Abijah shared the boy's feelings in this respect,
and at the sale all the furniture and fittings of Captain Sankey's
study were bought by a friendly grocer on her behalf, and the morning
after the sale a badly written letter, for Abijah's education had
been neglected, was placed in Ned's hand.
"MY DEAR MASTER NED: Knowing as it cut you to the heart that
everything should go away into the hands of strangers, I have made
so bold as to ask Mr. Willcox for to buy all the furniter and books
in maister's study. He is a-going to stow them away in a dry loft,
and when so bee as you gets a home of your own there they is for
you; they are sure not to fetch much, and when you gets a rich
man you can pay me for them; not as that matters at all one way or
the other. I have been a-saving up pretty nigh all my wages from
the day as you was born, and is quite comfortable off. Write me
a letter soon, dearie, to tell me as how things is going on. Your
affectionate nurse, ABIJAH WOLF."
Although Ned was a lad of sixteen, he had a great cry over this
letter, but it did him good, and it was with a softer heart that
he prepared to receive his mother and her husband that evening. The
meeting passed off better than he had anticipated. Mrs. Mulready
was really affected at seeing her children again, and embraced
them, Ned thought, with more fondness than she had done when they
went away.
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