THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 200 MULBERRY S7N.Y.
 
 THE CHILDREN 
 
 THE GREAT KING. 
 
 A STORY OF THE CRIMEAN WAR, 
 
 BY M. H. 
 
 What poor despised company of travelers are these. 
 That walk in yonder narrow way, along that rugged maze ? 
 Ah, these are of a royal line, all children of a King, 
 Heirs of immortal crowns divine, and lo ! for joy they sing. 
 
 FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY CARLTON & PORTER, 
 
 SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION, 200 MUXBEEEY-STEEET.
 
 THE CHILDREN 
 
 OF 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Lord is a great King. PSA. xlvii, 2. 
 
 " There is a family on earth 
 
 Whose Father fills a throne ; 
 But, though a seed of heavenly birth, 
 
 To men they're little known. 
 But 'tis the King who reigns above 
 
 That claims them for his own ; 
 The favored objects of his love, 
 
 And destined to a throne." 
 
 THE spring months of the year 1854 were al- 
 ready passing away when our story commences. 
 Dark lowered the clouds in 'the political sky of 
 many nations of the earth at that time; wars a ad 
 rumors of wars prevailed on all sides. Russia had 
 begun an unjust attack on Turkey, the provoking 
 cause of the war being the contested possession of
 
 8 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 the holy places in the city of Jerusalem by the 
 Greek and Latin Churches, in which contest the 
 Turks had taken part against the Russians. 
 Strange, indeed, that the birthplace and sepulcher 
 of the Prince of Peace should be made the excuse 
 for all the horrors attendant on war ! 
 
 Not unmoved had Britain's sons watched the 
 rise and progress of the war. Ever averse to in- 
 justice and oppression, they saw with growing 
 indignation their former ally, the Emperor of 
 Russia, carrying on such an unequal, unjust strife ; 
 so, after finding expostulation vain, they resolved 
 to haste to the rescue of the oppressed people, 
 though foreigners and of an adverse faith. Heavy 
 fell the blow on many a British home when the 
 news spread that, after a long season of peaceful 
 rest, the nation's sword was once more to be un- 
 sheathed, and her sons to go forth, strong in the 
 power of the Lord of hosts, to set the oppressed 
 ones free. 
 
 Heartrending partings were taking place over 
 all the land; high and low alike in the lordly 
 dwellings of the peer and the noble of the land, 
 and the lowly cottage of the peasant of the soil. 
 Wives, mothers, sisters were shedding burning 
 tears as they parted fr-om deai'ly-loved ones they
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 9 
 
 might see no more on earth. Alas ! how many 
 noble ones who went bravely, eagerly forth at the 
 call of duty, returned no more ! Winter winds 
 and summer sunshine have passed over their 
 graves in the far-distant country many times since 
 then; but their memory lives not only in the 
 hearts of those who loved them, but in the remem- 
 brance of a nation ; and their names stand proudly 
 out, emblazoned already in historic records. 
 
 Mingled, indeed, were the feelings with which 
 Colonel Percy heard the news that his regiment 
 was ordered to Varna, from thence to proceed at 
 further orders to the seat of war. Soldier-like, he 
 was ever ready at the call of queen and country 
 for active service. In more than one hard-fought 
 battle in India had he borne a conspicuous part ; 
 and all who knew him declared that no finer spe- 
 cimen of a brave, noble-hearted British officer 
 could be found than Colonel Percy, of the gallant 
 regiment. 
 
 Yet, when the order came, his thoughts instantly 
 turned to his children, and for the first time he felt 
 that the obeying it cost him a severe pang. Often 
 before had he been separated from them, but then 
 he left them in the care of the best of mothers. 
 Now their home must be with comparative stran-
 
 10 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 gers, for the gentle mother was at rest in the land 
 where partings are no more. Only two short 
 months had passed since father and children had 
 mourned that heavy loss ; and with the sore wound 
 still fresh, the "bitter grief yet keen as ever, no won- 
 der that the father, brave soldier though he was, 
 shrunk both for himself and children from the pain 
 of a fresh, perhaps a life-long parting. 
 
 But not long were such feelings allowed to sway 
 his well-disciplined heart. The tenderest, the most 
 allowable of emotions must yield to duty. Faith- 
 ful servant of an earthly government, to which he 
 had sworn fealty, and in whose defense, and in 
 obedience to whose commands, he was ever ready 
 to draw the sword, and, if need be, die on the 
 battle-field, he never forgot he was none the less a 
 servant of the great King who is God over all ; a 
 good soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ, willing and 
 ready in his cause to endure hardness, and uphold 
 his banner against all foes. 
 
 His duty once plainly seen, and aid invoked 
 where it is never invoked in vain, all arrangements 
 were quickly made, for time pressed; and the 
 father broke the news as gently as he could to his 
 two motherless children. Most he feared for his 
 gentle girl, his loving little Ada.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 11 
 
 There they stood, the brother and sister ; Claude 
 (a fine bold boy, with the brown hair and flashing 
 black eyes of his father) with his arm thrown ca- 
 ressingly round his sister, who, although little 
 more than a year his'junior, looked much younger 
 than he, her fairy-like figure and her light golden 
 hair falling in long curls round her almost to the 
 waist, giving her a childlike appearance, which 
 made one guess her younger than her real age, 
 which was twelve years. 
 
 In silence the children listened as their father 
 spoke, the full meaning of his words scarcely fall- 
 ing on them at first ; but when all became plain, 
 when they realized that the parting was at hand, 
 that their home was to be with a stranger uncle 
 in Devonshire, that their so loved father was going 
 far away to battle, perhaps to death then it- 
 seemed as if a dark cloud came down over them, 
 .and shut out all the sunshine from their lives. 
 " Mamma dead, and papa leaving us," were the 
 first words Ada uttered; and, throwing herself 
 into her father's arms, she wept the unrestrained 
 tears of childhood. 
 
 Colonel Percy let her weep on, though every 
 tear sent a pang to his heart. He tried not to 
 stop her ; he thought it best to let her grief have
 
 12 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 relief thus. Quietly, tenderly he held her, glanc- 
 ing only now and then at his boy, who stood with 
 eyes full of tears, but they fell not ; a strong will 
 kept them back, the flushed cheek and the firm-set 
 lips showing how great was the effort. 
 
 Suddenly the door opened: the colonel was 
 required in another room on pressing business; 
 he put down his child and went at once. Claude 
 went up to his sister, and, bending over her, said, 
 " Ada, darling Ada, don't cry so ; papa must go, 
 even if he wished ever so much to stay. A soldier 
 would never draw back in the hour of danger; 
 and, Ada, if you give way so it will make it 
 harder for him to go, and you would not like that, 
 dear? Don't you remember how mamma never 
 cried when papa went away never before him 
 only after ; yes, after, she cried bitterly ; but one 
 day she told me that she kept back her tears for 
 papa's sake, to make it easier for him to go." 
 
 At these words Ada sat up and dried her tears. 
 The words had sunk deep, and, sensitive as she 
 was, .she possessed a resolute strength of purpose 
 which would develop itself quickly when called 
 into exercise. Her woman-nature came to her aid ; 
 she would quiet herself for her father's sake, keep 
 back her own grief to lessen his, and henceforth
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 13 
 
 shed her tears in secret, seen only by Him to whom 
 all places are open, to whom darkness and light 
 are both alike. 
 
 Poor little Ada ! having learned such a lesson, 
 thou art a child no longer : the dawn of woman- 
 hood is breaking around thee ; and, through sorer 
 trials and more bitter grief, thou wilt learn to suf- 
 fer and be strong, thy earthly reward the pure joy 
 of unselfish love ! 
 
 The evening before the departure had come, 
 father and children sat talking together. 
 
 " Papa," said Claude, " I am thirteen and more 
 already ; in less than four years I shall be in the 
 army, and fight by your side. O, papa, I wish I 
 could go now ; it is such a noble thing to be a 
 soldier, to fight, and conquer of course; brave 
 soldiers always do that; and 'then the taking 
 towns by storm, and feeling all the time we are 
 fighting in defense of our country, and as faithful 
 subjects of our government. I do so wish I were 
 a little older, that I could be a soldier now." 
 
 Colonel Percy looked at the boy's bright, ani- 
 mated face, and felt a pleasure in the thought that 
 no coward spirit was in his breast. Faults he had 
 a hasty temper, sometimes an impatience of re- 
 proof; but his nature was brave, truthful, and
 
 14 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 loving, and the father fondly hoped that, by the 
 grace of God, his boy was being led into the right 
 way, and was seeking, earnestly seeking, to over- 
 come his faults. " A soldier now, Claude ! Yes, 
 you may be so. Indeed I trust you are so, and 
 for that matter, my little Ada too." 
 
 "How, papa; what do yon mean?" said both 
 children in a breath. 
 
 Colonel Percy paused a moment ; then, laying 
 his hand on his boy's shoulder, said gravely, " Yes, 
 Claude, a good soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 fighting the good fight of faith." 
 
 The boy pressed closer to his father. "Papa, 
 that is a very hard battle to fight, and we are not 
 sure of being conquerors there. Often and often 
 I begin the fight and fall before the enemy." 
 
 " How about the armor, Claude the shield of 
 faith, the sword of the Spirit ? When the enemy 
 comes, do you use these against him? "What 
 would you say of me if I rushed to the battle-field 
 unarmed, and then fell, and complained that my 
 enemy was too powerful for me ?" 
 
 "O, papa, you would never be so foolish; of 
 course you would go prepared to fight." 
 
 " Well, my children, never go out to the daily 
 battlefield of life without the shield of faith, which
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 15 
 
 is kept bright by prayer, and the sword of the 
 Spirit, which is the Word of God. Have that 
 daily hidden in your heart ; and when Satan 
 tempts you to do wrong, resist him ; answer him 
 as the Captain of our salvation did when he 
 tempted him : * It is written.' " 
 
 Claude sighed. " I could be very brave in an 
 earthly battle-field, but a sad coward, I fear, in the 
 one you speak of. I could fight against flesh and 
 blood ; but I so often fall under the rulers of the 
 darkness ; I cannot stand against the wiles of the 
 evil one." 
 
 Never before had the boy spoken so openly of 
 his feelings to his father, though for long Colonel 
 Percy had seen the struggle, the endeavor to do 
 the right thing, which was going on in his breast, 
 and for which he had thanked God ; now it seemed 
 as if he were permitted to see the stumbling-block 
 which was hindering his boy's growth in grace, 
 that ere he left him he might be enabled to remove 
 it. It was one easily seen one, alas, which many 
 souls have fallen against, and never risen again 
 self-righteousness ; striving to overcome the great 
 enemy of souls in our own strength, instead of go- 
 ing to Him who will impart to us his own. 
 
 " You say you cannot stand against the wiles of
 
 16 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 the evil one, Claude ; no more you can in your 
 own strength, but you can do all things through 
 Christ strengthening you. You can through him 
 be more than conqueror ; you can be strong in the 
 Lord, and in the power of his might. Ask for that 
 strength daily, and you will be enable'd to do ex- 
 ploits more worthy far of renown than any earthly 
 ones. What says the wise king, inspired by the 
 Holy Spirit ? ' He that is slow to anger is better 
 than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than 
 he that taketh a city.' " 
 
 Claude's only answer was a pressure of his 
 father's hand, and a whispered, " I see it, papa ; I 
 see what I should do." 
 
 Then they spoke of the parting ; Ada, with a 
 full heart, not saying much, only keeping very 
 close to her father's side, and silently taking in his 
 every word ; long, long to be remembered when 
 her home was with strangers, and he was in the 
 far-off battle-field. 
 
 Ere they parted Colonel Percy put into the 
 hands of each of the children a new Bible. " Study 
 it well," he said, " with prayer ; consult it in all 
 difficulties ; follow its directions as minutely as a 
 soldier does his marching orders. It is God's will, 
 which points out every step you should take in the
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 17 
 
 way to heaven, and warns you of all the danger- 
 ous places. Remember that God is King of kings, 
 and a king demands obedience to his commands. 
 Dear children, I leave you to his care. I have no 
 greater wish for you than that you should be 
 ' Children of the Great King, the King of glory.' " 
 They knelt in prayer, and sought the help and 
 guidance of God the Father, God the Son, and God 
 the Holy Ghost ; and after a long loving embrace 
 the children were sent to rest, as for them also a 
 long journey was in store on the morrow.
 
 18 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 
 / 
 
 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth 
 upon men, in slumberings upon the bed ; then God openeth the 
 ears of men, and sealeth their instruction. JOB xxxiii, 15, 16. 
 
 " REST," thought Ada, and smiled at the thought ; 
 " no rest for me to-night, when to-morrow is the 
 day of papa's departure." And her heart throbbed 
 and the burning tears fell fast enough as she lay 
 down in the bed over which a mother had so often 
 bent to bless her and give the sweet good night ; 
 and the child longed to know if the spirit of 
 her mother could see her now, could know that 
 papa was going away, that Claude and she 
 were henceforth for long, so long, to live with 
 strangers. 
 
 Then she wondered if the Great King, who sees 
 all his children, and loveth and careth for them, 
 would go with Claude and her to their new home, 
 and yet accompany and protect their father in the 
 dangers of a foreign land ; and something seemed 
 to whisper, " Yes, I will. Under the shadow of 
 my wings I will keep you all till you meet again.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 19 
 
 I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." And, 
 with the words sounding in her ears, she fell 
 asleep, and slept the quiet sleep of childhood. 
 
 Not hers yet to know the grief which gnaws the 
 heart, and banishes, effectually banishes, sleep from 
 the eyes. Long, long may it be ere she knows 
 that grief experienced only by those of riper years, 
 caused often, or sorely increased, by the want of 
 that childlike confidence in the sure guidance of 
 the Father in heaven. 
 
 Quietly the child slept on, yet through her 
 sleep her father's conversation and her last waking 
 thoughts mingled with her dreams. She saw be- 
 fore her a steep road, tangled with thorns, and en- 
 cumbered with large stones, over which she stum- 
 bled as she tried to force her way on to a splendid 
 house she saw in the far distance. Over the gate 
 which led to it shone a bright light, brighter far 
 than the sun ; but its rays only cast a feeble glim- 
 mer on the path where the child walked, by reason 
 of the thick trees which met overhead, and made 
 all so dark that, save when now and then they 
 stood more apart, she could not even catch a 
 glimpse of the beautiful house. 
 
 Torn with the thorns, and hurt with the stones, 
 she sat down disconsolate, when suddenly in front
 
 20 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 of her she saw a glorious figure, clad in garments 
 of pure white, and encircled by an unearthly light ; 
 he smiled on her, and taking her by the hand he 
 led her gently on. At his presence the thorns dis- 
 appeared ; and if here and there the large stones 
 still lay, the child fell not, for her guide carried 
 her over them all. As they went on, now and 
 then strange wild-looking creatures came out of the 
 wood, as if they sought to carry off the child ; but 
 the moment they caught sight of her guide they 
 fled, leaving her unmolested. 
 
 Quite close she kept to his side, though 
 sometimes, through very fear, she would have 
 dropped her grasp of his hand; but at such 
 moments she felt his hold of her was a strong 
 one, and she knew that in that fact her safety 
 lay. 
 
 Suddenly she saw Claude walking with them, 
 held also firm by the other hand of the guide. 
 Timidly Ada raised her eyes to the face of her 
 conductor. "Where will you lead us to?" she 
 asked. 
 
 Kindly he looked at her, love sparkling in his 
 eyes. " Yonder," he said, pointing out the shin- 
 ing house in the far distance, "to the palace of the 
 Gftat King."
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 21 
 
 " O how good ! " exclaimed both children ; 
 " but will it be long ere we reach it ? " 
 
 " That I may not tell you. The length of the 
 journey depends on the will of the King. But 
 fear not ; short or long, under my guidance you 
 shall reach it safe at last." 
 
 " And you," said Ada, " who are you ? " 
 
 At the words a halo of glory encircled his head, 
 and there, written in letters of gold, she read the 
 words, " The Son of the Great King, the Prince 
 of Peace." 
 
 Something, she scarce knew what, roused her 
 from her dream. She looked up. The early sum- 
 mer sun was already darting its rays through the 
 opening of the shutters, telling that another day 
 was begun. Peace seemed to rest in the heart of 
 the child; it was as if, by. visions of the night, the 
 King of kings had commissioned his angels to 
 minister comfort to the motherless girl. 
 
 Little she knew that while she lay wrapped in 
 slumber a father's farewell kiss had been im- 
 printed on her forehead, a father's blessing pro- 
 nounced over her head, and that already Colonel 
 Percy was on his way to the post of duty. He 
 had meant to awake her, as he had done Claude; 
 but her calm, peaceful face, though on the long
 
 22 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 lashes still hung some of the tears shed ere she 
 fell asleep, determined him to spare her the pain 
 of parting. And so he let her sleep on, and left 
 her left her in the keeping of One who he knew 
 would fail her not the safe keeping of the Great 
 King.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 23 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 " Green the land is where my daily steps in jocund childhood 
 
 played, 
 Dimpled close with hill and valley, dappled very close with 
 
 shade ; 
 Summer snow of apple blossoms running up from glade to 
 
 " FRANCES, don't you wish they would come 
 before the sun sets ? it will be so dismal for them 
 to arrive among strangers and at a strange place 
 in the dark." 
 
 The words were spoken by a pale, delicate-like 
 boy of nine years old, with large dreamy blue 
 eyes, who stood looking out of the window in a 
 country house in Devonshire, eagerly waiting the 
 appearance of some expected guests. His ques- 
 tion was addressed to a girl who sat near him, 
 ostensibly occupied with a book, but in reality 
 glancing out of the window every now and then 
 as eagerly as her brother, for such he was, though 
 in the outward appearance of the two there was 
 as marked a difference as in their inward disposi- 
 tions. No look of dreaminess about the girl's
 
 24 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 dark eye and bold countenance, and no sentiment- 
 ality in either the words or tone with which she 
 answered his query. 
 
 "Not I, Arthur. I don't care the least bit 
 whether it is light or dark when they come, nor 
 indeed whether they come at all or not. I don't 
 believe I will like them ; stupid, moping things, I 
 dare say. I'm sure there will be no fun. Now, 
 Arthur, don't open your eyes so wide at me, and 
 look so horrified. Of course I remember all papa 
 and mamma said to us about being kind to them, 
 and all that, and I don't wish them any harm, 
 only 'tis horrid to be put out of one's way, 
 and" 
 
 " O, Frances ! " said the boy, " how you do 
 talk ; and you know they have no home of their 
 own now. Their mother is dead, and their papa 
 away, perhaps to battle. I do hope they will 
 come while that beautiful sun is pouring its light 
 like gold through those green leaves, and lighting 
 up those trees in the orchard. Our home is so 
 lovely to-night. I know they will love it if they 
 see it so." 
 
 The child stood gazing at the peaceful scene 
 before him, wrapped in delight. His sister looked 
 at him, half in disdain, half in wonder. Little had
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 25 
 
 she in common with his sensitive, ardent nature ; 
 but in her own way she dearly loved her brother, 
 and to strangers was often heard to boast of 
 Arthur's smartness and his old-world remarks. 
 The window was open, the sweet scent of blossom 
 and flowers filled the room ; the rustle of leaves, 
 fanned by the gentle breeze, and the melodious 
 caroling of the birds, were for long the only 
 sounds that reached the ear. 
 
 Presently, however, carriage- wheels were heard 
 in the distance, and a gentleman's voice called, 
 " Frances, Arthur, come down ; your cousins are 
 coming." 
 
 A few minutes afterward and Claude and Ada 
 Percy received a warm welcome from their uncle 
 and aunt and young cousins, and were soon com- 
 fortably ensconced in their new home ; and ere the 
 twilight had changed into darkness, wearied out 
 with the fatigues of the day, both children were 
 fast asleep, watched over and kept from evil by 
 the Keeper of Israel, who slumbereth not nor 
 sleepeth. 
 
 While they rest we will give a short sketch of 
 the people among whom their" life was for a while 
 to be spent. 
 
 Mr. Willoughby, the eldest brother of the
 
 26 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 Percys' dead mother, had for many years resided 
 on his property in Devonshire, farming a large 
 portion of it himself, not merely nominally, as 
 many gentlemen farmers do, but actively and in- 
 cessantly directing and superintending every- 
 thing ; acting, in short, as his own steward. He 
 was a man of no ordinary abilities, and of no 
 mean scholarly attainments. His natural tastes 
 were refined, and his little Arthur's intense love 
 of the beautiful, as well as his feeling heart and 
 gentle manners, were all inherited from his father. 
 In many respects father and son were much alike ; 
 the same ardent disposition, the same deep powers 
 of loving, the same disposition to look in on their 
 own minds and analyze their most secret thoughts. 
 In the boy, delicate from his birth, this tendency 
 was beginning to be a hurtful one, leading him to 
 dwell too much on himself, and, young as he was, 
 tempting him to an habitual dreaminess. Such a 
 tendency had in Mr. Willoughby's case been early 
 checked by a public school education, and in later 
 years by constant occupation; and a strong 'will 
 (stronger than Arthur would ever have) enabled 
 him to overcome any inherent inclination to mere 
 idle dreaming: indeed the great feature of his 
 character was that of power. All in his house-
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 27 
 
 hold and neighborhood acknowledged it, and 
 almost unconsciously yielded to his sway. 
 
 The only one who rebelled against it was his 
 eldest child, Frances, a bold, reckless girl of thir- 
 teen, not really bad, but possessing no depth of 
 feeling. She was utterly careless of hurting the 
 feelings of others ; and after having spent some 
 months with two cousins older than herself, who 
 were aiming at attaining the unenviable character 
 of fast young ladies, she had taken to imitate 
 them, and by adopting, when away from the re- 
 straint of her parents or governess, their manners 
 and phrases, was fast making herself disliked by 
 all who knew her. 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby was a kind, motherly person, 
 never idle, occupied constantly either in or out of 
 doors ; in the morning hours never to be met 
 without a large bunch of keys in her hands ; in 
 the afternoon busy receiving callers or returning 
 visits ; frequent in her visits to the nursery to see 
 a sweet little curly-headed girl of two years old, 
 little Minnie, the pet of the family, and to the 
 school-room to see how Frances and Arthur were 
 getting on with their governess, Miss Manley. 
 An active, bustling lady was Mrs. "Willoughby, 
 inclined slightly to hold her husband's poetical
 
 28 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KINO. 
 
 tastes and feelings in disdain, and entirely igno- 
 rant of the meaning or the possibility of time 
 hanging heavy on the hands of any one. From 
 her the motherless children would receive all 
 kindness and full justice. The only felt want 
 (and O what a want it is !) would be a lack of 
 sympathy ; the free outpouring of their hearts 
 must now be made to God alone, the great sym- 
 pathizer.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 29 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Fear thou not ; for I am with thee : be not dismayed ; for I 
 am thy God : I will strengthen thee ; yea, I will help thee ; yea, 
 I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 
 ISA. xli, 10. 
 
 SOME weeks had passed since the Percys ar- 
 rived at their Devonshire home, and they were 
 gradually settling down into the quiet routine of 
 their new life. Claude, as had been arranged by 
 his father, boarded with a clergyman in the imme- 
 diate neighborhood, only residing in his uncle's 
 house from Saturday till Monday. 
 
 Ada was at once attracted by the gentle, win- 
 ning manners of little Arthur. In play hours 
 they were always seen together, in rainy days 
 poring over some favorite book ; or when, accom-* 
 panied by Frances and Miss Manley, they took 
 their daily walk, it was Arthur who pointed out 
 the beautiful views, and told the quaint traditions 
 of many a spot, which he had learned from his old 
 nurse, or had picked up from the "old-fashioned 
 books he delighted to read. 
 
 Many a taunt Ada had to bear from Frances,
 
 80 CHILDREN" OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 for taking up, as she termed it, with such a child 
 as Arthur ; but Ada bore them quietly. Between 
 Frances and herself she felt there was nothing in 
 common, and not to quarrel with her was her 
 greatest desire. "Bear and forbear, my child," 
 had been her dead mother's favorite advice, and 
 on it Ada strove to act ; but with one so provok- 
 ing as Frances it was not easy to do so, and ere 
 long Ada saw plainly that her path was becoming 
 a steep one, strewn with thorns, small ones per- 
 haps, but sharp in wounding. 
 
 How often in life we find that the thorns or trials 
 that are so ill to bear, so sharp and piercing, are 
 little ones things that even to ourselves we blush 
 to own hurt us at all. So was it with Ada. Real 
 unkindness, sharp words from any one, she could 
 have borne better than the constant mocking, real 
 or feigned, of her cousin, and the petty tricks 
 which were played off upon her. 
 
 The girls slept in rooms next to each other, and 
 dearly did Ada prize the early morning hour 
 when she could study in quiet, in the Bible her 
 father had given her the will of the Great King. 
 One morning as she sat thus occupied, forgetting 
 all petty annoyances in reading of the life and 
 sufferings of our Saviour, Frances burst in.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 31 
 
 n 
 
 " What are you about, Ada ? reading the Bible ! 
 What in the world do you do that for ? 'tis not 
 Sunday, and you'll hear papa read a chapter at 
 prayer-time, you know. Put that away now, and 
 come out for a while to" the garden. I must have 
 you, 'tis so early, and I want to wash my face in 
 the dew. Come, quick." 
 
 In vain Ada said she would not ; she preferred 
 to stay and read. " And besides, Frances, did not 
 Miss Manley tell us the other day that we were 
 not to go out again in the morning so early ?'" 
 
 " Bother Miss Manley ; who cares for what she 
 says ? " was the impetuous answer. " Besides 
 she is in bed fast asleep, and would never see us 
 or know a word about it. Come away, and don't 
 be a goose." 
 
 At first Ada had hesitated, she dreaded so to 
 oppose her cousin; but now the holy words she 
 had been reading came to her help, and she 
 boldly answered, " No, Frances, I shall not go ; 
 we were forbidden to do so ; and if Miss Manley 
 does not see us the Great King does, and he has 
 desired us to obey those that have the rule over 
 us." 
 
 " What do you mean, Ada ? Who is the Great 
 King, and how could he see us? Kings have
 
 32 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 
 
 something else to do than watch the pranks of 
 girls like you and me." But Ada's only answer 
 was, pointing to a verse in the Bible she held, 
 " The eyes of the Lord are in every place, behold- 
 ing the evil and the good." "He is the Great 
 King," she whispered; "I must obey his com- 
 mands." 
 
 "Absurd, Ada, as if he cared about a little 
 thing like this. I believe it is all pretense your 
 speaking that way; you just do it to make me 
 angry. If Arthur had asked you you would 
 have done it, and no word about right or wrong;" 
 and so saying she went away, slamming the door 
 after her. 
 
 Poor Ada; she knew she had done right, but 
 she felt disconsolate and frightened for the conse- 
 quences of her cousin's anger. O for some one to 
 help and guide her now ! Papa away, and even 
 Claude; she drooped her head, and the bright 
 morning sun shone on her eyes wet with tears. 
 Turning the leaves of her Bible she saw the 
 words, "I the Lord thy God will hold thy right 
 hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee." 
 
 Suddenly she remembered he'r dream. The 
 guide who had held her hand, and led her over all 
 difficulties, was the Son of the Great King, the
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 33 
 
 Lord Jesus. With his help she would bear all 
 things ; and kneeling down, she sought earnestly 
 that he would be true to his promise, and hold 
 her fast, enabling her to do his will. Can we 
 doubt that her prayer "received a full answer? 
 No ; " for this is the confidence that we have in 
 him, that if we ask anything according to his will, 
 he heareth us." And her prayer was in full ac- 
 cordance with the will of Him who hath said, 
 " Wilt thou not from henceforth say unto me, My 
 Father, thou art the guide of my youth ? " 
 
 With a lighter heart she rose and proceeded to 
 the school-room. Miss Manley and Arthur greeted 
 her kindly, but through the whole day Frances 
 bestowed nothing but black looks on her; and 
 when in one or two things Ada volunteered to 
 help her, all the thanks she got was, 
 
 "Go away, I don't wish your help nor your 
 company either ; saints are not in my line at all." 
 
 Saint ! Poor Ada ! the rush of angry feelings 
 called forth by her cousin's words told her how 
 far she was from meriting such a name. No, no, 
 full of imperfection she was, and knew herself to 
 be. But her hand, feeble as it was, had knocked 
 at the door of the throne of mercy ; her heaven- 
 ward pilgrimage was begun ; and, from the land
 
 34 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 of glory, angels, and the spirits of the just made 
 perfect the great cloud of witnesses stooped 
 to watch the progress in grace, slow it might be, 
 but sure, of one of the children of the Great 
 King.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 35 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 " Though sin and death and hell 
 Your heavenly march oppose, 
 Fear not, it shall be well, 
 God will confound your foes : 
 On him depend, the fight renew ; 
 As Gideon conquered, so shall you." 
 
