H^HHHHHi /i THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES X CITY SPARROWS. "PLEASE, FOR A HALFPENNY." LONDON : THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY CONTENTS CHAP. PACK I. THE SKY GARRET 5 II. THE BATTLE OF LIFE 19 III. A SERMON ABOUT SPARROWS 29 IV. TROUBLED WATERS 42 V. THE GATE OF MERCY 55 VI. PATIENCE 76 vii. "NOT A WRECK" 89 718726 Contents. VIII. A BIRD WITHOUT A NEST PAGE 104 IX. CHRISTMAS CHEER 116 X. HATHERLEIGH 127 XI. COUSIN LILIAN 141 XII. WELCOME HOME 156 XIII. MAY DAYS 1 68 XIV. WHAT THE BIRDS WOULD TELL US ... 178 CITY AND WHO FED THEM, CHAPTER I. THE SKY-GARRET. " PLEASE, half an ounce of tea, two farthing dips, and a halfpenny herring." Such was the im- portant order given in a child's shrill treble. The little speaker find- ing the shop filled to overflowing, and that she was not likely to be attended to for some time, rested herself against a dirty fish barrel, and commenced survey of the interior in general. 2 6 City Sparrows. The stock of articles exposed for sale first occupied her attention. Tempting they seemed to hungry eyes, and the incongruous medley did not appear strange to her. Candles and cheese, bacon, onions, and stale eggs; butter, fish, bread, fat skimmings and treacle ; thimbles, nuts and whitening ; tobacco, tea, pipes, and snuff ; soap and potatoes ; a row of green glass bottles, containing various kinds of unwholesome looking sweeties ; a box of dirty tumbled arti- ficial flowers, and a dish full of round dabs of half-baked flower and water, sprinkled with black dots, and dignified by the name of cur- rant buns. These were the principal articles that caught the child's eye. The remainder of the stores are too various to be mentioned, for much in a little was evidently the motto of the small general corner shop. Zetta's keen black eyes eagerly watched the mistress of the shop, a stout, good-tempered looking slattern of a woman, in a dirty nonde- script coloured gown and black cap ; who, pos- sessing only one pair of hands, found it hard work to attend to so many customers at once, especially as several little half-clothed children were sprawling about the floor in the filth and confusion. Sin, care, and want were stamped on the The Sky-Garret. 7 features of too many of the squalid-looking buyers, among whom stood a woman, pale, haggard, and wretched, with almost the frenzy of despair in her deep-set eyes, as she cjutched a bundle of rags to her breast to stifle the infant's weary wailing, and flung down some coppers with an angry toss. A man stood near, scowling sullenly, a picture of abject poverty and wickedness as he staggered forward, elbow- ing his way towards the counter. Others there were who came and went, too numerous to describe, young and old, differing in some de- gree from one another, but all poor and wretched- looking enough to make one's heart ache to think of the various histories and homes which must attach to each. Little Zetta's feet grew blue and cold, as she crossed and uncrossed them, waiting for her turn to come. The small, pinched face did not seem as if it belonged to a child of nine years old, but the tiny figure betokened a growth checked long ago. There was no fresh up-springing of joyous life about her, no charm of childhood lying around the fragile form; but hers is by no means an uncommon, case. Such a sight is to be met \vith every day, in a walk through any of our crowded cities, and thousands of child- ren live thus, uncared for and unloved, knowing 8 City Sparrows. little of this world, except that it is a place to toil and suffer in, and with neither knowledge nor care of the world to come. Her turn to be served came at last, and gathering up her three small packets, she left the shop. It was a dreary afternoon of mist and rain, and through the fog the tall blackened buildings were barely distinguishable. */ The street ran parallel with one of the prin- cipal thoroughfare's, so that the narrow back windows of great shops looked into it on one side ; the other consisted chiefly of low, miserable tenements, but the street was too narrow to admit of any pavement, so that the rain washed the mud into the ground-floors of each dwelling, thereby greatly adding to the misery and squalor. Zetta's scanty rags were a poor defence against wind and rain, and she had a hard fight to creep along by the houses, her bare feet squashing through the heaps of mud that had been scraped up from the middle of the road. Suddenly she disappears up a dark archway, which leads into a back slum, or wynd, as they are called in Scotland, so narrow that you can touch the houses on either side as you walk, and having a filthy stream of water always running down one side in a narrow stone groove. Court B it was called, and there dwelt the wretchedest of the wretched in that great town. 2ETTA IN THE CHANDLER'S SHOP. The Sky -Garret. 9 The bad smell that pervaded the air in this quarter seemed as if it must be the breath of fever and pestilence. In vain the cleansing rain ran 'down the steep roofs ; it was stemmed at every turn by accumulations of refuse, which it never succeeded in quite washing away. But Zetta heeded nothing of all this, she did not think about the evil odours, for she had breathed them from her infancy, and as water was scarce in Court B, none of the children living there knew really what it was to be clean. Zetta had clothed herself in the same rags every morning for months. She had had a better frock once, and tidy pinafores, but they had all been swallowed up long ago in that terrible vortex, the pawn-shop, and were now past re- deeming. She could not help wishing for them now, as the pitiless rain penetrated through her threadbare garments, and a piercing wind found its way through numerous rents, flapping the tatters to and fro as she walked. The end of the court is reached at last, and she mounts a flight of uneven stone steps, having a rusty iron bar by way of a balustrade. A dirty, broken door creaks on its hinges, and the child ascending a set of very rickety, worm- eaten stairs, passes the two small rooms on the first landing each of which contains a family and finally reaches a garret in the roof, by means io City Sparrows. of a rough ladder, such as is often seen in hen- houses for the fowls to go up and down to their roosting perches. A narrow skylight, almost totally darkened by its broken panes being stuffed with old rags and paper, formed the only inlet for air and light in this loathsome den. The little girl looked up with a face of anxiety The Sky -Garret. n and disappointment to find that her last barri- cade against the storm had failed, and large raindrops were falling with a steady drip upon the wretched bed of straw she had sought to shield. On it lay the emaciated form of a boy. Fever burned on his sunken cheeks, and lighted up his grey eye with an unnatural fire, as if to mock the poor shivering limbs which the skeleton fingers in vain tried to envelope more closely in a heap of tattered rags that served as bed-clothes. /' "Zetta," he gd/sped, " I thought you would never come back no more. I'm parched with thirst and most dead with cold. Look at mother ! Oh ! I wish I was dead, I wish I was dead." It was with no surprise the child's eyes rested on the prostrate form of her mother, sunk in the lowest depths of helpless drunken- ness. Her face was red and bloated, and her lips uttered imbecile babblings, a terrible sight for the eyes of childhood to rest on ; but Harry and Zetta had grown so accustomed to it, that though it filled them with a dark, despairing dread, it was nothing new. " Give me something to drink," murmured the poor boy; " be quick, or I must die." "What can I give you ?" said Zetta, her dark eyes filling with tears. " There's no fire, is City Sparrows. and never a stick or bit of coal to make one with to boil the kettle; and mother '11 beat me ever so if I give you the tea from the shop. I'll take the can and get some water from the court. Don't cry : I'll be as quick as I can." And before he could answer she was clamber- ing down the ladder, and soon returned, having filled the leaky can with rain-water, which rushed plentifully down an open spout at the bottom of the steps. The boy drank eagerly, and Zetta exchanged her dripping rags for an old coarse sack, grimy with soot and dirt, which had been cut open at the bottom and sides, to leave places for her head and arms to go through, and being large, it formed an ample covering. This done, she crept in beside the boy and eat her hard crust, vainly endeavouring to persuade him to share it with her : his burning lips re- fused it. Both faces turned instinctively towards the skylight, but the dreary white mist was still blotting out everything. I say everything, but that only means a stack of red chimneys, some tiled roofs, and a strip of sky, little enough on the finest days, and therefore doubly missed by the weary upturned eyes. But while the two watched the rain ceased ; and as The Sky-Garret. 13 the mist began to lift and roll away, they could discern the shapes of heavy masses of cloud, which looked dark enough for thunder. " Climb up, Zetta, and pull the stuffing out of one of the panes, that I may get some air." She did so, and a smoky, damp breath de- scended through the aperture. " Are they coming, Zetta ? " "Yes; look!" and as she spoke a gentle fluttering of wings was heard, and five or six sparrows hovered to and fro, eagerly pecking at the few stale crumbs she had thrown out. The sparrows, begrimed with soot, and their feathers all wet and draggled, looked forlorn and miserable ; yet I doubt if a sunny-plumed bird in golden cage was ever watched and tended with half the delight with which the boy re- garded his pets. The live-long day they were his only solace. He lay hour after hour, looking up at the sloping roofs, the chimneys, and the sky ; and he never relinquished the hope that some day one of the birds would come fluttering in to take the food from his hand. " Are they all gone, Zetta ? " he said, as an ungrateful little visitor, having secured the last remaining crumb, retired to a neighbouring roof to peck and squabble over it with the others. " Oh ! I wish I could go too." 14 City Sparrows. Zetta. turned quickly round from her exalted perch on the rickety chair, to look at her bro- ther, when alas, one of the feeble, worm-eaten legs gave way, and she fell heavily to the ground. She was up again in a minute, rubbing her bruised elbow, but the fall had aroused her mother, who, with an oath, started to her feet, and inflicted blow after blow on the unhappy child. At sight of Harry's terrified, imploring face, she desisted, and giving Zetta. a final shove to the other end of the garret, she staggered out at the doorway, and the children listened till the muttered curses grew fainter, and they knew she had passed out into the street. The boy drew the sobbing Zetta. close to him, and laid his wasted hand on her matted hair. " I wish we could die together, Zetta ; it won't be long for me, but what will become of you ? I can just mind when father died ; you were a little baby then, and we lived in the beautiful country, among green fields and flowers. You don't know anything about that, for we came away from it all when you were only a year old. I can mind some of it to tell you about. Father and the cottage, and the gentlefolk up in the big house among the trees, but I'm tired to- night, Zetta, so tired, I can't tell you any more now." And the weary head sank down on the bundle of rags and straw that the poor little The Sky-Garret. 15 sister had with womanly instinct propped up for him. She kept quite quiet until her brother slept, then crept softly out, closed the door, and once more found her way to the street. It was a winter afternoon, and although scarcely half-past four, it was dark. The lamp- lighter had gone his rounds, and each small gas flame was doing its best to light up the hard, wet, dreary-looking pavement. Zetta passed on into the wider streets, and her poor little aching heart warmed at the sight of the shops ablaze with light, setting forth the various goods displayed in the most tempting manner. She stopped before a large baker's and confectioner's shop, and contemplated what to her seemed an inexhaustible store. " I must steal one of those little loaves for Harry, or he will die," thought the child. Taking advantage of the entrance into the shop of several people at once, she stood just inside, where only a low, light wire defence divided her from the coveted cakes. It was so easy to do it without detection, and yet her heart smote her, and something whispered it was wrong. She thought of the great unknown Being, called God, whom Harry had told her his father had taught him to speak to, though why or how was merely a recollection of long ago, and he 1 6 City Sparrows. could only yearn over the indistinct remem- brance, and try in vain to recall it. My readers will wonder how this could be, so I must take them back for a little to his sunny infancy. His father, Samuel Warren, was the respectable and trustworthy head gardener on the estate of a gentleman in Fernshire. He had been brought up under the master's own eye, having gradually risen to his post, and after some years of steady service, he married one of the maids of the house, and settle.4 in the picturesque entrance-lodge. Xx^ All went well for a time, but by oegrees the poor man's eyes were opened to find that he was deceived in the one he loved so truly. His cottage, once so neat, was deserted and untidy; the babe grew wan and sickly; and when at the close of the day he sought his home, he found the demon of intemperance there before him, and his wife cross and excited. This state of things gradually forced him to take up his burden of life and bear it alone, and few under- stood the gloom that characterised his outward mien. Little Harry soon learned to toddle up the broad gravel paths of the kitchen garden, where he would stand and watch his father pruning the fruit trees, or digging and planting, and pretend to help him, by putting weeds and sticks Tlic Sky-Garret. 17 into his wheelbarrow; and when the day's work was done, the father would take his little one on his shoulder to carry him home, and as the evening light glowed in the sky, would tell him about the God in heaven who loved little children ; and these infant lessons left a last- ing impress on the child's mind. One day he was seated on the edge of the grass-plot, watching his father wield the bright scythe, which cut off grass and daisies all alike, when the little Lady Lilian from the Hall, then just nine years old,, came running up with a piece of cake in one hand and some bright poppies in the other, and kneeling down beside Harry, made him understand, [in spite of his shyness, that she had brought it all for him. This little incident was not much for memory to dwell on, and yet in after years, when pain and poverty held the poor boy in iron chains, he would close his weary eyes, and let that pic- ture come before him again, of the little blue- eyed girl with her white frock and straw hat. It all seemed to belong to a far away dream, for besides these hazy recollections, nothing had been told him, and of his father's short illness and somewhat sudden death he could remember little or nothing. People whispered that the poor man had died broken-hearted, and in debt from his wife's misconduct, but he complained 1 8 City Sparrows. to no one. What passed through his mind that last evening, when too weak to utter any words, and laying his brown hand on little Harry's head, he drew a long, weary sigh, and closed his eyes in death, was between him and his God. His kind master provided a decent funeral, and would have put his widow into the way of earning a respectable livelihood, but this benevo- lent scheme was suddenly cut short by the news one morning that all the doors and windows at the lodge were closed, and on entering the house it was found empty, without a trace of its former occupants. The woman, with her baby-girl and Harry, had made her way to the nearest railway-station, and taken the train to one of our large towns, where they were soon hidden in the vortex of humanity. Here she had begun life afresh as a char- woman, but she gradually sank lower and lower, moving from one squalid room to another, until the point where my story comoiences in the sky- garret of a back slum. y CHAPTER II. THE BATTLE OF LIFE. HUNGRY and forlorn stood poor Zetta, hesitating between right and wrong, as the busy shop- women swiftly supplied the wants of each im- patient customer. " You have forgotten your change, ma'am," said one of the attendants, and a young girl hearing this, stepped back to take up some coppers in their neat little envelope, and paused at the door to open her reticule and drop them in. " Please for a halfpenny," moaned Zetta, raising her eyes beseechingly to the pale face that was passing her. Instead of the usual rough repulse, the child felt two coppers laid in her palm, with the words, " Where do you live, you poor little one ? " " No. 16, Court B, turning off the corner of Harrington Street, under the archway. Harry and me lives there in the top room, and Harry's very ill and hungry." 20 City Sparrows. Though fearing it might be only one of the many made-up stories so ready on the lips of city tramps of all ages, the young lady drew a note-book from her pocket, and taking down the address, bade the child run home, and hurried on her way. The lady's name would never head a grand subscription list. The rusty black dress and plain bonnet betokened small means, yet never had a donation come from a more generous or self-denying heart. This was the end of a long and toilsome day of teaching, for she was the eldest daughter of a poor curate, obliged early to seek her own support, yet she could forget herself, and turn aside to pity and relieve the outcast. " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me," is the record of such deeds in heaven; though the world with its resounding trumpets proclaims and praises them not. Margaret Millar did not stay to watch the expression of gratitude and speechless joy on Zetta's face. She must hurry home, being later than usual : the sick little sister would be looking out for her, and the boys must be taught their Latin after tea; and one after another a hundred things came into her mind to be seen to, until at last she reaches the middle of a long street, Tlie Battle of Life. 21 and with a latch-key passes in, and the door of the modest parlour opens to welcome her. " Well, papa dear, tired out as usual, I see- I wish you had some one to help you. Oh, hush ! Bertie dear, don't play horses any more to-night ; come up-stairs with me, and carry this sponge cake to Nelly;" and thus admonished, a bright-eyed little fellow of four years old came running to do her quiet bidding. " Lotta, dear, make the tea, I hear Ted and Harry coming in. I will run up and send Alice down," and fol- lowed by Bertie, Margaret toiled with a tired tread up the steep staircase. Her heart ached as she heard, through a half- open door at the top, sounds of fretful sobbing, and on entering, found Alice, her next sister in age, vainly endeavouring to soothe the suffer- ing little Nelly of seven years old, who was lying in bed. The room was barely furnished, with a nothing-to-match air about it; the hangings to the two beds looked scanty and faded, and a dismal wind was making its moan down the chimney over a dull coke fire, which could not be coaxed into giving out even the flicker of a blaze. " What is the matter, my pet ? Why, Alice, you are all in darkness ; light the gas, and let me see my little Nell. Why, she is not crying. 