: !. 
 

 
 J 
 
 c, 
 

Frontispiece. KATIE ROBERTSON. See page 36. 
 
v/w 
 
 r I^O the many boys and girls who are in early years 
 earning an honorable support for themselves, or 
 else assisting their parents by working in factories ; to the 
 multitudes of young church members, who may be glad 
 of some practically helpful suggestions in surmounting the 
 difficulties and resisting the temptations incident to their 
 new lives ; to mill-owners, who feel their solemn respon 
 sibility, as in the sight of God, for the intellectual and 
 spiritual welfare of their operatives ; and chiefly to the 
 young Christian manufacturer who has been the model 
 from which the picture of " Mr. James" has been copied, 
 this story, whose incidents are mostly true ones, is 
 dedicated. 
 
 That the Holy Spirit may make use of it to inculcate 
 in young hearts a sense of honorable independence, a 
 conviction of the dignity of faithfully performed work, 
 and, above all, an earnest and irrevocable choice of God s 
 blessed service and an entire committal of their ways to 
 him, is the sincere prayer of 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 SAUGERTIES, July i, 1885. 
 
 961692 
 
INDKX. 
 
 Chapter I. 
 A NEW DEPARTURE 7 
 
 Chapter IT. 
 ENTERING 23 
 
 Chapter III. 
 THE FIRST DAY 36 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 48 
 
 Chapter V. 
 THE TEA-PARTY 62 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 A DISCOVERY 77 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 STRIFE AND VICTORY 90 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 TEMPLES 103 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 UNDER A CLOUD 121 
 
 Chapter X. 
 NOVEL-READING 134 
 
 Chapter XL 
 TESSA 148 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 GRETCHEN 163 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 SHIP-FEVER 176 
 
5 INDEX. 
 
 Chapter XIV. 
 
 GOOD FOR EVIL l8 
 
 Chapter XV. 
 
 CONSCIENCE 2O 
 
 Chapter XVI. 
 
 DECIDING 2I 4 
 
 Chapter XVII. 
 
 CLEARED 22 5 
 
 Chapter XVIII. 
 
 SEALED 2 37 
 
 Chapter XIX. 
 
 AFTERWARD 2 47 
 
 Chapter XX. 
 
 A WARNING 26x 
 
 Chapter XXI. 
 
 THE Do GOOD SOCIETY 2 7* 
 
 Chapter XXII. 
 
 THANKSGIVING DAY 2 3 
 
 Chapter XXIII. 
 
 SERVICE 2 93 
 
 Chapter XXIV. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL 37 
 
 Chapter XXV. 
 
 OUT INTO THE WORLD 3 20 
 
 Chapter XXVI. 
 CONCLUSION 333 
 
KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A NEW DEPARTURE. 
 
 |UT, mother, it is n t as if I were going 
 away from home, like the Lloyd girls ; 
 you might have a right to cry if that 
 were the case." 
 
 " I know, dear ; it s all right, and I ought to 
 be very thankful ; but I m a foolish woman. I 
 can t bear to think of my little girl, whom 
 I have guarded so tenderly, going among all 
 those girls and men, and fighting her way in 
 life." 
 
 "I don t think I shall be much of a fighter," 
 laughed Katie, looking at her diminutive hands ; 
 "and why is it any worse to go among the boys 
 and girls in the factory than among the boys 
 and girls in school? You never minded that." 
 
 "That was different you weren t doing it 
 for money. O me ! what would I have thought 
 when I married your father if any one had told 
 
8 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 me that his child, his girl child, would ever 
 have to earn her bread!" 
 
 "Well, mother, I won t go," said the girl, her 
 bright looks fading away, " if you don t want me 
 to ; but I don t know what Mr. Sanderson will 
 think, he tried so hard to get me into the mill, 
 and it was such a favor from Mr. Mount joy. 
 You said you were very thankful." 
 
 " So I was, so I am ; but but you don t 
 understand, and perhaps it s better you should 
 not. I 11 try not to grumble." 
 
 This was promising more than Mrs. Robert 
 son was able to perform perhaps, for she was a 
 chronic and inveterate grumbler. But she had 
 some excuse in the present circumstances, for 
 Katie was, as she said, her baby, and the " apple 
 of her eye." Married when quite young to the 
 handsome and intelligent young village doctor, 
 she certainly had not expected ever to be 
 placed in a position where her children, her 
 girls at least, would need to earn their own 
 bread. But in a few short years the doctor 
 died of a contagious disease he had taken 
 from one of his patients, and as he had 
 not yet begun to accumulate anything, his 
 
A NEW DEPARTURE. 9 
 
 young widow was left with her three 
 children to struggle along as best she 
 could. How she had done it God and herself 
 only knew. The little house was her own, the 
 sole patrimony left by her own father. The 
 horse and buggy, the medical library and 
 valuable professional instruments, medicines, 
 etc., were sold at a fair valuation; and the 
 money thus secured, deposited in the bank, had 
 served as a last resource whenever the barrel of 
 meal failed or the cruse of oil ran dry. For 
 the rest, Mrs. Robertson was employed by her 
 neighbors to help turn and put down carpets, 
 cover furniture, etc. etc., light jobs requiring 
 judgment and skill rather than strength, for 
 which her friends, who never placed her in a 
 menial capacity, gladly paid double the sum they 
 would to any one else. She was also a capital 
 nurse, and in this position rendered herself 
 very valuable in many households, and for 
 such services she was even more generously 
 remunerated ; so that somehow she managed 
 to keep her head above water while her children 
 were small, and feed, clothe, and send them to 
 school as they grew older. 
 
10 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 Her children were, of course, the one 
 source of consolation left to the poor widow, 
 and many at long evening s work was both 
 shortened and lightened by golden dreams of 
 their future prosperity and success. 
 
 When her eldest boy Eric was twelve, and 
 when Alfred, the second child, was only ten, 
 a friend made interest with Mr. Sanderson, 
 superintendent of the bookbindery, auxiliary 
 to the Squantown Paper Mills, to give the two 
 boys steady employment, and since that time, 
 four years ago, their earnings, small but 
 certain, had greatly helped in the family 
 expenses. Both were noble, manly fellows, 
 with, as yet, no bad habits. They brought their 
 mother all that they earned, and were quite 
 content to pass their evenings with her and their 
 little sister. Katie, who was now thirteen, had 
 always attended the public school in the 
 village, of course helping her mother with the 
 housework and sewing. She was a delicate 
 little creature, small for her years, but bright 
 and intelligent, a general favorite with the 
 village children as well as with her Sunday- 
 school teacher, Miss Etta Mount joy, who 
 
A NEW DEPARTURE. II 
 
 was not so very many years older than 
 herself. 
 
 Katie was a very lady-like looking girl, and 
 did not seem fitted to do very hard work, nor 
 to mix among rough people, but she was an 
 independent little thing who knew very well 
 how poor her mother was and how hard both she 
 and her brothers had to work. She knew that 
 her breakfasts, dinners, and suppers cost some 
 thing, and that it took money to buy the good 
 shoes and neat, whole dresses in which her 
 mother always kept her dressed, and she 
 resolved in her own wise little head to find 
 some way of contributing to the family stock. 
 It was some time before she saw her way clear 
 to do this, but at last she took counsel of 
 a school-fellow whose sister worked in the 
 folding-room of the Squantown Paper Mills and 
 found that even a young girl might earn 
 considerable in this way. So, without telling 
 any one at home of her plans, she, one evening, 
 presented herself before Mr. Sanderson and 
 requested to be taken into the bindery. 
 
 "What can you do, little puss?" said this 
 gentleman, quite surprised. " You look about 
 
12 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 large enough to play with dolls, like my 
 Nina." 
 
 "I m almost fourteen," said Katie, drawing 
 herself up to her full height and trying to look 
 sedate. "I m two years older than Nina; 
 I m as old as your Bertie, Mr. Sanderson, and 
 I must make some money." 
 
 " Must you, indeed?" said he, beginning to be 
 more interested. " Don t I know your face ? 
 Let me see. Why, it can t be yes, it is Katie 
 Robertson ! How time flies ! It seems to me 
 only yesterday that your father died, and you 
 were a baby ; but Bertie was one, too, then, 
 that s a fact. How time does fly, to be sure ! 
 So you want to get into the bindery where 
 your brothers are, I suppose ? " Katie nodded. 
 " Well, now," continued he, " it s most unfortu 
 nate, but there is n t a vacancy anywhere ; we 
 have five or six applicants now waiting for a 
 chance. Why don t you try the mill ? " 
 
 " The mill ! " said Katie, " the paper-mill ? But 
 I don t know any one there ; how could I go and 
 ask strangers?" 
 
 " I think you re brave enough to ask any 
 one," said Mr. Sanderson. " I suppose you d find 
 
A NEW DEPARTURE. 1 3 
 
 it hard, though, and perhaps no one would 
 believe that you were old enough or strong 
 enough to work. Your looks are against you, 
 little one ; and then, Mr. Mount joy did not 
 know your father as I did ; he came here after 
 ward. Let me see. Perhaps I might have some 
 influence. Will you trust your case in my 
 hands ? " And, as the girl nodded, he continued : 
 " Come here about this time to-morrow evening, 
 and I will report progress. Perhaps I may have 
 some good news for you, but don t be too sure. 
 It is n t so easy to get into the mill either ; there 
 are always a great many applicants. You ll 
 come?" 
 
 "Yes, sir," said Katie, and went away in a 
 state of disappointed uncertainty. It was not 
 quite, so easy to earn money as she had 
 supposed. 
 
 The little girl looked very mysterious all tea- 
 time, and threw out several hints that quite 
 mystified her brothers about Mr. Sanderson and 
 the bindery. But no one guessed her secret, 
 and the next afternoon, just as she was begin 
 ning to think of putting on her hat and running 
 down to get her answer, who should come into 
 the gate but Mr. Sanderson himself. 
 
14 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 Mrs. Robertson was greatly frightened when 
 she saw him. She was one of those persons who 
 always look on the dark side of things, and she 
 feared her boys had got into trouble and would 
 perhaps lose their situations. She trembled so 
 that she could hardly put on the widow s cap, in 
 which she always appeared before strangers 
 (alchcugh it was now six years since the doctor 
 had left her and gone home to heaven), and said 
 to her daughter: 
 
 "That s always our luck! Just as soon as 
 things seem to be going straight with us, some 
 terrible misfortune is sure to happen ; we re 
 the most unfortunate family in the world." 
 
 The poor lady forgot that, with the one 
 exception of her husband s death, her life had 
 been one of unmingled, as well as undeserved, 
 happiness ; and even in that loss her three 
 children had been spared to her, friends had 
 been raised up to help her, and there had never 
 been a day when she and her children had not 
 had enough plain food to eat and plain clothes 
 to wear. It is thus that we are all apt to 
 dishonor God by dwelling upon the one thing 
 which in his providence he has seen fit to take 
 
A XE W DEPA R TURE. 1 5 
 
 away, and forgetting to thank him for all the 
 many other blessings he has given us. 
 
 But Katie was full of expectation and sup 
 pressed delight. She was the opposite of her 
 mother, and always expected good news, and 
 she felt sure that Mr. Sanderson would not have 
 taken the trouble to come himself, except to tell 
 her that he had secured a place for her. Her 
 eyes danced as she let him in, and she looked 
 inquiringly in his face. But he said nothing, 
 except : 
 
 "Good-evening, Katie. I would like to see 
 your mother a few moments." So she ushered 
 him into the "front room," so seldom used, and 
 went to summon her mother, waiting outside 
 the door till she should herself be called in to 
 the consultation. 
 
 When Mr. Sanderson told Mrs. Robertson 
 that he had called to say that he had been 
 successful in his application to Mr. Mount joy, 
 who had agreed to take Katie into the "rag- 
 room " of the paper-mill, in consideration of his 
 interest in her mother, she was completely taken 
 by surprise and inclined to be offended with 
 both gentlemen for their interference, as she 
 
1 6 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 thought it, with her business ; but when she 
 heard that the application came from the child 
 herself, while greatly surprised, she couid not 
 but feel grateful to them for their trouble, and 
 expressed herself so, while she nevertheless 
 decidedly declined to allow Katie to accept the 
 position, saying she was altogether too young 
 and too delicate, and that she would not have 
 her daughter disgraced by working for her 
 living. 
 
 " For the matter of that," said Mr. Sanderson, 
 "I shall be glad to have my Bertie take the 
 place if you don t want it for Katie. I have 
 a large family to bring up, and I want my girls 
 and boys both to be independent. I hadn t 
 thought of it for Bertie quite yet, but your 
 Katie reminded me last night of how old she 
 is ; and I see she is none too young to begin." 
 
 This put a little different face on the matter, 
 for Mrs. Sanderson and Mrs. Robertson had been 
 intimate friends when girls, in precisely the same 
 rank in life, although one had married a doctor 
 and the other the overseer of the bookbindery. 
 Moreover, Mr. Sanderson was known to be very 
 well off and quite able had he judged it 
 
A NEW DEPARTURE. I 7 
 
 best to bring up his girls in idleness, as 
 useless fine ladies. Perhaps it would not be 
 such a disgrace, after all, and they did sorely 
 need the money. Katie was not dressed as 
 her father s child should be, and toil as she 
 might, even with the boys wages the widow 
 could not make more than sufficed to keep 
 up the little home. Then, too, her child would 
 have to do something for herself when she 
 grew up ; she would have no one to look 
 to but herself, and though teaching would 
 be perhaps a more genteel way of support, it 
 was a very laborious one, and would make it 
 necessary to go away from home, as the Lloyd 
 girls were going to do, and to remain away for 
 several years, first at some higher institution of 
 learning and then at the Normal School, and 
 where would the money come from to pay 
 the tuition fees, traveling expenses, and board 
 bills? 
 
 All this passed through Mrs. Robertson s 
 mind as Mr. Sanderson reasoned with her and 
 showed her the foolishness of her objections, 
 and finally the impatient Katie was called 
 in, and informed that she might "try it for 
 
1 8 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 a while " ; and then the visitor was thanked for 
 his trouble, and took his leave. 
 
 This all happened a week ago. The inter 
 vening time had been spent in putting Katie s 
 simple wardrobe in order and in making home 
 arrangements by which Mrs. Robertson would 
 not miss her daughter more than she could help, 
 in those various little services which she had 
 been wont to render. The last day had now 
 come ; to-morrow the new life was to begin, and 
 Katie was clearing up the breakfast things for 
 the last time when the conversation with which 
 our story commences took place. 
 
 "I wish it was not in the rag-room," said 
 Mrs. Robertson, by-and-by, when Katie, having 
 finished her dishes and swept up the room, 
 drew her seat to her mother s side and took 
 up her work the ruffle of the last of the 
 six mob-caps she was to wear at her work. 
 
 " Why ? " said her daughter, to whom the 
 factory was just now a sort of enchanted palace, 
 any one of whose rooms was delightful to 
 contemplate. 
 
 " It s such a low, dirty place, I m told, and 
 there s so many common women and girls 
 there," 
 
A NEW DEPARTURE. 19 
 
 " Well, I need n t talk to them, I suppose. 
 I need n t be common, at any rate, and I can t 
 get dirty in those great long-sleeved aprons and 
 these nice little caps. You don t know how 
 smart I m going to be, and won t you be proud 
 of your big girl when she brings home her first 
 three-dollar bill, all earned in one week ? Eric 
 will see that a girl s worth something, after 
 all, and Alfred sha n t make fun of me any 
 more." 
 
 Mrs. Robertson did not say anything else 
 just now ; she did not like to be always check 
 ing the exuberance of her child s spirits with 
 the dull forebodings of her own, but she could 
 not see the paper-mill through the same halo 
 that invested it in Katie s eyes. She knew 
 there were snares and temptations, besides 
 disagreeable and hard work to be met and 
 encountered there, and she feared that the 
 child s future disappointment would be pro 
 portioned to the brightness of her present 
 hopes. Still, as the matter was determined 
 upon, she knew it was right to make the best 
 of it, and she tried to talk pleasantly and at 
 least seem to sympathize with her daughter s 
 enthusiasm. 
 
2O KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 So passed the day, and at night when the 
 boys came home they were called upon to 
 listen for the hundredth time to all the rose- 
 colored plans, and were pressed to declare that 
 there could be nothing in the world more 
 delightful than working in a factory. 
 
 But the boys could not see it in that light 
 any more than their mother. They were as 
 content to work as are most men and boys who 
 seem to take it for granted that it is in the 
 course of nature for them to earn their bread 
 by the sweat of their brow, but they had been 
 at it long enough to have lost the sense of 
 novelty and to understand that it was work 
 and not play which their sister was under 
 taking. 
 
 " Won t you be sick of it ! " said Alfred, in 
 >nswer to one of Katie s outbursts, " and long, 
 when Saturday comes, to go out nutting with 
 the girls, or off on a hay-ride, or something ! 
 You 11 wish you were free before you Ve been 
 a slave many months, or I m no prophet." 
 
 "Well, she shall be free if she wants to," 
 said Eric, kindly. "Our only little sister 
 sha n t work if she don t want to ; we can 
 take care of her, Alfred, can t we ? " 
 
A NEW DEPARTURE. 21 
 
 " But I do want to work/ said Katie ; " I 
 know I sha n t get tired, or if I do get tired of 
 the work, I sha n t of getting the money ; for, 
 boys, I mean to be a rich, independent woman, 
 and help take care of mother. You need n t 
 suppose that I m going to be dependent upon 
 you." 
 
 "All right, young lady," said Alfred, "only 
 I think you 11 sing a different tune before many 
 months are over." 
 
 "The tune you ought to sing just now, 
 children," said Mrs. Robertson, " is Good 
 night. You all have to go to work very early, 
 and Katie is not used to it. Good-night, 
 darling, and don t forget to ask God to bless 
 you and shield you in your new undertaking." 
 
 " I asked him that night to make Mr. Mount- 
 joy listen to Mr. Sanderson and give me the 
 place," said Katie, with a rising color ; " don t 
 you think he heard me and answered my 
 prayer ? It seems as though he had just 
 made it all straight and plain. I feel just 
 like thanking him to-night ; and, mother, don t 
 you worry so much. Don t you think Jesus is 
 strong enough to take care of me anywhere if 
 I ask him to?" 
 
22 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 " Yes, indeed," said the mother, almost 
 ashamed of her forebodings, and rebuked, as 
 she had many a time been, by the bright, hope 
 ful faith of her child. Surely when she looked 
 at the bright, happy, healthy faces of her chil 
 dren, she too had ample cause for thankfulness, 
 and for continued trust in the divine love 
 which had carried her safely through so many 
 emergencies and had promised never to leave 
 or forsake her or hers. 
 
ENTERING. 2$ 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ENTERING. 
 
 |ALLO, Katie, wake up, wake up! " and 
 Eric rattled the knob of his sister s 
 door. But he was compelled to do so 
 many times before he heard a sleepy " What s 
 the matter ? " 
 
 " Matter ? Why it s high time you were up 
 if you mean to get to the factory this morning." 
 
 "It s the middle of the night," said Katie, 
 yawning. 
 
 " Indeed, it is not. It s after five o clock, and 
 work begins at half -past six. You have n t a 
 moment to spare if you want to dress yourself, 
 get your breakfast, and get to the mill in time ; 
 it s farther off than the bindery. Come, be a 
 brave girl, and jump up quickly." 
 
 Thus adjured, the little girl jumped out of 
 bed but how cold and dark it was ! although 
 Eric had left the lamp in the hall outside. One 
 of Katie s failings not an uncommon one 
 among girls and boys was a great dislike to 
 
24 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 getting up early in the morning, and her mother 
 had always humored her in the matter, getting 
 up herself and giving the boys their breakfast 
 early, and then waking her little girl just in time 
 to eat her own and get to school at nine o clock. 
 Even then it was sometimes a difficult task. 
 
 The young work-woman had not included the 
 necessity of getting up so very early in the 
 morning as one of the many anticipated delights 
 of her new position. This first taste of it seemed, 
 on the contrary, quite a hardship. Still, when 
 she was once out of bed, there was a certain 
 romance in dressing by lamplight, and she knelt 
 down by her bedside to offer her morning 
 prayer, with a strange feeling of mingled awe 
 and thankfulness. 
 
 Katie Robertson was a Christian girl, and 
 was really desirous to please the blessed Saviour 
 who had done so much for her. She could not 
 remember the time when she did not love him ; 
 but for the last few years, since she had grown 
 older and begun to understand things better, 
 she had felt a longing desire to be like him and 
 to please him in her life and actions. She 
 found time to open her little Bible this morning 
 
ENTERING. 2 C 
 
 and read one or two verses by the light of the 
 lamp. They were these : 
 
 " In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he 
 shall direct thy paths"; "Whether, therefore, 
 ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to 
 the glory of God," and " I can do all things 
 through Christ who strengthens me." 
 
 And then she prayed earnestly that she 
 might in these " ways " upon which she was 
 entering always " acknowledge " God, be 
 faithful to her work, do it "to the glory of 
 God," and have the strength which the Lord 
 Jesus Christ has promised to give to those 
 who ask him, to resist temptation and stand 
 up for truth and righteousness in the new life 
 which lay before her. She prayed, also, that 
 her heavenly Father would give her some work 
 to do for him among her companions in the 
 mill, and then she went downstairs. 
 
 Breakfast was all ready, and it seemed quite 
 funny to eat it by lamplight ; but by the time it 
 was over it was pretty light outside, and when, 
 warmly wrapped up, Katie left the house with 
 her brothers there was a rosy flush over the 
 snow which sparkled and glistened, and the 
 
26 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 young factory-girl set out in high spirits for 
 her first day s work. The boys escorted her as 
 far as the great gates, where a good many 
 other girls and boys were waiting among a 
 crowd of men and women, and then ran back 
 to be in time at the bindery, which was a little 
 nearer home. 
 
 It was rather cold waiting outside, and, if the 
 truth must be told, our little girl felt just a trifle 
 homesick among so many strangers, for as yet 
 she had not seen a familiar face, and something 
 seemed to rise in her throat that she found 
 hard to swallow ; but just as she felt that she 
 must have a good cry, and at the same time 
 resolved that she wouldn t, the great steam- 
 whistle shrieked, the bell in the tower rang, the 
 gates opened from the inside, the gathered crowd 
 rushed in, and all along the road might be seen 
 flying figures of men, women, boys, and girls, 
 hurrying to be in their places at the commence 
 ment of work and thus avoid the fine imposed 
 upon stragglers. There was a pause of a few 
 moments in the paved inside court while the 
 inner doors of the great brick building were 
 opened, and then the incoming crowd entering 
 
ENTERING. 2 7 
 
 in various directions, scattered among the 
 different corridors and left the "new girl" 
 standing alone and bewildered at the entrance. 
 
 In front of her stretched a long, narrow hall, 
 clean and fresh (Squantown Paper Mills were 
 new and built after the most approved models), 
 with doors opening from it at intervals on both 
 sides. Some of these doors were open and 
 some were shut; into some the work-people 
 were constantly disappearing, as though the 
 doors were mouths that opened suddenly and 
 swallowed them up, and into some of the open 
 ones Katie peeped timidly and turned back 
 disconsolately as she discovered that they only 
 afforded entrance to similar corridors, pierced 
 by similar rows of doors. 
 
 At length the last straggler had entered, 
 gone his way, and disappeared, and dead silence 
 reigned. Katie felt as though she were alone 
 in the universe, and almost wondered if she 
 were to be left there forever, when a short, 
 sharp, deafening whistle echoed through the 
 hall, and at the same instant the great building 
 vibrated from top to bottom, the roar of 
 machinery swallowed up the silence, and the 
 day s work began. 
 
28 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 Immediately afterward a side door, close to 
 where our little girl was standing, opened, and 
 out of it came the foreman of the mill, who 
 had been up to this moment in the office, 
 receiving his orders for the day. 
 
 " Hallo, you ! " he said crossly, seeing a 
 girl standing idle in the hall ; " why don t you 
 go about your business ? Go to work if you 
 belong here ; go home if you don t ! No idlers 
 or beggars allowed here, so close to the office 
 door, too. Come, run away quickly." 
 
 " If you please, Mr. Thornton, I ve come to 
 work in the mill, in the rag-room, but I don t 
 know which way to go." 
 
 " Oh ! " said the foreman, " you re a new 
 hand, eh ? Rather a small one. It seems to 
 me Mr. Mount joy will end by having a nursery 
 rather than a mill, but he knows his own 
 business best, I suppose. New hands are not 
 in my department, however. Mr. James," he 
 called, reopening the office door and putting 
 his head in again, " here s some work for 
 you." 
 
 The " new hand " expected now to have an 
 interview with the awful Mr. Mount joy, Miss 
 
ENTERING. 2Q 
 
 Etta s father, of whom she had heard so much, 
 but had never yet seen, and began to tremble 
 a little in anticipation. But, instead, a rosy- 
 faced, light-haired young man appeared, to 
 whom the foreman made a slight bow, and then 
 went away. This was Mr. James Mount joy, 
 Miss Etta s brother, and the only son of the 
 proprietor of the mill. Katie had heard her 
 brothers, who were in his Sunday-school class, 
 talk about him, but had never seen him before. 
 
 "Your name, little girl," he said pleasantly, 
 as he ushered her into the office. 
 
 " Katie Robertson, sir. Mr. Sanderson " 
 
 " Oh, I know ; Mr. Sanderson recommended 
 you to my father. You look almost too small to 
 work. Can you do anything ? " 
 
 "I can cook, and wash dishes, and help 
 mother, and sew ; I was in the first class at 
 school " 
 
 " That is not any of it precisely the kind of 
 work we do here," said the young gentleman, 
 pleasantly ; " but no doubt you are a quick little 
 girl, and if you are used to doing some kinds 
 of work others will not come so hard to you. 
 But you must understand in the beginning 
 
3<D KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 that work in a factory is work, not play ; work 
 that cannot be laid aside when one is tired of 
 it, or when one wants to go on an excursion or 
 to do something else. It is work, too, for which 
 you are to be paid, and it would be dishonesty 
 not to do it faithfully as in the sight of God. 
 Our rules are no stricter than they must be 
 for the best good of the work and the comfort 
 and protection of all, but we expect them to be 
 obeyed. You will remember that. There must 
 be no playing or whispering in work hours, and 
 you must always be on time. We want all our 
 work-people to be happy, and I am sure that 
 the best kind of happiness comes from fidelity 
 to duty. Can you be a faithful little girl ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir," said Katie, with a slight blush, 
 though she did not feel at all afraid of him; 
 " I am trying to please God everywhere, and 
 I am sure he will help me to do so here." 
 
 " I am glad to hear you say that," said the 
 young man, with a smile. "If every man, 
 woman, and child in this factory were really 
 trusting in God and trying to please him, we 
 wouldn t need so many rules and the work 
 would not be so hard. One thing more: I 
 
ENTERING. 3 1 
 
 believe you are to be in the rag-room ; that is 
 a dirty place, in spite of all our efforts to keep 
 it clean and well ventilated ; you won t find it 
 very pleasant there always, but perhaps you 
 can learn to endure for Christ s and duty s 
 sake ; and every one has to begin at the bottom, 
 you know, who means to climb to the top of 
 the ladder." 
 
 During the latter part of this talk the gentle 
 man and the child had been ascending flight 
 after flight of broad, open staircases, as well 
 as several narrow, spiral ones, crossing machin 
 ery-rooms, where great arms and wheels and 
 screws, in constant motion, made the little girl 
 shudder, and threading narrow passages and 
 outside balconies, where the broad raceway 
 foamed and roared fifty or sixty feet beneath 
 them. Katie had n^ver been inside of the 
 great paper-mill before, though she had always 
 admired its fine proportions and handsome 
 architecture from the outside. She was sur 
 prised now to see how really beautiful every 
 thing was. The floors were laid in wood of two 
 contrasting colors ; the balusters were of solid 
 black walnut ; there were rows and rows of 
 
32 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 clear glass windows in the rooms and corridors, 
 while the machinery was either of shining 
 steel or polished brass. In some of the rooms 
 were girls tending the ruling and cutting and 
 folding machines, and occasionally one would 
 nod to Katie, but no one spoke except where 
 the work rendered it necessary. 
 
 At last the room next to the top of the vast 
 building was reached, and there Mr. James 
 opened a door and ushered Katie into a 
 room which extended the whole length of one 
 side of the building. The windows, of which 
 there were fifteen, were wide open, but for all 
 that the air was so thick with dust that at first 
 Katie drew back with a sense of suffocation." 
 
 "I told you it would not be pleasant," said 
 Mr. James, "but this is your appointed place. 
 Be a brave girl, and when you are used to it 
 it won t seem so bad." 
 
 The sense of suffocation was caused by the 
 particles of dust with which the air was heavily 
 laden, and which flew from the piles of rags 
 which over fifty girls were busily engaged in 
 sorting, putting the dark-colored ones by them 
 selves, the medium-colored by themselves, and 
 
ENTERING. 33 
 
 the white ones or those that had been white 
 into large boxes. As soon as these boxes 
 were filled they were placed on wheelbarrows 
 and emptied into long slides by men who 
 waited for them and returned the boxes. Mr. 
 James explained to his young companion that 
 these slides emptied their contents into great 
 vats in the room below, where after lying some 
 days in a certain purifying solution they were 
 boiled with soda to loosen the dirt, thor 
 oughly washed by machinery, and passed into 
 great copper kettles, where they were boiled 
 to a pulp and ground at the same time, hori 
 zontal grindstones reducing them to the finest 
 powder. He also showed her that the dust 
 was rendered much less hurtful than it would 
 otherwise have been by a great fan kept con 
 stantly at work on one side of the room, which 
 drove it out of the windows in front of the 
 girls, who were thus not compelled to breathe 
 it unless they turned directly around facing 
 the blast, as Katie had done on entering the 
 room. He then put her under the care of a 
 pleasant-faced woman, whose duty it was to 
 oversee the little girls, saw that she had a 
 
34 
 
 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 comfortable seat, shook hands with her, and 
 went away. 
 
 Mr. James was by no means called upon to 
 be so polite to a " new hand " ; most employers 
 would have told the child which way to go 
 and then left her to shift for herself, or at 
 best have sent a man or boy to show her the 
 way. Perhaps he would have done so with 
 some girls, but he saw that the child was timid 
 and homesick, and knew that a few kind words 
 would go a great way toward making her feel 
 at home and happy, and would serve as an 
 offset against the disagreeable first impres 
 sions of the rag-room, and the weariness of 
 regular work undertaken for the first time. 
 
 Why should he care to have one of his 
 factory girls " feel at home and happy " ? some 
 one will say ; his relations with them are only 
 those of business : so much work for so much 
 money ; it was nothing to him what they 
 thought or felt. Mr. James Mount joy did not 
 feel so. He thought that his father and he 
 were placed in this responsible position and 
 given the care of several hundred human souls 
 expressly that some good work might be done 
 for them. He felt that human beings are 
 
ENTERING. 35 
 
 more precious than machinery, and that happi 
 ness is an important factor in goodness. He 
 looked upon his work-people as those for whom 
 he must give account, and tried to act in all 
 his dealings with them "to the glory of God." 
 Had he been actuated by the purest selfish 
 ness and the most approved business princi 
 ples, he could not have chosen a wiser course ; 
 for men and women treated as friends become 
 almost of necessity friendly, and seeing their 
 own interests cared for were all the more 
 likely to care for those of their employer. 
 Katie Robertson certainly never forgot Mr. 
 James s judicious kindness on the morning of 
 her entrance into the mill ; he was to her the 
 kindest, sweetest, and most lovable of gentle 
 men. She felt ready to do anything he should 
 tell her and to keep every rule he might make. 
 Then, too, he was a Christian, and understood 
 all about what she meant when she had said 
 God would help her ; surely it must be very 
 easy to be good and resist temptation in a 
 place with such a master, and she felt like 
 thanking God that, in spite of the suffocating 
 dust, " the lines had fallen to her in such very 
 pleasant places." 
 
36 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 THE FIRST DAY. 
 
 EFT to herself Katie looked timidly 
 round. It is always an ordeal to meet 
 so many strangers for the first time, 
 and our little friend was beginning to feel quite 
 forlorn, when Miss Peters, the superintendent 
 of the rag-room, came to her and began to 
 show her about the work to be done ; how, 
 besides the rags being sorted, the buttons were 
 to be taken off and the larger pieces cut into 
 small ones by pulling them dexterously along 
 and between two great sharp knives set on end 
 for the purpose. Katie had already covered 
 her clean dress with the long-sleeved blue apron 
 and her hair with the little mob-cap her mother 
 had provided, and at once commenced her work, 
 not at all seeing or noticing the scornful looks 
 that passed between some of the girls whose 
 ragged finery and dirty hair-ribbons full of dust 
 and "flue " presented a lively contrast to her 
 own neat and suitable equipment. We may 
 
THE FIRST DAY. 37 
 
 observe, in passing, that before long this simple 
 method of protection so commended itself to 
 some of the more sensible girls und their 
 parents that many of them adopted it and mob- 
 caps and overalls became quite the fashion in 
 the mill. 
 
 Katie was a smart little girl and could work 
 very quickly when she set about it ; of course 
 to-day she was anxious to show how much she 
 could do, and her piles and boxes were fuller 
 than those of any girls near her by the time of 
 the warning whistle, which indicated that in half 
 an hour the dinner-bell would sound. Then 
 there was a bustle in the room. The piles 
 were taken away in long and deep barrows 
 which men wheeled into the room, the boxes 
 were carried off, emptied into the vats, and 
 brought back again ; some of the girls swept 
 the floor and tables by which they stood ; 
 talking was permitted in this half-hour, and 
 such a Babel as the tongues of forty or fifty 
 girls suddenly unloosed can make may be better 
 imagined than described. The " new hand " 
 took advantage of the interval to divest herself 
 of her cap and apron, and putting on her hat, 
 
38 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 after washing her hands in one of the row of 
 basins provided for the purpose, appeared 
 as neat and nice for her homeward walk as she 
 had done in the morning when she came. 
 
 Such was not the case with most of the girls, 
 whose fluffy, disordered appearance as they 
 issued from the rag-room was proverbial. 
 
 At precisely twelve o clock the great bells 
 began to clang and the steam-whistle to shriek, 
 and the long corridors and stairs echoed to the 
 tramp of many feet as the hundreds of men, 
 women, boys, and girls rushed down and out, 
 and scattered in every direction toward the 
 many homes where dinner was awaiting them. 
 
 Eric and Alfred met their sister just outside 
 of the door, and the three were soon at home, 
 Katie talking so much and so fast all the way, 
 that her brothers, as they said, "could hardly 
 get in a word edgewise." Many of the mill 
 operatives carried their dinner with them and 
 spent the noon hour in gossip with each other, 
 but Mrs. Robertson was careful both of the 
 bodies and souls of her children. She knew 
 that the former would be much more vigorous 
 if every day they had a warm, comfortable, 
 
THE FIRST DAT. 39 
 
 if frugal, meal at noontide, and thought that 
 the latter would be kept pure and unsullied 
 much longer if not exposed to the kind of talk 
 apt to pass between idle men and women of 
 all grades and associations in society. So ever 
 since they first went into the bindery, the boys 
 had regularly come home to dinner, and were 
 much the better, not only for it, but also for 
 the quick walk in the open fresh air. 
 
 Poor Mrs. Robertson had passed a lonely 
 morning. She was used to being alone while 
 her daughter was at school, but that was differ 
 ent ; she had conjured up all sorts of dangers 
 and disagreeables that the girl might have to 
 encounter, and she rather expected to see her 
 brought in on a board bruised and maimed from 
 some part of the machinery into which she had 
 fallen or been entangled. But when Katie 
 came rushing in like a whirlwind, in high 
 spirits, with glowing cheeks and a splendid 
 appetite, which yet she could scarcely take time 
 to gratify, so full was she of enthusiastic talk 
 concerning the beauty and grandeur of the mill 
 and the kindness of Mr. James, her mother felt 
 rather ashamed of her forebodings. 
 
40 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 Never had a dinner tasted so nicely ; never 
 had the little girl, to her remembrance, eaten so 
 much. She was in such a hurry to be off again, 
 so as not to be late, that the boys declared she 
 would not give them any time to eat at all, and 
 again predicted that in a month s time things 
 would not be so rose-colored. 
 
 In the afternoon a surprise awaited the little 
 factory-girl. Hardly had work recommenced 
 as the silence of voices and the noise of 
 machinery followed upon the long steam- 
 whistle, than Mr. James again appeared, fol 
 lowed by another "new hand." She was a 
 tall, stout g ; 1 ; in reality just about Katie s 
 age, but looking several years older, dressed in 
 a light-blue cashmere, considerably soiled and 
 frayed. Her hair, which was " banged " low over 
 her forehead, was braided in a long tail behind, 
 and tied with a bunch of tumbled red ribbons, 
 and around her neck was a chain and locket 
 intended to resemble gold. The girls all looked 
 at her inappropriate costume, most of them with 
 envy and admiration, a few with pity for a girl 
 who knew no better than to come to factory 
 work in so very unsuitable a dress, and Katie 
 
THE FIRST DAT. 41 
 
 looked up in some surprise to find that the new 
 comer, who had been placed next to her, was 
 her old school companion, Bertie Sanderson. 
 
 Miss Peters came forward pleasantly, showed 
 the new girl how to do her work just as she 
 had showed Katie in the morning, and glancing 
 at her dress, suggested that another time a 
 similar protection to that of her companion 
 would be advisable, and then left her to 
 herself. 
 
 Scarcely was her back turned than Bertie, 
 looking round the room with great disgust, 
 turned to Katie and said : 
 
 " Is n t it hateful ? Just think of us made to 
 work among factory-girls. I don t see what my 
 father could have been thinking of ! " 
 
 Katie made no answer, but pointed to Miss 
 Peters, and then to the rule for silence which 
 was hung up conspicuously on the wall. 
 
 " Nonsense !" said Bertie, " that don t mean 
 me. I m daughter of Mr Sanderson, the over 
 seer of the bindery, don t you know ? It s 
 kind of funny that I should be in the rag-room 
 among all the common girls, anyhow ; but 
 father said I d got to begin work, and he 
 
42 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 guessed what would n t hurt you would n t 
 hurt me. But for the thought that you were 
 here I wouldn t have come at all, no matter 
 what pa said. Ma don t think it genteel. 
 I don t see what made you come ; don t you 
 think it s disgusting?" 
 
 " No," said Katie, " I wanted to come, and 
 I think the factory is magnificent ; besides, I 
 want the money." 
 
 "So do I," said the other, "and pa said I 
 should have all I earn till there s enough to get 
 a silk dress. I do want a silk dress so, don t 
 you ? " 
 
 "No," said Katie, "I don t care;" but at 
 this moment Miss Peters came toward them, 
 saying, 
 
 "No talking, girls; you are new hands, or I 
 should have to fine you ; every time a girl 
 speaks it s a penny off of her day s wages, but 
 I 11 let you off this time. Bertie, you have n t 
 done a thing yet." 
 
 Katie blushed, for though she had not 
 stopped work a single moment, she had been 
 tempted by her companion into breaking the 
 rules; but Bertie looked up insolently at the 
 
THE FIRST DAT. 43 
 
 superintendent as she slowly took up some of 
 the rags, and muttered in a low tone, which was 
 heard by most of her neighbors : 
 
 "Who s going to mind you ? You re only a 
 servant-girl, anyway ;" for Miss Peters had, in 
 her early life, "lived out." 
 
 Whether Miss Peters heard or not Katie 
 could not be sure, but she thought she saw a 
 heightened color in the young woman s face, and 
 was just going to ask her companion how she 
 could be guilty of such rudeness, when she 
 remembered the rule in time, checked herself, 
 and put her finger significantly on her lips. 
 
 As to Bertie, she stared round the room, work 
 ing a little now and then, and talking aloud to 
 herself as she could get no one to talk to her. 
 Miss Peters was very indignant ; but thought it 
 best to take no notice just yet ; for, as the girl 
 had said, she was Mr. Sanderson s daughter, and 
 she did not know just how far it would do to 
 enforce rules in her case. 
 
 The girls in the rag-room were dismissed 
 at five o clock, so, as the bindery did not close 
 till six, Katie did not have the company of her 
 brothers on her homeward walk, Bertie taking 
 
44 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 their place, and talking all the way about the 
 indignity of working in a factory and the hard 
 ship of having to work at all. She told about 
 her cousins in the city, who were quite fine 
 ladies, according to Bertie s account, doing noth 
 ing but play on the piano and do fancy-work. 
 They were coming with their mother to make 
 a visit in the summer, and how ashamed 
 she should be to appear before them in the 
 character of a paper-mill girl. The girl talked 
 about her father in anything but a respectful 
 manner, but seemed to find comfort in the 
 thought of her silk dress. She had never had 
 one yet, and it had long been the goal of her 
 ambition. What color did Katie think would 
 be becoming to her ? How would she have it 
 made ? how trimmed ? 
 
 "I ll tell you what, Katie," she said, "let s 
 take our money when we get it and get silks 
 exactly alike ; then we can wear them to 
 Sunday-school together, and the other girls 
 will see that it is n t so mean to be factory- 
 girls after all. Even Miss Mount joy herself 
 can wear nothing finer than silk, if she does 
 always look so stuck up." 
 
THE FIRST DAT. 45 
 
 But Katie failed to be infected with a desire 
 for a silk dress. She had never worn anything 
 but the plainest and poorest clothes, though 
 they had always been whole, clean, and neatly 
 made ; her temptations did not lie in that line. 
 She had insisted on beginning to work in order 
 to help her mother support the family, and to 
 make it a little easier for them all to get along. 
 She admired pretty things, of course, as all girls 
 do, but she had an intuitive feeling that Sunday- 
 school was not the place in which to show off 
 fine clothes. Bertie s chatter did not please her, 
 and though they were old friends, or rather com 
 panions, having been to both school and Sunday- 
 school together for some years, she was glad 
 when they parted at the corner house, which 
 had once been the doctor s, and she could go 
 home to her mother. 
 