 THE parsonage where Claude was boarded was 
 a pleasantly situated house, commanding a beau- 
 tiful view of the sea, down to the very edge of 
 which sloped thickly-wooded hills, while the 
 beach was near enough to permit the boys on a 
 half holiday to walk there, and amid the rocks 
 and caverns search out the exquisitely beautiful 
 zoophytes, and the many varieties of sea anem- 
 ones, serpularia, and other creatures which there 
 abound. 
 
 Bitterly Claude felt at first the leaving Ada 
 alone among people whom she hardly knew ; and 
 even the little he had seen of Frances made him 
 fear that his little sister would in many ways be 
 sorely tried by her. But Ada had never forgot- 
 ten the lesson of unselfishness which Claude him- 
 3
 
 36 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 self had taught her on the evening their father 
 had first told of his intended departure, and 
 though she would have liked to have told him of 
 the many petty trials she had to bear, she did 
 not do so, knowing how he would vex himself 
 about it. 
 
 So when the Saturdays came round she always 
 contrived to have a smiling face to welcome her 
 brother, eagerly listening to all his stories of his 
 school life, reading over and over with him the 
 letters received during the week from their father, 
 telling him how kind uncle and aunt were, retail- 
 ing some of Arthur's smart sayings and quaint 
 remarks, and laughing over little Minnie's droll 
 attempts at speaking ; and as Claude listened to 
 her, he felt sure his idea about her being annoyed 
 by Frances must have been a wrong one, and he 
 returned to school pleased that Ada was so happy. 
 
 Well, older and wiser than he have been de- 
 ceived in like manner many and many a time, 
 and it is best it should be so. It is not well to 
 vex even those of whose sympathy we are surest 
 with all our difficulties and little thorns. There 
 are burdens which, as far as man is concerned, 'tis 
 best to bear alone ; but none, great or small, which 
 we may not roll on the Lord.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 37 
 
 Claude's master, Mr. Marshman, was loved by- 
 all who knew him. Earnest alike in his clerical 
 work and in the responsible one of education 
 which he had undertaken, he was well qualified to 
 lead such a boy as Claude. Strict in discipline, 
 but yet unfailing in love and true sympathy, the 
 right-minded boys felt a rebuke from him or a 
 displeased look the greatest of punishments ; and 
 ere long Claude felt he could speak to him and 
 seek his advice as he had done that of his 
 father. 
 
 Hitherto Claude had mixed little, too little, 
 with other boys, and he felt that his great diffi- 
 culties lay with them. Some among them were 
 wanting in that sense of honor and truth on 
 which Claude prided himself, and from these he 
 shrank with abhorrence, forgetting that his own 
 faults, though of a different kind, were conspicu- 
 ous enough. 
 
 In especial he was tried by one boy, about a 
 year younger than himself, a relation of his Aunt 
 Willoughby's, of the name of Whitmore. He was 
 one who thought little of hiding a fault by a 
 falsehood, or shifting blame off his own shoulders 
 on that of others. Once or twice had Claude 
 detected him in doing so, and his loud protesta-
 
 38 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 tions had called down his indignation on him as 
 a meddling fool. 
 
 Claude, full of disgust at such meanness, took 
 credit to himself for having given his opinion of 
 him so forcibly. 
 
 " I wont be a partaker of other people's sins," 
 he said, " and see them going on like that, without 
 letting them know how wicked and mean it is. I 
 declare if it were not that I could not bear to be a 
 tell-tale I would let Mr. Marshman know." 
 
 Softly, softly, Claude ! he that would pull the 
 mote out of his brother's eye must first have 
 plucked the beam out of his own. It is well, it is 
 right, to warn our companions of the errors of 
 their ways ; but remember, it becometh sinful 
 beings like ourselves to speak the 'truth IN LOVE. 
 When we feel we can do that, then, but not till 
 then, are we fit to reprove the faults of others. 
 In his first indignation at the sins of Charlie 
 Whitmore, Claude was forgetting to watch 
 against his own; and not until sent to his room 
 for an outburst of passion, did he see clearly that 
 his self-righteous spirit was a device of his great 
 enemy to cause him to fall. Defeated again in 
 the spiritual battle-field, and that when he was 
 feeling so sure of victory, no wonder he was
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 39 
 
 abashed. But rejoice not over him, thou enemy 
 of souls ! though he has fallen, he shall rise again, 
 humbled by the fall, but better able to cope with 
 thee ; for, having learned his own weakness, he 
 has sought more strength from the strong One, 
 against whose power thou art feeble indeed. 
 
 Kindly and forcibly Mr. Marshman reasoned 
 with the boy on the evil of thus giving way to 
 passion, reminding him of the Scripture declara- 
 tion, that " he that hath no rule over his spirit, is 
 like a city that is broken down and without 
 walls." " And," said he, " you know well enough, 
 Claude, how easily the enemy can rush into and 
 take possession of a city which they find thus 
 unprotected." 
 
 Claude owned his fault, and from that time 
 became more watchful, more fearful of falling; 
 and, remembering his father's advice, he sought 
 more earnestly the help of the Great King. 
 
 Anxiously did Mr. Marshman watch him. He 
 was attracted by the open, ingenuous character 
 of the boy, and he felt that, rightly used, his 
 example might prove a blessing to the other 
 boys. At the same time he was fully "alive to his 
 failings, and determined, as far as he could, and 
 by the help of God, to eradicate them. He
 
 40 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 noticed at once the bad feeling which had sprung 
 up between Claude and Whitmore, and felt it his 
 duty to put a stop to it, though for a while he 
 was puzzled as to what would be the best means 
 of doing so. 
 
 An opportunity soon occurred. On one occa- 
 sion Charlie Whitmore had been detected in false- 
 hood by Mr. Marshman, and severely punished. 
 " Served him right," was the feeling among the 
 other boys, who all disliked Whitmore. That 
 evening Claude found Mr. Marshman sitting 
 alone, looking tired and vexed. He had gone 
 into the room looking for a book he had left, and 
 seeing Mr. Marshman sitting, turned at once, 
 fearing to disturb him. Somewhat to his sur- 
 prise he heard himself called back, and desired 
 to sit down, as Mr. Marshman wished to speak 
 to him. 
 
 " There is not much love between you and 
 Charlie Whitmore, Claude, I see. How is that ? " 
 
 " Love ! no indeed, sir, there's precious little of 
 that between us ; he hates me, and and " as he 
 spoke he stammered " I suppose I am not much 
 better. I don't like him, that is certain. He 
 would do anything to spite me ; but indeed, sir, I 
 would rather not say anything more about him,
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 41 
 
 for I always feel angry when I even think of 
 him." 
 
 " Then in fact," said Mr. Marshman, " you 
 count him your enemy ? " 
 
 " Pretty near that, sir," replied Claude. 
 
 "Well, Claude, that being the case, what is 
 your duty concerning him ? What is the com- 
 mand of the Great King ? Read here," taking 
 up the Bible : " I say unto you, Love your ene- 
 mies, do good to them that hate you, and pray 
 for them which despitefully use you." 
 
 The boy flushed scarlet as he read. 
 
 "Well, Claude, is it not your desire to obey 
 the King's will in all things ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, I do wish ; but I never thought of it 
 as applying to Whitmore and me. Some ene- 
 mies it may mean." 
 
 Mr. Marshman interrupted him : 
 
 "Nay, Claude, the verse makes no exception. 
 It does not say, Love all your enemies except 
 young Whitmore ? " 
 
 " No, sir, of course ; but it would be hard to do. 
 I don't think I could." 
 
 " Claude, do you think the Lord ever commands 
 his people to do anything which it is impossible 
 for them to do ever lays upon them burdens
 
 42 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 which he will not help them to bear if they ask 
 him ? It is Satan who bids us hate out enemies ; 
 and, my boy, never forget that, whatever you may 
 profess, in reality 'ye are the servants of him 
 whom ye obey.' And, Claude, I believe if you try 
 to love Charlie Whitmore it will prove not only a 
 blessing to yourself, but to him also. I believe 
 if anything will do him good it will be done by 
 love. Poor boy, I pity him, for his advantages 
 have been few : his father is a busy merchant, al- 
 ways too occupied to devote time to his children ; 
 and he never knew a mother's care or love. She" 
 died when he was born, so the boy has grown up 
 neglected; none have sought to lead him in the 
 right way. He fears me too much ; and I, sorely 
 against my will, have had to punish him for ex- 
 ample's sake too often to have gained much ground 
 with him. I believe if a boy of his own age could 
 gain his love and confidence it might be the sav- 
 ing of him. Claude, to you may belong the honor, 
 the blessing of leading him to the Great King. 
 Will you try ? " 
 
 For one moment Claude hesitated, then said in 
 a tone of emotion, " God helping me, I will, sir." 
 
 From that day Claude held no longer aloof from 
 Charlie Whitmore, but sought by all means to win
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 43 
 
 his confidence, not by abetting in the smallest de- 
 gree his faults, but by kindness striving to remove 
 the bad feeling which had sprung up between 
 them. Was Whitmore in difficulty over his Greek 
 or Latin ? Claude offered his aid. At first it was 
 repelled; but by degrees, seeing the offer was 
 made in earnest, it was accepted; with wonder, 
 it is true, why Percy should concern himself about 
 him. 
 
 At first, it must be acknowledged, the effort was 
 a great one to Claude. To lay aside a prejudice, 
 and that a well-grounded one, is easy neither for 
 young nor old ; and but for the boy's desire to do 
 right, to overcome his wrong feelings, and obey 
 the commands of the heavenly King, he would 
 have given up the task as hopeless. But the vic- 
 tory over himself was gained, and as time passed 
 on he had his reward ; for, touched by his kind- 
 ness, the neglected boy became warmly attached 
 to him ; and seeing Claude's straight-forward, 
 truthful behavior, learned at least to respect these 
 qualities in him, and, through fear of incurring his 
 displeasure, strove against deceitful ways. The 
 motive at first was not the right one, but neverthe- 
 less it was a step in the right direction ; and Claude 
 despaired not, that ere long he would seek to do
 
 44 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 right from a higher motive, even out of love to the 
 Great King. "With pleasure Mr. Marshman watched 
 the two boys, and saw how both in their different 
 ways were improving. 
 
 Knowing well how. powerful is the force of 
 example, Claude was daily, in the strength of the 
 Lord, subduing his hasty temper. Many a sore 
 struggle it cost him. Often in the middle of a 
 game, when tempted by some hasty word to return 
 an angry, passionate reply, he gulped it down, re- 
 membering that by giving way to temper he was 
 not only sinning against the Master he served, but 
 casting a stumbling-block in the way of one who, 
 though in much weakness, was yet he hoped really 
 beginning to enter on the path of life. 
 
 Was the victory thus obtained over himself a 
 small one ? Answer me, school-boys ! When 
 angry passions are up, and hard words and names 
 are huiled at each other, is it easy to bear them, 
 and retort not; easy to stand the very chaffing 
 provoked by silence ? Or, say, is not he who can 
 bear such an attack steadily and unflinchingly a 
 greater hero than he who stands undismayed while 
 the enemy's balls are flying over his head? 
 
 Yet to himself it seemed as if he were making 
 but little progress ; so many wrong feelings to be
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 45 
 
 daily resisted, so many enemies to be slain. One 
 overcome, another arose ; but the eye of the great 
 Captain of his salvation was on the boy, and he 
 noted that step by step he was advancing ; fight- 
 ing his way, it is true,"inch, by inch, but recogniz- 
 ing more and more that the arm which upheld 
 him, the smile which encouraged, the love which 
 allured him, were all from above, all proceeding 
 from him who is King of kings and Lord of lords.
 
 46 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " Lord, thou hast won; at length I yield. 
 My heart, by mighty grace compelled, 
 
 Surrenders all to thee. 
 Now, Lord, I would be thine alone ; 
 Come, take possession of thine own, 
 
 For thou hast set me free. 
 Released from Satan's hard commands, 
 See, all my powers waiting stand 
 
 To be employed by thee." 
 
 ONE glorious August Sabbath afternoon Ada 
 and Arthur were sitting together in a small arbor 
 in the garden. 
 
 Flowers of every kind, of the most beautiful 
 hues and sweetest perfume, were around them. 
 On their right-hand side stood the orchard, the 
 trees laden with their fast-ripening fruit ; on their 
 left the large shrubbery, in which many of the 
 rarest shrubs were to be seen. On each side of 
 the bower were myrtles, growing to such a height 
 that their branches mingled together till they 
 formed a canopy; while intermixed with them, 
 and presenting a beautiful contrast to their glossy 
 dark-green leaves, were numbers of the exquisite
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 47 
 
 Devoniensis roses. Close by played a fountain, its 
 waters falling into a pure white marble basin. 
 
 A slight, very slight haze had arisen, which tem- 
 pered a little the burning heat of the sun, and yet 
 rather increased than diminished the beauty around. 
 Not a breath stirred the trees ; all nature seemed 
 hushed ; the chirp of the birds, the hum of some 
 bees as they flew home to their hives laden with 
 spoil, and the gentle splash, splash of the water, 
 were the only sounds that broke the silence. 
 
 Both children sat gazing at the sights around 
 them, enraptured with their beauty, almost fearing 
 to speak, lest at the sound of their words the whole 
 should vanish as in a tale of fairy land. 
 
 Arthur was the first to break the silence. "Ada, 
 is it not lovely ? and all, all, as you say, the work- 
 manship of the Great King ! How very great he 
 must be ! And, Ada, do you know I can't help 
 being so glad to think he must love what is beauti- 
 ful, or he never would have made the earth so fair." 
 The boy raised his eyes to heaven, as if he found 
 in this thought a bond of union between the Crea- 
 tor and himself. " Ada, speak ! are not you sure 
 he does ?" 
 
 " O yes, I know it, Arthur ; see here !" she said, 
 opening the Bible she held in her hand ; " he tells
 
 48 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 us so in his word. After he had created the world 
 he looked at it, and behold it was very good ; and 
 he loves to look on it still. The Psalmist says, 
 'The Lord rejoiceth in his works;' and, Arthur, 
 look at this verse in the fourth chapter of Revela- 
 tion-; papa showed it to Claude and me one day. 
 After the four-and-twenty elders have cast their 
 crowns before the throne of Jesus, they sing, 
 ' Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and 
 honor, and power : for thou hast created all 
 things, and for thy pleasure they are and were 
 created.' " 
 
 " Yes, Ada, I like that ; read it again. For His 
 pleasure ! O, that is so good. The Great King 
 can see every place ; so he can see this very spot, 
 and rejoice in its beauty. He sees us, too ; and 
 O, Ada, I don't do his will as I should ; and, till 
 you came, I never even used to think of him at all, 
 nor of Jesus, the Son of the Great King. Is he 
 King as well as his Father ? " 
 
 " Yes," answered Ada ; " I asked papa that one 
 day, and he told me he was equal in glory ; and 
 so is the Holy Ghost, who dwells in the hearts ot 
 those who love him, and makes them holy." 
 
 Arthur sat a few minutes lost in thought ; then 
 said, " Ada, tell me again about your dream about
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 49 
 
 the guide and the king's palace." Ada told him 
 all. When she ceased his face was aglow with 
 joy: "I see it so clearly now; yes, your guide 
 must have heen the kind Jesus who, when he was 
 on earth, loved the children and blessed them. I 
 do hope he will be my guide too, and hold me 
 fast. But, Ada, do you know I often think my 
 journey will be a short one. I heard a lady, who 
 was calling on mamma the other day, say to a 
 friend who was with her, ' That boy is not long 
 
 for this world.' Of course she did not know that 
 
 
 
 I heard her. For a moment I could not bear the 
 thought ; but I remembered your dream, and then 
 I felt so glad to think that I would, perhaps with 
 Jesus as my guide, soon reach the palace . of the 
 Great King." 
 
 A rustling of leaves at their back startled the 
 children, and made them look round just as Mr. 
 Willoughby entered the bower, and, sitting down, 
 drew his boy lovingly to his side. Attracted by 
 their voices, he had been drawn to the bower, and 
 had overheard with some surprise their conversa- 
 tion. He had meant to go away without disturb- 
 ing them; but Arthur's last words had sent a 
 thrill through him, and awoke a dread which for 
 some time he had overcome the fearful dread
 
 50 CHILpllEN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 that his loved only son would be early taken away. 
 Not one word could he at first say ; he only pressed 
 a kiss on the boy's forehead, and held him as if to 
 guard him from some threatening danger. 
 
 Arthur was accustomed to his father's caresses, 
 and did not appear to think them anything re- 
 markable in the present instance ; but Ada saw at 
 once how it was, and longed to say a word to com- 
 fort her uncle. But just as she was beginning 
 to say something, in the hope to make him for- 
 get Arthur's words, Claude came running up to 
 them, and said that Miss Manley desired them to 
 come in, as she wished to hear them say their 
 Bible lesson before it was time to go to the 
 evening church. 
 
 Mr. Willoughby released Arthur, and desired 
 him to go in with Claude, and tell Miss Manley 
 that Ada would come presently. " I wish to speak 
 with her for a short time; but don't put off the 
 Bible lesson for her, I will hear her's myself." 
 Both boys were somewhat astonished at their mes- 
 sage, but went off at once, Claude expressing to 
 Arthur his wonder how Ada would like to say her 
 lesson to uncle. 
 
 " O, she wont be frightened a bit ! " Arthur de- 
 clared ; " don't you notice, Claude, when Ada says
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 51 
 
 or reads anything out of the Bible, she seems al- 
 ways as if she were standing in the very presence 
 of the Great King, and forgers all about any one 
 in the room ? " 
 
 Yes, Claude knew quite well the sort of look 
 Ada had then, and said that Arthur was right, and 
 she would have no fear. 
 
 As soon as the boys were out of hearing, Mr. 
 Willoughby said, " Ada, tell me truly, is Arthur 
 ill ? Does he complain ? and if so, why have I not 
 been told ? I overheard your conversation, and 
 made out that the boy thinks he is dying." 
 
 " No, no, uncle, I don't think Arthur quite meant 
 
 I 
 
 that ; only you know he is never very strong, and 
 the lady's remark has made an impression on him. 
 You know he so often broods over a thing ; and 
 even when he spoke, I don't think he thought he 
 was dying or ill now, only that perhaps his jour- 
 ney might not be so long as that of those who were 
 stronger. Indeed, uncle, you must not vex your- 
 self about what he said ; I am sure neither aunt 
 nor Miss Manley thinks he is ill." 
 
 Mr. Willoughby drew a long breath, as if re- 
 lieved. "Well, Ada, I hope you are right; he 
 does not look worse, but we must rouse him, and 
 
 not let him mope. Please God he may be spared 
 4
 
 52 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 to us yet. And now come and tell me about the 
 Great King ; his words you know, Ada, are for old 
 as well as young. Let me see what is the Bible 
 lesson for to-day." 
 
 Ada turned it up. "It is in the twenty-first 
 chapter of St. Luke, from the twenty-fifth verse to 
 the thirty-seventh. It is about the second coming 
 of Jesus, the Son of the Great King, who shall 
 come in a cloud with power and great glory." 
 Solemnly and distinctly Ada repeated the passage 
 so full of instruction and warning. 
 
 Long after she had finished, and at her uncle's 
 bidding had gone in to Miss Manley, he sat still, 
 the words she had spoken echoing in his ears ; and 
 almost unconsciously he repeated over and over 
 the pointed warning, " Take heed to yourself, lest 
 at any time your hearts be overcharged with the 
 cares of this life, and so that day come upon you 
 unawares." As vividly as if a voice from heaven 
 had called him by name, and delivered the words 
 as a message sent to himself, did they now come 
 home to his heart. 
 
 Mr. Willoughby was not a man unmindful of 
 the concerns of his soul, or without a certain de- 
 gree of respect, nay, even love, for the Lord. 
 When a young man he had taken a warm interest
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 53 
 
 in religious things, and still was ever ready with 
 his money, and a good word, to help the cause of 
 the Lord ; but he knew nothing of real fellowship 
 with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. His soul 
 had never thirsted, as the true Christian does, for 
 God, the living God ; he had not realized a personal 
 Saviour. He had once been partially advanced in 
 the knowledge of these things; the light had 
 broken so far, when he had come to a sudden 
 stop, and the light, though not extinguished, 
 had become clouded, neither clear nor dark; 
 and why? 
 
 In the inmost depths of his soul the question 
 was answered. The cares of this life had over- 
 charged his heart ; so much so that, like the inn 
 at Bethlehem, there was no place left for the Sav- 
 iour to dwell there; and were Christ to appear 
 that day, or death to call him to his presence, as a 
 snare it would come upon him and find him un- 
 prepared. What, then, was he to do ? how escape 
 from the evil effects of the cares of this life ? Ada's 
 Bible, which he still retained in his hand, told him 
 the only course to pursue for pardon of sin to 
 wash in the fountain of Jesus's shed blood, and for 
 the future watch and pray. And there, in that 
 lovely bower, amid one of the sweetest scenes of
 
 54 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 the Creator's handiwork, an earnest childlike 
 prayer for pardon and guidance rose to heaven, 
 and was presented by the great Intercessor to the 
 King ; and a song of joy was heard from angels' 
 lips, singing through the courts of heaven, that 
 yet another soul was awakened from spiritual 
 sleep, and was pressing on to the city of the Great 
 King. 
 
 As Mr. Willoughby walked with his wife and 
 children that evening to the house of God, it 
 seemed to him as if he had begun a new existence ; 
 every object in nature appeared clothed in new 
 beauty ; the very rays of the evening sun which 
 fell in showers around, playing on hills and trees 
 and corn-covered fields, and turning the graceful 
 spire of the church to gold, reminded him of the 
 glory before the throne. The service of the sanc- 
 tuary was precious to his soul, refreshing it as the 
 falling dew. Pie noted how earnestly, how sweetly, 
 the childlike voices of Claude, Ada, and his OAvn 
 Arthur chimed in when the evening hymn echoed 
 through the little church. 
 
 " Glory to thee, my God, this night, 
 For all the blessings of the light. 
 Keep me, keep me, King of kings, 
 Under thine own almighty wings 1 "
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 55 
 
 He realized for himself now the blessing of such 
 a keeping. But many in that church knew it not ; 
 wise in the things of time, they lacked the chil- 
 dren's simple faith. Now, just as in the days 
 when Jesus dwelt on the earth, those things are 
 often hid from the wise and prudent, and revealed 
 unto babes. " Even so, Father ; for so it seemeth 
 good in thy sight." 
 
 As they walked home in the subdued evening 
 light, Arthur, who held his father's hand, pointed 
 to a beautiful fleecy cloud, (which lay cradled 
 near the setting sun, " a gleam of crimson tinging 
 its braided snow,") saying, " O papa, mamma, 
 look how lovely ! " 
 
 Both looked, at his request, and acknowledged 
 its beauty ; and Mr. Willoughby, gazing at it as 
 if penetrating into the depths beyond, answered, 
 more his own thoughts than the child's, "Yes, 
 the very balancing of the clouds is the work 
 of the Great King, who is perfect in knowl- 
 edge." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby looked at her husband, some- 
 what puzzled; but Arthur saw in his face the 
 expression of the hidden joy which he had learned 
 to know, and only wondered he had never noticed 
 papa have that look before. Little he dreamed
 
 56 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 that the Lord of glory had made use of the 
 words spoken by him and Ada to rouse from a 
 spiritual torpor the soul of one so dear to them ; 
 thus out of the mouths of babes perfecting his 
 praise.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING, 57 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 " Time passed on ; but not with time 
 Did thoughts of Thee and Thine depart ; 
 
 The lesson of forgetfulness 
 "Was what I could not teach my heart." 
 
 THE discipline in the school-room of Wil- 
 loughby House, under the rule of Miss Manley, 
 had never been of a strict description, Frances 
 and Arthur having been accustomed to do pretty 
 much as they pleased; the boy studying, it is 
 true, but only because he liked to do so, and 
 when he was inclined for it; Frances doing so 
 only in order to be able to answer the questions 
 put to her when Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby made 
 their weekly examination. 
 
 Miss Manley was a highly educated, gentle- 
 minded Christian lady, but totally unfitted, by 
 her want of firmness, for enforcing her authority 
 as a governess on any child inclined to dispute 
 it. Conscientiously desirous of performing her 
 duty, Frances's carelessness and Arthur's fits of 
 absent dreaminess tried her sorely, while her
 
 58 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 (shrinking disposition made her averse to complain 
 to Mrs. Willoughby. 
 
 Ada's presence from the first proved an im- 
 mense advantage ; her steady application to her 
 lessons, and her obedience to orders, were a great 
 assistance to the governess. Abashed by her ex- 
 ample, Frances (in spite of rallying her cousin on 
 her quiet ways) gave up some of her flightiness, 
 and applied herself to her books more steadily; 
 while Arthur, at first stimulated by the sight of 
 Ada's industry, and afterward from higher mo- 
 tives, was now roused from his dreams, and ex- 
 erted himself, not as formerly, in learning those 
 lessons only which pleased himself, but also in 
 preparing those more distasteful to him. 
 
 With joy Miss Manley soon saw the simple, 
 trusting faith which Ada possessed. Love to her 
 Saviour God and submission to his will filled her 
 own heart ; but she was one of his hidden ones, 
 whose timid temperament hindered her from 
 speaking to others, as she often longed to do, of 
 Him whom her soul loved. But her life spoke ; 
 and a widowed mother and young brother in her 
 London home, knowing how much she had sacri- 
 ficed for their sakes, never breathed her name 
 without a blessing, never read her loving letters,
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 59 
 
 filled as they were with the spirit of the Master 
 she served, without having their thoughts raised 
 heavenward, and feeling that the Lord was in- 
 deed an all-sufficient .help to those who trusted 
 in him. 
 
 " Ada, don't you hate commonplace people ? " 
 asked Frances one day as she and her cousin sat 
 alone at work; "people, you know, who just go 
 on day by day, always doing the same thing, and 
 yet not apparently disliking it, never caring much 
 about anything, incapable of either liking or hat- 
 ing; just humdrum people, without an idea be- 
 yond the duty of the present hour, who can do 
 nothing grand or heroic; people, in short, like 
 Miss Manley, well enough in her way, but, as 
 Lucy Roscoe said, (the week she spent here,) as 
 uninteresting as those stupid zoophytes that 
 Arthur talks about, that are rooted to one spot, 
 and belong half to the animal, half to the vegeta- 
 ble kingdom." 
 
 Ada looked up, perfectly amazed at her curious 
 way of talking. " O, Frances, indeed Miss Man- 
 ley is not at all commonplace. Think how smart 
 she is. Don't you remember uncle said the other 
 day that he knew few ladies who had read so 
 much and so thoughtfully as Miss Manley? As
 
 60 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 to her doing anything grand or heroic,- 1 don't 
 know exactly what you mean by that. I think it 
 is a very grand thing to be able to do what is 
 right, as she does, and she is always so kind and 
 patient." 
 
 "There now, Ada, that will do; I forgot you 
 always sing Miss Mauley's praises, and, as to her 
 being patient, that is just the thing I dislike the 
 most. If she were not that, if one could rouse 
 her into a fury, I would like it ten times better 
 than that martyr air she puts on when I do all I 
 can to provoke her. Yes, I would like to have a 
 governess who was a heroine of some sort, and 
 then, you know, I could respect her." 
 
 A heroine ! Well, Miss Manley would certainly 
 have disdained any right to such a title; but 
 there were some who, knowing the story of her 
 life, thought her more worthy of the name than 
 many who have earned it. Once, in the country 
 town where Mr. Manley was the wealthy flourish- 
 ing banker, the favorite topic for a whole week 
 was the approaching marriage of his only daugh- 
 ter to the second son of a gentleman of property 
 in the neighborhood, a young officer in the army. 
 Some wondered th^at Mr. Manley allowed his 
 pretty daughter to make such a match, as the
 
 CHILDREN" OF THE GREAT KING. 61 
 
 world said Captain Ainsworth possessed nothing 
 save his pay, and pretty Mary Manley might at 
 least have made a wealthier marriage. But in- 
 stead of a marriage came death: From house to 
 house sped the sad news, Mr. Manley was dead; 
 suddenly, very suddenly, from what cause it was 
 scarcely known, only it was whispered he had 
 been thrown into a fearful state of agitation by 
 the receipt of a letter. 
 
 Reports spread ; a panic was raised ; a run on 
 the bank feared ; but confidence was restored by 
 the open declaration of the Manleys' solicitor, that, 
 though he grieved to say Mr. Manley's own for- 
 tune had been completely lost through the failure 
 of an unfortunate speculation, the bank was safe. 
 His late friend, imprudent as he had been in thus 
 venturing his own fortune, was not one to have 
 tampered with the money intrusted to his care. 
 