3 23 City Sparrows. sursly. Is the pain very bad, darling? Where does it hurt ? There, lean your head against me, and look here, see what Bertie has brought up for Nelly, such a nice sponge cake, just come from the shop: try and eat one little bit ; " and Margaret gently smoothed back the tossed hair from the pale forehead, and looked lovingly down into eyes unnaturally large and bright. " I want papa," sobbed Nelly, as she took the cake from Bertie's chubby hand, who looked longingly at it for a minute, and then let Alice lead him down-stairs. (l/^ " He will come very soon to his little girl, but Nelly must try and remember poor papa has been out working so hard all day, seeing such a number of poor sick people, and walking a long, long way. And oh ! what do you think, Nelly, as I was coming out of the baker's shop, I met such a poor little girl, scarcely older than you, and she looked so wretched and miserable, with only an old sack to cover her, and such a hungry look in her eyes. She told me she had a poor sick brother, whom I shall ask papa to go and see, and I daresay he has no nice bed like this to sleep in, and nobody to take care of him. Aren't you very sorry for him, Nelly ? " ''Yes," said Nelly, for the time forgetting her own pain and weakness in the interest of the story; and Margaret went on lengthening The Battle of Life. 23 out her tale until the sponge cake was eaten, and Alice returned and set her at liberty to go down to her tea. But as she went her thoughts flew swiftly back to this time last year, when her dying mother had said, " Take care of my little Nell, she is so fragile and delicate." And now Margaret's heart stood still with a sudden dread lest the shadow of death should again darken their dwelling ; and though she knew well that the silent angel's wing is tipped with golden light to the Christian, the words would come into her mind Earth from earth can scarce unclasp its fingers, Our love to Thee makes not this love less strong. "Papa dear," she said, entering the sitting- room, and finding him alone, " do you think you will be going in the direction of Harring- ton Street some day soon ? " " I can go, my dear, if there is any object in doing so, though it is not often my way lies in that quarter, my work being chiefly at the op- posite side of the town : but who lives there ? " " That is what I want you to find out, papa, or rather will you try and prove the truth of a statement made to me to-day by a poor little forlorn girl, who told me her brother was lying very sick in the topmost story of a house in a 24 City Sparrows. nest of courts which lie closely packed in that corner of the town. No. 16, Court B, is the address I took down. They seem to be living by themselves, and there was something about the child's earnest look that makes me thjnfe- it cannot be altogether a made-up story." Q > " I will not forget it," said Mr. Millar, " though it may be a few days before I am able to go there, as I am terribly pressed with work just now ; there is so much sickness about this winter, more than I ever remember. How is our poor little Nell to-night ? " " Much weaker, I'm afraid, papa, and in such constant pain. I am sure we ought to have further advice for her, though it seams im- possible to afford it. May I speak to Dr. Bel- field ; he is so kind, and I am getting to know them all much better, and his children seem to like my teaching." A look of trouble and distress clouded Mr. Millar's anxious brow as a painful train of thought ran through his mind. What more could be done upon his very small income, and with seven dear children to support ? The flush of wounded pride overspread his face at the idea of being obliged to throw himself on charity, when he had hitherto struggled bravely on unaided. It seemed very hard, for when he married it was supposed that some day he The Battle of Life. 25 would be a rich man ; but his father having since lost nearly the whole of his wealth through certain bank and speculation failures, this prospect for his only son was at an end. " I cannot bear asking favours of people," he said, in an irritated tone, and Margaret's eyes followed him sadly as he rose and paced the room. " For Nelly's sake, and in fulfilment of mother's sacred trust, we must do it," she said, firmly ; but in such a gentle tone, that drawing her within his arm and kissing her, he said, " You have your mother's sweet patience and trusting hope, my Margaret ; do as you think best about it, and we will talk of it again to- morrow. I must go up to our darling now, as she will be looking out for me." And Margaret was left alone to wrestle for a higher strength than her own, which would enable her to go forward and fear not. Meantime Zetta, having watched her new friend until the next turning hid her from view, looked again and again at the money, opening and shutting her hand, as if not quite sure it was indeed in her own possession. Now she felt she had a right to go bravely and honestly into the shop, and take her choice of the templing goods, but several minutes elapsed before she was able to decide how to 26 City Sparrows. spend her newly-acquired fortune. "A sponge cake for Harry, and a penny loaf for myself," was the verdict at last, and she went in. The shop-women looked wonderingly at the bare- footed child in her grimy rags, and one of them, filled with a sudden pity, added a stale tart to the purchase, saying, as the two coppers chinked into the till, " I can't think how or where such children live; they're dragged up, not brought up, that's certain." Zetta felt she was clasping a mighty feast to her bosom, and with an overjoyed " Thank you, ma'am," left the shop. Swiftly her sore, cold feet ran along the pave- ments. The thought of going home to Harry made her heedless of anything else that was passing around her, and the hard, unkind world was suddenly transformed into a paradise by the glow reflected from her happy thoughts. On crossing the road in front of the great hospital surrounded by its high iron railings, she noticed an unusual crowd near the gates, and joining herself to it, she heard a man say: "The woman was dead drunk, and an omnibus knocked her down, and the wheels ran right over her body. I don't know how many bones are broken; she can't speak a word, and they are carrying her in." Zetta could not get nearer for the press of The Battle of Life. 27 people, but as she watched, she saw the helpless form raised on a stretcher and carried within the gates. A vague sort of recognition flitted through the child's mind; but no, it couldn't be her mother, she thought ; and no one knowing, or troubling themselves to answer her questions as to who it was, she hurried on with a sobered heart, to tell Harry about it ; yet, if the truth was known, almost hoping her mother might not return that night to trouble them. On entering the garret, she was surprised to see Harry awake, and with a smile on his face pointing /Co a tiny bit of fire flickering in the grate, ff " The woman in the room below brought up her baby after you was gone out, for me to mind while she went on an errand, and when she came back she brought up some sticks and a bit or two of coal. She told me the people where she goes to work gave her a coal ticket ; perhaps they'd give us one, if they knew. She is the only one who ever comes nigh us here, though many's the errand I've run for folks in the court before I was ill." Here he stopped suddenly short in his speech, his eyes fixed on the stores Zetta produced from the paper bag. " You didn't steal that, Zetta ? " and a look of terror overspread his pallid features, as a 2o City Sparrows. picture rose before his mind of a policeman and the jail. " No, Harry, no ; though I wanted to at first, because I knew you were hungry; but I minded what you said about God who looks at us, and a kind lady spoke to me, and gave me two coppers; she was dressed in black, and her face was so pale. I'll go down the street every day to look for her, for no one was ever so kind before. You haven't seen nothing of mother, have you ? " " No," said Harry. " Because there's been an accident; some one run over, and I fancy 'twas mother, though the boys shoved me about so I couldn't get near to see; and if it is, she's in the hospital, and if she don't come back to-morrow, we can take the fish and tea, because perhaps she'll die, and we'll never see her no more." The brother and sister looked at each other, neither daring to utter the hope that, for a time at least, they might be left in peace; for of late their nightly terror had been this woman's return home. Yet Harry shivered to think of her pro- bable fate as Zetta crept into bed beside him. The two lumps of coal in the rusty grate soon died out, a fierce wind shook the skylight, loud talking and tramping of feet were heard below, but Harry and Zetta slept. CHAPTER III. A SERMON ABOUT SPARROWS. IT was Sunday morning, and a white frost glittered on every window-pane. The sun rose amid a bank of heavy purple clouds, variegated by rosy rifts, and many an eye in the great city looked up to gaze at his flaming orange and crimson-barred disc. A golden shaft of sun- light shot down upon Harry's bed of straw and rags, lighting up every corner in the dark attic, and like an angel from heaven bringing a thrill of comfort and gladness to the wan suflerer lying there. It seemed to lift his spirit beyond the dreary prison-house, and as he gazed on the bit of sky let in between roofs and chimneys, the sweet sound of church bells fell upon his ear, whisper- ing in a mysterious way to his unlettered, un- taught soul, of a peace "not as the world eiveth." 30 City Sparrows. Change by change the chimes rang on, awakening as if by magic all the early associa- tions of his childhood, and again he was stand- ing holding his father's hand at the lych gate of the village church, watching the people going in one by one through the ivied porch. But as he strove to follow this vision of the past, all the want and misery of his present life came up before him like a mist, to blot out the fair picture, and the poor boy turned his face away from the sunbeam, while hot tears wetted his cheek. He wept, but Zetta saw it not, for after hastily dressing herself in her rags, she went down to the room below, to beg a drop of hot water, to wet the tea she had brought from the shop the day before. Mrs. Smith's door was open, and entering, she could hardly distinguish anything for the clouds of smoke and steam that rilled the room. It was Sunday, but the charwoman cared not for that, merely regarding it as a leisure day to waste for herself and her chil- dren, saying that churches were only made for gentlefolks to show off their fine clothes in. Yet in her rough, ignorant heart, there ran a vein of pity for those poorer than herself, and she therefore willingly gave Zetta the water she had come to beg. A Sermon about Sparrows. 31 " Harry," said Zetta, after the remains of their scanty meal had been cleared away, "I'll just step down towards the hospital, and see if I can hear tell anything of mother." And after making her brother as comfortable as she could, the little girl went softly out. The poor boy watched the door close after her, and then his eyes wandered to what was always the centre of attraction, the broken sky- light, and he noticed that the stuffing was out of more than one pane. He listened for the chirping and fluttering. Yes, there it was, and he could see brown wings flitting to and fro. " I wonder if Zetta put the crumbs out," and the wonder was still on his face, when, oh, joy ! could it be true ? through the aperture in flew a sparrow ! Poor little thing, how it darted hither and thither, beating its wings first against one wall and then another ; fluttering up to the rafters and down to the ground, battling in vain to regain its liberty, and at last falling exhausted and panting in a corner out of sight. Harry held his breath with anxiety, and tak- ing a piece of bread that Zetta. had left near him, he let fall some crumbs on the floor, and a few on the ragged coverlid. /F} Presently there was a slight movement, and Harry, as still as a mouse, saw with intense 33 City Sparrows. delight the perky little sparrow come hopping across towards the crumbs, pecking at the out- lying ones, with its tiny brown head on one side; then another fly round the attic, and down it came fluttering upon the bed, and finding more crumbs, went on pecking without fear; when a slight movement of Harry's hand startled it, and suddenly it darted upwards towards the skylight, and flew out. " He can fly away, but I must bide here," was poor Harry's quiet comment to himself; and then he began to long tor Zetta's return, that he might tell about his feathered guest; but he had to wait some time, for it was a long way to the hospital. On her road there, Zetta had met the stream of people, all in their gay Sunday attire, going to their various places of worship. There was one very large church, with steps leading up to it, and Zetta thought she would like to take just one peep inside, to see what it was like, so she slipped in just as the service was about to commence. She heard the organ pealing, and thought how grand the great painted window at the end looked, but felt terribly frightened at her boldness, for never had she ventured into a place of worship of any kind before. While hoping she might remain unnoticed, a pompous pew-opener, catching sight of her, A Sermon about Sparrows. 33 marched towards the door, and taking her by the shoulders, put her roughly out, saying, " There's no room for the like of you in here; be off ! " Zetta was used to the world's cold scorn, and it seemed quite a natural thing to be rebuffed and cast out; so raising a timid glance towards the man, she went her way, while he turned with an obsequious bow to some grand carriage folk in " goodly apparel " who were just entering, and conducted them to their crimson-cushioned seat at the top of the long aisle. It was not more encouraging nearer the hospital. Its iron gates were closed, and she dared not try to open them, for a policeman was walking up and down, eyeing her sus- piciously ; so after gazing for a few minutes at the massive pile of buildings, she retraced her steps home, and found Harry waiting to tell his story of the sparrows' visit. The day wore on, and still their mother came not, and though relieved by her absence, the two children could not help a restless anxiety for the future gnawing at their hearts, in spite of all their efforts to cheer one another. " I'll look in the old stocking that mother keeps at the bottom of the broken box, Harry, and see if there's any money left." So Zetta 34 City Sparrows. dived among a collection of rags, and found the stocking, and in it some coppers and a sixpence. " Ought \ve to take it, Zetta, I wonder ? And yet we can't starve. Mother won't come back now." " I'll go out and look once more," said Zetta. And though it was now quite dark, and the bells had begun to chime for evening service, the child again found her way into the street. She hardly cared in what direction her feet led her, for there was no fear of losing her way, as she had been accustomed to run wild in the streets ever since she could remember. Paying no heed to where she was going, and wholly occupied by her own thoughts, she took turn after turn, until she reached a crowded and densely populated district, quite at the opposite end of the town. Here she was attracted by a large, square, rough sort of building, with a light swinging over the entrance, which was crowded with people as ragged and wretched-looking as herself. She watched, and saw them entering the doorway, so thought perhaps she might go too, when a kind-looking gentleman stepped in among them, saying: "Now, my friends, lose no time in taking your places, for our evening A Sermon about Sparrows. 35 service will begin very soon, and every one is welcome. Remember, there is room for all;" and he passed into the building. A few there were who, jeering and scoffing, turned away, but the greater part entered, and Zetta, following an old blind man and a woman with a baby, soon found herself seated in a large, well-lighted room, and presently the service commenced. Come, ye sinners, poor and wretched, Weak and wounded, sick and sore ; Jesus ready stands to save you, Full of pity, love, and power; He is able, He is willing ; doubt no more was the first verse of the hymn given out by Mr. Millar, and sung with heart and soul by his congregation. Zetta wondered what it all meant. She watched the people; stood when they stood, and knelt when they prayed; and when she heard the name of God, she con- nected it in her mind. with the One of whom Harry had spoken, /ft But the sermon was one which the most ignorant might understand, the minister choos- ing for his text, Matthew x. 29, 30, 31: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing, and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of 36 City Sparrows. your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." " Dear friends," he began; "there are few things in God's creation that you consider more worthless than a poor little sparrow: you see them every day flitting about here and there on the roofs and walls, and in the streets of our town, but I doubt if any of you think of the lesson they can teach us. Our Lord Jesus Christ, when He was on earth, used to speak to the people about things they were accustomed to see every day, to make them understand what His lessons meant. " He would take His hearers out where the grass grew fresh and green, and there He would point to the flowers that grew at His feet, and the birds that flew around Him, and explain the lessons they are intended to teach us. 11 For this reason I am going to give you His words about the sparrows, that when you see them flying close to you every day, they may remind you of the God who careth for them and you. "Jesus then begins by teaching us there is nothing too small or mean for His notice. " ' Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing, and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.' A Sermon about Sparrows. 37 " ' The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.' "There is nothing hid from the great God and Father of us all, for in Him everything that is created lives and moves. " The little sparrow flies forth day by day to find its food, and the Lord provides for it ; and when it falls to fhe ground and dies, He knows all about it. And if He takes all this loving care for a tiny bird, what do you think He must be to His own children who cry to Him ? " This then is His message : ' Fear not, ye are of more value than many sparrows.^ " Now what we mean by the value of a thing, is the price set upon it. You all know about that when you go to buy food and clothing and other necessaries of life ; and that brings me to speak of the value of your immortal souls. Ah ! you can none of you imagine how valuable a soul is in God's sight, until you know the price that has been paid for it by the Lord Jesus Christ. "You long for this world's gold and silver, and think if it was poured into your hands it would buy an) ? thing ; but there is one thing that it could not redeem, and that is your never-dying soul. "No wonder then that our Lord Jesus said, ' Ye are of more value than many sparrows.' 4 38 City Sparrows. " But many of you do not know God as a loving Father; perhaps some have never even heard of Him as such at all ; and your lives are hard, and wretched, and miserable, and sinful, with no hope beyond. " Now, my dear friends, we all of us like to be loved and cared for ; a kind word or thought will bring a tear to the eye when all else fails. Let me tell you then about this loving Father and Heavenly Friend, who wishes you to know and look up to Him, and believe in Him. " He made this world we live in, and every- thing we see. " Once it was quite beautiful and holy, for sin was not here to make it sad ; and the man and woman that God first made and put into it were happy, because they walked with God all day long. But when the devil entered and tempted them to sin, they were afraid of God, and He drove them from His presence, and from that time man became lost and ruined. " But God, whose name is Love, has made a way of escape for the chief of sinners, and offers to them eternal life, instead of the everlasting death they deserve. " Many hundreds of years ago He sent His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who lived with Him in glory above the sky, down to our earth, A Sermon about Sparrows. 39 to be born a little helpless baby in a stable at Bethlehem, so to take our humanity upon Him. And when He grew to be a man, He went about doing good, healing the sick and raising the dead ; and at the last He was crucified and nailed to a cross of wood by wicked hands ; and He died and was buried, and rose again from the grave, and went back to live with His Father in heaven. " You may read the beautiful story for your- selves, if you will, but what I want you to think about now is, why did He do all this ? It was to save your souls, that part of you that can never die, though your bodies will crumble to dust. And now He asks you all to come to Him, and cry for His Holy Spirit to touch your hearts and show you that you are lost sinners, and teach you that the Lord Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost. " Oh ! come to Him and ask Him to wash away your sins in His precious blood, and make you without spot in His sight. He will hear you ; He is listening and waiting for you now, and holding out the fair white robe of His righteousness to clothe you in. Oh ! do not delay ; cry to Him to-night ; say, ' God be merciful to me a sinner.' ' Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.' "Ah, how changed will your life here be 40 City Sparrows. when you begin to look up and cry to God as your Father. He will bless you ; He will feed you, for He has said, ' They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.' You will have His strength to help you to bear all the trials of this life; and when you lie down to die, your precious soul will be carried away from this earth to the presence of Christ, there to dwell for ever in heaven with God and His angels. Is not this worth thinking about ? Oh ! come to the Saviour ; come to Him now. "You need not bring fine words with you : the poorest and most ragged little child who kneels and whispers, ' Lord Jesus, save me,' shall be heard. Oh ! come and take this Heavenly Friend, who will never fail or forsake you. * Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' There is room for every one that will come. Perhaps you think it is only for the rich and great, but there will be no difference in the kingdom of heaven. " The Son of God has a welcome for all, and it is this : ' Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'" A prayer for God's blessing was offered, another hymn sung, and the people began to move slowly out. No one noticed our poor little Zetta, down whose pale thin cheeks the tears had been A Sermon about Sparrows. 41 slowly rolling. Her heart was full, for a new light was bursting on her soul. She heeded not the loneliness, or the cold slippery streets: on she sped swiftly home, and was up the rough ladder in a twinkling, and by Harry's side. " Oh, Harry ! " she sobbed, " I've heard all about your God. The gentleman began to speak about the sparrows, as if he knew all about ours ; and he says God minds them, and He'll be our Father, too, and if we love Him, He won't let us be hungry any more, for He'll take care of us." And Zetta sat on the bed, and in broken sentences told Harry all she could remember of the simple sermon. " We'll pray to Him to-night, Zetta; " and the sick boy, folding his wasted hands together, while Zetta knelt beside him, they both cried earnestly : " Lord, save us ; we are very poor, and hungry, and sick. Lord Jesus, wash away our sins in Thy blood, and take care of us. Amen." And the prayer went up before the throne of God, and the Lord heard and recorded it in His book of remembrance. A CHAPTER IV. TROUBLED WATERS. " PAPA has come home early from his morning round to-day," said Lizzie Belfield, pausing in her German lesson to look out of the window at a handsome brougham and pair just drawing up to the door. " Miss Millar, didn't you say you wanted to speak to him : shall I go and ask him ?" " I should be very glad, dear," said Margaret, the colour mounting to her cheeks and crimson- ing her forehead. " If it would not hinder him, will you ask him if I may come into his con- sulting room for a few minutes ; I will not detain him longer." " Oh, I'm sure he won't mind," said Lizzie, rising hastily; "there is no one so good and kind as papa in the whole world; I shall just catch him if I go now." Margaret watched the door close after her Troubled Waters. 