katy redburn was only eleven years old, and not a very accomplished cook; but as the children learn faster in the homes of the poor than in the dwellings of the rich, she had a very tolerable idea of the management of a frying-pan. the operation of cleaning the flounders was the greatest trial, for the skin of the fish has to be removed. she cut her fingers with the knife, and scratched and pricked her hands with the sharp bones; but she was resolute, and finally accomplished the task to her entire satisfaction. an occasional direction from her mother enabled her to cook the fish properly, and dinner was ready. there were still a few small stores left in the closet, and katy made a cup of tea for her mother, and with it placed the delicate little flounder by the side of the bed. the invalid had no appetite, but to please katy she ate a portion of the fish and bread though it was very hard work for her to do so. the little girl, gladdened by this unwonted sight, made a hearty meal, without a thought of the trials and sorrows which the future might have in store for them.
when she had put away the dishes, and placed everything in order, she washed herself, combed her hair, sewed up a great rent in her dress, and otherwise attempted to make herself as tidy as possible for the mission she was about to undertake.
"it is not time for you to go yet, katy; and before the watch is carried off, i want to tell you something about your father, that you may learn to prize it as i do."
katy seated herself on the side of the bed, for she was very anxious to hear more about her father than she already knew. she had often asked her mother about him, but she had generally evaded her questions, and did not seem willing to tell her all she knew. she thought there was some secret connected with his history, and with a child's curiosity she was eager to have the mystery unfolded. but it was no great secret, after all only a painful history, which her sensitive mother did not like to rehearse. mrs. redburn handed the watch to katy, and asked her to look upon the back of it.
"yes, mother, i have often seen those words on there—'all for the best.' what do they mean?" said katy.
"this watch was given to your father by my father," replied mrs. redburn, with a deep sigh, for the words seemed to recall happy memories of the past.
"who was your father?" asked the attentive little girl.
"his name was matthew guthrie. he was a merchant in liverpool, england, where i was born."
"a merchant, mother? then he was a rich man, and lived in a great house, and had plenty of servants."
"he was rich, and lived in good style. one day there came a young man in great distress to his counting-room. he was a clerk, and had been sent by his employer in manchester to pay a large sum of money to my father. after leaving the train, he had entered an ale-house, where he had been robbed of the remittance. he had been imprudent, but instead of running away, he went directly to my father, and informed him of his misfortune. the young man felt that he was ruined, but he said he was determined not to leave liverpool till he had found the money. he was sure he knew the man who had robbed him, and my father procured the services of several policemen to assist him in his search. all that day and all that night, attended by policemen, he visited the resorts of vice and crime, and his perseverance was rewarded with success. he found the man, and the money was recovered. my father was so well pleased with the energy of the young man, that he gave him a situation in his counting room. that young man was john redburn, your father. my father gave him a much larger salary than he had been receiving before, so that his misfortune in losing the money proved to be a piece of good fortune to him, for it procured him a much better situation. the new clerk performed his duties very faithfully, and at the end of a year my father presented him this watch, with the motto, 'all for the best,' in allusion to the manner in which he had obtained his situation."
"but how came you here, mother, if your father was rich, and lived in a fine house? you are very poor now;" asked katy, who feared that the mystery was yet to come.
mrs. redburn burst into tears, and covered her face with her hands, as the pleasant memories of her former happy home rushed through her mind.
"don't cry, mother; i won't ask you any more questions," said katy, grieved to find she had reminded her mother of some unpleasant thing.
"it was all my own fault, katy. i am here poor and wretched, because i disobeyed my father; because i did what he desired me not to do. i will tell you all about it, katy. i became acquainted with the new clerk, john redburn, and the result of our acquaintance was, that we were married in about a year. we ran away from home; for my father, however much he liked john as a clerk, was not willing that he should be my husband. he forbade john's coming to our house, and forbade my seeing him. i disobeyed him. we were married, and john was discharged. my father refused to see me again."
"that was cruel," interposed katy
"my father was right, and i have always regretted that i disobeyed him. we came to america, and your father procured a situation in new york, where you were born, about a year after we arrived. for three years we got along very well. i wish i could stop here, katy, for the rest of the story is very sad."
"don't tell me any more, mother, it makes you feel so bad, i would rather not hear it. i know now why you value the watch so much, and i hope we shall be able to get it back again."