 That the marriage was postponed was a matter 
 of course ; but as a few weeks passed on, rumor, 
 with its busy tongue, said it was broken off, and, 
 not content with stating facts, added as the cause, 
 that, Mary Manley's fortune having disappeared, 
 Captain Ainsworth's love had grown cold, and he 
 had broken off the match. 
 
 But rumor in this matter, as in many others,
 
 62 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 spoke falsely. The marriage was broken off, but 
 from no mercenary motives on. Captain Ains- 
 worth's part. Willingly would he have carried 
 it out, and borne off his bride from the poverty 
 which was now her lot ; but Mary how could 
 she bear to leave her mother unprovided for, and 
 her young brother also, who had just begun to 
 study for a doctor ? A small house in the sub- 
 urbs of London and $400 a year was all that was 
 left to the widow and children, once accustomed 
 to every comfort. Mary hesitated not, fondly as 
 she loved Herbert Ainsworth ; her love for him 
 must be subordinated to her duty to her parent, 
 She determined for some years to go as governess, 
 and thus enable her brother to finish his course at 
 college; and then, but not till then, she felt, 
 when he was able to provide for himself and his 
 mother, that she might become the wife of Cap- 
 tain Ainsworth. 
 
 She told him her plans, but he was too indig- 
 nant to hear her out, or listen to reason. If she 
 had loved him as he did her she would never 
 have made such a proposal. What ! put off their 
 marriage till they were both old people? Not 
 he indeed ; six months he would wait, out of 
 respect to her father's memory, but not a day
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 63 
 
 longer. JECe allow his Mary to go as a governess ; 
 never ! 
 
 Calmly Mary stood her ground: too strongly 
 her own wishes were, identical with his ; but she 
 was a servant of the Great King, and,she must do 
 that w r hich his law and her own conscience told 
 her was right. Let the consequences be what 
 they might, she saw the path she ought to pursue, 
 and would not be turned aside. In vain she re- 
 minded Herbert that in four years he would only 
 be twenty-seven, she scarce twenty-two ; not so 
 very old surely, and by that time Frank's college 
 expenses would be over, and then she would feel 
 free to marry. 
 
 But reasoning and remonstrances were alike in 
 vain ; and with a soreness of heart not to be de- 
 scribed, she, taking off her ring of engagement, 
 told Herbert that from henceforth he was free, 
 but she must follow the path of duty. He list- 
 ened to her in a passion too great for words, 
 bowed coldly, thanked her for setting him free, 
 and, without vouchsafing her another word, shook 
 hands and parted. 
 
 Not a heroine ! Frances Willoughby, could 
 you have seen Mary Manley in the night hours 
 for long weeks after that day, and have realized,
 
 64 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 even in the slightest degree, her mental agony, 
 even you would ever after have ceased to look 
 with contempt on your gentle governess, and 
 allowed her sacrifice to he one deserving of the 
 name ! 
 
 Bitterly did mother and brother feel that they 
 should, however unwillingly, have been the cause 
 of Mary's trouble. But she knew she had chosen 
 the best way ; she had implored the guidance of 
 the Lord, and sought his counsel about the mat- 
 ter, and so she knew all would be well. Often 
 she said to herself, " By and by I shall feel better ; 
 my heart will surely not always ache thus. 
 When I am settled as a governess, and must give 
 my attention to other things, it will cease to be 
 so." And three years she had now been in Mr. 
 Willoughby's family, and, save in the one fault of 
 strict discipline, she had fulfilled all her duties. 
 
 Yet she had to confess her heart ached still ; 
 and whenever she heard the name of Ainsworth, 
 a great sickness came over her from some unex- 
 plained cause. She heard Mr. Willoughby read 
 aloud the name of Herbert Ainsworth's regiment 
 
 "N. 
 
 as one of those ordered to the seat of war, and the 
 color suddenly left her cheek, and a strange rush- 
 ing was in her ears; but she fainted not. She
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KIXG. 65 
 
 said to herself, Herbert was nothing to her, noth- 
 ing. Most likely he was married by this time, 
 " only, you know, one can't help feeling anxious 
 about an old friend." No one had observed her 
 paleness, so no remark was made ; none knew her 
 sorrow; her own sore and her own grief, like 
 those of many another, were known only to her- 
 self and to the Great King, who, though he in- 
 habiteth eternity, "knoweth the hearts of the 
 children of men," and bindeth up the broken 
 spirit. 
 
 That night as Miss Manley knelt in prayer she 
 realized, as she had never fully done before, the 
 privilege of being not only permitted, but en- 
 treated to cast all her care upon the Lord, for he 
 careth for her.
 
 66 CHILDEEN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take 
 up his cross and follow me. MARK viii, 84. 
 
 THE feelings which had stirred Mr. Willough- 
 by's heart on that Sabbath we have written of 
 were no mere evanescent ones, but the work of 
 the Holy Spirit within him. 
 
 He was as a man who woke up suddenly and 
 found that he had been sleeping when he should 
 have been journeying on important business to a 
 far-off town, and who determined to make up for 
 lost time by extra speed. His whole heart was 
 yielded up to his God, and from that time his one 
 resolve was, " As for me and my house, we will 
 serve the Lord." 
 
 Family worship had never been neglected, sa- 
 cred things never despised there ; but now they 
 were pervaded with a new spirit no formal ut- 
 terances merely, but the glowing expressions of a 
 loving heart. Servants and children alike noticed 
 the change. Ada and Arthur, children-like, did 
 not seek to find out a reason for the change, only
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 67 
 
 they felt they could talk to Mr. Willoughby now 
 as they once could not. 
 
 "Papa knows so well what one feels," said 
 Arthur, "and reads "one's very thoughts even 
 when you would rather he did not ; and, do you 
 know, he finds it is not always easy to do what is 
 right, just as we feel. To-day, when I had finished 
 the Latin lesson he always gives me, he looked 
 out, and said he should go now for a ride, the day 
 was so beautiful ; and he would perhaps call at 
 Mr. Marshman's, and make arrangements about 
 the picnic we are to have next week. Well, just 
 then William the butler came in with a whole lot 
 of papers in his hand, and said that these were 
 the estimates for the new cottages papa is build- 
 ing near the large meadow, and Mr. Sandford 
 would be obliged by his letting him know as soon 
 as convenient if they pleased him. Papa looked 
 vexed, but said, ' Very well, he would see about 
 them,' stood a moment undecided, then, taking 
 up the papers in his hand, sat down at his desk. 
 ' Aint you going to ride, papa ? ' I said. ' No,' 
 he answered, * I cannot now, for these papers. will 
 occupy me a long time, and you know I cannot 
 put them off till the evening, as we have friends 
 
 dining with us, and I must settle about them to- 
 
 5
 
 68 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 day. I would far rather have taken the ride, 
 Arthur, but "duty before pleasure;" and you. 
 know we are not put into this world to do only 
 those things which please ourselves. The Great 
 King tells us to deny ourselves ; and he tells us 
 in his word, to be " not slothful in business, fer- 
 vent in spirit, serving the Lord." So you see the 
 ride must wait, and these accounts be done, and 
 the sooner the better. So, my boy, you must go 
 for the present.' 
 
 " And, Ada, ever since," continued Arthur, " I 
 have been thinking how strange it is that papa also 
 has to do things he does not like, just like us chil- 
 dren ; but then he does it always to please the Great 
 King. I wish I could do that too, Ada, always ; 
 but it is sometimes so hard to do to have to leave 
 off reading some curious story, or beautiful poem, 
 just because the school-bell rings ; or to stop ar- 
 ranging my case of butterflies because Frances 
 says, ' O, Arthur, come and see this ! ' or, do you 
 know to-day I felt just the same when papa called 
 mo to come to my Latin lesson five minutes earlier 
 than usual. These are the sorts of things I feel so 
 wrong about, and at the time I forget to ask the 
 Great King to help me to do right. Ada, do you 
 feel so?"
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 69 
 
 " Yes," Ada told him, " often, often ;" and then 
 they began to wonder why people felt it so diffi- 
 cult to do the right thing. " O, if Eve had not 
 taken the apple, then, you know, no one would 
 ever have wished to do wrong." 
 
 All unconsciously they were verging to a sub- 
 ject which has puzzled the heads of so-called wise 
 men for ages the permission of evil. Well for 
 the children, who truly were getting beyond their 
 depth, that the school-bell rung; and, finding it 
 better to obey than reason, they ran off. And it 
 would be well for the so-called wise men if, leav- 
 ing fruitless speculations, they listened to the voice 
 of Him who cannot lie, who has promised that 
 "what we know not now, we shall know here- 
 after." 
 
 The terror Mr. Willoughby had taken about his 
 boy's health had not altogether subsided. There 
 was an increased brightness in his eye, a more deli- 
 cate color in his cheeks, and a marked want of 
 strength. Anxiously did both father and mother 
 watch these symptoms, and at once consulted the 
 doctor who had attended him from his birth. He 
 examined the boy, but said little, except that there 
 was no cause for present alarm ; indeed, he thought 
 the child no worse than usual ; desired him to be
 
 70 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 kept as much as possible in the open air, but not 
 allowed to overtire himself; not to overwoi-k him 
 at his lessons ; at the same time by no means to 
 let him give them up, as they occupied his mind, 
 which inclined too much to prey on itself; but 
 with care he saw no cause for present anxiety. 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby seemed relieved by the doc- 
 tor's opinion ; but his father had caught a strong 
 accent on the word " present," and a cloud of anx- 
 iety rested on his heart. Once such a cloud would 
 have bowed him to the ground in despair; now it 
 led him to the mercy-seat, to ask for grace to help 
 in time of need, for strength to learn in all things 
 to say, " Thy will, not mine, be done." 
 
 He now kept a greater oversight of the children 
 than he had formerly done, instructing the three 
 in Bible lessons every day, opening up the Scrip- 
 tures to them. Frances took pleasure in these les- 
 sons because she liked to be taught by her papa; 
 the others, because they learned more to know the 
 will of the Great King. 
 
 One day they read of Josiah, the young king of 
 Judah, son of Amon, how he did that which was 
 right in the sight of the Lord, and declined not to 
 the right hand nor to the left. " Notice, children," 
 said Mr. Willoughby, " while he was yet young
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 71 
 
 he began to seek after God, and made all the idols 
 and the carved images be removed, that God might 
 reign alone ; and he repaired the house of the Lord, 
 and made the words of the law, which the Great 
 King had imparted to Moses, and which had long 
 lain neglected, be read aloud to all the people ; 
 and he himself, going up to the house of God, and 
 standing before the people, declared, before the 
 Lord, that his desire was to keep his command- 
 ments and his statutes with his whole heart, and 
 to do the things which were written in the Book." 
 
 Arthur listened eagerly to his father's words, 
 and, waiting till the others had gone away, begged 
 him to tell him what he could do for God. " You 
 know, papa, there are no idols here that I can 
 throw down, no church I can repair, no people I 
 can read the Bible to who know it not." 
 
 " No idols here, you say, Arthur ? What if I 
 were to tell you there are, and that I have noticed 
 several times there is one you worship and obey ? " 
 
 " Me, papa, obey an idol ! O no, no." * 
 
 " Yes, Arthur, the idol you can, by God's help, 
 cast down, is Self. Too often I see you obey its 
 voice rather than that of the Great King. Only on 
 Saturday last I heard Claude ask you three times 
 over, when you were looking over the large book
 
 72 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 of prints, to come out and have a game with him ; 
 and your answer was, ' Presently, when I am tired 
 of this book, but not now.' " 
 
 "Yes, papa, I remember; Claude was vexed, 
 and said he had promised Frances and Ada to walk 
 with them in a short time, and unless I could come 
 at once we could not have the game ; and I said, 
 ' Well, it could wait till some other time.' But 
 that was a very small thing, papa ; surely that was 
 not obeying the commands of Self; that could not 
 be like worshiping an idol." 
 
 "First tell me what is an idol," said Mr. Wil- 
 loughby. 
 
 " O, anything that we put in the place of God, 
 and care more for than we do for him ; you told 
 us so the other day." 
 
 " Well, Arthur, how are we to show our love to 
 God save by doing his commands? What says 
 he in his word? ' Be ye kind one to another, ten- 
 derhearted, forgiving one another, even as God 
 fj?r Christ's sake hath forgiven you.' (Eph. iv, 32.) 
 Please" not yourself; even Christ pleased not him- 
 self. But the idol Self tells you only to do those 
 things which are agreeable and pleasant to you, 
 and not to care about the pleasures of others at all. 
 JSTow, when you refused Claude's simple request
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 73 
 
 whom did you obey, the Great King or Self? 
 "Well, if you would do what is pleasing to the 
 Lord, strive to cast down that idol within your 
 heart, that the Holy -Spirit may dwell there alone. 
 In, the strength of the Lord Josiah did all things, 
 and it is by his help alone that you can do so also. 
 Self, my boy, is a great stumbling-stone in your 
 way to the palace of the Great King. Ask the 
 Guide who holds your hand, even Jesus, to lift 
 . you right over it, so that you fall not." 
 
 Mr. Willoughby spoke very earnestly, for he 
 saw that a great fault in Arthur's character was 
 indulging self. Made an object of care and solici- 
 tude from infancy, this trait in his character was 
 fostered and increased, and, but for the grace of 
 God, would spread and hinder his heavenward way. 
 
 Arthur owned the truth of his father's words ; 
 and as he was, not in word only, but in reality, 
 seeking to walk in the narrow way, he became 
 most desirous to conquer self, to be a true follower 
 of Him who came into the world not to be minis- 
 tered unto, but to minister. 
 
 The children of the Great King of whom we 
 write were not perfect ; but becoming changed, as 
 it were, from glory to glory, pressing on to the 
 kingdom.
 
 74 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 " Let those refuse to sing 
 
 Who never knew our God, 
 But servants of the heavenly King 
 
 Should speak their joys abroad. 
 The hill of Zion yields 
 
 A thousand sacred sweets, 
 Before we reach the heavenly fields, 
 
 Or walk the golden streets." 
 
 " ISN'T this a glorious morning for our picnic, 
 Miss Manley?" were the words which greeted 
 that lady's ears as she entered the school-room 
 one Saturday morning, and found Frances, Ada, 
 Arthur, and Claude preparing already for the 
 long-talked of picnic. 
 
 They were wild with delight. Several friends 
 were to join them the Mitford girls from Ashton 
 Park, as well as Mr. Marshman and his pupils. 
 Papa and mamma and Miss Manley were to ac- 
 company them ; and after a long drive they were 
 to climb up a hill, and have dinner under some 
 fine old trees, from which spot one of the finest 
 views of the neighboring country was to be had. 
 Claude and Arthur had armed themselves with
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 75 
 
 small hammers and tin cases to get specimens of 
 stones, and particularly of the bright pink marble 
 which abounds in these parts ; and the girls also 
 carried small botanical cases, hoping to collect 
 wild flowers, and perhaps get some new kind of 
 fern for the fernery. 
 
 By ten o'clock the whole party had assembled ; 
 the carriage and little wagon were at the door ; 
 and, after a large amount of bustle and commo- 
 tion, Mr. Willoughby succeeded in getting them 
 all seated and fairly started, all declaring loudly 
 it was a shame not to let dear little Minnie come 
 also ; but mamma would by no means consent to 
 such a proposal, telling them Minnie would soon 
 get wearied and wish to go home. 
 
 On they drove through shady lanes, past ver- 
 dant meadows and rich corn-fields, where the 
 reapers were busy at work, pausing only a mo- 
 ment as the party passed by, to gaze at the 
 bright, happy young faces, and, it may be, heave 
 a sigh that their own lot was one of toil ; but for 
 all that they wished in their hearts that the young 
 people might have a pleasant day. Presently the 
 road passed along the foot of a beautifully wooded 
 hill, the trees overshadowing the carriages as they 
 passed. A little further on and the sea, sparkling
 
 76 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 under the rays of an August sun, burst on their 
 sight. 
 
 Where is the child who exults not at the sight 
 of the sea, wild^ free, and boundless, coming from 
 where they know not, leading to lands unknown ? 
 Or is it that in its ever changing, restless waves 
 they feel a response to the ever surging emotions 
 of their own young hearts ? 
 
 But the road once more strikes inland ; the 
 party alight at an old-fashioned farm-house, and, 
 leaving the horses to be put up, proceed to 
 clamber up a neighboring hill. The elders of the 
 party proceed leisurely, and at first try to keep a 
 sort of order among the youngsters ; but finding 
 this impossible, resign the task with a smile, only 
 insisting that the young people wait at the top till 
 they join them. 
 
 Promising to do so, they set off, Frances and 
 Ada taking the lead with the girls, and Claude 
 with the boys. They agreed that they would go 
 straight up to the top of the hill, and then set 
 some game a-going ; and if going straight up 
 meant darting aside first to one part, then to an- 
 other, in search of some flower or insect, and 
 running always further into the wood, because 
 some new beauty struck their eye, they certainly
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KIXG. 77 
 
 accomplished their plan. But when they did ar- 
 rive at the top they were rather surprised to find 
 that the slow walkers, as they termed the older 
 division of the party, had arrived before them, 
 having really kept to the right road. 
 
 Mr. Marshman taunted them with being slug- 
 gards, and related in a most humorous way the 
 fable of the hare and the tortoise. The story was 
 received with shouts of laughter. They had all 
 heard it often before, but what of that ? it does 
 not take much to make one laugh when the heart 
 is gay, and one is at a picnic. 
 
 An open part of the hill was discovered, the 
 very place for games, and there for some time 
 they were carried on, the boys jumping, wrest- 
 ling, running races, etc., the girls at quieter 
 plays : croquet was not yet become a prevailing 
 mania, so blind man's buff, puss in the corner, 
 through the needle-eye, and the like, did instead. 
 Frances, had the Miss Roscoes been there, might 
 have pronounced those . games decidedly childish 
 ,and slow, and rather have preferred to join the 
 sports of the boys, as more suitable to the tastes 
 of those young ladies who are desirous of ap- 
 proaching as nearly as possible to the other sex. 
 But, away from the influence of her foolish cousins,
 
 78 CHILDKEN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 Frances was becoming more natural, and thor- 
 oughly enjoyed herself. 
 
 The games finished, the great sport was to assist 
 in laying out the dinner. A beautiful spot was 
 chosen, shaded partly by the trees, and yet open 
 enough to let the eye wander over an extensive 
 view of hill and dale, and the more distant sea. 
 Close by murmured a little brook, clear as crystal, 
 here dashing over its rocky bed, hasting away to 
 the ocean. The dinner disappeared in some mar- 
 velous way amid a perfect flow of talk and laugh- 
 ter, drowning the song of the larks that soared 
 overhead, and startling the wood-pigeons from 
 their gentle cooing. 
 
 Then began a vigorous search for wild flowers, 
 ferns, stones, and the pink marble, some of which 
 was to be found in the neighborhood. Some of 
 the children, accompanied by Mr. Willoughby, 
 followed the course of the little river a good way. 
 In some parts it was very beautiful, cutting out a 
 bed for itself through rocks overshadowed by 
 trees, through the varied green of which quivered- 
 the rays of the sun, resting not till they touched 
 the water and played on its ripples. Beautiful 
 species of ferns grew on the banks, and many 
 delicately tinted wild flowers raised their slender
 
 The Picnic P>.r'v.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 81 
 
 forms there, seeming as if they also loved the wild 
 spot ; and the dog-roses threw clusters of their 
 bright-colored berries over the stream, as if to 
 repay it for the refreshing moisture with which it 
 supplied their roots. 
 
 Ada was especially charmed with the beauties 
 of the place. All was new to her, and she fancied 
 everything in this wooded hill looked fair and 
 fresh, as it must have done the very morning of 
 the creation, while it still wore the impress of the 
 Creator's hand. She could have loitered there for 
 ever, but a proposal was made to leave the rivulet 
 and go elsewhere ; but before they went, Claude 
 struck up (and was soon joined by the voices of 
 the others) the song of the brook : 
 
 "I come from haunts of coot and hern, 
 
 I make a sudden sally ; 
 And sparkle out among the fern 
 
 To bicker down a valley. 
 By thirty hills I hurry down, 
 
 Or slip between the ridges ; 
 By twenty thorps, a little town, 
 
 And half a hundred bridges." 
 
 The song described so exactly the little brook 
 before them that some of the youngsters thought 
 Claude had improvised it for the occasion, and ap- 
 plauded accordingly. The woods echoed back the 
 chorus, then let it softly die away ; and, leaving
 
 82 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 the little brook to its accustomed solitude, the 
 party started off in another direction. 
 
 Of all the merry party that day none were more 
 BO than Claude, Ada, and Arthur; distinguished 
 only by a greater willingness to yield up their 
 own wishes to the rest, by a greater eagerness 
 not to please themselves so much as others. Mr. 
 Marshman noticed Ada's behavior all that day 
 closely ; he wished to judge for himself if Claude's 
 account of his sister was a true one, and if so, if 
 he could find it out by her conduct. For Claude 
 had told him that, whatever he was himself, he 
 was quite sure Ada was a child of the Great 
 King. 
 
 Now Mr. Marshman remembered that there are 
 certain tests revealed in the will of the King 
 whereby his children may be known : these are 
 love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, good- 
 ness, meekness, temperance, faith ; and he looked 
 to see some marks of these in Ada. He was not 
 long in doubt : in her gentle courtesy, her willing- 
 ness to help the others, and her complete unselfish- 
 ness, he read her right to the title her brother had 
 given her. 
 
 One little incident confirmed his opinion. With 
 great delight Ada had shown him a beautiful plant
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 83 
 
 of the Adiantum capillus veneris fern. " I just 
 require it," she said, " to make up my collection. 
 Is it not a beauty ?" 
 
 Just then Bertha Mitford came running up. 
 " O, Ada, what a lucky girl you are, to have got a 
 plant of that ! I would give anything to get one, 
 for Charlotte and I have looked for it for weeks, 
 and have not got one." 
 
 A moment Ada stood irresolute, a bright flush 
 mantling her cheek. Words of the Great King 
 were before her eyes. "Be ye kind one to an- 
 other." The next she was begging Bertha to ac- 
 cept the fern ; begging her in such a pleasant way 
 that the girl did not see the giving it up had 
 cost her a struggle, and she took it with many 
 thanks. 
 
 Mr. Marshman had watched the scene, and ob- 
 served Ada's mental struggle. He put his hand 
 kindly on her shoulder, saying, " 'A new command- 
 ment,' said the Son of the King, ere he left the 
 earth, ' I give unto you ; that ye love one another, 
 as I have loved you. By this shall all men know 
 that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to 
 another.' " 
 
 Ada looked up smilingly at the words. " O, 
 but it was such a little thing to do, and she
 
 84 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 did so wish it." Then she bounded off with a 
 step light as a young fawn, the brightest of the 
 bright young band. 
 
 Who dare say that religion is a gloomy thing ; 
 that the servants of Satan, who groan under his 
 iron yoke here, and have in prospect nought but 
 endless misery hereafter, are the happy ones, while 
 the redeemed children of the King of kings, to 
 whom belong all the cheering promises and the 
 certainty of never-ending bliss, are to be condoled 
 with as sad and melancholy creatures ? Ay, who 
 suggests such an idea, save he who was a liar from 
 the beginning, even the father of lies ? Listen not 
 to him ; answer him in the only language he fears, 
 the language of the Great King ; tell him it is 
 false : " The children of Zion are joyful in their 
 King ;" on their banners, emblazoned in letters of 
 gold, stand the words, " Rejoicing in the Lord." 
 Through trials and sorrows, through life, and 
 even in the dark shadow of death, they, and 
 they only, can say, " We joy in God through 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have 
 now received the atonement;" and the dark 
 valley passed, the river crossed, the city of 
 everlasting day entered, what hear we' there? 
 The voice of a great multitude of redeemed ones,
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 85 
 
 who sing, " Halleluiah ! the Lord God omnipotent 
 reigneth." Let us be glad and rejoice, and give 
 honor to him. 
 
 While the party were thus roaming about, Ar- 
 thur, tired with the day's unwonted fatigues, was 
 lying quietly by his father's side ; now showing ' 
 him the different stones and beautiful pieces of 
 marble he had collected, now tranquilly enjoying 
 the lovely view before him, his eye resting now 
 on the darkly wooded hills, now on the bright 
 blue sea, glimpses of which were caught here and 
 there through the openings of the trees ; and the 
 white sails of the ships, as they glided past, glim- 
 mered in the bright sunshine. Close by babbled 
 the little stream ; a gentle breeze murmured among 
 the leafy trees, and swept gently over the long 
 grass. It was as if nature were singing a more 
 than usually sweet hymn of praise. The whish, 
 whish of the trees ; the ripple, ripple of the 
 brook ; the soft cooing of the doves ; and the 
 chirp, chirp of many of the feathered tribe, 
 all mingled, and produced a dreary, slumberous 
 feeling. 
 
 Father and son sat long in silence. At last Mr. 
 Willoughby broke it, repeating distinctly words 
 
 which the scene had suggested to him: "O 
 6
 
 86 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 Lord my God, thou art very great : who cov- 
 erest thyself with light as with a garment ; who 
 stretchest out the heavens like a curtain. He 
 sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run 
 among the hills. They give drink to every 
 beast in the forest ; by them the fowls of heaven 
 have their habitation, which sing among the 
 branches." 
 
 " O, papa, how true all that is !" said Arthur. 
 " Do you know I have just been thinking, although 
 that brook is such a little one, how useful it is. 
 Look how green everything is that grows near it, 
 how fresh the trees and flowers are, how the little 
 birds love it, and how merry it seems. That, I 
 suppose, is because it is never idle ; and yet 
 all the time it is flowing on, on to its eternity, 
 the ocean. I wish I could be like it, always 
 working usefully, always happy, yet never for- 
 getting the end. Papa, say something to me, 
 something of Milton's. I never weary of hearing 
 his poems." 
 
 He listened with delight as his father repeated 
 long passages from "Paradise Lost." Nature 
 around them seemed fair as that of paradise, and 
 both felt as if the poet merely gave expression to 
 their own inner thoughts.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 87 
 
 * These are thy glorious works, Parent of good 1 
 
 Almighty ! thine this universal frame, 
 
 Thus wondrons fair ; thyself how wondrous then I" 
 
 They were interrupted by Claude, who, buoyant 
 with health and spirits, came dashing down upon 
 them. " Poetizing, Arthur, I declare ; and uncle 
 too ! Come, that is too bad, when we are all wait- 
 ing for you to join in a game. Come along, and 
 leave Milton for some other time." 
 
 Arthur rose quickly, but Mr. Willoughby stopped 
 him. "No, Claude, Arthur has had more than 
 enough of fatigue to-day, and had better rest a 
 while ; so go off, and leave us in peace to our 
 poetizing, as you call it." 
 
 Claude's eye rested on Arthur, and his flushed 
 cheek and wearied appearance showed him at a 
 glance that his uncle was right ; and in his impet- 
 eous, kind-hearted fashion, he volunteered to stay 
 with him and cheer him a bit : " Only, Arthur, I 
 am not going to quote Milton to you, for, to tell 
 you the truth, I don't care much about him. I 
 like poems aBout battles. To be sure, there are 
 battles in ' Paradise Lost ' too, but not the kind I 
 care about. Do you know Macaulay's 'Lays?' 
 they are splendid. Here goes for his Henry of 
 Navarre!" And, standing up, he declaimed it
 
 88 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 with great spirit, ending with the declaration, 
 " That's what I call something of a poem ; that is 
 the kind of soldier I mean to be." Then, without 
 waiting for further remarks, he ran off, suddenly 
 remembering he had promised the others to come 
 back immediately. 
 
 Mr. Willoughby and Arthur looked after him, 
 laughing at his abrupt departure. "Papa," said 
 Arthur, " is he not a splendid fellow ? and wont 
 he make a famous soldier ?" 
 
 " Yes, he certainly is a fine boy, and has a true 
 soldier spirit. I wish his father could have seen 
 him now. I am glad you and your cousins get on 
 so well, Arthur ; you love them both, don't you ?" 
 
 "Yes, papa, that I do. Ada is so good and 
 kind, and pretty too ; and Claude you don't 
 know how I admire him. I believe he'll be a hero 
 Borne day. I never read of Leonidas, Bonaparte, 
 or the Duke of Wellington, without thinking 
 Claude will be like some of these." 
 
 Mr. Willoughby smiled at the different sorts of 
 men Arthur had fixed upon for Claude to resemble, 
 but was pleased to hear his boy speak so fondly of 
 his cousin. 
 