43 pupil with a sinking heart. She had been making up her mind the whole morning to what she was about to do, and had prayed earnestly for strength to do it, nerving herself to the task ; yet now, when the moment drew near, she longed that it might be put off to another day. " For mother's sake and darling little Nell's," she thought to herself; and Edith and Amy looked up from their slates to see tears stand- ing in their teacher's eyes, as Lizzie returned with the message. " Papa says, will you go into his room, and he will be with you almost directly ; he is just speaking to mamma. Oh ! I forgot, you don't know where it is. I will show you." And leading the way across the hall, they soon came to a pretty room at the back, look- ing out on a small garden, with turf and flower- beds, having an ivy-grown wall bounding it on either side, and a belt of shrubs and trees screening the iron railings that shut it off from the road. Here Margaret sat down by the 'window to wait, and as is often the case in such times of mental agitation, her eye seemed to take in the most trivial things before her. The sparrows were quite as .busy in the doctor's garden as on Harry's attic-roof, for 44 City Sparrows. here also a provident hand had been scattering crumbs on the sill and gravel path ; and there was a trembling among the ivy-leaves as flocks of them flew to and fro from the wall to the grass, doing battle with a bright-eyed robin redbreast that had managed to secure a large piece of crust to himself. "They sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them." " Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you." " O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt ?" were the words suggested to her heart, lifting it beyond her trouble into the presence of the great Burden-Bearer, there to lay down her load at His feet. The door opened, and Dr. Belfield came in. "Well, Miss Millar," he said, cheerily, extending his hand and giving hers a hearty shake, " I hear you wish to have a private interview with me. Are my young people getting beyond your control, and requiring a paternal lecture; or what is it ? " " No, Dr. Belfield, it is nothing about them, but I am in great trouble myself, and you have been so kind to me hitherto, that I venture to ask you to help me now. It is about Nelly," and Margaret strove to speak calmly, though her quivering lip showed it was a great effort. Troubled Waters. 45 " Nelly ! who is Nelly ? Ah ! one of your little sisters. I recollect you have sisters, but a doctor must be excused for not remembering names." /J/* " Shells very, very ill," continued Margaret ; " so ill that I'm afraid we shall lose her, and we are too poor to pay for medical advice for her ; yet something must be done, for she has not seen a doctor since mamma died, and that is nearly a year now." Dr. Belfield looked pityingly at the young slight girl standing before him. It was no new request to him, for he numbered many among his patients from whom he had not the heart to ask a fee. " Why did you not tell me about her before ?'* he said, kindly. " Certainly I will come to see the child, and try to find out what is the matter with her. To-day is unfortunately rather a full one, but I have a patient to visit in your direction this afternoon, so can look in on Nelly at the same time, and take you home in the carriage." " " Oh ! thank you so very much, you are kind indeed," said Margaret, with a grateful look ; and the burden seemed losing some of its weight as she went back to her pupils and sat down with them to the school-room dinner, a fervent thanksgiving rising from her heart. 46 City Sparrows. " Your house is in Beauvoir Street, is it not ?" said the doctor, as late in the afternoon he handed Margaret into his brougham, and stood giving orders to the coachman. " I will drive there straight ; " and he jumped in and closed the door. Margaret had no thoughts to give to enjoy- ing the luxury of a warm and comfortable carriage; she had reached her home in ima- gination long before the horses stopped, and pictured to herself what Nelly would say to a stranger being brought into her room. " Is papa at home ? " was her first question on crossing the threshold ; and the servant re- plying in the negative, Margaret led the way upstairs, followed by Dr. Belfield. She went softly in at the half-open door, and found Nelly lying quiet, with Alice working beside her. The child heard the step in an instant, and stretched out her arms. Margaret, kneeling down beside her, said, " You have heard me talk about Lizzi'e, and Edith, and Amy, darling : well, their dear, kind papa has come to see Nelly, and make her well." Dr. Belfield advanced towards the bed, while Nelly hid her face in Margaret's dress. But the doctor possessed an irresistible charm for children, and in a very few minutes he was Troubled Waters. 47 examining his patient, though she could hardly bear to be touched by any one. " I must speak to you alone for a minute," he said, when the visit was over. " Good-bye, Nelly : we shall meet again another day." Margaret led the way to her father's study, where, closing the door, the kind-hearted doctor took both her hands in his and said, tenderly, " My poor girl, I am very sorry to tell you your little sister is in a sad and precarious condition, and needing at least six weeks of surgical care and treatment, and good nursing night and day." After entering somewhat into particulars as to the complicated nature of the disease under which the child was suffering, he added, " An operation may be necessary, but we will do our utmost, under God's blessing, to save her ; yet I must warn you it is a very doubtful case. Now I know well she cannot have the strict attention and surgical care here that are absolutely necessary to give her a chance of life. You are not strong enough to nurse her yourself, and your circumstances render it im- possible to provide for adequate outside help in that way ; so I am going to propose a plan to which I hope you will persuade your father to consent. I want you to allow her to go into the hospital: I can get her admitted there at 48 City Sparrows. once, and there she will have every care and attention, and the means may be blessed to her recovery. I know it will be a great trial to your father, because we shall be obliged to give her a bed in an ordinary female ward, as there are no private rooms for patients in our hospital. But she is so young, that it will not matter for herself, and the nurse who will be with her is such a favourite with old and young, that you need not fear for Nelly. But I will come again to-morrow, and bring a friend of mine, who is a very clever surgeon, to confirm my opinion, and meantime you can talk it over with your father, and get his answer." " Thank you very much, Dr. Belfield : but how can we let our little Nell go in there among strangers ? She has never been away from any of us in her life, and she would be so frightened. May I go with her, and help to nurse her ? " " No, my dear young lady, that would be against the rules; and it will be better for your- self that you should not. But I will get you admitted to see her sometimes during the day, though there will be a difficulty about that, as there is so much jealousy. I must hurry away now, but let me beg you to persuade your father to consent, though I know it will be hard for him to do so. Good-bye for the present. I Troubled Waters. 49 will tell my girls they shall have holidays until next week." Margaret heard the hall door shut, and then sank down into her father's arm-chair, sobbing, " Oh ! we cannot do it; my poor little Nell ! " Mr. Millar found her there when he returned, and she told him as calmly as she could what had passed. " God's will be done, Margaret," he said. " He will humble us to prove us, and we must lay our pride at His feet in cheerful submission. I did not think it would have come to this," he murmured. " My poor little pet lamb ; but it is best so ; yes, it is best; " and he bowed his head in silent prayer. That was a very quiet evening in the curate's home, for the news about Nelly soon spread among the brothers and sisters, and seemed to wrap them in a hush of sadness. Even little Bertie contented himself with climbing on his papa's knee and remaining quiet, every now and then stroking the tired hand that clasped him, until one of his sisters carried him off half asleep to his bed. " Margaret," said her father, as he was bidding her good-night, " I have walked farther than usual to-day, in order to find out the poor children you tol$~me about who are living in Court B." 50 City Sparrows. " Oh, papa ! how good of you : and did you succeed ? " " Yes ; it was all quite true that the child told you. I was some time tracing them out, and seldom in the whole course of my life have I seen a human abode more miserable. I found my way up the narrow, stifling court, reeking with bad smells, and mounting some tumble- down stone steps, entered a door. At the top of two flights of narrow worm-eaten stairs, I saw a woman standing with a baby in her arms; and on making inquiry of her whether she knew anything of a sick boy called Harry, who was supposed to live here, she pointed up a rough ladder, which I had not at first observed, telling me I should find him and his sister, if I would go up. I was not prepared for such a case of utter destitution and squalor : rags and straw and bits of broken wood seemed to form ths only furniture of the room, and a few panes in the roof for a window ; and the boy and girl were a match for it all. He is very ill, poor fellow, and they are both literally starving. Their history is a most touching one, for their parents seem to have seen better days ; but they have evidently been worse than orphans for some time, as their father died when Harry was only six years old, and their mother has ever since then been a confirmed drunkard and Troubled Waters. 51 notoriously bad character. The little girl tells me they have seen or heard nothing of her since Saturday night, when she believes she was run over, and taken to the hospital. We must try and make inquiries for them, and there will be little difficulty in getting the poor boy an order to be admitted as an in-patient ; but we must do what we can meantime for them. Harry and Zetta Warren are their names, and the girl recognised me directly as the preacher she had heard the night before in the Mission-room, beyond the North Bridge. The idea of her finding her way all down there ! I read and prayed with the poor boy, whom I found lamentably ignorant, though wonderfully intelligent, and longing to hear the good news of the Gospel. I wondered the Scripture-reader hadn't found them out, but Harry tells me his mother would never allow any one to come inside their door. His only amusement the live-long day seems to be trying to attract the sparrows that congregate about his skylight. Poor fellow ! I thought of my last night's sermon, and I am sure that both he and his sister are two of God's sparrows, for whom we must endeavour to scatter a few crumbs of help and comfort. I gave the child a shilling, and told her to buy what she could with it, and said she might come here on 52 City Sparrows. Wednesday evening, for a little broth and rice- pudding ; and I thought perhaps you might find a couple of old shirts for the poor boVj^and something for the ragged Zetta, also.'VZr " I will do my best, papa. Thank' you so much for going." " Poor papa," she thought to herself, as she went upstairs. " He is for ever giving away out of his own poverty, and he does not under- stand it is not easy to find worn-out clothes to give away in our house. I must beg some among the few friends we have." There was not much sleep for Margaret that night, for poor Nelly moaned, and needed her attention every few minutes, in spite of the soothing medicine Dr. Belfield had prescribed. The child seemed to find no position so easy as lying in her sister's arms, and Margaret would not resign her night-watch to any one else. " My darling little Nell," she whispered. " You love the Lord Jesus, don't you ? " " Yes," said the child, fixing her large sleepless eyes upon her. " And if He were to come and stand before you now, asking you to do something for His sake, would you do it ? " " Yes, Margaret." "Well, good, kind Dr. Belfield wants to Troubled Waters. 53 make our little girl quite well, but dear papa hasn't enough money to give Nelly all the medicines and nursing she ought to have, and it makes him cry to think that he can't. But, Nelly, do you remember the great big house with all those windows in it, where I told you once that sick people were taken to be made well ? " Nelly nodded assent. " It is such a nice place," continued Mar- garet; " and they take such care, and are so kind to sick children, and keep them till they are quite well. So Dr. Belfield wants us to send our little girl there : will she go ? " "You'll come, too?" " No, dearie, I can't do that, because it is not allowed ; but for papa's sake Nelly will try not to mind, and be a good, brave, little patient girl, won't she ? " There was silence for a minute, and then Xelly turned her face to the pillow, sobbing bitterly, as if a great wave of grief was over- whelming her. Margaret's heart smote her, and she had begun to think what other sacrifice could be made to save her darling, when she saw her clasp her hands together and whisper, " Lord Jesus, help me to be good and patient." Then a calm settled down on the sweet little 5 54 City Sparrows. face, and she said, " Where I am going, Maggie, God will help me to be quite good, and bring me back to you again." Margaret could only bend down and kiss her, as her own heart went up in silent prayer to the Great Healer. Our times are in Thy hand, Jesus the Crucified ! The hand our many sins have pierced Is now our Guard and Guide. " So He giveth His beloved sleep," thought Margaret, as in the early morning she saw her darling was resting quietly, and turned to seek her own pillow. CHAPTER V. THE GATE OF MERCY. IT is midnight in St. Mary's ward, and the gas has been lowered to a subdued light, as the nurses move noiselessly up and down the long room, watching by and ministering to the suf- ferers, some of whom have fallen asleep, while others moan on their narrow beds, already wishing for the day. White and worn are most of the faces, but the expression on each varies as much as their respective ages, and childhood, youth, and ma- ture age are to be found among those who thus lie side by side. The attention of the nurses is often directed towards a bed near the top of the room, on which lies a woman of about forty years of age, apparently in great pain, judging by the groans that escape her parched lips. Her pale face is sadly cut and disfigured, looking all the more ghastly from the bandages bound about her 5* 56 City Sparrows. head ; but no one could recognise in that pro- strate form, the fierce, coarse woman, Suzetta Warren, whose drunken brawls and shameless conduct had roused a feeling of disgust, even among the sunken and abject dwellers in Court B. Fever and delirium ensuing on the acci- dent, made her first like a raging maniac; but this giving place to weakness and exhaustion, her body is left feeble as an infant's, while over her mind, with the returning conscious- ness, hovers a vague horror of what she has awakened to, as her eyes rest with a fixed stare on the faces of those around her. What is that sound which catches the racked sufferer's quick ear, rousing it to listen with strained attention ? Only the gentle murmuring of a little child's voice, who lies in a bed not far off, thinking no one but God is listening to her in the quiet night. " O Lord Jesus, help me to bear my bad pain, for it won't let me sleep, and I want to be good and patient. Make me meek and holy, like Thy- self. This bed is not so soft as mine at home, and I don't like being here with all these strange people." Here the child began to sob softly, but check- ing herself, she continued : " I want Margaret, but she told me to tell You all about it, and The Gate of Mercy. 57 then I should not mind it so much. She told me about poor, sick Harry, who had only rags and straw to lie on up in a garret, and no mother to take care of him, and his father dead. Please make him better too." Another pause, and long-drawn sigh. " Am I going to die, dear, kind Lord Jesus, because Margaret told me I was very, very ill ? I would like to come to You very much, to the home for little children above the bright blue sky, but I don't want to go away from dear papa and them all quite yet; so please make me better, and let me go home again to my own home. But wash away all my sins in Thine own precious blood, that I may have the beautiful white robe on, and make me like a little candle shining in the dark. Bless all the poor people who are ill in here, and don't let me cry when papa and Margaret come to see me, because that makes them cry too. Bless them, and Alice, and Lotta, and Ted., and Harry, and Bertie, and give them all the crown of life, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen." " Bless her dear little heart," said the nurse, under her breath. " Never in all my born days have I heard anything like that before inside these walls, and a more patient little angel never breathed. When the like of her talks about their sins, I wonder what will become 58 City Sparrows. of those who have led a wicked life, and when God Almighty lays His hand upon them, begin to curse instead of praying." Suzetta Warren heard not the unguarded thrust, and it was a mercy she did not, for the sweet spell under which her spirit seemed suddenly chained into submission would have been rudely broken, and in its place would have risen up hard, revengeful, defiant thoughts, to close her heart against the Saviour of the lost, and dry up the tears that were now flowing from eyes that had never wept in penitence before. "Harry! Harry!" she sobbed to herself. "And he's got no mother to take care of him that's me; and his father dead. Who said it? Oh, I've killed them both." And then a dying bed which she had watched beside eight years ago stood out in relief from the darkness, and she saw those glazed eyes raised towards her, and heard the voice of warn- ing and entreaty to turn unto the Lord; ard now it was too late ! too late ! No ; for like a light gleaming out from the gathering gloom around her, shone out that simple sentence, " Wash away all my sins in Thine own blood." Again she listened and longed for the voice, but the Good Shepherd had soothed the weary little sufferer to sleep upon His loving breast, The Gate of Mercy. 59 and the wretched woman could only groan in her pain and anguish of mind until morning dawned. " Weaker," said Dr. Belfield, feeling her pulse, as he, with the other doctors, passed through the ward on their early morning round, " My poor woman, are you able to tell us some- thing about yourself, to-day? Have you any friends, or where do you belong ? for we should like to let them know." " No one cares for me, no more than I were a beast," was the dogged response. " Oh, Harry ! Harry ! I've killed him, and now I'm going to die myself." " But who is Harry ? Is he your boy ? Tell me, and I will try to find him out." " No, no, no," was the moaning cry in answer; but the wail had reached Nelly's ears, and she beckoned the doctor to her side. " Margaret will tell you all about him ; papa has been to see him, and they didn't know where their mother was. I'm sure that is the same Harry. Is his poor mother very ill ?" " Yes, my child, I'm afraid so." V/f "Then I will ask Margaret to speak to her to-day, when she comes to see me ; she will make her quite happy. She is coming, isn't she ? " " Yes, for a little while, but I cannot let her do so very often, as you must be kept quiet, 60 City Sparrows. because we want to make you well quickly, and I'm sure you will be good and patient, my dear little girl." A disappointed look preceded the patient smile of resignation that gradually overspread her small face, and the doctor never guessed how a little aching heart was battling to be brave as he said good-bye. It seemed a long time to wait, but Margaret came at last, rather late in the afternoon, and eagerly her eyes sought the one face she was hungering for among the many sick ones lying there. Swiftly she glided past the other sufferers, and sat down beside Nelly, who had a bright smile of welcome for her, though she was en- during more pain than usual. " I may only stay a little while with you, my darling," said Margaret, kissing her, " because the doctors won't allow more; but tell me, are you happy and comfortable here, and is every one kind to my little Nell ?" "O yes, Margaret, so kind; but the nights are the longest. I lay awake such a long, long time last night, but our Lord Jesus helped me to bear the pain, because I asked Him ; and then I knew you were all thinking about me at home, and that makes it quite different. And, Mar- garet," she whispered, " I want you to go and The Gate of Mercy. 