His  wife  opened  the  little  bedroom  door  adjoining  her  rooiUi


98  UNCLE  TOM'S   CABIN;   OB,

and,  taking  the  candle,  set  it  dovm  on  the  top  of  a  bureau  there}
then  from  a  small  recess  she  took  a  key,  and  put  it  thoughtfully
in  the  lock  of  a  drawer,  and  made  a  sudden  pause,  while  two
boys,  who,  boy-like,  had  followed  close  on  her  heels,  stood  look-
ing, with  silent,  significant  glances,  at  their  mother,  And  oh,
mother  that  reads  this,  has  there  never  been  in  your  house  a
drawer,  or  a  closet,  the  opening  of  which  has  been  to  you  like
the  opening  again  of  a  little  grave  ?  Ah !  happy  mother  that
you  are,  if  it  has  not  been  so.
Mrs.  Bird  slowly  opened  the  drawer.  There  were  little  coats
of  many  a  form  and  pattern,  piles  of  aprons,  and  rows  of  small
stockings ;  and  even  a  pair  of  little  shoes,  worn  and  rubbed  at
the  toes,  were  peeping  from  the  folds  of  a  paper.  There  was  a
toy  horse  and  wagon,  a  top,  a  ball,  —  memorials  gathered  with
many  a  tear  and  many  a  heart-break  ?  She  sat  down  by  the
drawer,  and,  leaning  her  head  on  her  hands  over  it,  wept  till
the  tears  fell  through  her  fingers  into  the  drawer ;  then  sud-
denly raising  her  head,  she  began,  with  nervous  haste,  selecting
the  plainest  and  most  substantial  articles,  and  gathering  them
into  a  bundle.