 The day was indeed a happy one to all parties, 
 one of those days to be long remembered with
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 89 
 
 pleasure, and looked back upon when the cares 
 and trials of life are pressing on the hearts so 
 young and light now.; and, perchance, with the 
 very remembrance thereof, would spring up softer 
 feelings and holier thoughts, redolent of leafy trees, 
 silvery streams, flowers, birds, summer sunshine, 
 and often also of loved ones who since that day 
 have fallen asleep in Jesus. 
 
 Just as the party were leaving the hill prepara- 
 tory to getting into the carriages on the way home, 
 Mr. Marshman put into Ada's hand a plant of the 
 fern she had given to Bertha Mitford. "I was 
 determined to find one," he said jokingly, " in 
 order that you might not think yourself the only 
 successful searcher of the party. And see, here it 
 is for you ; you can call it the Marshman hair fern, 
 if you like, in remembrance of me. Long ago a 
 decoction used to be made from its juice, called 
 capillaire, which, it was said, made ladies' hair 
 beautiful." 
 
 Ada's look thanked him more than her words-, 
 and she drove home, holding her treasure with no 
 small delight. 
 
 The sun was far down in the west when the 
 picnic party arrived at Willoughby House, all 
 pleased and happy, but willing, ere the night was
 
 90 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 far advanced, to seek their couches, and go over 
 the pleasures of the day in" dreams. 
 
 Long may they continue to find happiness in 
 such simple joys, long retain the childlike spirit 
 which seeks and finds amid the scenes of nature 
 the purest pleasure !
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 91 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall 
 abide under the shadow of the Almighty. PSA. xci, 1. 
 
 WHILE the Percy children were passing their 
 time thus quietly in their pleasant Devonshire 
 home, far other were the scenes in which their 
 father mingled. 
 
 The English and French armies were still await- 
 ing at Varna the command to set out for the 
 Crimea, and commence the attack on the strongly 
 fortified town of Sebastopol. Somewhat impa- 
 tiently they waited ; all longed for action, many 
 chafed under the delay; but as long as possible 
 the order was kept back. While waiting this, 
 cholera attacked first the French army, afterward 
 the English : fearful was the loss of life. Rumors, 
 perhaps exaggerated, reached our country, and 
 penetrated to the homes of Devon, where many a 
 house, like other counties in the kingdom, pos- 
 sessed dear ones in that army. 
 
 A letter from Colonel Percy to his children told 
 the real facts of the case, which, although less
 
 92 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 fearful than common report, were still bad enough. 
 An extract from his letter we give : 
 
 " DEABEST CHILDREN, In spite of many press- 
 ing duties, I seize one quiet moment to write to 
 you. Ere this time you have heard what devasta- 
 tion cholera is making both in our army and that 
 of the French. The real state of things is bad 
 enough, but newspaper reports will make them 
 worse ; so I caution you not to believe all you 
 hear. Well do I know how anxious you will be 
 to hear of my safety ; and, thank God, I am in as 
 good health as I have ever been in my life, though 
 cast down, it is true, by the death and illness of 
 many loved comrades, and by the sufferings 
 around. 
 
 " Solemn feeling, that in the very midst of life 
 we are in death ! But yet, dear ones, I am able 
 to say of the Great King, 'He is my refuge, and 
 my fortress; my God, in him will I trust.' Under 
 the cover of his wings I am not afraid for the 
 pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the 
 destruction that wasteth at noonday. To live 
 amid such scenes, and have no abiding trust in 
 God, no assurance of interest in Christ, were sad 
 ^ndeed.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KIXG. 93 
 
 " Dear children, if you could hear, as I do, from 
 many lips, the mournful, wailing regrets that 
 Christ was not sought. after in health, you would 
 feel in truth the great importance of not putting 
 off coming to Jesus till death comes. I have been 
 by many death-beds, able, I trust, to help and 
 comfort some. 
 
 " One dear friend, by whose bed I had sat for 
 many days, looking for his death, (and longing to 
 hear one word from his lips to tell of his hope in 
 Christ, of which I could know nothing,) this 
 morning, to the amazement of all, has rallied, and 
 the doctor thinks he is in a fair way of recovery. 
 The first words he said were, ' Pray, pray ; death 
 has been very near me, and I was not prepared; 
 I have never thought of my God in the days of 
 health, as I should. If he spares me, with his 
 help my life shall be a different one. Say that 
 verse again : " If any man sin, we have an advo- 
 cate [I finished it] with the Father, Jesus Christ 
 the righteous ; and he is the propitiation for our 
 sins." ' "While repeating the words he fell asleep, 
 and awoke much better. He is a young officer of 
 the name of Ains worth, with whom I have only 
 lately become acquainted ; but I knew his father 
 some years ago, when our regiment was quar
 
 94 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KIXG. 
 
 tered in Yorkshire, in which county he had a 
 property. 
 
 " In Claude's last letter he asks me how I can 
 endure to stop here doing nothing while all that 
 fighting is going on, and exalts the brave conduct 
 of the young Englishmen who went to the imme- 
 diate help of the Turks ; but Claude, my boy, you 
 forget that a soldier is fully doing his duty when 
 he is obeying the orders of his leader whosoever 
 he may be. He must learn to wait as well as 
 fight, and it can never be a soldier's part to ques- 
 tion whether his leader is giving right orders or 
 not. When he gives the word, all are ready, nay, 
 longing to go ; but till then our duty is to wait in 
 patience. . If every soldier were to do only that 
 which was right in his own eyes, where were dis- 
 cipline, and what would our army be worth? 
 And if this be so in earthly things, how much 
 more so in heavenly ? Our duty must always be 
 to obey not our own inclinations, but the orders 
 of the Captain of our own salvation: where he 
 points the way, to follow; where he forbids 
 us to go, to go not. An earthly leader may 
 err, the Great King can never. The young 
 Englishmen you write of are noble fellows ; 
 and as they were then under no command, they
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 95 
 
 were fully justified in acting the bold part they 
 did. 
 
 " But do not be afraid, Claude ; we are not 
 going to leave all the honor to them. We put 
 full trust in our commander, and know that when 
 the right time comes he will not hang back. 
 Already reports are going that orders from En- 
 gland have arrived, telling us to set off. If so, 
 none will rejoice more than your affectionate 
 father, who commends you both, now and always, 
 to the loving protection of your Father in heaven, 
 who is present everywhere." 
 
 Ada's voice trembled as she read the letter, and 
 her heart failed, her. She saw nothing but danger 
 on all hands for her father. Even if he escaped 
 cholera, still there was the danger of the battle- 
 fields before him. The danger he was in had 
 never come so forcibly before her, and Claude 
 was not beside her to laugh away her fears. She 
 had read the letter aloud to her uncle and aunt 
 alone ; when she had finished it, Mrs. Willoughby 
 noticed the deadly paleness of her face, and strove 
 to comfort her, telling her she should be very 
 thankful that her papa was so well, and wrote in 
 such good spirits.
 
 PG CHILDREN- OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 Yes, Ada acknowledged she should be so ; 
 " only you know," said she, " that letter is written 
 days ago, and the cholera was still raging, and 
 papa might have got it now, or even be dead." 
 And saying that, she laid down her head and 
 burst -into tears. No need to repress them now, 
 she thought ; she had no papa near to be dis- 
 tressed at the sight. 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby looked and felt troubled ; but 
 her uncle soothed Ada, quietly drawing her to his 
 arms, and, reminding her she was distressing her- 
 self unnecessarily, began to talk to her about the 
 letter, and by degrees got her to answer him, and 
 to interest herself about her father's new friend, 
 Mr. Ainsworth, till, in thinking of others, she 
 forgot her own grief. But once more there came 
 a deep sob and a heartfelt exclamation, " O if I 
 only knew papa was safe ! " 
 
 " Ada," whispered her uncle, " can you not trust 
 him to the keeping of the Great King ? " 
 
 She said nothing, but left the room to call 
 Frances and Arthur to their Bible-reading. 
 
 Mr. Willoughby spoke chiefly that day on the 
 verse, " He shall fear no evil tidings whose heart 
 is fixed, trusting in the Lord." 
 
 "The servants of the Great King," he said,
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 97 
 
 " have no right to be always looking forward to 
 evil, seeing all the mercies we are every day re- 
 ceiving from him should rather lead us to expect 
 blessing than evil. And besides, if we really 
 trust in him, we know that whatever happens to 
 us, painful though it seem, will yet in the end 
 prove good to us, and not evil." 
 
 He then spoke of Christ's command : " Take no 
 thought for the morrow: sufficient unto th% day 
 is the evil thereof." "If grief is coming on us, 
 time enough to bear it when it comes ; no need to 
 go half way to meet it." As he spoke his eye 
 rested on his boy, and he felt he himself sorely 
 needed to learn the rery lesson he was trying to 
 teach others. 
 
 Have not we all a like need? how many an 
 anxious, restless night, how many a bitter tear 
 and an aching heart would be spared us if we 
 would cease to look forward to evils which per- 
 haps never really come at all, and, looking only 
 to the present, learn the full truth of the promise, 
 " that as our day is, so shall our strength be." 
 
 When school hours were over Miss Manley 
 asked Ada about her letter. Eagerly the child 
 related some particulars of it, dwelling on the 
 account given of Captain Ainsworth. So en-
 
 98 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 grossed was she with the story, that she failed to 
 observe Miss Manley's agitation at the mention of 
 the name and illness. But Arthur, who was sit- 
 ting beside them, and chanced to be looking at 
 Miss Manley, saw a strange expression come over 
 her face, and, starting forward, asked if she were 
 ill, and if he could get anything for her. By a 
 strong mental effort she roused herself, and thank- 
 ing Arthur, said she felt sick and faint, and would 
 go and lie down a while. 
 
 For some minutes after she reached her room 
 she sat like one in a dream ; only one thought in 
 her mind, one sight before her eyes : Herbert 
 Ainsworth ill and dying, far from home. If she 
 had ever deceived herself into the belief that she 
 no longer loved him, she was undeceived now. 
 O to see him once more, to hear him speak, to 
 have one word of kindness from him ! " I could 
 lay down my life to save him ; for O how I love 
 him ! " was the confession coming from her in that 
 moment. 
 
 But not long could she indulge her grief; she 
 had duties to perform, and in silence she must 
 bear her own burden. She had no right that the 
 world would acknowledge, that she should grieve 
 thus for one who had clearly shown he no longer
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 99 
 
 valued her love. Only one thing she might do ; 
 she could pray for him, pray that if it were the 
 will of God he might yet be spared, and prove a 
 time follower of Him who had made atonement 
 for him. 
 
 Blessed indeed are the children of the Great 
 King in this, their inestimable privilege of prayer. 
 Through Christ Jesus they are permitted to enter 
 into the very presence-chamber of the King, and 
 there, with full confidence in his sympathizing 
 love, to tell him every difficulty, every little sor- 
 row, and every care, and seek his guidance. 
 Griefs that can be told to no earthly friends can 
 be communicated to Him who lends an ever- 
 patient ear, and upbraideth not. Alas ! how sel- 
 dom even his own children avail themselves as 
 they might of their glorious privilege ! Often 
 they scarcely value it till the hour of sore suffer- 
 ing, when man's compassion fails to relieve, and 
 leads them to seek that of Him, who alone is able 
 to comfort those that mourn, and give them 
 beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the 
 garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. 
 
 Few remarks were made on Miss Manley's 
 sudden indisposition. " What has become of 
 Miss Manley ? " said Frances as she came into
 
 100 CHILDREN OF THE CHEAT KING. 
 
 the school-room soon after she had left. Ada 
 told her she had felt faint, and gone to lie down 
 a little. 
 
 " Then," said she, " perhaps I had better go and 
 see how she is." 
 
 " I would not if I were you," said Arthur. " I 
 think she wanted to be left quite alone." 
 
 " O, well," Frances said, " if that is what she 
 wishes I will not go near her ; only mamma will 
 say it was unkind." 
 
 Ada would at once have followed Miss Manley 
 and seen her lie comfortably down ; but Arthur 
 had held her back, and said that he was quite 
 sure she would rather be alone. " Ada," said he, 
 " you can't think what a strange look came over 
 her face just as you read out Captain Ainsworth's 
 name. I should not wonder if he is an old friend, 
 and she turned faint when she heard how ill he 
 was." 
 
 But Ada did nofr think that was at all likely, 
 because, had it been the case, she would have told 
 them so, and it would have quite accounted for 
 her sudden illness. "0 no, it was just as she 
 had said, a slight faintness," and so the subject 
 passed; and when, shortly after, Miss Manley 
 came in, looking pale and grave it is true, but
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 101 
 
 saying she was better now, Ada was confirmed in 
 her own opinion. But Arthur, although he spoke 
 no more of it, could npt help thinking that Miss 
 Manley knew Captain Ainsworth, and was very 
 sorry he was ill.
 
 102 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 " Yes, man for man perchance may brave 
 The horrors of the yawning grave ; 
 And friend for friend, or child for sire, 
 Undaunted and unmoved expire, 
 From love, or piety, or pride ; 
 But who can die as Jesus died ? " 
 
 NOT far from Willoughby House lay the pretty 
 little village of Ashton. The houses which con- 
 stituted it were not numerous, and were inhabited 
 entirely by the working classes, most of whom 
 were agricultural laborers. At the further end of 
 the village, at the foot of a wooded declivity, was 
 the parsonage, and at a short distance from it the 
 village church. 
 
 The clergyman was a young man, who had only 
 been a few months in the parish, but who had 
 already won all hearts by his frank, open man- 
 ners, unwearied kindness, and attention to his 
 duties. Keen critics might have said that his 
 sermons were far from clever, more remarkable 
 for simplicity than depth; and possibly it was 
 so. But they were faithful expositions of the
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 103 
 
 will of God concerning man, and clear declara- 
 tions of the Gospel of Christ, of the only way of 
 salvation. ~No thirsting soul went to that church 
 longing to know what to do to be saved, and 
 came away in doubt as to the way. " Believe in 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, and ye shall be saved;" 
 " Come to him, and ye have his own promise, He 
 that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out," 
 was the substance of the message which they 
 received as suited to their wants. They felt as 
 if the minister had read their very hearts. 
 
 Many might have desired the advantages of a 
 more learned ministry, but his simple-minded 
 hearers were well pleased ; and, at all events, the 
 food with which they were fed, if not strongly 
 savored with earthly learning, was composed of 
 the purest Gospel nourishment ; and many lived 
 to bless the day when they heard the Gospel 
 message so faithfully and simply delivered in the 
 parish church. 
 
 Nor were his sermons confined to the pulpit, 
 but they were continued in his life during the 
 week. His delight was in his Master's work ; 
 and the peace and joy which dwelt in his heart 
 showed itself in his walk and conversation, and 
 proclaimed, as loudly as words could do, that the
 
 104 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 Master he served was a good one, his yoke an 
 easy one, and his burden light. Mr. Willoughby 
 was much attracted by the young minister ; and 
 together they engaged in many a labor of love, 
 Mr. Hole often obtaining much assistance in any 
 difficulty from Mr. Willoughby's clear judgment. 
 
 The young clergyman became a frequent visitor 
 at Willoughby House, and was a great favorite 
 with the young members of it ; Arthur especially 
 loving to hear him talk, because, as he told Ada, 
 his heart was so full of love to the Son of the 
 Great King. 
 
 "He could not help speaking of him," said he. 
 " And, do you know, when I said to him the other 
 day that I did so like everything that was beauti- 
 ful, he asked me if I remembered that all these 
 things were the gifts of the Lord, and that I must 
 never forget that his most precious gift to the 
 children of men is his only Son, who is altogether 
 lovely. Then he made me notice the names of 
 beauty which are given to Jesus : ' The Rose of 
 Sharon,' 'The Lily of the Valley,' 'The Apple- 
 Tree of the Wood,' with its beautiful hanging 
 fruit, ' The Plant of Renown,' ' The Bright and 
 Morning Star;' and, Ada, isn't it very pleasant 
 \f- think that the Guide who is leading us all the
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 105 
 
 way to the palace of the Great King is so 
 beautiful !" 
 
 Ada said she liked io think of that very well ; 
 but what she liked best of all was to know that 
 Jesus held her in his firm grasp, and would not let 
 her go, because she was so little able to do right 
 in her own strength ; that, but for him, she would, 
 she knew, turn aside, and never, never reach the 
 palace at all. 
 
 " Ada," said Mr. Hole one day, " have you never 
 a spare hour you could give to read a little to a 
 poor blind woman in the village ? She is alone 
 almost all day, and, poor body, is lonely enough, 
 not even being accustomed to it, like many blind 
 people, for she has only turned so lately." 
 
 " O yes, I could," was the eager reply ; " on 
 Wednesday we have always a half-holiday, and 
 are allowed to do what we like ; and then on Sat- 
 urdays I could, and would like it so much. Stay 
 a moment ; of course I must ask aunt's leave first." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby had no objections to the plan. 
 She knew well about old Mrs. Barnes, and if Ada 
 liked, certainly she might, and she dared say Fran- 
 ces would also go sometimes ; but Frances cut her 
 part of the matter very short, by declaring that 
 Ada might do as she liked, but she had no desire
 
 106 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 to become a reader to old women, to please Mr. 
 Hole or any other person. 
 
 " O Frances ! " exclaimed Ada, " I don't wish 
 to do it merely to please Mr. Hole, but I Avould 
 like to help to cheer a poor blind woman. Think 
 how very, very dull she must be, not able to see 
 anything; and, besides, I will like to do it to 
 please " She stopped short, for she saw Mr. 
 Hole had moved across the room, and must have 
 overheard the conversation. 
 
 He stepped forward to her, and said he was glad 
 she had got her aunt's permission; as the next 
 day was Wednesday, perhaps, if her uncle, who 
 was coming to the parsonage at all events in the 
 afternoon, would bring her with him, he would 
 like to go with her himself and introduce her to 
 Mrs. Barnes. " She is a true servant of the Lord, 
 I believe," said he ; " and in helping his servants 
 we are helping him. Even now from heaven the 
 Great King is saying to his children, ' Inasmuch 
 as ye do it unto one of the least of these my breth- 
 ren, ye do it unto me.' " 
 
 Ada soon glided away to talk to her uncle, 
 leaving Mr. Hole and Frances alone. He had 
 overheard Frances's speech, and felt it a duty to 
 give her a word of reproof; but how to do so
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 107 
 
 wisely, perplexed him, not so much from a fear of 
 offending her as of repelling, and thus marring his 
 power of perhaps influencing her for good, as her 
 father had once or twice urged him to do. 
 
 Frances, fearing he might have heard her speech, 
 felt somewhat constrained when left alone with 
 him ; bat Mr. Hole pat her at ease by asking her 
 some simple questions. Then, changing the con- 
 versation, he asked her if there had been any let- 
 ters lately from her uncle, Colonel Percy. 
 
 "Yes," Frances answered; "and he writes that 
 a report was going that orders from England had 
 arrived, desiring them to set out for the Crimea. 
 Of course uncle was very anxious to be off; and, 
 Mr. Hole, don't you admire those young officers, 
 Nasmyth, Butler, and Ballard, and the other four, 
 who hare helped the Turks so bravely? Bat for 
 them, uncle wrote some time ago, Silistria must 
 hare Mien ; and they say the Turks love them so 
 they would do anything for them. And well they 
 may; poor Captain Butler received his death- 
 wound fighting to save their lives. I am sure it 
 is no wonder they think highly of them." 
 
 "Ho, indeed, Miss Willoughby, they have a 
 good claim on their affection, and for their sakes 
 should be glad, nay anxious, to help any English-
 
 108 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 man, should an opportunity be given to him; 
 shouldn't you think so ? " 
 
 "O certainly," replied Frances, "it would be 
 the best manner of showing their gratitude to 
 those, one of whom, at least, died to save them. 
 But, Mr. Hole, you look grave ; was Captain But- 
 ler a friend or relation of yours ? " 
 
 " No, O no," said Mr. Hole ; " but my thoughts 
 turned to a Friend who had laid down his own 
 life to save mine, and I was thinking that the best 
 way I could show my grateful remembrance of 
 what he had done for me was by helping his 
 friends." 
 
 " Laid down his life for you, Mr. Hole ! how ? " 
 exclaimed Frances. 
 
 "And for you also, Miss Willoughby. What 
 friend has done for us what the Lord Jesus has 
 done ? so loved us as to die for us ? How have 
 you shown your gratitude to him, in return for all 
 he has done ? He asks you to give him your heart. 
 Ask yourself if you have done so. Were he now 
 on earth, would you not like to do all you could 
 to help and comfort him? and when he tells you. 
 that if you do so to his people, he will regard it 
 as done to himself, will you turn a deaf ear to his 
 words ? "
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 109 
 
 Frances was touched by the earnestness of Mr. 
 Hole's words, and said frankly, " I see you heard 
 what I said to Ada about the poor woman ; but I 
 did not think of it in that way, only I would not care 
 about reading to those kind of people ; and and " 
 
 She stopped, for she was going to quote one of 
 Miss Roscoe's speeches, to the effect that she did 
 not wish to be one of your very good people, who 
 are righteous overmuch. She had thought this 
 speech a very clever one when Emily Roscoe had 
 made it ; but even her bold spirit quailed under 
 Mr. Hole's earnest eye, and so she left the sentence 
 unfinished. 
 
 Mr. Hole regarded her steadily. " All the chil- 
 dren of the Great King," he said, " love to do his 
 will. They that are not his children are the chil- 
 dren of the prince of the powers of darkness. Re- 
 member, it is to those on his left hand that, at the 
 day of judgment, the great Judge shall say, * Inas- 
 much as ye did it not unto one of the least of these 
 my brethren, ye did it not unto me.' If you would 
 not desire to be one of those on the left hand, then 
 seek now, Miss Willoughby, pardon through the 
 blood of Jesus ; and remember, the Great King 
 hath promised that they who seek him early shall 
 find him."
 
 110 CHILDREN OF THE GEEAT KING. 
 
 Frances gave no response to his words, and 
 Mr. Hole rose and joined the rest of the party, but 
 not without a secret prayer that the words spoken 
 might take effect in the girl's heart. Had he heard 
 her an hour afterward, teasing Ada about turning 
 a Scripture-reader, and asking her what payment 
 she expected for her trouble, he would have judged 
 that the words spoken had been spoken in vain ; 
 but the seed sown does not at once spring up, and 
 appear above ground. Sometimes it may lie long 
 deep down in the earth ; and while men are say- 
 ing, " It will never spring up at all," the Lord of 
 the harvest can send down a shower of refreshing 
 rain upon the very spot, and the little seed will 
 suddenly begin to live, and piercing through .the 
 ground set up a small green blade, very small, it 
 may be at first, but from which in due season will 
 come the ear, and then the full corn in the ear.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. Ill 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Ah, Lord God ! behold, I cannot speak : for I am a child. 
 But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child : for thou shalt 
 go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee 
 thou shalt speak. JEB. i, 6, 7. 
 
 THERE was no prettier house in the little village 
 than the one in which Widow Barnes lived, built 
 of the granite stone found in the neighborhood ; 
 and, perfectly covered with roses, honeysuckle, 
 and the beautiful scarlet clianthus, it united com- 
 fort with beauty. 
 
 The little garden, always nicely kept, was well 
 stocked with vegetables and bright flowers of all 
 sorts. A couple of bee-hives might be seen in a 
 corner, while, overshadowing the little cottage, 
 were some large apple and pear-trees. A small 
 wicket gate led from the village road into the 
 garden ; and when Ada, accompanied by Mr. Hole, 
 entered it on the Wednesday afternoon we have 
 spoken of, she thought she had never seen a pleas- 
 auter spot, and pitied from her heart the poor 
 woman who sat at the door knitting, and yet saw 
 not the beautiful flowers, nor the bright sunshine
 
 112 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 which was falling on trees and flowers, and color- 
 ing the thickly-hanging fruit. 
 
 Kindly Mr. Hole greeted the blind woman, and 
 told her he had brought a young friend of his to 
 see her, whom he would leave with her a little, 
 while he went elsewhere. At first Ada felt shy 
 and constrained ; but by degrees the old woman's 
 kind talk set her at ease, and she talked away as 
 to an old friend. 
 
 " Yet it's dull enough, Miss, sitting here all the 
 day seeing nothing," said the poor woman ; " and 
 many's the time I weary sorely. The humming of 
 the bees, the chirping of the birdies, and the wind 
 among the trees they're sort of company, you 
 see ; and then I can knit a stocking, and I'm bet- 
 ter than many a poor blind body, for I can see 
 faces with the eyes of my mind so clear, that times 
 I start up, and can't believe but I see them really. 
 I've two sons living, dear, and a daughter and 
 two sons in the grave. Susan and one of my boys 
 lie yonder in the churchyard, beside their father ; 
 but the best and blithest of all, Willie, my sailor- 
 boy, lies in a watery grave. I can strew the 
 graves of the others with flowers, but 'tis only 
 tears I can shed for him. O, but he was good, 
 and his old mother loved him as the apple of her
 
 CHILDRE^ T OF THE GREAT KING. 113 
 
 eye." And as she spoke large tears were falling 
 from the blind eyes. 
 
 Ada's heart was full of compassion; no set 
 words of comfort came from her lips; just the 
 simple overflowing of her young trusting soul. 
 " O, Mrs. Barnes, don't cry so ; if he loved Jesus 
 he is safe in the golden city, in the palace of the 
 Great King. It must be so pleasant to be there ! 
 Only think of the clear river of the water of life, 
 that always flows there, and of the tree of life 
 with its beautiful leaves, and all manner of fruits ; 
 and then, you know, he sees the Lamb of God face 
 to face." 
 
 As she spoke she slipped her hand into the blind 
 mother's. Mrs. Barnes spoke not for a while, but 
 the tears ceased to fall, and she pressed the soft 
 young hand in hers, and a quiet thoughtful ex- 
 pression crossed her face. 
 
 At last she spoke; it seemed more to herself 
 than to Ada : " The golden city, the palace of the 
 Great King ! Yes, it's there he is. Poor foolish 
 mother that I am, to cry for him, and he there ; 
 and even were he here, I could not see him, only 
 I could hear his voice, and it was such a pleasant 
 one ; and no doubt I could throw my arms round 
 him and kiss him. Still he must be happier there,
 
 114 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 in the golden city. Please the Lord I'll see him 
 there, in the palace of the Great King." 
 
 Ada started as a child's voice close beside them 
 said, " Where's that palace, grandmother ? Is it a 
 very grand one, like what our queen lives in ; so 
 grand, they say, with ever so many windows in it, 
 and rooms upon rooms ? O ! they do say it's a 
 sight to see." 
 
 " Ay, Willie, (he is a Willie too," she said to 
 Ada,) " the palace of the Great King is far grander 
 even than that, and you may live in it if you will. 
 It is up there, Willie, beyond the clouds ; it is 
 heaven. Miss here will perhaps tell you about it." 
 
 But as Willie caught sight of Ada's face, he 
 hung his head and turned bashful. 
 
 " Shall I tell you what it is like ? " Ada asked. 
 The boy's only answer was an eager look. " The 
 palace is -of pure gold, like clear glass; its walls 
 are of all sorts of beautiful stones, its gates are 
 white and shining, its streets are of gold, and a 
 pure bright river runs there always." 
 
 The boy's eyes were riveted now. " I'd like to 
 see it," he said. "How can I? do tell me." 
 
 " You must ask Jesus to take you there," said 
 Ada. " He is the Son of the Great King, and died 
 on the cross for our sins, that all who wish to be
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 115 
 
 his children and do his will may have admittance 
 to the palace. You must ask him to make you 
 his, "Willie, and learn his will. Can you read ? " 
 
 The boy said no, and ran off. 
 
 His grandmother feared it was her fault ; " for 
 all he was seven years old, he only just knew his 
 letters," she said. " You see his mother died when 
 he was but a baby ; and his father, who is my old- 
 est son, and lives with me, has just petted the bit 
 boy, and never cared to have him learn. And 
 then, since I have got blind these six months past, 
 there was no one near the whole day when his 
 father is out at work ; so he said Willie should not 
 go to school for another year, but stop and tend 
 on me. But the boy's keen to learn, and I only 
 wish his father would not think on me, and just 
 let him go with the rest of the village children to 
 school. He is a thoughtful child, and kind to his 
 old grandmother. Well, it may be I'll need no 
 attendance ere long, for the Great King may send 
 for me. Thank you, dear, for speaking about him ; 
 you've done an old body good." 
 
 Just then Mr. Hole came in at the wicket, and 
 told Ada she must come now. She shook hands 
 with Mrs. Barnes and promised to come again, 
 then ran out to the road.
 
 116 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 Mr. Hole lingered a moment: "Did she cheer 
 you, Mrs. Barnes ? " he asked. 
 
 " That she did, sir, more than she thinks ; her 
 simple words went straight to my heart ; it is the 
 Lord himself who is leading her, I think." 
 
 " Well, Ada, how did the reading come on ? " 
 Mr. Hole said. 
 