 For the little girl was tired by this time ; she 
 had got up much earlier than usual and had been 
 on her feet all day, and besides the reaction of 
 so much excitement, even though it had been of 
 a pleasurable nature, was calculated to produce 
 depression. Her mother was out when she got 
 home, and there was nobody to welcome her but 
 
46 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 the gray cat, which did so, however, with the 
 loudest of purrings, and the lounge in the warm 
 room looked so comfortable that the tired 
 little worker took pussy in her arms, lay down 
 there, and began to think. She was not quite 
 satisfied with her "first day." The factory was 
 quite as nice as she had expected, and Mr. 
 James was nicer ; but had she remembered 
 "in <z//her ways to acknowledge God" and "to 
 do all to his glory " ? She was afraid not ; she 
 had broken the rules once, and had listened to 
 Bertie s chatter, while a desire had arisen in her 
 heart, not for a silk dress, but for plenty of 
 money, for a fine home, for a piano, and all the 
 things that some girls had, and she had been 
 tempted to think it hard that some people should 
 have so much and some so little. Was God 
 quite just to let it be so ? 
 
 But, as she lay upon the lounge, rested by its 
 soft cushions, warmed by the fire, and soothed 
 by the purring of the cat, she began to be 
 ashamed of such thoughts. How many com 
 forts, how much happiness God had given her ! 
 A nice home, a loving mother, plenty to eat and 
 wear, and health and strength to earn enough 
 to make them all so much more comfortable. 
 
THE FIRST DAT. 47 
 
 She knew that all good things come from God, 
 and if he had not put it into the heart of Mr. 
 Sanderson to speak to Mr. Mountjoyfor her, she 
 could not have got the situation in the mill. The 
 forty cents she had earned to-day was directly 
 God s gift, and so would be all the money that 
 ever came to her in the future. She ought to 
 be a very thankful little girl, and she was quite 
 ashamed of her questionings. So she dropped 
 down upon her knees by the lounge, and asked 
 God to forgive her for the sake of Jesus, and 
 lying down again soon fell fast asleep. 
 
 When she awoke it was dark ; the boys had 
 come home ; her mother had come in so quietly 
 as not to awaken her daughter, tea was quite 
 ready, and it was a very pleasant scene that her 
 eyes, now entirely rested, opened upon, and a 
 very happy, thankful little girl came to the table 
 to eat the nice supper which awaited her. 
 
 After tea she and her brothers played games 
 for some time ; then Mrs. Robertson took her 
 mending-basket, which was always very full, and 
 Katie got her thimble and helped, while Eric 
 read aloud from a book of " Stories from His 
 tory." And so closed the first day of Katie 
 Robertson s "factory life," 
 
48 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 
 
 |ISS ETTA MOUNTJOY was a young 
 lady of the period. She was the 
 youngest of Mr. Mountjoy s children, 
 and the baby and pet of all. Her mother died 
 when she was about five years old, and since 
 then she had always done exactly as she 
 pleased ; her father would not control her, 
 and her eldest sister, who took charge of the 
 family in her mother s place, could not. It was 
 well that the girl had no evil tendencies and 
 was, upon the whole, well-principled, warm 
 hearted, and good-natured, or she might have 
 gone very grievously astray. As it was, she 
 was now at seventeen a bright butterfly, flitting 
 from one to another of the flowers of life, and 
 sipping as much honey as she could from each. 
 She was fond of all sorts of bright, pretty 
 things, handsome clothes and jewelry included. 
 She liked to sing and she liked to dance, to go 
 to parties when there were any, and to attend 
 
THE SUNDAT-SCHOOL. 49 
 
 concerts and theatres when she went to town ; 
 in a word, she was fond of " having a good 
 time," as Americans express it, whenever and 
 wherever she could get a chance. 
 
 Nor did Miss Etta mind work. She was a girl of 
 energy, who would willingly walk miles to attend 
 a picnic or climb a mountain, and she did not 
 hesitate to work for hours on a trimming for 
 her dress, or even some more useful piece of 
 sewing. She was always having furores for 
 something ; at one time it was gardening, when 
 she coaxed her father to have a good-sized piece 
 of ground dug up and laid out for her, and 
 actually raised, not flowers, as one would expect, 
 but quite respectable vegetables, hoeing the 
 beans, corn, and cabbages herself, and weeding 
 out the cucumbers, lettuce, and radishes with 
 persistent fidelity. 
 
 At another time she had a poultry-mania, 
 and a chicken -house with the most approved 
 nests, warming-apparatus, etc., was constructed 
 for the little lady, and here she daily set the 
 hens, fed the chickens, and collected the eggs, 
 selling them to her father at exorbitant prices. 
 Again, cooking absorbed her time and gave 
 
50 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 occupation to her energies; and the family 
 were treated to strange compounds of her con 
 cocting, while the old servant who reigned 
 supreme in the kitchen was in the depths of 
 despair at the number of dishes and pans she 
 was called upon to clear up, the waste and 
 breakage that went on, and the general dis 
 organization of her lifelong arrangements. 
 
 Happily, or unhappily, these moods never 
 were of long duration. The reading-mania 
 lasted just long enough for a handsome book 
 case to be stocked with histories, biographies, 
 etc. ; a few volumes of poems were dipped into, 
 several novels read, and a big history attacked, 
 when the mood changed into a passion for 
 skating, and the remainder of the winter was 
 consumed in preparing a fancy costume, getting 
 the most approved club-skates, and learning to 
 keep upright upon them ; but by the time so 
 much was accomplished, the ice broke up and 
 Miss Etta was obliged to find some other occu 
 pation. Art came next in the list of the girl s 
 absorbing avocations. A studio was fitted up, 
 canvas stretched upon easels, pencils sharpened, 
 and quite a creditable beginning made upon 
 
THE SUNDAT-SCHOOL. 51 
 
 some pictures which showed considerable native 
 taste and ability. 
 
 Just now Sunday-school teaching had taken 
 the place of all other things, and Etta Mount] oy 
 devoted the energies of her many-sided nature 
 to her class. There had been more than one 
 person opposed to entrusting so sacred a work 
 to so light-minded and trivial a girl. Her 
 brother James considered it nothing short of 
 sacrilege, and her oldest sister Eunice reasoned 
 with her very gravely, and tried to show her 
 that, in order to teach the truths of God, one 
 should have some personal knowledge of them, 
 and that the only acceptable motive for reli 
 gious work was a sincere desire to please God 
 and benefit the souls of those whom Christ 
 came to save. But Etta was not accustomed to 
 be guided by her brother and sister ; she went 
 to her father, told him she wanted to take a 
 class in Sunday-school, and of course he said 
 " Yes." Then she went to the superintendent 
 and made known her request, saying it was at 
 her father s desire, which, as he was book-keeper 
 at the paper-mill, would, she knew, have great 
 weight. 
 
52 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 Mr. Scoville paused, hesitated, and finally 
 resolved to consult the pastor, promising Etta 
 her answer before Sunday came round. He 
 would have given an unqualified refusal had the 
 petitioner been any one else than his employer s 
 daughter. 
 
 Mr. Morven, the pastor, however, thought 
 differently. He had known the young girl ever 
 since she was a very little one ; he knew there was 
 no positive evil in her, and though he had not 
 heretofore suspected her of any serious thought, 
 he looked upon her request as an indication of 
 good, and said that perhaps the very familiarity 
 with sacred things which teaching a Sunday- 
 school class would necessitate might be as 
 beneficial to the teacher as to the scholars. 
 So Mr. Scoville, though rather against his 
 better judgment, sent a note to Miss Etta 
 granting her request, having in his mind a cer 
 tain class of little ones just out of the infant 
 class, the teacher of which had announced her 
 intention of leaving the school. When he went 
 to see this teacher, however, he found she had 
 changed her mind, and there was no other class 
 available except one composed of seven "big 
 
THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 53 
 
 girls," of whom Katie Robertson was one. Of 
 course, Mr. Scoville could not go back on his 
 word, so Miss Etta Mount joy was formally 
 installed as teacher of one of the most impor 
 tant classes of the school. 
 
 Most of the girls liked her ; some were 
 seized with a violent admiration, if not of her, 
 of her beautiful hats, delicate kid gloves, and 
 all the et cetera which go to make up the toilet 
 of a modern young lady. Others liked her 
 fresh, frank manner and sympathy with them 
 and their interests. Indeed, she was so nearly 
 on their own level as to age that there was no 
 room for condescension on this account ; while, 
 as to position, where was there ever an Ameri 
 can girl of any age who acknowledged to social 
 inferiority ? Katie alone felt, though she could 
 hardly explain it, the want of something in her 
 \iew teacher which had been peculiarly charac 
 teristic of the old one, who was a plain, elderly 
 woman, without much education, namely, 
 personal love and devotion to the Lord Jesus, 
 showing itself in an earnest desire that her 
 scholars might also learn to love and serve him. 
 This good teacher s prayers had been answered, 
 
54 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 and her efforts blessed, in Katie Robertson s 
 case, and hence the girl knew how to appreciate 
 the difference. 
 
 In some ways, however, Etta agreeably dis 
 appointed all their expectations. She set herself 
 to study and prepare her lessons with an energy 
 that carried all before it ; consulted commen 
 taries, studied dates, compared contemporary 
 history, committed to memory schedules, and 
 looked out illustrations, all of which she 
 imparted to her class till its members far sur 
 passed all the others in the school in their 
 knowledge of scripture geography and history 
 and biography. They could give complete lists 
 of the patriarchs, the judges, the kings of 
 Israel and Judah, and the major and minor 
 prophets ; and they never failed with the dates 
 of the deluge, the "call of Abraham," the 
 Exodus, the Captivity, and all the periodic 
 points by which the Bible is marked and 
 mapped off in the voluminous Sunday-school 
 literature of the day. As to distinctively 
 religious teachings, every scholar had the cate 
 chism verbatim, ready to recite at a moment s 
 notice, and a failure in the "golden text" was 
 
THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 55 
 
 unknown. To be sure, other teachers in her 
 vicinity, whose classes failed to win the unquali 
 fied praise accorded to hers, did say that Miss 
 Etta never failed to prompt her scholars if there 
 seemed to be any hesitation ; but perhaps that 
 was due to a tinge of jealousy in consequence 
 of all the prizes given at a quarterly examina 
 tion, including one for the teacher, having been 
 won by this "banner class." 
 
 All this was very well in its way. There is 
 certainly no harm in knowing all we can about 
 the Bible ; it helps us to understand and appreci 
 ate it, and to answer the objections which foolish 
 infidels are constantly bringing against it ; but 
 the girls, especially Katie, missed the pointed 
 application ; the showing how every wrong 
 thing is sin ; how sin must be punished ; how 
 Jesus has borne the punishment, and so is ready 
 and willing to forgive the sin ; how he loves all 
 men, even though they are sinners, and is ready 
 to give them strength to resist temptation and 
 conquer sin, if they will diligently seek the aid 
 of his Holy Spirit in Bible words, to make 
 them "whiter than snow." These are the true 
 themes of Sunday-school teaching ; the one end 
 
56 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 to be aimed at is so to bring up the children 
 in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord," 
 as that when they come to years of discretion 
 they shall gladly confess him as their Master, 
 and become noble, intelligent, active Christian 
 men and women. Lacking this, all outside 
 things are, as the apostle says, " sounding brass 
 and a tinkling cymbal." 
 
 The only positive harm which Miss Etta did 
 to her class was to foster in some of the girls 
 a great admiration for dress and an ardent 
 desire to imitate their teacher in this respect. 
 Since the days of Eve a taste for dress has 
 always been an inherent part of a girl s constitu 
 tion, and is apt to become one of her greatest 
 temptations, especially if she be a poor girl, as 
 were most of these, and must procure cheap 
 imitations of finery ; or, if even these are 
 beyond their reach, indulge in discontented 
 repinings, which are really rebellion against 
 God. 
 
 Squantown Sunday-school was a very pleasant 
 one. Quite unlike the usual oblong wooden 
 building, which in many country places serves 
 for a secular school during the week and a 
 
THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 57 
 
 Sunday-school on Sunday, it was a pretty gothic 
 brick building, handsomely fitted up with fold 
 ing-seats, a reed organ, and an uncommonly 
 good library. A nice carpet was upon the floor, 
 and pretty illuminated texts painted upon the 
 walls ; the windows were narrow and pointed, 
 with little diamond-shaped panes, and when 
 opened gave a near view of the minister s 
 garden full of bright-hued flowers, and a more 
 distant one of softly outlined blue mountains, 
 whose tops, capped in summer with snowy 
 clouds and in winter with veritable snow, 
 formed apt illustrations to thoughtful teachers 
 of the " mountains that stand round about Jeru 
 salem," and symbolized the protecting love and 
 care of the Lord for his people. 
 
 The beautiful Sunday-school building was 
 largely due to the efforts of Mr. James, who 
 had his father s well-filled purse to draw from ; 
 and he had interested himself in getting the 
 scholars together, as well as in introducing 
 among them all modern improvements. He 
 was greatly interested in his class of big 
 boys, over whom his influence was most bene 
 ficial. Nearly all of them had already confessed 
 
58 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 Christ, and were mostly manly Christians, 
 exercising a good influence upon the other 
 boys in the mill or bindery, to which they, as 
 well as nearly all the members of the school, 
 belonged. 
 
 Miss Eunice Mountjoy was also engaged in 
 the Sunday-school, having charge of the Bible- 
 class, which contained all the oldest scholars, 
 some of them quite young men and women. 
 She was a very different sort of person from her 
 youngest sister. Fully twelve years her senior, 
 she looked and seemed much older than she 
 really was, and no one had for years thought of 
 calling her a " girl," although now she was only 
 twenty-nine. When she was quite a girl her 
 mother had died, leaving her with the care of 
 all her sisters and her brother, to whom she 
 had, indeed, done a mother s part. Her chief 
 aim in life had always been to " do all to the 
 glory of God," and to her Bible-class she gave 
 her most earnest efforts and her warmest 
 prayers. Her influence was great at home, in 
 the mill, and throughout the town of Squantown, 
 though, as far as possible, she obeyed the 
 scripture injunction not to let her left hand 
 
THE SUNDAT-SCHOOL. 59 
 
 know what her right hand was doing. She 
 always invited the female members of her class 
 to take tea with her every Wednesday night ; 
 the boys and young men being expected to 
 come afterward, remain a little while, and then 
 escort their sisters, cousins, and friends home. 
 These little meetings were very pleasant; 
 sometimes pretty fancy-work to be sold for 
 the benefit of the class missionary fund was 
 done ; sometimes clothes were cut out and 
 made for some of the poorer factory children, 
 or some fatherless baby, while Miss Eunice 
 read aloud some interesting book ; sometimes 
 when the topics suggested by last Sunday s 
 lesson had proved too voluminous for the time 
 of the session, they were taken up and dis 
 cussed on Wednesday ; sometimes difficult 
 points in next week s lesson were anticipated. 
 In this way the teacher became really 
 acquainted with the members of her class, 
 their dispositions, temptations, and interests; 
 she gained their confidence, and was often able 
 to advise and assist them in many ways, and 
 they learned to look upon her as a friend to 
 whom they might apply in time of need. And, 
 
60 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 as a secondary benefit, the girls learned a great 
 deal in the way of cutting out, basting, and 
 other mysteries of needlework calculated to 
 prove very useful to them in their future 
 capacity of wives and mothers. 
 
 Eunice had often wished that the same plan 
 could be pursued in the other elder classes ; 
 but their teachers, who were mostly employed 
 in some capacity in the mill, could hardly spare 
 the time, and Etta certainly was not fitted for 
 the work. As an experiment, however, on the 
 first Sunday after Katie entered the mill she 
 came over to her sister s class and invited all 
 the girls, or as many as chose to do so, to join 
 hers on Wednesday afternoon next, saying she 
 had something of interest and importance to 
 talk about. As the invitation was one that 
 seemed to place those to whom it was given in 
 the rank of grown-up girls, it was at once gladly 
 accepted, especially as most of the girls had 
 never been inside of Mr. Mountjoy s house and 
 grounds, and would gladly see the luxury of 
 which they had heard so much. 
 
 There was a great deal of talk after the 
 close of the session about the invitation and 
 
THE SUNDAT-SCHOOL, 6 1 
 
 the proposed meeting, and some curiosity was 
 expressed as to the " important thing " Miss 
 Eunice was to talk about. One or two of the 
 girls said they were sorry they had accepted 
 the invitation ; they did n t like " to have 
 religion poked at them " ; they guessed they 
 would n t go. Before the appointed day, how 
 ever, curiosity got the better of these faint 
 hearted ones, and not a girl of Etta s class 
 was wanting when the time arrived. 
 
62 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE TEA-PARTY. 
 
 IT exactly six o clock some twenty 
 young girls of various ages assembled 
 at "the great house," as Mr. Mount- 
 joy s grand mansion was called in the village. 
 They could not come earlier, as most of them 
 worked in the mill, which they could not leave 
 till five or half-past five ; consequently they all 
 arrived at about the same time. They were 
 received with perfect politeness by the servant, 
 who opened the door and ushered them, as she 
 would have done any other visitors, into the 
 spare-room, prettily furnished in blue and white 
 satin, with white lace hangings and silver orna 
 ments. Here they laid aside their hats, and 
 taking their little work-baskets, descended to 
 the great drawing-room, whose splendors con 
 siderably surprised the younger girls ; the older 
 ones were used to it. At the door Miss Eunice 
 with Etta, the latter arrayed in a wonderful 
 costume, met and received their guests, and 
 
THE TEA-PART T. 63 
 
 after lingering for a while among the paintings, 
 engravings, nicknacks, etc., led them to an 
 inner room, the windows of which overlooked 
 the garden in summer, and a door from which 
 opened into a greenhouse, now full of blooming 
 flowers. 
 
 This was the family sitting-room, generally 
 the abode of Miss Eunice, for Etta was too 
 much of a butterfly to stay anywhere, and 
 Rhoda, the middle sister, now about twenty, 
 was an artist, entirely devoted to painting, 
 spending her days and a great part of her 
 nights in her studio, and caring nothing for any 
 of the interests connected with our story. It 
 was luxuriously furnished, more with a view to 
 comfort than to show, and as the girls sank 
 into the easy sofas or into the deep stuffed 
 chairs, or else made themselves comfortable 
 upon low seats and divans, the contrast with 
 their own bare homes and hardworking life 
 was enough to call forth many a sigh of rest and 
 enjoyment. Work was then produced, the usual 
 inquiries after parents and sisters, invalids and 
 home-keepers asked and answered, with a little 
 other familiar conversation, when Miss Eunice 
 
64 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 said : " I think, girls, as we have finished the 
 book upon which we have been so long engaged, 
 we will not commence another to-day, but 
 devote our thoughts to a subject about which 
 I have been thinking a great deal, and which 
 your pastor agrees with me in thinking of very 
 great importance to be brought before you. I 
 mean a public confession of Christ as your 
 Saviour and Master." 
 
 Some of the girls looked grave, some blushed, 
 some were confused. Katie Robertson glanced 
 up expectantly, for this was an opportunity she 
 had long been on the lookout for, and longed 
 to hear more about it. One of the elder girls 
 said : 
 
 "But, Miss Eunice, nobody ought to join the 
 church who is not converted." 
 
 "That is very true, but is it not equally true 
 that all who are converted ought to join the 
 church, as you express it, or, as I prefer to say, 
 confess their Saviour ? It is only a mean soul 
 which is willing to accept gifts and favors and 
 never openly acknowledge its gratitude for 
 them. I would n t care for the friendship of 
 any one who was ashamed to own me before 
 
THE TEA-PART T. 65 
 
 other people ; and I would n t think much of 
 a soldier who did not show his colors and put 
 on the uniform of his country." 
 
 Katie felt her face flush ; for was she not one 
 of these very secret friends one of the soldiers 
 who had not as yet put on the uniform ? Not 
 that she had really been ashamed to do so, but 
 the subject had not been very prominently 
 brought to her notice, and when she had 
 thought of it at all it had seemed such a 
 strange, awful, public step for so young a girl 
 to take. She felt so unworthy; it seemed a, 
 thing for old people to do, not for little girls. 
 But Miss Eunice had thrown a new light upon 
 the subject, and it looked differently from what 
 it had ever looked before. 
 
 " But if we are not Christians, Miss Eunice, 
 you wouldn t like us to act a lie." 
 
 " God forbid, Mary ; did you ever think that 
 you ought to be a Christian ? ought to be in 
 that state which will make it possible for you 
 to obey the simple command of Christ to con 
 fess him before men ? " 
 
 " A command, Miss Eunice ? " 
 
 " Yes, a command accompanied by both a 
 
66 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 promise and a threat. Whosoever shall confess 
 me before men, him will I confess also before 
 my Father which is in heaven, but whosoever 
 shall deny me before men, him will I also deny 
 before my Father which is in heaven. " 
 
 "But still," persisted the first speaker, "if 
 one isn t converted." 
 
 "And what is to prevent one s being con 
 verted. Don t you think God is willing to give 
 you grace sufficient to enable you to do and be 
 all that he commands you ? The greatest mis 
 take young people can make is to suppose that 
 they must wait, and not take the first step 
 toward a religious life till something mysterious 
 comes to them and lifts them into it almost 
 against their own will." 
 
 " Not against our own wills ; I am sure every 
 body wants to be saved." 
 
 " Yes, dear, against their own will, for if any 
 one wills to be a Christian, she can be one at 
 once. I must insist upon it, because it is our 
 Saviour s own teachings. He says : Ye will not 
 come unto me that ye might have life ; and so 
 I am sure that if any one does not have life, 
 spiritual life, it is because she will not come 
 unto him," 
 
THE TEA-PARTT. 6/ 
 
 "I d like to come," said one girl, timidly, 
 "but I don t see exactly how." 
 
 " I dare say most of you would. Mr. Morven 
 and I have been talking it over. He feels that 
 the time for a spiritual harvest among our 
 people, especially among our carefully taught 
 Sunday scholars, has about come, and he thinks 
 that, with a little more definite help and teach 
 ing, many of you would be glad to come to 
 Jesus, and be enrolled as his followers now, 
 instead of waiting for that indefinite sometime 
 which may never come. I have a book here 
 which, in words so simple that the youngest girl 
 here can understand, explains how we may 
 come to Christ by repentance and faith in his 
 sacrifice upon the cross, etc. It is pleasantly 
 written and illustrated with anecdotes. I think 
 you will all like it, and I propose to read a little 
 of it aloud every Wednesday afternoon for the 
 next month, and at the close of the reading we 
 will have a little familiar conversation on this, 
 the most important of all topics. As most of 
 the girls in my sister s class are of quite suffi 
 cient age to understand what it means to be 
 a Christian and honestly to consider their own 
 
68 KATIE ROBERTSON, 
 
 duty in this respect, I shall be very happy to 
 see them also, and any others of their friends, 
 either in the Sunday-school or from outside. 
 Girls, this is a very important subject, and I 
 trust you will think of it conscientiously and 
 decide upon your own individual duty as in the 
 sight of God. If you fail to make a right use 
 of this season, another similar opportunity may 
 never be given you. Let us commence by 
 asking God s blessing upon our reading and 
 thinking, and the presence of that Holy Spirit 
 without whose aid we can never come to any 
 decision that will be pleasing to him." 
 
 Miss Eunice then knelt down while all the 
 girls knelt around her, and prayed in low tones 
 that the influences of the Holy Spirit might be 
 poured out upon all present ; that they might 
 have wisdom to see their duty at this solemn 
 moment and grace to do it ; that they might 
 not be self-deceived, but really surrender their 
 hearts into the hands of their Saviour, and, 
 putting their whole trust in him, be willing to 
 confess him before men, that he might con 
 fess them before the angels and his Father. 
 
 Some serious talk followed, and then tea was 
 
THE TEA-PAR TT. 69 
 
 announced, after which the conversation became 
 general, and at nine o clock the girls and their 
 brothers and friends, who had come for them, 
 went home quietly, and for the most part 
 wrapped in serious thought. 
 
 Etta Mount joy had never felt so strangely in 
 her life. She had always known that some 
 people were professing Christians ; nay, she 
 had, during her visits to the city, and even at 
 home, seen people, even young girls, come for 
 ward and take upon themselves the vows of 
 Christ. Perhaps it may have occurred to her 
 that "sometime" she should do so, but to be 
 deliberately called upon to consider her own 
 immediate duty in the matter had not happened 
 to her before. Once or twice, indeed, when 
 she was much younger, " Sister Eunice " or 
 " Brother James " had attempted to speak to 
 her upoa the subject, but she always turned 
 away from it in such a flippant way that both 
 felt she was in no proper frame for the con 
 sideration of so solemn a theme, and of late 
 they had foreborne to mention it. It was with 
 a view, perhaps, of interesting her sister quite 
 as much as her sister s scholars that Eunice 
 
70 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 had invited them upon the present occasion, 
 knowing that the young girl s lively interest in 
 her class would induce her to be present if its 
 members were, and to her great joy and thank 
 fulness she was not disappointed. Etta had 
 never heard her sister pray before, though the 
 Wednesday afternoon meetings were often thus 
 opened, and it seemed to her something almost 
 awful to hear the language which she had 
 always associated with a grave minister and 
 a solemn church service spoken reverently, it 
 is true, but quite familiarly, by her sister. 
 
 Then, too, the question with which the read 
 ing closed : " Will you now thus confess 
 Christ ? " How could she answer it ? Was she 
 in a fit state for so solemn an action, she, a 
 butterfly flitting from one avocation to another, 
 with no thought or aim beyond pleasing herself ? 
 She knew she was not. She had given up the 
 child-habit of " saying her prayers," and she 
 had never learned really to pray. Until she 
 took that class she had not, for some years, 
 voluntarily opened her Bible, and now she knew 
 that all her energetic study of the technicalities 
 of the Holy Word had in it no grain of desire 
 
THE TEA-PAR TT. JI 
 
 to please or glorify God. Even her devotion to 
 Sunday-school teaching, usually supposed to be 
 Christian work, had in it no leaven of Chris 
 tianity, being only self-pleasing from end to end. 
 Etta was sufficiently clear-sighted to see all 
 this. She knew that she never thought of 
 God. His approval or disapproval was all one 
 to her, and while she had never denied or 
 openly scoffed at religion, and had no reason to 
 doubt the truths of its facts and doctrines, she 
 was, so far as anything practical went, not a 
 Christian at all. What had she to " confess " ? 
 And yet, how strange it would seem if some 
 of those to whom she stood in the position 
 of teacher, who of necessity looked up to and 
 imitated her, should become Christians and 
 church members, when she had never taken the 
 same stand. Stranger still, and worse, if they 
 should be deterred from what seemed to them 
 a duty by the example of their Sunday-school 
 teacher. Etta had never been placed in such 
 a dilemma before, and she heartily wished 
 either that her sister had not invited her class, 
 or that the class had not accepted the invita 
 tion, and that the girls would never come again, 
 
7 2 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 and yet she hardly liked to advise them not to 
 do so. 
 
 "I don t like that kind of a party at all," 
 said Bertie Sanderson, when the group of 
 younger girls were well out of hearing of the 
 house. "She just got us there under false 
 pretences, calling it fun and turning it into 
 a sort of church. We get prayers enough, in 
 all conscience, on Sundays." 
 
 " I d rather have Miss Etta talk to us about 
 the patriarchs and the stories and all that," 
 said Matilda Eckart, who was a good scholar, 
 or would have been if she had not, by the 
 necessities of her family, been forced to work 
 in the mill. " I like to learn things ; still I 
 like Miss Eunice, too. She s real sweet, and 
 maybe we ought to do as she says." 
 
 " Nonsense ! " said another girl, Helen Felting 
 by name, " Miss Etta is n t a Christian, and 
 she s her own sister and three or four years 
 older than we are. I don t want to be any 
 better than she is. My, ain t her dress lovely, 
 all silk and velvet, and such an exquisite shade ! 
 fits so, too, just as if it was her skin ! " 
 
 " Did you see her ear-rings ? " said another. 
 
THE TEA-PAR * T. 73 
 
 " Real diamonds, all set round with pearls, and 
 such a chain and locket !" 
 
 " I don t care," said Bertie ; meaning, of 
 course, that she did care very much. " We girls 
 have n t got so much money and we can t have 
 real things. I like my chain and locket just as 
 well (which she did n t, for she was quite keen 
 enough to understand the difference), but I 
 won t go there again till I get my silk dress 
 made ; " and she glanced disgustedly at the 
 light-blue cashmere which, as it was her best 
 dress, she chose to wear on all occasions, 
 and which looked already much the worse for 
 its week in the rag-room at the mill. 
 
 Katie Robertson did not speak at all, except 
 to answer the questions of Eric, who had come 
 for her, as to whether she had had a pleasant 
 time decidedly in the affirmative. She was 
 thinking very deeply. We have seen that our 
 Katie was a faithful, conscientious little girl, 
 loving God sincerely, trusting in her Saviour, 
 and striving to please him and grow like him. 
 She loved to study the Bible, which she knew 
 was his word, and to pray to him in her own 
 simple language every night and morning ; nay, 
 
j A KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 often at other times when she felt the need of 
 his help, or had something she wanted to tell 
 him about. She had not asked herself any hard 
 questions yet about whether she were a Christian 
 or not. She knew she was her mother s Katie 
 because she loved her mother and wanted to 
 please her, and she knew she was God s child 
 because she loved him and wanted to please 
 him. She often did things, and said things, 
 and thought things that she knew were dis 
 pleasing to both, but she did not want to do so. 
 She was always very sorry, she always asked to 
 be forgiven and believed she was, for did not 
 her mother say so each time, and had not her 
 heavenly Father promised so once for all in the 
 Bible ? 
 
 But this afternoon the thought had really 
 come to her that she ought publicly to confess 
 herself a Christian ; and yet she shrank from it, 
 she hardly knew why. She was afraid she 
 might afterward do something which would 
 disgrace such a holy profession ; and yet, if her 
 Saviour commanded it, as he certainly did, that 
 made it a duty, and, of course, she ought to 
 obey, trusting him to help her keep all the 
 
THE TRA-PARTT. 75 
 
 promises as he had promised to do. He would 
 like it, too, so much ; it would be easier after 
 ward to resist temptation and to " stand up for 
 Jesus " among her companions. 
 
 Katie s thoughts were very busy ones, and 
 by the time she came in sight of her home she 
 had decided that, if her mother and the pastor 
 had no objection, she would give in her name 
 among those who were, at the first opportunity, 
 to confess Christ. 
 
 The Wednesday afternoon meetings were 
 continued throughout the spring and early 
 summer, and were attended by all the mem 
 bers of Miss Eunice s class, nearly all those 
 of her sister s, and five or six other girls who 
 accepted the kind invitation of the former. 
 There was always the same hospitality, always 
 the same warm welcome, and always the same 
 grave but happy earnestness on the part of the 
 young lady on whom God had laid this great 
 work. As the warm days came on, the meet 
 ings were adjourned to the velvety, close- 
 shaven lawn, where chairs and rustic seats 
 were clustered under the shade of a great, 
 wide-spreading tree, and the sweet, holy 
 
76 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 themes of reading and conversation seemed 1 
 all the sweeter that they were henceforth I 
 associated with blue sky, bright flowers, white I 
 clouds, green leaves, and the other things made 1 
 by the God who was even now calling these I 
 young hearts into his service. 
 
 Miss Eunice went through with a pretty 1 
 thorough course of reading upon sin, repent- ] 
 ance, faith in Christ, renunciation of all evil, i 
 walking obediently in God s holy will and j 
 commandments, which is another name for holy \ 
 living, and as she prayed constantly for God s 1 
 blessing upon her efforts, she had great cause 1 
 for thankfulness in the hope that many of these j 
 young souls thus brought, for the first time, ] 
 face to face with their personal responsibility j 
 toward God, and his loving provision for their I 
 salvation, really chose the " better part," which ; 
 no man can take away from us, " passed from 
 death unto life," and in publicly confessing 
 Christ made no false profession. 
 
A DISCOVERY. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A DISCOVERY. 
 
 EANWHILE work in the mill was 
 becoming an old story and, as such, 
 decidedly monotonous. The glamour 
 had passed by, and Squantown Paper Mill had 
 ceased to be an enchanted palace and become 
 a prosaic place of daily toil. Such disenchant- 
 ments are always more or less painful, and 
 Katie s high spirits declined proportionally. It 
 was well that principles of self-support, 
 independence, and duty to God, underlay her 
 enthusiasm, or it would soon have died away, 
 being choked to death by the dust from the 
 rags. 
 
 The little pile of money that was ready 
 to be carried home every Saturday night at first 
 did a great deal toward rekindling the old 
 enthusiasm. The first week it was only two 
 dollars and forty cents, but on the second it had 
 risen to three dollars, fifty cents a day being the 
 regular price paid to the "rag-room girls." 
 
78 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 By this time the " new hand " was 
 no longer, and she had learned to work so fasl 
 as to accomplish the amount usually dom 
 in a day in a much shorter time, and ther 
 Miss Peters told her she might go home. 
 
 Mr. Mount] oy, or rather " Mr. James," upor 
 whom all arrangements concerning the work 
 people devolved, was not one of those employer 
 who consider that they have bought all .the tim< 
 of their employees. He had a right to a fail 
 day s work in return for a fair day s wages 
 but if any one was industrious enough to d( 
 more than this, the time thus gained was hi! 
 own to use as he liked. Many of the elde: 
 workers did use it in the mill, receiving extn 
 pay for extra work, when, as sometime? 
 happened, there was extra work to be done 
 Some of her companions made as much as 
 a dollar a day in this way. But Mrs. Robertsor 
 was gifted with good sense, and knew that he] 
 child s young strength must not be overtaxec 
 and thus the development of the future womar 
 be stunted. So Katie came home generall) 
 about four o clock, and had plenty of time 
 to rest, to help her mother about the house 
 
A DISCOVERT. 79 
 
 to keep up some of her old school studies, and 
 to read the very valuable and interesting books 
 of which the Sunday-school library was com 
 posed. Her mother took her money and kept 
 it for her, hoping thus to have enough for the 
 summer outfit she would so soon need. The 
 child would gladly have done extra work 
 in order to make extra money, she knew so 
 well how much it was needed, but her mother 
 was inexorable, and she was forced to submit. 
 
 As to Bertie, she never finished her day s 
 work at all. Her time was largely spent in 
 looking out of window, studying the dresses 
 and ribbons of the other girls, making signs to 
 her companions, and whispering to her neighbor 
 whenever Miss Peters s back was turned. She 
 hated her work and would have given it up 
 long ago, at least as soon as the silk dress had 
 been procured, and her mother would have 
 very injudiciously purchased it long before 
 the money had been earned, but that her father 
 was resolute. The mill would have dispensed 
 with her society as soon as her idleness and 
 inefficiency were seen, except that Mr. Sander 
 son was her father, and it was thought best to 
 show due consideration to him, 
 
80 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 " Dear me ! how hateful it all is," said Bertie, 
 with a yawn, one day during the half-hour 
 when talking was permitted. "Are you not 
 heartily sick of it, Katie ? " 
 
 " It s a little monotonous, I own," said the 
 girl addressed, "but then, no work is play, I 
 suppose. Maybe we 11 get promoted to the 
 folding-room soon, and it will be much nicer 
 there." 
 
 " It is n t a bit nicer. It s work anywhere, and 
 I hate work. I never mean to do a bit of it that 
 I can help. Ma says pa 11 have money enough 
 to make us all rich, and I want to be a lady." 
 " Ma " had been a factory-girl herself, which 
 was perhaps one reason why Bertie despised the 
 business. She had married the foreman of the 
 mill, who had now risen to be overseer of the 
 bindery, and yearly laid up a large portion of 
 his salary, while her sister had married a city 
 grocer, who was spending all he made as he 
 made it, and his children were growing up to be 
 useless, fine ladies, and a positive injury to their 
 country cousins. 
 
 " But while you do work you might do it 
 faithfully, not spend time for which you are 
 
A DISCOVERT. 8l 
 
 paid in idleness, and crowd in rags with the 
 buttons all on, which will be sure to spoil the 
 machinery when they come to be ground." 
 
 " Bah ! what difference does it make ? I m 
 paid for my time. Provided I stay here all day, 
 they haven t a right to claim anything more." 
 
 " But, Bertie, they have. Don t you remem 
 ber the text which is painted on the wall at the 
 foot of the corridor ? 
 
 " * Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, 
 serving the Lord. 1 " 
 
 " It seems to me just like stealing to waste 
 time that we re paid for, or not to do work 
 entrusted to us just as well as we possibly can." 
 
 "Oh, well, you re one of the saints, you 
 know. If it s saintship to be rude and call 
 other people thieves I m glad I m a sinner, 
 that s all. I guess we II catch the saint in a 
 slip before long, don t you, girls ? " said she, 
 appealing to several other idlers who naturally 
 congregated around a bird of the same feather 
 as themselves. 
 
 Bertie and Katie did not walk home together 
 any more. The former, never having finished 
 her work, was always obliged to remain in the 
 
82 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 mill till the closing-bell rang, while the former 
 went home, as we have seen, at four o clock, 
 and at noon she was generally met by her 
 brothers. 
 
 "Eric," she said on the day of the above 
 conversation, "do you think it s right to idle 
 and talk instead of doing your work ? " 
 
 " We can t in the bindery ; the machine won t 
 let us. Everything would go to thunder if we 
 looked off." 
 
 "But suppose you could, and nobody knew 
 anything about it ? " 
 
 "They couldn t fine you if they didn t 
 know," said Alfred, whose ideas of the right 
 eousness of law were modified by the possibility 
 of escaping its penalty. 
 
 " What difference would that make ? " said 
 Eric. " God would know." 
 
 "Yes," said Katie, " I always wish the words 
 Thou God seest me, were written up on the 
 walls of the mill. It helps you not to get 
 tired and want to stop." 
 
 " Do you ever want to stop, Katie ? " said her 
 brother, tenderly. 
 
 "Yes, lots of times. It s just the same 
 
A DISCOVERT. 83 
 
 thing day after day, no change, no variety, the 
 dust suffocates you, and it s so hard to get up 
 in the morning, and " 
 
 "Sho!" shouted Alfred, "I thought you d 
 sing a different tune after you d been in the 
 factory a little while. Don t you remember I 
 told you so ? " 
 
 " Katie," said Eric, "you remember / told 
 you that you should not work one moment 
 longer than you wanted to. A girl with two 
 strong brothers to support her need not work 
 for her living unless she chooses to. Do you 
 want to stop now ? " 
 
 " I want to, ever so much," said the girl, " but 
 I don t mean to. Do you think I am a baby to 
 begin a thing and then leave it off again ? 
 There s just as much reason as there ever was 
 for my earning money. I m not going to be 
 dependent upon you, and mother is growing 
 older every day. Do you remember what the 
 Bible says about those who put their hands to 
 the plough and look back ? I don t mean to be 
 one of those ; and I mean to pray every day," 
 she said more softly, " that I may be more 
 patient and persevering." 
 
84 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 Eric understood her, and even Alfred re 
 spected his sister the more for what he could 
 not understand. 
 
 " I wish I knew some way of making money 
 faster," said Katie to her brothers soon after ; 
 "a great deal, I mean. Mother wants any 
 quantity of things blankets, and kitchen 
 utensils, and table things, and she has n t a 
 bonnet fit to go to church in. It takes about 
 all we can make to feed us all, and if there is 
 any left she always uses it to buy things for us 
 instead of thinking about herself." 
 
 " I wonder how it is mothers never think of 
 themselves," said Alfred. " They are always 
 fussing to make us happy, and we don t do 
 things for them at all." 
 
 Katie thought of the words : 
 
 "As one whom his mother comforteth," 
 
 which had been in last Sunday s lesson, but did 
 not say them aloud, only it was a comfort to 
 her to think of the other holy words which say 
 of a mother and her child : "She may forget, yet 
 will not I forget thee." No matter how much 
 a mother may love, God loves us better still. 
 
A DISCOVERT. 85 
 
 One day about that time, Bertie Sanderson, 
 following her usual custom of looking around the 
 room instead of at her work, saw something 
 that caused her to start, open her eyes very 
 wide, and then mutter half-aloud : 
 
 " Oho ! the saints are not so saintly after all. 
 It s dishonest to look around the room, is it? 
 I wonder what you call that ! " 
 
 "Bertie Sanderson, talking, as usual," said 
 Miss Peters, marking the fine upon the slate 
 which she always carried with her, "and Katie 
 Robertson, too," noting a sudden flush upon 
 the face of the latter. " I am surprised." 
 
 " I did not speak," said Katie, respectfully, 
 but with some confusion. 
 
 " There s no harm in talking to yourself," 
 said Bertie, in the rude tone which she usually 
 addressed to Miss Peters. 
 
 "Were not those girls talking, Gretchen," 
 said the superintendent, appealing to a stout 
 German who worked near the others. 
 
 "No, rna am, I believe not; at least, Katie 
 wasn t. I heard Bertie say something, but 
 Katie did not answer, but " 
 
 "Never mind," said Miss Peters, who had 
 
86 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 got all she wanted, a chance to fine Bertie 
 whom she hated, " attend to your work," and 
 she passed on, never noticing the hand which 
 Katie, having hastily thrust it into her pocket, 
 continued to hold there. 
 
 The work proceeded in silence, and, as Katie 
 went home at four o clock as usual, Bertie did 
 not have an opportunity to speak to her about 
 the strange thing she had noticed. She did, 
 however, say to Gretchen, as they separated: 
 "Did you see that?" 
 