61 speak to a woman lying over there, in that bed. She is Harry's mother; I'm quite sure it's the same, for I heard Dr. Belfield talking to her, and she is so very unhappy. I saw her crying: do tell her about Harry." Margaret looked in the direction her sister had indicated, and in her mind a set of broken links seemed to join together. " How curious if it is so," was her response ; and then taking up Nelly's little Bible, she read a few verses to her from the 23rd Psalm. " ' The Lord is, my shepherd ; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures : He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul : He leadeth me in the paths of righteous- ness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for Thou art with me ; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.' Try and say two of the verses out of the last new hymn you learned, darling." So Nelly repeated, softly : " I've found a Friend, oh ! such a Friend, He loved me ere I knew Him, He drew me with the cords of love, And thus He bound me to Him. And round rny heart still closely twine, Those ties which nought can sever, For I am His. and He is mine, For ever and for ever. SA 62 City Sparrows. " I've found a Friend, oh ! such a Friend, He bled, He died to save me, And not alone the gift of life, But His own self He gave me. Nought that I have my own I call, I hold it for the Giver ; My heart, my strength, my life, my all Are His, and His for ever." Then Margaret added : "We would see Jesus, for the shadows lengthen Across this little landscape of our life ; We would see Jesus, our weak faith to strengthen For the last weariness the final strife. *'We would see Jesus, the Great Rock foundation, Whereon our feet were set by sovereign grace; Nor life, nor death, with all their agitation, Can thence remove us if we see His face. " We need not mind how soon the journey ends, darling, need we, if our Saviour is leading us all the way? He will carry us over the rough places, and the more afraid we feel, the closer we must nestle within His arms. Do you remember, Nelly, that beautiful walk \ve took when we stayed in the country, the summer before dear mother died ? We climbed up those hills which the sun used to tinge, making them look sometimes as if they were dressed in pink and brown and green velvet. I remember you and I were standing on one hill, and we saw papa and the boys on another, but the sun was The Gate of Mercy. 63 so bright we could scarcely look at them. They called to us to come, but the dark shady valley, with the water running through it, was between us, so papa said, ' Wait, and I will come and show you the way.' He came and took you up in his arms, and we went first down and then up the steep places, until we reached the spot where the others were all standing in golden sunshine above. I have never forgotten that, Nelly, because it seemed to me a little picture-lesson for us to learn from, that if we have Christ for our Saviour and Guide, He will lead and carry us through shade and sunshine, from darkness to light. So those who have given their hearts to Him need fear nothing, not even the dark valley which must be passed before we can reach the golden city, where * there will be no more night.' You would not be afraid, my darling, if He carried you through the valley of shadows, and across death's river? " "No, Margaret, not if I felt He had really got me in His arms ; because when papa carried me across the water, where there were only stones to step on, I knew he would not let me fall in, because he held me tight." " Well, darling, your Shepherd, the Lord Jesus, will hold you quite as safely if you trust yourself to His arms; for He loves you, and calls you one of His little lambs." 64 City Sparrows. Not a shadow dimmed the upturned face that was listening to every word, and Margaret envied the utter confidence and peace abiding there. She rose to leave, and on turning round, noticed Suzetta Warren, who had fixed her black eyes upon her with an earnest, troubled gaze. She moved forward to speak, an atten- dant saying at the same time, " She's a poor creature no one seems to know anything of. We only moved her in yesterday from the accident-ward, as we were so full , in there, but she won't tell us anything." /vJ Margaret sat down beside the bed, and said, gently, " Harry is quite safe, and Zetta too; papa went to see them, and we will take care of them both until you are able to come home. Harry is, I hope, going to be brought into this nice place, to be made quite well; only you won't be able to see him just yet, as he will be in another ward. They will both be so glad to hear about you." A long-drawn sigh and deep groan was the only answer, but Margaret bent down as she saw the lips move, and caught the words, "Tell me about Him you told about to her. I'm too wicked ; I'm lost, lost ! " " Then Christ came to seek and save you, and no one is too wicked to come to Him, for He has said, ' I will in no wise cast out/ The Gate of Mercy. 65 Shall I tell you a story about Him? Once, when He was on earth, there was a poor, miser- able woman, who was a very great sinner, and quite a lost and ruined one. She was so wicked that some people drew her before Jesus and told Him of her sin, and the guilty woman, humbled and ashamed, sank down before Him, expecting a severe sentence to be pronounced upon her; but He said, 'Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more.' Again, another time, when He was sitting at meat in the house of a great and rich man, another lost woman found her way in, and came close to where Jesus was sitting. She knelt down at His blessed feet, and began to think over all her past wicked life, and how it must grieve Him to know about it all ; and then her tears dropped down like rain upon the sacred feet that were to be nailed to the cross, before long, for her sins. The Lord did not speak to her at first, and she felt as if her heart must break ; and still she wept, and took her long hair, that was falling about her shoulders, and wiped His feet. At last she heard the joyful words, ' Her sins which are many are for- given her.' Did Jesus speak them ? Yes, He knew all about her, and her many sins, but there was mercy for her. She could look up now and love her Saviour, and believe on Him with all her heart; and this story about her is 66 City Sparrows. told, that all wretched, ruined ones like her may have a door of escape to flee to. Our Lord Jesus says He is the door into the sheepfold, and though you cannot see Him, He is quite as willing to receive you, with your sins, as that poor woman who lived when He was on earth; and when once the sins are washed away, they are blotted out for ever. No reproaches from our Heavenly Master. ' He giveth liberally and upbraideth not.' " The poor woman listened until Margaret ceased, then looking up, with despair written on her countenance, and making a desperate effort to speak, she gasped, " I'm too bad for that. I turned my back on God years and years ago, when I was young, and swore at my poor hus- band afore he died, when he spoke of them things to me. No, Miss, I've lived for the devil, and now he'll take me to hell, and it won't be long afore I'm there. If I could die as the dogs do, I wouldn't be afraid, but my husband told me too much about the wicked and the saved to believe that. Ay, it's no new tale you've been telling me, Miss; I read my Bible once." Exhaustion prevented her from adding more, and Margaret could only lift up her heart in secret prayer to the God of all grace, who is able to save to the uttermost, even at the eleventh hour, all who come to Him. Then she The Gate of Mercy. 67 whispered, " I will pray for you, but try and say these words for yourself, ' Lord Jesus, have mercy on me, and wash away my sins in Thy precious blood.' " Nelly had heard part of the conversation, and when Margaret kissed her before leaving, said, " I will pray too, Margaret ; God will make her good, I am sure, if we ask Him. Give my love to all the others, and tell them I think about them a great deal, and please take care of my pussy." Margaret went home with an undefined dread at her heart, which was full of anxious question- ings. Had she done right in consenting to the utter isolation from home of her darling little sister, who, perhaps, might be passing away from them for ever? Could no other sacrifice have been made? And calmly she retraced each ne- cessary expenditure which had dipped heavily into the tiny income ; that change into the pure country air which was tried as a last resource for the frail, sinking mother, whom no human aid could save ; and then the heavy doctor's bill, which had to be paid by instalments, in spite of all the earning and struggling to augment the slender funds. Oh ! why did our Father in Heaven permit this ? when in His hand are the silver and the gold, and He has promised to withhold no 68 City Sparrows. good thing from them that walk uprightly. Oh, doubting heart ! Yes, it is quite true, in spite of all that sneering cynics may say, " No good thing." But are we, the perishing clay, to dictate to the Heavenly Potter what our good things are to be ? and would they be good if we chose them ? " Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment ? Behold the fowls of the air, they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Consider the lilies of the field, they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." All this passed through Margaret's mind, and yet the shadow did not lift. " Hath God for- gotten to be gracious?" was the cry of her tried soul. " My prayers return unto my own bosom, and the light is far from me." Blame her not, ye who read these pages. She had a human heart like yours, and she was struggling for superhuman strength, to lift her beyond a trial which threatened to make ship- wreck of her faith. It is easy to say, " If I had been in her place I would have done this and that." Yes, you may put on other people's spectacles, but that will not make you see with their eyes, and the experiment generally ends giving in a distorted view of things after all. The Gate of Mercy. 69 Margaret had been able to soothe and comfort her little sister, and to direct an unhappy wan- derer towards the fold; but now in the bitterness of her own soul she could not raise her eyes tc the cross, and only saw its dark shadow resting across her path. The vision of her faith was dimmed, and the snowy dove of peace and hope that broods above it was obscured. She yearned for a word of comfort and encouragement from human lips ; for a burden borne with a sinking heart is felt to be twice as heavy when there is no one to whisper, " Be of good cheer." */ She reached her home, and instinctively turned towards her father's study. It was empty ; but his books and papers were lying about, as if he had been recently there. Margaret took up an open volume that was lying near her, and her eye caught the words, " The explanation of a cross in our daily life has been beautifully illus- trated by a certain writer. ' It is as though there were two pieces of wood lying before us, the long piece representing God's will, the short piece our will. Lay these side by side and there is no cross ; but put the short piece athwart the long, and there is a cross directly.' " Margaret read the words over and over again, and said to herself, "The cross in our lives, then, comes when our will runs across God's will. Lord, blend my will with Thine." But 6 70 City Sparrows. still the rebellious feeling was in her heart, and she turned away to go upstairs to the now de- serted bedroom. There was no sweet little face now to greet her entrance with a smile, no need for any more loving ministrations ; others were taking her place beside Nelly, and she was no longer wanted. She felt alone, terribly alone. "Oh, mother, mother!" she cried, in the anguish of the struggle, " if you were only here, to tell me what to do, it would not be so hard ;" and scene after scene passed swiftly through her memory, of quiet, happy evenings, in the peaceful sick chamber, long ago, when the gentle voice, now hushed in death, had given counsel and comfort so wisely and tenderly. " Why did God take her from us ?" burst involuntarily from her lips, and turning with a sick heart, she locked the door and sank down on her knees beside the bed. She wrestled and cried, " Not my will, but Thine, be done ;" but body and mind were alike wearied out, and she fell fast asleep. She dreamt she was wandering over a bare and rugged plain, with Nelly in her arms. She thought the child was dying, and there was no one to speak to or help her. On, on she went, until she came to the brink of a river which ran into a gloomy cavern, and wearied and ex- hausted she sank down with her burden. The Gate of Mercy. 71 Then One seemed to approach, saying, " It is I, be not afraid! fear not, only believe. Give Me the child ; thou mayest not follow, but there is light beyond." Margaret cried to follow, but the boat into which they had entered shot swiftly out of sight, and she went weeping on her way. After walking some distance she again raised her eyes, and saw the river flowing calmly past her, with the sunshine pouring down upon it in a brilliant flood, lighting up its ripples with russet-brown and gold. And there was the boat again : it had passed the gloomy cavern and the shadows, into daylight once more. Nelly was in her arms again, and she was shedding tears of joy over her lost treasure, when the dream vanished, and she was recalled to the present, with all its cares and sorrows, by a sharp knocking at the door. " Sorry to disturb you, mum," said Hester, the maid-of-all-work, when Margaret opened the door, "but the other young ladies isn't come in yet ; and there's the raggedest, disgracefullest little creature as ever I set these here eyes upon, down in the kitchen. She says your papa told her to come, so I thought I'd best step up and tell you ; but it's my belief she's nothing but a young Irish tramp, brought up to beg and steal from honest folk. I've bolted her into the 6* 72 City Sparrows. scullery whiles I came up to you, for I daren't trust such a ragamuffin inside my kitchen ; and such an outlandish, heathenish name, too, Zitta, or Zatta, I don't know, I'm sure ; some- thing like that, as well as I could understand the child." " It is all right, Hester," said Margaret, smiling at the honest woman's talk. " I will tell you her history when she is gone, and I'm sure your kind heart will be sorry for her. I will be down immediately. You can give her a piece of bread and butter ; and is the broth ready I asked you to prepare for a sick boy ?" " Yes, Miss," said Hester, impatient to return to her domain below-stairs ; cogitating whether there was anything " the brat could lay her hands upon," among the pots and kettles. Margaret lighted the gas, and went to a box that stood in one corner of the room, and kneel- ing down before it, proceeded to examine the contents. After turning out several things, she came upon a little frock of Nelly's, so old, that it had been patched and darned to such an extent, that one could hardly tell what the original fabric must have looked like. Mar- garet's tears fell fast upon the faded little garment, which she remembered Nelly running about in, joyous and happy, in the bright, beau- tiful country, sporting like a butterfly among The Gate of Mercy. 73 grass and flowers; the little old frock that she might tear and dirty as much as she pleased, because it was so old; and now, would she ever need any of her frocks again? Perhaps not. " It will please the darling," she thought, "if I tell her I have given it to poor little Zetta, and as she is not much taller than Nelly, and so thin, I think it may fit her." An old pair of stockings of Lotta's, and two patched and darned shirts were also taken out, and with these things in her hand she met Mr. Millar on her way downstairs..^ " I have just come in, Margaret, from visiting that good old lady, Mrs. Page, the invalid I was telling you about, who gives away so much. She wants me to bring my daughters to see her, and she has kindly given me several hospital orders, and a five-pound note to distribute among the poor I visit, as she is unable to find out the cases herself; so poor Harry shall be the first to benefit by her munificence. I called to see him again on my way home, and Mrs. Smith, the woman who lives in the room below, has promised to take him in a cab to the hos- pital. I gave her two shillings and sixpence to .pay for it and her trouble, and she says she will give an eye to the girl until we see what is to be done with her. It is a sad case, and we must do our best for them." 74 City Sparrows. 11 It is more like an incident from a story-book, papa, than a fact from real life," answered Mar- garet ; " for strangely enough to-day, when I went to see Nelly, I discovered their mother in the same ward. Her recovery is hopeless, I fear, but I pray she may linger long enough to find the rest her weary, sin-stained soul is seeking. Now she is removed from the influence of strong drink her better feelings seem asserting themselves, for she is not like one who never heard of God; and it is the remembrance of grace slighted long ago that seems her chief barrier against believing on Christ now." " How strangely things come about, link after link, in this life of ours," said her father. " I will try and speak a word to her when next I go to see Nelly. But, Margaret, my girl, you have been crying: if my stay and comforter loses heart, what am I to do ? " " Oh, papa, I have been murmuring in my foolishness," faltered Margaret; "grieving over the trying things that are laid on us to bear, for all seems growing darker and darker." " ' All things work together for good to those who love God,' " said Mr. Millar, laying his hand on her shoulder. "Yes, papa, but I forgot that: at least, it is so hard to remember it when the trouble comes upon us. Mine is such a faithless heart:,. The Gate of Mercy. 75 for even now, in spite of my unbelief, I can see good coming out of our present evil; because, if Nelly had not gone into the hospital, that poor woman might not have heard the words that have now awakened her soul." " ' He led them forth by a right way, that they might go unto a city of habitation,' " said her father. " My child, it must be the right way, however hard and steep and rugged it may ap- pear. Some day we shall look back from the heights of glory, and reviewing all these several leadings, thank our Father who guided us with His eye through the mazes of our wilder- ness journey ; and meantime may we be taught to say, in a teachable, childlike spirit "O Lord my God, do Thou Thy holy will, I will be still; I will not stir lest I forsake Thine arm, And break the charm Which lulls me clinging to my Father's breast In perfect rest. " ' O Father, not My will but Thine be done ; ' So spake the Son. Be this our charm, mellowing earth's ruder noise Of griefs and joys, That we may cling for ever to Thy breast In perfect rest." CHAPTER VI. PATIENCE. " OH, Harry, look what the kind lady's given me !" cried Zetta, joyfully uncovering the tin can containing the broth, and spreading out Nelly's little frock as carefully as if it had been made of silk or velvet. " We'll never be hungry no more now, Harry, and the lady says she's going to make me tidy to go to school; and she says they'll tell me there all about the God in heaven that you love; and some day, when I'm big, I'll be able to earn money far myself, and we shall all be happy once more ; perhaps as happy as you was when you lived with father in the beautiful house with the garden that you tell about to me." The sparkle in Zetta's eyes was most infec- tious, and awoke a smile on the boy's sad face, as hestruggled to sit up and share in his sister's enthusiasm, which inspired him with a sudden desire to get up and work also; but the glad- Patience. 77 ness died out when he looked at his poor thin hands, which certainly contradicted any such idea. " Have you heard anything of poor mother?" said he, checking the murmur that rose to his lips. " Yes, Harry, I've heard all about her. The kind Miss told me it was her as was in the hospital; but the people there was taking such care of her, and the lady saw her and spoke to her; and she cried about you and me, Harry." , " Poor mother," said Harry, " she was kind to me sometimes, long ago ; but it's the drink, Zetta, that makes her bad, for she never knows what she's saying or doing after it. Did they tell you I was to go into the hospital ? " "No; Miss didn't say nothing about that. Will they make you quite well in there? " " I hope so, Zetta. The gentleman's been here again, and spoke to Mrs. Smith, and she's been washing up my old rags, and trying to make me a bit tidy to go in. She will be pleased to see those shirts; the lady is kind, sure enough, and the gentleman too; he made me so happy to-day, Zetta, for he read out of his Bible to me about our Father in heaven, who takes care of all His children, arid he taught me to pray to the Lord Jesus, and said we must both try to love Him, because He's loved us so much, and died for us. The gentleman is going to give me a Bible of 78 City Sparrows. my own some day, when I can read ; but I told him I only knew the letters, and that all the bits of printing I ever got to look at was the pieces of newspaper the things come wrapped in from the shop." But Zetta did not heed the latter part of the sentence, for the thought of separation had suddenly presented itself in all its blankness ; and dropping the things from her hand, she sank down beside him, crying, " Oh, don't go away from me, Harry." A perplexed look of pain crossed the boy's face as he drew her closer to him, saying, " I told the gentleman at first I couldn't go, because of leaving you, but he said you should be took good care of till I was well again; so keep up heart, Zetta, and think how nice it'll be when I am strong and well, and able to run about again." " But, Harry, Mrs. Smith will serve me bad when you are gone: she thumps the children ever so, if they don't mind her." " No, Zetta, she won't, if I ask her not to. She's a bit cross sometimes, I know, but she don't mean it, and she'll be glad to have the children minded while she's out to work; and Mr. Millar says you can come and see me in the hospital. He says we must trust it all in our Father's hands, Zetta, like the sparrows Patience. 