 Blushing scarlet, Ada owned, with a feeling of 
 shame, " O ! } did not read ; indeed, Mr. Hole, I 
 never thought of it ; we only talked.. She told me 
 a great deal about her dead son, and I just listened ; 
 and we spoke of the palace of the King, and she 
 seemed pleased. But that was all ; it was so little 
 I did. I know, of course, I should have read to 
 her ; I knew that was what you asked me to do ; 
 perhaps I will manage better another day. Was 
 I very wrong, Mr. Hole ? " 
 
 He smiled at the bright, earnest face raised to 
 his. " No, no, Ada, I wish to impose no formal 
 rule on you; you must use your own judgment, 
 young as you are. A word of the Great King, 
 spoken in love, often does more good than a whole 
 chapter read as a duty. I hope you have done 
 good, not hann, to-day." 
 
 He parted from her, having seen her, as he had 
 promised Mr. Willoughby, safe into the Willough-
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 117 
 
 by grounds. As he watched her a moment, a 
 question, asked eighteen hundred years ago, rose 
 to his lips, " Who is the greatest in the kingdom 
 of heaven ? " He remembered how the Lord Jesus 
 answered the question by calling a little child and 
 setting him in the midst of the questioners ; and ' 
 he rejoiced to think that Jesus was now, as then, 
 a lover of the children, and still warns the worldly 
 and profane, that it were better they were drowned 
 in the depths of the sea than offend one of his little 
 ones. 
 
 When Ada reached home she had to stand a 
 good deal of bantering from Frances, and ques- 
 tioning from Arthur. She had often difficulty in 
 keeping her naturally hot temper in control when 
 Frances bantered her thus; but somehow it did 
 
 
 
 not seem so difficult to-day, for the thought of the 
 patient spirit of the blind woman made it easier. 
 Arthur's questions were answered with pleasure ; 
 and when they were alone she told him about little 
 Willie, and of his wish to learn to read ; adding, 
 " Doesn't it seem a pity he cannot go to school ? 
 and yet it would not be right for Mrs. Barnes to 
 be left all alone either." 
 
 " O no ! it would not," said Arthur ; " but, Ada, 
 
 do you think I could teach him? I would so 
 8
 
 118 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KK(G. 
 
 gladly do it ; you know I could go when you go 
 to see the grandmother." 
 
 Ada was delighted with the plan. " Of course 
 you could, Arthur; you are so smart you could 
 do anything ; and the old woman will be so 
 pleased. I am so glad you have thought of it; 
 only, Arthur, are you sure that " But some- 
 thing stopped Ada, and she left her sentence 
 unfinished. 
 
 " Only what, Ada ? " But she turned the sub- 
 ject, and presently Arthur, full of his plan, went 
 to ask his papa's leave to carry it into execution. 
 Eagerly he told his story. Mr. Willoughby list- 
 ened attentively, although he marked with a feel- 
 ing of pain the delicate flush which mantled the 
 boy's face as he spoke. 
 
 ""Certainly, Arthur," said he, "you have my 
 leave; but remember, if you undertake it you 
 must carry it out. You had better take the 
 matter into consideration. You must not forget 
 that your plan will entail your giving up at least 
 two hours of your half holidays, and so there will 
 be the less time for your favorite books and pursuits. 
 I don't say all this, Arthur, to discourage you ; 
 but I think it best you should not begin a thing 
 rashly, and then weary of it, and perhaps com-
 
 CHILDREX OF THE GREAT KIXG. 119 
 
 plain that you never thought it would interfere 
 with your usual pleasures." 
 
 " No, papa," said Arthur, " I will not do that. 
 I have thought of these things ; and I know that 
 Ada, too, fears I shall weary of my plan. She 
 did not say it, but I think she was going to do so, 
 and stopped for fear I should not like it ; but if 
 you will allow me to begin, I think I will not 
 draw back now, because (and he raised his full, 
 soft eyes to his father's) I will ask the Great King 
 to help me, and I know he will." 
 
 "Well, Arthur, then you have my full leave, 
 and best wishes for your success. You will need 
 to exercise patience and forbearance; but, with 
 the blessing of the King, I doubt not you will get 
 on well." 
 
 And so it was, that on Wednesday and Satur- 
 day afternoons Ada and Arthur might be seen 
 wending their way through the lanes, bright with 
 autumnal flowers, and crossing stubble fields, as 
 they went to Widow Barnes's cottage, each to 
 pursue their several labors of love. The reading 
 lessons got on capitally, Willie proving a most 
 apt scholar, and conceiving an extraordinary af- 
 fection for his young teacher; while the blind 
 woman listened with heartfelt attentmn .to the
 
 120 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 words read by Ada from the book of life, or to 
 those spoken about the things which concern the 
 King. 
 
 Times there were when these visits interfered 
 with some holiday pleasure, and a struggle would 
 arise in their hearts as the great tempter whis 
 pered to " give up Widow Barnes for to-day, just 
 for once." But jt soon passed ; the Guide who 
 sustained them taught them how to resist the evil 
 one, till he fled afar off. And so they went on in 
 the path of duty, finding their pleasure in it ; and 
 from his throne on high the Son of the Great 
 King looked down on the loving, happy children, 
 and blessed them in their work. 
 
 How true it is that, even in this world, whoso- 
 ever shall give even a cup of cold water to any of 
 Christ's people, because they belong to him, shall 
 in nowise lose his reward 1
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 121 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight 
 of God of great price. 1 PETBB iii, 4. 
 
 "PAPA, did you hear what Charlie Whitmore 
 was telling me about Claude yesterday?" said 
 Frances one morning at breakfast. "It is the 
 best story I've heard for long. Tou know Mr. 
 Marshman's boys go on Wednesday afternoons to 
 play cricket with the boys at the academy at 
 Portness. "Well, it seems that for some time they 
 have been dreadfully jealous of Claude because he 
 is the best player among them, and they have 
 tormented him in all sorts of ways, and called him 
 names, all to make him get up a fight ; but Claude 
 was determined not to do so, though Charlie says 
 he knows it was hard work to keep his temper 
 sometimes. But the last day four or five of the 
 biggest of the Portness boys determined to make 
 him fight, sure they could beat him. Some quarrel 
 about the game took place ; so they seized their 
 opportunity, putting the blame of it on Claude. 
 
 " ' He had nothing to do with it,' he protested.
 
 122 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 * Yes, you had ; it's a lie to say you had not.' 
 Charlie says you should have seen Claude's face 
 
 / / 
 
 of indignation at the words. ' Percy,' said another 
 of the boys, 'you would fight them for saying 
 that if you were not a coward.' 
 
 " ' Of course, we all know he is a coward,' said 
 one or two voices. 
 
 " ' Prove it,' Claude said ; and drawing himself 
 up, stood in an attitude of defense. 
 
 " ' Then you will fight at last ? ' said the boy. 
 
 " ' Certainly not,' said Claude ; ' but let any one 
 try to strike me, and I shall know how to receive 
 him.' 
 
 " ' Ah ! a braggart as well as a coward,' said 
 the whole ; and the biggest boy of the set rushed 
 at him. In one moment he was laid level with 
 the ground. Another and another came on, and 
 met the same fate ; the rest took alarm, and held 
 back. The three who had attacked him rose from 
 the grpund and sneaked off; but from that day, 
 Charlie says, there has been no bullying of 
 Claude, and he has become the leader of the 
 games ; and knowing that his love of peace does 
 not arise from cowardice, but from principle, they 
 have learned to respect him, and in some degree 
 to follow his example.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 123 
 
 " Now, papa, wasn't it prime ? isn't it a jolly 
 story ? I think Claude is a perfect brick." 
 
 Mr. Willoughby could scarcely believe his ears, 
 so great was his astonishment at Frances's con- 
 cluding words. "The story itself may be a very 
 good one," he said ; " but the words in which you 
 have just expressed your opinion of it and of 
 Claude are so perfectly novel to me, from the lips 
 of a young lady, that I can hardly credit having 
 heard them aright. Miss Manley, may I ask, is 
 Frances in the habit of using those sorts of 
 terms ? " 
 
 Miss Manley was obliged to acknowledge that 
 for some time past she had had occasion to reprove 
 Miss Willoughby for her way of talking. 
 
 Frances, though somewhat daunted by her 
 father's displeasure, made her defense by saying, 
 " O, papa, there is no harm in it ; you should hear 
 the Roscoe girls speak ! They say it is all the 
 fashion for even grown ladies to speak that way ; 
 and that no one cares a bit for a girl nowadays 
 who can't talk slang." 
 
 Mr. Willoughby was angry now. "Frances, 
 listen to me. I wish no quotations of the sayings 
 or doings of the Roscoe girls poor orphan girls, 
 who have been brought up in a most careless
 
 124 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 manner, and who are more to be pitied than 
 Warned for their faults; but I will allow no 
 daughter of mine to use, even in jest, the phrases 
 you call slang. As to there being no harm in 
 them, I am the judge of that, and consider there 
 is immense harm in young girls making use of 
 language which would be tolerated in no proper 
 society. Perhaps you might find a few school- 
 boys, or foolish young men, who would laugh at a 
 girl speaking in that way, and even apply some 
 of their slang expressions to her for doing so ; 
 but, Frances, believe me, the men and women 
 whose opinions are at all worth the having will 
 never admire anything in a young girl which is 
 calculated to make her bold and unfeminine. Be 
 ready to meet any emergency calmly, and as self- 
 reliantly as you like ; but be assured, that in the 
 eye of both God and man ' a meek and quiet spirit ' 
 is ' of great price.' I speak strongly, because I feel 
 the subject an important one, and I hope it is one 
 on which I shall never have occasion to speak to 
 you again. I am glad your mamma had gone 
 to the nursery before you told your story, for I 
 know she would have been much vexed to hear 
 her daughter speaking so foolishly ; and as I trust 
 you will at once give up the practice, I shall say
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KIXG. 125 
 
 nothing to her about it. Now you know my 
 commands on the subject; see they are not dis- 
 obeyed." 
 
 Frances left the room somewhat sulkily; but 
 for all that, she felt in her own heart that her 
 father had spoken the truth, and gave up the 
 slang language even in jest. 
 
 Would that all young girls would do the like, 
 instead of following the fashion of the foolish. 
 Believe me, that the refined and cultivated of 
 both sexes shrink from the girl who, throwing off 
 the gentle reserve of her nature, apes the manners 
 and conversation of men. 
 
 Charlie Whitmore was quite right in saying 
 that Claude now took the lead among his com- 
 panions, and was respected by them all. His 
 earnest endeavors to do right, his fearless decla- 
 ration that his wish was to obey the will of God, 
 all had an effect ; and even those who laughed at 
 his principles admired his conduct. Yet Claude 
 was no model boy, too perfect to be real ; only 
 what every one may become who, in the strength 
 of the Lord, is seeking to walk in the narrow 
 way. He was a quick learner, but, truth to tell, 
 he would far sooner have been out playing cricket, 
 or rambling about in the woods, or down among
 
 126 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 the rocks on the shore, than poring over Latin or 
 Greek. " Small use to a soldier," he observed to 
 Mr. Marshman. 
 
 " And yet, Claude," he -replied, " where will you 
 find such spirited accounts of battles as in your 
 Greek and Latin authors? Once read the orig- 
 inal, and you will acknowledge that even the best 
 of translations are tame." 
 
 " Well, yes," said Claude ; " to be sure the 
 battles are worth reading, so I suppose I must 
 plod away, Mr. Marshman; but it's hard work," 
 he said with a laugh. 
 
 A want of steady application was one of 
 Claude's besetting sins, and one against which 
 he had to wage a constant warfare. Let him but 
 put his mind to the subject, and his powers of 
 learning were quick ; but often time was squan- 
 dered by a mere want of fixing his thoughts on 
 what he had to do. 
 
 Mr. Marshman pointed out to him this fault, 
 and begged him to beware of it. "One of the 
 commands of the Great King to his children, 
 Claude," said he, "is, 'Whatsoever ye do, do 
 it heartily, as unto the Lord ;' and remember 
 that without a habit of steady application no 
 one will ever rise to greatness or usefulness in
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 127 
 
 the world. Time frittered away can never be 
 recalled." 
 
 Many a conflict had Claude with this foe, but 
 with the sword of the Spirit he overcame it, and 
 the letter which reached Colonel Percy from Mr. 
 Marshman, on the very day of his starting for the 
 Crimea, told him that, with truth it might be said, 
 his boy was improving in all things, " obtaining," 
 the writer said, " by the grace of God, the best of 
 all victories, that over himself;" and as the ac- 
 counts of Ada told the same story, the heart of 
 the father was filled with joy and gratitude; he 
 had good reason to believe that his motherless 
 children were pressing on in their heavenly race, 
 sustained by the hand of the Great King; and 
 amid the dangers which encompassed him Colonel 
 Percy dwelt in peace, blessed in the belief that, 
 were death to remove him from this world, he 
 and his children would yet meet one day, through 
 the merits of the Lord Jesus, in the golden palace 
 of the King of kings, from which they would go 
 out no more.
 
 128 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 " His soul to Him who gave it rose ; 
 God led it to its long repose, 
 
 Its glorious rest. 
 
 And though the warrior's sun has set, 
 Its light shall linger round us yet, 
 
 Bright, radiant, blest." 
 
 THE month of September was fast drawing to 
 an end; the fresh green of the summer foliage 
 was changed into the glowing variegated tints of 
 autumn, and the summer heat was exchanged for 
 the cool fresh breezes of the advancing season. 
 
 Anxiously did every one in those days wait for 
 news from the allied armies. That the landing 
 on the Crimea had been successfully effected was 
 already known ; but the next news, it was thought, 
 would be of an encounter with the enemy. The 
 first account of it. which reached Willoughby 
 House was brought by Claude. 
 
 The lamp was already lighted in the drawing- 
 room, where the whole party were assembled, 
 when a loud knock at the house door drew forth 
 exclamations of wonder from the young people as
 
 
 Victory! Victory!
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 131 
 
 to what visitor it could be coming at that time of 
 night, when suddenly Claude rushed in, waving 
 his cap round his head, and calling out, " Victory ! 
 victory ! A famous battle has been fought on the 
 twentieth of the month on the banks of the Alma, 
 and we have beat the Russians out and out, 
 forced them to retreat, and leave us masters of 
 the field. Hurrah! no soldiers like the British, 
 say I." 
 
 All shared his joy and excitement ; even little 
 Minnie joined in the hurrah; but Ada clung to 
 him, and begged him to tell her if papa was safe, 
 and if there were many killed. 
 
 He threw his arm kindly round her. "Well, 
 Ada dear, there have been many killed and 
 wounded, of course. The names are not known 
 yet, but I'm sure, somehow, papa's safe; I seem 
 just to feel he is so. Don't fear, dear; depend 
 upon it we will get a letter from himself soon." 
 
 It was boyish reasoning, certainly, and comfort 
 with a slight foundation ; but, nevertheless, Ada 
 was comforted, perhaps more by the very tone of 
 her brother's voice than by his words. How 
 often is it the case that our worst fears are 
 quieted by seeing that some one we trust in does 
 not share them! Claude's cheerful words con-
 
 132 CHILDREN" OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 veyed assurance to more than one of the party, 
 allaying the heart-pang with which Miss Mauley 
 too had heard the news. 
 
 As soon as the excitement had calmed a little, 
 Mr. Willoughby drew from Claude an account of 
 all he knew, and also how he had heard it. It 
 was easily explained. An uncle of one of the 
 boys at Mr. Marshman's had come from London 
 to see him, and had "brought the news, received 
 by telegraph late the night before. Particulars 
 were not given, but the victory was stated to be 
 a complete one: the French and English armies 
 had fought together, side by side, and had suc- 
 ceeded, after a hard-fought battle, in routing the 
 enemy; and now it was supposed that they would 
 at once press on to Sebastopol, and, if need be, 
 besiege it. Mr. Marshman had at once given 
 Claude leave to go to his uncle's and tell the 
 news, desiring him to return early next morning. 
 
 With hearts filled with more than usually 
 solemn thoughts, the little party assembled that 
 night at evening worship. The portion of Scrip- 
 ture chosen was the forty-sixth psalm, so full of 
 the believer's calm assurance of faith amid all 
 dangers : " God is our refuge and strength, a 
 very present help in trouble : therefore will not
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 133 
 
 we fear, though the earth be removed, and though 
 the mountains be carried into the midst of the 
 sea." The concluding verse was specially fitted 
 to comfort and sustain the anxious ones: "The 
 Lord of hosts is with us ; the God of Jacob is our 
 refuge." Mr. Willoughby read also the next 
 psalm, dwelling on the second and third verses : 
 "The Lord is a great King over all the earth. 
 He shall subdue the people under us, and the 
 nations under our feet." 
 
 Not many days elapsed ere the anxiously looked- 
 for letter arrived. Colonel Percy was safe. That 
 for some time was all that Ada could comprehend ; 
 but Claude eagerly devoured the contents. His 
 father had made a hurried plan of the battle-field, 
 pointing out the different spots where his own 
 regiment had been most hotly engaged. "The 
 bullets were flying thick enough, Claude," he 
 wrote; "and I only wish you could have seen 
 how bravely our soldiers fought. Many of my 
 loved comrades have fallen fighting nobly. Young 
 hearts, and brave, lie low, who rose that morning 
 in the full vigor of manhood. Peace be to their 
 memories ! they rest in a soldier's grave. Ah ! 
 how many sad hearts there will be in our own 
 beloved country, even in the midst of the joy of
 
 134: CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 victory ! Thanks be to the Great King, that he 
 hath preserved me in safety, taking hold of shield 
 and buckler, standing up for mine help. We are 
 all eager to be on, and long to stand before the 
 walls of Sebastopol. 
 
 " Ada would have liked to have seen some of the 
 beautiful vineyards we passed through shortly 
 before the fight began. Our men pulled the 
 grapes in handfuls, and even when fighting might 
 be seen holding bunches of them in their teeth 
 while they fired at the enemy. Dear children, often 
 and often, in the very thick of the battle, your 
 faces rose before my eyes ; but I was enabled to 
 commend you, in faith, to the King of kings. 
 How Claude would have liked to have been by 
 my side ! and I think I hear him say, as he reads 
 this, * Wouldn't I just 1 ' But, truth to tell, I fear 
 much his father's hand would scarcely have been 
 so steady, nor his heart have beat so calmly, had 
 he been so. 
 
 " One brave young officer, little more than a 
 boy, fell close beside me ; in his hand he bore the 
 colors of his regiment. From one eminence, on 
 which a breastwork had been thrown up, the ene- 
 my had been routed ; and the brave boy dashed 
 on, eager to plant his colors there. In the act of
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 135 
 
 doing so a ball struck him ; he fell, even in death 
 grasping the crimson flag intrusted to his care. 
 A soldier sprang forward, and, raising the color, 
 planted it again, claiming the spot for his regi- 
 ment. 
 
 " Alas ! ere now there will be heavy hearts in 
 his Scottish home; burning tears shed, I doubt 
 not, for the brave blithe boy. But he sleeps in 
 Jesus. I saw something of him at Varna, and 
 recognized in him the marks which distinguished 
 the children of the Great King ; and often have I 
 wished, and fondly dreamed, that he and my 
 Claude might one day be acquainted. Not long 
 before the battle he said to one who knew him 
 well : ' If I fall, tell them all at home I know that 
 the blood of Jesus cleanseth from all sin.' And 
 now, why should we mourn that his young life, 
 which was so bright and unclouded, should prove 
 so short ? His work is accomplished, his warfare 
 o'er : and now he rests in the palace of the Great 
 King, beholding the Son, through whom he over- 
 came, face to face, where wars and rumors of wars 
 are heard no more, but all is righteousness, and 
 peace, and joy for evermore. 
 
 "Dear children, press on, looking unto Jesus. 
 Soon, how soon none can tell, may the sum-
 
 136 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 mons come : * The Master is come, and calleth for 
 thee.' 
 
 " The Captain Ainsworth I wrote of in my last 
 is strong again, and fought bravely, escaping un- 
 touched. Our loss is computed at nearly two 
 thousand in killed and wounded. The French 
 have suffered much less, some say scarce more 
 than twelve hundred, others believe not nearly so 
 much. The loss sustained by the enemy is thought 
 to be very great. I hope to write soon again. 
 Dear children, you are ever in my thoughts ; and 
 I know how fondly you remember your loving 
 father." 
 
 The letter formed the principal topic of the day, 
 and Claude found an attentive audience in his 
 school companions as he told them the story of 
 the boy officer, who met his death so early, nobly 
 fighting for his country. And Arthur listened in 
 silence to the story ; and long after the others had 
 ceased to talk of it he sat and dreamed of the child 
 of the Great King, who had gone from the bloody 
 field of battle straight up to the golden palace ; 
 and the boy thought, though he said it not, that 
 ere long he would meet him there, though the 
 road which led to it, in his case, was from no far- 
 off battle-field, but from his own lovely Devonshire
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 187 
 
 home ; and in his heart he was glad it was so, for 
 he loved to think that_ his last look on earth would 
 rest on the pleasant scenes and loved faces he held 
 so dear. Then, one moment absent from the body, 
 he would be present with the Lord, amid the com- 
 pany of redeemed ones in glory, and in the pres- 
 ence of God, the Judge of all, and of Jesus the 
 great Mediator.
 
 138 CHILDREN- OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 " The man that looks on glass, 
 
 On it may rest his eye ; 
 Or, if he pleases, through it pass, 
 
 And hence the heavens espy." 
 
 " REALLY, Ada, I cannot allow such work to 
 pass; it must all be picked out and done over 
 again, and that before you go to walk. So set 
 about it at once, and let me find it finished when 
 I come back." And so saying, Mrs. Willoughby 
 left the room, leaving Ada gazing at the work she 
 held in her hand, with a most disconsolate look, 
 most unlike the pleasing bright smile usually seen 
 on her face. 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby prided herself on being a good 
 needlewoman, not merely clever at all sorts of 
 fancy work, but especially at useful plain work, 
 too much despised by the ladies of the present 
 day. She was also determined that Frances 
 should be taught to sew well, and had always 
 taken that department of her education on her- 
 self; and had so far succeeded that Frances bid
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT K1XG. 139 
 
 fair to equal, if not surpass, her mamma at her 
 needle. 
 
 P 
 
 With Ada it was very different: she was far 
 from a good worker, and had no love for it ; and 
 the sewing in the parlor, with her aunt for a 
 teacher, was always looked forward to with dread. 
 But this day was worse than usual, and the tears 
 fell fast as Ada looked first at the portion of 
 work to he done, and then at the bright autumn 
 sun shining, which seemed to invite her to come 
 out and enjoy it. 
 
 She saw Frances and Arthur across the park 
 with Miss Manley, and longed to throw down her 
 work and join them ; but her task must be done, 
 and so she worked away, although, we must con- 
 fess, with a bad enough grace, and a feeling as if 
 she were just then a very ill-used person. There 
 were angry thoughts in her heart ; the stitching 
 was far too difficult for her ; her aunt had been 
 unjust ; in short, any one was to be blamed 
 rather than herself; and if a still small voice 
 whispered, "Doest thou well to be angry? the 
 fault was all your own," she strove hard not to 
 hear it. 
 
 Ah, Ada, in turning away your ears from that 
 voice, you are turning away from the voice of the
 
 140 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 Great King himself. Rather listen, and take heed 
 to the gently spoken admonition; the stone on 
 which you have stumbled is offended pride, and it 
 is a hard one to overcome ; but one word of en- 
 treaty to your Guide, and at his command it will 
 disappear. 
 
 The parlor door opened, and Ada, whose work 
 was now almost finished, looked up, expecting to 
 see Mrs. Willoughby, but to her surprise saw her 
 uncle. " Ada," he said, " your aunt asked me to 
 tell you that, as some visitors have arrived, she 
 cannot come to you; but if your work is done 
 you may go to the garden, and wait there till 
 Miss Manley and the others return from their 
 walk." 
 
 Ada's face expressed no joy at the permission. 
 " My work is not done yet, and, besides, I don't 
 care about going to the garden to-day," was her 
 reply. 
 
 The tone of her voice amazed her uncle, so 
 unlike was it to the gentle one in which she gen- 
 erally spoke, and, somewhat displeased, he was 
 moving away without saying any more, but he 
 paused ere doing so. His great desire was to 
 act a true father's part to these children, and 
 he asked himself, Would her own father have
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GEEAT KING. 141 
 
 thus left his child without a word of warning 
 or reproof? He drew in his chair and sat 
 down. " What is- wrong to-day, Ada ? " he 
 said gently. "Is the work so very difficult, or 
 what is it ? " 
 
 " Yes, it is so very difficult to do it nicely, and 
 aunt is so hard to please," said Ada ; " and I can't 
 Lear to sew." And further words were stopped 
 by tears. 
 
 " Ada," said her uncle very gravely, " did you 
 try to do the work as well as you could ? Did 
 you try with all your heart ? Tell me." 
 
 No ; Ada could not say she had tried much that 
 day. She did not like sewing. 
 
 "And how about pleasing the Great King, 
 Ada?" said Mr. Willoughby. "Do you think 
 he is pleased with you to-day? Did you not 
 think of trying to do your work well to please 
 him?" 
 
 My work, uncle ! O no. How could my doing 
 it well be anything to him ? " 
 
 " Ada," replied Mr. Willoughby, " do you not 
 know it is written, ' Whatsoever you do, do it as 
 to the Lord?' The most commonplace work 
 may be, and by the child of God ought to be, 
 done to his glory; and certainly if, instead of
 
 142 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 idling over your work, and so displeasing your 
 aunt and getting yourself into trouble, you had 
 taken up your sewing, and resolved to try to 
 do your very best, (because, as a child of the 
 Great King, every duty you have to perform 
 you must do to him,) you would have found 
 the fancied difficulty vanish, and have been 
 the happy, cheerful little girl that you usually 
 are." 
 
 Ada's angry spirit was quieted now. " I never 
 thought," she owned, "of doing my work well 
 to please the Great King, but another time I'll 
 think of it, and I know it will help me; only 
 it seems such a very small thing, I can scarce 
 fancy that the Great King will care to have 
 me to do it. Please, uncle, repeat that text 
 again." 
 
 " ' Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the 
 Lord.' It is in the third chapter of Colossians; 
 and, Ada, there are some lines on the subject, 
 written nearly three hundred years ago, which 
 you must learn some day. Here is a verse or 
 two: 
 
 ' Teach me, my God and King, 
 
 In all things thee to see ; 
 And what I do in anything, 
 
 To do it as to thee.'
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 143 
 
 And this quaint old writer, George Herbert, whose 
 writings you will read some day, maintains, and 
 rightly too, that 
 
 ' Who sweeps a room as for God's cause, 
 Makes that and the action fine.' " 
 
 " Sweeps a room I O uncle ! and yet, I suppose, 
 whatsoever ye do, may mean that too. O I wish 
 I had only thought of it sooner. Then perhaps I 
 would not have displeased the King so much as I 
 have done to-day. You don't know what very 
 wrong feelings I had ; I was so angry." And the 
 child threw herself into her uncle's arms. 
 
 " Ah, Ada, you must seek the forgiveness of the 
 Great King, pleading the merits of his Son. Had 
 you sought his aid when you felt the wrong feel- 
 ings, it would not have been refused. Remember, 
 the King's daughter must be all glorious within, 
 made so by Him who alone can do it ; and then, 
 but not till then, shall she enter into the King's 
 palace." 
 
 From that day Mrs. "Willoughby noticed a 
 decided improvement in Ada's working powers; 
 and the sewing hour, once so much disliked, now 
 passed pleasantly. More and more the child of 
 the kingdom was learning to act on the grand
 
 144 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 Christian principle, " Whatsoever ye do, do all to 
 the glory of God." 
 
 The lesson was learned, it is true, after many 
 failures ; but still it was learned ; and thus, step 
 by step, the heavenly Guide was leading on his 
 child in the right way to the city of habitations, 
 whose builder and maker is God.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 145 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 " Grief dwells in France and England 
 
 For many a noble son ; 
 Yet louder than the sorrow, 
 
 ' Thy will, God, be done.' 
 From desolate homes is rising 
 
 One prayer : Let carnage cease. 
 On friends and foes have mercy, 
 
 O Lord, and give us peace." 
 
 DECEMBER'S snow lay thick on the ground ; 
 biting cold blew the northern wind, driving along 
 the falling snow and sleet in the very faces of the 
 brave men who stood for hours by day and night 
 in the trenches at Sebastopol. Hard work it was, 
 requiring a far greater amount of courage to 
 endure than that called forth by the hot excite- 
 ment of a close conflict on the battle-field. A 
 patient spirit as well as a brave one was needed 
 to bear up against both piercing cold and cannon 
 balls. Alas ! many lives, worn out by excessive 
 toil and exposure to the inclement weather, were 
 lost in these winter days. 
 