 "What ? " said the German, innocently. 
 
 " Oh! nothing, if you did not see it." Bertie 
 was going to tell her companion what she had 
 seen, but on second thoughts decided to keep 
 her discovery to herself, that she might have 
 more power over the " saint," whom she was 
 beginning to absolutely hate. 
 
 But Gretchen had seen exactly what Bertie 
 had, only she did not think it her business, and 
 as it was not, did not choose to speak about 
 it, but, German fashion, went about her own 
 business. 
 
 What had the two girls seen ? What was it 
 that made Katie Robertson s face such a study 
 
A DISCOVERY. 87 
 
 as she walked home at a much slower pace than 
 was her wont? What was it that lay in the 
 depth of her pocket, where her hand rested for 
 greater security. What did she put away in 
 the drawer that contained her treasures, going 
 directly to her room for the purpose, instead of 
 rushing first of all to the sitting-room to see if 
 her mother were at home. 
 
 Only a crisp fifty-dollar t ill ! Katie had 
 never seen so much money at once before. 
 How beautiful it looked ; how much it repre 
 sented of comfort and luxury ; how many 
 things it would buy that she knew were wanted 
 by her mother and the boys ! She deposited 
 her treasure carefully at the bottom of a little 
 pearl box which had been her mother s, and was 
 the only really pretty thing which she pos 
 sessed, and then went downstairs to lie on the 
 sofa, think about and plan for spending it. 
 
 Where had Katie suddenly got so much 
 money ? and why did she so earnestly desire to 
 keep the possession of it a secret ? She 
 thought the answer to the latter question lay in 
 her desire to surprise her mother, and was not 
 at all conscious of another feeling that lay as 
 
88 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 yet quite dormant and unaroused. As to the 
 former, that is easily answered. After cutting 
 off the buttons of an old vest, just as the little 
 girl was preparing to cut it in smaller pieces, 
 the pocket opened, and out fluttered a crumpled 
 paper, which on being opened proved to be a 
 fifty-dollar bill. Some careless gentleman, no 
 one could tell whom, no one could tell when, 
 had stuffed it into the pocket and forgotten all 
 about it. Strange that the vest should have 
 gone through all the vicissitudes common to 
 old clothes, worn possibly by a beggar, con 
 demned to a dust-heap, fished out, sorted, sold, 
 packed, sold again, and transported to the 
 factory, passing through a dozen hands, to any 
 one of whose owners the money would have 
 been so useful, and there it had lain unnoticed 
 till it fluttered out into the very hands of Katie 
 Robertson, who needed it so much. 
 
 What castles in the air the little girl built 
 as she lay there in the twilight ! dresses and 
 bonnets for her mother ; new suits for each oi 
 the boys ; a new tea-set, with table-cloth and 
 napkins. Never in the world did a fifty-dollar 
 bill buy half so much in reality as this one did 
 
A DISCOVERY. 89 
 
 in imagination ; which, by the way, is a very 
 pleasant way of spending money, since it does 
 not at all diminish the amount, which may be 
 all spent over and over again in a variety of 
 ways. But strangely enough, while everything 
 needed by the others, even to a new ribbon to 
 tie round pussy s neck, was remembered, 
 Katie s catalogue of articles to be bought con 
 tained nothing in the world for herself. 
 
go KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 STRIFE AND VICTORY. 
 
 |O thought had as yet suggested itself 
 to Katie concerning her right to the 
 money which had thus come into her 
 possession, and as she lay there planning the 
 things she was going to get with it, she enjoyed 
 to the full the dignity of ownership. How glad 
 her mother would be when there was a decent 
 water-pail in the house, plates enough of one 
 kind to go round, and a table-cloth that was not 
 nearly all darns ! Then her mother should have 
 a new shawl and bonnet, and each of the boys 
 a straw hat and a bright necktie, and she 
 would have something to put in the plate every 
 Sunday in church, and to add to the missionary 
 collection of the Sunday-school class. Perhaps, 
 even, she could give something toward a present 
 that the girls were talking of giving to Miss 
 Eunice. 
 
STRIFE AND VICTORY. 91 
 
 But just then an idea, so painful that at first 
 she turned away from it, struck her, and a ques 
 tion that she did not want to answer suggested 
 itself to her mind. Had she a right to keep the 
 money? Was it really hers? Of course it 
 was, said inclination ; whose else could it be ? 
 She had found it, no one else ; if she had not 
 picked it up it would have gone in with the rags 
 to be boiled and ground up into paper again, 
 or it might have been swept away among the 
 dust and waste paper, and no one been the 
 better or wiser. "Findings is keepings" was 
 a familiar school-boy proverb ; was it the right 
 principle or not ? 
 
 Katie tried to persuade herself that it was. 
 Nevertheless, she was glad that, as she supposed, 
 no one had seen her find the bill, and that her 
 mother as yet knew nothing about the finding. 
 Also, she did not plan out any more way-s of 
 spending the money. 
 
 Katie was so silent all teatime that her 
 brothers continually rallied her upon her pre 
 occupation, and her mother, fearing she must be 
 sick, sent her to bed very early. To this the 
 little girl did not object, as she wanted to be 
 
92 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 alone to think over the question that was so 
 perplexing her brain. 
 
 Before getting into bed, our young friend 
 opened her drawer, took out the box, gazed 
 lovingly at the bill for a time, then put it away, 
 and knelt to say her evening prayer. What was 
 the matter to-night ? For almost the first time 
 since she had known what prayer really was, 
 she could not pray. Her thoughts would not 
 be controlled ; they kept wandering away tc 
 the finding of that bill. She wondered whether 
 any one had seen her find it, what use she 
 should put it to, and if it were really hers 
 after all. She knew it was wrong to think 
 of other things at such a solemn moment, and 
 felt guilty and condemned. Her conscience 
 troubled her; it seemed as though God were 
 angry with her. So far the finding of the 
 money had not been a very happy event for 
 its finder. It often happens that secular things, 
 the things we are interested in in our daily 
 lives, will come in between us and our prayers, 
 and we cannot get rid of them. Young Chris 
 tians especially are greatly troubled in this 
 way, and have many weary fights in the attempt 
 
STRIFE AND VICTOR T. 93 
 
 to control their thoughts. They have an idea 
 that prayer is such a sacred thing, and God 
 is so holy, that they must only talk to him 
 about religion, and use pretty much the same 
 words which they hear in church, and when 
 they cannot do this, they either fall into the 
 habit of saying such words formally without 
 in the least thinking of their meaning, or else 
 they are wretched and self-condemned because 
 of what are called " distractions in prayer." 
 But there is a more excellent way, even to 
 take all the things that really interest us 
 directly to " our Father which art in heaven," 
 and tell him all about them. He encourages 
 us, to do so when he says, "casting all your 
 care upon him," and "in everything by prayer 
 and supplication make your requests known 
 unto God." If we are really his children we 
 may be sure that nothing is too small to 
 interest him which rightfully interests us, and 
 if it is not a right interest there is no surer 
 way of finding that out, and gaining the victory 
 over it, than by bringing it to the light of 
 his Holy Spirit and asking him for strength 
 to dispose of it as we ought. 
 
94 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 Had Katie thus taken the money which she 
 had found directly to the Lord, she would 
 soon have understood all her duty concern 
 ing it. Her desire would have been only to do 
 his will, and she would have gone to sleep 
 as peacefully as a little child who trusts its 
 mother to manage for it just as she sees to 
 be for the best. But this she did not dare 
 to do, partly because she had not yet learned 
 to understand how God " careth " for his 
 children in all little things, and partly because 
 down at the bottom of her heart she was 
 not quite ready to do his will that is, she 
 hoped that it would be right for her to keep 
 the money, and hoped this so strongly that she 
 could not look fairly on the other side of 
 the question. Nearly all night or it seemed 
 so to a little girl who was generally asleep 
 by the time her head touched the pillow 
 she lay tossing from side to side, troubled by 
 a dozen different sides of the question. And 
 when she did get to sleep it was to dream 
 confused dreams of thieves being taken to 
 prison, and of being one of them herself. 
 
 As soon as it was light, for the long days 
 
STRIFE AND VICTORY. 95 
 
 had come now, the tired little girl sprang 
 from her bed, and dressed herself, in a very 
 unhappy frame of mind. She must decide 
 very soon now, and she began to see more 
 and more clearly that that money did not 
 belong to her, but to the owner of the vest 
 in which she had found it. To be sure, she 
 could not now find the original owner, but 
 Mr. Mountjoy certainly owned it, because he 
 had bought the rags. It was one thing, how 
 ever, to see this, and quite another to decide 
 to give up to him who had so much the little 
 that was so much to her. All the pleasant 
 planning must go with it ; all the things she 
 had desired for her mother and the boys. 
 She was sure she had not been selfish ; it 
 was not for herself she wanted money at all. 
 From force of habit she opened her Bible 
 and read the first words she saw, which were 
 these : "Thou desirest truth in the inward 
 parts." And again the words flashed upon 
 her : " Thou God seest me." 
 
 What did God see? Did he see "truth in 
 the inward part " of her heart ? Was she pre 
 pared in all her ways to acknowledge him? 
 his right to her and all that was hers? 
 
96 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 Then she knelt down and did what she ought 
 to have done the first thing told him, who un 
 derstands and pities us " like as a father pitieth 
 his children," all about it, and asked him to 
 forgive, to pity, and to direct her. And now 
 it all came to her, for God always keeps his 
 word, and he has promised to give his Holy 
 Spirit to them that ask him, and further that 
 that blessed Spirit when he comes shall "guide 
 us unto all truth." 
 
 Whoever was the owner of that bill, she was 
 not. It belonged to God primarily, but he had 
 given the disposal of it into the hands of him 
 who owned the rags. If she kept it, at least 
 without telling him that she had found it, she 
 would be a thief ! There was but one right 
 way for her, and that was to take it at once to 
 him, tell him where she had found it, and leave 
 him to do as he thought best. To her mind 
 there was little doubt what he would do. 
 People did not generally give away their money, 
 especially such large sums as fifty dollars 
 seemed to her. All her air-castles must fall 
 to the dust, and the house must go on with 
 the old things as before. 
 
STRIFE AND VIC TORT. 97 
 
 Nevertheless, it was with a sense of absolute 
 relief that Katie folded that bill away in her 
 little purse, and dropped it far down into her 
 pocket. If the "eyes of the Lord were in 
 every place," they saw it there, and they saw, 
 too, into her heart, and saw there that the 
 purpose of doing his will had, by his grace, 
 triumphed over her own desires, and that was 
 enough to make her once more the happy, 
 bright Katie Robertson. 
 
 She was almost late at the mill this morning ; 
 had only just time to get to her place as the 
 short whistle sounded, and of course there was 
 no time to speak to Mr. Mount joy. She com 
 menced her work at once, and continued it very 
 diligently, never once looking around at the 
 other girls, so full was she of her own thoughts. 
 Thus she did not see the significant looks 
 which Bertie cast at her from time to time, 
 nor the signs which she made to some of the 
 other girls who, in their turn, became curious 
 and significant, and lost several pennies in fines, 
 because they could not help asking each other 
 what was the matter. 
 
 Bertie had not exactly told the story as she 
 
98 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 knew it, but had insinuated to one and another 
 that she knew something that nobody else 
 knew about Katie Robertson ; that, if she 
 chose to tell all she knew, people would not 
 think her such a saint ; that, for her part, she 
 did not believe in saints ; when people pretended 
 to be very religious they were sure to be dis 
 honest, etc. etc. She made such a mystery 
 of her news that the girls to whom she had 
 made her half-confidence were worked up to 
 a great state of excitement, and the others 
 were devoured with curiosity to know what 
 it could all be about. 
 
 But Katie worked quietly on. She had 
 plenty of opportunity to change her determina 
 tion had she desired to do so, and indeed the 
 temptation to keep the money herself and say 
 nothing about it presented itself again and 
 again to her mind. But now she knew it to 
 be a temptation, and she was strong to resist, 
 because she had committed herself to One who 
 was mighty and his strength was made perfect 
 in her weakness. 
 
 As soon as the noon-bell rang and the work 
 people all poured along the corridors and out at 
 
STRIFE AND VIC TORT. 99 
 
 the open doors, Katie knocked at the office 
 door and was told to " Come in ! " by Mr. James, 
 who happened to be alone inside. Without a 
 word the girl walked up to his desk and laid 
 the bill down beside him. 
 
 The young man started, stared, and finally 
 said: 
 
 " Where did you get this ? " 
 
 " I found it in the rags, sir." 
 
 "When?" 
 
 "Yesterday afternoon." 
 
 "Why did you bring it to me?" 
 
 " Because I think if it belongs to anybody it 
 does to you ; it was found among your rags," 
 
 " Why did you not bring it to me at once ? " 
 
 " Because because I did n t think at first, 
 and I wanted it so much." 
 
 "Did you?" said he, gravely. "You know 
 the Bible says : Thou shalt not covet ? " 
 
 Katie started ; had she been breaking one of 
 the commandments, after all ? Not the one 
 about stealing, of which she had thought, but 
 another. 
 
 " I did n t mean to do that," said she, in a low 
 voice, "but we do want things so much mother, 
 I mean. We are so poor." 
 
IOO KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 "Are you ? " said the young man, in a sympa 
 thizing tone. " Well, you are an honest little girl 
 to bring it to me at all. A great many would 
 not have done so, and I should have known 
 nothing about it. Didn t you think of that?" 
 
 "Yes, sir; but God knew it, and that made 
 all the difference. Besides, I don t think I was 
 quite honest ; if I had been, I should have come 
 to you the first minute, and not thought about 
 keeping it at all." 
 
 "Then you did have a little struggle about 
 it?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, sir , I hardly slept all night. I 
 didn t know what to do at first, and then I 
 didn t want to do it" 
 
 "But God gave you the victory," said the 
 young man, reverently. 
 
 " I understand all about that, and how sweet 
 it is to be helped by him," Katie added 
 
 " Now," continued he, " I think he sent you 
 that fifty-dollar bill himself ; first to try you, and 
 then that you might help your mother to buy 
 all those things that you and she are so much 
 in need of. It is n t mine, for when I pay two 
 cents a pound for old rags I do not buy fifty 
 
STRIFE AND VIC TORT. IOI 
 
 dollar bills. Take it, and be just as happy with 
 it as a thankful heart can make you. Good- 
 morning ; I must hurry home to dinner." J 
 
 A gladder little girl than Katie Robertson it 
 would be hard to find. The love of money is 
 said to be the root of all evil, and so money 
 itself sometimes is, but that is according to 
 how it is gotten and how used. 
 
 This bill would have been a root of bitter evil 
 to the girl had she kept it, in spite of an 
 enlightened conscience, which told her to give it 
 up; and it would have been a root of evil to the 
 young man, had he taken it, as by the letter 
 of the law he had an undoubted right to do, 
 when he knew the little girl needed it so much 
 more than he did. As it was, it was a seed of 
 joy to both of them. Mr. James went home 
 full of the joy which is so like to Christ s joy, 
 m having been kind to another at his own 
 expense ; and Katie s heart could hardly hold 
 the glad thankfulness, both to him and to her 
 heavenly Father, that filled it to overflowing, and 
 that was all the gladder because it was rooted 
 in an approving conscience, at peace with itself 
 and at peace with God. 
 
 1 This whole occurrence is a positive fact. 
 
I02 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 The precious piece of paper was displayed to 
 the wondering mother and brothers at the dinner- 
 table that day. The story, or so much of it as 
 .Katie "could bring herself to relate, was told, and 
 all enjoyed in anticipation the comforts it was 
 able to procure ; but the best thing it accom 
 plished was to teach its finder where to go in 
 time of perplexity and temptation and in whose 
 strength to be "more than conqueror." 
 
TEMPLES. 103 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 TEMPLES. 
 
 |T was a lovely June Sunday. The seats 
 of Squantown Sunday-school were even 
 more crowded than usual ; the girls 
 side looking like a flower-bed in its variety 
 and brilliancy of color. Bertie Sanderson was 
 there in her new silk, a brilliant cardinal, 
 looking strangely unsuitable to the season ; 
 Gretchen, the German, in her woolen petticoat 
 and jacket, which she had not been long enough 
 in the country to discard for summer attire ; the 
 other girls in spring suits, and Katie Robertson 
 in a lovely pale-blue lawn and a white straw hat 
 trimmed with the same color. It was the 
 prettiest costume the little girl had ever pos 
 sessed, and as it was all bought with her own 
 earnings she may be pardoned for being very 
 much pleased with it. And yet it was as simple 
 and inexpensive a summer outfit as any one 
 could have, and certainly was not fitted to 
 excite the hateful thoughts to which it was 
 
IO4 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 giving rise in Bertie s mind Bertie, clad in 
 her unsuitable finery ! This finery had not 
 been the success that Bertie expected. To be 
 sure, it was a silk dress, and the brightest 
 color she could procure, but it had been made 
 by the Squantown dressmaker, and entirely 
 lacked the fit and finish of Etta Mountjoy s 
 dresses, besides being in direct contrast to the 
 delicate, harmonious colors which the latter 
 wore a contrast which her admirer and would- 
 be imitator was quick to perceive when her own 
 brilliant coloring had been selected and it was 
 too late to change. The disappointment made 
 her cross, and inclined her still more to look for 
 flaws in Katie, whom she began to hate as 
 natures not sanctified by the grace of God are 
 apt to hate those who are trying to do his will, 
 and are thus a constant rebuke to them. 
 
 "Just look at her finery," said Bertie to her 
 nearest neighbor, as Katie entered, looking as 
 fresh and sweet as a June rose, "and her 
 mother so poor. I could tell a story about how 
 she got it that would make Miss Etta open her 
 eyes, and Miss Eunice, too, for all she makes 
 such a pet of the saint." 
 
TEMPLES. IO5 
 
 "What in the world do you mean ? " said the 
 other; but Bertie shook her head and looked 
 mysterious, of course thus exciting the curiosity 
 of the other tenfold. 
 
 "Do tell me," she said. 
 
 " We know what we do know, don t we ? " 
 said Bertie, provokingly, appealing to Gretchen, 
 who nodded, but did not speak. 
 
 "Now, you re real mean," said the other, one 
 Amelia Porter by name. " I know something I 
 won t tell you, that s all." 
 
 Just then the bell tapped for silence, and the 
 rest of the conversation was carried on in 
 whispers, the only part which was heard being 
 Amelia s astonished " Stole it ? You don t say 
 so ! I never would have thought of such a 
 thing." 
 
 But Katie did not hear. She was not thinking 
 about her dress at all. The lesson was to her a 
 very interesting one .the oft-repeated story of 
 the tongues of fire that carne down upon the 
 early church, symbolizing the mighty power of 
 the Holy Spirit to enkindle divine emotions, 
 enthusiasm, and praise, and to make human 
 tongues as flames of fire. 
 
IO6 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 Miss Etta explained (for she had taken pains 
 to study it up) how, in the early, times one 
 Sunday in June was observed in commemo 
 ration of this descent of the Holy Ghost, and 
 how, on that day, the new Christians, who of 
 course were originally heathen, having been at 
 first subjected to a long course of training, were 
 baptized. They were called catechumens, be 
 cause they were catechised or questioned, and 
 candidates because they wore long white robes, 
 candidus being the Latin word for white, and by 
 degrees the day came to be called Whitsunday. 
 Furthermore, Miss Etta told all about the 
 Whitsuntide festivals of old English times in 
 the days of the corrupt church, when festivities 
 of the most riotous kind took place on the two 
 days following Sunday ; and the girls left the 
 school, if not impressed by the holy teachings 
 of the lessons, very full of a certain knowledge 
 of that kind which St. Paul says " puffeth up," 
 and prepared to pass a brilliant examination on 
 the history and customs of Whitsuntide. 
 
 Very different was the pastor s sermon of 
 that morning, which several of our girls remem 
 bered all their lives. Its text was : 
 
TEMPLES. IO7 
 
 Ye are the temples of the Holy Ghost." 
 A.nd the speaker showed first what the temples 
 D old times were ; not places of meeting, as our 
 :hurches to a great extent are, but dwelling- 
 places, homes where God, or rather " the gods," 
 were supposed to live. This idea was the one 
 ased as an illustration by St. Paul in the text, 
 which means that God has made all human 
 hearts to be his home and dwelling-place, and 
 that if we will let him, not barring the doors 
 with sin and filling up the inside with other 
 things, he will live there always ; or, as our Lord 
 Jesus says : " If any man will open unto me, I 
 will come in unto him and will sup with him ; " 
 and in another place, "will abide with him." 
 Then he explained so that the youngest of his 
 audience could understand what are the sins 
 that bar the door against our blessed Saviour, 
 and how we set up idols upon the altars of 
 God s temple, by worshiping dress, vanity, 
 pride, revenge, worldliness, and our own way, 
 and showed how nobody can really worship 
 God and have him abiding in his holy temple 
 who yields obedience to anything or cares for 
 anything more than his will. He said it was an 
 
108 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 awful thing to defile the temple of God by such 
 things as drinking, smoking, and swearing, or 
 even by evil thoughts and dishonest intentions, 
 by selfish motives and unkindness in word or 
 deed." 
 
 He closed his sermon in these words : 
 "My hearers, every one of you is a temple 
 of the Holy Ghost, built and fashioned with 
 exquisite skill, for his own chosen dwelling- 
 place. See to it that ye defile not this temple, 
 and if it be in any wise already defiled, from 
 without or within, at once seek the double 
 cleansing, which flows from the Cross on 
 Calvary, that thus your sacred temple may be 
 washed whiter than snow. Dethrone the idol 
 Self which has so long usurped the place of God 
 upon its altar, and let him rule alone. And 
 remember that every other human soul is like 
 wise a sacred temple, no matter how defiled 
 and degraded it has become by yielding itself 
 willingly to the dominion of sin. Strive to do 
 all that in you lies, by kind, persuasive words, 
 by example and effort, to cleanse the degraded 
 and polluted temples, and so do all in your 
 power to exalt the dominion and worship of 
 
TEMPLES. % 109 
 
 God in all the human souls which he has 
 made." 
 
 The impression made by this sermon upon 
 its hearers was in accord with the character 
 and religious development of each. 
 
 James Mountjoy resolved to be more active 
 and energetic in all efforts to improve the con 
 dition of his work-people, to raise the fallen, to 
 reclaim the sinful, to set a better example and 
 raise a higher standard of moral excellence, that 
 the human temples over whom he had influence 
 might be better fitted for the abiding presence 
 of their heavenly Guest. Some of the more 
 thoughtful of his boys resolved that smoking, 
 drinking, and swearing should no longer, even 
 in a slight degree, defile the "temples" en 
 trusted to their keeping. 
 
 Eunice Mountjoy made a more entire con 
 secration of herself than ever before to God s 
 service, praying that there might be no hidden 
 idols in her temple ; that self and self-seeking 
 might be forever cast out, even as our Lord 
 cast out the money-changers and traffickers 
 from the temple at Jerusalem ; that God s will 
 in all things might be hers, and that she might 
 
I I O KA TIB R OBER TS ON. 
 
 devote not a part only, but all her time, all her 
 faculties, all her influence to his service in 
 doing good to others, and thus "worship the 
 Lord in the beauty of holiness." 
 
 Katie Robertson felt that she had understood 
 some things to-day as never before. What but 
 the presence of the Holy Spirit in her heart had 
 enabled her to see the right and strengthened 
 her to do it, and thus come off victorious over 
 temptation ? She remembered how the Holy 
 Ghost is symbolized by a pure white dove, and 
 she longed that her temple should also be a soft, 
 white nest full of pure desires and kindly 
 thoughts, and that nothing she might do or say 
 in her daily life, among her companions or at 
 home, should grieve that blessed heavenly 
 inhabitant. 
 
 Even Bertie Sanderson had been struck with 
 the sermon. If her heart was indeed a temple 
 of the Holy Ghost, how was she defiling it ? 
 Envy, hatred, and malice were allowed to run 
 riot there ; love of dress and vanity were the 
 idols enthroned on the altar ; pride, disobedience, 
 irreverence, contempt of rightful authority, 
 idleness, and unfaithfulness were barring the 
 
TEMPLES. 1 1 1 
 
 door and keeping the loving Saviour, who stood 
 knocking there, from coming into his own. 
 
 Bertie felt uncomfortable ; the Holy Spirit 
 was speaking to her, and she could not help but 
 hear. But to hear and to obey are two very 
 different things. The girl knew that she could 
 unbar the closed door of her heart if she chose. 
 One earnest, sincere prayer would bring the 
 omnipotent aid of the Spirit to cast out the 
 evil things and cleanse the defilement. But 
 she did not want them cast out ; she loved them 
 too well. It would be all very well to have 
 Christ s love, pity, forgiveness, and protection, 
 and to be sure of heaven when she died ; but 
 to be a Christian a saint she would have 
 called it now, to give up the things that most 
 interested her, and live a life of self-denial and 
 obedience, she had no idea of doing any such 
 thing. So, to drown the voice that she could 
 not help hearing but did not mean to obey, she 
 went off on a Sunday afternoon s excursion 
 with some of the boys and girls, received a 
 sharp reprimand from her father for so doing, 
 and went back to her work on Monday morning 
 more rebellious, more hardened, more idle, 
 more malicious than before. 
 
112 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 The blessed Holy Spirit is always longing to 
 have us come to Christ and walk in his holy 
 and happy ways. He watches for an oppor 
 tunity to speak to us, and does speak, again and 
 again, inclining us to give up sin and choose 
 holiness, offering us, if we will do so, all the 
 help we need. But he will not force us to obey 
 his gentle call. If we will not listen and obey, 
 he lets us go off on our self-chosen path, ceases 
 to speak audibly to us, and patiently waits for 
 another and more propitious season. Bertie 
 Sanderson, that June Sunday, greatly "grieved 
 the Spirit." 
 
 But not so did Etta Mount joy. This young 
 lady, ever since that first Wednesday when she 
 attended her sister s tea-party, had thought 
 more seriously than she had ever thought 
 before. The duty of being a Christian had 
 come home to her during Eunice s talk and 
 prayer, and at the same time she had felt that 
 she was not, and had never tried to be, one. 
 She had seen this still more clearly during the 
 subsequent meetings, from which her duty to 
 her own class would not permit her to be 
 absent. Dishonesty and hypocrisy were not 
 
TEMPLES. I 1 3 
 
 Etta s vices ; she could not pretend to be what 
 she was not, and yet she could not shake off 
 the impression that she ought to give herself 
 to Christ and openly confess his name. She 
 tried to put the subject out of her thoughts ; 
 but still, as she listened, day by day, she grew 
 more and more dissatisfied with herself, her 
 own character, her aims in life. The prepara 
 tion of her Sunday-school lessons became a 
 dreaded task, for it was impossible to minutely 
 consider the shells of sacred things and not at 
 the same time take cognizance of the spiritual 
 kernels which they envelop, and these spiritual 
 realities made her uncomfortable and more and 
 more dissatisfied with herself. 
 
 This Sunday s sermon had gone to the very 
 quick of Etta s conscience, painting as with a 
 finger of light what she ought to be and what 
 she was. God had made her for his own temple 
 and dwelling-place ; made her fair, outside and 
 within ; endowed her with intellectual and 
 spiritual gifts, and with wealth, station, and 
 influence, giving her opportunities for culture 
 and usefulness far greater than most of those 
 who surrounded her. It was not chance or 
 
H4 KA TIE R OBER TS ON - 
 
 accident, but God, who had given her all this, 
 and he demanded, as he had a right to demand, 
 in return, her love, her obedience, her service. 
 Had she given him these ? Never once in her 
 whole life. She had set up upon his altar in 
 the midst of his beautiful temple the idol of 
 self-pleasing, and never in her whole seventeen 
 years had she acted from any other motive than 
 to please herself. It was sacrilege, it was 
 idolatry, it was dishonesty ; and so were all the 
 actions which had come from such a corrupt 
 source. 
 
 Etta was too clear-headed to suppose that 
 any sudden change of practice, which it was 
 in her power to commence now, would make 
 any difference. She might obey mechanically, 
 but she could not make herself love, and she did 
 not love, God. His service was a weariness, 
 prayer a formality, the Bible a dull, uninterest 
 ing book. She did love a light, gay, frivolous 
 life ; she saw no attractiveness in one of self- 
 denial and holy living. 
 
 She went directly to her room on reaching 
 home, refused to go down to dinner, sat behind 
 the shaded blinds, and thought till thought 
 
TEMPLES. I I 5 
 
 became insupportable ; and then, having come 
 to one settled determination, put on her hat, 
 covered her tear-stained face with a veil, and 
 walked down the hill to the parsonage, and 
 rang the bell with a nervous jerk. Whatever 
 Etta did she did with a will ; she made no half 
 way decisions. 
 
 The servant who admitted "Miss Etta" 
 showed her into the pastor s study, where after 
 a time he joined her, looking a little surprised 
 at receiving such a visitor on Sunday afternoon. 
 Etta s peculiarities, however, were well known, 
 and he concluded she had some new project 
 in her head, in which she desired his assistance 
 and, as usual, could not wait a moment to put 
 it into execution. He was rather surprised 
 by the tear-swollen eyes and the resolute 
 expression of face, and after courteously wel 
 coming his visitor, waited somewhat impatiently 
 to hear what she had to say. 
 
 " I came," said the girl, with her usual 
 directness, "to ask you to give my Sunday- 
 school class to some one else." 
 
 "Tired of holding your hand to the plow, 
 and beginning to look back already, eh ? " he 
 said. 
 
I 1 6 KA TIB R OBER TS ON. 
 
 " No, sir, it is n t that ; but I am not fit to 
 teach any class ; certainly not such a one as 
 this. I don t myself know what those girls 
 ought to learn ; besides, I m not a fit character 
 for them to imitate." 
 
 "Not a fit character? What can you 
 mean ? " 
 
 So far Etta had spoken quite steadily, but 
 now there came a tremor into her voice, a 
 mist before her eyes, and a choking sensation 
 in her throat, that would not let her speak. 
 
 He waited a few moments, then said gently : 
 " Try to tell me about it, and I will help you 
 if I can." 
 
 Encouraged by something fatherly in the 
 clergyman s voice, the girl at last found cour 
 age to commence her story ; and having broken 
 the ice, her words came fluently enough, as 
 she tried to make him understand how utterly 
 self-seeking and godless her life and character 
 were ; how the temple that should be God s 
 was barred against him, and filled with idols 
 and idolatry. 
 
 "This must be the Holy Spirit s teachings," 
 said he, gravely ; " for, so far as I know, you 
 
TEMPLES. 1 1 7 
 
 are no worse or more careless than most girls of 
 your age." 
 
 But this thought was no comfort to her 
 thoroughly aroused conscience, nor did the 
 minister suppose it would be. He continued : 
 
 " Now that you see how bad things are, you 
 are going to change them, are you not ? You 
 will open the barred doors that our blessed 
 Lord wants to enter, and let him henceforth 
 be your one object of worship and obedience, 
 will you not ? " 
 
 " How can I ? " said the astonished girl. 
 " I can t make myself like things." 
 
 "No ; but it is the Holy Ghost who desires 
 to come into his holy temple, and where he 
 comes he brings healing, cleansing, and regen 
 erating power. What we have to do is to 
 let him do his work, not hindering him by 
 our self-will and disobedience, not even trying 
 to feel as we think we ought to feel." 
 
 " But I am not worthy to have him come to 
 me. For seventeen years I have been sinning 
 against him and grieving him. Even if I were 
 made right all at once, I could not undo all 
 that." 
 
I I S KA TIE R OBER TS ON. 
 
 " But Jesus can," he said solemnly. " Have 
 you forgotten the cross, and all that it means r 
 Have you forgotten that he died to bear the 
 penalty of sin, and that for his sake the 
 worst sinners can be forgiven ? We are none 
 of us worthy to come to him, or, which is 
 the same thing, to have him come to us ; but 
 he is the propitiation, sacrifice, and satisfaction 
 for the sins of the whole world ; it is not 
 what you can do or be, but what he has done 
 and is. Believe that he loves you, and died 
 for you, and is your Saviour, and you cannot 
 help loving and trusting him and letting his 
 Spirit do with you as he will." 
 
 Was that all ? So simple, so easy, and yet an 
 hour ago it had seemed so impossible to be 
 a Christian. She did not speak for some 
 minutes; then she said: 
 
 " Have I nothing at all to do ? " 
 
 " A great deal by-and-by ; only one thing 
 to-day." 
 
 " And that is ? " 
 
 "To be sure that you are in earnest, that you 
 are thoroughly ashamed of, and sorry for, the 
 past, really anxious to be delivered from sin 
 
TEMPLES. I 1 9 
 
 and made holy, and resolutely determined obe 
 diently to follow where God leads the way." 
 
 " I believe I am in earnest," said she, simply. 
 " Won t you pray for me, sir ? " 
 
 "Yes, indeed, my child," said the minister, 
 laying his hand on her head. " God bless you, 
 and make you very happy in his love, and 
 useful in his service." 
 
 " You will provide a teacher for my class ? " 
 said Etta, as somewhat later she rose to take 
 her leave. 
 
 " Why, no ; unless you are really tired of it. 
 I think you had better go on as you have 
 commenced." 
 
 " I am not fit to be a Sunday-school teacher." 
 
 " I am not fit to be a minister ; but God, 
 in his providence, has seen fit to make me 
 one, and so I trust him to give me the strength 
 and wisdom I need. If you will do the same, 
 you will become a very successful and efficient 
 Sunday-school teacher ; and this is a good way 
 in which to consecrate your talents and oppor 
 tunities to his service. Now, good-by ; I must 
 prepare for the evening service. Whenever 
 you want help, advice, or sympathy, be sure 
 you come to me." 
 
I2O KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 Etta went home in a new world of thought 
 and feeling. She seemed to herself scarcely to 
 be the same girl ; but in fact she was not think 
 ing particularly about herself. God s love in 
 desiring to save sinners, Christ s love in dying 
 for them, the love of the Holy Spirit in being 
 willing to come and abide with them, filled all 
 her soul, and she was not trying to love this 
 triune God, but loving him with all her might, 
 because she could not help doing so. How 
 strange it is that we go on from year to year, 
 trying to be better, trying to feel right, trying 
 to make ourselves holy, instead of just opening 
 the door of the temple of our heart and believ 
 ing that Jesus Christ loves us, and because 
 he loves us will make us all that he wants us 
 to be. 
 
UNDER A CLOUD. 121 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 UNDER A CLOUD. 
 
 E AN WHILE there were some changes 
 at the mill. Katie Robertson had 
 been promoted to the folding-room, 
 which was on the lower floor, and where the 
 work was not so heavy, though the payment 
 was much better. She now received seventy- 
 five cents for a regular day s work, and might 
 often have made a dollar if her mother would 
 have allowed her to work a half or quarter day 
 extra. This promotion came soon after the 
 occurrence of the fifty-dollar bill, which, no 
 doubt, had something to do with the higher 
 place in Mr. James s estimation, which the 
 little girl held in consequence. He took 
 occasion to inquire of Miss Peters concern 
 ing her work, and heard such a good account 
 of her industry, capability, and faithfulness 
 that he felt sure she might be trusted with 
 pleasanter occupation and that which needed 
 greater skill. 
 
122 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 To enable our young readers who have never 
 seen the process of paper-making to understand 
 the change in our heroine s surroundings, we 
 will tell them in a few words how paper is 
 made. 
 
 As, of course, is universally known, rags, 
 straw, old rope, poplar pith, etc., are the 
 materials used. The best writing-paper is 
 made of linen rags, which are for the most part 
 imported from Germany. For ordinary writing 
 and printing paper cotton rags are used, while 
 straw and hemp, and even wool, go largely into 
 the construction of manilla and wrapping paper. 
 The linen rags and the woolen ones are 
 generally sorted out in the places where they 
 are gathered, at which time the others are all 
 packed into bales, when, after passing through 
 various hands, they are brought to the different 
 paper-mills. Here the bales are hoisted to the 
 top loft of the building, where they are broken 
 and their contents turned over and over and 
 subjected to a fanning process which removes 
 a large part of the dust. They are then passed 
 through slides down into the rag-room, where, 
 as we have seen, they are sorted, cut in pieces, 
 
UNDER A CLOUD. 123 
 
 and the buttons taken off. They are cut again, 
 in the next room to which they are carried, by 
 a revolving cylinder whose surface is covered 
 with short, sharp knives, acting on each other 
 much like the blades of scissors. From here 
 they are passed into the interior of a long, 
 horizontal, copper boiler containing a solution 
 of soda and some other chemical substances, 
 and boiled for several days, at the end of which 
 time, the dirt being thoroughly loosened, the 
 boiling mass is passed through a long slide into 
 vats, through which a constant stream of water 
 is flowing, and so thoroughly washed that it 
 becomes as white as snow and looks like raw, 
 white cotton. It is then taken into another 
 room, packed into a " Jordan engine," and ground 
 into an almost impalpable pulp. This pulp is 
 passed into other vats thoroughly mixed with 
 water, blueing, and some other substances 
 calculated to give it a hard finish, and then 
 conveyed by pipes to the drying-room, where 
 it is distributed over the surface of fine wire 
 netting stretched on cylinders and looking much 
 like "skim milk." It is now passed from 
 cylinder to cylinder, dropping the water with 
 
124 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 which it is mixed as it goes, and gradually 
 taking, more and more, the consistency of 
 paper. At one stage if it is to be writing- 
 paper, which was chiefly manufactured at 
 Squantown Mills a certain amount of glue is 
 poured upon it by means of little tubes which 
 are over the cylinders, and this gradually 
 becomes pressed into the fibre, giving the 
 paper the shining surface to which we are 
 accustomed. This is called sizing. At another 
 stage the wire netting is changed for a blanket 
 which passes over the cylinders and keeps the 
 weak, wet paper from friction, as well as from 
 any chance of breaking. Steam is now intro 
 duced into the cylinders, and the drying process 
 goes on so rapidly that, at the end of the long 
 room, the pulp issues from between the two 
 last cylinders in sheets of firm, dry, white 
 paper, which are cut off in lengths by station 
 ary knives, and caught and laid in place by two 
 boys or girls who sit at a table just below. So 
 complete and perfect is the machinery that, in 
 addition to the two boys, only one man is 
 needed in the room, and he only to watch lest 
 either of the machines gets out of order, or lest 
 the paper should accidentally break. 
 
UNDER A CLOUD. 125 
 
 It is quite fascinating to watch the thin pulp 
 as it gradually becomes strong paper, and Katie 
 one day overheard a gentleman visitor, to whom 
 Mr. James was explaining the process, say 
 something that she never forgot : 
 
 " It makes me think of God s way of dealing 
 with human souls. He takes them, polluted 
 and sinful, from the gutters and the slums of 
 life, cuts and fashions them till they are in 
 a condition to be used ; then washes out their 
 stains by his precious blood, grinds, moulds, dis 
 solves, and manipulates them, till they come out 
 pure, innocent, white paper, on which he can 
 write just what he pleases." 
 
 "Yes," said Mr. James. "I have often 
 thought out that analogy, but you have not 
 yet seen the whole process. No saint is com 
 pleted till he has gone through the polishing 
 and finishing of his life and character. You 
 will see how we polish and finish our paper 
 in the next room." 
 
 In the next room were great steel rollers, 
 at each of which two women were employed, as 
 this work was generally considered too hard and 
 steady, as well as too particular, for the girls and 
 
126 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 boys. One of these women places a sheet of 
 paper between the rollers at the top ; the engine 
 turns them, carrying the paper round and round 
 between them, and the other woman takes it 
 out at the bottom, beautifully polished by the 
 pressure. 
 
 It is then carried in great piles to the ruling- 
 machines, which stand at the other end of the 
 room, and there other girls and women act 
 as "feeders" and "tenders." The sheets are 
 carried under upright, stationary pens, filled 
 with blue or red ink, and ruled first on one side 
 and then on the other, the machine never 
 letting go of the sheets till the ruling is per 
 fectly dry. 
 
 The paper is now finished, but it must be pre 
 pared for being taken away and sold ; so great 
 piles of it are placed on barrows, and it is 
 carried by the "lift" down to the lowest room 
 of all, called the "folding-room," and this is a 
 very gay, busy scene. 
 
 Multitudes of girls are at work here, and 
 everything is so clean that no checked aprons 
 or mob-caps are needed. Some of them count 
 out the paper, first into quires, and then into 
 
UNDER A CLOUD. 12*J 
 
 reams and half-reams. Others fold the sheets 
 with an evenness and rapidity that only long 
 practice can give ; others, again, stamp each 
 sheet in the corner with a die ; and still others 
 fold the reams after they have been pressed 
 together into the pretty, colored wrappers 
 prepared for them, sealing them with wax, and 
 putting the packages, two together, into heavy 
 brown papers, which are closed with the label 
 peculiar to the special brand of paper. 
 
 There was plenty of work for everybody, and 
 there was, moreover, a variety, and Katie felt 
 very much elated at her promotion when she 
 first came into the gay, pleasant folding-room. 
 But the poor girl was destined to meet with 
 a very bitter disappointment. Perhaps the 
 most severe trial of her life awaited her in that 
 pleasant room. She had only been there a few 
 days when she became aware that she was 
 looked upon with suspicion. The superintendent 
 watched her closely, and carefully verified the 
 accounts she gave of her work. The girls with 
 whom she tried to make acquaintance turned 
 away, and either answered her in monosyllables 
 or else declined speaking at all, and often when 
 
128 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 she came in suddenly before work had com 
 menced two or three who were mysteriously 
 whispering together would suddenly stop and 
 look curiously and strangely at her. Once or 
 twice she overheard some disconnected words, 
 of which the following are specimens : " What 
 was it really? " "You don t say so ! " " Dis 
 honesty !" "I never should have thought 
 it ! " "Are you sure ?" "Bertie Sanderson ! " 
 " She saw it herself," etc. etc. Katie, having 
 no key to these disjointed sentences, could 
 make nothing of them, but she felt that she 
 was what school boys call " sent to Coventry," 
 and had not the least idea why. 
 