79 that fly about the skylight : they never know in the morning how much food He is going to give them, so they fly about and trust, and God feeds them. I sha'n't have no sparrows in the hos- pital, Zetta, they won't come to the windows, there like they do here ; but when you see them it'll mind you of what I've been saying. I prayed sometimes that I might die, Zetta, and fly away, like I've watched the sparrows, up towards the blue sky; but if God makes me well and strong, I'll work hard for you and mother, and it'll be all right then." ^Q The sick boy's eyes sparkled with energy as he spoke, but wearied out with the effort of talking, he fell back faint, turning so deadly white, that poor Zetta. for a few minutes, thought he was gone, as she chafed the thin cold hands, while her tears fell fast. Presently he opened his eyes and smiled sweetly, then gradually fell into a quiet sleep. The last night that Harry was ever to spend in that dreary sky-garret came to an end with the next day's bright dawning; but he did not know he was saying good-bye for ever to the skylight and its surroundings. He was so ex- tremely weak, that Mrs. Smith and Zetta. were a long time getting on his clothes ; and when at last he was wrapped in the woman's ragged shawl and carried downstairs, his strength was com- 80 City Sparrows. pletely spent, and he could ill bear the move- ment of the cab that took him to the hospital. But when, after it all, he was undressed and laid in the clean, and to him, luxurious little bed, he could close his eyes in calm content and murmur, " Thank you ; you are very kind." Zetta felt loth to leave him, but Mrs. Smith ^caught hold of her hand and hurried her away. As they passed down the entrance steps she caught sight of her young lady and Mr. Millar, who stood engaged in earnest conversation with Dr. Belfield. Zetta longed for a word or look, -but Margaret did not turn her head, and Mrs. 'Smith was in a hurry to go to her day's work, and send Zetta home to mind the children, so ;they passed on. We will, however, join the group by the -doctor's carriage, and hear the end of their con- versation. Margaret's face is anxious and troubled, as she scans earnestly the expression of his features. "But you do not think there is no hope?" she said, in a trembling voice. "My dear Miss Millar," said Dr. Belfield, "I never say such a thing while there is life; but it is a much graver case than I at first imagined. The operation I hinted at will take place to-morrow, and after that it will all depend on whether the child has strength to rally from Patience. 81 it. Absolute quiet is her only chance, and that is why I feel it my sad duty to deny you the satisfaction of going to see her. I will not dis- guise the truth from you and your father : the treatment we are about to pursue may fail, and if it does, there is, I fear, but little hope ; but on the chance of its success I must ask you to be brave and patient, and Content to leave her with implicit confidence in our hands, praying for God's blessing upon our endeavours. She will be under chloroform, poor little thing, so will know nothing about it at the time, and in a week we may allow you to see her, but not before. It seems hard, but doctors must be stern sometimes in their path of duty." And giving a sympathetic shake of the hand to father and daughter, Dr. Belfield stepped into his carriage and drove off. Neither Mr. Millar nor Margaret spoke for a few moments, but walked towards home in silence, each occupied with such thoughts as Dr. Belfield's last words had given rise to. At length Mr. Millar said, in a tone which betrayed the depth of his suffering : " Oh, let not this shake our faith in God. It is hard now to believe we have done right in letting our little lamb be taken from us among strangers; but what else could we do ? for our case is known to so few, and I could not ask for 8s City Sparrows. money among my parishioners to pay a heavy doctor's bill. True, Dr. Belfield implied most generously that his services would have been rendered gratuitously at our house ; but he almost requested it as a favour that we should send her to the hospital, on account of the un- remitting care and attention she would get there, which are so indispensable in her case." " Papa," said Margaret, with tears in her eyes, "perhaps it will teach us to trust without seeing.'^ " Ah, my child, that is a lesson which cannot be learned in the sunshine : the shadow of night must enfold us before we can see the star of promise that shines for those who walk in dark- ness and have no light, and who stay themselves upon their God. The disciples feared as they entered into the cloud ; but they soon found the darkness was but the shadow of His wings, to enable them to see His glory. We are entering the cloud now, dear Margaret ; but the silver lining is in it, I am well assured, and the shadow of a great rock in a weary land is ' God our refuge and our strength, a very present help in time of trouble.' We must rest in the shadow as the traveller does when the sun beats down hot and fiercely on his head, and the way is long and weary." The home was reached at last, and both Patience. 83 father and daughter sought silently and apart the unseen Presence which would upbear them through much tribulation. " Margaret," said her father, when they met again, " I have just had a note from Mrs. Page, asking if I will send up a book I promised to lend her. I have too much work to attend to, so will you go with it yourself, and ask to see her, for she wants to know you personally ; and I should be very glad for you to have such a friend, as she is one who lives very near heaven, and knows well how to ' comfort those who are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith she her- self is comforted of God.' Alice and Lotta are going this afternoon to read to the old people in the almshouses, and Bertie will be very happy with Hester." Margaret gladly consented, feeling anything would be a relief that helped to speed the weary hours of suspense. So taking the book from her father's hand, she set forth on her errand. She lingered awhile before ringing the bell, feeling shy at the thought of meeting an entire stranger, and more especially now when her heart was so engrossed with its sadness. Her fears were, however, immediately set at rest on entering the large, pretty sitting-room, where Mrs. Page was lying on a sofa, drawn into a sunny bow- window; for the benign countenance 84 City Sparrows. and beaming smile that greeted her entrance would have reassured the most timid. " Good-day, my dear, glad to see you," began the old lady. " Ah, I should have known you were your father's daughter, by your likeness to him. Sit down, my love, you look so tired." " Papa was sorry," replied Margaret, " not to come himself, but he is so busy to-day, that he asked me to bring the book you wanted." "Very kind of you, my dear. I am not sorry, as it happens, that he was not able to come himself, because I wanted to know you, having heard much to interest me about you from him. Come nearer, dear, for it is an effort to speak loud. How pale you look, my child, and you have been crying, I can see. Yes, I know all about your trouble ; your father told me of it in his last visit, and I scolded him for not speaking to me about it before, because I am sure, " she added, with the modest hesitation that seems intuitive to a person of really refined feelings when about to speak of money affairs to one in poverty, " I would willingly have lightened the burden for your father, if he would kindly have allowed me the privilege of helping him; but he is so reserved on every subject concerning himself, that I should have been afraid of offending him. But if I could do anything for him or his, it would be only a small MARGARET'S NEW FRIEND. Patience. 85 return for all the comfort he has afforded me in his ministerial visits. I have been prevented, through illness, from attending the outward means of grace for many years, and it is only those similarly situated who can understand how an invalid hungers for some one to dip the pitcher into the well-spring of the water of life, and present it clear and fresh to gladden the thirsty soul. I wish every secluded Christian had such a minister to visit them in their re- tirement as your father." fa Margaret listened, the gfad blush of pleasure mantling her cheek at hearing her revered and beloved father thus spoken of. Then she looked up trustingly in her new friend's face, and said, "Yes; I don't know how I should have borne this trouble, if papa had not been at hand to show me where to look for strength. Oh, Mrs. Page, if you could only see our darling little Nell, you would know how hard it is for us to bear ! She is so lovely, and so like mother, that I have often thought they would soon be together again, and we never could bear to lose our little child. It would break papa's heart, and mine too," she added, as the tears she could no longer restrain filled her eyes. Mrs. Page looked tenderly at her for a moment, then taking the young hand in hers, said, softly, " Our Father knoweth best, but it 7 86 City Sparrows. is sometimes very hard and difficult to trust His leadings. I know from past experience it is the waiting time that wears the heart away. We long to anticipate our Father's dealings, to hasten the answer to our prayers, or to have them answered in our own way. David said, ' I waited patiently.'' We fret, and chafe, and grieve, and think, because we are waiting, we are bear- ing our trial in God's way. But patiently, how much deeper that goes ; that is the lying low and still at our Saviour's feet, listening for the word that shall raise us up again. ' Tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience. ' Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him/ * The trying of your faith worketh patience.'' " " It was darling mother's favourite word, I think," said Margaret ; " she was always pray- ing for patience. There are some beautiful lines- she used often to repeat : I know them by heart. ' Not in a dull and sullen calm, But as a breath of heavenly balm, Bidding my weary heart submit To bear whatever God sees fit. Sweet patience, come ! Tell me my Father hath not shed One grief too many on my head ; Tell me His love remembers still His children suffering at His will.'" " Thank you, my dear," said Mrs. Page. *' What precious words to associate with her Patience. 87 memory, and they must come, to you now like a whisper of comfort from the heavenly shore, to strengthen you for patient endurance in your present trial. I once had a terrible waiting time, dear; pleading through many weary days and nights for the life of my precious, only boy. My prayer was answered, but not in the way I expected; yet, after all was over, I could fold the little hands together for the long sleep, and say in my grief, ' I asked life of Thee and Thou gavest it him, even a long life for ever and ever.' " Margaret looked up reverently into the placid face which had gathered its sweetness and calm in much tribulation, and as she gazed, some of the peace written there passed into her own soul. She longed to ask more about the little child who had been withdrawn so early within the golden gates, but the trembling hand of the invalid made her ponder in silence the lesson she had just learned; and seeing that Mrs. Page looked quite exhausted, she presently rose to go. The old lady took both her hands in hers, and drawing her towards her for a kiss, said, " Good-bye, dear. I shall think so much about you to-morrow, and join my prayers to yours for little Nell. I shall long to hear of brighter tidings. Remember, the darker the night, the 88 City Sparrows. nearer the dawn, dear; be of good courage, and fear not." Ar d courage entered into Margaret's soul with that "wine of consolation," and she turned her steps towards home with a glad, high hope beating at her heart. " How happy Margaret looks to-night," was Lotta's comment to Alice, "and yet she told me there was no message from the hospital." " No, dear," said Alice, softly; " but there are messages sent from heaven sometimes. God can whisper hope and comfort when all around seems failing. She has been to see Mrs. Page, this afternoon, and it has done her good." "I wish we could help her more," said Lotta, taking up another pair of socks to darn from the basket that stood between the sisters. "She seems to have everything upon her, and she is going back to her teaching on Monday." " I am glad of it," replied Alice, " and papa thinks it is best, for everything here reminds her of our trouble. I cannot bear to go up- stairs now, and see our darling's empty bed, that Margaret and I have watched beside in turn for so many weeks; and perhaps it will always be empty, Lotta." There was silence in the room after that, and tears fell faster than fingers could work. ft CHAPTER VII. "NOT A WRECK." MONDAY morning had come round again, and the schoolroom at Dr. Belfield's looked expect- ant with slates and open books, all neatly ar- ranged for the pleasant routine of daily work. Three sunny heads were clustered together against the window, as if on the look out for some one. " Oh, I hope she will come," said little Amy. " I am tired of holidays, and it is much nicer than play to do lessons with her." " Yes," said Edie, " isn't she nice and kind ? And she never gives us those great double- punishment lessons Miss Smithers used to. I never cared a bit for them, though," added the young rebel, with a mischievous twinkle in her blue eyes; "she nearly always forgot to hear them. Did papa say he thought Miss Millar would come, Lizzie ?" go City Sparrows. " He said he had asked her, because," added Lizzie, lowering her voice to a whisper, " he thinks when she is at home by herself she frets about Nelly. You know he won't let her go and see her yet ; and didn't she look as if she had been awake all night, the afternoon she called here to ask if Nelly was better?" " Yes ; but how glad she was when papa told her the doctors all thought she would get well now," said Edie. " Mamma says, some day when she is going to visit at the hospital, she will take me to see Nelly. Won't it be funny to go there and see a little lady among all the poor people ?" said the child, clapping her hands. " Hush, don't laugh about it, Edie," said the elder sister. " I heard papa and mamma say they are very, very poor too, and that is why she is there. I am so sorry." " So am I," chimed in the other two voices. Then followed a shout in chorus from all three " There she is, and the clock is only now striking nine. Let me run and open the door," said little Amy. Margaret kissed the bright young faces, and in the midst of their eager questionings, Dr. Belfield appeared. " Good-morning, Miss Millar," he said, cheerily. " I am now off to the hospital, and " Not a Wreck." 91 hope to bring you a good report by-and-by. I saw Nelly late yesterday afternoon, and she was doing well, though of course very weak, poor little thing. But no fear now, I hope ; she will pull through yet, by God's mercy." And before Margaret's heart could frame an answer, he was gone. The children, with intuitive good feeling, seeing she was quite overcome, turned away, and busied themselves with their books until she had somewhat recovered. Then loving little Amy drew near, and climbing into her lap, and putting her arms round her, said, " Please don't cry any more ; we won't give you any trouble this morning," and she looked round, as if ap- pealing for a confirmation of the excellent resolve from the other two. They were all as good as their word ; and as the morning hours fled happily away, Margaret felt her anxiety and trouble grow lighter. Dr. Belfield was right when he begged her to return to her pupils, for they made her forget herself and her sore trouble. <tf/~ It was not like a day at the end of November, for the sun had cleared away the heavy fog, and shone clear and warm into every dwelling, as Margaret and her pupils turned out for their walk before dinner. There was always a great deal to be talked ga City Sparrows. over in these walks, for the Belfield children made her the confidant of all their plans and schemes, and to-day they were listening with eager faces to the story of Harry and Zetta. Margaret had scarcely finished her tale, when turning the corner of a street rather suddenly, who should she see but Zetta herself, seated on a doorstep, clothed in Nelly's old frock, with Mrs. Smith's baby in her arms, who was crowing merrily in the sunshine. Zetta perceived her friend at once, and rising, made a shy curtsey, glancing furtively as she did so at the three well-dressed children beside her. " Well, Zetta," said Margaret, smiling, " how is it you are so far from home ?" " If you please, Miss, the other children's gone to school, so I've come up here because it's nearer Harry, Miss ; " and the child glanced towards the gates and railings at the end of the square, inside which the hospital stood. "Harry said I should come and see him, but nobody's taken me, and they wouldn't let me in if I asked, so I like just to come and think about him here. Mrs. Smith called one day, and they said he was better." " I have not forgotten you," said Margaret. " Some day you shall go with me, and see him and your mother too, but we must wait patiently "Not a Wreck." 93 a little longer;" and Margaret thought how difficult it was to live that word, as she turned away to resume her walk. Little Amy stepped back hastily towards Zetta, unperceived by the others. " Here is a penny for you, Zetta: get a bun with it, you look so hungry." And before Zetta had time to thank her, the ministering child was gone. That penny had been brought out to replace a broken toy in Amy's doll's house, but the sacrifice was freely and silently made. " Oh, Miss Millar," said Lizzie, " how thin and pale she looks, and no jacket to keep her warm. I saw her shiver. I know what I'll do. Mamma has got such quantities of grey list upstairs, and Cousin Lily showed us how to make such nice petticoats and capes with it, when she was here last winter. Oh, you don't know Cousin Lil, Miss Millar; but you will soon, though, because she and Uncle George are- coming again in February. Oh, you will like her so much, she is such a darling cousin ; and all the poor people where she lives are so fond of her, for she is always doing something for them. She lives in a beautiful place down in the country ; such a great park, with avenues and trees and lovely flower gardens. It is called Hatherleigh Hall." 94 City Sparrows. "Yes," chimed in Edie, "and we go there to stay sometimes : we are going again this sum- mer, and I shall ride upon Diamond, the Shet- land pony, and play with the dogs, and feed the chickens, and do all sorts of nice things." " If you could go too, how nice that would be," said Amy's gentle voice, while her small hand stole lovingly within Margaret's. " Yes, that would be best of all," said Lizzie; "and I'm sure Cousin Lilian would ask uncle to let you come with us. I wonder what room she would have, Edie ; perhaps the pretty pink one, looking out on the grove." " Oh, but the one at the end, where the lower is, and where the ivy climbs up and peeps in, is much prettier," said Edie. Margaret smiled at the children's earnest- ness, and wished herself their age again, to be able to enjoy the keen delight which comes so freshly to children, in laying happy schemes for the future without any reference to the possibility of their non-fulfilment. She must be content with one day at a time of her present life, and dared not trust herself to look beyond. That afternoon willing fingers plied dili- gently during the hour allotted for work, for mamma's stores were invaded, and they had yielded some yards of unbleached calico for "Not a Wreck." 95 under garments, some new lilac print and a remnant of black serge for new frocks, and an inexhaustible store of list for petticoat and cloak. Margaret cut out and helped with the work, and the needles flew swiftly, striving to keep up with the eager haste of those three little loving hearts, full of childlike impatience to see the completion of their labours. ) " May Zetta come and show herself to us when she has got on all these nice warm things ? " said Lizzie. " Oh, certainly," answered Margaret, " and then she will be able to go to my father's school; and I have ordered a good strong pair of boots for her with some of the money a lady gave us to lay out for them, and there will be enough to pay for the schooling besides, out of it, for a long time." This pleasant conversation was suddenly interrupted by the entrance of Dr. Belfield, who stood with a smile on his face, regarding the unwonted industry which had at first made his little girls unaware of his presence. " Miss Millar," he said, gently, " can you be ready in five minutes? for I am now going to the hospital, and you may come with me on the chance of being allowed to see Nelly. But, mind, I cannot promise you shall see her ; it will depend on the nurse's report." 96 City Sparrows. Margaret needed no second bidding, and her heart beat fast as she hastily put on her things, and the five minutes even seemed long ere she found herself in the carriage and on her way towards .the great building which held so dear a treasure. " Wait here," said the doctor, opening the door into a private room, " and I will come back." He returned almost directly, and on his face Margaret read permission to come, before he spoke. " Come as softly as you can," he said. " Thanks to her being asleep, you may have one peep at her, but it must not be more." The two walked silently up through the long ward until they reached the top of the room. Two nurses stood by Nelly's bed, and they moved aside at a motion from the doctor. Margaret went closer, and half bent over to look. Oh ! what a little pale and wasted face was lying there ; a tiny face that told of sleep- less nights of weary pain and fever, though the expression on the mouth now was that of per- fect repose. But where was the wealth of sunny curls that had clustered round her darling's head ? All gone ! cut closely off, and it was partly that which made the face look so pale and wan. "Not a Wreck." 