 Side by side, in a scantily furnished tent, wait- 
 ing for the hour to come round which was to
 
 146 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 summon them to exchange their place in the tent 
 for one in the trenches, sat Colonel Percy and 
 his friend Herbert Ainsworth. Both sat lost in 
 thought. Colonel Percy had just finished a letter 
 to Claude, and the faces of both children were 
 vividly before his eye, the fair-haired girl and the 
 dark noble boy ; and with theirs another face was 
 mingled, more fair, more beautiful than either it 
 was that cf his departed wife, gentle, loving, 
 unselfish ; and as he listened to the booming 
 cannon, and thought of the long weary hours of 
 suspense she would have suffered on his account 
 had she been alive, he was able to thank 
 his God and hers that she had been spared 
 the trial had been taken away from the evil to 
 come. 
 
 The thought that she was at rest in the golden 
 city acted on his heart as a gentle chord, in- 
 viting and drawing his thoughts from earthly to 
 heavenly things. Above the noise of cannons' 
 roar, and all the din of warfare, he heard the 
 sounds of the harpers before the throne, and 
 the joyful song of praise of the redeemed chor- 
 isters of heaven. 
 
 How near the eternal world appeared to him as 
 he mused thus ! and how narrow the space which
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 147 
 
 separated him from the Church in heaven ! The 
 words of the beautiful hymn rose to his lips : 
 
 11 One army of the living God, 
 
 To his commands we bow : 
 Part of the host have crossed the flood, 
 
 And part are crossing now." 
 
 There was comfort to him in the thought. He 
 loved at all times to realize the communion of 
 saints ; but time was passing, the hour of duty had 
 come round. The colonel got up, and touching 
 the arm of his companion, who sat lost in a reverie, 
 said, "Come, Ainsworth, we must start for the 
 trenches despite wind and snow." 
 
 Herbert Ainsworth rose at once, but it took him 
 a while to rouse himself from his dreams, and 
 return to the work-day world around him. Not 
 that his day-dreams had been altogether pleasant, 
 for they were strongly mixed with remorse. One 
 sweet loving face, with its deep blue trusting eyes, 
 ever seemed to look at him with a glance of grave 
 reproach, and tell him that his selfishness had 
 blighted a bright young life, and caused deep sor- 
 row to a heart which had loved him only too well. 
 
 Yes ! now when it was too late ; now, when he 
 feared that Mary Manley had learned to despise 
 his very name, Herbert Ainsworth awoke to the
 
 148 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 consciousness of her real worth, and of the true 
 heroism of the heart he had willfully thrown from 
 him. He traced the motive of her action now to 
 its true source, obedience to the Great King ; and 
 he himself, as yet but a beginner in the school of 
 the heavenly Teacher, wondered at the strong 
 faith and stronger love which enabled Mary Man- 
 ley thus to deny herself, .in order to do what she 
 saw was the will of God concerning her. If his 
 love to her had ever grown cold, it was warm 
 enough now; and the knowledge that she still 
 loved him would have brightened up all around 
 him. That the fact was hid from him, was but a 
 jjist retribution for his past conduct; but even as 
 it was, the spark of hope which somehow would 
 not die that perchance she still thought of, still 
 prayed for him, sustained and strengthened him 
 to bear up and fight on, till, with a name renowned 
 for brave ^deeds, he might claim her as his own, or 
 at least seek and obtain forgiveness of the past. 
 Something whispered to him, that woman's love, 
 once given, was not lightly removed ; and so, with 
 that sweet face ever present in imagination, Her- 
 bert worked away" in the trenches, and bore up 
 unflinchingly amid hardships, new indeed to many 
 who underwent them all.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 149 
 
 Brave men ! how many earnest prayers were 
 offered up on their behalf from British homes, and 
 offered, blessed be Gfod, not in vain; and none 
 more earnest were uttered than those which rose 
 from the hearts of the children we write of in Wil- 
 loughby House those children of the Great King. 
 Often in those December days, Claude, Ada, and 
 Arthur met together, and talked of the scenes 
 enacting at Sebastopol; and, as accounts reached 
 them of the dreadful cold, the suffering, and the 
 sickness which prevailed, their hearts saddened ; 
 and their very powerlessness to help, and the very 
 strength of their pity, led them to do that which 
 proved more powerful than any other thing they 
 could have done to beseech the Lord, who had 
 all power, to arise and help, for Christ's sake. 
 
 "Ada," said Arthur one day, "could we not 
 pray more for the brave soldiers than we do? 
 Look here, see what the Great King tells us, in 
 his Word, about the power of prayer. The Israel- 
 ites were engaged, under the command of Joshua, 
 in fighting with the men of Amalek. For long it 
 was doubtful which side would get the victory ; 
 now one side prevailed, now another. From the 
 top of a neighboring hill three people watched the 
 battle ; they were Moses, Aaron, and Hur. Moses
 
 150 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 prayed to God ; and when he prayed the Israelites 
 prevailed ; when from weariness he ceased the 
 Amalekites prevailed ; and so, as Aaron saw how 
 tired Moses had become, he made him sit down, 
 while he and Hur held up his hands. He prayed 
 steadily ; and Joshua and the people of Israel dis- 
 comfited Amalek and his people with the edge of 
 the sword, You see what prayer did then, Ada, 
 and perhaps it will do so still ; nay, we know for 
 certain it will now," said the child reverentially, 
 " for Jesus has said, * Whatsoever ye shall ask in 
 my name, I will do it.' " 
 
 And so, in simple words, but in full assurance 
 of faith, the children besought the Great King to 
 sustain and comfort the soldiers, and give them 
 victory over all their enemies; and their prayers 
 ascended and mingled with those which were 
 offered up from many a household for the same 
 object. And the answer came; not at first, in 
 victory and cessation of the war, but in the in- 
 creasing patience and long-suffering endurance 
 evinced by the noble army before Sebastopol, and 
 in the bold testimony borne by many a soldier of 
 the cross, even with his last breath, to the power 
 of real religion to uphold under all trials, and 
 remove the fear of death.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 151 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 " He who his Son, most dear and loved, 
 
 Gave up for us to die, 
 Shall he not all things freely give 
 
 That goodness can supply ? 
 Behold the best, the greatest gift 
 
 Of everlasting love I 
 Behold the pledge of peace below, 
 
 And perfect bliss above 1 " 
 
 THE Christmas holidays had begun : Claude was 
 at his uncle's; and some relations of Mrs. Wil- 
 loughby's, Mr. and Mrs. Carew, with their two 
 young daughters and a boy about Arthur's age, 
 had come to remain till the New Year; so the 
 party at Willoughby House was a large and 
 pleasant one. 
 
 A slight covering of snow lay on meadow and 
 hill, and the frost had for some time been more 
 severe than it usually is in the south of England ; 
 but though some might grumble at the unwonted 
 cold, not so did the youngsters at Willoughby. 
 Snow-balling and skating were pleasing enough 
 
 for some of the party, and the exhilarating air and 
 10
 
 152 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 "beautiful scenery more than satisfied the others ; 
 and all, from little toddling Minnie, (who thought 
 the snow was sugar, and insisted on tasting it,) 
 regretted when the too early setting sun recalled 
 them home, and loved to linger as long as possible 
 watching the glowing colors that painted the 
 clouds which rested on the hill-tops, and glist- 
 ened on the pure white snow. And Arthur, as 
 he gazed, fancied that right behind the floating 
 golden clouds lay the entrance to the city where 
 dwelt the King of glory. 
 
 Colonel Percy's letters afforded abundant topics 
 of conversation to the whole party. Claude never 
 wearied of repeating the details of the noble charge 
 at Balaklava on the twenty-fifth of October, which 
 his father had written to him, describing in glow- 
 ing terms the glorious appearance of the British 
 squadrons under the command of Lord Cardigan, 
 as they dashed across the plain in obedience to 
 orders, exposed as they were to the heavy fire of 
 the enemy on 411 sides, and engaged in an attack 
 which made the world wonder. Alas, alas ! ere 
 the splendid brigade returned to the lines half its 
 numbers lay* dead on the field. " But," said 
 Claude with sparkling eyes, " they died at their 
 post of duty; and what more glorious death
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 153 
 
 can a soldier desire than to fall on the field of 
 battle?" 
 
 In the midst of Claude's enthusiastic descrip- 
 tions Ada's gentle voice was sometimes heard. 
 " O, Claude, but war is a dreadful thing ! Think, 
 only think of the desolation and misery which the 
 report of that awful loss will cause to so many 
 hearts, Leaving parents childless, wives widows, 
 and, Claude, perhaps very many children orphans." 
 
 But Claude stoutly maintained, in spite of all 
 that, and much as he felt for the relations of those 
 who fell, " Still, Ada, there must be great conso- 
 lation for them in the thought that their friends 
 fell doing their duty, fighting for their country ;" 
 and, led on by her brother's words, the next 
 moment would find Ada listening with all atten- 
 tion to his account of the battle of Inkerman, 
 telling how, in the dark foggy morning of the 
 fifth of November, the Russians had attacked the 
 British troops at Inkerman, and how nobly (though 
 somewhat taken by surprise) they had fought, 
 often carrying on the fearful struggle in a hand 
 to hand combat; how the enemy was repulsed, 
 then once more made a new attack ; how the 
 French army hastened to share the battle; and 
 how for seven hours the combat continued, the
 
 154 CHILDREN" OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 carnage on both sides very great, the ground 
 strewn with the dead ; but -how in the end the 
 Rtissians fled in disorder. The victory was a 
 great one, but it was gained at a fearful price. 
 
 The girl's tears fell fast as Claude spoke. The 
 Carews had seen the Guards leave London, a 
 noble sight, and now could only picture them as 
 lying powerless in death, as that regiment had 
 suffered even more than others at Inkerman, 
 drawing from their noble commander (as Colonel 
 Percy wrote) an expression of bitter regret that, 
 while so many of. his friends had perished, he 
 should have survived, saying, " It is not my fault 
 if I am not among them ;" showing, as he spoke, 
 his clothing riddled with balls and grapeshot. 
 
 The long winter evenings were not spent in 
 idleness, nor in mere selfish gratification round 
 the blazing fire, in the tastefully adorned, warmly 
 carpeted and curtained drawing-room of Wil- 
 loughby House. The brave men suffering from 
 cold and privations in the Crimea were not for- 
 gotten ; and all hands were busily employed 
 working warm articles of dress to be sent out in 
 a box to Colonel Percy for distribution among 
 the soldiers of his regiment. For some time 
 Frances, Ada, Mrs. Willoughby, and Miss Manley
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 155 
 
 had been busy at the work, and a good collection of 
 warm comforters, chest preservers, muffetees, and 
 stockings was already finished; and as many 
 friends had come forward and volunteered to 
 help, the articles were increasing daily ; and the 
 children saw with delight that a much larger 
 box than was at first anticipated would have to 
 be got. 
 
 Two or three times, while the Carews were 
 with them, the Willoughbys invited several of 
 the young people from the neighborhood, and had 
 a large working party one of the party reading 
 aloud some favorite book, or relating an instruct- 
 ive story, while the others plied their needles. 
 Ada's dislike of work was overcome now, and she 
 felt obliged to her aunt for having taught her to 
 knit, as she was thus enabled to make many 
 warm articles, which otherwise she could not 
 have done. But all declared that the handiest 
 among the girls was Frances; she was quite in 
 her element, and most useful in shaping and ar- 
 ranging work for others. At first she had entered 
 into the plan more as an amusement than any 
 other thing; but as she worked on she felt*a 
 double pleasure in the thought that she was 
 doing something to help her fellow-creatures.
 
 156 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 Mr. Hole's words were not altogether forgotten, 
 and sometimes, in the midst of her work, she 
 would start at finding herself inwardly repeating 
 the words, "Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of 
 these my brethren, ye did it not to me:" then, 
 half ashamed of thinking of these things, she 
 would begin to hum some lively air, and hope 
 she wasn't going to turn dreadfully good, like 
 Ada or Arthur. 
 
 But she never mocked them now for speaking 
 and thinking of the Great King, as she had once 
 done; only she wished O so much! that Ar- 
 thur's eyes would not look so very bright, nor 
 his cheek have such a delicate pink hue ; and 
 sometimes the thought that perhaps the King he 
 loved so well would take him away to dwell with 
 himself,- filled her with terror ; for better than 
 father, mother, or little sister, Frances loved her 
 gentle brother. O no, she could not live without 
 him ; and so, refusing to entertain the idea of his 
 being ill, she would never listen to her mother 
 when she spoke of her fears that Arthur's health 
 was failing, saying, " There is nothing the matter 
 with him, mamma, but just moping." But even 
 while she spoke thus her eyes filled with tears, 
 and she would run out of the room to hide them.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 157 
 
 Mr. Willoughby watched his daughter closely, 
 and observed the softening of her nature ; and 
 the glad hope filled.his heart that one day would 
 see her also a child of the Great King. 
 
 Mary and Jessie Carew were two gentle, lady- 
 like girls, about the ages of Frances and Ada. 
 Skillful workers, they helped largely to fill the 
 box, and never wearied of hearing Ada and 
 Claude tell the stories of the war written home 
 by their father. The children of religious parents, 
 they were well taught in sacred things ; but they 
 had not yet learned, as Ada did, to realize Jesus 
 as an ever-present guide to them. Reverently as 
 they spoke and thought of him, he was yet afar 
 off, more respected as the Saviour of their parents 
 than loved and known as their own. In close 
 companionship with Arthur, Claude, and Ada, 
 they could not fail to see that the motive of all 
 their actions was love to Jesus, the Son of the 
 Great King of whom they loved to speak; and 
 as they listened to their converse, new views and 
 thoughts of Jesus dawned in their hearts. And 
 when they both could say, in truth, ere many 
 years had passed, that the God and Saviour 01 
 their parents was theirs also, they loved to tell 
 that the first time they really began to desire to
 
 158 CHILDREN OF THE GHEAT KING. 
 
 
 
 know Jesus as their friend and Saviour was dur- 
 ing their Christmas visit to Willoughby House, 
 when they saw how happy Ada and the boys 
 were in the full confidence of being children of 
 the Great King. 
 
 The party at Willoughby House was to break 
 up on the second day of the new year, and the 
 box was to be packed up and sent off on the first, 
 so that there was no time to be lost ; articles had 
 to be finished, and books (which Colonel Percy 
 had said would be very acceptable) to be got. 
 All were therefore fully occupied, and many 
 pleasant conversations took place while the hands 
 were busy. 
 
 Arthur, when wearied with playing with Claude 
 and Alfred Carew, would often join the working 
 party, and take part in their talk; and some of 
 the girls remarked that, whatever subject they 
 might be talking about when he joined them, ere 
 long he led the conversation, almost imperceptibly, 
 to the Son of the Great King, who came so many 
 hundred years ago into the world, and lay, a little 
 babe, in his mother's arms in the manger at Beth- 
 lehem. The best of all Christmas presents, he 
 said to Ada, was surely this, God's unspeakable 
 gift.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GKEAT KING. 159 
 
 Among the contributors to the box were many 
 of the villagers, eager to give what little help they 
 could to the soldiers. Even blind Mrs. Barnes 
 sent some pairs of warm stockings of her own 
 knitting, and little Willie brought a new com- 
 forter to Arthur, and asked him to send it. " Fa- 
 ther gave it me for myself," said he, "but the 
 poor soldiers need it more than me ; and so, when 
 I asked father if I might give it them, he said yes. 
 Please, sir, to take it, for it's the only thing I 
 have." The humble gift was not refused, and the 
 offering, in the eyes of the Lord, might not have 
 been the least costly in the box. 
 
 The box was filled and sent off. Holiday time 
 had come to an end, and a new year had begun, 
 on the events of which, whether sad or joyful, the 
 blessing of the Great King was earnestly implored, 
 and the party at Willoughby House dispersed, 
 never all to meet again till they shall do so within 
 the city where partings are unknown.
 
 160 CHILDREN -OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIIL 
 
 "The sea, the sea, the glorious seal 
 
 "What has the earth so fair 
 Of hill or valley, grove or lea, 
 
 Which may with it compare ? 
 0, 1 could sit for hours to look 
 
 Upon its wide expanse, 
 And read, in its unwritten book, 
 
 Fresh charms at every glance." 
 
 " FRANCES, Ada, look here ! have'nt we been 
 successful to-day ?" said Claude and Arthur in a 
 breath as they ran toward a sheltered nook, 
 where the girls sat, on a wooded declivity over- 
 hanging the beautiful beach at Ilfracombe ; " only 
 see !" And they proceeded to take out of the ves- 
 sels which they carried some beautiful specimens 
 of marine animals, feathery plemose, the bright 
 rosy anemones, one or two snowy ones, some of 
 the graceful cave-dwellers, and two brilliantly- 
 colored crasses looking like dahlias. 
 
 The girls were delighted with the new additions 
 to their aquarium, declaring, however, that the 
 boys might keep the crasses ; for, beautiful as they 
 were, they preferred the smaller ones; and the
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 161 
 
 large kind, at all events, were more suited to the 
 tank. 
 
 " What lovely sea-weeds 1" said Ada. "Ah, here 
 is a kind will do charmingly to form a group for 
 the screen I am making for Miss Manley. How 
 graceful they look !" 
 
 " Ah, but," interrupted the boys, " you should 
 have seen them in the place they were growing ; 
 the most beautiful little pool you can imagine, far 
 away among the rocks yonder. This rose-colored 
 sea-weed fringed the whole of it with its feathery 
 branches, just like a little fairy tree. Some of 
 those brilliant-colored crasses were sunning them- 
 selves in it, spread out in all their beauty ; funny 
 little fish were darting about it : in fact, it was 
 just a natural aquarium; and the water so clear 
 too. But I can tell you the very shadow of our 
 hands, as they touched the water, changed the 
 whole appearance of it. The fish disappeared in 
 a moment, the crasses drew in their tentacles, 
 and, becoming quite ugly, covered themselves 
 with sand and mud as we tried to catch 
 them." 
 
 The girls declared they must see the pool for 
 themselves the next day, but now they must go 
 indoors, as it was dinner-time; and starting up,
 
 162 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 the four set off toward their pleasant lodgings 
 close by the shore. 
 
 July sunshine and warmth had brought no re- 
 turning health to Arthur "Willoughby ; nay, rather 
 increased his languor ; and at the doctor's advice 
 his parents had taken him and the rest of their 
 family to try the effects of the sea air at the quiet 
 town of Ilfracombe. They had been there for 
 three weeks, and certainly Arthur had gained 
 strength since they came, and thoroughly enjoyed, 
 as did the others likewise, the rambles among the 
 rocks and the pure sea-breeze. Miss Manley had 
 gone home for a short time to visit her friends ; 
 so the children were left a great deal to themselves, 
 and spent most of the day in the open air. 
 
 News from the Crimea was still anxiously 
 looked for. The battles of the Alma and Inker- 
 man, and the bold charge at Balaklava, were now 
 as household words, and yet the allied armies were 
 still occupied in besieging Sebastopol. Long and 
 obstinately the enemy held out, but the allies 
 feared not ; they were confident of victory sooner 
 or later. Colonel Percy wrote constantly now, to 
 tell of some brave repulse given to parties of the 
 enemy, who endeavored in the dead of night to 
 make a sortie, hoping to surprise the allied army ;
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 163 
 
 but finding them fully prepared, were obliged to 
 retreat' again within the walls, though often not 
 without loss of life on both sides. Even in the 
 midst of all the uproar of the incessant warfare, 
 Colonel Percy told how a chosen few, officers and 
 men, used to meet together, now in one tent, now 
 in another, to pray and sing praises to the Great 
 King. Some there were who at first scoffed at 
 the little company ; but as it became evident that 
 the men who composed it were remarkable for 
 bravery, patience, resolution, kind-heartedness, 
 and holy lives, the derision ceased, and the mock- 
 ers acknowledged that if religion produced such 
 fruits it could not be such a bad thing after all. 
 
 As the children played on the beach they often 
 remarked a fine-looking old man, who was almost 
 ahvays absorbed in reading the papers, only rais- 
 ing his head for a moment, as the merry young 
 voices met his ear, to look at them, and sometimes 
 kindly to wish them good-day. ^ 
 
 One morning Claude determined to have a talk 
 with the old man, and find out who he was ; for 
 he had said from the first that he was sure he was 
 an old soldier, while the others had stoutly main- 
 tained he must have been a sailor, he was evi- 
 dently so fond of the sea. Taking for granted
 
 164: CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 that his guess was the right one, Claude began 
 his attack thus : " That was a famous repulse our 
 troops gave the Russians last month, was it not ? 
 You like to read about the war, don't you, sir?" 
 
 The old man's eye glistened as he replied, 
 " That I do, my young sir ; and if this hand were 
 not so frail, and these limbs so tottering, it's not 
 Tom Evans would be sitting here when his coun- 
 try is needing men to fight in its cause. Many 
 and many's the battle I've fought, and none can 
 say they saw me flinch for ball or sword. There's 
 many a one cries out for peace, peace ; but it's war 
 for me ; flashing swords, and the roar of cannon ; 
 these are the sounds that please ' Old Tom,' as the 
 children call me. I'm old and gray-headed, and 
 useless now, you see, but I was young and strong 
 when I fought at Waterloo under the Iron Duke. 
 Yes, that was a battle. They may speak of Alma 
 and Inkerman, but it's Waterloo was the battle of 
 battles, let who^rill say the contrary. But the 
 charge at Balaklava was a grand one, I'll say that : 
 'twas a rash order to give, may be, ' Take yon 
 guns !' but the way 'twas obeyed was grand, yes, 
 grand," repeated the old man, his eyes flashing 
 fire ; " and 'tis no part of a soldier's duty to dis- 
 pute commands ; he has nothing to do but obey.
 
 Claude and the Old Soldier.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 167 
 
 Remember that, young sir, for you have the look 
 of a boy who would some day be a soldier ; your 
 great duty is obedience to your commander, be he 
 right or wrong in his orders." 
 
 " I know that," Claude answered boldly, " for I 
 am a soldier's son, and have been taught that les- 
 son from a child." 
 
 The old man drew from the boy an account of 
 his father's services, regiment, and name, and 
 waxed eloquent in his own stories of the Peninsular 
 wars, ending by asking Claude to come to his cot- 
 tage, which was close by, and see some curious 
 coins and two medals which he had. Claude 
 could not go that day, but promised he would 
 soon. The old man had taken his fancy ; but he 
 grieved to hear that he scrupled not, in talking, to 
 take the name of God in vain. 
 
 As they parted the old soldier repeated his 
 boast, " None can say Tom Evans ever in word or 
 deed failed to obey his captain's commands." 
 
 " And yet," said Claude, half timidly, " I notice 
 you don't think much of disobeying the commands 
 of the Great Captain." 
 
 " The Great Captain ! who is he, boy ? and what 
 do you mean by my disobeying his commands ? " 
 
 "I mean the Lord Jesus," Claude answered;
 
 168 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 " the Captain of our salvation, whom every one of 
 us is bound to obey, before whose judgment-seat 
 we must all one day stand, and give in our ac- 
 count of how we have obeyed his orders ; and he 
 has said, ' Swear not at all.' Don't do it, Mr. 
 Evans, for the Lord Jesus is a good Captain, and 
 all who fight under his banners are blessed." 
 
 Without waiting for more words Claude was 
 off, eager to tell that the old man was a soldier, 
 and to relate some of the stories he had told him. 
 
 The old man looked after him, muttering to 
 himself as he did so, " That's a strange boy ; bold- 
 like too, and yet can preach like a parson, better 
 than some I've heard. The Great Captain that's 
 what he called Jesus expects us all to obey his 
 commands. Well, Tom Evans, you'll certainly be 
 cashiered and shamefully expelled for disobedience 
 to that Captain's orders, and there will be nothing 
 but justice in the sentence either; not a word 
 could you say in your own defense before that 
 court ; and you're old, and the time of your reck- 
 oning can't be far off. Heigh ho ! but that bit 
 boy made me feel oddish. There's an old Bible at 
 home, it hasn't been, opened for many a day ; but 
 I'll have a spell at it, and see what the Captain 
 says. I like that boy, too, I do ; he's the very
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 169 
 
 making of a soldier in him. And so he did not 
 like to hear the old man swear. Well, soldiers 
 did not mind that so much in my day ; but things 
 change, no doubt." And the old man walked 
 slowly home, and turned into his solitary house ; 
 for he liked to live alone, although a married 
 daughter and her children lived only a short way 
 off, and had pressed him to make her home his. 
 
 A well-read copy of "Wellington's Life" lay 
 open on the table ; but that night it was the long- 
 neglected large-printed Bible that the old man 
 pored over, and the verse he dwelt the longest on 
 was the third in the second chapter of Second 
 Timothy : " Thou therefore endure hardness, as a 
 good soldier of Jesus Christ." He could not find 
 out yet anything about the Captain of salvation ; 
 but he had found out one thing, and that not a 
 small one, that he was not a good soldier of Jesus 
 Christ. The way of salvation was all dark and 
 unknown to him : through a long lifetime he had 
 dwelt in that darkness, and knew not that it was 
 not light ; but the reflected light of a child of the 
 Great King had shown him the darkness which 
 surrounded him, and the old man started as he 
 saw how thick it was. 
 
 Some days passed ere Claude visited the old 
 11
 
 170 .CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 soldier in his humble cottage. The welcome he 
 received was a hearty one, and it was plainly 
 with no small pleasure that the old man showed 
 off his stock of curiosities, and poured into the 
 boy's ears one story after another of his youthful 
 days and adventures. Ere Claude rose to go, the 
 soldier pointed to the large Bible on the table, 
 saying, "Young sir, I've been taking a read at 
 that book, looking to find out what orders the 
 Great Captain you spoke of has given to his sol- 
 diers, and it's plain to me, when the hour of reck- 
 oning or the day of inspection comes round, that 
 Tom Evans stands a poor chance : no way of 
 escape for him either that I can see." Yet the 
 old man looked anxiously at the boy as he spoke, 
 as if hoping he might contradict his assertion. 
 
 " O yes," said Claude eagerly, " there is a way 
 of escape for all who confess their sins and seek 
 forgiveness. Look here," and Claude opened the 
 Bible, "it is written, 'The blood of Jesus cleanseth 
 us from all sin ;' and again in the first chapter of 
 Ephesians we read, ' God hath accepted us in the 
 Beloved, [that's Christ,] in whom we have re- 
 demption through his blood, the forgiveness of 
 sins.' The way of salvation is plain enough, 
 sir. ' Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 171 
 
 thou shalt be saved.' The great Captain is worthy 
 of our love. When nothing but certain destruc- 
 tion awaited everyone of us, he gave his life to 
 save us; so, surely, he has a claim on our love, 
 obedience, and gratitude, has he not ? " 
 
 " That he has, sir, and no mistake ; but it's the 
 enemy I fear, that Satan : he'll be always tempt- 
 ing me to disobey the Captain, and not fight 
 under his banners ; and, you see, it's with shame 
 I say it, but all my life I see now it's under 
 Satan's banners Tom Evans has fought, and it 
 will be hard work to escape out of his hands." 
 
 " True enough, sir," said Claude ; " but, as my 
 father told me, Christ is stronger than Satan ; ask 
 him to help you, and fight your enemy for you, 
 and he'll do^it: never fear, only trust in him. It 
 is written, ' Resist the devil, and he will flee from 
 you.' You must read about the Christian's armor, 
 in which all the soldiers of Christ must be clothed. 
 Here is the place, in the sixth chapter of Ephe- 
 sians. See, we are told we must put on the whole 
 armor of God, that ' we may be able to stand 
 against the wiles of the devil." 
 
 The old man read the passage carefully, and 
 mused over it long after Claude had left the 
 cottage, saying to himself as he read, " "Well, it's
 
 172 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 plain enough that the battle's a hard one, and the 
 enemy very strong and very crafty, but then the 
 Great Captain is stronger than Satan ; and, as the 
 boy said, they that are with us are greater than 
 all that are against us." 
 
 The old man's progress in the knowledge of 
 divine things was slow ; but through the darkness 
 the true light had shone, and would go on increas- 
 ing to the eternal day ; and, even at the eleventh 
 hour, the old soldier would join the band who, 
 through much tribulation and many difficulties, 
 yet with a secret strength and joy of which the 
 world knows not, are pursuing their way under 
 the guidance of the Son to the palace of the Great 
 King. 
 
 The month of September found the Willough- 
 bys and the Percys once more in their lovely 
 home, reveling in the beauties of country scenery 
 at this season, when the silent processes of nature 
 during long months have reached their consum- 
 mation, and have covered the earth with fruit, 
 while the trees stand as yet with their summer 
 beauty untouched, awaiting the breath of autunm 
 to clothe them with a beauty pleasing to look on, 
 though betokening decay. 
 