 The fact was that Bertie, whose jealous 
 dislike was greatly increased by Katie s pro 
 motion, while she herself remained in the rag- 
 room, had uttered her innuendoes to all who 
 would listen to her, till it was pretty generally 
 understood throughout the mill that Katie 
 Robertson was a thief, who appeared in 
 unbecoming finery bought with ill-gotten gains. 
 The rumor never took sufficient definiteness of 
 shape to reach the girl so that she could 
 confute it and explain its origin. Of course, 
 
UNDER A CLOUD. 1 29 
 
 she was not likely to tell any one in the mill 
 about the finding of the fifty-dollar bill and 
 what had passed between Mr. James Mountjoy 
 and herself, since it was largely to her own 
 credit, nor had he ever thought of mentioning 
 it, for a somewhat similar reason. So the 
 report traveled from one mouth to another, 
 losing nothing in its passage, and poor Katie 
 was obliged to endure the general avoidance 
 and reprobation as best she might. It was 
 a hard trial and one in which she had no one 
 to sympathize with her, for Mrs. Robertson s 
 gloomy disposition inclined her children to 
 keep from her anything that might add to her 
 unhappiness, and somehow she did not feel 
 like making confidants of the boys. But hard 
 as the trial seemed in the passing, it was, in the 
 end, good for our heroine, for it drove her to 
 the only Friend who knew all about it, who 
 knew that she was innocent of the charge, 
 whatever it might be, and pitied and loved her, 
 whoever else might cast her out. The things 
 which drive us close to Him, no matter how 
 hard they seem, are really blessings in disguise. 
 Katie had now but one friend in the mill, a 
 
130 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 slight, pale girl, who stood by the folding-table 
 next to herself. She had only just come to the 
 mill, was intimate with no one, and, so far, had 
 not heard the story, whatever it was, about 
 Katie Robertson. Her name was Tessa. Her 
 father, who had been a traveling organ-grinder, 
 was taken sick and died very suddenly at 
 Squantown. His little dark-eyed girl, who 
 accompanied him, was left perfectly destitute 
 and in a most desolate condition. She was at 
 first taken care of in the poor-house, but as she 
 grew older, and it was thought best that she 
 should do something for her own support, Mr. 
 Mount joy had been appealed to, and had given 
 her a place in the mill. Not in the rag-room, 
 however, for she had such a delicate constitu 
 tion that it was supposed she never could stand 
 the dust. Her work consisted in pasting the 
 fancy paper over the edges of little "pads," 
 intended for doctors use in writing their pre 
 scriptions, and when she was tired she was 
 allowed to have a seat. She could not make 
 much, but what she diJ receive sufficed to pay 
 for her room in the factory boarding-house, 
 and Tessa was as happy as she could be 
 without her father. 
 
UNDER A CLOUD, 131 
 
 The Italian girl had conceived a strong 
 admiration for our bright little Katie, and by 
 degrees the two girls became great friends. 
 Tessa s love was the silver lining to the cloud 
 under whose shadow her companion lived. 
 
 But the heaviest part of the cloud was that 
 the story reached Miss Etta. She had noticed 
 the general avoidance of Katie by the other 
 girls in her class, and was very much at a loss 
 to account for it, for to her this scholar had 
 always seemed the best and brightest of them 
 all, and she could see no change in her 
 reverent, attentive behavior, her carefully pre 
 pared lessons, and her evident understanding 
 and enjoyment of the spiritual truths which 
 they contained. This latter point she could 
 appreciate better than before, and she often 
 shrank in humility from attempting to teach 
 Katie anything, feeling herself better fitted to 
 be the pupil. But the girls evidently did not 
 feel so. What could be the matter? 
 
 One day, when all had left the Sunday-school, 
 except Bertie, she stopped her and asked her 
 directly why neither she nor the other girls 
 were willing to sit next to Katie Robertson, 
 
132 
 
 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 and why they all looked at her so significantly 
 when she came in or went out. 
 
 Bertie flushed, whether with joy or shame it 
 would have been hard to say, and at first would 
 not answer ; but on her teacher s insisting, said 
 that she did n t want to tell tales, etc. 
 
 The young lady saw that nevertheless her 
 scholar was running over with her secret and 
 longing for an opportunity to divulge it, and, 
 had she been a little older and more expe 
 rienced, she would not have given her the 
 opportunity. But Etta was very curious, and, 
 moreover, thought she had a right to know all 
 that concerned her Sunday scholars, so she 
 waited until her patience was rewarded by the 
 whole story that is, the version of it that 
 Bertie s vindictive fancy chose to give. 
 
 She learned that Katie had been seen by two 
 of the girls in the mill to steal a large sum of 
 money, which she had appropriated to the use 
 of herself and family ; that by degrees one 
 after another had heard of it, and that of course 
 honest girls who had their own way to make, 
 did not like to associate with a thief. 
 
 On being asked who the girls were that had 
 
UNDER A CLOUD. 133 
 
 seen the action, and why they had not at once 
 given information concerning it, Bertie declined 
 to give any answer to the first part of her 
 question, and professed entire ignorance con 
 cerning the latter ; only she said : " All the girls 
 knew, and of course couldn t associate with a 
 sly thief, especially when she gave herself the 
 airs of a saint." 
 
 Etta was very much troubled. She could not 
 believe such a story of her best pupil, and yet 
 how could she contradict it ? Without names 
 and particulars she did not know how to set 
 about investigating the truth ; nor did she like 
 to ask any one s advice, and thus cast suspicion 
 upon the child. 
 
134 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 NOVEI^READING. 
 
 |H AT makes you so tired to-day, Tessa ? " 
 said Katie, one morning when the 
 "rules" allowed the girls to speak. 
 
 " I don t know ; I always do feel so in the 
 mornings. It s awfully hard to get up. Don t 
 you find it so ? " 
 
 " I did at first, but I am getting used to it 
 now. By the time I am dressed I am wide 
 awake and fit for anything. I don t see why 
 you should feel so; I am afraid you re sick." 
 
 " Oh, no ; only stupid and sleepy ; I 11 wake 
 up by-and-by," and Tessa drew from her pocket 
 a thin, square volume which was tightly rolled 
 up. The noon-whistles sounded just then, and 
 Katie saw her companion curl herself up on 
 a box in the corner and at once lose herself in 
 
 her book. 
 
 t 
 
 She still sat there when her friend returned, 
 rosy and refreshed after her warm dinner and 
 two brisk walks, and, as there were still a few 
 
NOVEL-READING. 135 
 
 moments before work must be resumed, the 
 latter walked across the room and playfully 
 took the book from the other s hand. 
 
 "Don t! oh, please, don t!" said Tessa. 
 " Time s most up, and I must know what 
 became of Sir Reginald ! " 
 
 "You must eat your lunch. Look, here it 
 lies untasted beside you. Tessa, you will 
 certainly be sick if you go on in this way." 
 
 But Tessa did not listen ; she had again 
 firmly grasped the book, and was greedily 
 devouring its contents quite dead to outside 
 things, till, the bell ringing, Katie jogged her 
 shoulder, and she walked slowly across to the 
 table where both girls worked, her eyes still 
 upon her book. There she set it up, still open, 
 against a pile of packages of paper, and all the 
 afternoon kept casting furtive glances at it, 
 often letting her work drop and her hands hang 
 idle, while she followed the fortunes of the 
 fascinating Sir Reginald. 
 
 Katie was in an agony ; she loved Tessa, and 
 did not want her to get into trouble, as she 
 would certainly do if her proceedings should be 
 observed by the overseer. Besides, was it 
 
136 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 honest thus to use time paid for by an 
 employer ? 
 
 But she had no chance to speak to her com 
 panion, for as usual she finished her work 
 and went home, and whether her companion 
 received a reprimand from the overseer for not 
 having completed her daily task she did not 
 know. Probably she did not, for it was an 
 understood thing that Tessa was not so strong 
 as the other girls, and therefore so much must 
 not be expected of her 
 
 The next day it was the same thing. Tessa 
 looked tired out before the day s work began, 
 and well she might, for she had sat up nearly 
 all night to dispose of Sir Reginald, and now 
 "The Fair Barmaid" had taken his place. 
 Again the girl went without the uninviting 
 lunch she had brought from her boarding- 
 house, and again, as before, the fascinating 
 novel divided her attention with her work. 
 This afternoon she was detected by the over 
 seer, who spoke a few words of reprimand and 
 ordered her to put the book away, which she 
 did unwillingly and with heightened color. 
 It came out again, however, the moment the 
 
NOVEL-READING. 137 
 
 closing-bell rang ; and, to make up for lost 
 time, was assiduously read during the home 
 ward walk, and took the place of both supper 
 and sleep till almost daylight the next morning. 
 Poor Tessa ! she had inherited from her 
 ancestry that love of romance and adventure 
 which, in their own sunny land, makes the 
 Italians rival the Orientals in their love of 
 hearing and telling stories. The more thrilling 
 these stories are, the fuller of passion and 
 crime, the better they seem to suit the tastes 
 of these fervid and excitable natures. And 
 she was alone ; there was no one to counsel 
 her, no one to love her, no one even to talk 
 to in the long evenings she must of necessity 
 spend in her bare room at the factory board 
 ing-house, hot and stifling in summer, cold 
 and bare in winter. She had been taught 
 to read at the poor-house school and a stray 
 dime novel happening to fall in her way, her 
 imagination, waiting for something on which 
 to feed itself, seized upon the unhealthful 
 food, and gratified taste quickly ripened into 
 insatiable appetite. The girl read everything 
 she could lay hold of, and there is always 
 
138 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 plenty of such literature close at hand and 
 ready to be devoured. Novels at five cents 
 apiece are sold by the million at country stores, 
 railway-depots, and news-stations. Ephemeral 
 in their nature, every one who owns them is 
 ready to lend, give, or throw them away, and 
 when books fail there are always quantities 
 of " story-papers," full of the wildest, most 
 improbable, and often vicious tales. 
 
 Tessa bought when she had any spare 
 pennies, borrowed and begged when she had 
 not ; read by daylight, and twilight, and lamp 
 light, sitting up as long as the miserable board 
 ing-house lamps would hold out, and became so 
 immersed in her world of romance as to become 
 almost oblivious to outward things. 
 
 To do the little girl justice, she was too inno 
 cent to understand half the wickedness which 
 in this way was brought before her notice, but 
 none the less was she being gradually demoral 
 ized by this evil habit. Her appetite failed, she 
 scarcely took any exercise, she became nervous 
 and excitable to a degree, her work was 
 neglected, and, worse still, she was becoming 
 familiarized with ideas, suggestions, and thoughts 
 
NO VEL-READING. 1 3 9 
 
 that should never come within the comprehen 
 sion of pure-minded girls. As to her work, 
 she was fast losing all interest in, indeed all 
 capacity for, that, and it was whispered among 
 her superiors that but for her utterly friendless 
 condition it would be expedient to supply her 
 place in the mill with some more profitable 
 work-woman. 
 
 "Miss Eunice," said Katie, at the next 
 Wednesday afternoon meeting, " is it wicked 
 to read novels ? " 
 
 "What a wholesale question," said Miss 
 Eunice. " It is not wicked exactly to do a great 
 many things which it would be better on the 
 whole to let alone tipping one s chair up on 
 two legs, for instance." 
 
 Katie blushed, righted her chair, and said : 
 " I mean wrong ; is it wrong to read novels ? " 
 
 " Not all novels, certainly ; that is, not all fic 
 tion. The best writers of our day throw their 
 thoughts into that form, and our knowledge of 
 history, philosophy, science, and character comes 
 largely from this source. Our Saviour sancti 
 fied fiction by giving his highest and deepest 
 lessons to his disciples in parables. If you 
 
140 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 mean that kind of novels, read in moderation, I 
 should decidedly say no." 
 
 " She means dime novels," said one of the 
 girls. 
 
 "Oh, Headless Horsemen and Midnight 
 Mysteries/ fascinating maidens carried off by 
 desperate ruffians. I am thankful to say that I 
 have no personal acquaintance with that sort of 
 thing ; but, girls, let me ask you a few questions. 
 May I?" 
 
 " First, let all who read, or ever have read, 
 what are called sensation stories r raise their 
 hands." 
 
 A great many hands went up more than 
 the questioner liked to see. 
 
 " How many find such books help them in 
 their work, make the factory seem pleasanter, 
 and themselves more contented ? " 
 
 Not a hand was raised, and the girl who had 
 spoken before said : 
 
 " I never can work half as wen in tne morn 
 ing when I have been reading stories at night. 
 I hate the sight of the factory, and wish I was 
 a princess, or a splendidly dressed young lady 
 with oceans of gold and jewels, like those in the 
 books." 
 
NOVEL-READING. 141 
 
 " Another question : Do books of this kind 
 help you to pray, make the Bible more interest 
 ing, and incline you to loving service for the 
 Saviour who has died that you might be 
 saved ? " 
 
 No one answered. The girls looked both sur 
 prised and shocked, and Miss Eunice con 
 tinued : 
 
 " On the contrary, I dare say many of you 
 remember times when the thrilling interest of 
 an exciting story has made you utterly forget 
 your prayers, or at any rate has made church 
 and Sunday-school and the homely duties of a 
 Christian life seem tame and flat by compari 
 son. Is it not so ? " 
 
 Many bowed assent. 
 
 " Now for my last question : Would you be 
 willing that your fathers and brothers or the 
 young men of your acquaintance should read 
 all of these books with you, every passage, and 
 could you, without blushing, read them aloud to 
 your pastor or to me ? " 
 
 No answer. 
 
 "There is another aspect of the question," 
 continued the teacher. " Your employers pay 
 
142 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 you a stipulated sum in return for a certain 
 amount of work to be done in a certain amount 
 of time. They have a right to expect you to 
 give your best skill, your closest attention. Do 
 you think it is quite honest either to use a part 
 of that time in reading foolish, useless, or hurt 
 ful books, or to come to your work so exhausted 
 and preoccupied by them as to be unfitted for 
 performing your part of the contract ? " 
 
 "I do not desire to coerce you, or even to 
 bind your consciences by any promise, but I 
 leave you to consider all I have said, and I 
 think if you do so honestly and prayerfully you 
 will come to the conclusion that for you who 
 hope you have found your Saviour, nay, I will 
 say for all, inasmuch as you all ought to be 
 Christians, the reading of this kind of books 
 and stories is among those works of the 
 flesh and the devil which you are called to 
 renounce." 
 
 Katie had got the answer she had asked for, 
 and besides she was well furnished with argu 
 ments to bring to bear upon Tessa the first 
 opportunity she should have of talking with 
 her, and that, she determined, should be very 
 soon. 
 
NOVEL-READING. 143 
 
 When the girls and their escorts had gone 
 home that evening, the two sisters lingered to 
 talk a little over the question that had so 
 interested their scholars. It was a new thing 
 for them to have any common interest, and 
 Eunice hailed it as a good omen that her sister 
 should consult with her about anything. Etta 
 had not yet confided to her elder sister her new 
 hopes, purposes, and feelings. She was an 
 independent girl, who had always thought and 
 acted for herself, and there had never been any 
 thing like sisterly familiarity between the eldest 
 and youngest of the Mount joys. The distance 
 between them was too great, and perhaps the 
 elder, in filling the position of a mother to her 
 little sister, had at first assumed a little too 
 much of the authority of one. She had grown 
 wiser now, and did not attempt to force the 
 young girl s confidence ; but she could not but 
 be conscious of a change. There was an 
 increased gentleness of manner and sweetness 
 of tone, a thoughtful consideration of others, 
 and deference to her own wishes which she had 
 never seen before. Her continuing to attend 
 the Wednesday meetings, and her serious 
 
144 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 attention when there, were good signs ; so was 
 Etta s voluntary attendance at the Sunday 
 evening service, a thing that had never hap 
 pened before, and Eunice began to hope that 
 the solemn, earnest realities of life would yet 
 become precious to her light-hearted, wayward 
 sister. 
 
 This evening they talked over the novel 
 grievance, and the temptations to which the 
 mill-girls were exposed, and Etta proposed a 
 plan for their benefit, which, when matured 
 and digested, besides being supported by Mr. 
 Mountjoy s purse and his son s executive 
 ability, eventuated in the conversion of an 
 unused loft in the mill into a library and 
 reading-room for the girls and such of their 
 brothers and friends as knew how to appreciate 
 its benefits by behaving like gentlemen. 
 
 The books were chosen with great care, and 
 were the best of their kind to be had popular 
 science, history, and biography, with a large, 
 a very large, proportion of such fiction as had 
 a tendency to elevate and instruct, while it 
 interested, its readers. The books were not to 
 be taken from the building, except upon rare 
 
NO VEL-READING. 
 
 occasions and under peculiar circumstances ; 
 but the reading-room, which was nicely car 
 peted, well warmed, and furnished with long 
 tables and comfortable chairs, was open during 
 the noon intermission and for two hours every 
 evening, and good behavior was the only con 
 dition demanded for enjoying both its social 
 and literary privileges. The library soon 
 became a very popular institution, and the 
 sale and consumption of sensational literature 
 decreased proportionally. 
 
 Before separating for the night, Etta said : 
 "Did you notice the girl who asked the ques 
 tion about novels ? " 
 
 " Katie Robertson ? Yes ; I have had my 
 eye on her for a long time. She seems the 
 most promising subject of your class." 
 
 " So I have always thought ; but I have had 
 a terrible disappointment in her. No one 
 would suppose it, but I have recently heard 
 that she is a thief, and that to a large amount. 
 The child, innocent as she looks, has actually 
 stolen fifty dollars from our mill." 
 
 " That is absolutely impossible ! I will not 
 believe it. Who told you so, Etta ? " 
 
146 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 " One of the class. Bertie Sanderson. She 
 was not at all willing to tell tales on her com 
 panion, but I questioned her and found it is as 
 I say. She assures me that all the girls know 
 about it, and that two of them she did not 
 give their names saw the theft." 
 
 " Why did they not inform about it at 
 once ? " 
 
 " So I asked her ; but she did not seem to 
 know, and also declined giving the names of 
 the two girls. That was a little more honorable 
 than I gave Bertie credit for being." 
 
 "A little more deceitful, possibly," said 
 Eunice, who had no high opinion of Bertie 
 Sanderson ; " yet, if she were herself one of 
 these girls, she would, I suppose, have been 
 glad to say so. Where do you suppose this 
 child found fifty dollars to steal ? Money is not 
 kept loose around the mill, and the girls do not 
 have access to the office. There is something 
 we don t know about this, Etta. The subject 
 ought to be investigated. Have you spoken 
 to James ? " 
 
 "No, I don t want to prejudice him against 
 Katie, if she should be innocent ; but I 
 
NO VEL-READING. 
 
 H7 
 
 fear that is hardly possible, after what Bertie 
 said." 
 
 " I should be more inclined to suspect Bertie 
 herself. Where do you suppose she got that 
 flashy silk dress she wears?" 
 
 " Is n t it horrid ! I wonder those girls don t 
 see how vulgar their cheap finery is." 
 
 " Perhaps they try to copy their teacher," 
 ventured the elder sister, whose exquisitely 
 neat style of dress was always remarkable for 
 its plainness and simplicity when she came in 
 contact with her Sunday scholars. But Etta 
 was not yet sufficiently humbled to take 
 reproof from that source, and she abruptly left 
 the room. All the same, however, she thought 
 and prayed a great deal upon the subject, and 
 the next Sunday surprised her class by appear 
 ing before them without an unnecessary ribbon 
 or ornament. 
 
KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 TESSA. 
 
 /TIE ROBERTSON remained in the 
 mill that Saturday afternoon, although 
 her work had long been completed, 
 till the bell rang for five o clock, that being 
 the hour for the Saturday dismissal. Then she 
 said to Tessa : 
 
 "Come and take a walk with me. There s 
 a full hour before tea, and I don t believe you ve 
 ever seen the Fawn s Leap. Have you ? " 
 
 "No," said her companion, "I have never 
 been anywhere in Squantown. They would not 
 let us go, in the poor-house, and since I ve been 
 in the mill I ve been too tired after work was 
 over." 
 
 " Are you very tired now ? " 
 
 "Not so very; I did not sleep much last 
 night." 
 
 "Was it a very interesting story ?" said the 
 other, archly. 
 
 " Oh, yes," said Tessa, becoming at once very 
 
TESSA. 
 
 149 
 
 much excited; "she, Amanda, I mean, married 
 the most elegant count, and he took her to his 
 castle, and she had pearls and diamonds and 
 silks and satins, and never had to do a thing 
 all the rest of her life ; and only think, Katie, 
 she was a mill-girl in the beginning, just like 
 us." The sentence finished with a sigh. 
 
 " Would you like a count to come and carry 
 you off to a castle by-and-by, and give you all 
 those things ? " 
 
 " Oh, indeed, yes ; when the light goes out, 
 and I can t read any more I lie awake thinking 
 about it, and wondering if such a count will 
 ever come along. He might, you know, any 
 day." 
 
 " Does that make the mill seem any 
 pleasanter in the morning ? " 
 
 "No ! no ! I hate the mill. It looks so rough 
 and bare, and the girls all seem so common. 
 I feel like crying to have to spend so many 
 hours there." 
 
 "And then you can t do your work well. 
 I know just how that feels. Miss Eunice says 
 it isn t honest to do anything that will unfit 
 us for the work we are paid for doing." 
 
150 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 This was a new definition of dishonesty 
 to Tessa, but she only said: 
 
 "Who s Miss Eunice ? " 
 
 "Oh, she s the teacher of the Bible-class; 
 the nicest, most splendid lady in the Sunday- 
 school, except, of course, Miss Etta. She s our 
 teacher, you know, but she s so young she seems 
 just like one of ourselves." 
 
 "Do you go to Sunday-school?" said Tessa 
 opening her eyes. " I thought only little 
 children went. Father said it was so in 
 Italy." 
 
 "But everybody goes here. There s great 
 big girls, quite young women, in Miss Eunice s 
 class. Tessa, " said Katie, struck with a 
 sudden idea, "what do you do with yourself 
 on Sundays ? " 
 
 "I read, " said the person addressed ; "read 
 all day long. I lie on the bed in my room, and 
 forget how hot it is and how lonely, and then 
 when it gets dark I remember beautiful Italy 
 and cry." 
 
 "What a lonely life," said Katie, sympatheti 
 cally. " Why don t you go to church ? " 
 
 " We never went to church, my father and I. 
 
TESSA. 151 
 
 He said the church had ruined Italy, and he 
 was not a Catholic any more." 
 
 "But we re not Catholics. Oh, I wish you 
 would come to our church and our Sunday- 
 school ! It s just as nice ! there s Miss Etta, 
 and Bertie and Gretchen and Cora, and two or 
 three more, and on Wednesday Miss Eunice 
 invites our class and hers to tea, and reads to 
 us, and we have a society and work for missions 
 and oh, it s so nice ! " said enthusiastic Katie. 
 
 "Do you go to Sunday-school just to have 
 nice times ? " and Tessa opened her black eyes 
 very widely. 
 
 " No," said her friend, more soberly; " I think 
 I go there to learn more about Jesus, and how 
 to love him more and serve him better. Some 
 of us hope to join the church soon." 
 
 Tessa asked some questions that led to a long 
 talk which lasted till they had reached the 
 Fawn s Leap, which was a beautiful little 
 waterfall shooting down between two high 
 rocks, from one of which to the other a fawn 
 was reputed to have sprung. It was a very 
 lovely spot, and the two girls threw themselves 
 upon the grass to rest, while the Italian drew 
 long inspirations of delight. 
 
152 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 " It makes me think of home," she said ; "the 
 old home in Italy. We lived, my father and I, 
 close to a waterfall just like this, among the 
 mountains. After my mother died my father 
 did not want to stay there, so he went to 
 Naples and bought an organ, and we came to 
 America in a big ship, and wandered about, and 
 then" her voice broke down then and she 
 said : " Oh, Katie, I am so lonely ! if I only had 
 a home like yours, with people in it to talk to 
 and to be kind to me, I should not want to read 
 so many stories. I don t believe they are good 
 for me." This was in reference to all Miss 
 Eunice s talk about the evils of novel-reading 
 as repeated by Katie. 
 
 A sudden thought struck the latter. 
 
 "Tessa," she said, "it must be awfully lonely 
 at your boarding-house in the evenings and on 
 Sundays. I wish you could come and live with 
 me. I have no companions but the boys, and 
 to have you would be just splendid." 
 
 " Do you think I could ? Do you think your 
 mother would let me ? Oh, Katie, you can t 
 really mean it ! " 
 
 Katie had not taken her mother into consid- 
 
TESSA. 153 
 
 eration. Of course, she could not be sure of 
 her approbation of such a plan, but she prom 
 ised to ask, and went on planning how nice 
 it would be how the two girls could share 
 Katie s room and bed ; how they could go to the 
 mill together. " And then," said she, "you 
 could go to Sunday-school with me, Tessa." 
 
 But here Tessa drew back. She had no clothes, 
 she said, fit to go to church in only her work 
 ing-dress and the straw hat which she wore 
 every day to the mill. 
 
 " Go in that. Miss Eunice says God does n t 
 care what we wear when we go to church." 
 
 " But the girls do, and I care more about 
 them." 
 
 This rather shocked Katie, but she did not 
 see her way out of the difficulty, and mentally 
 resolved to "ask mother" : that way out of all 
 difficulties which is first to suggest itself to a 
 young girl s mind. 
 
 "There is the sun setting," said Tessa. "It 
 must be ever so late. I sha n t get any supper ; 
 they never keep anything for us at our boarding- 
 house." 
 
 " Oh, yes, you will ! you are coming home with 
 
154 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 me ; mother will have something ready for both 
 of us. I told her where we were going, and 
 she promised she would keep our supper for us, 
 no matter how late it was. Besides, it will be a 
 good chance to ask her about our plan." 
 
 So Tessa consented, nothing loth, and when 
 she saw the fair, white cloth, with the clear 
 glasses and bright, shining china, the delicate 
 slices of white bread, the wild strawberries, and 
 fresh brown gingerbread, and contrasted it with 
 the bare table, the stoneware badly chipped, 
 and the great piles of coarse provisions, into 
 which the boarders dipped their own knives, 
 she felt as though she had suddenly got into 
 paradise. 
 
 Katie had told the home party about her 
 Italian companion, and her apparent friendless- 
 ness, and all had taken such an interest in her 
 that when the boys heard their sister ask and 
 receive permission to bring her home to tea, 
 and their mother s promise to make some soft 
 gingerbread, they resolved to contribute their 
 share toward the festival, and the strawberries, 
 to gathering which they had devoted their 
 afternoon holiday, were the result. 
 
TSSA. I 55 
 
 It was a very happy tea-party. Katie was 
 in high spirits, her mother gentle and hospita 
 ble, the boys courteous and gentlemanly. Tessa 
 had never been in such society before, and yet 
 there was in her a native grace and refine 
 ment due, perhaps, to the artistic atmosphere 
 in which she was born that prevented her 
 from doing anything rude or awkward, or seem 
 ing at all out of place. 
 
 After tea the boys brought out the games, 
 and the visitor showed herself quick to learn and 
 eager to enjoy. The heavy, half-sorrowful look 
 went out of her face, which became full of fun 
 as her eyes sparkled and danced, and she pushed 
 back her long black hair. 
 
 When the clock struck nine Mrs. Robertson 
 said : 
 
 " It is time for young folks who have to get 
 up early to go to bed. The boys will see you 
 home, dear ; but perhaps you would like to stay 
 and have prayers with us first." 
 
 " Oh, yes, I am sure she would," said Katie, 
 seeing that her friend seemed not to know how 
 to answer this proposition. So Eric handed his 
 mother the books, and she first read a chapter 
 
156 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 in the Bible, and then kneeling down, with her 
 little flock around her, read an evening prayer, 
 commending them all to the love and protection 
 of their heavenly Father. It all seemed very 
 sweet to the visitor, who had never been pres 
 ent at such a service before. She could not 
 probably have told how she felt, but a longing 
 desire came over her to stay where everything 
 seemed so near the gate of heaven, and she 
 said impulsively : 
 
 " Oh, Mrs. Robertson, if you would only keep 
 me always ! " 
 
 Then Katie said : 
 
 "Mother, why can t Tessa live with us? 
 There s plenty of room for her with me ; and 
 she has nobody belonging to her nothing but 
 a horrid room in the factory boarding-house, 
 where nobody cares for her, and she has to 
 read novels all the evening and all Sunday, and 
 that makes her sick. It would be so nice to 
 have her go to the mill with me every day, and 
 to Sunday-school on Sunday only she has n t 
 any clothes that are fit, and" 
 
 " My dear, do stop to take your breath," said 
 the astonished mother, "and let me get some 
 
TESSA. 157 
 
 idea of what you are talking about. Do I 
 understand that you want Tessa to come and 
 live here ? I should much like to have her 
 do so, my child, but you know don t think 
 me unkind, Tessa that we are poor people, 
 and find it hard to fill the four mouths that 
 must be filled." 
 
 "Oh, I didn t mean that," said the girl, 
 timidly, and turning crimson. "Of course, I 
 would n t let you and Katie support me ; but I 
 could pay you my board, just as I do at the 
 boarding-house. I suppose it would be more, 
 but perhaps I could work harder and earn 
 something extra, as some of the other girls 
 do." 
 
 " How much do you pay now ? " 
 
 " Two dollars and a half a week." 
 
 "And you have only three dollars! Katie 
 makes five." 
 
 " Yes, I know ; she works fast. Perhaps I 
 could if there was any use anything to do 
 it for. I did n t need any money. They gave 
 me my clothes at the workhouse, and I bought 
 books with the other half-dollar." 
 
 Both girls looked very beseechingly at Katie s 
 
158 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 mother, and Eric, who had taken a great fancy 
 to the dark-haired girl, added his entreaties ; but 
 she said : 
 
 " I can not answer you to-night ; I must think 
 about it and pray over it. I will let you know 
 when I have made up my mind. Now you must 
 go home, dear ; Eric will go with you. Good 
 night, and God bless you." 
 
 Tessa felt the kiss that accompanied these 
 words down to the bottom of her heart. No 
 one had ever kissed her before, so far as she 
 could remember, except her father, and she 
 longed most ardently to be taken into this 
 home. 
 
 Katie followed her to the door and whispered : 
 "Tessa, I shall ask God to make mother decide 
 the way we want her to. You ask him, too. 
 You know it says in the Bible : If any two of 
 you shall agree on earth as touching any thing 
 that they shall ask, it shall be done for them. 
 But Tessa did not yet understand about "asking 
 God." She only stared and bid her friend 
 good-night. 
 
 The next morning as she sat rather dis 
 consolately on the doorstep of the boarding- 
 
TESSA. 159 
 
 house, not knowing exactly what to do with 
 herself, for in consequence of last night s 
 visiting she had neglected to provide herself 
 with a new book, Katie came by and greeted 
 her brightly. She looked so sweet and fresh 
 in her simple Sunday dress that it was not to 
 be wondered at that Tessa, in her soiled mill- 
 clothes, again refused to accompany her friend 
 to Sunday-school. 
 
 "You shall have my library book, any way. 
 I don t care to get another to-day, and mother 
 says you are to come round this afternoon to 
 get her answer." 
 
 The book was a pleasant story, and though it 
 lacked the species of morbid excitement to 
 which the girl had accustomed herself, it filled 
 up the time agreeably, and gave her a glimpse 
 of a higher, purer plane of life than any with 
 which she was as yet familiar. Some precious 
 truths concerning the love of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and the happiness of serving him, were 
 woven into it, and served as the indestructible 
 seeds which were yet to ripen in the girl s 
 spiritual life. At about four o clock she put on 
 her hat, and full of mingled anxiety and hope, 
 
160 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 made her way to the corner house which 
 seemed to her so much like heaven. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mrs. Robertson had thought the 
 matter over in every direction. She did not at 
 first like the idea of increasing the home party, 
 or of introducing into it any element that 
 might prove discordant. She dreaded to have 
 Katie or the boys come under any influence 
 that might counteract the earnest, religious 
 training she was endeavoring to give her 
 children. But there seemed to be nothing 
 vicious, or even common, about Tessa ; she was 
 sweet and well-mannered, and so friendless and 
 forlorn that it would be a positive chanty to 
 take her in. Then, too, the girl had evidently 
 had no religious teaching and was profoundly 
 ignorant about spiritual things. Perhaps this 
 was missionary work sent to her very hands. 
 She might at least try it for a while. The 
 board to be paid would make it possible to do 
 so, and if the plan were not a success, or proved 
 hurtful to her own children, to whom she 
 owed her first duty, she could but send the girl 
 back to her present lodgings. 
 
 So, when Tessa came she was told, to her 
 
TESSA. 1 6 1 
 
 great joy, that her request was granted, and she 
 might commence her new life on Monday. A 
 very serious motherly talk followed, and among 
 other things the new boarder was obliged to 
 promise never to introduce sensational literature 
 into the house. 
 
 Mrs. Robertson agreed to take Tessa for two 
 dollars a week, on condition that she would 
 assist Katie with the housework before and 
 after mill-hours. The half-dollar a week thus 
 saved would soon procure a simple Sunday 
 outfit, and enable her to accompany her friend 
 to Sunday-school and church. 
 
 Katie, with some of the remains of her 
 precious fifty dollars, insisted on advancing 
 this ; and on the first Sunday morning the 
 young Italian, looking very pretty but rather 
 shy, took her place in Miss Etta s class, and 
 was at once enrolled among its members. 
 
 Mrs. Robertson never had cause to regret 
 her kind-hearted decision. Tessa was devotedly 
 attached to Katie, and followed, rather than led, 
 her friend. She was shy with the boys at first, 
 but soon came to show them the same sisterly 
 feeling that their sister did. Her wit, quick- 
 
1 62 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 ness, and power of story-telling soon made her 
 a valuable addition to the family circle, while 
 the genial home influences and good fare so 
 told upon herself that her extreme delicacy soon 
 disappeared, and she became capable of as 
 much work or endurance as Katie herself. 
 
GRETCHEN. 
 
 i6 3 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GRETCHEN. 
 
 IERMAN GRETCHEN was absent 
 
 from the mill one morning. No one 
 noticed it except Miss Peters, who 
 marked her down for one less day s wages. 
 The young girl, who had drifted into the manu 
 facturing town, as so many do, in search of 
 work, had never been a favorite or attracted 
 particular attention. She was a fair work 
 woman, obeyed rules, and went her way to the 
 boarding-house when night came ; but she made 
 no friends either there or at the mill, and it 
 would scarcely have been noticed had she dis 
 appeared altogether. Somehow she had floated 
 into Sunday-school, and been placed in the class 
 which afterward became Etta Mount joy s, but 
 here her apparent stolidity made her per 
 haps the least interesting of all the girls. 
 Perhaps this was in part owing to the fact that 
 one is not likely to be very talkative in a 
 strange language. 
 
164 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 But Gretchen had a heart, although no one 
 in Squantown had yet found, or cared to find, it. 
 It was safe at home in the fatherland, where 
 the house-mother and father had as much as 
 they could do to put enough black bread to 
 support life into the mouths of the five little 
 children, too young to do as she had done, 
 when she accompanied a neighbor s family, who 
 were emigrating to seek their fortune in the 
 New World. These neighbors had gone to 
 the far West, and not caring to be burdened 
 with a possibly unproductive member of their 
 party, had left the little girl in the hands of a 
 German employment agency, through which 
 she had found her way to Squantown Mills. 
 
 Gretchen had many homesick hours when 
 she would have given a great deal more than 
 she possessed to be at home again sharing the 
 poverty and hardships of the Old World, but she 
 expressed her feelings to no one. Indeed, she 
 knew no one to whom she could have expressed 
 them. She did her day s work faithfully, re 
 ceiving her regular payment of fifty cents, 
 and occasionally a little more, which little 
 she resolutely put away at the bottom of her 
 
GRETCHEN. 165 
 
 box, to be sent home to her mother and the 
 little ones when there should be a good oppor 
 tunity. 
 
 But now Gretchen was absent from her work 
 one, two, three, four days. It was Miss Peters s 
 duty to report all absentees on Saturday night, 
 and she did so after the hands had been paid off 
 and gone home. The book-keeper noted the 
 absence in his pages, asked if work was so 
 pressing as to make the appointment of a 
 substitute necessary or advisable, and being 
 answered in the negative quite forgot to inform 
 his employer of the girl s absence. 
 
 But when Sunday came, and Gretchen was 
 absent from the place in the class which she had 
 so regularly occupied, it was a different thing. 
 Etta, among her other activities, had from the 
 first been a good visitor of absentees. Indeed, 
 when her scholars lived with their families, as 
 in the case of Katie and one or two of the 
 other girls, she had made more visits and laid 
 down the law more than was quite agreeable in 
 all cases. Now, with her newly awakened 
 sense of responsibility toward the immortal 
 souls placed under her charge, she had begun to 
 
1 66 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 watch over them as one who must give account 
 of their souls. She had several times thought 
 of looking up Gretchen, in order to become 
 acquainted with her surroundings, etc., but had 
 not yet put her design into execution, and now 
 the girl s absence from the class gave her 
 teacher the very opportunity she desired. 
 
 As soon as tea was over, in the long June 
 twilight, Etta put on her hat, and walked down 
 the hill upon which the grand house stood to 
 the valley, in which was the long row of board 
 ing-houses occupied by such of the mill-hands 
 as had no homes in the place. It was stiflingly 
 hot down here, though it had been cool and 
 fresh on the high ground above, and the young 
 lady, who had not often visited the purlieus of 
 the mill, felt as though she could scarcely 
 breathe, and did not wonder that men sat at 
 the open windows in their shirtsleeves, and 
 that tired-looking women seemed gasping for 
 air. The bare wooden buildings, with their long 
 rows of windows and doors all of the same 
 pattern ; the smooth, beaten yards, all just alike ; 
 the swarms of children making it seem any 
 thing but Sunday-like with their noise ; the 
 
GRETCHEN. 167 
 
 teeming population, which made the tenements 
 resemble ant-hills, and seemed to forbid any 
 idea of privacy, looked very dreadful to her. 
 
 On the other side of the street was a long row 
 of brick cottages, each inhabited by two or more 
 families, the distinctive sign of each being the 
 family pig, kept, for greater convenience, in the 
 front yard, from which odors, not the most 
 choice in their nature, were constantly wafted 
 across the way. In the doorways of most of 
 these lounged Irishmen smoking and swearing, 
 in some cases in a state of intoxication ; for, 
 although the rules of the mill concerning 
 drinking were very strict, and no habitual 
 drinker was ever knowingly engaged in it, it 
 was impossible to prevent the men from 
 depositing a part of the earnings received 
 every Saturday night in the hands of one or 
 two liquor-dealers whom the law licensed to 
 sell death and ruin to their fellow-men. 
 
 How dreadful, thought the young lady, to be 
 compelled to spend one*s life in such wretched 
 surroundings. Is it any wonder that the women 
 become hopeless slatterns, and that the children 
 grow up in vice and sin ? How thankful I ought 
 
1 68 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 to be to the heavenly Father who has surrounded 
 me with such different influences ! how I wish 
 I might do something to raise and elevate these, 
 and give them a few of the blessings of which I 
 have so many ! 
 
 Etta Mount joy had grown since that early 
 June Sunday when she had visited her pastor 
 in such sorrow and perplexity. She had read 
 and seen and thought more and more of the 
 wonderful love of our heavenly Father in sur 
 rounding her with so many blessings and in 
 sending his only Son to be her Saviour and 
 friend. She looked back upon the life of 
 self-pleasing she had so long led with sorrow 
 amounting to disgust. How could she have 
 been so ungrateful ? How could she have 
 failed to love One so altogether lovely? She 
 was learning now to find pleasure in prayer, 
 and the Bible, which had been to her such a 
 dull book, began to be more interesting than 
 any story which she had formerly devoured. 
 And she was trying, faintly and with many 
 relapses, it is true, to take up her neglected 
 duties, especially those which had been most 
 distasteful to her, and perform them steadily 
 
GRETCHEN. 169 
 
 " as unto the Lord." Out of all this was spring 
 ing up in her a desire to do something for 
 Christ something which would be, if not a 
 return for his favors, at least a token of her 
 gratitude to him. To-night just such an 
 opportunity as she had desired came to her 
 hand. 
 
 If Etta had only known it, the dwellings 
 of the operatives at Squantown were palatial 
 compared to those into which the working- 
 classes are huddled in cities ; for here the many 
 windows opened upon pure fresh air and green 
 fields, the little yards were scrupulously clean, 
 and vines clambered up the sides of the doors 
 an4 windows, even to the roofs. The fare, plain 
 as it was, was not tainted by exposure in a city 
 market, or by being hawked about the city 
 streets, and the price of living was no higher 
 than the wages received in the mill enabled 
 the people to pay. 
 
 The young teacher had the number of the 
 house at which her scholar boarded written 
 down in her class-book, and at that number she 
 at once knocked. No one came for some time, 
 but at last repeated raps brought the woman 
 
i;0 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 who kept the house, and who might perhaps be 
 excused for her want of greater promptitude 
 on the ground of having so many dishes to wash 
 after the boarders tea. 
 
 In answer to Miss Etta s inquiries the woman 
 answered civilly enough, for it would not do to 
 offend one of " the family," that Gretchen s 
 room was the back garret; that she believed 
 the girl had been sick for a day or two, but she 
 had not had time to look after her, though she 
 had sent her little boy up with her meals. The 
 child could n t have eaten much, for the tray 
 came down almost as it went up. She had 
 been trying to find time to go upstairs all day, 
 and was just meaning to do so now that frer 
 dishes were done. She would go up now, and 
 let the young lady know how her scholar was. 
 