"i fear not. but you must hear the rest of this sad story."
mrs. redburn continued the narrative, though tears blinded her eyes, and sobs chocked her utterance, as she told of the struggle she had had with poverty and want. her husband had done very well in new york; and, gay and light-hearted in the midst of his prosperity, his habits had been gradually growing worse and worse, till he lost his situation, and became a common sot. the poor wife had then been compelled to toil for her own support and that of her child; and having been brought up in luxury and ease, it was a dreadful task to her.
john obtained another situation, but soon lost it. he was a good-hearted man when he had not been drinking, and keenly felt the disgrace and misery he was heaping upon himself and his unhappy wife. once he had the resolution to abandon the cup, fully determined to redeem his lost character, and make his family happy again. the better to accomplish this, he removed to boston, where he obtained a good situation, and for more than a year he adhered to his resolution. mrs. redburn was happy again and tremblingly hoped that the clouds of darkness had forever passed away.
the evil time came again, and john redburn sank down lower than ever before. his wife lost all hope of him, and struggled, with the courage of a hero and the fortitude of a martyr, against the adverse tide that set against her. she was fortunate in obtaining plenty of sewing, and was able to support herself and child very well; but her husband, now lost to all sense of decency, contrived to obtain, from time to time, a portion of her hard earnings. she could never have believed that john redburn would come to this; for, as a clerk in her father's counting room, he had been all that was good and noble; but there he was a miserable sot, lost to himself, to his family, and the world.
one morning in winter he was brought home to her dead. he had died in the watch-house of delirium tremens. he was buried, and peace, if not hope, settled on the brow of the broken-hearted wife.
year after year mrs. redburn struggled on, often with feeble hands and fainting heart, to earn a subsistence for herself and katy. she had been bred in opulence, and her wants were not so few and simple as the wants of those who have never enjoyed the luxury of a soft couch and a well-supplied table. she had never learned that calculating economy which provides a great deal with very small means.
hence it was much harder for her to support herself and child, than it would have been for one who had been brought up in a hovel.
she had done very well, however, until, a few months before our story opens, she had been taken sick, and was no longer able to work. her disease was an affection of the spine, which was at times very painful, and confined her to the bed.
"but where is your father now?" asked katy, when her mother had finished the narrative.
"i do not know; if he is alive, he probably lives in liverpool."
"why don't you write a letter to him?"
"i have done so several times, but have never received any reply. i wrote shortly after your father died, giving an account of my situation. i am sure my father never could have got my letter, or he would have answered me. i know he would not let me suffer here in woe and want, if he were aware of my condition."
"why don't you write again?"
"it is useless."
"let me write, mother. i will call him dear grandfather, and i am sure he will send you some money then: perhaps he will send for us to go to liverpool, and live in his great house, and have servants to wait upon us."
"alas, my child, i have given up all hope of ever seeing him again in this world. in my letters i confessed my fault, and begged his forgiveness. he cannot be alive, or i am sure my last letters would have melted his heart."
"haven't you any brothers and sisters, mother?"
"i had one sister; and i have written several letters to her, but with no better success. they may be all dead. i fear they are."
"and your mother?"
"she died when i was young. i know jane would have answered my letters if she had received them."
"she was your sister?"
"yes; she must be dead; and i suppose my father's property must be in the hands of strangers, covering their floors with soft carpets, and their tables with nice food, while i lie here in misery, and my poor child actually suffers from hunger;" and the afflicted mother clasped her daughter in her arms, and wept as though her heart would burst.
"don't cry, mother. i was not very hungry. we have had enough to eat till to-day. i am going to take care of you now, you have taken care of me so long," replied katy, as she wiped away the tears that flowed down her mother's wan cheek.
"what can you do, poor child?"
"i can do a great many things; i am sure i can earn money enough to support us both."
"it is hard to think how much i have suffered, and how much of woe there may be in the future for me," sobbed mrs. redburn.
"don't cry, mother. you know what it says on the watch—'all for the best.' who knows but that all your sorrows are for the best?"
"i hope they are; i will try to think they are. but it is time for you to go. pawn the watch for as much as you can; and i trust that some fortunate event will enable us to redeem it."
katy took the watch, smoothed down her hair again, put on her worn-out bonnet, and left the house.