 On a day of more than ordinary loveliness,
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 173 
 
 when the earth was covered with the bounty of 
 the Lord, the glad news spread from county to 
 county in the United Kingdom that Sebastopol 
 was taken. British arms had once more, by the 
 blessing of God, proved successful ; the war had 
 ceased, the oppressed were free. The nation 
 hailed the news with unbounded joy. Peals of 
 cannon sounded over the land, telling of victory ; 
 bells rung out the glad tidings, brilliant fireworks 
 proclaimed the universal joy, and from many a 
 church rose the strain of grateful praise to Him 
 who had given the victory, and once more gave 
 the prospects of peace. A sense of repose and 
 rest descended that night on many a heart that 
 for long weary months had beat in restless anx- 
 iety for loved ones amid the dangers of war. 
 
 At Willoughby House the news was received 
 with a joy almost too deep for words; even 
 Claude's warlike spirit rejoicing at the thoughts 
 of a peace (gained by victory) which would once 
 more restore their father to them. But it was in 
 the quiet of her own room that Ada gave vent to 
 her feelings, and then it was in adoring prayer to 
 the Great King, who had preserved their father 
 safe, and made the war to cease. The party that 
 evening was joined by Mr. Hole, who came to
 
 174 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT K1XG. 
 
 congratulate the Percys on the good news, and 
 unite with them in returning'thanks to the Great 
 King for his mercy, each one saying from his 
 heart, even as David did of old, " Blessed be the 
 Lord God of Israel, our Father, for ever and 
 ever." " Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the 
 power, and the glory, and the victory, and the 
 majesty : for all that is in the heaven and in the 
 earth is thine ; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and 
 thou art exalted as head over all ;" each one seek- 
 ing that the time might soon come when men 
 should "beat their swords into plowshares, and 
 their spears into pruning-hooks, and nation shall 
 not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they 
 learn war any more."
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 175 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 " The merry homes of England ! 
 
 Around their hearths by night, 
 What gladsome looks of household love 
 
 Meet in the ruddy light 1 " 
 
 SOFT spring breezes were blowing, delicate 
 green leaves covered the trees, quivering as if in 
 the exquisite enjoyment of life, and the bright 
 sunbeams played on the rosy blossoms of the 
 lovely Devonshire orchards ere Colonel Percy 
 found himself in Willoughby House, and once 
 more clasped his children in his arms, the weary 
 months of toil and danger and separation all for- 
 gotten in the joy of reunion. 
 
 In the end his arrival was unexpected; the 
 party were assembled in the drawing-roonij music 
 and the merry laughter of children filled the 
 room, drowning the sound of carriage-wheels, 
 when the door opened, and Colonel Percy stood 
 in the midst of them. One glance, and with a 
 shout of joy his children were in his arms. 
 
 A warm welcome from all greeted him ; and as
 
 176 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 he sat on the sofa, his anus encircling his children, 
 his heart was filled with true happiness. Even 
 while answering the questions addressed to him 
 on all sides, his eyes rested with delight on his 
 boy and girl, noting the change and improvement 
 which nearly two years had made on their ap- 
 pearance, and observing, with an eye sharpened 
 by parental affection, the expression of counte- 
 nance which told him of mental and spiritual 
 growth. In Ada's he read a character strength- 
 ened and ennobled by her love to God and man, 
 and rendered more self-reliant, since he had seen 
 her, by the circumstances in which she had been 
 placed. And in Claude's^ he read the same bold, 
 eager spirit as of old ; but the firm set of mouth, 
 and whole expression of face, betokened a temper 
 more held in subjection, a mind more concen- 
 trated than of old. 
 
 Ada said little, and only those who knew her 
 well would have known how happy she was; but 
 to them her peaceful, loving, grateful look spoke 
 volumes. Not hers the nature which finds vent 
 for its happiness in words ; no, although happi- 
 ness pervaded even the very depths of her heart, 
 its outward expression spoke more by the eyes 
 than the lips. But Claude's joy was expressed
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KIXG. 177 
 
 more openly, and, but for deference to the feel- 
 ings of others, would have found vent in a true 
 schoolboy's hurrah. * 
 
 A pause in the conversation let him put the 
 question, "Please, papa, will you tell us some- 
 thing about the taking of Sebastopol on the 
 glorious eighth of September ? " The request 
 was granted, and a short account of the assault 
 given. 
 
 "For hours the struggle, Claude, was a hard 
 one, and at times victory seemed doubtful ; once 
 masters of the Malakoff, we knew Sebastopol 
 must fall. Many a brave man perished ere that 
 was achieved ; but when it was so, shouts of 
 triumph told we felt that victory was now ours. 
 
 " During the night loud explosions and blazing 
 flames told that the enemy had abandoned the 
 town, blowing up their defenses, their powder 
 magazines, and different establishments, and set- 
 ting fire to the city. Morning confirmed the 
 truth of our suppositions ; the Russians, under 
 the leadership of Prince Gortschakoff, had de- 
 parted, having destroyed everything they could, 
 and punk a number of ships in the harbor, leaving 
 the allied armies conquerors. You can scarcely 
 imagine the desolate appearance which the once
 
 178 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 fine town bore when our troops entered it ; scenes 
 of horror on every side, smouldering ruins, 
 crumbling houses, and dead bodies of men and 
 animals. 
 
 "Yes, Claude, the glitter of war is only at a 
 distance: those who have witnessed the many 
 horrors attendant on even a short campaign, must 
 acknowledge it to be a necessary evil ; and even 
 the most heroic and boldest of soldiers should 
 look forward with rejoicing to the time when 
 nations shall not learn war any more." 
 
 As Colonel Percy spoke, his eye rested on 
 Arthur, who sat with his large dreamy eyes fixed 
 on his uncle, apparently absorbed in listening to 
 him ; yet with the appearance of one whose 
 thoughts had been led by the conversation to 
 things beyond and above. Something in the look 
 struck Colonel Percy, and he saw with pain the 
 boy's very delicate appearance. Laying his hand 
 kindly on his shoulder, he drew him nearer to 
 him. "Well, Arthur, what are you thinking 
 of?" he said, somewhat playfully. "Did you 
 not like to hear my description of all those 
 horrors ? " 
 
 Half bashfully the child said, " No, no, it was 
 not that; I liked to hear; only you made me
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 179 
 
 think of some words, and they led my thoughts 
 to other things." 
 
 " What were the words, Arthur ? " said Claude ; 
 "do tell us." 
 
 Gently he whispered, " ' They shall not hurt nor 
 destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord ;' 
 and I was just thinking how pleasant it would be 
 to be there, ' for the people who dwell there shall 
 be forgiven their iniquities.' " 
 
 The boy's words were so plainly the simple 
 expression of his real feelings that Colonel Percy 
 felt much attracted to him; he saw with regret 
 the sad look which crossed his father's face as he 
 regarded his child, whose whole appearance now 
 indicated only too plainly that ere long the place 
 which now knew him would know him no more 
 for ever. 
 
 Not till the children were alone with their 
 father, holding sweet converse, as of old, did Ada 
 realize how happy she was. Together they spoke 
 of the Great King, and, kneeling at the throne of 
 grace with grateful hearts, rendered thanks to 
 him for having preserved them, and brought them 
 again together in safety ; and as Ada lay in bed 
 that night, she thought of the last time she had 
 received her father's good-night kiss, and, remem-
 
 180 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 bering her dream, acknowledged that, in very- 
 truth, the Son of the King had upheld her weak 
 steps, had overcome the many obstacles and 
 thorns which had at first encompassed her way, 
 and was, she doubted not, leading her onward to 
 the palace where he dwelt. 
 
 Very calmly she slept that night, no bloody 
 battle-fields before her eyes, as had so often beon 
 in the past months ; only her father's figure, and, 
 clearer far than of late, the face of her gentle 
 mother, peaceful and sweet as of old ; so lifelike 
 that when the bright sunshine roused her from 
 her slumber, ere she fully awoke to consciousness, 
 and only aware that some very joyful event had 
 occurred, it was some minutes ere she could divest 
 herself of the idea that not only her father, but 
 her mother also, was waiting for her morning 
 kiss. But the truth soon shone clearly ; not on 
 earth would she again see her angel mother, or 
 kneel at her knee in prayer. No, that meeting 
 would take place in far fairer scenes, even in the 
 City of Light, in the presence of the Great King ; 
 till then in dreams only would she behold the so 
 loved face. 
 
 But that did not damp the joy she felt in once 
 more waking to the delight of knowing that her
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GEE AT KING. 181 
 
 father waited impatiently her morning salutation ; 
 so bed was left with -a bound. And her Bible- 
 reading was not a lonely one that day, for just as 
 she had seated herself to commence it, Colonel 
 Percy entered, and, seating himself beside her, 
 read of the Lamb who stood on the Mount Sion, 
 having with him the hundred and forty and four 
 thousand redeemed ones who have his Father's 
 name written in their foreheads. 
 
 "Those, Ada," he said, "were all children of 
 the Great King ; no mistaking them for such even 
 on earth, for the seal was on their foreheads, and 
 ' holiness to the Lord ' was engraved thereon ; 
 known to all around them as followers of the 
 Lamb, not merely by bearing his name, but as 
 being a peculiar people, zealous of good works ; 
 and now, when we read of them in glory, they 
 are singing a song of praise before the throne, 
 which they only can sing who have learned it on 
 earth." 
 
 "Papa," said Ada, looking up into the clear 
 blue sky, " mamma is there singing that song, is 
 she not ? " 
 
 "Yes, my child, in full assurance of faith we 
 can say she is: she learned that song on earth, 
 we know ; and now she is, without fault, before
 
 182 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING, 
 
 the throne of God, washed in the blood of the 
 Lamb, and one of the happy ones who follow "him 
 whithersoever he goeth. Ada, even if we could, 
 would we bring her back to earth, to lean on our 
 fraU love once more ? " 
 
 For some minutes, gazing upward in solemn 
 thought, then with a smile playing on her lips, as 
 if she had caught a glimpse within the vail, she 
 said, " No, papa, she is better, far better so. One 
 day we shall see her again, and never part. Papa, 
 I hope that you and I, Claude, Arthur, Frances, 
 uncle, aunt, and dear little Minnie, all will be 
 there." 
 
 " God grant it, Ada ; within the palace of the 
 Great King may we all meet, no member lost, a 
 family in heaven."
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 183 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 He led them forth by a right way, that they might go to a city 
 of habitation. PSA. cvii, 7. 
 
 YEEY pleasant were the summer weeks which 
 Colonel Percy spent with his children at Wil- 
 loughby House. Time seemed to fly on wings ; 
 all were delighted with the colonel's pleasant, 
 winning manners^and turned to him for advice in 
 perplexity, or sympathy in pleasure. Now he 
 might be seen superintending farming matters in 
 company with Mr. Willoughby ; then ready at 
 Mrs. Willoughby's desire to make some calls in 
 the neighborhood, on people anxious to see one 
 who had gone through the dangers of the Crimean 
 war. Not only his own children, but Frances and 
 Arthur also sought him in any difficulty, and got 
 him to be a partaker in their pleasures. 
 
 Kind and courteous to Miss Manley, grateful 
 for the trouble she had taken with his girl, he yet 
 little suspected how interested the governess felt 
 in him as the friend of Herbert Ainsworth ; and 
 with what breathless delight she listened, when in
 
 184 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 conversation he mentioned his name as one of the 
 bravest of officers. 
 
 But not for much longer was the gentle spirit 
 of Mary Manley to Tbe so sorely tried. "When 
 Colonel Percy had been about a month at Wil- 
 loughby House the post brought two letters, in 
 Herbert Ainsworth's handwriting, the one to 
 Colonel Percy, the other to Miss Manley. In the 
 one he told his friend the story of his love, making 
 full confession of the part which he had acted, and 
 of the nobler Christian way in which Miss Manley 
 had behaved. To Miss Manley he wrote only a 
 few lines, telling how bitterly he had repented of 
 the step he had taken, and how deeply and fondly 
 he still loved her. More he did not feel himself 
 privileged to write, till he was assured of her for- 
 giveness, and had obtained her consent to^ see her. 
 " Only write one word of permission ; only say 
 you have not learned to forget me as I deserve," 
 he wrote, " and a few hours will find me by your 
 side." 
 
 Such was the strain of the letter which in one 
 moment made Mary Manley 's heart beat more joy- 
 fully than it had done for many a day. It may be 
 that a stronger-minded woman would have re- 
 jected the lover who had once cast her off, and,
 
 CHILDREN OF TEE GREAT KING. 185 
 
 even while inwardly suffering herself, would hare 
 rejoiced in her revenge. But Mary Manley was 
 strong-minded only in some things: strong in 
 doing right ; strong in denying herself rather than 
 turn aside from the path of duty; but as for 
 quenching her deep affections, and now that she 
 had the power of glorying in being able to say 
 to her former lover, " As you once thought you 
 could do without me, I will not forgive you 
 now" as for writing a lie, and saying she had 
 ceased to love unheroic as she may seem, she 
 could not do so, not she. Like a very woman as 
 she was, and a simple loving one too, she laid 
 down her head and cried over the letter; then 
 took up her pen, and, after asking counsel only of 
 the best Counselor, and of her own heart, she 
 wrote the words, " Come, Herbert, I forgive all," 
 and kneeling in prayer thanked the Great King for 
 granting her such unlooked-for bliss. 
 
 " Well, I declare," said Frances, (when some 
 days afterward her uncle was relating the noble 
 way in which Miss Manley had acted,) "Miss 
 Manley is quite a heroine after all; only you 
 know, uncle, I think she certainly should have 
 refused to see him again, instead of looking, O so 
 
 bright and happy, and consenting, mamma says, 
 12
 
 186 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 to be married to him soon too. She should, at 
 least, have put him off for some time till she had 
 proved him; that's what I should have done." 
 And the girl drew herself up in the conscious 
 dignity of nearly sixteen years. 
 
 Colonel Percy smiled at her words and air of 
 determination. " "Wait a bit, Frances, till you are 
 tried, and perhaps your fine theories will all be 
 swept away by the flood of a real pure, forgiving 
 love, which erases past offenses in its course, and 
 makes them seem as though they had never ex- 
 isted." 
 
 Ere long a new governess filled Miss Manley's 
 place, and the autumn months saw the latter the 
 wife of Herbert Ainsworth, united to him in spirit 
 as she had never formerly been ; for now they 
 were, in Christ Jesus, members of the little flock 
 whose King dwelleth in heaven, and who appoint- 
 eth for each of his children the place and the trials 
 on earth which will prepare them best for the 
 place assigned to them in the kingdom above. 
 
 Miss Manley's departure was a real grief to Ada 
 and Arthur, though her successor, Miss "Williams, 
 was one well qualified to fill her place, and per- 
 haps better suited for the charge of a girl of the 
 age and temperament of Frances.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 187 
 
 All too soon the time of Colonel Percy's leave 
 of absence sped away, and Ada learned, somewhat 
 to her surprise, that though his regiment was to 
 be stationed probably for some time in Ireland, 
 she was still to remain an inmate of Willoughby 
 House. Indeed no other plan was feasible, unless 
 that of placing her at a boarding-school in Dublin, 
 which was once thought of, where her father could 
 often see her. But much as he would have liked 
 the plan, he soon saw that the best one would 
 be to allow Ada to remain, for some time at least, 
 under the charge of her uncle and aunt. 
 
 Fond as Ada was of all at Willoughby, she 
 heard her father's determination with a sad heart. 
 Once more a separation was before her, and this 
 time not only from her father, but from Claude 
 also, who, after the Christmas holidays, was to go 
 to a military school at a far distance. But she 
 showed her disappointment as little as possible, 
 lest she should grieve the kind friends who she 
 knew had arranged all for what they believed her 
 good. Claude was the only one who saw how cast 
 down she was, and they talked over the subject 
 together ; and he pointed out to her some bright 
 spots in the scheme, which cheered her not a little. 
 
 " Only think, Ada," said he, " how sorry Arthur
 
 188 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 would be if you went ; see how he likes to have 
 you sit beside him and talk to him, and what 
 pleasure he takes in reading all the queer old 
 stories, just to have the pleasure of telling them to 
 you. And Frances, too only this morning she 
 came rushing to me with such a bright face, to tell 
 me it was now quite fixed that you would remain ; 
 ' and Claude,' she said, ' to tell you the truth, I am 
 as glad as glad can be ; I could not bear now to 
 be without Ada.' " 
 
 Well, Ada was glad to hear that; though 
 Frances and she were very good friends now, still 
 she did not fancy she cared much about her. O, 
 she knew by and by that she would see it was all 
 right, only now she could not bear to think of it ; 
 "alone, without even you, Claude, near." But 
 her brother had cheered her, and she must not 
 seem to rebel against her father's wishes ; and as 
 she re-entered the drawing-room, with a face not 
 so bright as usual, it is true, but still not sad, the 
 kind loving looks which welcomed her told that 
 all knew and sympathized with her disappoint- 
 ment, and were pleased to see how bravely she 
 bore it. Keenly her father watched her. For her 
 good he had acted, but the pang he felt was as 
 sharp as hers.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 189 
 
 "Ada," he said, as he wished her good-night, 
 " the Son of the Great King has promised to lead 
 his people who put their trust in him safely to the 
 palace ; hut he has said that he must choose the 
 way. Sometimes he leads them away from the 
 smooth road, which they would like to tread, and 
 takes them by a rough crooked way, but, for all 
 that, the right one for them." 
 
 Ada thought of her dream, saying, "Well, 
 papa, I am glad he chooses for me I could not 
 have chosen this one for myself."
 
 190 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 " I know not the way I am going, 
 
 But well do I know iny Guide : 
 With a childlike trust I give my hand 
 
 To the mighty Friend by my side. 
 The only thing I say to him 
 
 As he takes it is, Hold it fast ; 
 Suffer me not to lose my way, 
 
 But lead me safe at last." 
 
 ADA'S visits to the blind widow were still regu- 
 larly paid ; the old woman waiting impatiently as 
 the usual hour for her visit came round, her quick 
 ear ever the first to catch the sound of the light 
 footstep she loved so well. 
 
 For some weeks Ada, at Mrs. Barnes's request, 
 had been engaged in reading aloud to her the 
 "Pilgrim's Progress," the old woman taking in 
 the different scenes so clearly, just as if she saw 
 them all, and meditating on them during the long 
 hours of the, to her, dark day. The day after her 
 future plans had been fixed, Ada, with a step not 
 so light, and a far heavier heart than of old, set 
 off to the village, across the lovely meadows, and 
 through the shady flowery lanes, the gentle
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 191 
 
 breezes just moving the leaves, and playing softly 
 on her forehead. 
 
 She was to read that day of Christian and 
 Faithful, pilgrims to the better land, arriving at- 
 a beautiful river, on the banks of which were 
 green trees, bearing all manner of beautiful fruit ; 
 and beyond the river, on either side, was a lovely 
 meadow, beautiful with lilies, and ever green. 
 For some time the pilgrims loved to rest there, 
 drinking of the pure water and eating the pleas- 
 ant fruits; and Ada, as she looked back on the 
 three months which her father had spent with 
 them, felt as if she, during that time, had been 
 resting by just such another river of pleasure, and 
 now, like the pilgrims, was but little disposed to 
 turn away from it, and press on again, through 
 perhaps many dangers, to her home. 
 
 She read to the old woman how the pilgrims, as 
 they went on, saw the pleasant path by the river- 
 side come to an end, and a rough rugged one take 
 its place, and how they were afraid of it, and 
 shrank back ; but seeing a pleasant path leading 
 away through a green meadow, how they chose 
 it, and walked therein, though they had been told 
 to follow the road which lay straight before them, 
 and turn not aside ; how the path, which looked
 
 192 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 so fair to the eye, led them straight into the 
 dominion of Giant Despair, who seized them, and 
 carried them off into Doubting Castle, and there 
 beat and cruelly treated them, till they were 
 almost dead, and were delivered at last only by 
 the magical power of prayer and faith. 
 
 As Ada read these things her voice trembled ; 
 and Mrs. Barnes, having heard that Colonel Percy 
 was to go away, divined the cause. She laid her 
 hand on the girl's head. " Take heart," she said, 
 " never you fear. The Great King is telling you 
 to leave the pleasant river-side a bit, and choose 
 the rugged path; but he'll hold you up in the 
 way, and brighten it up for you. See, it was 
 because the pilgrims turned away from the path 
 before them, that they got into such trouble. 
 Don't you do that, dear young miss, but just keep 
 right on till you reach the palace." 
 
 Yes, Ada saw that was the best, the only way 
 for a child of the Great King. Anything, any 
 sorrow, was surely better than going astray, and 
 falling into the hands of Giant Despair. So, with 
 a lightened heart, Ada went home, her own soul 
 watered while she had been watering others ; and 
 meeting her papa with Frances and Claude, set 
 off for a country ramble, and returned laden with
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 193 
 
 wild flowers and fruit, little Minnie bounding to 
 meet them in order to run off with some of the 
 flowers for Arthur, who lay on a couch, weak and 
 weary, only the eye very bright, and the spirit 
 very loving. 
 
 Willie Barnes was at school now; but once a 
 week he came up to the house to read his lesson 
 to Arthur, whose failing strength hindered him 
 from getting often to the village, save now and 
 then to the house of God. But the sweet, childish 
 voice, whose notes once sounded so sweetly there, 
 was scarcely heard now; and Mr. Willoughby, 
 and even his fond mother, were beginning to 
 realize how frail was the thread which held their 
 darling only boy to earth. 
 
 One bright autumn day Arthur lay on his couch 
 close by the window, looking, as he loved to do, 
 at the beautiful tints of green and gold, and 
 watching the light clouds which flitted across the 
 sky, obscuring every now and then the rays of 
 the sun, and casting momentary shadows on the 
 earth. Colonel Percy, who sat talking to him, 
 observed with deep compassion the troubled look 
 in Frances's face as she sat busied with her work, 
 her back half turned to Arthur, that he might not 
 see her face ; for in very truth her young heart
 
 194 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 was sorely troubled. Only that morning her 
 father had told her the doctor's opinion, that 
 Arthur's strength was fast failing: all remedies 
 had failed; all that could now be done was pa- 
 tiently to watch and smooth his way home. 
 
 Impetuously Frances ran away from her father, 
 refusing to believe what he said. She said she 
 knew that doctors were almost always wrong, 
 liked to make the worst of all things; and she 
 knew Arthur was not very ill, only he had a bad 
 cough, and that made him so breathless when he 
 tried to walk. O he just needed somebody to 
 cheer him ; she would go and take her work 
 beside him, and rouse him up a bit. And this 
 was the way she did it : she came humming into 
 the room, meaning to begin a joke with him, 
 when something in his face, a look of calm peace, 
 as of one whose thoughts were far above earthly 
 things, struck her with dismay, and told her that 
 the doctor was right. She tried to speak, but a 
 ball seemed to rise in her throat as if it would 
 choke her ; so she moved her seat, turning, as we 
 have seen, her back to her brother, and worked on, 
 her breast heaving with suppressed emotion. 
 
 She was relieved when her uncle came into the 
 room, and Arthur began to talk to him. "Tell
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KIXG. 195 
 
 me again," he said, " about the young boy officer 
 you wrote of, who fell at Alma, who was a child 
 of the Great King. His journey was not a long 
 one, but mine will be far shorter ; different ways, 
 but the same ending, and the same Guide, the 
 Son of the Great King. Uncle, you know Ada's 
 dream; I always felt my journey would be short, 
 and now I can see the palace gate, with the bright 
 light quite close, and I am so glad." 
 
 His words were cut short by a loud sob from 
 Frances, as she dashed her work on the floor, and 
 rushing out of the room, threw herself on her bed, 
 and sobbed as if her heart would break. 
 
 Colonel Percy rose at once, and sending Ada to 
 sit with Arthur, followed Frances to her room, 
 anxious to comfort her. Waiting till the violence 
 of her grief was over, he said kindly, "Dear 
 Frances, is the knowledge of Arthur's danger so 
 new to you ? Did no one warn you ? " 
 
 She broke in on his speech, but not with the 
 impetuous voice as of old. " Yes, O yes, papa did, 
 and mamma also; but I would not believe it, 
 would not believe that the Great King he loves 
 so well could be so cruel, so unjust, as to take him 
 away from every one he loves. O, I could not 
 believe it."
 
 196 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 Colonel Percy repeated her words : " Cruel and 
 unjust ! Nay, Frances, say not, think not so. In- 
 very love and mercy does the Great King deal 
 with all his children, and very lovingly has he 
 dealt with dear Arthur. His short life has been 
 full of happiness, his mind so formed as to have 
 tasted the purest enjoyment from all the beauties 
 of nature, in the midst of which he has lived ; and 
 latterly the greatest of all joys has been granted 
 to him, for the love of Jesus has filled his heart. 
 And now, when God sees fit to withdraw him 
 from this world, he has removed all fear of death 
 far from him ; not one fear, not one gloomy thought 
 concerning it has crossed his mind. He thinks of 
 it (as indeed it is to all who love Jesus) as only a 
 going home; and dearly as he loves you all, he 
 loves Jesus more, and is longing to depart and be 
 with him. O, Frances, when God has thus so 
 tenderly drawn him to himself by the bands of 
 love, can you say that he is cruel any longer? 
 Can you not rather return him thanks from your 
 inmost heart for his loving-kindness toward him, 
 and pray that to the end he may continue it, 
 making Arthur's heart long more, day after day, 
 for the hour when he shall behold him face to 
 face?"
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 197 
 
 The girl's sobbing ceased as she listened to her 
 uncle's words. In her heart she confessed their 
 truth, and for the first time a real longing desire 
 filled her heart, that she too could say that she 
 was indeed a child of that merciful, loving King. 
 On the last day Arthur would stand on the right 
 hand, but she feared that her place would be on 
 the left. Mr. Hole's words sounded again in her 
 ears ; she must seek forgiveness through the blood 
 of Jesus now if she would not hear him then say, 
 " Depart from me." The dew of the Spirit had 
 roused to life the seed which had lain so long dor- 
 mant, and the cry of the girl's heart was, " Bless 
 me also, even me, O Lord;" and ere Colonel 
 Percy left to join his regiment, as he shook hands 
 with Mr. Willoughby, he was able to say, " I hope, 
 and expect to hear from you soon, that Frances 
 too has joined the band, and wears the badge of 
 the children of the Great King. But even though 
 the blessing tarry, wait for it; it will surely 
 come. She is a child of prayer, and we know 
 that ours is the s"ure promise, ' Ask, and ye shall 
 receive.' " 
 
 Yes, so it was; God, in his own way, was 
 guiding the spirit of the girl to the cross of Jesus, 
 where she would find both pardon and strength ;
 
 198 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 but the guide lie had commissioned to lead her 
 was a little child, whom, after that work was done, 
 and that labor of love fulfilled, he was to take to 
 himself, to receive the crown of glory prepared 
 for him in heaven. 

 
 CHILDREN O^ 1 THE GREAT KING. 199 
 
 CHAPTER XXIL 
 
 " My Father's house on high. 
 
 Home of my soul, how near, 
 At times, to faith's far-seeing eye, 
 
 Thy golden gates appear 1 
 Ah ! then my spirit faints, 
 
 To reach the land I love ; 
 The bright inheritance of saints, 
 
 Jerusalem above." 
 
 A FLEE burned brightly in the neat little drawing- 
 room of the parsonage at Ashton ; a lamp on the 
 center-table shed a pleasant, subdued light around, 
 shining on the pure white china tea-cups, bright 
 new silver tea-pot, and a pretty bronze tea-kettle, 
 as they stood ranged before a gentle-looking young 
 lady, who busied herself in preparing tea, while 
 casting every now and then anxious looks toward 
 the door, as if expecting some one to enter. 
 
 Presently she started up with a smile of wel- 
 come as the door opened, and her husband, the 
 young clergyman, Mr. Hole, entered. He looked 
 fagged and worn out ; but the hearty welcome he 
 received, the warm fire, and, let us add, the good 
 cup of tea he drank, cheered him up, and ere long 
 made him look like himself again.
 
 200 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT K.IJSTG. 
 
 Not for long had the parsonage been inhabited 
 by the pretty little blithe woman he now called 
 wife. Only one short month before, when No- 
 vember winds were blowing, and dead leaves 
 whirled through the air, bringing a feeling of 
 desolation into many hearts, the .bells of the little 
 village church rang out a merry peal, and the band 
 of school-children in their Sunday best, and a few 
 of the still lingering flowers of autumn in their 
 hands, stood ready, in their own rustic fashion, to 
 welcome the clergyman and his young bride to 
 their home ; and from that day, in the eyes of the 
 happy husband, there seemed to be perpetual sun- 
 shine in the parsonage. November winds or 
 December snow all vanished, or at least were 
 forgotten, in the presence of his bright young 
 bride. 
 