 " Let me go with you," said Etta ; but the 
 request was only a form, as the girl usually did 
 just as she pleased without waiting for any 
 body s permission, and, indeed, the woman of the 
 house knew no reason why, on this occasion, 
 she should not follow her own inclination. 
 
 Three flights of stairs were climbed, a long 
 narrow hall, studded with doors on each side, 
 
GRETCHEN. i;i 
 
 traversed, and Mrs. Doyle opened one in the 
 southwest corner of the house, where, the sun 
 having beaten on the sloping roof all the after 
 noon, the temperature was something fearful. 
 The room was small, for Mr. Mount joy had 
 built the boarding-houses, and desired to try the 
 experiment of each inmate having a separate 
 room instead of a great many men or women 
 being herded together in open dormitories. It 
 contained simply a cot, a wooden chair, and a 
 table upon which stood conveniences for wash 
 ing and the untasted supper. On the cot lay 
 the German girl, blazing with fever and tossing 
 about in the greatest discomfort. At first she 
 did not know her visitors, and seemed a little 
 frightened at seeing the room so full. But pres 
 ently, recognizing her Sunday-school teacher, she 
 grasped her hand and drew her down to the side 
 of the bed, pointing to her German Bible, in 
 which she had been trying to study her Sunday- 
 school lesson. 
 
 Etta was touched, and began to think there 
 might be some interest in even the plain, 
 undemonstrative Gretchen. She bent down to 
 ask her some questions about her sickness, 
 
172 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 during which Mrs. Doyle hurried to throw the 
 one window wide open, and to make the dis 
 ordered room fit to be seen. 
 
 "The child is very ill, I am afraid," said Etta, 
 coming across to the window and speaking to 
 the woman in very low tones ; " don t you 
 think so?" 
 
 "Yes, I am afraid she is," said the person 
 addressed, uneasily, for severe illness in a large, 
 crowded boarding-house is no light matter. She 
 and her children were dependent upon their 
 boarders, and a sudden panic might empty the 
 house. 
 
 " Can t you send for a doctor, Mrs. Doyle ? 
 Papa will gladly pay him, I know." 
 
 " Yes ; Johnny could run, I suppose, but he d 
 be sure to tell somebody, and I would n t like 
 it to get about till we know what it is, any 
 way." 
 
 " Please go yourself, then. It s after tea, and 
 there is n t much to do." 
 
 " But suppose the girl gets worse, and begins 
 to scream and frightens the boarders." 
 
 " Oh, I 11 stay with her till you come back. 
 I d rather ; I shall be so anxious to hear what 
 
GRETCHEN. 173 
 
 the doctor says. Please go, Mrs. Doyle, and 
 hurry." 
 
 Etta Mount joy had a way with her that 
 could not be resisted by most people, and even 
 Mrs. Doyle, not overgifted with the milk of 
 human kindness, could not refuse her. So she 
 went downstairs, and only stopping to put on 
 her bonnet and tell her eldest daughter to 
 go on with the preparations for breakfast, - 
 which always had to be made over night, as 
 she was going out for a little while, walked 
 swiftly down the street. 
 
 Etta sat on the hard chair by the patient s 
 bed, and for some time watched the tossing 
 limbs, heavy breathing, and flushed, excited 
 face. She was not used to sickness. Indeed, 
 she had never seen it since her mother died, 
 so long ago that she could not remember the 
 pain and the suffering, but only the terrible 
 results, which were pale, cold death, the coffin, 
 the funeral, and the grave. 
 
 Did all severe sickness end in death, she 
 wondered ? Was this strong, healthy girl about 
 to die ? And if so, was she ready ? She had 
 never thought of the possibility of death in 
 
174 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 connection with any of her scholars. Had she 
 taught them the things which alone could 
 be of value to them when they came to stand 
 face to face with a holy God ? What advantage 
 then would be familiarity with dates, with geog 
 raphy, and with catechisms ? How would they 
 then blame her for not having pointed them 
 to the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins 
 of the world? The responsibility of under 
 taking to deal with human souls, upon which 
 she had so thoughtlessly rushed, now seemed 
 to her something terrible. True, she had not 
 then known or understood anything about 
 it ; but, nevertheless, it now seemed to her 
 a great sin, and an earnest prayer ior forgive 
 ness rose up from her heart, accompanied by 
 another for the salvation of the sick girl before 
 her. 
 
 Meanwhile the moments rolled slowly by: 
 the sick girl tossed and moaned; the church- 
 bells rang for evening service, first merrily, as 
 glad to call the people to the house of God; 
 then slowly, as loth to stop while any more 
 stragglers might be induced to come ; then with 
 one or two long sobs for those who, in spite 
 
GRETCHEN. 175 
 
 of all persuasion and all "long-suffering 
 patience," wilfully stay outside, stopped, and 
 the silence was only broken by the shouts of 
 the noisy children below. Even these ceased 
 at last, and as the sunset glow faded flame 
 red changing to pale yellow, and that again 
 to cool, sombre gray the time of waiting 
 seemed to the unskilled watcher well-nigh 
 interminable. 
 
176 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SHIP-FEVER. 
 
 JRESENTLY Gretchen spoke. Her 
 voice was thick, her accent even more 
 foreign than usual, and at first the 
 listener could not understand the words. But 
 she put her ear close down to the bed and 
 made out : 
 
 " Miss Etta, am I going to die ? " 
 
 "I don t know," said Etta, bewildered; " I 
 hope not." 
 
 "I m not afraid," said the German, "but 
 but it looks all so strange and dark. You did n t 
 use to tell us about Jesus, and I could n t rightly 
 understand the minister ; but don t it say here" 
 putting her hand upon the Bible by her side, 
 "that he will save everybody that comes to 
 him ?" Her teacher nodded. " Coming to him 
 is asking him, is n t it ? " Another nod. " Then, 
 please, Miss Etta, ask him for me. I can t. 
 I can t seem to think. Ask him now." 
 
 Poor Etta! never in her life had she be< n r o 
 
SHIP-FE VER. I 7 7 
 
 confused. She had only just learned to pray for 
 herself. She had not yet overcome the reticence 
 which we all feel concerning our own interest 
 in spiritual things sufficiently to tell her own 
 sister of her experience and purpose how could 
 she bring herself to do this hard thing which 
 her scholar asked of her ? But the scholar had a 
 human soul, and that soul might be very near to 
 eternity. How could she refuse to do this thing 
 which, by the very nature of her position toward 
 her, the scholar had a right to ask ? 
 
 Then an idea struck her, and opening her 
 hymn-book, for she had expected to attend the 
 evening service after ascertaining the cause of 
 her scholar s absence, she knelt close to the 
 window, and in the fast-fading light read in a 
 tone of reverent supplication the hymn com 
 mencing, 
 
 "Just as I am, without one plea, 
 But that Thy blood was shed for me, 
 And that Thou biddest me come to Thee, 
 Oh, Lamb of God, I come ! " 
 
 Every word of the hymn was prayer, and Etta 
 felt grateful for this help in doing what would 
 have otherwise seemed to her impossible. She 
 
178 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 threw her whole soul into the last line of each 
 verse, and could not but hope that Gretchen, 
 who lay quite still now, though saying nothing, 
 was following and saying in her heart, 
 
 "Oh, Lamb of God, I come!" 
 
 After this there was silence and darkness, 
 and Etta continued to kneel with her face 
 hidden on the window-sill, praying silently that 
 God would indeed save this soul, teaching it 
 that which heretofore she had been unable and 
 unworthy to teach. The effort at obedience to 
 what was so evidently her duty had greatly 
 strengthened the girl ; she felt that God was 
 with her in the still room, and the glad joy of 
 those who against their own inclinations work 
 for him began to spring up in her soul. 
 
 The doctor and Mrs. Doyle found her thus, 
 and springing to her feet, Etta came over to 
 the bed to hear what the former thought about 
 Gretchen. 
 
 Judging from Mrs. Doyle s account, the doctor 
 seemed inclined to make light of the case, until 
 he had made a careful investigation, and then 
 he looked very grave, and asked where the 
 
SHIP-FE VER. I 79 
 
 patient had come from, and how long she had 
 been in this country. Hearing that it was 
 nearly a year since she crossed the ocean, and 
 that she had worked for eight months in Squan- 
 town Paper Mill, he looked still more puzzled, 
 and finally said : 
 
 " I really can t account for it, but it certainly 
 is a case of ship-fever ; a very bad case, too." 
 
 Mrs. Doyle s consternation was extreme. She 
 muttered something about having her children 
 to care for, shut the door tight, and went 
 hastily downstairs, leaving the doctor and the 
 delicately bred young girl to decide what was 
 to be done in the situation. 
 
 Doctor Bolen looked at his companion in 
 somewhat quizzical perplexity. Here was a 
 patient dangerously ill with a contagious dis 
 order, at the top of a house swarming with 
 human beings. She must have care and close 
 watching, and the only person within reach to 
 give it was a girl whose gay light-heartedness 
 and instability were well known in the town. 
 Had she known what to do, she was too young 
 and delicate for such a task. And should she 
 take the infection what then ? Would the 
 
igO KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 wealthy mill-owner thus expose his younges 
 child, and, as every one knew, his idol ? 
 
 " I must get hold of some responsible per 
 son," he said at last, aloud, but more to himsel 
 than to his companion. "But whom ? I don 
 know of a nurse that would come even from tru 
 city. Besides, it would cause a panic to do sc 
 and a panic is the most likely thing in th< 
 world to cause the infection to spread. Mrs 
 Doyle, it is clear, is frightened out of he 
 senses, and she can t be expected to risk he 
 children and her livelihood for a stranger. On< 
 of the Irishwomen across the way might tak< 
 care of her for money ; but then she d talk, an< 
 the whole gang would be frightened. I don 
 really know which way to turn." But Ett; 
 answered instantly with the intuitive perceptioi 
 for which she was noted : 
 
 " There s Eunice." 
 
 Why had he not thought of it ? Eunic< 
 Mountjoy, with her calm, cool head, he: 
 perfect unselfishness, her entire devotion t( 
 the good of others ; Eunice, who was knowr 
 and blessed wherever throughout the village 
 there was sickness, suffering, or want ; Eunice 
 
SHIP-FEVER. l8l 
 
 who had many a time helped him out of a per 
 plexity, Eunice was the very person. But how 
 should he get hold of her ? 
 
 " I will go," said Etta, to whom he expressed 
 the wonder. 
 
 "No! You are too young, and at the same 
 time too old, to go through this manufacturing 
 village alone after dark." 
 
 "Then you go, and I will stay here, for I 
 suppose Gretchen must not be left alone." 
 
 " Of course not. She may become delirious 
 at any moment, and there is no saying what 
 she may do. She does not know us now. 
 Would not you be afraid to stay with her?" 
 
 " No," said Etta, steadily. " Tell me just what 
 to do and I will do it." 
 
 " But you might take the infection. Have 
 you thought of that ? " 
 
 " God will take care of me," said she, with 
 a rising color ; and the doctor, remembering 
 how he had found her, thought that perhaps he 
 could not do better than to leave her under 
 such protection. 
 
 He was gone a long time, a very long time, it 
 seemed to Etta, whose patient became very 
 
I 82 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 restless and needed constantly to be soothed 
 and coaxed back to bed when she sprang up 
 and insisted in German on going to her 
 mother. Her teacher, at such times, bathed 
 her face with the warm water the doctor had 
 brought, or gave her a sip of cold water which 
 had been left when the tea-tray was carried 
 away, spoke to her in soothing tones, and 
 finally sang hymns, which seemed to quiet her 
 better than anything else. She had sung all 
 she knew and was commencing the repertoire 
 over again, when a heavy step, followed by a 
 lighter one, came along the passage, and pres 
 ently Dr. Bolen appeared, followed, not by 
 Eunice, as her sister had expected, but by Katie s 
 mother, Mrs. Robertson ! There was no time 
 for questionings. The doctor gave Mrs. Rob 
 ertson his directions, and then, leaving the 
 patient to her, he took the young girl s arm and 
 led her from the room, down the stairs, and out! 
 into the street, where the cool night air seemed 
 wonderfully refreshing. 
 
 " I would not have exposed you thus/ he said, 
 "if there had been any other way. Do you 
 feel very tired, very much exhausted ? " 
 
SHIP-FEVER. I 3 
 
 "Oh, no," she said bravely, for the air had 
 greatly revived her. " I don t believe it will 
 hurt me a bit. It s time I learned to do some 
 thing besides amuse myself, you know. I ve 
 never been of much use in the world yet, but I 
 mean to be." 
 
 " You have great capacities and opportunities 
 for usefulness," said he, gravely, "but you know 
 none of us is sufficient for these things." 
 
 " I am asking God to help me," she said in 
 a low tone. " Don t you think he will ? " 
 
 " No one ever sought his help in vain. I am 
 glad you are setting out in the right way. All 
 success be with you. Now you must attend to 
 my directions and obey me exactly. As soon as 
 you get home take off every garment you have 
 on ; throw away or burn up everything that 
 can t be washed, take a warm bath, and go to 
 sleep as soon as you can, and, remember, you 
 are not to go near my patient again till I give 
 you permission. Will you promise ? " 
 
 Then he told her how sensibly Eunice had 
 planned that Mrs. Robertson, who often went 
 out to nurse the sick, should be engaged to 
 take care of Gretchen ; that to-morrow a certain 
 
184 KATIE ROBERTSON, 
 
 empty house belonging to Mr. Mountjoy should 
 be fitted up as a temporary hospital, and the 
 sick girl moved there that the battle of life and 
 death might be fought where there were not 
 crowds of people to take the infection. He 
 also cautioned Etta not to spread a report con 
 cerning the nature of Gretchen s disease, as a 
 panic might result which would be not only 
 deleterious to her father s business interests, 
 but also disastrous to the lives of multitudes of 
 the employees of the mill. 
 
 By this time they had reached the door of 
 Etta s home, and Dr. Bolen bade the girl good 
 night, after reiterating his directions. 
 
 Eunice came to her sister s room that night 
 after she was in bed to see if the doctor s 
 orders had been complied with. She gave her 
 such a caress as her undemonstrative nature 
 rarely gave way to, and it somehow opened 
 Etta s heart and mouth as well. A long talk 
 followed, and Eunice heard a great deal that 
 made her very happy to hear. Etta begged her 
 pardon for the many times she had refused 
 obedience to one standing toward her almost in 
 the position of a mother, and promised to be 
 
SHIP-FB VER. 185 
 
 more docile and helpful for the future. Both 
 felt that the sisterly bond which had been, so 
 weak between them was linked afresh to-night, 
 and that they were now sisters in reality because 
 they were one in Christ. 
 
 The next day Eunice s plan was fully carried 
 out. The vacant house, which had been for 
 some months without a tenant, was swept out 
 and furnished with a few necessary articles, and 
 Gretchen, now entirely delirious, was taken 
 there in a close carriage, and Mrs. Robertson 
 established as resident nurse. The good 
 woman fretted and grumbled a good deal at 
 leaving her home and her children, whom, of 
 course, she could not see for a long time, but 
 she was a good woman in spite of her grum 
 bling. She was a very experienced nurse, and 
 here was service for the Master from which she 
 dared not turn away. Katie, assisted by Tessa, 
 was fully competent to manage the house and 
 cook what they and the boys needed to eat, so 
 she resolutely accepted the trust. 
 
 Eunice and Etta went down to the empty 
 house early in the morning, and both worked 
 hard, with a woman who had been hired to do 
 
1 86 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 so, to get the rooms in readiness, but when all 
 was prepared, they went home, for Dr. Bolen 
 said there was no use for either to be unnec 
 essarily exposed to infection. He did not want 
 more patients than were sent him in the 
 natural course of events. 
 
 Great pains were taken to keep the whole 
 matter quiet. Katie and Tessa and the boys 
 were cautioned not to speak about it, and the 
 removal of the patient was effected during the 
 forenoon when all the factory "hands" were 
 safe in the mill. But the precautions were use 
 less. Before the next night there were four 
 more patients in the temporary hospital, all 
 from the rag-room, and the consternation 
 was extreme. Many refused to work, and the 
 mill was in danger of being forced to stop just 
 in the middle of filling some very important 
 contracts, when the doctor, taking his own life 
 in his hands, as doctors must, made a thorough 
 investigation of the rag-room, where all the 
 cases had occurred, and found the contagion to 
 be in a bale of rags imported from Ireland, 
 which had riot received the usual overhauling 
 before being brought to the mill. These were 
 
SHIP-FEVER. 187 
 
 all collected and burned, and the room thor 
 oughly fumigated, the operatives receiving full 
 wages for the days they were thus shut out 
 from work, and one good result of the fever was 
 that henceforth the bales were all opened and 
 smoked in a separate building before they ever 
 entered the mill at all. 
 
 The contagion did not spread any farther 
 after this, and the hands returned without more 
 delay to the mill. Mr. Mount joy sent to the 
 city for an experienced hospital nurse, and 
 promised to pay all the expenses of the illness, 
 in addition to the wages of those who were thus 
 prevented from earning anything. The "hos 
 pital " was supplied from the kitchen of the 
 "great house," and both Eunice and her young 
 sister found full occupation in the preparation 
 of dainties and food for the sick. 
 
 The interest in the five sick girls was in 
 tense, and when one a poor, sickly little 
 thing died, every one felt as though death had 
 come very close, and many were compelled to 
 listen to the voice which said : 
 
 
 Prepare to meet thy God." 
 
1 88 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 GOOD FOR EVIL. 
 
 1ERTIE SANDERSON has not been 
 in the mill for a week," said Tessa to 
 Katie, as the two friends walked home 
 together one hot afternoon. " One of the rag- 
 room girls said so. I wonder if she has the 
 fever ! " 
 
 " That s not likely; the girls are all getting 
 better," said her companion. 
 
 " Yes ; but she s been absent for more than 
 a week," persisted Tessa. " Let s go round 
 that way and inquire." 
 
 But Katie, somehow, shrank from this. 
 While she knew nothing with absolute cer 
 tainty, she could not help feeling that Bertie 
 was in some way connected with the general 
 avoidance of herself by the girls of the Sun 
 day-school class, and the evident suspicion with 
 which both Miss Eunice and Miss Etta re 
 garded her. What her former companion could 
 have said or done, she had no idea; but the 
 
GOOD FOR EVIL. 189 
 
 sense of an undefined something had made her 
 of late keep as far as possible from Bertie. 
 She was about to say with her usual impul 
 siveness : 
 
 " No ; I hate Bertie ! Don t let s go near her," 
 when she remembered all her purposes of doing 
 Tessa good and setting her a Christian example. 
 Is it Christian to cherish a dislike of another 
 because one has reason to suppose that other 
 has done one an injury? Katie s enlightened 
 conscience knew it was not. It was not like 
 him who said : 
 
 " Love your enemies, bless them that curse 
 you, and pray for them which despitefully 
 use you and persecute you ; " and who, by 
 acting in strict accordance with his own 
 teachings, "left us an example that we should 
 follow in his steps." 
 
 For a few moments the little girl said noth 
 ing as she walked silently by the side of her 
 companion ; then, having during those silent 
 moments sent up an earnest prayer that the 
 hateful feelings might be taken away from her 
 heart, that so she might become more like 
 Christ, she answered by turning her steps in 
 the other direction. 
 
190 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 The two girls found, as Tessa had suggested, 
 that Bertie had indeed taken the fever, and was 
 very ill in her own comfortable home. Dr. 
 Bolen had suggested her being removed to 
 the temporary hospital, and being cared for 
 by the competent nurses there ; but her mother 
 would not hear of it. She was always a very 
 foolish woman, had been very much opposed 
 to her daughter s going into the mill, and now 
 told her husband that this fever was all the 
 result of his obstinacy, and she hoped he 
 enjoyed having murdered his own child. Now, 
 however, she meant to have her own way. Her 
 Bertie, who was every bit as good as the city 
 young ladies, her cousins, was not to go to an 
 empty house and be nursed with a lot of common 
 mill-girls. If^her mother could n t take care of 
 her, she should like to know who could which 
 would have been unanswerable if Mrs. Sand 
 erson had known how to nurse anybody 
 a thing of which she was profoundly ignorant. 
 So poor Bertie had a hard time of it, and daily 
 grew worse instead of better ; and as if this 
 were not enough, Mrs. Sanderson never thought 
 of isolating the patient, or of keeping the other 
 
GOOD FOR EVIL. 19 1 
 
 children from her, and before long the third 
 child, a boy of six years old, was taken down 
 with the fever also, and the incompetent mother 
 had her hands more than full with the care 
 of her house, the two patients, and two fretful, 
 badly trained little children, with only Nina, 
 who had never been taught to do anything in 
 the world, to help her. 
 
 Matters were in this state on the evening 
 when the girls called, and poor Mrs. Sanderson, 
 coming to the door, without an atom of prudence 
 or caution, insisted on dragging in Katie at least, 
 because in her wild delirium Bertie had been 
 incessantly shouting her name. Katie was im 
 pulsive, not very old or experienced, and had, 
 moreover, been always taught to obey grown 
 people, so without a thought of possible 
 danger to herself, she followed the woman 
 into the house, while Tessa waited for her out 
 side, and was soon standing by the bedside 
 of her old acquaintance. 
 
 She would never have known Bertie Sander 
 son. The long, disorderly hair, as well as the 
 disfiguring "bangs," had, by the doctor s orders, 
 all been shaved off; the round, rosy cheeks 
 
192 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 were pallid and sunken ; the solid frame was 
 wasted almost to a skeleton, and there was a 
 fierce, wild look in the eyes alternated with 
 an expression of intense fear. 
 
 Katie stood aghast, and even as she looked 
 the wasted lips suddenly shrieked out : 
 
 "Katie, Katie Robertson! Send her here. 
 I want to tell her something." 
 
 " I am here," said Katie, as soothingly as she 
 could, for her fright. 
 
 But Bertie took no sort of notice of her ; evi 
 dently did not recognize her at all, and went 
 on : 
 
 " It was n t a lie ! I did see her find it and 
 put it in her pocket. That s being a thief, is n t 
 it ? It was money a great deal of money. 
 I saw a five and a nought. It was n t a lie, I 
 tell you ! She did steal it ! Katie s a thief, 
 for all she s so saintly." 
 
 Katie started. This, then, was the mystery ; 
 this was the secret thing that had been setting 
 so many against her. She had never in all her 
 speculations concerning the general avoidance 
 thought of this as a cause. Bertie must have 
 seen her find that fifty-dollar bill and put it in 
 
GOOD FOR EVIL. 193 
 
 her pocket. But even if, from mere idleness, 
 she had repeated the story to her companions, 
 had she told simply what she really saw, could 
 it be called stealing ? And if Miss Eunice or 
 Miss Etta had heard it they would naturally 
 have spoken of it to their brother ; he would 
 have told the facts as he knew them, and that 
 would have made matters all straight. 
 
 Bertie must have altered her tale in some 
 way, exaggerated it, or suppressed a part. 
 What for? Could her companion be so mali 
 cious as simply to desire to make her unpopular 
 and to prevent the young ladies from looking 
 upon her with approbation ? She could not 
 understand it. Of course she could not, for 
 malice and jealousy were entirely foreign to 
 Katie s nature, even if she had not been striv 
 ing " in all her ways to acknowledge " her 
 Saviour. She did wish, however, that she had 
 thought of mentioning her good fortune and 
 Mr. James s kindness at the time, that all this 
 trouble might have been avoided. 
 
 Meanwhile Bertie began to moan and cry and 
 call for Katie ; and the latter, after speaking 
 in vain again and again, turned to go. 
 
194 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 "Oh, don t go away!" said Mrs. Sanderson, 
 imperatively. " She 11 know you by-and-by ; and 
 I can t stand her calling for you ; besides, if 
 you can just stay with Bertie and give her the 
 medicine and drink, I might get a chance to see 
 to Alf., who is most as bad as she is, and see 
 what Nina s doing with those children ; they ve 
 been screaming this half-hour. I don t believe 
 she s given em a mite of dinner, and I guess 
 there ain t anything in the house for supper. 
 You just stay where you are." 
 
 Not a thought had selfish Mrs. Sanderson 
 for the fact that she was exposing a neighbor s 
 child to the same evil which had overtaken her 
 own. Nor in Katie s inexperience did she think 
 of it either ; but she did feel very indignant at 
 the tone of command and very much inclined 
 to rebel. 
 
 Moreover, she did not want to stay and take 
 care of a girl who had behaved so shamefully 
 toward herself. One by one the bitter things 
 she had been forced to endure through this girl s 
 treachery and deceitfulness came to her remem 
 brance the avoidance of her companions, the 
 disapprobation and suspicion of the overseer. 
 
GOOD FOR EVIL. 195 
 
 the changed manner of her Sunday-school 
 teacher, the tears she had shed in secret, and 
 the discouragement she had felt in her efforts to 
 be good ; and a sense of indignation possessed 
 her which for a moment made her feel almost 
 glad that the girl had thus got her deserts. 
 
 But this feeling was not of long continuance. 
 The Good Spirit, who was leading Katie along 
 the paths of righteousness, would not allow her 
 to turn aside from them because for the moment 
 the way seemed unpleasant and opposed to her 
 natural inclinations. Unheard by outward ears, 
 but heard quite plainly in her heart, he whis 
 pered words that made the little girl pause and 
 think a second time before she refused to do as 
 she was commanded. Here was a good oppor 
 tunity of being like Christ. He forgave his 
 enemies. He was kind to the unthankful and 
 the evil. He gave up his life that those who 
 hated and persecuted and finally killed Him 
 might be saved. This thought decided her. 
 
 "Let me speak a word to Tessa first," she 
 said ; "then I ll stay." 
 
 She then told her waiting companion how ill 
 Bertie was, and how Mrs. Sanderson was over- 
 
196 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 whelmed with so many to see to, and wanted 
 her to stay and help. She asked Tessa to get 
 tea for the boys and send one of them for her 
 at bedtime, all of which her friend promised 
 faithfully to attend to, and went her way. 
 
 When Katie returned to the sick-room, Mrs. 
 Sanderson actually thanked her, and then went 
 off, glad to attend to other responsibilities, and 
 the young nurse was left with the excited, toss 
 ing patient. Strangely to herself, she did not 
 feel the least anger or bitterness toward her 
 now, in spite of all her unkindness to herself. 
 The words which had been in a recent Sunday- 
 school lesson, " I was sick and ye visited me" 
 came again and again to her mind, and it hardly 
 seemed to be Bertie to whom she was called to 
 minister. She had no experience in sickness, 
 but to some people nursing is an intuitive gift, 
 and Katie inherited it from her mother. Her 
 touch was cool and light. She seemed to know 
 by instinct when the patient needed drink or 
 change of position. She smoothed the dis 
 ordered bed, shook up the pillows, turned the 
 cool side uppermost, closed the open blind 
 through which the western sun was blazing into 
 
GOOD FOR EVIL. 197 
 
 the sick girl s eyes, and finding a large news 
 paper lying on the floor, made a fan of it, keep 
 ing off the flies and creating a current of air, 
 till by degrees the tossings and cries ceased, 
 the wildly staring eyes closed, and Bertie fell 
 into a light, though restless, sleep. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Sanderson had come home 
 from the bindery, and seemed surprised to find 
 Katie sitting so quietly by his sick child. He 
 remonstrated with his wife in another room 
 for exposing a stranger to such danger of infec 
 tion ; but when she asked him what she was to 
 do with two sick children and three well ones 
 on her hands, and who was to get the meals for 
 them all, he had no answer to give, only he set 
 about making the fire and getting supper him 
 self, holding the baby on one arm and telling 
 Nina what to do about setting the table. When 
 all was ready he sent Katie down to her supper 
 and himself watched the two sick children, 
 which, now that one of them slept, was quite 
 possible, resuming his watch after he had 
 had his own. Mrs. Sanderson declared that 
 she was completely "beat out," as well she 
 might be, poor woman, and dropping on the 
 
198 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 lounge in the sitting-room was asleep in a 
 moment, while Katie coaxed Nina to help her 
 wash the dishes, clear up the room, and put the 
 two younger children to bed. 
 
 By this time Dr. Bolen came in, looked at his 
 patients, and said that, though Bertie was cer 
 tainly not better, sleep was the best thing for 
 her and should be encourage das much as possi 
 ble. Alf., he thought, would do well. Then 
 
 seeing Katie and not recognizing her, he asked 
 
 where that other girl came from and what she 
 was doing there. Mrs. Sanderson explained, 
 dwelling emphatically upon Bertie s cries for 
 her friend and the soothing influence her 
 presence had exerted. 
 
 "That s all very well," said the doctor ; " but 
 how am I going to excuse it to her mother if 
 she gets the fever, and what am I going to do 
 with another patient upon my hands and no one 
 to nurse her ? " 
 
 "Oh, well, there s no harm done. She s 
 only been here a little while, and her brother s 
 coming to take her home before long." 
 
 " Not quite so fast, my good lady. She has 
 been exposed to the fever already, and if she 
 
GOOD FOR EVIL. 199 
 
 goes home now, may communicate it to her 
 two brothers or the other girl that boards with 
 them. Then her mother would be sure to go 
 home to take care of them, and there would be 
 an end of my hospital and my quarantine. 
 No ; she must either go to her mother and take 
 her chance there, or she must stay here till we 
 see whether she has escaped the contagion." 
 
 " Please, let me stay here," said Katie, who 
 had overheard this conversation. " I don t 
 think I shall have the fever, but I am sure I 
 can be of use to them all." 
 
 " Would n t you like to go and be with your 
 mother ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir, I d like to, but I d rather stay 
 here ; because, because they need me, and " 
 the rest of the sentence was spoken low as if 
 without being intended for any one to hear, but 
 both the doctor and Mr. Sanderson heard it 
 and marveled at the words. They were : 
 
 "Even Christ pleased not himself." 
 
 
2OO KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 CONSCIENCE. 
 
 |R. SANDERSON would not allow 
 Katie to sit up late. Indeed, she could 
 not have kept awake, and would have 
 been of little use if she could. She shared 
 Nina s bed in the room where the younger 
 children slept, but lay awake thinking, long 
 after that irresponsible little girl was asleep 
 by her side. Everything seemed so strange. 
 It was the first night she had ever spent away 
 from her own home, and she could not help 
 wondering how Tessa and the boys were 
 getting along, and what they had for supper. 
 She thought of her mother and of the anxiety 
 which, when she heard where she was, she 
 would feel about her ; and she wondered if 
 she should have the fever, and if she did if 
 she should die, as one of the patients at 
 the hospital had already done. Then she won 
 dered if Bertie would die, and a strange sort of 
 awe came over her at such a thought in con- 
 
CONSCIENCE. 2O I 
 
 nection with one who had been her playmate 
 ever since she could remember. It made death 
 seem very near, and she wondered if she were 
 fit to die. But that thought did not trouble her 
 much. Nothing, either in life or death, can 
 really hurt those who love Jesus and trust in 
 his protection. She asked him to make her 
 ready to die when he chose, and then, being of 
 a very hopeful, cheerful nature, began to think 
 of other things. 
 
 How could Bertie have circulated those 
 stories about her ? And, what was more 
 important, how could she set herself right in 
 the eyes of the other girls, and especially in 
 those of Miss Eunice and Miss Etta? She 
 could not go and say to the latter : " I know 
 Bertie called me a thief, but I am not one," and 
 then tell the story just as it was. They might 
 not believe her, and if they did it would be 
 betraying Bertie, and that would not be kind, 
 particularly now that the latter was so ill. Or 
 if she could have told the young ladies and, 
 with the help of Mr. James, made it all straight 
 with them, she could not go around to all the 
 girls and explain what to them were half-defined 
 
2O2 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 suspicions. Even if she told the story of the 
 fifty-dollar bill and her version of it were 
 believed, they might very naturally think that 
 there was something else, and that Bertie would 
 scarcely have based her charge of theft on so 
 slight and easily to be explained a circumstance 
 as that. What should she do ? It was dread 
 ful to live under such a cloud ; to have people 
 consider you wicked when you are desiring and 
 trying with all your might to be good, and not 
 be able to right yourself at all. Again a feeling 
 toward Bertie arose in the girl s heart that 
 would have been hatred but for her companion s 
 present condition, and which she felt to be 
 wrong even as it was. For the thought of 
 Jesus and how he forgave his enemies made her 
 feel ashamed of herself, till she got out of bed 
 and, kneeling kown in the moonlight, prayed to 
 be made more like him and to be willing to 
 surfer wrongfully, if need be, with patience, 
 rather than to feel wrong or to do anything 
 unkind. And then, as she got into bed again, 
 the scripture words with which she had com 
 menced her factory life came back to her with 
 new force : 
 
CONSCIENCE. 
 
 203 
 
 " In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he 
 shall direct thy paths." And then those others 
 in the thirty-seventh Psalm : " Commit thy way 
 unto the Lord ; trust also in him, and he shall 
 bring it to pass. He shall bring forth thy 
 righteousness as the light." 
 
 That was the safest way. She might leave 
 it to God to take care of her reputation. He 
 could manage it though she could not, and 
 some time everybody would understand just 
 how it was, and know she was not a thief. 
 Meantime she could afford to wait his time. 
 
 The next morning Mr. Sanderson promised 
 to send word to the mill about Katie s absence 
 and its cause, and when he left for the bindery 
 his wife came downstairs to see to things, and 
 she took her place in the sick-room, while Nina 
 went to sit with Alf. Mrs. Sanderson was sur 
 prised to see how much Katie had managed to 
 do before breakfast and in the interim between, 
 exciting in Nina quite an ambition to wash 
 dishes and " clean up." The little children had 
 been nicely washed and dressed and were, when 
 their mother went down, sitting on the kitchen 
 doorstep with a kitten between them, over which, 
 
2O4 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 for a wonder, they were neither fretting nor 
 quarreling. The breakfast things were all put 
 away, the floor swept, and there was a general 
 look of comfort which had not existed in that 
 house for more than a week. The poor tired 
 woman sank into a rocking-chair, saying to 
 herself, " I don t see how it is some people s 
 children are so handy. Mine don t ever do any 
 thing they can help. It s some people s luck." 
 It never came into Mrs. Sanderson s head 
 that the " luck " of good, efficient children is 
 largely dependent upon the sensible training 
 given them by their mothers. 
 
 The doctor, when he came, found Bertk 
 much easier, if not absolutely better. He 
 could not tell quite yet if there were any likeli 
 hood of her recovery, but the quieter she could 
 be kept, and the more sleep she could get, the 
 more chance she would have. He told Katie 
 she was a famous nurse, and he should trust 
 her to keep the room still, dark, and cool, and 
 to soothe her friend as much as she possibly 
 could. He furthermore told her that he had 
 seen her mother, who approved of her remain* 
 ing where she was, though of course she was 
 
CONSCIENCE. 205 
 
 very anxious lest she should take the fever and 
 very sorry that she had gone to the house in 
 the first place. 
 
 " I promised to watch you closely," said he, 
 "and the moment I saw any symptoms, take 
 you to her to be nursed. But I don t believe 
 you will have it if you take care of yourself. 
 You are in the path of duty, and I have often 
 observed that those who are there seldom come 
 to any harm." 
 
 It seemed a very long day to restless, active 
 Katie, and yet in one sense it was a relief from 
 the steady, monotonous work in the mill. Ber 
 tie was so quiet at first that she was able to 
 wait upon her and Alf. both, and let Nina go 
 down to help her mother get dinner. But 
 after a while she began to toss and mutter, 
 and then came those wild cries for Katie Rob 
 ertson ; that she had something to tell her ; 
 that she had n t told a lie, for Katie was a 
 thief. 
 
 When or how the change came the watcher 
 hardly knew, but all at once she became aware 
 that Bertie lay looking directly at her, and that 
 there was full recognition in her eyes. Neither 
 
206 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 girl spoke for a moment ; then Bertie said with 
 a kind of shudder : 
 
 "Am I dead?" 
 
 "No, indeed," said the other, not without 
 some effort to speak cheerfully. " You are going 
 to get well now ; only keep still and don t tire 
 yourself." 
 
 "I am going to die," said Bertie, slowly; "and 
 I can t die, I am so wicked. Katie, I said 
 dreadful things about you. I made all the girls 
 hate you, and Miss Etta, too ; but it was n t 
 quite a lie, for I did see you take the 
 money." 
 
 "Yes," said Katie, quietly, "I did find a fifty- 
 dollar bill in an old vest, and I suppose you saw 
 me ; but why did n t you tell me you saw it, 
 instead of telling the girls ? Then I could have 
 explained all about it ? " 
 
 " I don t know," said Bertie, uneasily. " Yes, 
 I do ; that s another lie, and I don t mean to 
 tell lies now. I did n t want to have it ex 
 plained. I wanted the girls to dislike you as 
 much as I did." 
 
 "Why?" said Katie, astonished. 
 
 "Oh, well, you preached to me, and pretended 
 
CONSCIENCE. 207 
 
 to be a saint, and Miss Etta and everybody 
 thought you were so good, and " 
 
 "Shall I tell you about that bill now?" 
 
 "Yes, do!" 
 
 So Katie told her companion just how it 
 happened, and it was all so simple that she 
 wondered how she could have made such a story 
 of it. 
 
 " I wonder you did n t keep the bill, and not 
 take it to Mr. James," she said. "I should." 
 
 " I did have a little fight about it," said 
 Katie, blushing. " It was a great temptation. 
 I m not so very good, but " 
 
 "But what ?" said Bertie, eagerly, looking at 
 her. 
 
 " I think the Lord Jesus helped me. I asked 
 him, and he says he will help us to be good," 
 
 " Do you think he would help me ? " 
 
 " I am sure he would. O Bertie, do ask 
 him ! I am so glad ! " 
 
 "Are you?" said the sick girl, dreamily. 
 But the effort to talk or think longer in her 
 weakened state was too great. She seemed to 
 float away again, and by degrees the same wild 
 look came into her eyes, the tossings began 
 
2O8 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 again, and the low mutterings and sharp cries. 
 It was very painful both to see and hear, but 
 Katie was glad to notice that her own name 
 no longer mingled in the confused talk, and the 
 consciousness of wrong-doing toward herself 
 seemed to have passed away. 
 
 In the evening the doctor said that the 
 patient had had a relapse, and questioned her 
 young nurse very particularly as to whether she 
 had shown any consciousness ; and being told 
 that she had seemed for a little while to be 
 quite herself, he asked if she had spoken. 
 Katie said that she had talked quite rationally 
 about something that had distressed her for 
 some time, but she did not say what that some 
 thing was. 
 
 "Bad," said he; "you should never let a 
 fever patient talk, no matter how much she 
 may try. But I must n t scold you, I suppose ; 
 you are too young for such a responsibility, and 
 your friend there is extremely ill." 
 
 Then he went downstairs and consulted 
 Bertie s parents, and the result was that a letter 
 was written to the city aunt begging her to 
 eome and help take care of the two sick children. 
 
CONSCIENCE. 2O9 
 
 The doctor wrote it himself, stating as deli 
 cately as he could the extreme urgency of the 
 case, the inefficiency of the mother, the dan 
 gerous illness of the children, and the impossi 
 bility of securing any assistance in the care of 
 them except that of an inexperienced little girl, 
 who was herself in constant danger of being 
 added to the list of patients. 
 
 In answer to this appeal, after a couple of 
 days, Mrs. Jamieson, who, if a silly, overindul- 
 gent mother, was a much more efficient woman 
 than her sister, made her appearance in Squan- 
 town, and under her supervision matters were 
 soon in a better condition, and Katie was no 
 longer needed. She had made herself extremely 
 useful, however, and all the family were un- 
 feignedly obliged to her. The children could not 
 bear to have her go, and Mr. Sanderson insisted 
 upon giving her as much money as she would 
 have earned during the days she had been 
 absent from the mill. Dr. Bolen said she 
 showed no signs of having taken the infection, 
 and it would be quite safe for her to go home if 
 she would change all her clothes for those which 
 Eric took to the bindery and Mr. .Sanderson 
 
2IO KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 carried home, leaving everything she had worn 
 in the sick-room behind her, and then would 
 take a long walk, where the wind could blow 
 her hair about and freshen her up thoroughly. 
 
 Tessa and Katie had a long, long talk that 
 night. The former had many things to tell of 
 what had happened both in the mill and at home 
 during the absence of the latter ; how the rag- 
 room had been closed and fumigated, the 
 foreign rags all burned, and the girls and Miss 
 Peters enjoyed a three days holiday without 
 having it deducted from their wages ; how they 
 old cat had presented the household with a 
 lovely family of downy kittens, for which Alfred 
 had made a little house in a box out in the yard ; 
 and how both boys had been very patient toward 
 her cookery, laughing at her mistakes and 
 helping her with their superior knowledge ; and 
 how they had stayed at home and played games 
 with her every evening, thus preventing her 
 from taking to novels again to cheer her lone 
 liness, as she should otherwise have felt tempted 
 to do. 
 
 Then Katie told Tessa all about the fifty- 
 dollar bill, of which she had never heard before. 
 
CONSCIENCE. 2 I I 
 
 and Bertie s unkindness in setting everybody 
 against her ; and Tessa said she had heard the 
 rumors, and often tried to make the girls tell 
 her what they meant, but the only thing 
 she could find out was that Katie was dis 
 honest. 
 
 " I wonder you were friends with me, then," 
 said Katie. " I should think you would have 
 avoided me, just as all the other girls did. 
 Were n t you ashamed to associate with a 
 thief?" 
 
 " Oh, Katie, you know I could n t believe 
 such a thing of you ! you who have been my 
 best friend the only real friend I have ever 
 had." 
 
