Willy Burke, or, The Irish orphan in America - Digital Repository ...

THE IRISH ORPHAN IN AMERICA. 151
restrain her indignation ; and the little girls cried out
with one voice
—
" Is it leave Mrs. Williams ? Oh, no, Peter ! not for
the world—unless she sends us away 1" and both looked
timidly at their benefactress.
" And that I '11 never do, children", she said, while the
big tears trembled in her eye. " No ; if I had only one
dollar in the world—and I thank God I have a good round
sum by me—I wouldn't grudge you the half of it. They
are not in New York this day I 'd let you go to (without
you were taken from me by them that had a right to do
it), and least of all would I turn you over to the Watkins's.
It is neither to-day nor yesterday that I heard of their
doings with respect to Catholic orphans. What do you
think of this, Willy ?"
Willy told her exactly what he had before told his bro-
ther, and added— "As for me, Mrs. Williams, I 'm just
of your notion about these people ; and I 'd as soon see
my sisters going into a house on fire as into theirs. So
if you please, ma'am, you '11 not send.them there any more
on any account. While they 're under your care I have
no fear about them ; for its not only from what Father
Fitzherbert told us about you, but from all that I have seen
of you myself and heard from the girls".
" With God's help", replied Mrs. Williams, " I endeav-
our to do for them just what I would for my own children,
and what I think their own worthy mother would approve
of, were she living. I pray with them ; they go to church
with me, and together we approach the sacraments. I
send them daily to a good school—not a proselyting
school, Peter !—and take every opportunity of explaining
to them their duty to God, the world, and their own souls.
k