97 Margaret gave one long, loving look, and her heart yearned for a kiss, though she knew she might not venture. One of the nurses stepped forward and gently placed a packet in her hands, while the doctor made a warning sign that it was time to with- draw, so she turned and followed him out. " Good-bye, and thank you very much," said Margaret, as they stood together in the corridor. " She looks terribly wasted." " Yes, indeed she is, but we cannot expect otherwise. We scarcely hoped for her life at one time, so we must give thanks that the fragile thread has held on so long. Tell your father there is a decided change for the better, and I hope in a day or two you may be allowed to speak to her." " How is the poor woman, Suzetta Warren?" asked Margaret, suddenly recollecting that she had been too preoccupied to look for her face among the many in the long ward. " I don't think she can live much longer," said the doctor. " She has been often heard to ask for you ; you shall speak to her next time. Good-bye ; my work here is not finished yet." / Margaret turned her steps towards home, but her impatient heart could not wait until she had reached it to open the precious packet, for she had guessed its contents when it was put 98 City Sparrows. into her hands. Again and again she pressed the shining curls to her -lips. "It might have been all that was left to us," she thought. " Oh, my prayers have been answered. Father, I thank Thee ! I will never doubt again." And her happy face told its own tale ere a question was asked by the loving ones that clustered round her as she entered her own door. But we must return to Harry, whom we left lying in his new quarters at the hospital. The perfect order and quiet around him were such a contrast to his noisy attic and its squalid surroundings, that the mere sense of rest and utter repose brought healing with it; and he would lie still for hours without seeming to notice anything, though his thoughts were ever wandering back to the little sister in her loneli- ness, and also to the poor dying mother, who, he knew, was lying under the same roof with him. He longed to ask questions concerning her of the doctors and nurses as they passed his bed, but he was afraid ; and his calm, pale face, as it lay on the pillow, revealed nothing of the struggle going on within. But there was One beside Harry, who pre- vented his ever feeling forsaken ; the One he had been seeking after since he was a little child, with an indistinct and undefined longing. He had found his Lord, and accepted Him as "Not a T|-raA-." 99, his Saviour, never for an instant doubting His love or His power to. save. He knew he was a sinner, but his simple faith took the burden at once to the feet of Jesus, and left it there. And now he felt he had a heavenly Friend to speak to in those days and nights of heart-loneliness. If only he could have known that through the widely opened gate of mercy his erring mother had also entered in, how thankful and doubly happy it would have made him ; but there was. no one to carry the message, or to tell him that she was drawing near the better land, and leav- ing him and Zetta orphans in the wide world. " If Zetta. comes to see me, she'll see mother too, and I can pray for them both now," was the boy's silent comment. " Oh, I wish she would come !" and again and again, on the days, on which the friends of the patients were allowed to visit them, he would look towards, the door, but no familiar face appeared. It was- hard to bear sometimes, to be the only one in the ward whom no one came to see. But at last a day arrived when a young lady entered, leading Zetta by the hand. The child's sharp eyes caught sight of her brother at once, and she was soon at his bedside, kissing him, and holding his thin hand tightly, as if she feared she might be taken away before there was time to say all she wanted. ioo City Sparrows. " Harry, dear, the kind lady who gave me the frock and all the nice things, and been so kind to us, has brought me in to see you and mother, and I'm coming again very soon. Are you getting well, Harry? and when are you coming out?" "Soon, very soon, Zetta, we'll hope. I'm almost well already ; everybody's so kind to me in here, and Dr. Belfield gives me such nice medicine." " Harry, I've seen mother," said Zetta, in an eager whisper. "And is she better?" asked the boy, anxiously, as he watched the tears gather in Zetta's eyes. " No, she's never going to get better. But she told me to tell you not to cry for her, because she's going to heaven to live with Jesus, and she's so happy. She does not look like mother at all now, for her face is quite white, and she can't hardly speak." Margaret, seeing the poor boy was quite over- come, and fearing the excitement for him, drew near, and spoke a few words of tender sympathy and encouragement. " Don't fret for her, my boy," she added, laying her hand on his. " You would not wish her to live on in this world a helpless cripple. She will be so much happier where she is going, and what a comfort to think she is ready to go. " Not a Wreck." 101 Give me a message to take back to her, while I leave Zetta with you for a few minutes longer." " Tell her," said the boy, sobbing, " we will both of us love God and Jesus Christ, and come to her some day, and He will take care of us. Will they let me see her again, Miss?" Margaret knew that it was impossible, so her only answer was, " I will tell her, and she will be so glad ;" and the brother and sister were left together. Margaret retraced her steps to the ward they had first entered, and a nurse met her, saying, " I am sorry, Miss, the little girl is still asleep. But it cannot be long now before she wakes, if you can wait a little longer." So Margaret stepped softly to the bed in which Suzetta Warren was lying, which now had a screen drawn round it, and sat down beside her. The dying woman smiled, and opened her eyes. " Have you seen him, Miss ?" she asked, faintly. " Yes, and I told him how happy you were.'* "Ah, I am happy," she murmured. " I lie here and think of the woman you told me about, crying at her dear Lord's feet. She was lost, and so was I, but He has saved us both. Say His words again, Miss." " 'Her sins, which are many, are forgiven,"' said Margaret, softly. ** 7 102 City Sparrows. " Yes, yes, many, many,'" echoed the sufferer ; " black as pitch, and reaching as high as heaven, but the blood of Jesus has washed them away. Tell my children to follow Him, and lead an honest and respectable life here. You'll see to them, Miss, for they'll be all alone in the world." " Yes, indeed I will," said Margaret. " The Lord will provide for the orphans." The weary sufferer closed her eyes, as if there was now nothing further to desire, while she held Margaret's hand in her dying clasp, mur- muring, " Thank you, thank you, Miss." At a signal from the nurse Margaret rose and stole softly away, and in trembling expectation stood beside Nelly once more. The child stirred, opened her eyes, and held out her arms. Margaret stooped down to kiss the sweet little mouth, and Nelly said, " I am much better, Maggie, dear. And you and papa will soon come and take me home, won't you ? I think I have been asleep almost ever since I saw you." Margaret felt determined she would not cry, though a lump was rising in her throat ; so com- manding herself, she said, bravely, " Yes, my iarling, you are a great deal better; but Nelly must be patient for a little longer. Papa is coming to see her to-morrow, and won't that be nice ? " "Xot a Wreck" 103 " Yes, so nice; and tell him I am not so tired as I used to be." But even as Margaret held the tiny hand, the eyelids drooped heavily, the ringers relaxed their hold, and sleep prevented the excitement of good-bye. The next day, on returning with her father to see Nelly, Margaret noticed Suzetta Warren's bed was empty, and the screen removed. " She died in her sleep, as calmly as an infant, about three o'clock this morning," said the nurse; " and it's a happy release from her terrible sufferings." Margaret's heart echoed the nurse's last words, but she could not help reflecting, that although through God's infinite mercy a soul can be saved at the eleventh hour, and every sin washed away in the Saviour's blood, still the awful and solemn fact remains of a life spent without God or any service for Him. It should act as a warning beacon-light to all who delay their repentance to a dying hour, for to how few at such a time is granted either the wish or ability "to flee for refuge to the hope set before us." fo CHAPTER VIII. A BIRD WITHOUT A NEST. " WHAT do you think, Miss Millar ? " cried her pupils, in chorus, one morning, as Margaret made her appearance among them. " Papa and mamma say there are to be two Christmas trees in the hospital, one for the men and one for the women, in the convalescent wards; and we are going to make things for them, and be there when they are given away." " Mamma is making such lovely things up- stairs," cried Edie, " and lots of people have promised to work. Won't it be fun ? " " And dear Cousin Lilian," added Amy, " says she will send up a whole boxful, and she wishes she could come with them herself, but Uncle George won't bring her until Feb- ruary." " And, oh ! " said Lizzie, " we were nearly forgetting the best part of all. Sir Henry Hoare A Bird without a Nest. 105 has promised papa to give the trees, and we are all to walk out there the first fine frosty day, to choose them in the plantation, and then the gardener will have them cut and sent down in time. Mamma says you and your sisters must come with us when we go there, and your brothers too, if they like, as it will be holiday time." "That will be delightful," said Margaret; " and it makes me so happy to think of the poor sick people having such a treat. ' I wish our little Nell could see it, but she is not to be allowed to leave her bed for some time." " Oh, but I am going to make something on purpose for her," said Amy, " to prevent her being disappointed. Mamma says she is such a dear little thing; she saw her yesterday when she went to the hospital, to read to the people, and sat and talked to her, and in the evening she told us all about her." " Your mamma is very, very kind," said Margaret. " I thought perhaps Nelly might be allowed to come home for Christmas, but the doctors say it would be too great a risk to move her during the cold damp weather; so we must have patience, but it seems such a long time ago since she went away. But now, dears, where are your lessons, we must not do too much talking." / 106 City Sparrows. " Yes, Miss Millar, in a minute; but we want to show you Zetta's things." " What ! are they finished ? " " Yes, every one of them. Nurse has been so kind in helping with the petticoats and frocks, and mamma stitched on the black bind to the grey list cape last night. Doesn't it look warm and lovely ? I almost wish I was going to wear it." " They do, indeed, look nice," said Mar- garet, examining each neatly-finished garment. " Would you like me to take them to her? " " Oh, yes please," said the children. "Well, I hope to go there to-day, after I leave you, as I have not seen the child since her mother's death, and cannot think what has become of her. She must go to school now, for I am sorry to say she can neither read nor write." " We do so want to see her and know all about her," said the children, as they took leave of Margaret that afternoon. " I will bring her with me, if I can," answered Margaret, waving a last adieu to the three who had followed her to the door. It was dark and cheerless, and a drizzle of rain betokened a wet night. Margaret felt strongly inclined to abandon her intention and go straight home, but the dying words she had A Bird without a Nest. 107 so lately heard rang in her ears, " You'll see to them, Miss, for they'll be all alone in the world;" so keeping to her first resolution, she hurried bravely on. It was a long way, and the wind blew so strongly against her, that it was with difficulty she kept up her umbrella. However, a steady pace at length brought her to the turning under the archway leading to Court B, and in another minute she was in the midst of the stifling smells and squalor of that wretched neighbourhood. On climbing the stairs she inquired for Mrs. Smith, but could get no information from the dirty children playing on the floor, so she pro- ceeded to ascend the rough ladder that led to the attic. The rickety door at the top was nearly closed, and there was a wailing sound, as of a child sobbing and crying bitterly, within. Margaret pushed open the door, and what a sight met her eyes ! The attic was completely bare and empty, even the old box, chair, and stool were gone, and also what had served poor Harry for a bed. .The wind howled in the chimney with a noise which prevented the child, whose back was towards the door, from hearing Margaret enter, while the rain poured in from the skylight in a stream through the broken panes. / io8 City Sparrows. " Zetta ! Zetta ! my poor little one. What is the matter? Come and tell me ! " Her ear caught the sound, she started to her feet, and then sank down again before Margaret. " Please Miss," she sobbed, " I haven't seen Mrs. Smith all day, she's been out to work; but she sent me on an errand far out the other side of the town this morning, and whilst I was gone the landlord came and took all our things, to pay the rent mother owed him; and he's just been up again to tell me another family's coming in to-morrow, and he says I must be off." " But why didn't you come and tell me the rent was owing?" said Margaret. " Because, Miss, Mrs. Smith said I wasn't to go bothering the lady any more, but she'd try and get me a place. She was going to-day to ask about it at the shop where we get our things, down by the corner of the street. But I'm sure, Miss, I helps all I can, minding the baby and running errands, and I've kept myself in food with the money you gave me. What ever '11 Harry say when he hears about it all ? The landlord said he hadn't heard mother was dead, till to-day." "Where does he live? I will go and speak to him." : A Bird without a Nest. 109 " At the foot of the court, Miss. I'll show ou, please." As they went, Margaret's heart smote her for having allowed so many days to pass without coming to see after the child, but an unusual press of work had put it out of her head. " There he is, ma'am," said Zetta, pointing with her finger. Margaret could see nothing for the darkness, but presently she discerned the figure of a man standing in a doorway, and a light from within showed he was smoking a pipe, and scowling sullenly from under his bushy eye- brows. He was evidently half tipsy, for Margaret could make nothing of his speeches, save a rough sentence here and there, such as, " I'd have the beggars put to jail, if I could ; they sha'n't bide in my house no longer." Margaret's remonstrances were of no avail, and seeing the man was likely to be abusive and impertinent, she bade the child come away. But what was to be done now ? She could not expect Mrs. Smith to give her a home without paying for it, and even if she paid the woman, Margaret shrank from leaving Zetta exposed to the influence of such sinful surroundings. Still she hesitated about taking the forlorn little outcast into her own house, for there were no City Sparrows. many things to be considered before deciding on such a stefl; yet there seemed no other course open. (y " I will take her back with me for to-night, at any rate," she thought, "and perhaps Hester will be able to suggest something." So bidding the child dry her eyes and follow her, she made her Way through the court, only stopping to leave a message with a woman as she passed, to tell Mrs. Smith that she had taken Zetta, and that she would not be back that night. " Here I am, Hester, home at last," said Margaret, descending the area steps that led into the kitchen. "I want your help and advice terribly, for I am at my wits' end to know what to do. You are a dear, kind soul, I know,, so I have ventured to bring back the little girl you were so kind to the other day. She is a bird without a nest now, Hester, houseless and homeless, and I could not leave her there to starve." " Deary me, no," said the kind-hearted servant, warming at the sight of the small, pinched face, as Zetta stood in the doorway, hesitating to advance farther till invited. "A Christian must be always ready with the cup of cold water for Christ's little ones ; but," she added, with the naive drollery so natural to her, " a good pitcher full would be more like A Bird -without a Nest. in the thing now, to wash off some of that dirt." But Hester was not prepared to accede at once to the idea of Zetta becoming an inmate, and listened with consternation while Margaret unfolded the plan of keeping her until she could hear of a place for her. " And that won't be for some time then," said Hester; "for what place, I should like to know, is an ignorant child like that fit for?" " But she can clean the knives, and the boots and shoes," said Margaret, pleadingly; "and she will be at school part of the day, and you will kindly teach her a little of service between whiles, perhaps. You know her poor mother died in the hospital the other day, and we must rescue the orphan from what may be a life of sin and wretchedness." The honest servant looked gloomy, and did not speak for a minute or two, pity and pru- dence struggling together in her heart. Then turning to Margaret, she said, " Well, Miss, I never can deny that somehow you are always in the right. But the Lord knows there are enough mouths to feed here, without bringing another hungry one in ; but as it comes in the way of duty, I'll not be the one to hinder it. She shall sleep with me, and welcome, for there's no place else. And I'll make her useful, and ii2 City Sparrows. put her in the way of earning her living ; and if I say I'll do my best by the child, you may be sure I will." " I know you will," said Margaret, gratefully; for she knew if she could only win over Hester to her side, every one else in the house would be agreeable to the arrangement. " Look at this bundle of nice clothes that has been given to me for her." " Why, Miss, they are good, sure enough. What a warm frock !" " Yes, my little pupils made them all for her. And now I shall leave her in your hands, and I shall not know her to-morrow, you will have made her so fresh and tidy. I will not show her to papa till then." " Well, well, we shall see," said Hester, with a patronizing air, as she held open the door that led upstairs, for Margaret to pass through. " Good, wholesome soap and water are two of God's great gifts, and we must use them," she added, tucking up her sleeves, and longing with her whole heart to try their effect immediately upon Zetta, who little knew the scrubbing that \vas in store for her. And Hester did indeed feel proud of the result of her charitable labours, when the next morn- ing she watched Zetta following Margaret to be shown to her kind little benefactors before going A Bird without a Nest. 113 to school. Margaret had added a neat black straw hat to the equipment, and no one could have recognised in Zetta the beggar child of a few weeks ago. And how Harry's eyes gleamed with delight the next time Margaret brought her to see him. He could do nothing but look at her, and kept stroking the soft, warm list on her cape, as she stood beside him. He had grown so rapidly better, that it was no longer necessary for him to keep his bed, and Zetta always saw him now in the long, comfortable room where the patients sat who were able to be up through the day. Here there were several stuffed easy chairs for the specially weak ones, given by Mrs. Page; and on the table were books, and cheerful pictures and illuminated texts on the walls. //^ " I am learning to be a servant, Harry," and with a beaming face the child told him of the happy home she was now in. " How good of the lady," said her brother. " I won't fret any more about your being left alone." But he looked grave and sorrowful at the thought of never returning to the attic again. Do you wonder at his regret ? It was a strange one, but that broken skylight, with the flut- tering birds, possessed for him an attraction we cannot understand. " My poor birds," he said ; U4 City Sparrows. 11 no one will ever give them crumbs, now I am gone, and they'll be looking for them, that's the worst of it. But some day. Zetta., when I've worked hard, and got a little cottage for you and me to live in together, we'll have birds all round us. It must be a thatched one, like the one we lived in when father was alive, and then they'll build their nests, and be so happy." " Yes, and I am learning to read, Harry," said Zetta. " I go every day to school." " And so am I, Zetta. There's a kind young man here, who's been ill for a long time, and he learns me all he can. Dr. Belfield is so kind, too, and says he will not let me go out of the hospital for a long time yet, not till I am much stronger." Those were happy times for Harry and Zetta in that pleasant room, though they only met for a few minutes once a week. And what of little Nell ? As the days rolled by, the danger that had threatened her life gradually disappeared, and though she was not allowed to sit up at all at present, her doll and a book could be enjoyed, and those around her would hear her singing softly to herself some sweet hymn, and never a murmur escaped her lips. She always strove to appear as bright and cheerful as possible when A Bird without a Nest. 115 Mr. Millar or Margaret came to see her, and she was an object of such general interest in the ward, that the patients in it listened for her voice the first thing in the morning, and con- stant inquiries were made by them concerning her. And Christmas drew on apace, and none looked for the joyous season more eagerly than the dwellers in the hospital, to whom so very little variety ever occurred to break the dull monotony of their daily life. > \J CHAPTER IX. CHRISTMAS CHEER. WHO does not enjoy a walk on a crisp, frosty winter morning ! with a blue sky overhead, and pure, still, clear air to drink in all around. See ! the white rime on the trees has trans- formed the country into a fairy scene; the bare branches look like white coral, and the ever- greens like plumes of feathers as they tremble in the sunshine. The ice-pools by the wayside glitter brightly, and the boughs above wave their delicate tracery, while every now and then some tiny bird, in its flight from tree to tree, " shakes a shower of crystal to the ground." It was on such a morning as this, a few days before Christmas, that a merry group of boys and girls joyfully left the town for a ramble along the country road leading to Sir Henry Hoare's beautiful estate, about two miles distant. Some had hoops, and others baskets for wood- Christmas Cheer. 