 " But why did n t you tell me what you had 
 heard, and ask me to explain it ? You see how 
 easily I could have done so. 
 
 " Somehow I didn t like to. It seemed like 
 doubting you even to repeat the lies. I knew 
 they were lies all the time, and I loved you 
 better than anybody else in the world. What 
 consequence was it to me what other people 
 said about you?" 
 
 How to clear the matter up, neither of the 
 
212 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 girls knew. For it would be still more cruel 
 and dishonorable, as they thought, to tell what 
 Bertie had done, now that she had confessed it 
 herself and was lying so low. But Katie had 
 learned to "commit her way unto the Lord," 
 and she was not troubled any more about the 
 matter. 
 
 "I should think you d hate Bertie," said 
 Tessa, with Italian intensity. " I don t see how 
 you could bring yourself to stay there and take 
 care of her when you knew how much she had 
 injured you. I should have felt like putting 
 poison into her drink or smothering her with 
 the pillows." 
 
 " No, you would n t," said the other, laughing, 
 but immediately becoming grave again. " You 
 could n t hate any one who was dying, and be 
 sides, it wouldn t be like Jesus." 
 
 "I don t understand." 
 
 " Don t you see ? Jesus gave up his life for 
 sinners, for those who were his enemies. It 
 makes me love him whenever I think of it, and 
 I want to be like him. This was a good chance, 
 and I think he helped me to overcome all kind 
 of hard feeling. I only longed to do everything 
 I could to make her more comfortable." 
 
C ONS CIENCE. 213 
 
 "I wish I could love Jesus as you do. My 
 father used to tell me religion was just the 
 priests deceiving silly women, and reminded 
 me how the robbers and beggars in Italy would 
 kneel before the crucifixes, shed tears as they 
 said their prayers, and then turn away and be 
 just as wicked as before. But to you it all 
 seems real, and it, or something, makes you 
 just the best girl I ever saw. But I can t 
 feel so." 
 
 " Yes, you can ; our Lord Jesus says whoso 
 ever will, may take of the water of life freely, 
 and him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise 
 cast out. You must be one of the whosoever. 
 O Tessa, I only wish you d come ! " 
 
 But Tessa did not answer, and Katie, think 
 ing her asleep, soon followed her example. 
 
214 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 DECIDING. 
 
 T was about four weeks later in the 
 season. Miss Eunice s " tea-party," 
 which had not been held for a long 
 time, was gathered at the great house ; not 
 now in the pleasant sitting-room, but on the 
 still pleasanter shaded lawn, where the girls 
 occupied pretty rustic seats, while the tea was 
 spread on little green tables, around which they 
 were grouped as inclination prompted them. 
 
 All the members of both classes were there, 
 with the exception of Bertie Sanderson ; and 
 there were quite a number of new faces. Some 
 were present who had lately stood very close to 
 death, and others whom the solemn thought 
 induced by the public catastrophe had led to 
 seek for a better life than one of mere amuse 
 ment. All were glad to come together again ; 
 but there was a subdued tone in the gladness, 
 and some voices were not as gay and careless 
 as they were a month ago. 
 
DECIDING. 215 
 
 The fever had passed away. There had been 
 no more cases, and only that one death. The 
 rag-room girls and the invalids had gone back 
 to their work ; the hospital was closed ; Mrs. 
 Robertson had returned to her family, with for 
 once a thankful heart. For, besides that she 
 had been very well paid for her services and 
 loss of time, the pestilence had spared her own 
 dear ones ; and they were all there to welcome 
 her as she came back to her home. 
 
 Moreover, she had become very much at 
 tached to Gretchen and the other girls whom 
 she had attended during their illness, and hated 
 to let them go back to the tender mercies of 
 Mrs. Doyle and the other boarding-house keep 
 ers, where they would be sure to be not only 
 uncomfortable and badly fed, but also very 
 much neglected in case of any new illness which 
 might easily result from their weak, enfeebled 
 condition. Her motherly heart thought a great 
 deal about the matter, and her thoughts finally 
 ended in her fitting up a large garret-room, 
 which had never been occupied, with four little 
 white beds and other necessaries and conven 
 iences, and taking the four convalescents home 
 
2l6 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 with her as permanent boarders. The girls, while 
 paying no more than they had heretofore done, 
 profited greatly by the change. They had plain 
 and wholesome, because well-cooked, food, plenty 
 of cleanliness and fresh air, besides the elevat 
 ing and refining influence of a home where 
 Christian living was inculcated, not so much by 
 precept as by practice. God " setteth the soli 
 tary in families," not boarding-houses or institu 
 tions; but that is the only true family which 
 takes care "in all its ways to acknowledge him." 
 If such families all over our land would open 
 the arms of their exclusiveness each to take in 
 one or more of the waifs and strays of life, and 
 throw around them the arms of Christian love, 
 they would be taking a long step toward 
 answering their own daily prayer of 
 " Thy kingdom come ... on earth as it is in heaven." 
 Katie and Tessa were pleased, girl-like, with 
 the addition to their family party, and, though 
 the boys grumbled a little at first, being, as boys 
 are apt to be, a little shy of girls society, they 
 soon became used to the change and glad to 
 enjoy the evening occupations that were ren 
 dered possible by so large a number. 
 
DECIDING. 2 I 7 
 
 It had always been a source of great anxiety 
 to the widow, lest her boys, deprived of a 
 father s watchful authority, would, as they grew 
 up, wander off at night, fall under bad in 
 fluences, learn evil habits, and grow up worth 
 less, dissipated men. But thus far she had 
 been successful in keeping Eric and Alfred 
 at home with her and their little sister, and now, 
 just when the restlessness common to their age 
 might have drawn them away, a new interest 
 was presented in the shape of a " home reading 
 society," which held its sessions on Monday, 
 Tuesday, and Thursday nights ; Wednesday 
 evening being devoted to Miss Eunice s "tea- 
 party," Friday to the church service, and Satur 
 day to games. 
 
 Mrs. Robertson had plans of a more solid 
 nature for the winter, but till the warm sum 
 mer weather was over, this seemed enough. 
 The books read were historical stories, biogra 
 phies, and the like, taken from the mill library 
 by special permission. The boys were generally 
 the readers, while the girls were encouraged 
 by their motherly landlady to repair and keep 
 their clothes in order, a branch of womanliness 
 
2l8 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 apt to be much neglected by factory operatives, 
 who often marry and enter upon family duties 
 without even knowing how to hold a needle. 
 
 Of course, the widow s time was now so fully 
 occupied that she could not go out to work in 
 families, as she had been wont to do, but the 
 money paid by her boarders more than com 
 pensated for that. Her heart, as well as her 
 hands, was quite full, and having no time to 
 brood over her fallen condition, she did not 
 worry and grumble so much as formerly, and 
 was happier than she had ever been since the 
 doctor died and left her to battle with the 
 world alone. And thus she learned to realize 
 the truth of that scripture: 
 
 "He that watereth shall be watered also 
 himself." 
 
 Bertie Sanderson did not die with the fever, 
 though all around her, even the doctor, had at 
 one time quite given up all hope of her 
 recovery. She slowly struggled back to life, 
 and as soon as she was able to bear the 
 journey her aunt took her to the city with 
 her for more complete rest and change. Katie 
 did not see her again ; for, having once got 
 
DECIDING. 219 
 
 away from the infected house, it was not 
 thought best either for her brothers at home, 
 or her companions in the mill, that she should 
 risk exposure again. She often longed to know 
 the state of her former companion s mind on 
 recovering her senses. If she remembered 
 that exciting conversation; if she were really 
 penitent for what she had done ; and if she had 
 taken her companion s advice and sought the 
 forgiveness and strength of her Saviour. But 
 no one could tell her. Indeed, there was no 
 one she could ask, for she felt intuitively that 
 Mrs. Sanderson was not a person to understand 
 this sort of thing, and she could not summon 
 courage to ask Bertie s father. Of one thing 
 she was sure, however her companion had not 
 as yet openly confessed her share in the reports 
 which had so affected Katie s reputation, and 
 she must still wait in patience till he to whom 
 she had "committed her way" should make it 
 clear. 
 
 The reading for this Wednesday afternoon 
 had been exceedingly solemn. It was about 
 the danger of being " almost persuaded " to do 
 one s duty, and then leaving it undone ; the 
 
22O KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 uncertainty of another opportunity presenting 
 itself, and the importance of deciding for Christ 
 now. At its close Miss Eunice had said : 
 
 "My dear girls, we have in the weeks that 
 have gone by carefully considered the subject of 
 religion and God s claims upon every one of us 
 for the consecration to him of our hearts and 
 our lives. We have seen that the steps we are 
 called upon to take are repentance, that is, 
 forsaking sin in intention as well as being sorry 
 for it ; a steadfast, living faith in Christ Jesus 
 as our Saviour, and a resolute determination to 
 spend the rest of our lives in his service by 
 keeping his commandments and doing his 
 will. 
 
 "We have learned, also, that of ourselves we 
 are none of us sufficient for any of these things, 
 but that God is ready nay, anxious to give 
 us his Holy Spirit in answer to our asking, and 
 that this Holy Spirit will work in us the 
 repentance and faith, as well as give us the 
 strength to carry it out amid all the tempta 
 tions of our daily lives. To-day s lesson has 
 been upon the importance of deciding, and the 
 danger of delay, in such a serious matter. I 
 
DECIDING. 221 
 
 think the lessons of the past few weeks have 
 helped to impress this latter fact upon us ; and I 
 am glad that our pastor has just written me a note 
 to ask that all of you who have made up your 
 minds to confess your Saviour openly at our 
 communion Sunday, the first week in Septem 
 ber, which will be just two weeks from to-day, 
 will send him your names at once. He desires 
 to see and talk with each one of you separately, 
 that he may satisfy himself of your being in a fit 
 condition for so important a step. I have a 
 paper here on which you may write your names ; 
 but before you do I want you to examine your 
 own hearts faithfully and as in the sight of God, 
 to see whether you honestly and sincerely * re 
 pent you of your sins past, have a lively and 
 steadfast faith in Christ our Saviour, and intend 
 to lead a new life, following the commandments 
 of God and walking from henceforth in his holy 
 ways, that so you may not be guilty of making 
 a deceitful and false profession. And now let 
 us pray. " 
 
 The girls all knelt down, and their teacher 
 prayed that these dear girls might have a right 
 judgment in all things, and decide, " not lightly 
 
222 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 nor after the manner of dissemblers with God," to 
 confess Christ for their Saviour, and give them 
 selves to him in the way of his appointment. 
 Then there was silence for many minutes, that 
 all kneeling there might carefully examine their 
 own hearts and make this most important 
 decision of their lives in the very realized 
 presence of God himself. 
 
 After this the tea-table conversation was not 
 a very gay one, and the girls went home uncom 
 monly early, many of them before leaving writ 
 ing their names upon the sheet of paper which 
 their teacher presented. To some it seemed 
 too awful a thing to do ; to others, as to Katie 
 Robertson, the awe was softened by the glad 
 sense that Christ was pleased with this act of 
 acknowledging him ; and still others were 
 greatly strengthened by this first act of self- 
 committal, from which they would now be 
 ashamed to draw back. 
 
 "Fifteen names; God bless them all !" said 
 Miss Eunice, as she looked over the paper with 
 her sister, whose own name headed the list. 
 " I am so glad ! And yet there are two or three 
 more that I would like to see there ; perhaps 
 
DECIDING. 
 
 22 3 
 
 they will decide yet. But, Etta, what shall 
 we do with this one?" pointing to Katie 
 Robertson s. 
 
 " I don t know, unless we consult Mr. Mor- 
 ven." For the young lady had begun to realize 
 the help and strength there is in talking over 
 spiritual matters and difficulties with one well 
 qualified to give advice and help ; and many 
 a deeply interesting one had followed that first 
 Sunday afternoon s conversation between Etta 
 and her pastor. 
 
 "We might do that," said the elder sister, 
 musingly. " And yet, I hardly like to, either ; 
 for, you see, we don t know anything definitely 
 against the child, and I should be sorry to 
 create a prejudice against her should she prove 
 to be innocent. At the same time, I do not 
 like to take the responsibility of assenting to 
 the public religious profession of a girl who has 
 such an accusation as theft hanging over her." 
 
 " I have almost a mind to tell her the report, 
 and ask her what it means. I have somehow 
 shrunk from doing so because it seems an abso 
 lute insult, and whenever I see the child I can 
 not believe there is any truth in the story. I 
 wish I knew more particulars." 
 
224 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 " Who was your informant ? Oh, I remem 
 ber ! Bertie Sanderson and she is out of the 
 way now, and can t be questioned." 
 
 " I never believed in, nor liked, Bertie ; but I 
 don t think she is bad enough to invent such a 
 slander, making it out of whole cloth. She 
 said Gretchen knew ; but I never thought of 
 asking her. She is as truthful as the day." 
 
 "I would ask her," said her sister. "And 
 there she is by the gate come back for some 
 thing, maybe." 
 
CLEARED. 225 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 CLEARED. 
 
 RETCHEN came slowly up the lawn, 
 and stood for a moment shyly by the 
 side of Miss Eunice. 
 
 "Is there anything I can do for you, my 
 child ? " said the young lady, pleasantly, desiring 
 to put her at her ease. 
 
 " Please, will you write my name there ? " 
 she said, pointing to the list. " I can t write 
 English letters, and I was ashamed to have the 
 other girls know." 
 
 "That is nothing to be ashamed of," said 
 Etta. " I don t believe any of the other girls 
 can write German letters. But, Gretehen, do 
 you honestly want to give yourself to your 
 Saviour, and to live so as to serve and please 
 him ? " 
 
 " Yes, Miss Etta. I shall never forget th 
 night you prayed for nie when I was so sick. 
 You said the Lord Jesus weuld hear the prayer, 
 and take me if I eame to him. I think he did 
 
226 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 so, and I have been coming to him again and 
 again, ever since. He has been good, so good 
 to me, saving me from dying and making me 
 get well from that terrible sickness. The more I 
 read about him in my Bible, the more I love 
 him and want to honor him. But, Miss Etta, 
 it was you who told me about him, and I shall 
 never forget that night." 
 
 Etta s eyes filled with glad tears, while her 
 sister added the sixteenth name to the list, and 
 she clasped the hard, red hand with a feeling 
 of sisterhood, for which she could hardly 
 account. 
 
 Gretchen s sickness had greatly improved her 
 appearance, toning down her overbright color, 
 and giving her a look of greater delicacy. Mrs. 
 Robertson and Katie had managed to exchange 
 the dark woolen petticoat and jacket for a 
 simple summer dress such as the other girls 
 wore ; while contact with the others in the 
 friendly home life had brightened up her intel 
 lect, and her new, deeper feelings and desire 
 after a spiritual life had given her a certain 
 earnestness of expression which made the 
 homely German features very pleasant to look 
 upon. 
 
CLEARED. 227 
 
 She was just going away after thanking both 
 her teachers in a quaint, formal manner, when 
 Etta said : 
 
 "Gretchen, I don t want you to tell tales 
 about your companions, and you need not 
 answer unless you wish to do so, but I have 
 been told that you know facts concerning 3 
 rumor about Katie Robertson, that I very much 
 desire to find out. Can you, honorably, tell me 
 anything about it ?" 
 
 " Some of the girls don t like her ; I don t 
 know why. She s always a very nice girl to 
 me, and so good to her mother ! " 
 
 " But the rumor is that she is dishonest, and 
 that you saw her steal something." 
 
 11 1 saw Katie steal?" said Gretchen, very 
 slowly. " Never, never in my life. Oh, I know," 
 a light breaking over her face at a sudden 
 recollection. " Bertha and I both saw her 
 find a bill in an old vest-pocket one day, and 
 put it in her own. Bertha spoke about it to 
 me, but it was n t my business. Finding 
 is n t stealing." 
 
 " It is n t quite honest to keep what we find," 
 said Miss Eunice. "We should try to restore it 
 to the owner." 
 
228 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 "But how could she find the owner?" said 
 Gretchen, eagerly. "He might be away over 
 in Germany, or or anywhere." 
 
 "That is true," said Etta, thoughtfully. 
 "It s strange! I can t believe that Katie s 
 dishonest." 
 
 " Oh, she is n t ; I m sure she is n t ! I only 
 wish I could prove it; but this is all I know 
 about the matter." 
 
 "Well, dear, thank you for saying what you 
 have said. Don t say a word about it among 
 your companions. I know I can trust you 
 that far, and I will find out the mystery some 
 how. Good-night, Gretchen. God bless you 
 in your new service," and Miss Eunice kissed 
 her, little German factory-girl though she was. 
 
 " Find out the mystery ? Of course we can ; 
 just as easy as possible, now," said Etta. "All 
 we ve got to do is just to ask James if such 
 an occurrence ever happened in the mill." 
 
 And Mr. James Mount joy promptly coming in 
 at that moment, both sisters appealed to him, and 
 heard in return a very simple statement of the 
 whole affair. 
 
 :i Why did n t you tell u* ? " 
 
CLEARED. 
 
 229 
 
 "I did mean to. I thought it so noble in 
 the child. Five girls out of every six would 
 have put the money into their pockets, and 
 said nothing about it. It was very brave in 
 her, too, to tell me how she had been tempted 
 to keep it." 
 
 " I know why he did not tell," said the elder 
 sister, looking fondly at her brother. " Five 
 employers out of six would have accepted the 
 money as their right, and the finder have been 
 none the better for it. Our James is not apt to 
 trumpet his own praises." 
 
 The young man colored, and said : 
 
 " I think Katie Robertson is an uncommonly 
 fine girl. I was struck by something she said 
 the day she entered the mill. I asked her if 
 she thought she could be a faithful little girl, 
 and she said she was trying to please God 
 everywhere, and she was sure he would help her 
 here. I think she has acted up to that idea 
 ever since. I have watched her from time 
 to time, and I can not find that she has ever 
 been guilty of disobedience to rules, or any kind 
 of underhand behavior. Her work has always 
 been faithfully done, and her example has been 
 
030 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 of great use in keeping order among the others. 
 Sanderson is enthusiastic in his praises of 
 her bravery and womanly unselfishness. He 
 says she came to his house at the risk of 
 her own life, and helped his poor, tired-out 
 wife take care of the two sick children with 
 as much earnestness, and almost as much 
 skill, as a professional nurse. She stayed there 
 till the aunt from the city came, thus losing five 
 days work. I offered her the wages for those 
 days when I found it out, but she told me Mr. 
 Sanderson had given her the amount, and she 
 did not want to be paid twice over." 
 
 " And this is the girl we have been sus 
 pecting of dishonesty!" said Etta. "We 
 really owe her something to make amends. 
 What a little wretch that Bertie Sanderson 
 must be ! I really think her parents ought 
 to be told all the circumstances." 
 
 All this while a pile of unopened letters, 
 brought by the evening mail, was lying upon 
 the centre-table. The young gentleman turned 
 them over, took possession of several which 
 were directed to himself, and then, handing 
 Etta one which he said was for her, left the 
 room. 
 
CLEARED. 231 
 
 " Who can it be from ? " said the young lady, 
 eyeing the strangely folded and badly directed 
 epistle, without opening it, as is the manner of 
 so many people. 
 
 "I d see if I were you," said her sister; and 
 seeing that this was good advice, Etta took it, 
 glanced at the signature, and exclaimed : 
 
 " Bertie Sanderson ! what a coincidence ! " 
 
 The letter was as follows : 
 
 NEW YORK, August 15, 18 . 
 My Dear Miss Etta, I don t know how to 
 write letters very well, but I must tell you 
 something that is upon my mind. It is about 
 Katie Robertson. You remember I told you 
 she was a thief, and I told all the girls she was 
 dishonest. I did n t know that she was ; I 
 only saw her find a fifty-dollar bill among the 
 rags one day, and put it in her pocket. I 
 did n t know what she did with it, and I did n t 
 try to find out, because I was jealous and 
 hated her. She used to tell me it was dis 
 honest to break rules, and talk, and idle, when 
 one was paid for working, and I felt kind of 
 glad to think I had found her out in being 
 
232 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 dishonest too. I told the girls about it not 
 all, but just enough to make them think her a 
 thief, because at first they all seemed to think 
 so much more of her than they did of me, and 
 I told you just the same thing when you asked 
 me. I tried to tell father when he used to 
 praise up Katie Robertson s independence and 
 industry, and wish I would follow her example. 
 You see, it was all because of her that he put 
 me in the mill. But somehow I could n t tell 
 him. I was afraid. 
 
 You see, Miss Etta, I have been a very 
 wicked girl, and when I got so sick I was 
 afraid to die. I tried to think I hadn t told 
 a lie, because I did see her find the money, and 
 I didn t know -what she had done with it; but 
 I knew I had "borne false witness," and I 
 hadn t "loved my neighbor as myself." I 
 knew, too, that nobody could go to heaven with 
 a heart full of malice and hatred, and I wanted 
 to tell Katie all about it, and ask her to forgive 
 me, and when I got wild I kept calling for her. 
 Then she came and stayed and took such good 
 care of me, I ve been ashamed since I knew 
 about it ; but I did n t know her or any one 
 
.; 
 
 CLEARED. 233 
 
 then, only one day my wits seemed to conTe 
 back to me and I told her all about it, and she 
 explained so simply how she had found the 
 money and taken it to Mr. James, and Mr. 
 James had told her to keep it, that I saw in a 
 moment that it was only because I wanted to 
 think her bad that I did n t find out just how 
 it was long before. 
 
 I felt so bad then, Miss Etta, because I 
 thought I was surely dying, and going before 
 God with all that unforgiven sin upon me, and 
 Katie talked so sweetly about Jesus and his 
 forgiveness and help that I thought I d like 
 to try. But then I did n t know anything for 
 a long time till I woke up and found my 
 aunt there, and they said I couldn t see Katie 
 again, because she might get the fever or carry 
 it to her brothers. 
 
 I was dreadfully unhappy, even after I came 
 here, not only about this, but because of all the 
 other bad things I ve done all my life. I Ve 
 been selfish and vain, and unkind and untruth 
 ful and dishonest, and I almost wished I had 
 died when I was sick, only then I could not 
 have gone to heaven, and I never could have 
 cleared Katie. 
 
234 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 Since I have been here I have been to church 
 a good deal with my cousins, who are Congrega- 
 tionalists, and are both going to join the church. 
 There is a daily service, and there have been 
 a large number of conversions. I have talked a 
 good deal with my aunt, and I really do want 
 to commence over again and be a good girl. 
 Aunt Anna says that Jesus died so that the 
 very worst sinners might be forgiven, and I 
 think he will forgive me. She wants me to 
 stay and be received with her daughters here, 
 but I d rather join the dear church in Squan- 
 town, with the other girls, if you think I might. 
 
 But I want Katie and all the girls to know 
 just how bad I have been and just how sorry I 
 am. Please tell them all that I have said, and 
 write and tell me if you think I might join the 
 church, when I Ve been so wicked. 
 
 Give my best love to Miss Eunice and ask 
 her to forgive me, too. 
 
 Your affectionate Sunday scholar, 
 
 BERTHA SANDERSON. 
 
 " I think we may join in the joy of the angels 
 in the presence of God over the one sinner 
 
CLEARED. 235 
 
 that repenteth," said Miss Eunice, as her sister 
 finished this long and evidently earnest letter. 
 " I think you may safely write to the dear child 
 to come home and commence her new life 
 among us. Your class is greatly blessed, my 
 sister, and I think when we remember what it 
 has done for Gretchen and Bertie, we may 
 well thank God for the ship-fever as for an 
 angel in disguise. 
 
 The next Sunday Etta Mount joy detained 
 her class a few moments after the school 
 session, and read to them the whole of Bertie s 
 letter. 
 
 It was received with various expressions of 
 surprise, which were greatly augmented when 
 the whole story of the fifty-dollar bill was told. 
 
 " I have brought this all before you, girls," she 
 said, " not to make you think hardly of Bertie. 
 She has suffered too much and is too evidently 
 sincerely sorry for me to do that. I want you 
 to rejoice with me in her repentance, and when 
 she comes back, to receive her with full forgive 
 ness and sympathy, and aid her in her efforts to 
 lead a new life. I thought you ought to know 
 how well one little girl among us has behaved 
 
236 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 under the most unjust suspicions and great 
 unkindness. Not one of us has understood 
 Katie Robertson. She has known for four 
 weeks, from Bertie s statement to her, what 
 was the. real reason of our avoidance and 
 suspicion, and she has never opened her mouth 
 to explain the true state of the case and clear 
 herself, as she might easily have done, because 
 by so doing she would have been obliged to 
 tell of the unkindness and malice of her 
 companion. 
 
 " I think we all ought to ask her pardon for 
 being so ready to condemn her unheard and to 
 believe what was whispered against her ; and, 
 more than that, we ought to be very thankful 
 to the Lord for giving her such a grand victory 
 over herself." 
 
 Katie blushed and could find nothing to say, 
 as one after another the girls and their teacher 
 shook hands with her and kissed her ; but it 
 was a very happy heart the little girl carried 
 home with her that bright Sunday. 
 
 " Tessa," she said, " it s all true, every word : 
 
 * * Commit thy way unto the Lord, 
 And He shall bring it to pass. v 
 
SEALED. 237 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 SEALED. 
 
 [HE first Sunday in September was the 
 most beautiful day of the season -^ 
 cairn, still, and sunshiny. The August 
 heats were abated, but no touch of chill had yet 
 come into the air. It was still summer, but 
 summer s fierceness had passed by. When the 
 bell of the little gray stone church rang out 
 in joyous tones, multitudes of people, in bright 
 Sunday attire, and with expectant faces, came 
 out of the cottages and boarding-houses and, 
 singly or in groups, wound their way up the 
 hill. 
 
 Factory operatives are not, as a rule, a very 
 church-going population, and the church was 
 not wont to be overcrowded ; but to-day the 
 pews and seats are all full, and so are the 
 extra benches and chairs taken from the 
 Sunday-school room and placed in the aisles. 
 Every one in Squantdwn whd possesses a 
 sufficiently decent wardrobe in which to appear 
 
238 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 in a place of worship has turned out to-day 
 For to-day many of the boys and girls are 
 to stand forth with many of their older friends, 
 and confess themselves upon the Lord s side, 
 while their pastor prays that upon them may 
 fall a fuller measure of that Good Spirit, who 
 alone can enable them to stand firm amid the 
 many temptations by which they are sur 
 rounded, and while their brethren, who are 
 older in the faith, promise to give them all 
 the sympathy and help which it is in their 
 power to bestow. 
 
 The church has been decorated for the occa 
 sion with a wealth of late summer flowers. 
 Geraniums, scarlet, coral, pink, and white, 
 dahlias of every variegated hue, asters, zinnias, 
 heliotrope, ferns, golden-rod, and a multitude 
 more are entwined around the pulpit or 
 wreathed above windows and doors. Pure 
 white day-lilies load the air with perfume, and 
 rare exotics from the gardens of the "great 
 house" stand in exquisitely arranged baskets 
 upon the communion-table. , ... 
 
 The music, intended to do special honor to 
 the occasion, is somewhat . elaborate, consider- 
 
KATIE ROBERTSON. See page 240. 
 
SEA LED. 239 
 
 ing that the choir is composed of the older 
 boys and girls from the Sunday-school, and 
 is therefore not so good as usual from an 
 artistic point of view ; but it is better than 
 artistic in that it is intended to do honor 
 to the occasion, and is in many instances 
 the sincere thank-offering of hearts glad to 
 give to their Saviour the "dew of their 
 youth." 
 
 It was the endeavor, not only of the clergy 
 man, but also of the whole Mount joy family, to 
 banish all class distinctions from the church, 
 and to make rich and poor, as they sat together 
 before God, "the maker of them all," feel that 
 they were all one family ; that all had a com^ 
 mon ownership of, and interest in, the beauti 
 ful building and the well-conducted services. 
 
 Thus the factory-girls went to the woods on 
 Saturday afternoon for golden-rod and ferns ; the 
 humblest families robbed their cottage gardens 
 of the few bright flowers they contained ; and 
 the boys gave willing assistance to Etta and 
 her class in arranging and putting up the deco 
 rations. The whole congregation joined in 
 singing the hymns and such of the chants 
 
240 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 as were familiar, and rarely had the singing 
 been heartier. 
 
 The service was over and the sermon, and 
 then, as the last hymn was sung, the call was 
 given for the candidates to come forward in 
 answer to the reading of their names. How 
 many of them there were ! Even those who 
 had prayed most earnestly and labored most 
 actively were surprised at the result. There 
 were six of the elder girls composing Miss 
 Eunice s Bible-class (the others were already 
 communicants) ; four of her brother s boys ; 
 Etta and her whole class of seven, making 
 eighteen from the Sunday-school. But there 
 were also quite a number of young men who 
 worked in the factory, who had been largely 
 won by James Mount joy s honor and integrity, 
 added to manly Christianity ; and some young 
 women, and even elder one&, with one or two 
 heads of families, who had been led by the inde 
 fatigable efforts of the pastor thus to openly 
 acknowledge Christ. 
 
 The gi?ls were not as a ruk dr>sssd in any 
 partieijlar manner. Etta, indeed, and one or 
 tw others, were in white, because il happened 
 
SEALED. 241 
 
 to be more convenient and suitable, but neither 
 Mr. Morven nor Miss Eunice wished to have 
 the consciousness of dress interfere with the 
 solemn thoughts of self-dedication and renun 
 ciation of the world appropriate to the occasion. 
 Even with Bertie Sanderson, who had come 
 home a few days before, " old things had 
 so passed away," that she wore a simple blue 
 gingham, much plainer, and at the same time 
 much more becoming, than the costume in 
 which she had originally appeared at the 
 mill. The solemn questions were asked and 
 answered ; the personal vows taken ; earnest, 
 solemn prayers uttered and words of wise 
 counsel said, to be long remembered and 
 heeded and acted upon in life s coming battles ; 
 and then, with a burst of joyful song, the 
 solemn service was over, and those engaged 
 in it went out from the sacred precincts to 
 fulfil the vows and exercise the grace among 
 the common scenes and homely details of 
 daily life. To many, nay, to most, life would 
 not be one continuous communion service; 
 the holy awe would of necessity fade away ; 
 the hymns and prayers be exchanged for the 
 
242 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 harsh wrangle and barter of a work-day world ; 
 temptation was awaiting many of those new 
 church members in unexpected places, and 
 the evil nature within, not yet wholly sub 
 dued by divine grace, would make the path 
 way of holiness a very narrow one, along which 
 untrained feet would often stumble. But the 
 memory of this hour would always be, to those 
 who cherished it, a shield against temptation, 
 a counter-charm against the wiles of the evil 
 one; and since the Saviour whom they had 
 that day openly avouched to be their Lord and 
 God had promised " never to leave or to forsake 
 them," only victory could follow those who 
 confided entirely in him. 
 
 "Tessa," said Katie, when the two girls were 
 alone together that afternoon, " I did n t 
 know you were going to join the church till 
 this morning. Why did n t you tell me 
 before?" 
 
 "Well, you see I didn t make up my mind 
 till yesterday afternoon. Then I went to Miss 
 Etta, and she took me to Mr. Morven, and he 
 took my name and encouraged me to come." 
 
 "What made you think of it ?" 
 
SEALED. 243 
 
 " You first. I did n t see how you could be 
 so gentle and patient when everybody was 
 condemning you and thinking evil of you. 
 Then I watched you at your work, and saw how 
 faithful you were, whether any one saw you or 
 not, just as if you felt that God was looking at 
 you, and you wanted to please him." 
 
 " So I did. I took for my text, in the mill, 
 the verse : In all thy ways acknowledge him. 
 
 "Then," continued Tessa, "when you 
 wanted me to give up reading those novels I 
 was real mad at first. I thought you had no 
 right to find fault with what I did, and that it 
 was very mean in you, who had a comfortable 
 home and a mother and two brothers, to want 
 to take away the only pleasure from me who 
 had nothing. But when you talked with me so 
 sweetly, and when you asked me to come and 
 live with you, and your mother took in the 
 stranger that no one knew anything about and 
 treated me just like one of her own children, I 
 knew that you did it just out of kindness, and 
 I tried to see what made you so kind." 
 
 "I don t think I m kind," said Katie, " but I 
 do want to be." 
 
244 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 " The only reason I went to Sunday-school 
 and church with you," continued her friend, 
 "was to find out what it was that made you so 
 different from the other girls, and there I heard 
 all about Jesus, so different from what the 
 priests used to say at home. There were no 
 crucifixes, no pictures in the church, as there 
 were in Italy, and yet he seemed to be more 
 real than he ever did there, and I found 
 myself beginning to love him almost before 
 I knew it." 
 
 "I m so glad!" 
 
 " So am I ; but I don t think I ever quite saw 
 what he was, how he laid down his life, for his 
 enemies I mean, till you went to take care of 
 Bertie, at the risk of your own life, and stayed 
 there when you knew how badly she had 
 treated you, and never said a word afterward 
 for fear it would hurt her. It showed me just 
 how he cares for all of us and wants to help 
 us, even those who don t like him and don t 
 want to take his help, and I made up my 
 mind to give myself to him and take him 
 for my Saviour that very night when you 
 asked me to." 
 
SEALED. 245 
 
 " Why did n t you tell me ? " 
 
 " Somehow I could n t. I could n t talk about 
 such things ; they seemed too sacred. And 
 one reason I did n t give in my name with the 
 others that day at Miss Etta s was because I 
 was afraid Miss Eunice or somebody, the min 
 ister, perhaps, would ask me questions." 
 
 " Did n t you want to talk to the minister ? " 
 
 " No ; it seemed like going to confession, 
 and that I promised my father I d never do. 
 Besides, I didn t think I was good enough." 
 
 " Why, we re none of us good enough, Miss 
 Eunice says." 
 
 " I know ; I listened to all the readings and 
 the talk and the lectures, and by-and-by I got 
 to see things that I had n t understood before, 
 and how it is not because we are good and 
 strong, but because we re sinful and weak, that 
 we need a Saviour and all the influences of the 
 church. And so, just at the very last moment, 
 I prayed for bravery enough to tell Miss Etta, 
 and she went with me to Mr. Morven, and he 
 told me I was just the one to come, if I really 
 loved the Lord Jesus ever so little and wanted 
 to do his will. He was just as kind and gentle, 
 and it was n t a bit like confession, for he did n t 
 
246 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 ask me any string of questions and did n t say 
 the absolution just talked to us both, prayed, 
 and sent us home. I m so glad I decided. I 
 never felt so happy in my life before." 
 
 " Nor I," said Katie. " It doesn t seem as if 
 anything ever could be hard or hateful again." 
 
 So felt a good many young hearts that quiet 
 Sunday night as they returned from the even 
 ing service, where the pastor preached a special 
 sermon to those of his flock who had just 
 openly enlisted in the army of the Cross, 
 welcoming them once more into the " com 
 munion of saints," pointing out the responsibili 
 ties they had assumed and the difficulties in 
 their way, but at the same time congratulating 
 them on the assured strength and aid which 
 were promised to make them "more than 
 conquerors through him who hath loved us." 
 
 And as life glided by, bringing its inevitable 
 portion of care and suffering to each, no one of 
 that band was ever sorry, as he looked back to 
 the services of that bright September Sunday, 
 that young hands and young hearts had then 
 been laid trustingly into the hands of their 
 Saviour, and that they set out upon life s 
 journey clad in the invincible armor of faith. 
 
AFTER WARD. 247 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 AFTERWARD. 
 
 |HE soft, sweet summer-time had quite 
 passed away. Bright autumn had fol 
 lowed, with its glory of gorgeous 
 leaves and piles of golden fruit. November s 
 fierce blast had begun to toss the leafless 
 branches, and Thanksgiving day was at hand. 
 
 Nearly three months had passed since our 
 young friends had stood forth to receive the 
 seal of their discipleship. Three months of 
 testing time they had proved to be months 
 in which the true attitude of the souls of 
 those who had then presented their bodies as 
 a living sacrifice might become plain both to 
 themselves and their friends. 
 
 No greater mistake can be made than for 
 young people to suppose that the recommenda 
 tion of their Sunday-school teachers, their 
 pastor, or even their parents, is an assurance 
 that they are really fit subjects for a confession 
 of Christ. All these, it is true, are watching 
 
248 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 them, both in their actions and in the tempers 
 which they thus exhibit, as those that must give 
 an account for their souls ; but only God can see 
 the heart only themselves can know whether 
 they are sincere in their purpose to love and 
 serve him. 
 
 Young girls are very , easily influenced. 
 Often they come forward in the church because 
 a good many of their companions are coming 
 and they do not want to be left behind ; some 
 times because it makes them of temporary im 
 portance ; and sometimes simply because of the 
 transient excitement, without any thought of the 
 solemn vows they are going to assume and the 
 new life which in the future they are to be ex 
 pected to lead. And this in spite of all the instruc 
 tions given and the watchful care exercised by 
 pastor and friends. No wonder, then, that the 
 first few months after a public profession are 
 anxious ones to all those who have had any part 
 in smoothing the way thereto for their young 
 friends. 
 
 And yet, let no girl or boy be discouraged 
 from taking a stand which is both duty and 
 privilege by these remarks. All that God de- 
 
AFTER WARD. 
 
 249 
 
 mands of those who confess Christ or, as it is 
 popularly incorrectly called, " make a profession 
 of religion " is sincerity of heart and purpose ; 
 sincere sorrow, no matter how slight, for past 
 sin ; sincere faith in the sacrifice of Christ, to 
 atone for and forgive sin ; sincere purpose of 
 obeying God s commandments for the future, 
 with sincere consciousness of weakness added 
 to sincere trust in the all-sufficient strength of 
 the Holy Ghost. Every boy or girl old enough 
 to think is capable of this sincerity ; and thus 
 every one is bound to obey the express 
 command of his Saviour and confess him before 
 men. 
 
 But, of course, if the confession be not sin 
 cere, in a very short time, when the novelty and 
 excitement have worn away, the interest in 
 sacred things will wear away also, and very soon 
 something will be said or done that will be a 
 dreadful disgrace to the confession thus care 
 lessly or wickedly made. 
 
 Still another mistake is often made by young 
 people, and this is one calculated to do great 
 mischief, as it is often made by those who are 
 sincerely desirous of serving God. For weeks 
 
250 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 preceding the open step they have devoted a 
 great deal of time to meetings, prayer, and Bible- 
 reading, and their interest in these things has 
 almost put secular ones out of their heads. 
 But when that long - anticipated day is over, 
 they feel somehow that the end is reached, 
 instead of looking on this end as only the first 
 step in a newer and better life. Other duties 
 and interests resume their relative importance. 
 There are not so many meetings to go to, Bible- 
 reading becomes more hurried, prayers are less 
 fervent, and all at once the young communicant 
 falls into some open sin and is filled with grief 
 and remorse. 
 
 Oh, if every boy and girl, every man and 
 woman, who has been brought into outward 
 and inward communion with Christ, would only 
 realize that he or she is to go onward, never 
 ceasing to pray and strive against evil ; ever 
 pressing on for more and more of the Holy 
 Spirit ; striving each day to be more and more 
 like Christ, then would be realized what is 
 meant by the words of the wise king : " The 
 path of the just is as the shining light that 
 shineth more and more unto the perfect day." 
 
AFTER WARD. 2 5 I 
 
 " Don t you think it would be nice to have 
 a Harvest Home Festival for the Sunday-school 
 on Thanksgiving ? " said Etta Mount] oy to her 
 brother and sister one autumn afternoon. 
 
 " I never saw one," said Eunice, whose duties 
 as housekeeper had kept her rather closely 
 confined at home for some years. 
 
 " Oh, I have. When I was at Altona last 
 fall, the church was decorated with grain and 
 grasses and fruits, and even vegetables. It was 
 just lovely ! " 
 
 " I should think it might be," said James ; 
 " and I don t see why we should not have one 
 if Mr. Morven has no objection. But it will 
 be a good deal of work to carry it through 
 successfully, and I hate that sort of thing when 
 it s a failure." 
 
 " I aon t mind work," said Etta. " I want 
 something to do something for the church, I 
 mean ; and the girls do, too something to 
 take the place of our readings and talks. 
 Sometimes I wish it were not all over, but there 
 were something still to look forward to." 
 
 " Do you mean that you are sorry that you 
 are really admitted to the communion of the 
 
252 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 Church, and have openly placed yourself on the 
 Lord s side?" 
 
 " No ! Of course not," said the girl, blushing. 
 " But things are getting flat. I want something 
 new ; you know I always did." 
 
 "Yes," said her brother; "we all know, Etta. 
 But, seriously, I trust my little sister will never 
 be tired of the blessed service and fellowship 
 into which she has been so recently admitted. 
 You know what is written about those who put 
 their hands to the plow and look back." 
 
 " Oh, I don t mean to look back ; I don t want 
 to. I d rather belong to the church and work 
 for Christ than anything else in the world. 
 What I want is work. Don t you see ? " 
 
 "Well, dear, if you think you can manage 
 the work I 11 find the money, though I don t 
 suppose it will cost a great deal." 
 
 So it came to pass that those bright autumn 
 Saturday afternoons were spent by Etta and 
 her girls in the woods, where, with the aid of 
 such boys as could get away from their work, a 
 store of scarlet, golden, and variegated autumn 
 leaves was laid in, with late ferns and hardy 
 brackens, curious bits of moss, seed-vessels, 
 
A FTER WARD. 253 
 
 and dried grass being added to the store. 
 These were all taken to Mrs. Robertson s, whose 
 large garret was offered foV their reception and 
 preservation, and after tea the girls ironed and 
 varnished the leaves which could not be 
 detached from the boughs, and pressed the 
 smaller ones between the leaves of newspapers, 
 which were collected for the purpose from 
 neighbors, the younger Sunday scholars who 
 were not in the mill being thus employed. 
 
