret's advice. She found her quite alone, and more gracious than she had been the last time Mary had visited her. Alice was gone out, she said. "She would just step up to the post-office, all for no earthly use. For it were to ask if they hadn't a letter lying there for her from her foster-son, Will Wilson, the sailor-lad." "What made her think there were a letter?" asked Mary. "Why yo see, a neighbour as has been in Liverpool, telled us Will's ship were come in. Now he said last time he were. in Liverpool, he'd ha' come to ha' seen Alice, but his ship had but a week holiday, and hard work for the men in that time, too. So Alice makes sure he'll come this, and has had her hand behind her ear at every noise in th' street, thinking it were him. And to-day she were neither to have nor to hold, but off she would go to th' post, and see if he had na sent her a line to the old house near yo. I tried to get her to give up going, for let alone her deafness she's getten so dark, she cannot see five yards afore her; but no, she would go, poor old body." "I did not know her sight failed her; she used to have good eyes enough when she lived near us." "Aye, but it's gone lately a good deal. But you never ask after Jem"--anxious to get in a word on the subject nearest her heart. "No," replied Mary, blushing scarlet. "How is he?" "I cannot justly say how he is, seeing he's at Halifax; but he were very well when he wrote last Tuesday. Han ye heard o' his good luck?" Rather to her disappointment, Mary owned she had heard of the sum his master had paid him for his invention. "Well! and did not Margaret tell you what he'd done wi' it. It's just like him, though, ne'er to say a word about it. Why, when he were paid, what does he do but get his master to help him to buy an income for me and Alice.