117 land treasures, that might perchance be found even on this wintry day, and Margaret and Alice Millar found it quite impossible to keep their merry flock in anything like order. Either the holiday time, or the freshness and brightness of the morning, or both, made them all perfectly wild with delight, as they chased each other along the road. A gardener met them at one of the entrance lodges, his red face smiling at the sight of the merry children, as he accosted Margaret, and touched his hat respectfully. " Good-morning, Miss, it's a rare fine Christmas we've got this year, and it's a merry one I wish you all, and many of them," he added, as they all wished him the same in return, and he led the way towards the plantation fcem which the trees were to be selected. /If It was a difficult matter to choose a couple of trees from such a number. Some were too short and some too tall, and others unevenly grown for want of space; but the young people did not object to a delay in their choice, for it was so delightful to step briskly through the plantation, hearing the crisp crush of the frosted dead leaves under foot, and seeing " all the silver gossamers twinkle into green and gold;" while the sun shone bright and warm above them, telling of the glad spring which would 9 n8 City Sparrows. come in good time, to wake up the sleeping flowers, and clothe bare boughs in summer beauty. " Oh, look ! there is a dear robin hopping quite close to us," said Lotta. " Yes," answered Alice, " and how cheerful and merry he looks, puffing out his pretty orange breast, and twinkling his black bead eyes, as if there were no more biting frosts or wintry winds to come and rob him of food and shelter." " I suppose he does not think about to- morrow, at all," said Amy, taking Margaret's hand. "He is thanking God for giving him such a sunny to-day, isn't he ? " Before Margaret could answer, a far-off shout from the boys set the others flying after them through the many diverging paths in the wood, and she was left alone for a few minutes, to- muse on the child's simple comment, fraught with such deep philosophy, too deep for the little one herself to understand, until she had learned more of life's lesson. Presently they all came hurrying back to hunt for her, and it was quite clear, from their eagerness, tha^srsme dis- covery had been made. /T/''^ " Oh, come, quick ! " cried Marry. " There's the jolliest pond for skating on you ever saw in your life, and the gardener says it isn't more; A MERRY TIME IN THE FIR WOOD. Christmas Cheer. ng than three feet deep, so it's quite safe;" and as he spoke, the lovely little pond came into view, surrounded by dark Scotch firs, which gave the prettiest effect to its margin. This was the greatest fun possible for the children : they slid and danced across from one side to the other, and had many a tumble, which only added to their merriment, until at last Margaret called out, "Come, it is time to be going, and we have not chosen the trees yet. Come ! come ! we must not stay another instant;" and she led the way back into the path they had left, where they wandered on till they emerged upon a glade where the trees had been cleared sufficiently to leave broad open spaces of soft green turf, and here the firs had abundance of air and space to grow shapely and beautiful. But it was soon decided that any of these would be too large for the purpose, so returning to the plantation, two moderate- sized ones were chosen, which the gardener promised should be sent to the hospital on the day appointed. <r I When the wanderers were collected, and began to turn their steps townwards, they pre- sented the appearance of a walking wood, for each one was heavily laden with boughs of scarlet-berried holly, evergreens of all kinds, and long trails of ivy, wherewith to decorate I2O City Sparrows. their homes for the festive season ; and the day was not long enough to recount and discuss the wonders and delights of that happy morning ramble. The few days that intervened before Christmas were now busily occupied by Mrs. Belfield and her staff of helpers in finishing the preparations for the Christmas trees, and they had the pleasure and satisfaction of seeing everything completed on the morning of Christmas-eve ; when, in spite of heavy snow-storms, the minis- tering ones found their way to the hospital, to preside at the festivities, bringing plenty of good- will with them, to gladden those whom they had come to cheer. On their arrival, all the patients who were able assembled with them in the chapel, in the centre of the building, where the chaplain held a short service, in which each heart was directed upwards to the great Giver of all good, and to His greatest, His unspeakable gift of His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose birth would be celebrated far and wide throughout the land on the following day. "Think, my dear friends," he said, at the close of his discourse, " as you lie on your beds this night, some of you perhaps in pain, and others wakeful through weakness, think, as you watch for the Christmas dawning, of the quiet Christmas Cheer. 121 night, eighteen hundred years ago, when shep. herds sat watching their flocks, while the stars shone calmly in the blue sky above them. A white-robed angel was sent to these watchers, to bring them glad tidings of great joy. And when they heard the message their hearts were no longer afraid, and they could look up and listen to that wondrous song of angels, ' Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men.' ' Wake, O earth ! wake everything, Wake, and hear the joy I bring; Wake, and joy, for all this night, Heaven and every twinkling light, All amazing, Still stand gazing ; Angels, powers, and all that be, Wake, and joy this Sun to see.' " Oh, that all the worn and weary ones who toss on restless beds would look up as those shepherds did, and let the glad tidings enter their hearts, and lead them in haste to seek the Shepherd King and His fold. How precious the thought, in the midst of pain and suffering, to know that ' the everlasting arms are under- neath,' that the Shepherd is carrying the sick ones Himself, and strengthening them on their beds of languishing ; and that at last He will take them to dwell with Him in the land where there shall be no more pain for ever and ever. 122 City Sparrows. May He be with you now in your gladness of to-day, and be your everlasting portion in this life, and in that which is to come." The simple service over, the men and women separated, and were conducted to the rooms in which stood the Christmas trees, and very re- luctantly did Harry and Zetta part; but she whispered, "Nevermind, Harry; Miss Millar will bring me in to see you there soon," and the happy smile on his little sister's face quite satisfied him. The Christmas trees fully repaid all the trouble that had been bestowed on them, and murmurs of admiration were heard on all sides as the patients walked round them to inspect their beauty. The flags, oranges, and smaller articles of work hanging upon the branches presented a very gay effect, while the larger and more useful presents were disposed upon and round the large tubs in which the trees were planted, and the walls were tastefully decorated with evergreens surrounding blessed texts that told of a Saviour's birth. For the women, there were flannel petticoats and warm bed-jackets, night-dresses, knitted stockings, gay woollen shawls, carpet slippers, pocket-handkerchiefs; cases of American cloth and brown-holland filled with needles, thread, tapes, and buttons ; bags of all sizes, with pockets Christmas Cheer. 123 inside ; and pinafores, dolls, and other toys for the sick children. For the men, there were flannel vests, shirts, knitted socks, list waistcoats, carpet slippers, pocket-handkerchiefs, and writing-cases made of American cloth, each containing some letter- paper, a packet of envelopes, pen, and pencil. Added to all these, there was a new large-print Bible for every man and woman in the hospital who could read, the crowning and best gift of all. The radiant looks of happiness and satisfac- tion with which each new possession was re- garded, can hardly be imagined, as one and another compared their treasures. It was a pleasure to see the thought and care of some, who asked to be allowed to help carry the things to those who were unable to leave their beds. Indeed, all had reason to remember, for many a long day in after life, the com- fort and cheer which that year's Christmas brought them, and none more so than Harry and Zetta, who had been rescued by their heaven-sent friends from a future of wretched- ness and misery. Let us watch Edith and Amy carrying their gifts to little Nell, who is to be the happy pos- sessor of a treasure she has often longed for a baby doll, with clothes to take off and on. It 124 City Sparrows. belonged to Amy's play-room family, and it was not without a struggle she had selected this one. But Mrs. Belfield, being a wise mother, did not like her children to give away to others that which had cost them no sacrifice : therefore, when Amy had requested her to buy a doll for her to dress and give her, she had answered, " No, my child, that would not be a gift from you at all : go to your play-room, and try if you cannot spare her one from there, I think you can, if you put yourself in Nelly's place for a minute." So this was Amy's choice, and what pleasure she took in having the clothes made neat and fresh, and finally tying the bit of new blue ribbon round dolly's waist, and wondering how Nelly would look when she saw it. Edith too had been busy, lining a pretty little work-basket with pink silk, and inside it shone a tiny silver thimble and scissors, also a wee pink needlebook to match, and some reels of cotton. And now the two children stand each with her present beside Nelly's bed, looking ten- derly and timidly at the pale little face, whose whiteness makes the large, lovely eyes seem more darkly fringed than usual, as she raises them with an inquiring look, and shy, sweet smile. "I have brought you a dear baby to nurse," said Amy, laying the doll gently in Christmas Cheer. 125 her arms, " and you will be able to talk to her and love her." " And I have brought you something, too," said Edith, placing the pretty basket within her reach; "and when papa allows you to sit up, you will be able to work." Nelly did not answer for a minute. Her eyes were wandering from the doll to the basket, and then towards her kind little friends, as if ques- tioning what could be the meaning of it all ; so- that poor Amy, who expected her to go into ant ecstasy of admiration, felt disappointed. But not for long. Presently Nelly clasped her hands over her treasures, saying, in a joyous under- tone, " Did you bring them for my very own,, to keep always ?" the flush of surprise and pleasure revealing the depth of her enjoyment, as she went on murmuring her glad thanks. And how happy were Edith and Amy to feel they had been the means of bringing some Christmas sunshine into this little life so shaded by suffering. /I " Well, darling," said Margaret, who had been watching the scene unperceived from the other end of the ward, " my little Nell is having a happy Christmas, after all." And the glad, bright smile with which Nelly looked up assent- ingly, came back to her heart the following; morning as she stood at her window, watching 126 City Sparrows. the fair white robes of snow sparkling in sunny radiance in which the earth was decked for Christmas. And that freshly fallen snow spoke silently to Margaret of the sacred lessons it would teach. Earth could not don a fitter robe in commemoration of the blessed Birth- day, for in its heavenly purity it told of the sinless, spotless One, who shed His blood to make the sins, once scarlet, white as snow. It spake of the fair wedding garment adorning the Bride of Christ, in which she stands chaste and beautiful as a lily among thorns ; and on its unbroken, shining surface, the sunbeams were writing in characters of gold, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." HATHERLEIGH. THE rooks are busy holding a conference among the tree-tops surrounding the old manor-house, but whether it is concerning the nests that are being built, or a speculation as to where the next foraging party shall alight, the ceaseless cawing does not explain. The gloss on their wings shines as polished silver as they fan their sleek, sable plumage in the clear air; and perhaps the sunshine puzzles them a little, for it is a rare chance to find such a bit of bright- ness in bleak February. Fleecy clouds sail calmly on in the intense blue ; sheep and cows browse contentedly in the broad green meadows, as if it were summer ; and every branch and twig is reflected on the scarcely moving sur- face of the lake. The old house looks happy in the sunshine, with the lights and shadows flickering upon it, 128 City Sparrows. and a wealth of ivy endowing it with beauty, creeping, climbing, clasping it everywhere ; while in front, bordering the broad terrace walk, beds of aconites and snowdrops make a gaily striped tapestry of white and gold. There is just enough westerly breeze floating in at the breakfast-room window to flutter the leaves of a newspaper an elderly gentleman is intent on; but he is hale and sturdy, and does not mind the woodland whisper in his ear, no_ its gambols among his silvering hair, f^^ He is equipped for riding, and on the table lies a dainty little hat and feathers, a lady's whip, and pair of white gloves. Squire Leslie glances at this collection every now and then, as if impatiently expecting their owner ; and at last, hearing the trampling of horses on the gravel outside, he lays down his paper, to look out. " Where can Lilian be ? The horses here, and she is not ready ! Here, Romp. Hie off with you ! Go seek your mistress ! Good dog!" Romp, a curly brown retriever, lying full length on the rug before the fire, needs no second bidding, and is up in an instant, flying with a joyous bark through the door his master holds open. A minute more, and then a running of feet Hatherleigh. 129 and sound of merry girlish laughter announce that the dog has succeeded in his search. "Well, papa dear, are you ready?" said Lilian, with a saucy smile on her lips. " Ready! I should think so. Why, I've been waiting here this half-hour, and nearly read my paper through. Come, put on your hat, and let us be off; we shall lose all the best of the day if we don't start now." " Yes, you dear old impatient papa, in one instant," said Lilian, snatching up her hat from the table, and standing before the looking-glass to arrange it. The finishing touches are rapidly put to my lady's toilet, and she stands gathering up the folds of her habit, and looking so lovely in her morning bloom, that her father forgets the end of his lecture while regarding the graceful little fairy, who is more precious to him than all the world besides. " I was feeding my pet fowls, you know, papa," she began, by way of apology, "and seeing to many things besides ; among others, ordering my birthday dinner," added the young housekeeper, with a dignified air, as putting her foot within her father's hand she sprang lightly into the saddle. Flugelmann and Maradon pawed the ground impatiently, and tossed their pretty heads as 130 City Sparrows. the pair proceeded slowly down the broad avenue. "Well, Lilian, where do you wish to ride to-day?" "Oh, such a long way, papa, for it makes me quite wild to get out on a day like this. We will go across the common, and over the bit ol moorland where the ruin stands, and then round by Holly Hurst Mill, and home past those cottages of yours, where old Mike Saunders and Peggy Bilson used to live." " That is a round-about route, my dear : it would be better to canter home through the park." " Oh, no, papa, please ; because I want especially to stop and look at those cottages, for I must ask you something about them. I am seventeen to-day, you know, and you pro- mised to give me anything I liked to ask." "I must have been wandering in my head, I think, to say such a thing. What is my im- perious princess going to request then ? Be merciful, I pray." " Well, papa," said Lilian, blushing, " I've been thinking about it for weeks and weeks, and this morning something in Uncle Belfield's letter has quite decided me. He wants a place to send some of his poor hospital patients to, for change of air, when they are getting better; Hatlierleigh. 131 and I think if you would let me make a begin- ning, I should be so happy to do it here, and some day perhaps there could be a real, large one built." " Make a beginning ! a real, large one built ! a real, large what ? It is quite clear at any rate you don't make beginnings in your explanations, you silly child." "Now, papa dear, do wait a minute, and I'll tell you all about it. I forgot you could not guess all in a hurry what I wanted, but you said I might choose : so may I have those two cottages for my very own ? " " What ! are you going to live there ? Is not the Hall large enough, or is it to be a case of love in a cottage, eh ? " " Now, papa, you are not to make fun of our plan, but listen, please, to my explanation. It is for a cottage hospital; and the other day, when I was at the rectory, Mrs. Sandford was telling me how much one was needed here for the village, and she said she would h&-4elighted to help in any way she could." /I/ A look of amused and puzzled inquiry came over the squire's face, as Lilian poured all this out before him; but not finding it in his heart to deny his darling's slightest wish, he answered: " You are always taking some new whim or fancy into your head, child, and I suppose it 132 City Sparrows, won't make much difference about the cottages, as it will be all yours some day; but I cannot have you going among a lot of sick people, catching their infectious diseases. Mind, I bar- gain for that ; no infectious diseases. As for the cottages, if you like to call them your own, and do what you please with them, you are welcome; but it is a wild goose chase, my dear a wild goose chase ! " "Oh, papa darling, how kind of you! I am delighted. Remember, I must have the title deeds and an endowment. What fun ! And I will get Uncle Belfield to- talk to you about it, and you will think it all right and reasonable then, and see that it is not a mad girl's passing fancy. We are to go there next week, you know; Thursday they are expecting us, as you see by the letter." " H'm," said the squire, "why can't John leave us in peace down here in the country. I don't want to be gallivanting up among town- folks, at my age : let him come here." " Now, papa dear, you promised to take me, so you must. You know you would not let me go alone," she added, with a sly glance. "And remember it is quite fixed and settled, and- you are only pretending to alter now, just to teaze me. Here's a delightful piece of turf: let us have a scamper." Haihcrleigh. 133 A shake of the reins was enough ; off went the horses, with the wind in their manes. Away ! away ! until the exercise had dyed Lilian's cheek a deep carmine. " Gently, gently, Maradon," said she, patting the graceful creature's neck, as they began to descend a hill, and "the dark round of the dripping wheel" came into view. "Afar there flows a river, Beside my childhood's home, A mill-wheel there for ever Resounds in shining foam;" " sang Lilian, musing with delight on the sunny spring scene before her. ^y The miller's wife heara the horses' footfalls coming nearer, and hastened out, looking fresh and neat, to drop a curtsey of recognition to her landlord and his beautiful daughter; smiling as she answered the squire's cheery "good-day," as they rode past, followed by a long look from under her shading hand. " Here we are, papa, at the cottages : they look rather dreary now, with nobody living in them, and no flowers in front. But see what a nice short cut there is to them from the Hall, down through the meadows; they are just in the right situation for what I want." " Do you wish to inspect them, then ? Here, James, just ride back and ask for the keys at the mill, for your mistress." 10 134 C*ty Sparrows. The groom rode quickly, and returned with them as Lilian and her father, having dis- mounted, entered the rustic gate that led into the small garden. " I think it will do capitally," said Lilian, going through the rooms in triumph. " See, papa, what a lovely view there is from the win- dows, through that opening in the trees ; and so close to this pretty wood, too, where the invalids could go and sit, and get flowers without being tired. But you must please have some work- men in at once, and throw down the partition, because I want it made into one house; and then I will choose some pretty papers for the walls, and when the ceilings are whitewashed, it will be charming, and look quite different." " Your uncle will tell you to have nothing but whitewash, I am quite sure : it is much healthier." " Ah ! well, I can hang some pictures, to take away the bare look. You will see what a beau- tiful place it will make before long. I never had a birthday present I liked so much, dear papa. How pleased Uncle Belfield will be ; I shall not tell him about it until I see him." And all the way home the delighted girl ran on about her newly-acquired property, finding a ready listener in her fond old father, who cherished her as the apple of his eye. Hathcrkigh. 