 Then, on Wednesday evening, at Miss 
 Eunice s " tea-party," which of necessity was 
 held indoors, now that darkness came early 
 and the nights were chill, the girls of the 
 two classes covered pasteboard stars, crosses, 
 crowns, and monograms with leaves and mosses 
 neatly stitched on bound rich yellow wheat- 
 stalks into sheaves, and made plumes and 
 tassels of dried grasses and seeds. 
 
 Merry chatter helped the work forward. 
 Miss Eunice did not wish her girls to look 
 upon religion and the church s service as a 
 thing of gloom. She knew that God has 
 "given us all things richly to enjoy," and that 
 the way to hallow pleasure and prevent its 
 
254 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 being nurtful is " in all our ways to acknowledge 
 him." 
 
 Moreover, these srfcial, familiar talks, when 
 every one was off her guard, afforded capital 
 opportunities of studying character with a view 
 to affording to the young pilgrims such aid and 
 advice as might be useful to them in their 
 heavenward journey. 
 
 Of all the young work-women, Tessa showed 
 the most taste and ingenuity in the grouping 
 of leaves and arranging of ferns, and her beauti 
 ful combinations constantly called forth the 
 admiration of both companions and teachers. 
 The little Italian received their commendations 
 very meekly, but did not thereby escape excit 
 ing the jealousy of Bertie Sanderson, who, on 
 putting together some very fiery leaves with 
 out any attempt at toning down, received 
 from Miss Eunice a few gentle suggestions 
 concerning shadow, high lights, etc. " It s too 
 mean," she whispered to her nearest neighbor, 
 as she took her seat, " that beggar from the 
 poor-house gets more notice than all the rest of 
 us put together." 
 
 Her companion stared, for she was one of 
 
AFTER WA RD. 255 
 
 those girls who had almost made up her mind 
 to become a Christian, but had remained 
 undecided till too late, because she had an 
 idea that a person could not dare to join the 
 church till she was as holy as an angel. 
 
 "There s Katie Robertson, too," continued 
 Bertie ; " she 11 be sure to be praised, if her 
 work s hideous. That s what it is to be a 
 favorite." 
 
 "Why, Bertie," said the other, "you re real 
 spiteful. I think Katie s just the nicest girl. 
 Anyway, I couldn t talk as you do if I had 
 joined the church." 
 
 "But you ought to have joined the church 
 because it was your duty," said Bertie, who 
 could very clearly see the mote in her sister s 
 eye, in spite of the beam in her own. " You 
 will be a Christian soon, won t you ? It s so 
 nice." 
 
 " Not I. If religion don t make people better 
 than you are, I don t want anything to do with 
 it ; I d rather stay as I am," was the sincere, if 
 not very polite, answer. And then Bertie s 
 conscience awoke, and she began to see what 
 harm she was doing, She was very uneasy all 
 
256 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 the rest of the evening, and still more so when, 
 at its close, Miss Eunice asked her to stop a 
 few moments, as she had something to say 
 to her. 
 
 Miss Eunice had overheard the conversation 
 we have recorded, and had noted the cross, 
 spiteful expression of the girl s face, and had 
 grieved much as she saw her Saviour thus 
 " wounded in the house of his friends." She 
 spoke seriously to Bertie so soon as they were 
 alone, and found the latter already repentant 
 and quite willing to acknowledge her fault. 
 
 " But what am I to do, Miss Eunice ? I 
 am jealous, and I do feel hateful sometimes. 
 I don t want to feel so, but I can t help it. 
 If I did n t speak, I should feel it all the 
 same." 
 
 "But, my dear, you have promised, in the 
 most solemn way, to renounce the devil and 
 all his works. Pride, malice, envy, jealousy are 
 emphatically works of the devil." 
 
 " I know, Miss Eunice ; and I thought it would 
 be all taken away. The minister in the city 
 told us that Jesus is the Lamb of God, who 
 taketh away the sins of the world. I thought 
 if I came to him he would take mine away." 
 
AFTERWARD^ 257 
 
 " So he has, so he will. Try to understand 
 me. When he hung upon the cross he bore the 
 penalty due to the sins of the whole world, and 
 of course to yours. In that sense he has already 
 taken them away. But in another sense, that 
 of your daily life, your character, he will take 
 the evil of that away just as fast as you will let 
 him." 
 
 " Let him ? How do you mean ? I am sure 
 I want to be good." 
 
 " Yes, in a lump, altogether, you want to be 
 good, very good; but without any trouble or 
 self-denial. You did n t want to keep from 
 saying those spiteful things about Tessa and 
 Katie a little while ago, or he would have helped 
 you do it. You did n t want the jealous, envious 
 feelings taken out of your heart ykr/ then, or he 
 would have taken them." 
 
 "How, Miss Eunice?" 
 
 " Whatsoever you ask in prayer, believing, ye 
 shall receive," said she. 
 
 " But do you mean I ought to have kneeled 
 down to pray then, just that moment, before all 
 the girls ? " 
 
 "It is not necessary always to kneel down 
 
258 KA TIE ROBER TSON. 
 
 when we pray ; though it is best to do so when 
 we can. There are often times when our work 
 would suffer, or when we are so surrounded by 
 others that it would be impossible. But a few 
 earnest words spoken in the silence of our own 
 hearts will always bring our strong, loving 
 Saviour to our help ; and we may, every time, 
 no matter what our temptations are, be * more 
 than conquerors through him who hath loved 
 us. " 
 
 "Every time ? Oh, Miss Eunice ! " 
 
 " Yes, every time. You know we constantly 
 ask the Lord to keep us each day without 
 sin. How can we utter such a prayer in faith 
 if we don t believe that it can be granted ? " 
 
 " Yes ; but temptations are so sudden, and 
 take you just where you re the weakest." 
 
 " I know. And therefore we should be fully 
 armed beforehand. Bertie, did you read your 
 Bible and pray this morning ? " 
 
 "No!" said the girl, flushing. "I always 
 mean to ; but it s so dark in the mornings 
 now, and mill-time comes so soon. It s just 
 as much as I can do to get there in time, any 
 way." 
 
AFTERWARD. 259 
 
 " Yet you find time for your breakfast ? " 
 
 " I could n t live without eating." 
 
 " Nor can you live spiritually without feed 
 ing daily upon Christ, through the study of his 
 Word and prayer. I would sooner go without 
 my breakfast than without my early commun 
 ion with him. Bertie, there are no gains 
 without pains. If you are really desirous, as I 
 believe you are, to overcome your own evil 
 habits and tendencies, and grow to be like 
 Christ, you must begin every day with prayer 
 for his help ; you must watch yourself and your 
 surroundings, and in the moment of temptation 
 you must turn instantly to him who says that 
 he is a very present help in trouble/ and who 
 has promised to supply all our need according 
 to his riches in glory. 
 
 Poor Bertie ! A hard fight was before her. 
 Fourteen years of unresisted pride, jealousy, 
 and ill-will had formed habits that were hard 
 to break fourteen years of caring for no 
 one s pleasure but her own. In brief, fourteen 
 years of worshiping herself had helped to form 
 a character which would need a good deal of 
 chiseling before it should grow into an image 
 
26O KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 of Christ. But he had undertaken the work. 
 Miss Eunice had shown her how to avail herself 
 of his offered help, and as she took her teacher s 
 advice, we may be sure that in the end she gained 
 the victory. 
 
A WARNING. 261 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 A WARING. 
 
 |O the short, bright autumn days and the 
 long, chill evenings passed quickly and 
 pleasantly away. All were busy and 
 happy, and were beginning to find that in spite 
 of conflicts and self-denials " wisdom s ways 
 are pleasantness and all her paths are peace." 
 The preparations for the Thanksgiving festival 
 progressed rapidly, but before the time came to 
 put the plans in execution a very terrible 
 thing happened in Squantown. Faces turned 
 white, voices were hushed, work was suspended 
 at the mill, in the stores, and even upon farms. 
 One home, where a loving mother bowed in 
 deepest agony, was shrouded in gloom, while 
 others were filled with the sympathy of 
 mourning. 
 
 The Mount joys first heard the news at 
 Sunday-school, where Etta found her class so 
 full of the horror that they could attend to 
 nothing else. The stories of the girls were 
 
262 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 confused, and differed as to details, but their 
 teacher elicited from them the facts, which were 
 as follows : 
 
 Harry Pemberton, one of the best hands in 
 the mill, one of the pteasantest young fellows in 
 Squantown, so the grown-up girls thought, 
 the very idol of the widowed mother who had 
 only him, had gone out with some companions 
 on a Saturday night " spree " to a high cliff in 
 the neighborhood. They carried with them a 
 barrel of beer and some bottles of whiskey, of 
 which, however, the others drank but little. A 
 foolish bet was made between him and one of 
 the elder men, as to which could drink the most 
 " lager," and the others, soon tiring of the con 
 test, left the two with the bet still undecided. 
 The sequel was involved in mystery, for the 
 other man, who was a stranger in the place, had 
 disappeared, and when the bright autumn sun 
 shone out on Sunday morning, it showed to the 
 early passers-by the dead body of poor Harry, 
 bruised, broken, and disfigured, at the foot of 
 the cliff. Whether the beer they had taken 
 made him and his companion quarrelsome and 
 he was pushed over in a fight, or whether 
 
A WARNING. 263 
 
 Harry, stupefied, fell asleep on the edge and 
 rolled over in his unconsciousness, was never 
 known. The boon companion never came 
 back to testify, and the coroner s jury brought 
 in a verdict of " accidentally killed." : 
 
 On Wednesday the mills were closed, that all 
 might have an opportunity of attending the 
 funeral services, which were intensely solemn 
 and impressive. Harry had at one time been 
 a member of Mr. James s Bible-class, and 
 during the recent religious interest his former 
 teacher and employer had more than once 
 urged upon him to break away from the evil 
 companions and bad influences by which he 
 had allowed himself to be surrounded, and take 
 his stand on the Lord s side, finding in the 
 church and its associations help to become a 
 noble and good man. At one time he had 
 seemed to be almost persuaded, and his friend 
 had great hopes of him, but his companions and 
 their influence had proved to be too strong. He 
 had gone back to his evil ways, trusting, per 
 haps, to " a more convenient season," which, 
 alas ! never came to him. 
 
 1 An actual occurrence. 
 
264 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 The clergyman detailed these facts to his 
 hearers, among whom were, of course, all the 
 young men of the place ; and while delicately 
 avoiding hazarding any suggestions as to the 
 present or future condition of their unfortunate 
 companion, pressed upon all present the im 
 portance of calling upon the Lord " while he 
 may be found," and the awful risk of delay. 
 
 "No one could have supposed," said Mr. 
 Morven, "when poor Harry trifled with the 
 most important of all questions, his soul s 
 salvation, and put off his final decision till some 
 more convenient season/ that that season 
 would never come to him." 
 
 Of all the young men of Squantown he had 
 seemed the least likely to be suddenly called 
 into eternity. Yet he had been, in a con 
 dition, too, in which any one would least like to 
 be found when called suddenly to stand before 
 God and answer for the deeds done in the body. 
 Who would be called next ? Was that one all 
 ready? Therefore, he once more urged upon 
 his hearers, " Prepare to meet thy God." Nor 
 did the earnest pastor fail to draw attention 
 to the lessons concerning the use of intoxicat- 
 
A WARNING. 205 
 
 ing liquors, in any form or degree, which the 
 occasion so plainly afforded. It was not as an 
 habitual drunkard that Harry Pemberton met 
 his fate, nor was it from the use of what is 
 usually denominated "strong drink." Lager 
 beer, considered and spoken of by many as " a 
 temperance beverage," was responsible for the 
 mischief, and the thoughtless joke of careless 
 young men had hurried one of them, known to 
 all present as a boy of great promise, uncalled 
 into the immediate presence of God. Perhaps 
 a better object-lesson for total abstinence 
 could not have been found, since it is the 
 occasional drinkers, who are not as yet bound 
 by the chains of almost irresistible habit, to 
 whom alone such an appeal can be made with 
 any prospect of success. Poor Harry had been 
 precisely one of these, and probably no young 
 man in Squantown had considered himself 
 farther from meeting death as the result of 
 intemperance; 
 
 This sad and sudden death made a great 
 impression upon James Mount joy. Always a 
 perfectly temperate man, as became an earnest, 
 devoted young Christian, he had never been 
 
266 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 known as a temperance man, that is, an advocate 
 of total abstinence principles, and an active 
 worker in the cause. But he now was deeply 
 impressed with his responsibility and duty in 
 this respect ; and accustomed to turning good 
 impressions at once to their legitimate results, 
 good actions, he, with his father s full 
 consent, called a meeting of all the men con 
 nected with the mill, that night, and presented 
 to them a total-abstinence pledge, which he 
 was the first man to sign. 
 
 "I have always," said he, "been opposed to 
 such pledges. I thought a Christian communi 
 cant might be trusted to use all these things 
 in moderation, and that it was, somehow, an 
 undervaluing of his church privileges, to say 
 nothing of his manhood, to bind himself by 
 anything else. I will confess, also, to having 
 occasionally enjoyed a glass of wine or cham 
 pagne. But I have completely changed my 
 mind. Who knows what might happen to me, 
 in some unguarded moment, if I should 
 continue to tamper with that which is in its 
 very nature a deceiver ? But, even supposing 
 I were to escape all evil consequences, some 
 
A WARNING. 267 
 
 one weaker or less favored than I am might be 
 influenced by my example to take that which 
 would injure him in body or soul. St. Paul 
 said he would eat no more meat and drink no 
 more wine while the world standeth, if it 
 should cause his brother to offend, so I have 
 resolved that not another drop of anything that 
 can intoxicate shall ever pass my lips, and if it 
 will be any help for any of you to make or keep 
 to a similar resolution, I will be the first to 
 sign away my liberty, as pledge-signing is 
 foolishly called." And he wrote fames Mountjoy 
 in clear letters at the head of the paper. 
 
 A great cheer greeted the action, and many 
 men and boys pressed forward to follow their 
 young employer s example. Elderly men they 
 were, some of them, who had tried again and 
 again to break off a habit which they felt 
 to be injuring them and defrauding their 
 families, and who found a great moral support 
 in being thus associated with others, one of 
 whom stood in such relation to themselves. 
 Others were young men who greatly admired 
 and emulated Mr. James, and who had hereto 
 fore justified themselves in acquiring a taste 
 
268 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 for whiskey on the ground that the young 
 gentleman was known occasionally to indulge 
 in ale and champagne. And still others were 
 boys, who liked to do what their elders did, 
 by way of appearing manly, and whose adher 
 ence, given to the right side of the question, 
 before they had had an opportunity of acquiring 
 a taste for intoxicants, was a great gain on the 
 side of righteousness. 
 
 Eric and Alfred were among these latter, and 
 though neither had as yet spent an evening 
 away from home, nor, to her knowledge, knew 
 the taste of liquor, their mother, when she 
 was told of it, gave hearty thanks that another 
 safeguard against evil had been thrown around 
 her boys. 
 
 Some of the men declined to sign the pledge, 
 one saying in a surly manner that he was not 
 going to be coerced into doing a thing of this 
 kind. Mr. Mountjoy paid for his work, not his 
 principles, and he should eat and drink just 
 what he liked. To him James replied, pleas 
 antly, that he did not wish to coerce any one. 
 Those who were conscientiously opposed to 
 signing a pledge would, of course, not be 
 
A WARNING. 269 
 
 expected to do so, but he had no doubt he 
 should have the unanimous support of all 
 present in whatever efforts might be made to 
 put down the growing evils of intemperance. 
 James Mountjoy never did anything by 
 halves. He at once threw himself earnestly 
 into the temperance reform ; supplied himself 
 with books and papers, and became thoroughly 
 conversant with all phases of the question, 
 wondering, as he did so, how as a Christian 
 man he could so long have overlooked his 
 duty in this matter. Resolved to do so no 
 longer, he at once commenced a series of 
 temperance meetings, inviting speakers and 
 lecturers to come to Squantown and make the 
 people intelligent total abstainers. He did 
 not select so much men who were noted for 
 their fervid oratory, nor yet reformed drunk 
 ards who often divert their audiences with 
 amusing accounts of their past performances 
 while under the influence of strong drink, 
 but plain, common-sense business men, who 
 put before their hearers in simple terms the 
 evils that the manufacture, sale, and consump 
 tion of alcohol work to the purses, bodies, and 
 souls of any community. 
 
270 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 He also added to the library at the factory 
 reading-room a number of valuable works on 
 the nature and effects of alcohol ; and before 
 the winter was over had the pleasure of seeing 
 a very marked change in the condition of the 
 factory people as the result of his efforts. 
 
THE DO GOOD SOCIETY. 2Jl 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 THE DO GOOD SOCIETY. 
 
 the girls at Miss Eunice s 
 tea-party had been busily discussing 
 the funeral and its sad cause. 
 
 " What an awful thing intemperance is ! " said 
 one of the elder girls. "Even women some 
 times drink to excess ; and how many others 
 surfer from its effects in their husbands and 
 fathers. I wish we girls could do something 
 to put it down." 
 
 "You can," said Etta. "If every girl in 
 the land were to set her foot down against 
 having anything to do with young men who 
 drink, there would soon be a change. I am 
 resolved," she said, in her old impetuous way, 
 "never to associate with any young man, no 
 matter how good or elegant he may be, who 
 even tastes wine occasionally." 
 
 " That is a rash resolve, Etta," said her sister, 
 "and one that I fear you will find it hard to 
 carry out. Yet, what you say is right, in the 
 
272 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 main. Girls do not enough realize the great 
 responsibility of their influence over young 
 men." 
 
 " No," said Agnes Burchard, with a sigh. 
 And several remembered how much she had 
 been seen with poor Harry and what jokes 
 had been made about their intimacy. " I 
 always knew that Harry Pemberton drank 
 occasionally ; but I thought it manly, and 
 like like Mr. James." 
 
 No one answered this rather unfortunate 
 remark ; but presently Katie Robertson 
 said : 
 
 " Don t you think, Miss Etta, people ought 
 to begin with the boys before they have 
 learned to drink, I mean." 
 
 " A good suggestion, Katie, since an ounce 
 of prevention is said to be better than a pound 
 of cure. How would you set about doing 
 it?" 
 
 But Katie, having thus drawn all eyes upon 
 herself, blushed, and did not feel like speaking. 
 So Miss Eunice came to her rescue : 
 
 "We might organize some kind of a society, 
 of which the boys and younger girls could be 
 
THE DO GOOD SOCIETT. 
 
 273 
 
 members. It would be some trouble to keep 
 it up, but it would be directly in the line of 
 that service to which you pledged yourselves, 
 girls, that bright first Sunday in September." 
 
 " Delightful ! " said Etta, to whom every new 
 thing always seemed so. "A boys and girls 
 temperance society, with a pledge that they 
 shall never in their lives taste anything that 
 can intoxicate. Then they will grow up temper 
 ance boys and girls from the start." 
 
 "There are two objections to pledging 
 children that is, very young ones," said 
 Eunice. "The first is, from the unwillingness 
 often felt by their parents ; and the other, 
 that many of them do not fully understand 
 what they are about, and as they grow older 
 often break their pledge, on the ground that 
 they are not bound by a promise made when 
 they were too young to understand it." 
 
 " Well, some of them keep it, and that s so 
 much gained." 
 
 , "Yes, for them. But to break solemnly 
 made vows is always an injury to one s char 
 acter. Besides, if we make a total-abstinence 
 pledge the condition of joining our society, 
 
274 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 we shall not get the Irish boys, who most 
 need our work. Their parents will not let them 
 come. Why not word our pledge in such a 
 way as to secure everybody s influence on the 
 side of temperance, without making it a per 
 sonal thing ? It will be sure to react upon the 
 individual." 
 
 " I think there are some things that boys do 
 besides drinking that are just as bad smoking 
 and swearing, for instance," said one of the 
 girls. 
 
 "And I think it s just as bad for girls to 
 be hateful and unkind," said Bertie, to the sur 
 prise of some who knew her, but did not know 
 what a brave fight she was making to overcome 
 her long-indulged faults. 
 
 "Let s make it a pledge to be kind and 
 thoughtful," said one of the girls. 
 
 (t Not to be vain," said another. 
 
 " And let s all belong," said a third. " So 
 the boys won t think we re just preaching to 
 them." 
 
 So the result of all the talk was that a meet 
 ing for all the children in the place was held the 
 first bright Saturday afternoon, Etta presiding, 
 
THE DO GOOD SOCIETY. 275 
 
 assisted by such of her girls as had finished 
 their day s work at the mill. It happened to 
 be a bright afternoon, warm for the season, 
 and no one felt any inconvenience in staying 
 out of doors, where they sat in groups around 
 the lawn, while their young hostess explained 
 the purpose for which she had called them 
 together. 
 
 "We know you all want to be good men 
 and women," she said; "brave, noble, and help 
 ful. Our idea is not primarily to amuse you or 
 make you happy, but to help you to learn to 
 be helpful and useful to others. We want to 
 form among ourselves a society, whose object 
 is to do all the good that its members possibly 
 can not trying to have a good time, but to 
 make somebody else happier and better every 
 day. Who wants to join us? 
 
 Instantly every hand in the little group 
 went up. 
 
 "Yes, I thought so," said the young lady. 
 "But now I wonder who are willing to take 
 a good deal of trouble about it, and really put 
 themselves out of the way to make other people 
 happy. Those who are willing and mean to 
 
2/6 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 persevere not getting tired and giving up the 
 whole thing after a little while, may have the 
 privilege of joining our society by signing their 
 names to our pledge." 
 
 She then read the following pledge slowly, 
 pausing to explain every word which might 
 seem hard to be understood by the younger 
 children : 
 
 " We, the undersigned, pledge ourselves to 
 be truthful, unselfish, cheerful, and helpful ; 
 to use our influence always for the right, and 
 never to fear to show our colors. We will 
 always use our influence against intemperance, 
 the use of profane language or tobacco, dis 
 respect to the old, ill treatment of the young or 
 unfortunate, and cruelty to animals/ 1 
 
 Nearly all present were eager to sign it; 
 those who could write their names doing so, 
 and the others looking on with great satisfac 
 tion while theirs were written by some 
 one else. Thus a society was formed which, 
 for want of a better name, was called the " Do 
 Good Society." 
 
 Etta was unanimously elected president ; four 
 
 1 Condensed from the pledge of the Lookout Legion. 
 
THE DO GOOD SOCIETT. 277 
 
 girls of her class were the officers. Meetings 
 were to be held the first Saturday in every 
 month in the Sunday-school room, on which 
 occasions those present were to report attempts 
 at carrying out the principles of the society as 
 well as all successes in doing so. 
 
 To this society and its welfare Etta Mount- 
 joy devoted herself, throwing into its concerns 
 the whole activity of her versatile nature ; 
 making its meetings so interesting, and im 
 parting to it so much bright life and activity, 
 that it soon became the most popular institution 
 in Squantown. 
 
 The society s first meeting was held one week 
 after its organization. It was raining softly, 
 and the grass was damp and the air chilly ; so 
 the children, nearly a hundred of whom were 
 present, were glad to come into the shelter of 
 the pretty Sunday-school room, and while 
 swelling with the importance of being " a 
 society," wait to see what "Miss Etta" would 
 do when she came. The girls were getting a 
 little restless, and the boys had begun to drum 
 rather impatiently upon the floor, when the 
 young lady appeared, carrying in her hand a 
 
278 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 curious-looking box with a slit in the top and 
 a basket mysteriously covered down, which she 
 deposited on the desk, not as yet answering 
 the questions which were spoken by the many 
 pairs of bright eyes before her. 
 
 The first thing the president did was to tell 
 the children that they might sing " Hold the 
 Fort," which they did with such extraordinary 
 force and enthusiasm that they exhausted the 
 excitement which was seething within them, 
 and sat quite still while the basket was 
 unpacked and Etta took from it a bottle of 
 whitish-looking fluid, a clear glass goblet, and 
 a pure white egg. Then she gave them a 
 little temperance talk, reminding them of the 
 sad death of poor Harry, which was known to 
 them all, and telling them that even when 
 people did not drink enough liquor to make 
 them either stupid or quarrelsome, any quantity 
 of it taken into the stomach injures it very 
 much. 
 
 To make them understand this she broke 
 the egg-shell and dropped the white of the egg 
 into the goblet, holding it up and showing them 
 how soft and clear it was. Then, uncorking 
 
THE DO GOOD SOCIETT. 279 
 
 the bottle, she told them it contained alcohol, 
 the substance that is found in all intoxicating 
 drinks, even the weaker ones, such as wine and 
 beer. 
 
 " Now, watch," she said ; and as she poured 
 two or three drops of the liquid into the glass 
 the interested eyes saw the egg grow white 
 and hard, and at last become tough and leathery. 
 "This," she said, "is just what happens when 
 people drink anything that contains alcohol. 
 The brain is a substance like the white of an 
 egg. The alcohol acts upon it in the same way 
 it has acted upon the white of this egg it 
 cooks it ! The brain of a drunkard becomes 
 cooked tough and leathery. The man cannot 
 think as clearly as other men. His mind 
 becomes degraded." The children all expressed 
 their astonishment, and after they had talked 
 a little while, their teacher said : 
 
 "I am sure you don t want people to injure 
 their brains in this way, and so you will be 
 ready to keep that part of your pledge which 
 says we will use our influence against intem 
 perance/ of course." 
 
 " Yes, yes ! " was shouted out by dozens of 
 
280 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 voices, and many hands went up. One boy 
 said : 
 
 " How about tobacco ? " 
 
 " Oh, we 11 talk about that next time. Now 
 I want you to sing again, and then we will 
 investigate the contents of this box," proceed 
 ing to unlock it as she spoke. 
 
 When the second hymn was over Miss Etta 
 drew out several folded papers, and handing 
 them to the secretary, who had come in since 
 the beginning, asked her to read them aloud. 
 
 " Remember, children, that neither you nor 
 I know who wrote them. They have no signa 
 tures. Perhaps some of the children wrote them 
 themselves, perhaps they got their parents to 
 do so. All we want to know is that they are 
 accounts of how some of our members have 
 tried to be unselfish and helpful to other 
 people during the week that has past. I hope 
 every meeting we shall have a number of such 
 papers to read. You can any of you write 
 them, and slip them into this box, and our 
 secretary will read them to us. But be sure 
 that you don t put any names to them and 
 that what you write is true." 
 
THE DO GOOD SOCIETY. 251 
 
 PAPER I. 
 
 Last Friday I was going home from school 
 when I saw two big boys hit against an old 
 woman, who was carrying along a heavy basket. 
 I don t know whether they did it on purpose, 
 but they both began to laugh as the basket 
 upset, and the apples which were in it rolled all 
 over the road. I was just going to laugh too, 
 the old woman looked so funny and helpless, 
 but I thought of our society, and I stooped 
 down and picked up all the apples and helped 
 carry home the basket. The other boys 
 laughed at me and called me a baby. I wanted 
 to swear at them dreadfully, but I remembered 
 what our pledge said about " profane swearing," 
 and I just held my tongue. 
 
 PAPER II. 
 
 Mother wanted me to take care of the baby 
 while she got supper the other afternoon, but I 
 wanted to go in the woods with Allie and get 
 nuts. I d promised her ever so long, and this 
 was the last chance, it s so near winter. I was 
 just going to say "No" to mother, and tell her 
 babies were a nuisance, when I noticed how 
 tired she looked, and thought how she was 
 always doing things for all of us. Then I 
 
282 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 remembered our pledge, and I took the baby 
 and tried to be "cheerful and helpful " in 
 amusing her, setting the table between whiles. 
 And in the evening, mother said she did not 
 know how she could have got along without 
 me, she had such a headache all the afternoon, 
 but now she felt quite rested. 
 
 PAPER III. 
 
 Five of us girls are going to form a bee. We 
 have n t much time, but we can take one even 
 ing each week, and we re going to make 
 skating-bags for our brothers and some of the 
 other boys, so that they can keep their skates 
 clean and bright. We mean to hurry, so as to 
 get them ready by the first frosty weather. 
 
 
 There were several other papers, but these 
 
 specimens are enough to show the kind of work 
 the Do Good Society was engaged in, and the 
 nature of the reports brought in from time to 
 time. They were sometimes very funny, and 
 Miss Etta felt a little inclined to laugh as they 
 were read, but little by little they were edu 
 cating the children to be unselfish and helpful, 
 and that, next to being godly, is the best thing 
 in the world. 
 
THANKSGIVING DAT. 283 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THANKSGIVING DAY. 
 
 [HE long - anticipated Harvest Home 
 Festival arrived at last. All Wednes 
 day evening, and far into the night, 
 the boys were busy, under Etta s directions, 
 in putting up the carefully prepared colored 
 leaf emblems, and arranging the grasses, fruits, 
 and vegetables. Over every pointed window 
 was a garland of variously colored grasses, 
 mixed with bearded golden grain, and between 
 each, one of the leaf emblems was lightly 
 tacked to the wall. From each gas-burner de 
 pended a rustic basket, made of twisted sticks 
 dipped in a cheap solution of gilt powder, and 
 filled with purple and white grapes, mixed with 
 scarlet and golden apples. Bouquets of ferns 
 and grasses graced pulpit and baptismal font. 
 Against either end of the communion-table 
 leaned a wonderfully constructed cornucopia, 
 from whose capacious mouth seemed to be pour 
 ing out green squashes, yellow pumpkins, red 
 
284 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 and white beets, brown potatoes, cabbages, 
 cauliflowers, parsnips, and golden ears of corn, 
 packed in with cereals and nuts. On the 
 table itself was a mighty pile of all the fruits 
 attainable so late in the season, and the deco 
 rations were completed by a cross nearly six 
 feet in height, composed entirely of white 
 everlasting flowers, placed in the window just 
 above. 
 
 It was great fun to arrange all these pretty 
 things, and the fun might have degenerated 
 into irreverence, but for the presence of Mr. 
 Morven, who occasionally said a few words 
 concerning the sacredness of the place, and 
 managed to give the whole affair the appear 
 ance of a happy service of the Lord and his 
 church, so that each boy and girl went away 
 with a share of the gladness of those who 
 work for God. 
 
 The Thanksgiving congregation was an un 
 usually large one. The mills were closed, of 
 course, and many of the work-people who, 
 perhaps, would have hesitated at the idea of 
 spending their rare holiday time in a church, 
 thought better of it when they remembered 
 
THANKSGIVING DAT. 285 
 
 that doing so would certainly please their em 
 ployer. Not a very worthy motive, certainly. 
 But there are many motives which draw people 
 to the house of God, not all of which will bear 
 close inspection. None the less, however, are 
 they thus brought under hallowed influences, 
 and it may be that germinating seed will be 
 thus sown in their hearts, which the wayside 
 birds will not quite carry away. 
 
 The Methodists, who usually held Sunday 
 services at the school-house, three miles off, 
 held none on Thanksgiving day, and were glad 
 of a good opportunity to see and attend the 
 pretty new stone church on the hill. Many of 
 the neighboring families in the country round 
 had city visitors come to " spend Thanksgiving." 
 And more than all, the fame of the harvest 
 decorations had spread far and wide, so that 
 curiosity helped to fill the church to overflow 
 ing. Mr. Morven was glad of the opportunity 
 to show how religion claims a place even in 
 our festivities and helps to brighten all our 
 joys. He was especially desirous that the 
 children and young people should never look 
 upon Christ s service as a thing of gloom. He 
 
286 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 dwelt upon Thanksgiving day as an essentially 
 national festival, reminding his audience how 
 it had originated when the Pilgrim fathers met 
 at the close of the first year of their hard life 
 among New England rocks to thank the God, 
 in whose name and by whose power they had 
 laid the foundations of the new commonwealth 
 on this side of the sea. Then he told how the 
 observance had gradually spread from State to 
 State ; at first being appointed by the State 
 Governor, on such day as seemed to him fittest. 
 Till at last, the wise and lamented President 
 Lincoln sent out a Thanksgiving proclamation, 
 and appointed a uniform day for the whole, 
 great, reunited people. 
 
 " For what we are to give thanks, in addition 
 to our great public blessings," continued the 
 preacher, " each one of us must look into his 
 individual life and surroundings to discover. 
 These beautiful decorations remind us of our 
 indebtedness as a people for an abundant har 
 vest, not only of the grains and cereals which 
 support our lives, but also of the delicacies 
 which make that life one of rich enjoyment. 
 But, my friends, this is Cain s sacrifice. Let us 
 
THANKSGIVING DAT. 287 
 
 beware lest, as in his case, it take the place of 
 Abel s, and we learn to care more for the things 
 of our perishing life than for those eternal 
 glories to which the great sacrifice of which 
 Abel s was typical is our only title. For myself, 
 as pastor of this church, I find special occasion 
 for thanksgiving in the large number who have, 
 during the past year, publicly given themselves 
 to Christ, nearly all of whom, as I have every 
 reason to hope, have set out in earnest upon 
 their heavenward pilgrimage. These souls are 
 a seal to my ministry among you, and for them 
 I gladly to-day render unto the Lord thanks 
 giving. An added cause of thanksgiving to me 
 personally is the able and earnest corps of 
 assistants who are here holding up my hands. 
 Surrounded by mill-owners whose first object is 
 not so much money-making as the elevation of 
 the men, women, and children in their employ ; 
 with Eunices and Louises, who labor with me for 
 the upbuilding of Christ s kingdom in young 
 human hearts, and with a society of little folks 
 whose purpose is to follow their Great Master 
 by going about to do good, I feel myself well 
 sustained in my responsible position ; and, as 
 
288 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 I look forward to the cares and duties of 
 another year, I thank God and take courage. 
 And no doubt, as you look down into your 
 own hearts and back on the events of the past 
 year, you also see much cause for thanksgiving. 
 Some of you remember how, when you tossed 
 on beds of fever, God s presence rebuked the 
 death-angel and you came back to a new and, 
 as we trust, a better life. Many of you know 
 how, while the pestilence raged around you, 
 both you and your loved ones were safe from 
 his fiery breath. Others of you can recall how, 
 when the swift punishment that sometimes 
 visits those who do not like to retain God in 
 their knowledge and seek their own pleasure 
 rather than his service came among us, it was 
 not your boy, your brother, your dear one who 
 met with a fearful and sudden death. Even 
 such of you as have been called to suffer during 
 the year that is gone by, to resist temptation, 
 to conquer sin, to mourn over loved ones, or to 
 meet poverty and distress, know that, having 
 received help of the Lord, you continue unto 
 this day. His strength has assured the hard- 
 won victory, his presence has lightened the 
 
THANKSGIVING DAT. 289 
 
 gloom, his hand wiped away the tear, his 
 bounty fed the hungry. In all things he has 
 more than kept his promises, and I call upon 
 you this day to 
 
 " Render unto the Lord thanksgiving.*" 
 
 The afternoon was devoted to the Harvest 
 Home Festival, and a very pretty and successful 
 service it was. 
 
 Long before three o clock the main body of 
 the church was filled with parents, friends, and 
 anxious spectators, many of whom had never 
 been inside of a church before. The front 
 seats had been reserved for the Sunday-school, 
 whose members marched in singing as a pro 
 cessional : 
 
 " Come, ye thankful people, come, 
 Raise the song of Harvest Home," 
 
 at the close of which the whole congregation 
 rose and sang : 
 
 " Praise God, from whom all blessings flow." 
 
 A brief opening service followed, the infant 
 class chanting the Lord s prayer, the verses of 
 
KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 Psalm Ixv being read alternately by boys and 
 girls, after which Psalm cxxi 
 
 "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills" 
 
 was sung by the whole school. 
 
 The infant class then came forward, and 
 standing in a group before the desk recited 
 each a text, which the superintendent called : 
 " AUTUMN LEAVES FROM THE TREE OF LIFE." 
 
 The verses were selected with great taste 
 and care, and the little ones did their part well. 
 The following are some of those selected : 
 
 Exodus xxvi, 16. 
 
 Leviticus xxii, 10. 
 
 Psalms 1, 19 ; cxlv, 14 ; cxxxvi, i, 25. 
 
 Isaiah Iv, 10. 
 
 i Corinthians x, 26. 
 
 Hebrews xiii, 2. 
 
 Revelations xix, 5. 
 
 The very little folks here closed their part of 
 the performance with a " Harvest Song," in 
 which they had been well drilled. 
 
 Then the older classes arose and recited 
 selected portions of Scripture in unison, class 
 by class. 
 
THANKSGIVING DAT. 29! 
 
 Eunice Mount joy s class gave " The harvest 
 feast." Deut. xvi, 13-15. 
 
 Etta Mountjoy s class : " The harvest fruits 
 are the gift of God." Psalms cxv, 10-15. 
 
 James Mountjoy s boys: "Trust in the giver 
 of the harvest." Luke xii, 22-28. 
 
 Another boys class: "The harvest of the 
 world." Rev. xiv, 13-17. 
 
 Still another: "The harvest of the tares/ 
 Matthew xiii, 37-43. 
 
 And then the whole school sang : 
 
 "What shall the harvest be?" 
 
 Then the recitations commenced again. 
 
 First class : " Men compared to fruit-trees." 
 Matt, vii, 16-20. 
 
 Second class : " Different kinds of fruit." 
 Gal. vi, i-io. 
 
 Third class : " The curse of unfruitfulness." 
 Matt, xxi, 18-20. 
 
 Fourth class : " Danger of setting the heart 
 upon earthly fruits." Luke xii, 15-21. 
 
 Fifth class : " Necessity of labor in harvest 
 ing." Prov. x, 3-5. 
 
 Sixth class : " Now, the harvest time." 
 John iv, 35-38, 
 
292 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 Whole school in unison : Psalm cl, entire. 
 The festival was closed by the singing of the 
 hymn : 
 
 * Praise to God, immortal praise, 
 For the love that crowns our days," 
 
 as the children marched back to the school 
 
 room. 
 
 The whole performance was considered a 
 great success. The superintendent and his 
 young assistants received many congratula 
 tions, and the parents carried their little ones 
 home well satisfied with their share in the 
 exercises. 
 
 1 The above programme was actually carried out in a country school of 
 the writer s acquaintance, and is given in full for the benefit of others who 
 may be inclined to try a similar festival. It may be varied and prolonged 
 by the introduction of poetical passages concerning autumn, etc. 
 
SERVICE. 293 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 SERVICE. 
 
 |HE first meeting of the "Do Good 
 Society had proved so successful 
 that another was appointed for next 
 week, at the request of the little members. 
 Mr. Morven came in and opened the meet 
 ing with a prayer* this time, after which 
 he retired while the children were singing 
 their first hymn. Then the president read 
 and explained the pledge again, and asked all 
 who had not clone so already to sign it, after 
 which she again produced the box with a slit in 
 the cover, into which she asked every one to 
 drop the papers on which they had written 
 whatever they would like to have read to the 
 society. 
 
 There was a little tittering, a little rustling, 
 some blushing, and considerable hesitation, 
 after which a good many of the girls and some 
 of the boys came up in a confused mass, and 
 dropped some folded papers into the box. 
 
294 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 " Now," said Miss Etta, when all was quiet 
 again, " I call upon the secretary to read what 
 is on these papers without the names, for 
 that is the Bible way of not letting our right 
 hand know what the left does, and if any of 
 our little members, who don t know how to 
 write, have anything to report to the society, 
 they may get some of the bigger ones to write 
 it down for them. Here are some slips of 
 paper and pencils I have provided on purpose." 
 
 Then there was another pause and some more 
 rustling, whispering, and laughing, and some 
 more curiously written and folded papers were 
 dropped into the box. 
 
 These are what the secretary read : 
 i. 
 
 I was coming home from school one day 
 when I saw old Mr. Kelly trying to push his 
 wheelbarrow of potatoes up the hill. He looked 
 so weak that I thought I would help him, so I 
 called Jim Byers, and we took hold of the 
 wheelbarrow and wheeled it all the way to his 
 door, where we emptied the potatoes into a 
 barrel and put them away in the cellar. It was 
 great fun ! 
 
SERVICE. 295 
 
 " No doubt, it was/* said Miss Etta. 
 
 n. 
 
 Kittie always calls me names when she 
 gets mad, and I always used to think of the 
 worst I knew to call her in return ; but I 
 thought I would n t since I belong to the Do 
 Good Society. So the next time she got mad, 
 and began to call names, I said : " Don t, Kittie, 
 dear, let s love each other. Here s a beautiful 
 piece of lace to make a fichu for your doll!" 
 She has n t called me names since. 
 
 " Of course not ; who could ? " was the com 
 ment. 
 
 in. 
 
 I met four boys with cigarettes in their 
 mouths one day. They all took off their hats 
 to me, but I looked the other way, as if I did 
 
 not see them. " Hallo," said one of them, " 
 
 is getting stuck up." "No, I ain t stuck up; 
 but I ve promised not to encourage the use of 
 tobacco." The boys all laughed at me, but 
 they threw away the cigarettes, for all that. 
 
 " Who would n t be laughed at to accomplish 
 such results ? " 
 
296 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 IV. 
 
 My sister will tag onto me, wherever I go. 
 She wanted to go nutting with me and some 
 other fellows. I was just going to tell her we 
 did n t want babies, when I remembered the 
 pledge, so I took her along. She picked up 
 as many nuts as any of us. And she did n t cry 
 a bit, even when she fell down and scratched 
 her hand dreadfully. I sha n t call her cry-baby 
 any more. 
 
 v. 
 
 I work on a farm. The man I work for 
 gives us beer sometimes. Last Saturday night 
 he offered me some. I would n t take it. 
 "Why?" said he. " Because I have promised 
 to use my influence against the use of liquor. 
 I can t drink it." 
 