 But on the evening we write of he looked more 
 worn out than his wife had yet seen him. He had 
 gone out after an early dinner, and had only just 
 returned when it was almost eight o'clock. He 
 had ridden some way to baptize a child, and see 
 some old people, who, owing to the great distance, 
 rarely could get to church ; and then, as he had 
 promised Mr. Willoughby, he had called at the 
 house and remained some time.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 201 
 
 " And how was Arthur to-night ?" said his wife ; 
 " not worse, I hope." 
 
 " No, I think not ; no marked change, the doc- 
 tors say, only a gradual loss of strength. But 
 many an advanced Christian might learn a lesson 
 from that child; his heart glows with love to 
 Jesus, and love to all around him; his faith so 
 simple, yet so strong ; his patient unselfishness so 
 remarkable. No wonder that the thought of 
 losing him is a sore trial to parents and all of 
 them. But the child truly has not lived in vain ; 
 he has done a great work in his home. The 
 mother, kind and hospitable as she has always 
 been, is only now, it seems to me, fully awaking 
 to the saving knowledge of the truth, learning to 
 know Jesus as a loving personal friend, and be- 
 coming willing to let the child she loves so well 
 depart and be with him. 
 
 "And Frances, too, is changed wonderfully 
 changed. She has by nature a bold temper, and, 
 young as she was, a year ago was learning to 
 scoff at holy things ; but now she is much soft- 
 ened. Her greatest pleasure consists in sitting 
 beside her brother, listening to him or reading to 
 him. As I went into the room quietly with Mr. 
 
 Willoughby, we heard Arthur say to his sister 
 13
 
 202 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 (while a large screen hid us from sight,) 'Dear 
 Frances, Jesus wishes you so much to come to 
 him. O, taste and see that the Lord is good; 
 "blessed are they who put their trust in him.' And 
 the girl answered, 'Yes, Arthur, I have tasted 
 and found it, only it is more fear than love with 
 me yet ; but I believe the love will come one day.' 
 The conversation ceased as we walked forward, 
 and Arthur greeted me with his usual happy smile. 
 " As I walked home I have been meditating on 
 the wonderful way in which God deals with his 
 children; and how apparently simple, and often 
 lowly, are the means he makes use of to work out 
 the counsels of his will. Step by step I have 
 marked the change in that household, from the 
 mere outward form of religion to the living spirit. 
 First it was the sweet little Ada Percy whom he 
 commissioned to speak to son and father of the 
 way of salvation. Then it is the dying child he 
 has permitted to be the instrument of drawing 
 the hearts of mother and sister to the cross. 
 Truly God hath chosen the foolish things of the 
 world to confound the wise, and the weak things 
 of the world to confound the things which are 
 mighty, that, as it is written, 'he that glorieth, 
 let him glory in the Lord.' "
 
 CHILDREN -OF THE GEEAT KING. 203 
 
 Yes, all that Mr. Hole told his wife that night 
 was true ; Arthur Willoughby's illness was prov- 
 ing a blessing indeed to all around him. Life 
 went on much as usual in his home : the girls 
 were a great deal in the schoolroom busied with 
 lessons ; the daily walks were taken as usual ; but 
 somehow Arthur's spirit pervaded all. The les- 
 sons were done more heartily, that they might 
 get down sooner to sit with him ; the walks were 
 brightened by the search after some particular 
 fossil, or stone, or plant, for Arthur. 
 
 In many ways Ada's Christian, kindly spirit 
 showed itself. Dearly as she loved Arthur, she 
 was always ready to yield up her place to Fran- 
 ces, knowing how she , liked to spend her spare 
 minutes with him ; a\.d one day, having found a 
 pebble which she knew would please Arthur, she 
 gave it to Frances to give to him, knowing she 
 liked to do so. Frances noticed it all, and sought, 
 by increased gentleness toward her cousin, to 
 show she appreciated her kindness. 
 
 The fruit of the Spirit, the distinguishing badge 
 of the King's children, is love. Tell us not of a 
 faith which is without it, which worketh not by 
 it. The faith which lays hold of Jesus as its 
 object shows its reality by the fruits of holiness.
 
 204 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 Very truly has St. James declared that faith 
 without works is dead. Nay, such a thing is 
 not faith at all, hut a mere delusion of Satan. 
 The children of the Great King, knowing what 
 Jesus has done in order to secure their salvation, 
 must, out of love and gratitude to him, and be- 
 cause he has saved them, glorify his name by 
 their works. 
 
 Arthur's love to Claude continued unabated, 
 and the Saturday afternoons were anxiously 
 looked forward to. It was a strange sight to see 
 these two together: the one so full of life and 
 spirit, eager to run the race before him, yet look- 
 ing up to heaven for guidance ; the other, though 
 several years his junior, tnving almost already 
 reached the end of his shorffipilgrimage, dwelling 
 on the very confines of the land of Beulah, get- 
 ting each day nearer glimpses of the celestial 
 city, learning, from the bright messengers that 
 come from thence to visit him, the very language 
 of the sanctuary, only waiting for the summons 
 to be given, "Come up hither." These visits 
 were good for Claude, good for the strengthening 
 of his faith, ere he went forth to take his part in 
 the world of a large public school. 
 
 One day the boys talked of Claude's departure,
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 205 
 
 which was very near, and of the trials he would 
 be exposed to. "Perhaps," said Arthur, "you 
 will find it hard work to confess the Son of the 
 King there; but, Claude, you wont draw back; 
 you wont, I know. You wont be ashamed of 
 him ; from yonder sky I'll watch you, one of the 
 cloud of witnesses, and I know I'll not see you 
 draw back, for God will strengthen you." Pres- 
 ently he said, " Please, Claude, read to me ; read 
 about Paul proclaiming his faith in God, and 
 giving thanks to him as he took bread before all 
 the crew of the heathen ship. It must have 
 been difficult, perhaps dangerous, for him to do 
 it there, but he did it. Claude, shall I give you 
 a motto ? " 
 
 " Yes, O yes, Arthur, do," said Claude. 
 
 "Well, here it is. Wear it like a ring round 
 your finger. 'God, whose I am, and whom I 
 serve.' " 
 
 Claude repeated the words, and inwardly 
 prayed that, come what might, and be in what 
 company he might, he would never be ashamed 
 to confess that motto, and act as a servant of his 
 Master in heaven. Often, often, in after years, 
 when tempted on all sides to forget and deny his 
 Lord, did that motto rise to his remembrance,
 
 206 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 and with it the soul-speaking eyes of his dying 
 cousin, as he said, " You wont, I know you wont 
 be ashamed of Jesus ;" and once and again 
 strength from above was granted him to confess 
 boldly his allegiance to the Great King. So, 
 being dead, Arthur yet spake. 
 
 The whole party were assembled round Arthur's 
 couch one clear frosty December night, when Mr. 
 Willoughby put into Claude's hand a letter ad- 
 dressed to him in a strange, unformed handwrit- 
 ing, which had come in the forenoon, but which 
 he had forgotten to deliver. Claude wondered 
 greatly at the quaint appearance of the latter, 
 and knew of no one who wrote like that. At 
 last, after a good deal of wonderment, he opened 
 it, and read: 
 
 "HONORED SIK, My father, Tom Evans, died 
 here last night, and this is how he bade me write 
 to you. 'Tell the young gentleman,' he said, 
 * the colonel's son, that the old soldier has fought 
 his last battle ; and, no thanks to himself, nor 
 because he deserved it in anywise, he is going to 
 a home above, purchased for him, and prepared 
 already by the Captain of his salvation. Glory 
 be to his great name ! And,' said he, ' tell the
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 207 
 
 young master he has no fear about the great day 
 of inspection now, for the Captain has promised 
 to answer for him, and forgive him all the sin of 
 having once fought under the banner, of the 
 enemy; and as the Captain is himself to be 
 Judge, Tom Evans fears no longer. Thank,' he 
 said, ' the gentleman for having told me, even at 
 the eleventh hour, of the great Captain of salva- 
 tion; and bid him hold fast unto the end, fight 
 the good fight of faith, laying hold of eternal life ; 
 and, through the gre.at Captain, he'll be sure to 
 come in conqueror at the end. The blessing of 
 an old man be on his head.' 
 
 " That, honored sir, is what he bade me say ; 
 then he began to repeat, half aloud, words that a 
 soldier friend had said to him the day before : 
 
 ' Then I'll march, up the heavenly street, 
 And pile my arms at Jesus' feet.' 
 
 And just after that he looked right up, saying, 
 'That's the tattQO, I must away;' and the spirit 
 fled." 
 
 As Claude ceased reading every eye was moist 
 with tears. Mr. Willoughby pressed Claude's 
 hand, saying, "Thank God, my boy, for having 
 made you the instrument of leading the old man
 
 208 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 to his Saviour." Claude said nothing just then ; 
 but, for all that, his heart was full of gratitude 
 for having been so honored. 
 
 " Poor old man, so he is dead," said some of the 
 hildren ; " how sorry his daughter will be ! " 
 
 "She should not sorrow too much, I think," 
 said Arthur ; " for, you know, her old father must 
 be so happy in the palace of the King, and will 
 wait for her to meet him there. O she must not 
 grieve for him." 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby exchanged looks ; 
 well they knew that their boy thought of them, 
 and hoped they would not grieve too much when 
 the King took him away.
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 209 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 " The struggle was o'er, the valley past 
 
 Which to him had naught of gloom ; 
 For a ray from heaven's bright portals heamed 
 
 To lighten his path to the tomb. 
 He heard the sound of the angels' harps, 
 
 As he passed up the golden street ; 
 But Ttis place was before the Saviour's throne 
 
 For there his redeemed ones meet." 
 
 THE faint light of a March morning was begin- 
 ning to struggle in the eastern sky, scarcely hav- 
 ing chased away the shades of the long night 
 sufficiently to lighten up the earth, which still 
 remained lightly wrapped in the gray weird-like 
 clothing of night, when little Willie Barnes quietly 
 opened the door of his grandmother's cottage, and, 
 shutting it after him, ran out through the little 
 garden to the road in front. 
 
 He looked around him not guiltily, (for, early 
 as it was, Willie's father knew of his errand, and 
 had given him permission,) but Willie was amused 
 at the scene around him, everything was so still. 
 The inmates of the houses were mostly up, it is 
 true, and stirring indoors ; but only here and there
 
 210 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 a figure was to be seen setting off to the morning 
 work. The smoke from some of the cottages was 
 just beginning lazily to ascend; and, finding it 
 impossible as yet to rise up through the thick 
 mist, it contented itself by curling into every 
 curious form, and hanging low over the houses. 
 But Willie passed on, down by the parsonage, 
 past the little white gate which led to it, wonder- 
 ing where Mr. Hole was going to so early, as he 
 saw him cross a field right in front of the parson- 
 age, and take the road to Willoughby House. 
 
 But Willie's road lay in the opposite direction ; 
 so he ran on, till, after crossing a meadow, the 
 grass of which was already assuming the fresh 
 green hue of spring, he turned aside to a well- 
 known sheltered yet sunny nook, where the earli- 
 est spring flowers were erer to be found. He 
 glanced around a moment, a sweet perfume was 
 wafted close to him by the quiet breeze, and with 
 a cry of delight the child descried, at the root of a 
 still leafless tree, the first wild violets of the 
 season. 
 
 "I'm glad, so glad," he said to himself; "I 
 wanted them so much for him ; those which grow 
 here are always so sweet and fresh, and who knows 
 if dear Master Willoughby will ever see another
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 211 
 
 spring? Least that's what grandmother says, 
 though I can't believe it, even though I am sure 
 he's fit to be an angel in heaven, and looks one, 
 too, all except the wings ; but he'll get them soon 
 enough, and fly away from us. O me ! O me ! 
 and he so kind ! I can't bear to have him go." 
 
 The violets were soon gathered, the morning 
 dew still resting on them, and Willie set off home- 
 ward, from thence to haste away to Willoughby 
 House with his offering of love. 
 
 The sun had risen and slowly dissipated the 
 mist from the earth. The sun shone forth in all 
 his brightness, foretelling a glorious spring day. 
 How various were the feelings with which that 
 sun-rising (like many another) was witnessed ! 
 To some it spoke of happiness and joy, dark days 
 passed away; spring, gladness, and mirth come 
 again. To others it spoke of yet another day of 
 long weary suffering and toil to be borne ; and to 
 some it spoke of suffering finishing, of heavenly 
 rest beginning. 
 
 Thus it spoke to one of the children of the Great 
 King. Yes, the end was now close at hand. Ere 
 that sun rose again Arthur Willoughby would be 
 a dweller in the land which needeth not its rays, 
 because of the light which proceedeth from the
 
 212 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 Lamb of God. Father, mother, sister, cousin were 
 around him now, tears falling softly, very softly, 
 lest they should mar the peace of the dying boy. 
 
 Not a shade of fear on his brow ; joy lighted 
 up the clear bright eye, bright even in death. 
 " Father, mother, meet me there," he said ; " dear 
 Frances, and Minnie, too, remember, all come. 
 Jesus says, Come. Ada, the Guide is holding me 
 fast ; the light shines so bright, it keeps away all 
 the dark. O it is so beautiful, so very beauti- 
 iful !" The child lay still and quiet ; then, " Open 
 the window," he said, " dear papa ; I do so love 
 to look out at the beautiful budding trees and 
 glorious sun." 
 
 Just then Mr. Hole entered. " Arthur," he said, 
 " is not this a lovely day ? " " Yes," he replied, 
 " my last on earth. Is it not kind in the Great 
 King to send such a one ?" The clergyman stooped 
 over the boy, saying softly, " Happy boy ; so soon 
 to see the King in his beauty, and the land that is 
 afar off!" 
 
 Arthur drew his father and mother near him. 
 " Papa, mamma, say that you are willing that I 
 should go ; that you wont grieve too much for 
 me. Say it, do say it." 
 
 Ah ! it was hard to do the mother's stifled sob
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 213 
 
 told how hard; the father's quivering lips also. 
 But Mr. Willoughby spoke at last the words, 
 " Thy will be done." The mother, Frances, and 
 Ada, all slowly echoed them. The child's face 
 was radiant with joy as he heard them, and those 
 near heard him whisper, "Come now, Lord Je- 
 sus, come quickly." 
 
 Just then a low knock was heard at the door, 
 and Willie Barnes entered, his violets in his hand. 
 As he saw the assembled party he drew back in 
 dismay, and would have turned and run off; but 
 Mr. Willoughby signed to him to come in and 
 give the flowers. Arthur raised his eyes as he 
 entered, and faintly whispered, "Thank you; O 
 what beauties ! Willie, I'm going ; meet me in 
 the palace." 
 
 The boy stood amazed. Was this death ? He 
 had thought of it as something fearful and gloomy, 
 but joy was written in that dying face. " Sing," 
 he said; and with faltering voices they sang his 
 favorite song, " I lay my sins on Jesus," finishing 
 with the words, 
 
 " I long to be with Jesus amid the heavenly throng, 
 
 To sing with saints his praises, to learn the angels' song." 
 
 As it finished, Arthur looked quickly up : "I 
 see, 1 see the gate of the palace opening ; I come,
 
 214: CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 I come ! " And, absent from the body, the spirit of 
 a child of the Great King had entered into the 
 palace, to dwell there forever. 
 
 Over the scene which followed we will draw a 
 vail. Few, ah, how few ! there are who cannot 
 draw from experience that scene, too solemn, too 
 sacred to be dwelt on. Blessed be He who by 
 his own tears hath given to Christian mourners 
 the sanction to weep, and yet amid that weeping 
 bids them rejoice, saying, " Thy brother shall rise 
 again ! " 
 
 The body of the child lay, beautiful in death, 
 Willie's violets in his hand; spring flowers, 
 plucked by loving hands and wet with tears, were 
 scattered round him ; round the fair pale forehead 
 the eye of faith could read the words, " Of such is 
 the kingdom of heaven." 
 
 Loved and loving in his life, he was not un- 
 mourned at his death. Sobs, loud and unre- 
 strained, broke from Claude's breast as he read 
 that Arthur was dead. What heeded he then 
 that some scoffing eyes witnessed the first out- 
 burst of his grief? He should see his gentle 
 cousin no more on earth. That thought at first 
 banished all others ; then came the remembrance, 
 "He is with Jesus in the golden city." That
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 215 
 
 calmed the grief, and let the first ray of comfort 
 in. And as Colonel Percy read, in the quiet of his 
 own room, the father's account of the death of his 
 only son, brave soldier, strong-minded man as he 
 was, a tear fell on the page. 
 
 Who shall condemn him ! who say such a tear 
 was unmanly ? 
 
 " Go, search the foremost ranks 
 
 In danger's dark career, 
 Be sure the hand most daring there 
 
 Has wiped away a tear."
 
 216 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 " Easy indeed it were to reach 
 
 A mansion in the courts above, 
 If swelling words and fluent speech 
 
 Might serve instead of faith and love. 
 But none shall gain the blissful place, 
 
 Or God's unclouded glory see, 
 Who talks of free and sovereign grace, 
 
 Unless that grace has made him free." 
 
 STTMMEB sunshine filled a tastefully furnished 
 drawing-room in a pretty villa residence not many 
 miles from London. The windows of the room 
 opened out on a beautifully laid out flower gar- 
 den, gay with all the flowers of the season, their 
 fragrance pervading the room as the windows 
 were thrown open to admit the balmy air. 
 
 Seated on a low chair, woi-k in hand, was Ada 
 Percy. Five years have elapsed since she, along 
 with her uncle, aunt, and cousins', had knelt by 
 Arthur's dying bed. Those years have changed 
 the girl into the woman; the hair golden as of 
 yore, and the eye soft and loving. Girlish she 
 looked still, despite her twenty years; but her 
 character was well formed, and her manners,
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 217 
 
 though winning, were marked by the gentle dig- 
 nity of the woman. For three years she had lived 
 with her father and his widowed sister, whose hus- 
 band had died in India, and who, at her brother's 
 request when he left the army, had come to reside 
 with him, and be a companion to his young 
 daughter. 
 
 Step by step had Ada advanced in the knowl- 
 ledge and practice of heavenly things. The 
 simple faith of her childhood was still retained ; 
 her Saviour still remained to her as a friend and 
 guide ; on she was ever pressing toward the goal. 
 The trials and troubles of daily life lay lightly on 
 her, for she carried them all to her Saviour, and 
 asked his counsel concerning them. The great 
 end of life was ever present to her, not self-grati- 
 fication, but the glorifying of her God in all things. 
 She was a very sunbeam in her home ; and many 
 a time, as Colonel Percy watched her gentle, lov- 
 ing ways, the image of her mother rose before 
 him, and he owned that his greatest ambition for 
 his daughter was fulfilled in her resemblance, not 
 only in face, but in mind also, to her he had so 
 fondly loved. 
 
 In her own neighborhood Ada was a universal 
 
 favorite ; " so obliging, so courteous," said her 
 
 14
 
 218 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 young companions ; " so staid, and with so much 
 common sense," said the elder ladies ; while the ver- 
 dict of the gentlemen part of the community was, 
 " No nonsense about her, so unaffected, and yet so 
 blithe and pleasant." And let any stranger visit 
 the cottages near her residence, and they would 
 have found the favorite theme was Miss Percy : 
 "So kind she is, so good too reads the Bible 
 most as well as the parson ; and as for tending the 
 sick speak of that lady, Miss Nightingale, don't 
 believe she's half so good at it as Miss Percy." 
 
 Yet Ada had her daily struggles between right 
 and wrong, between duty and inclination, as we 
 all have; only every day she was growing in 
 grace, every day the desire for conformity to the 
 image of Christ was increasing, and, a child of the 
 Great King, she was ever seeking that in her, and 
 by her, his name should be magnified. She did 
 not hide the light given her from above under 
 a bushel, but let it shine brightly around, so lead- 
 ing others to the Sun of Righteousness, whose 
 light she reflected. 
 
 On the day we write of, as she sat alone in the 
 drawing-room, her father came in with an open 
 letter in his hand. She rose quickly up. " From 
 Claude, papa?"
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 219 
 
 " No, but from his commanding officer," replied 
 Colonel Percy. " Read it ; it is a letter which 
 father or sister may well be proud of. The writer 
 is my old friend Stewart." 
 
 Ada took the letter eagerly and read. The 
 writer was great in the praise of Claude, who 
 had now been for three years in the regiment of 
 which Stewart was colonel, and which was sta- 
 tioned in India. He said : 
 
 " I have Observed him closely during that time, 
 and have been much pleased with him in all 
 things. His bravery as a soldier was shown in the 
 bold way he acted, when he first joined, in an unex- 
 pected attack made by some of the hill tribes. He 
 has the right stuff for a soldier in him ; and, Percy, 
 what I admire above all things in his character is 
 his moral courage. No lukewarm servant is he of 
 the Great Master ; no, bold and uncompromising 
 he stands out, never ashamed, even amid much 
 ridicule and sneering, to confess that he is on the 
 Lord's side, a soldier of the Cross. Yet with most 
 of us he is a great favorite ; his open, generous, 
 cheerful nature attracts even those to him who 
 cannot comprehend his strong religious feelings. 
 ' 'Pon my word,' said a young officer in my hear- 
 ing the other day, " if Percy's a common specimen
 
 220 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 of a Christian man, I should not care supposing 
 there were lots more of them, nor even if I were 
 to turn that sort of thing myself. Capital fellow, 
 no doubt of that, though he does sing psalms.' 
 Such is the universal character he has gained, and 
 I know you will be gratified to hear it. It is a 
 good thing when Christians, by their consistent 
 conduct, constrain even the enemies to godliness 
 to acknowledge that there is indeed a beauty in 
 holiness." 
 
 Ada's eyes were filled with tears of joy as she 
 laid down the letter. " O, papa, I am so glad ; 
 not that I doubted it, but it is so pleasant to hear 
 it from such a man as Colonel Stewart. Claude 
 is indeed a brother to be proud of." 
 
 " Well, Ada," said Colonel Percy, " let us thank 
 God for it. By his grace he, as well as ourselves, 
 stands fast. Now is our time of training and prep- 
 aration for eternity ; now is the time in which we 
 can bear witness for our Lord. Our King is absent 
 for a while, waiting till the kingdoms of this world 
 shall have become his also ; gone away but to 
 return again, leaving his children to testify of him 
 boldly to all around, till he shall see of the travail 
 of his soul, and return in glory, bringing his saints 
 with him. We must send this letter to Willoughby
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 221 
 
 House; they will like to read it. Dear Arthur, 
 how he loved Claude ! " 
 
 "Yes, papa," said Ada, "and I believe the re- 
 membrance of Arthur, and his full confiding faith, 
 has helped Cfoude in many a difficulty. He told 
 me so once, and how he often thought of Arthur's 
 motto, ' God, whose I am, and whom I serve.' 
 Dear Arthur, he has not lived in vain." 
 
 One glance at Willoughby House ere our story 
 ends. Changes are there, but pleasant ones. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Willoughby are united in a bond stronger 
 now than ever; for to the love which had ever 
 existed there is now added the everlasting bond 
 of union in Jesus, which not even death can sever. 
 That bond was drawn, in its closest tie, over the 
 grave of their first-born son. Minnie, now a merry 
 child of some ten years, is the youngest no longer. 
 A bright little rosy boy of four years, dear little 
 Gerald, is to be seen following his father about 
 everywhere, bold and independent, as Arthur had 
 never been. With deep gratitude his parents had 
 received him as a gift from God, sent to fill up 
 Arthur's vacant place. " Perhaps," said his father, 
 " another plant to rear for the heavenly garden : 
 shall we call him Arthur?" They consulted, but 
 by mutual agreement they said no; that name
 
 222 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 could not now be associated with the living to 
 them ; it was sacred to the dead, or rather to the 
 redeemed one, now in glory in the palace of the 
 Great King. 
 
 And Frances, what of her ? Ask strangers, and 
 they might still tell you that she had grown up a 
 bold woman, too bold by far, holding strong 
 opinions on all subjects, and scrupling not to 
 express them fully ; scarcely feminine, it was said. 
 But see her, if her eye rested on a boy of about 
 nine years of age, more especially if he had large 
 soft blue eyes; the boldness disappeared, and a 
 gentle softness took its place, as, with a sweet 
 smile, she would allure the child to her side, and 
 ere long gain his confidence and love. Alone with 
 such, be they children of rich or poor, she would 
 tell them of a dear boy she had loved so well, whose 
 greatest wish had ever been to do the will of the 
 Great King, and who was now with him above. 
 
 Yes, Frances "VVilloughby was indeed become a 
 child of the Great King, not a Mary, loving to sit 
 at the Saviour's feet, so much as a Martha, active 
 and bustling : helpful, especially as a leading hand 
 in the working society of the parish, and also in 
 many ways where a clear head and good judgment 
 were required. Not hers, Ada's gentle, loving
 
 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 223 
 
 ways ; not hers, the voice to soothe the dying bed ; 
 but let us not forget that there are diversities of 
 gifts, but the same Spirit. The body is not one 
 member, but many : the eye cannot say unto the 
 hand, " I have no need of thee ;" nor the head to 
 the feet, " I have no need of you." Various are 
 the characters, different the gifts and attainments, 
 of the children of the Great King; but in one 
 thing they are all alike. Love to Jesus dwells in 
 their hearts, and in some degree his image is 
 reflected in every face. In the world, they are 
 not of the world ; called from darkness to light, 
 they show forth the praises of Him who has so 
 called them. 
 
 Dear readers, have you joined this heavenly 
 band? They and they only are the happy ones. 
 Safe for time and for eternity, their work and 
 delight is to do the will of the Great King. That 
 little band may seem poor and lowly, even de- 
 spised now ; but they are all glorious within ; and 
 ere long, clothed in the snow-white linen of Jesus's 
 righteousness, they shall enter the King's palace, 
 and behold him in his beauty, and know even as 
 they are known. 
 
 Even as when he tarried on earth, the Son of 
 the King is this day saying, " Come." Turn not
 
 224 CHILDREN OF THE GREAT KING. 
 
 away from that invitation, but, just as you are, go 
 and join the band, saying, "Here am I, Lord; 
 take me, even me." 
 
 " And then, if any one should say, 
 What's the news? what's the news? 
 
 O tell them you've begun to pray ; 
 That's the news, that's the news : 
 
 That you have joined the conquering band, 
 
 And now with joy, at God's command, 
 
 Are marching to the better land ; 
 That's the news, that's the news." 
 
 THE END.
 
 ROOKS PUBLISHED BI CARLTCN & PORTER, 
 
 2OO Mulberry-street, \ew York. 
 
 Moral and Eeligious Quotations 
 
 From the Poets. Topically Arranged. Comprising 
 choice Selections from six hundred Authors. Com 
 piled by Rev. WILLIAM RIOB, A.M. 8vo. 
 
 We have seen many dictionaries of quotations, but this surpasses them all 
 to extent and system. Tne subjects are those that come before the preacher's 
 mind, and he will open this book as he is preparing a sermon, and find happy 
 lines to adorn and enrich his discourse, and astonish his hearers by his famil- 
 iarity with the poets! It will also lead him to the study of poetry, an.l 
 Introduce him to authors whose acquaintance he would never have culti- 
 vated, but for these brief and sententious extracts from their works. MO?J 
 than four thousand quotations are here made. New York Observer. 
 
 Pronouncing Bible, 
 
 Large 8vo. 
 
 "We have lately issued the best Bible in print, a PRONOUNCING BIBI.E 
 having these advantages : L, The proper names are divided and accented, BO 
 that a child can pronounce them correctly. 2. Each book has a short in- 
 troduction, showing just what every reader ought to know about it 8. It 
 has a much improved class of references. 4. It COL tains a map of Old Ca- 
 naan and its surroundings, and one of Palestine, according to the latest dis- 
 coveries. 
 
 The method is more simple and easy than any otLer we have seen. The 
 pronunciation marks are very judiciously confined to the proper names, 
 having the remainder of the text unencumbered. The multitudes of Bibi* 
 readers who stumble at the hard names of people and places may find a 
 ray satisfactory relief by using this edition. For family worship, or privaU 
 Jsvotional reading, this edition has strong recommendations. Presbyterian 
 
 In this Bible the proper names are divided into syllables and accented, si 
 aa*. it is hardly possible to mispronounce them. The "Introductions" as 
 brief, but contain a large amount of useful and necessary information. Tha 
 "references," as far as we have had time to test them, are decidedly tb 
 most accurate we hive met with. It is one of the most beautiful and com- 
 plete Bible* ui the world, and it will be an acquisition to the atady th 
 hmlly , the Bible class and the pulpit JteangtUcal
 
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