 VI. 
 
 Four of us boys have given up swearing. 
 It s hard work, though, sometimes we re so 
 used to it. 
 
 " Yes, it s hard work to give up any bad habit," 
 said Etta. "But God will help us if we ask him, 
 and the sooner we begin, the easier it will be." 
 
SERVICE. 297 
 
 VII. 
 
 I wanted to buy, oh, such a lovely book ! 
 But I spent the money for crackers, and took 
 them down to the poor little Ryans, whose 
 mother is dead. I enjoyed seeing them eat 
 them a great deal more than I should have 
 enjoyed the book. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 I wanted to stay in bed awfully one morn 
 ing. I do hate to get up ! But I thought about 
 poor old Mrs. Payne, and how cold she would 
 find it to get up and make her fire in the dark, 
 so I jumped right out of bed, ran down to her 
 cottage, made the fire, and set the tea-kettle 
 over, and got back in time for breakfast, after 
 all. 
 
 IX. 
 
 I finished my work in the mill real early 
 on Wednesday, because I wanted to be first 
 at Miss Eunice s. But Jennie Ray is so slow 
 that she never gets through hers till the 
 last minute, so I turned to and helped her, 
 and we both got away at half-past five. I 
 did n t get to Miss Eunice s as early as usual, 
 but Jennie did, a great deal earlier; so I did n t 
 care. 
 
298 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 The following were from the little children : 
 
 " I helped mother wash the dishes." 
 
 "I set the table." 
 
 "1 took care of the baby." 
 
 " I picked up apples." 
 
 " I made the fire," etc. etc. 
 
 " These are all very little things," said the presi 
 dent, as she detected a smile upon the faces of 
 some of the older girls and boys " But if they 
 are done really for the sake of doing good, and 
 pleasing God, they are just as great to him as 
 the cup of cold water, which he says shall 
 not lose its reward. 
 
 " Here are some questions which were asked 
 me last week after the meeting," said Etta, as 
 she finished reading the papers. I wonder if 
 the girls to whom I gave them have found 
 answers. 
 
 i. " Why is it wrong to drink beer ? " 
 
 Several hands were raised and several answers 
 given ; such as : 
 
 " Because it makes people drunk." 
 
 "Because it killed Harry." 
 
 Eric Robertson produced the following slip, 
 
SERVICE. 299 
 
 which he had cut from a paper, and read it 
 aloud : 
 
 "Beer is regarded by many in this country as 
 a healthy beverage. Let me give you a few of 
 the ingredients frequently used in its manufac 
 ture. The adulterations most commonly used 
 to give bitterness are gentian, wormwood, and 
 quassia ; to impart pungency, ginger, orange- 
 peel, and caraway If these were all, there 
 would be small need of warning the young 
 against the use of beer on account of its in 
 jurious ingredients, but when there are added, 
 to preserve the frothy head, alum and blue 
 vitriol ; to intoxicate, cocculus indicus, nux 
 vomica, and tobacco ; and to promote thirst, 
 salt, then indeed does it become necessary to 
 instruct and warn the innocent against the use 
 of this poisonous beverage." 
 
 2. " Are cigarettes good for boys ? " 
 No one answered, and Etta said : 
 "Boys think it manly to smoke, but it isn t. 
 It s very dirty and very unhealthy. I heard of 
 a little boy only twelve years old, who died very 
 
300 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 suddenly, and when the doctors examined him 
 after his death they found the coats of his 
 stomach all eaten up with tobacco, and yet he 
 had only smoked cigarettes. Cigarettes are 
 made of a little tobacco, a great deal of cabbage- 
 leaves, old leather, and dirty paper, with snuff 
 and ginger and strychnine, a deadly poison, to 
 flavor them. The oil of tobacco itself is rank 
 poison. Two or three drops of it put on the 
 tongue of a dog or a cat will kill it in a few 
 minutes. Besides, the smell of tobacco linger 
 ing in a boy s clothes or breath is very foul 
 and disgusting. And worse than all, the effect 
 of smoking is to create a thirst which pure, 
 cool water does not satisfy, and those who 
 begin by smoking or chewing tobacco are very 
 likely to end by drinking beer and whiskey, and 
 finally becoming drunkards." 
 
 Then questions to be answered at the next 
 meeting were called for, and the following were 
 given : 
 
 1. Is it wrong to wear pretty clothes ? 
 
 2. Why should n t people be selfish ? 
 
 3. Is it swearing to say " good gracious ! " and 
 " mercy on us ! " ? 
 
SERVICE. 301 
 
 Miss Etta did not answer these, but wrote 
 them down in her note-book, saying she would 
 look up the subjects by the next meeting, and 
 she wanted the members of the " Do Good 
 Society " all to do the same, and then they 
 could compare their answers. 
 
 The last part of the programme to-day was 
 the reading of a story by the president. She 
 half-read and half-told about a young man 
 named Harry Wadsworth, who, although he 
 was only a clerk in a railroad company, man 
 aged, by giving all his spare time and thought, 
 to do so many kind things for other people, 
 that when he died they all set about to honor 
 his memory by each doing kind things for 
 others, and others again followed their example, 
 till thousands of people were all busy in hun 
 dreds of different places, doing just as much as 
 they could to help other people and to dis 
 countenance everything evil, and to throw their 
 influence on the side of everything good. 
 
 Harry Wadsworth had four mottoes, which 
 they all adopted. They were : 
 
 * Look out and not in. 
 
 " Look forward and not back. 
 
3O2 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 " Look up and not down. 
 " Lend a hand." 
 
 Miss Etta also told them that all sorts of 
 clubs and societies, chiefly composed of 
 children, had grown out of this story, and 
 that they were called by different names ; such 
 as, "Wadsworth Clubs," "Lend a Hand So 
 cieties," "Look Out Guards," and "Look Up 
 Legions." 
 
 One of these Wadsworth clubs, a class of 
 great, rough, overgrown boys in a New York 
 mission school, had supported a sick companion 
 for a whole winter out of the savings of their 
 own scanty earnings. Another, a group of rich 
 Boston girls, kept three or four families of poor 
 children constantly dressed in the clothes 
 which they made themselves. A third had 
 originated the idea of sea-side homes for sick 
 city children. 
 
 " Our Do Good Society is to be like one of 
 these," she said ; " only we must have for our 
 motive something higher than just kindness to 
 other people. We must do good for Jesus 
 sake ; because he does good to us and because 
 we want to please him by doing good to his 
 
SERVICE. 303 
 
 other children. And, boys and girls, we sha n t 
 be doing it the right way at all, if we are the 
 least bit proud of what we do and take any 
 glory to ourselves about it. We can not even 
 think any good thing without the aid of the 
 Holy Spirit ; certainly we can not perform any 
 righteous action. So we must always remem 
 ber to ask for his presence, his direction, and 
 his strength, and in this, as in all our other 
 ways, acknowledge him." 
 
 The Do Good Society set in motion a good 
 many other things ; for the younger members, 
 who had more time at their disposal, began 
 to conceive a passion for performing helpful 
 acts, and they ferreted out cases of distress 
 which were often far beyond their power 
 to relieve, but which thus got into the right 
 hands. 
 
 For instance, when the children reported the 
 case of the poverty-stricken Ryans, Miss Eunice 
 set her "tea-party" to work to make a set of 
 clothes for the unexpected twin-baby, for whom 
 there was no provision, and sent a strong poor 
 woman, whom her father paid, to take care of 
 the helpless little ones till some better and 
 
304 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 more permanent arrangement could be made. 
 When the boys found Harry Pemberton s 
 mother without "oven wood," which the strong 
 arms of her unfortunate boy used to prepare, 
 they set about to gather and cut up enough 
 to last her all winter; and in doing so made 
 the further discovery that she had neither tea, 
 sugar, nor flour in the house. This they 
 reported at the next meeting of the society, 
 and the result was that abundance of provisions 
 of all kinds found their way into the poor 
 old widow s dwelling, and she was well cared 
 for the short remainder of her sad life. 
 Even Bertie Sanderson caught the infectious 
 enthusiasm, and devoted the money sent by 
 her city aunt to get her a velvet hat and 
 feathers, just like her cousins, to procuring a 
 warm woolen dress and hood for a little girl 
 in the neighborhood, who could not go to 
 school without it. She wore her old felt 
 all winter with content that would have been 
 impossible a year ago. 
 
 Many opportunities of doing good offered 
 themselves as the winter came on and sped 
 away. There was what is called a crisis in 
 the paper trade. A great deal more had 
 
SERVICE. 305 
 
 been manufactured than could possibly be 
 used, and no new orders were coming in. 
 All that Mr. Mount joy could do was to go on 
 making paper in the hopes of selling it in 
 better times. But as no money was coming 
 in, it was hard to find enough with which to 
 pay so many work-people. Many mill-owners 
 closed their factories at once, thus throwing 
 hundreds of workmen who had families depend 
 ent upon them out of employment. Mr. 
 Mount joy was advised to do this, but he 
 could not bear to be the cause of so much 
 suffering, and his son would not hear of it. 
 
 As the only other thing that was possible, 
 he called them all together one day at the 
 close of the day s work, and explained the 
 situation to them, asking them if they would 
 rather accept a much lower rate of wages, 
 or have the mill close altogether and go else 
 where in search of work. 
 
 There were some blank looks as men and 
 women thought how hard it had been to live 
 at even the present rate of wages, but when 
 the young man showed them that even his 
 proposal was only possible at a great sacrifice 
 to himself and the family, there was not a 
 
306 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 murmur. Everybody accepted what must be, 
 and though as the winter went on there was 
 much poverty and privation, there was no 
 bad feeling, no signs of that terrible desolation, 
 so dreaded at such times a strike. 
 
 The Mountjoys dismissed all their servants 
 but one, the three daughters cheerfully doing 
 each a share of the housework, and assisting 
 in the preparation of broths, gruels, and other 
 things needed for the sick and poor, who greatly 
 missed the higher wages which their natural 
 protectors had been earning. Neither girl 
 bought a new article of wearing apparel, and 
 Etta decidedly declined to make her usual 
 winter visit to the city, saving thus a consider 
 able sum of money and much still more valuable 
 time for the blessed service to which she had 
 devoted herself. 
 
 And so the storm was weathered, and when 
 work recommenced in the spring with even 
 better prospects and at the old rates of remun 
 eration, every one was glad ; but no one had 
 really suffered, thanks to the " Do Good 
 Society " and the consecrated hearts that were 
 faithfully endeavoring to acknowledge Gorl 
 "in all their ways." 
 
EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 307 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 ]ITH so many interests to fill her leisure 
 hours, as well as such a pleasant and 
 restful home, our little Katie continued 
 to bear the confinement and hard work of the 
 mill better than her friends had expected she 
 would. Though she grew rapidly taller, she did 
 not become either pale or thin. She continued 
 to like her work, and became more and more of 
 a favorite, both with her companions and her 
 employers The affair of the fifty-dollar bill 
 had been thoroughly explained, and for a time 
 Katie was looked upon quite as a martyr heroine. 
 She was a little in danger of being spoiled by 
 the attention she received, and but for the 
 remembrance of how nearly she had yielded to 
 the temptation to do wrong, her Christian 
 character might have been seriously injured. 
 Poor Bertie, however, had a hard time of it 
 when she first went back to the mill. Of 
 course, it had been impossible to right her 
 
308 KATIE ROBERTSOX. 
 
 companion without implicating herself, and it 
 was hard for her to meet the significant looks 
 and tones of some of the other girls, who did 
 not believe in the new saintship and did very 
 much despise the old malice and deceit. 
 
 Although forgiven for the guilt of her sin, 
 the poor girl had to find that she could not 
 avoid all its punishment. No one can ; and 
 though God may forgive us freely for the sake 
 of his dear Son, and give us a new heart or a 
 new purpose of action, we shall still have to 
 suffer many of the consequences of the wrong 
 we have done, and it can never be quite as 
 though we had never sinned, which fact it 
 would be well to remember before we are led 
 into evil. 
 
 Many a time the poor girl, quite unaccustomed 
 to control herself, would almost break out into 
 some furious response to an unkind word or 
 implied taunt, and remember just in time that 
 she was pledged to the Lord s service and must 
 not disgrace his cause. A swift, silent prayer 
 for help then would always bring the promised 
 aid of the Holy Spirit, and so by degrees Bertie 
 learned to conquer herself and to lead others 
 
EDUCATIONAL. 309 
 
 to see that her repentance was sincere and her 
 faith genuine. Katie s friendship was a great 
 blessing to her at this time. Katie had 
 entirely forgiven her treacherous friend s part 
 in the affair which had caused her so much 
 sorrow. She remembered only her dangerous 
 illness, and that they were both now fellow- 
 Christians and members of the same church. 
 She was anxious to do all in her power to help 
 Bertie in her struggle against the sins of her 
 heart and the bad habits of her life, and, as is 
 apt to be the case when we forgive and try to 
 help any one, she soon came to love her very 
 much. And this friendship and support served, 
 more than anything else, to reinstate Bertie in 
 the good graces of the other girls. 
 
 It was stated some time since that Mrs. 
 Robertson had other plans with reference to 
 her family of girls and boys, which she 
 intended to put in operation when the long 
 winter evenings came. This was the formation 
 of a class for regular study, of at least one or 
 two of the branches which her own children 
 had attended to at school. But these plans 
 were afterward merged in those of the young 
 manufacturer. 
 
3 I O KA TIE R OBER TSON. 
 
 The mill-girls, although they had generally 
 had fair common-school advantages before they 
 commenced work, were, of course, from that 
 time totally deprived of them. They knew 
 how to read, write, and " do examples " in 
 the simpler rules of arithmetic. Perhaps this 
 would be quite education enough for those girls 
 who are to pass their lives in factories of the 
 older world. But it is not so in America, 
 where everybody reads and everybody thinks, 
 where no one is stationary, no position perma 
 nent where the operative of to-day is the 
 employer of to-morrow where many a girl steps 
 from a position of toil and honorable self- 
 support into that of mistress of a mansion, and 
 is called to dispense a hospitality which in 
 other lands would be called princely. In our 
 as yet unsettled mode of existence, education 
 is the one thing needful, because education is 
 the only thing of which the " chances and 
 changes" of life can not strip us the only 
 thing which will adapt itself gracefully to any 
 position, from the cottage and tenement-room 
 to the presidential chair. 
 
 Eunice and James Mount joy had often talked 
 
ED UCA TIONAL. 3 I I 
 
 over the loss of educational advantages to 
 which boys and girls entering the mill at so 
 early an age were of necessity subjected, and 
 this winter they took their youngest sister into 
 confidence. The result was the commencement 
 of a " night school," held, however, from four 
 o clock till seven. The mill was now only 
 working three-quarters time, so these three 
 hours remained to be filled up, and no one 
 objected to putting off supper an hour for this 
 purpose. 
 
 The school-house did double duty the day 
 scholars departing just as the more advanced 
 classes assembled, and the trustees gladly gave 
 the use of the building for so beneficent a 
 purpose. But it was not to be expected that 
 the poor young overworked teacher could do 
 double duty too. She was, in fact, only a girl, 
 not much in advance of the "night scholars," 
 either in age or acquirements, and well calcu 
 lated to profit with them by superior advantages. 
 Another hired teacher was not to be thought 
 of, for the school committee were not entrusted 
 with spare funds, and the Mount joys, who might 
 have furnished a teacher s board and salary 
 
->\2 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 \J 
 
 upon ordinary occasions, were this winter 
 taxed to the utmost strain their finances would 
 bear. 
 
 In this dilemma Etta made the startling 
 proposition of becoming teacher herself. 
 
 " You ! " said Eunice, in astonishment. For 
 to her, her sister always seemed the little child 
 whom her dead mother had confided to her care. 
 " You re not old enough. I thought of 
 offering myself, but really my hands are full. 
 I can t do another thing." 
 
 " I should think not," said James. " You 
 do everything for us all. You need four 
 hands for what you do already. But why 
 should not Etta? You don t need her help 
 in the afternoons, and surely she ought to 
 be competent." 
 
 " I am afraid " 
 
 " I know," broke in the girl. " You are afraid 
 I will get tired of it, and drop it as I have done 
 so many things. You ve a right to think so. 
 But you know I have a new motive and a new 
 strength now. Eunice, what is the use of my 
 superior education, if I can t do something with 
 it for the Lord ? It seems to me that this is 
 
EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 313 
 
 one of the ways in which I can acknowledge 
 him. Won t you let me try it ? " 
 
 " If papa will consent," said her sister. 
 And that settled it, as they all knew; for 
 Mr. Mountjoy always consented that Etta 
 should do exactly as she pleased. He only 
 stipulated that her brother should always be 
 on hand to bring her home, as during the 
 winter months the school would not be over 
 till after dark. 
 
 Etta proved as all knew she would prove 
 a very efficient and interesting teacher. It was 
 quite amusing to her brother, when he some 
 times came for her half an hour before school 
 was over, to see the quiet dignity with which 
 she kept the great rough boys in order. But 
 the work soon became too much for her alone. 
 The " night school" grew into such a popular 
 institution that it had more pupils than one 
 person could properly attend to in the short 
 space of three hours. So Mr. James ar 
 ranged his time at some personal sacrifice 
 to himself, and managed to take some of the 
 classes. While, to the great astonishment of 
 all, Rhoda, the middle sister, came out of her 
 
314 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 shell sufficiently to volunteer to give drawing- 
 lessons to such of the boys and girls as 
 should show any decided talent or inclination. 
 There is something contagious in beneficence. 
 Those surrounded by its atmosphere are sure, 
 sooner or later, to take the infection. Of 
 course this school was better for the children 
 than any plan of Mrs. Robertson s devising 
 could have been, and her whole family were 
 among its most enthusiastic and energetic 
 members. Gretchen learned to write English, 
 and Tessa to read and care for better things 
 than sentimental fiction. And Eric, while far 
 outstripping her in his studies, seemed to find 
 great pleasure in assisting in hers, helping her 
 over difficulties, and carrying her books to and 
 from the school. But by far the brightest of 
 the scholars were Katie and Alfred Robertson. 
 They both learned so easily, and exhibited so 
 much enthusiasm in the pursuit of knowledge, 
 that once Eunice Mountjoy said to Mrs. Rob 
 ertson : 
 
 " It seems almost a pity that your children 
 should be obliged to perform mill-work. My 
 brother says that Alfred shows quite an un- 
 
ED UCA TIONAL. 3 1 5 
 
 common taste for natural science, especially 
 chemistry. And I think our little Katie would, 
 after a few years study, make a capital teacher, 
 and you know she would make a great deal 
 more money in that way than she ever can in 
 the mill, with much less expenditure of time and 
 strength." 
 
 "Yes," said Mrs. Robertson, with a sigh. 
 "I never thought that my husband s children 
 would have to work for a living." 
 
 " Working for a living is not degrading, Mrs. 
 Robertson. The doctor himself did that." 
 
 "Of course. But he did it as a gentleman 
 not in a mill." 
 
 " My father and brother, too, earn their livings 
 in a mill, and neither they nor we feel at all 
 degraded by it," said Eunice, quietly. " Only, 
 if your boy has talents which will fit him for 
 a profession beneficial to the human race, like 
 that of his father s, it seems almost a pity that 
 they should not be cultivated. Depend upon 
 it, self-support is always honorable, for man or 
 woman, and we should consider our work high 
 or low, not because it is considered genteel or 
 not, but because it does or does not do the most 
 
316 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 good. I wish that something could turn up to 
 help both Alfred and Katie to better educa 
 tions, for I believe they might thus do a great 
 deal more good." 
 
 And Mrs. Robertson wished so too. But she 
 was wise enough not to say anything to her 
 children about it. 
 
 Better things were in store for the children, 
 however, than their mother s heart had dared 
 to hope for ; and for once she felt thoroughly 
 ashamed of her murmurings and want of faith. 
 One evening toward spring, when the merry 
 group came from school more noisily than usual, 
 and, as usual, greatly in want of their delayed 
 supper, they were all slightly astonished to see 
 a light in the window of the seldom-used sitting- 
 room. They noticed, as they went in, a strange 
 hat in the hall. 
 
 " What can your mother be doing in the best 
 room?" said Tessa, as she and Katie reached 
 their own room. 
 
 Tessa was always inquisitive, and the sight 
 of a strange man s hat had greatly excited her 
 curiosity. 
 
 "I am sure I don t" but at that moment 
 
EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 317 
 
 the girls were interrupted by Alfred, who 
 rushed in without knocking, and shouted, 
 though quite out of breath with excite 
 ment : 
 
 " Katie ! Katie ! Mother wants you ! Come 
 quick ! Who do you suppose is here ? It s 
 Uncle Alfred all the way from California ! 
 Isn t it splendid?" 
 
 " I did n t know we had an uncle in California, 
 did you ? " said Katie. 
 
 But there was no opportunity for her brother 
 to answer, as by this time they had reached the 
 parlor door, which stood open now, and both 
 children were warmly embraced by a gentleman 
 whom at first neither of them could see. 
 
 "What an old man I must be/ said the 
 gentleman, as he released them, " to have 
 three such grown-up people for nephews and 
 nieces ! And it seems only the other day since 
 Eric and I, and you too, Linda, were no bigger. 
 Yet they were all born after I went away. 
 Such a little time ! " 
 
 " But many sad things have happened since 
 then, Alfred. It seems to me a very long time 
 since your brother Eric went away never to 
 
318 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 come back, and left me to battle with the world 
 with no one to help me feed and educate his 
 children." 
 
 There was a slight tone of reproach in the 
 widow s tone as she said this, but the returned 
 brother did not seem to notice it, as he said 
 reverently : 
 
 " No one but God. You would have told 
 me in the old days when I didn t believe it 
 or care for it that you could not have a better 
 or more efficient friend ; and now that I do 
 believe it, I am sure that you have found it 
 true." 
 
 " Yes, I have," said the mother, looking with 
 thankful pride upon her well-grown boys, and 
 bright and healthy, if diminutive, little girl. 
 " God has been very good to us, and I have 
 every reason to think well of his protecting 
 care." 
 
 "And the children," said their uncle, 
 " have they too learned to trust in their 
 Saviour and do his will?" 
 
 " Eric and Katie have. Alfred is, I am afraid, 
 a little too much like his uncle of old times." 
 
 " I am sorry to hear that. He loses so much 
 
ED UCA TIONAL. 319 
 
 of the joy of youth and the strength of 
 growing up into true manliness. I hope he 
 will never have cause to be as sorry as his 
 uncle is that he did not give his Saviour the 
 kindness of his youth. But we will have 
 plenty of time to talk about all these things 
 by-and-by. Just now I am as anxious for my 
 supper as these young folks must be. I 
 remember of old, Linda, what a good supper 
 you can give a hungry traveler, and I don t 
 suppose I need an invitation." 
 
 "Why, no!" said his hostess, with a little 
 flush of embarrassment. " Only you must pre 
 pare yourself for a somewhat large tea-party, 
 and not of a very aristocratic kind. For, you 
 know, I keep a sort of factory boarding-house." 
 
 " One who has camped with California miners 
 is not likely to be very fastidious," said Mr. 
 Robertson. "But I suspect if your boarders 
 are companions of this niece of mine, they will 
 be good enough company for me." 
 
32O KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 OUT INTO THE WORLD. 
 
 |O you would n t like to be my little girl 
 and go to school and be educated for 
 a lady," said Mr. Alfred Robertson to 
 his niece, a few days after he had made his 
 unexpected appearance among his relatives. 
 
 " I d like to go to school and study, of 
 course," said Katie. " Uncle, don t think me 
 very rude or ungrateful, but I wish you would 
 send Alfred." 
 
 "Why, rather than yourself?" 
 
 " Because Alfred is a boy, and he wants to be 
 a doctor like father. He never told mother, be 
 cause he thought it would make her feel badly. 
 He knew she had n t any money to send him to 
 school or college, so he just worked on at the 
 mill, though I know he hates it." 
 
 " But, little girl, it would cost a great deal of 
 money to send a boy through college and sup 
 port him while he was studying a profession. 
 Have you thought of that?" 
 
OUT INTO THE WORLD. 32! 
 
 " I don t know, sir. I don t know much 
 about money. You are not rich enough to do 
 it then ? I m so sorry," and there was a tone of 
 great disappointment in the young voice. 
 
 "I am rich enough perhaps, but" 
 
 " Oh, sir ! Alfred would be sure to pay it 
 back as soon as he became a doctor. I could 
 begin to pay you now. I make six dollars a 
 week in the mill as it is, and I could make 
 more if mother would let me work over hours. 
 Alfred would n t like to take charity, and I 
 would n t like to have him." 
 
 Her uncle laughed. " So it is because she is 
 an independent little piece that she does not 
 want to go to school and learn to be a lady," 
 said he. 
 
 " I d like very much to learn to be a 
 teacher" said she. " Miss Eunice thinks that 
 teachers can do a great deal of good, and I 
 could make money to help mother with, just as 
 well or better than I can in the mill." 
 
 "Well, you shall go to school on your own 
 terms. You shall have the education anyway, 
 and do what you like afterward. And since you 
 are so very independent, I will lend you the 
 
322 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 money and you may pay it all back to me when 
 you begin to make your fortune by school- 
 . teaching. Is it a bargain ? " 
 
 The little girl blushed with delight, threw 
 her arms around her kind uncle, giving him a 
 kiss by way of thanks, and rushed off to tell her 
 wonderful news to her mother. But she found 
 it was not quite such news as she expected it to 
 be. Mr. Robertson and his sister-in-law had 
 talked it all over after the little folks were in 
 bed, and he had definitely offered to give the 
 two children the education which their mother 
 had so greatly desired. He had amassed con 
 siderable property during his seventeen years 
 sojourn in California, and having no children of 
 his own, was anxious to make up to those of 
 his brother for his long neglect. 
 
 "I never thought anything about my duty 
 toward them," he said, until God brought 
 me to myself, and showed me what a sinner 
 I was, and then brought me to himself, and 
 showed me what a Saviour he is. Then I 
 began to remember all my neglected duties, 
 and I determined to come home and atone 
 for the past as soon as I could," 
 
OUT INTO THE WORLD. 323 
 
 The proposal of sending Eric, also, to school 
 had been made to him. But he gratefully de 
 clined. He was almost a man now, and was 
 used to his work and liked it. He stood well 
 with his employers, and hoped before many 
 years to rise to the position of superintendent 
 of one of the departments. His one great 
 ambition was to become such a manufacturer 
 as Mr. James. And in the meanwhile he 
 would be at home to watch over his mother 
 and contribute to her support. His uncle 
 admired his pluck and independence, and 
 did not press his offers farther upon him. 
 Alfred was delighted. It was as Katie had 
 said : he had endured the bindery because he 
 must, and he was a boy of too good principles 
 to worry over the inevitable, or to make people 
 unhappy because- of his likes or dislikes. But, 
 all the same, he had disliked his work, and 
 longed to do something more in accordance 
 with his tastes. Only to Eric and Katie had 
 he confided his indefinite longings, and his 
 mother had never guessed how much he had 
 desired a change. Now he was full of plans 
 for the future; looking forward especially to 
 
324 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 the days when he should restore his father s 
 sign to its old position, fit up the house 
 and office as it used to be, and support his 
 mother in ease and comfort once more. 
 
 But that was a long way off. A great deal of 
 hard studying had to be done first, and Alfred 
 was far behind other boys of his age in book 
 knowledge, at least. Perhaps he had, during 
 his three years experience in the factory, 
 learned a good deal which would eventually 
 prove very useful in a profession which dealt 
 with practical details of practical things. 
 About one thing he was quite decided. Deli 
 cate little Katie should never again work for 
 her living. When she left school she should 
 be a lady, like Miss Eunice and Miss Etta at 
 the great house, and idle all day long if she 
 chose to do so. t 
 
 "But I don t choose," laughed Katie. "Do 
 you think an independent young lady, who has 
 made her own living for more than a year, will 
 ever consent to be dependent upon any one, even 
 if he is her brother ? Besides, who wants to be 
 idle ? I am sure Miss Eunice is n t idle ; nor 
 Miss Etta, now. They are both as busy as they 
 
OUT INTO THE WORLD. 325 
 
 can be all the time ; and Mr. James, too. Think 
 how much good he does, and all of them ! " 
 
 " Oh, if you mean that kind of work ! Miss 
 Eunice and Miss Etta don t get paid for what 
 they do. They don t work for a living." 
 
 "I think they do," said Mr. Robertson, who 
 had listened quietly to the talk of the children. 
 " I think that every noble, honorable man and 
 woman works, and is glad to work, for a living. 
 The old saying that the world owes us a living 
 is a very fallacious one. The world does n t owe 
 us anything, and God does not either. Indeed, 
 he has said : If any man will not work, neither 
 shall he eat. " 
 
 "Everybody does not work for money, I 
 mean," said Alfred. " Some people are gentle 
 men and ladies." 
 
 "If you call idlers gentlemen and ladies, we 
 do not agree as to terms ; but if you mean, as 
 I suppose you do, that some people, especially 
 a large proportion of women and girls, do not 
 formally receive a definite amount of money 
 for a definite amount of work, that is true. 
 Don t you think, though, that mothers and 
 sisters and wives, who keep house, take care 
 
326 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 of little children, do all the family sewing, care 
 for the sick, and attend to the many details of a 
 woman s life, work? yes, do a great deal of 
 work for a very small amount of living ? Think 
 of your mother for a moment." 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I see." 
 
 "And," continued his uncle, "when ladies 
 devote themselves faithfully to good works, 
 Sunday-school work, work among the poor, 
 teaching, etc., they are as really working for 
 their living as if they were in a factory." 
 
 "It doesn t seem so." 
 
 " No, it does n t seem so, because we have 
 wrong ideas about the nobility of labor. If we 
 really believed what the Bible says, that the 
 servant of all is the chiefest of all, we should 
 value work and workmen just in proportion to 
 the use which the work they do is to the 
 community and the world. In that sense, 
 Alfred, a doctor s work or a minister s work 
 might stand a little higher than a manufac 
 turer s, a teacher s position be more desirable 
 than that of a factory-girl, because in all of these 
 professions there is more opportunity to do 
 good to the bodies and souls of men ; and yet 
 
OUT ITSTO THE WORLD. 327 
 
 I doubt if any are in a position to do more good 
 than your Mr. James Mount joy and his family. 
 And as to being gentlemen or ladies, it is just 
 as much your duty and just as possible to be 
 those in the rag-room as in a palace, should 
 your lot be cast there." 
 
 " It is not considered so genteel," said Tessa, 
 who had not quite forgotten the teachings of 
 her novels. 
 
 " By whom ? Foolish butterflies ? or men 
 and women of sense ? Gentility meant, origi 
 nally, gentleness : that gentleness which better 
 opportunities of education were supposed to 
 give. But so much culture as that is now within 
 the reach of every one, and there is no reason 
 why it should not exist in the mill and the 
 counting-room, the kitchen and the store, as 
 well as in the parlor and the library." 
 
 "But after all," said Mrs. Robertson, "there 
 seems something low and sordid in working for 
 money." 
 
 "That is because we should not work for 
 money as the motive of work, I mean. If 
 every one in the world were a Christian, and did 
 the work which came to him to do, upon Bible 
 
328 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 principles, endeavoring to fulfil the precept : 
 Whether ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, 
 do all to the glory of God/ and accepted his 
 living, small or great, from his hands, just as a 
 little child accepts his from his father s hands, 
 we should hear nothing about the degradation 
 of service. Every one would constantly say : 
 Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? And we 
 should take our daily bread, as well as all the 
 pleasant things of our lives, thankfully from 
 him who has given us all things to enjoy." 
 
 Mr. Robertson was rather answering his sister 
 and talking a little above the level of his audi 
 tors, but some of them understood and remem 
 bered his words. To Katie, henceforth work 
 had an added dignity . It was raised even above 
 the high level upon which she had thus far 
 placed it, that of helping her mother, and 
 became something that she might do for Jesus 
 who had done, and was still doing, so much for 
 her. She was quite impatient to enter upon 
 those studies which were to fit her for future 
 usefulness, and many a time during her school 
 life, when the novelty had worn away and her 
 energies might have flagged, she was stirred up 
 
OUT INTO THE WORLD. 
 
 to new zeal and perseverance by the recollection 
 of this conversation. 
 
 To the other girls also this talk about work 
 and compensation was beneficial. Perhaps 
 they might have felt a little jealous at Katie s 
 apparent elevation above themselves, even 
 Christian girls have wrong feelings sometimes, 
 but if factory-work could really be done to 
 the glory of God as much as teaching could, 
 there was nothing degrading in their work, 
 nothing aristocratic in Katie s. God had given 
 her one kind of work to do, and them another 
 that was all. They could please him as well as 
 she ; and he would give to all alike a great deal 
 more than they deserved. 
 
 And now began a busy time in the doctor s 
 old house. Brother and sister must be fitted 
 out for school with such wardrobes as they had 
 never possessed in their lives before. Uncle 
 Alfred s ready purse provided these, but he 
 was careful not to destroy the independent 
 spirit of his young relatives, and let them con 
 sider this as the first instalment of his loan. 
 
 Katie left the factory at the close of the 
 week, receiving with her usual weekly wages 
 
330 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 an extra five-dollar bill, as a testimonial from 
 Mr. James for her uniform faithfulness and the 
 good example she had always set in the mill. 
 
 " We are sorry to lose you, Katie," he said, 
 " but I am glad that you are to be advanced to 
 better work and a wider sphere of usefulness. 
 Wherever you go, the prayers of Squantown 
 Sunday-school will go with you, and I am sure 
 that you will always find, as you have done 
 already, the truth of the words : 
 
 " * Commit thy way unto the Lord, and he 
 shall bring it to pass. " 
 
 Nor did the pleasant incidents stop here. On 
 the Wednesday following, Miss Eunice again in 
 vited all the girls of her sister s class to unite 
 with those of her own. There was no lesson 
 that night, and very little work done. All the 
 brothers and friends, who usually acted as 
 escorts, were invited to come to tea, and all 
 the members of the "Do Good Society." 
 There was room for all, and all had "a splendid 
 time." Games were played, and songs sung, 
 and everybody was made to understand that 
 this was a farewell party in honor of Katie 
 Robertson. 
 
OUT INTO THE WORLD. \ \ I 
 
 \j j 
 
 At nine o clock Mr. Morven came in, and, 
 with a few pleasant and earnest words, pre 
 sented the little girl with a beautifully bound 
 Bible, to the purchase of which every one 
 present had contributed a little. 
 
 "I trust," said he, "that our little Katie will 
 make this book the man of her counsel, and 
 the guide of her youth, in the new life upon 
 which she is entering, and that, as the Saviour 
 to whom she has consecrated herself will surely 
 keep his promise never to leave or forsake 
 her/ she will be faithful in all her ways to 
 acknowledge him, and grow in grace as she 
 does in knowledge." 
 
 Then, calling his little congregation to join 
 with him, the good pastor prayed that the dear 
 Lord would guide and guard this lamb of his 
 through "all the chances and changes of this 
 mortal life, and finally bring her to his heavenly 
 kingdom." 
 
 And so, with loving kisses, and gifts, and 
 solemn words of prayer, they sent Katie Rob 
 ertson out into the world to meet its responsi 
 bilities. 
 
 The next morning, in the early dawn, she and 
 
332 KATIE tiOBERTSOX. 
 
 her brother set out with their uncle for the 
 schools in which they were to be fitted for 
 their life-work. And as these schools were a 
 long way off, and the journey thither rather 
 expensive, it was many months before Squan- 
 town saw them again. 
 
CONCLUSION. 233 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 IND now we must draw our story to 
 a close. The reader has become 
 acquainted with its characters, and 
 knows about the agencies for good which are at 
 work in the manufacturing town of Squantown, 
 as well as the influences brought to bear upon 
 the Christian development of our boys and 
 girls. The machinery is all adjusted, the power 
 is applied, the wheels are in motion nothing 
 can hinder continued and beneficent work, 
 except the possible weariness in well-doing of 
 any of the parts, and the failure to look to God 
 in faith for his promised strength, thus cutting 
 off the connection with the source of all good 
 things. So long as manufacturers and opera 
 tives, teachers and scholars, pastors and 
 people continue in all their ways to acknowl 
 edge God, this will not be the case ; and the 
 manufacturing village will realize the scriptural 
 idea : " Happy is that people that is in such 
 
334 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 a case : yea, happy is that people whose God is 
 the Lord." 
 
 We may expect to look ahead and see the 
 boys and girls with whom we are acquainted, 
 growing up into good, useful, and happy men 
 and women. Bertie Sanderson will, little by 
 little, overcome her natural and acquired faults 
 of character. Envy and malice have already 
 received their death blow, vanity and idleness 
 will follow in their train. The higher interests 
 of Christian love and church-work will dwarf the 
 importance of dress and display, and Bertie 
 will grow into a useful girl, faithful to, and 
 contented with, her position a help to her 
 mother at home, a good example to Nina and 
 the younger children. 
 
 We may expect to see Gretchen growing 
 into a strong, sturdy German woman, sending 
 home from time to time the savings of her earn 
 ings, which will help lo make her far-off brothers 
 and sisters very comfortable, the deep, though 
 quiet, force of her affections expanding them 
 selves to embrace many others on this side of 
 the sea. We may be sure that her constant 
 nature, upheld by divine grace, will never lose its 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 335 
 
 hold of the Saviour who came to take care of 
 her in answer to her Sunday-school teacher s 
 call that Sunday evening when she seemed to be 
 so near to the other world. 
 
 We may hope to see the other members of 
 Miss Etta s class, Miss Eunice s tea-party, and 
 the " Do Good Society," all growing wiser and 
 better as they grow older, and becoming more 
 and more Christ-like as they follow in his steps. 
 And we may be sure that Etta Mountjoy, 
 cured of her erratic moods and wayward 
 temper, first by being anchored to the rock of 
 ages, and then by the safeguards and helps 
 which the church of Christ throws around its 
 members, will be still foremost in leading the 
 little phalanx, her energy and enthusiasm 
 insuring success in every good thing under 
 taken. She will find time for home duties as 
 well as those of a more public kind, will be a 
 right hand to Eunice as she continues on the 
 even tenor of her way, and the sunshine of 
 home to her father and brother James, until 
 some good man discovers the sunshine and 
 bears it away with him to be the illumination of 
 another circle and the centre of another home. 
 
 We may see " Mr. James " still the con- 
 
336 KATIE KOBERTSOX. 
 
 siderate Christian mill-owner, conducting busi 
 ness on the strictest principles of integrity, 
 and treating his employees as though of the 
 same flesh and blood as himself, for whose 
 bodies and souls he is in some measure respon 
 sible. And when at length Eunice drops the 
 housekeeping into the hands of " Mrs. James," 
 we may be sure that she, as well as her husband, 
 will continue to " honor God with their sub 
 stance " and " in all their ways acknowledge 
 him." 
 
 If we turn our prophetic gaze upon the Rob 
 ertson family, we shall find that the mother 
 thereof is gradually exchanging her grumbling 
 and forebodings of evil for hope and thankful 
 ness at the success and good prospects of her 
 children, who are profiting largely by the oppor 
 tunities afforded them by their uncle s kindness. 
 
 While greatly missing her from her home, 
 the mother does not feel Katie s absence as she 
 would have done but for the girl boarders, who, 
 while affording her both society and support, 
 give her such ample occupation that she has 
 little time to realize her loneliness or to indulge 
 in fretfulness. Indeed, Tessa has already fore 
 stalled her future position, and become to the 
 
C ONCL US ION. 
 
 widow as a beloved daughter. The sweetness 
 and softness of the Southern girl fit her to 
 take culture and refinement very easily. She 
 quickly assimilates with her surroundings, and 
 models herself upon those she loves and ad 
 mires who are, in this instance, Katie Rob 
 ertson and Etta Mount joy. From the first, 
 bold, bright Eric has felt the charm of her 
 black eyes, and loved to listen to her soft, 
 foreign accent, and it would not be surprising 
 if, when he reaches the height of his ambition, 
 and becomes either superintendent of the 
 bindery or first foreman of the mill, he should 
 ask Italian Tessa to share both his name and 
 his success. But that is a great way off. 
 
 Katie is our first friend. With her character 
 and fortune we have the most to do. It would 
 be nice, did the limits of our volume allow, to 
 follow her into her new school-life, to see how 
 her energy, industry, independence, and cheerful 
 ness go with her, rebuking homesickness, and 
 causing her to make the most of every moment, 
 and the best of every advantage. We should 
 see that her path at school is not all strewn 
 wMh roses, any more than was that at the mill ; 
 that different circumstances bring different temp- 
 
338 KATIE ROBERTSON. 
 
 tations and develop different traits of character. 
 We might perhaps find that silly school-girk at 
 first decline to admit on terms of perfect equality 
 one who had "worked for her living," and was, 
 in their not very elegant parlance, " nothing 
 but a mill-girl." Perhaps we might have to 
 chronicle some lonely and sad hours in conse 
 quence, and some rebellious feelings hard to 
 be kept down. 
 
 But Katie s life is in the keeping of One wise 
 enough to arrange all its discipline, " as it may 
 be most expedient for her," loving enough to 
 sympathize with and comfort her in all times 
 of sorrow and perplexity, and able with every 
 temptation to make also a way of escape. 
 
 So, guarded and guided, Katie Robertson 
 will be able to live down all that foolish and 
 proud girls may say about her, and in the end 
 become a favorite, not only with the wise, dis 
 criminating teachers, but also with warm-hearted, 
 if wrong-headed, companions. We believe that 
 throughout life, as in its beginning, she will 
 continue to " seek first the kingdom of God 
 and his righteousness," and that, as she daily en 
 deavors "in all her ways to acknowledge him," 
 he will "give her the desires of her heart." 
 

 9616^2 
 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
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