135 As they were passing through the gates by the pretty entrance lodge, the squire turned to Lilian and said: "Ah! the place has never been kept in such order as it was in Warren's time ; he was a man of a thousand, thoroughly honest and respectable. I'd have given a great deal to have kept him. Poor fellow ! cut off in the prime of his life, too; and that good-for- nothing, ungrateful jade of his, going off as she did. It was too bad, too bad. I wonder where she took herself off to ? I don't care a straw for her, but there were two poor innocent children, whom I would have saved if I had had the chance ; but it is eight years ago now, and they are either dead, or made as bad as their mother by this time." / f " I remember them zdl quite well, papa, for I used often to see little Harry with his father, when I played in the garden. He was such a quiet, shy child, and hardly ever would speak to me when I talked to him. We may hear something of them some day ; who knows ! " " Not a bit of it," said the squire. " Depend upon it that woman has gone to the bad, for she feared neither God nor man, and there never was a greater vixen than she for temper. Poor Warren was a fool to be taken in by a pretty face and fair words ; but he is gone now, poor fellow, and it is useless to wish him back, 10* 136 City Sparrows. But If ever his son should turn up, I would do something for him, for his father's sake." " Perhaps he will, dear papa," said Lilian, dismounting, and patting her horse. But the squire only shook his head, and from that minute forgot the subject. And so did Lilian for the present, her mind being too full of the happy scheme of benevo- lence which it would now be her greatest pleasure to carry out. And that night, when she sought her room, and sat down at the window, from which she could look across to the village churchyard, where the trees and grasses were waving in the moonlight over her mother's grave, she remembered how that gentle one used to go among the cottagers as an angel of mercy, to cheer and comfort them in their need ; and how, as she held the hand of her little Lilian in loving clasp as they walked together, she would try and awaken the same interest in her young heart, teaching her to dedicate first herself, andifidn all that she had to the service of God. (/ Recalling all this, Lilian knelt down and prayed for a faith like hers, and a heaven-sent blessing on the work she was about to under- take, for had she not already received an answer to her prayers in the birthday gift ? She had been early taught to believe in the Hatlicrleigh. 137 reality of prayer, that it was not a sacrificial duty to an unknown Presence, but living com- munion with a Father who at all times heareth the cry of His children. Youth, beauty, and riches are a dangerous dowry to some, for on this account the world will court with its snares ; but Lilian had learned the secret to counteract its poison. The healing tree had been cast into the bitter waters of earth, thereby turning them into a pure, sweet fountain, welling up unto everlasting life. " He giveth us richly all things to enjoy," made her rejoice in the bounty that overflowed her path ; but " in the world," not " of it," was the guarding chain to keep her from the evil. Happy those who. like Lilian, have early sought and found their portion beyond this world, for the same peace and confidence shall be theirs. Rising from her knees, she took her mother's oft-used Bible, marked and underlined from beginning to end at passages that had been pondered over in secret and carefully weighed by God's standard, " comparing spiritual things with spiritual." Her eye caught the words, " How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God." The passage was duly marked, and a sign and number written 138 City Sparrows. minutely on the margin, caused her to refer to a book in manuscript that always lay beside the Bible. It bore on its cover the words, " My mother's commentary," and contained the re- cord and result of her daily study of the Scriptures ; that is to say, when any verse particularly struck Mrs. Leslie, she had written her thoughts concerning it, and by this means, though the mother had passed away from earth, her early counsels to her child yet remained, and " she, being dead, yet spake." Lilian al- ways felt she had her mother near her when she studied this book, and though her tears often fell fast upon the page, because of the voiceless silence that came instead of the nightly kiss, the words of consolation never failed to calm and comfort her, as a talk with her mother used to in former days. This is what sh^fSund in the precious legacy to-night : //' " How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. Yes, it is hard for those who grasp them as their own, and grudge in the giving, trying to squeeze through the narrow gate with their bags of wealth ; but money held in trust by faithful stewards, who recognise the voice of God saying, ' The silver and the gold are Mine,' undergoes a process in the heavenly treasury which changes it from filthy lucre into Hatlicrleigh. 139 altar-gold ; the donor experiencing the truth of the words, ' It is more blessed to give than to receive.' The flowers and leaves give back their precious gift of dew to the sun and clouds, and in return comes the refreshing shower, restoring sevenfold into their bosoms. The lake, whose waters are for ever flowing out in ceaseless bounty into the river beyond, is none the shallower, for the fresh springs from the hills joyfully fill it according to its need,, and the more it gives, the more it receives. ' Freely ye have received, freely give.' Not he is poor that hath little, but he that desireth much." And then followed the cruaint verses of Christopher Harvey : " Some in the world are poor, but rich in faith, Their outward poverty A plentiful supply Of inward comforts and contentments hath ; And their estate is blest In this above the rest. It was Thy choice, whilst Thou on earth didst stay, And hadst not whereupon Thy head to lay. " Some rich in the world are spiritually poor, And destitute of grace, Who may perchance have place In the Church upon earth ; but heaven's door Too narrow is to admit Such camels in at it, Till they sell all they have, that field to buy, Wherein the true treasure doth hidden lie." 140 City Sparrows. Midnight approached as Lilian read and drew forth one by one those " dear recollections dressed in her heart like flowers within a book." All was so still, and her thoughts were so intent, that pre- sently she was startled by hear- ing the sweet old out ivied tower. She thought they were singing a psalm in the night, as their clear cadences rose and fell upon the breeze. Perhaps they were. to CHAPTER XI. COUSIN LILIAN. " I'M sure I hear the carriage now, 'Lizzie. Listen ! " "Another false alarm, Amy! Look, it is only an old cart rumbling along ; besides, according to the clock, the train is barely due yet, and it never arrives quite punctually." " I tell you what," said Edith, jumping up and throwing down the book she had been vainly attempting to read. " Let us go up to the top staircase window ; we can see right across into the station-yard from there, and watch them start." This was pronounced a good idea by the other sisters, and a sudden rush up the wide staircase was the result. " I like looking through the side panes of this window best," said Edie, " because of the coloured glass. Oh ! how funny everything 142 City Sparrows. seems ; trees, sky, and people, all a flaming red." " I should not like them ever to look like that in reality," said Amy. " One could fancy they were all going to be burnt up in a blazing fire." " But it is warm and comfortable after my picture," said Lizzie. "Just peep through this blue pane. Oh, dear ! how shivering and cold and dreary everything is." " Ah ! but there is always sunshine in the yellow one next to it," cried Edie. " How warm and delicious and bright ! it is like a golden fairy-land. I shall always look through this one when it is a cold and dismal day." " Why, that will be like the old man papa was telling us of the other day," said Lizzie, "who being too poor to buy butter, put on a pair of yellow spectacles, and ate dripping with his bread quite happily after that." " What a silly old man ! " cried Edie. " Be- cause it could not have been so nice, in spite of his making believe it was butter." " Don't blame the poor old man, Edie," said Mrs. Belfield, joining the group ; " he is not the only one who uses coloured spectacles in this world. I think we all carry about a pair of each colour in our pockets, and our happiness is according to which we put on." Cousin Lilian. 143 "Oh, mamma! how can that be?" cried the three voices. / " Have neither of my little girls ever got up in the morning, feeling cross and gloomy, or, as nurse calls it, getting out of bed the wrong side ? Nothing right all day, dull lessons, dull play, dull weather, dull Everything. It was only the other day I heard a little girl saying she was quite sure no one loved her, for every- body was unkind. We will not mention any names," she added, as Edie drew closer, to hide her blushing face within her mother's arm ; " but surely, whoever it was, must have put on a very dark pair of spectacles. For how dif- ferent it was the next day," she continued. " Lessons perfect, happy play, and such merry laughter, in spite of the rain pouring down out- side. That was because the sunny spectacles were taken from their hiding-place, and looked through. " Try to remember this little lesson, my darlings, not only now, but in after life, and let it also teach you to look at things from all sides, and keep from being short-sighted and prejudiced ; for it does not follow that because you see things through one particular colour, every one else must do the same. That is a mistake, I am sorry to say, a great many good people fall into; but you are too young 144 City Sparrows. now to understand the full meaning of all this. Some day you will think more about it, I hope. There are the horses coming through the station gates." " Yes," said Lizzie, " I see them ; and the luggage is on the top of the carriage, so our people must have arrived, and in five minutes they will be here. Come, Edie ; come, Amy! We must be ready to welcome them at the hall door." And away flew the happy children, and thought no more of the coloured glasses for that day at least. The horses did their best quickly to lessen the distance from the station, and presently the well-known pause in their trot was heard as the carriage stopped, and the children ran down the steps to welcome Uncle George and Cousin Lilian, while Dr. Belfield assisted them to alight. .*/~ Many "and hearty were the salutations and .greetings that followed, and Lilian had enough to do to respond to all the kisses and questions lavished upon her by her young cousins, with whom, as we already know, she was a special favourite. "Who could help loving Lilian?" thought Mrs. Belfield, as she once more welcomed the child of her dead sister, and noticed that the Jikeness to the one so dearly loved and mourned Cousin Lilian. 145 for had grown stronger, and was developing in beauty and sweetness as the years rolled on. And when Lilian felt the motherly clasp around her, a strange pain ached at her heart, and an echo seemed calling from a voice now still. But no one guessed that sorrowful yearn- ing, as, with a silent effort, she put by these feelings, and rose into her own bright self again, with winning smiles and ways, adding at once to the life and joy of the whole party. The following morning there was an early knock at Dr. Belfield's study door, and in an- swer to his "Come in, "a voice replied, "Oh, uncle, I thought I should find you up early. If it will not be interrupting you, I want to have a quiet talk about our scheme of the cottage hospital." " But you don't mean to tell me there is any chance of such a thing, my little witch." " Yes, uncle, indeed there is; and I was deter- mined not to tell you about it until we came, though it was very hard to keep such good news secret." " Let us hear it with all speed then now. How is it to happen ? Do you possess a fairy wand, to cause such a place to spring up in one night ? " " I am not quite so clever as that," said Lilian, laughing. " You must listen patiently, 146 City Sparrows. uncle, because it is not fun, but grave, sober earnest, I am going to talk about." "All attention then, most noble princess," said the doctor, putting down his pen, and pushing away the books that were lying before him. "Well, I told papa what you wanted, and as he had said I might choose a birthday present, I asked him to give me two large cottages that stand together, to do what I liked with." " You bold little beggar. And what did he say ? " " Why, he couldn't understand it at all at first, and thought I was talking nonsense ; but when I introduced your name he soon consented, only he bargains for no infectious diseases." " He shall have his bargain then, for there are many other cases without those, which I should be thankful to place on your list for the convalescent ward. I conclude, as you will have the benefit of two cottages, one side will be for convalescents, and the other for cases of illness from the village." " That will be an excellent plan," said Lilian ; " and then we can call it a cottage hospital and convalescent home." "Just so," answered the doctor; "and I hope it may be the beginning of a larger house, when we have more funds to add to it. Who is Cousin Lilian. 147 to be your secretary, to manage money matters and all such things ? " " Mr. and Mrs. Sandford have kindly con- sented to take all that trouble off my hands, and the two doctors will give their services gratui- tously every day ; so I shall only have to go there when I like, to overlook the matron a little, and talk kindly to the poor patients." "That will be a pleasant work for you, and will not take you away from your father too much. I should like you to go with me to-day to the hospital, and see some patients I am anxious to send off to the country as soon as the warm weather sets in. I will not take you with me on my first round, because I should be too much occupied to attend to you ; but can you come this afternoon ? " " I should like it extremely, uncle dear, and will be ready at any time you like." " Very well then, it shall be an engagement for three o'clock. But how very kind of George. I did not much hope for success : only I believe if that coaxing little daughter of his asked him to cut off one of his fingers to please her, he would do it. When will the cottage be ready, think you ?" " Not before April, I am afraid, because there is a great deal more to be done than I thought at first would be necessary ; but the workmen 148 City Sparrows. are to go in at once, so there will be no time lost." " Ah ! well, that will be a nice time of the year for the invalids to get their first peep of the country, and it will be warm enough for them to sit out of doors and enjoy the fresh air. It may be the saving of some of the poor creatures who cannot possibly have pure air in their homes in this densely-populated town. You must put down my name for a 10 donation. There is the bell for prayers and breakfast," said he, cutting short her thanks. " We must break up this little tete-a-tete. God bless you, my child, in your work," said he, leading the way to the dining-room. x7 x "~\ The sun shone brilliantly that afternoon as Lilian and her uncle entered the iron gates and went into the hospital. " Come this way," he said ; "we will visit the ward to the right first. I want to show you a special protege of mine." Lilian thought she had never seen a brighter or tidier room ; the beds arranged on either side looked so neat and comfortable, each covered with a scarlet blanket ; there was a good fire burning at the farther end, near which two or three of the invalid women were sitting ; the sun was streaming in through the long, high Cousin Lilian. 149 windows, lighting up the pictures and texts on the walls, and giving golden smiles to gladden the weary hearts of the sufferers. Nelly was sitting up in bed in a half reclining posture, busy with the contents of her work- basket, while beside her lay her doll and a book. From the interested expression on the faces of those lying near her, she was evidently telling them something, for they were smiling and watching her ; and so absorbed was she in her occupation, that Dr. Belfield and his niece approached her unobserved. " Who is that lovely little girl at the top of the room?" whispered Lilian. " What a darling child!" "The very one I brought you to see: we will go over and talk to her. She is the daughter of a good, earnest curate, whom I advised, be- cause of the special case, to avail himself of the aid offered by our hospital. The eldest, a girl of nineteen, teaches our children. You would have met her, only they have holidays for a week, in honour of your coming." Nelly heard the well-known voice, and turned her head to look, as the doctor, advancing towards her, said, " I have brought somebody to see you who is so fond of little girls : she will talk to you for awhile, for there is still some work for me to do here. It is a good thing I 150 City Sparrows. brought you to-day, Lilian, for if the sun shines as brightly to-morrow, little Nell is going home to be with her brothers and sisters again. She has been away from them for more than ten weeks." " Oh ! what a long time," said Lilian, sitting down beside the bed, and taking the small white hand in hers. ''How glad you will be to go home, darling." ~^ " Oh, yes, so glad," said the child, with a timid look at the stranger, whose sweet face was win- ning its way to the little heart. Lilian possessed the special art of making children at home with her at once ; and before many minutes had elapsed, Nelly was telling her all abcut home and its interests, as if she had known her all her life. " I will come and see you again, in your own home," said Lilian, kissing her, as the doctor appeared, to call her away. " Good-bye, my child," said he. " You won't hurt to-morrow, I think, well wrapped up, and in a close carriage. We must call you Snow- drop, for this is just the time of the year those little flowers begin to peep out and show them- selves to the world." " She is as fair and fragile as a snowdrop," said Lilian, in a low tone, as she followed her uncle to the door. " How I long to transplant her to my pretty cottage hospital." Cousin Lilian. 151 " Oh, do not doubt that you will find plenty of cases when the house is ready, and I have my eye on a respectable and capable widow, who would make a first-rate matron, and take entire charge. There is a poor girl," he said, pausing at the door, and looking towards one of the beds, " who has been ill for six months; and when she leaves this, will have to return to a stifling room in a back court, occupied by the whole family. She has actually never seen a bit of real country in her life, having been lame from a baby." "Poor girl," said Lilian, pityingly. "What hollow cheeks and large eyes she has."/^" " And there is another who I should like also to send : a young widow, whose husband was killed on the line about two months ago. The accident happened just at the time she was re- joicing as a happy mother, in the birth of their first child, an infant of two days old. The fright brought on a serious illness, and when she recovered consciousness, it was to find her baby dead, and herself a desolate widow, too ill to earn a farthing for months to come." Dr. Belfield gave these particulars in such a low tone, that none but Lilian heard them, and she left the ward, longing that her little hospital were twelve times as large. " We are coming now," said the doctor, " to 11* 152 City Sparrows. the convalescent male ward, where I want to show you a poor boy whose case will, I think, greatly interest you. His mother died in the hospital before Christmas, from the effects of a terrible accident, leaving two orphan children, a boy and a girl, wholly unprovided for. I have kept him in the hospital longer than was abso- lutely necessaty, but something must be done about his leaving soon, though he is not strong enough for work yet. If your cottage had been ready, I should have installed him as one of its first inmates." " What is his name ? " asked Lilian. " Harry Warren," answered her uncle. "He is fourteen, but hardly looks as old as that, on account of the severe hardships to which he was exposed before coming in here." " Harry Warren 1 I wonder if it is the same ?" continued she. " Oh, uncle ! don't you remem- ber hearing about papa's favourite gardener, who died eight years ago ? " " Why, yes, of course I do: but what has this boy to do with him ? " " It is the same name, uncle dear. Let me go and speak to him;" and Lilian stepped quickly up to where Harry was sitting, Bible in hand, learning to read. What vision of the past came over the boys' mind as he gazed at the new visitor before him? Cousin Lilian. 153 Where had he seen that gentle face before ? He could not tell, but it was not a strange one to him. " Tell me," she said, looking at him with kindly, beaming eyes, "was your father's name Samuel? " " Yes, ma'am." "And where was he living when he was taken ill and died?" " In a cottage, ma'am, near a large, beautiful house, where gentlefolks lived. He was the gardener there, but I don't mind the name of the gentleman." " It is the same, the very same," said Lilian, joyfully turning to her uncle. " How glad papa will be : he was only talking about him the other day. Do you remember me, my boy," she said again, turning to Harry. " No yes ma'am," said Harry, as memory struggled to recal the scene that had so often cheered him in his attic, of the little girl in the white frock kneeling beside him. " I remem- ber the little lady, who was kind to me there." " But it is such a long time ago, that you have forgotten what I was like," said Lilian, as Harry began to connect her with his day-dream. " Would you like to go back to the cottage again, and get more flowers, and learn to be a gardener, like your father ? " 154 C*ty Sparrows. But Harry was too weak to bear this sur- prise, and tears began to well into his eyes and course down his cheeks. At last he sobbed out, " Yes, ma'am, please : but may Zetta come too?" "Is Zetta the little sister that was born before you left the lodge? Where is she now ?" " Miss Millar, Nelly's sister, is kindly taking care of her for the present," interposed the doctor. "You will hear all about them from her, for it was she who first discovered them in their misery, and relieved them." " Oh ! I must go to her then, and ask for all particulars. How strange it should all have eome out like this. Good-bye, Harry," she said, as her uncle beckoned her to come away. " Make haste and get well and strong, and think what a capital gardener you will be some day, if you work hard, and are a good, steady boy." On returning to her uncle's house, Lilian lost no time in communicating her discovery to her father, whom she found pacing up and down the drawing-room, impatient, as usual, for her return. "Papa dear," she began; "you remember the other day, when we were riding home from Holly Hurst Mill, your talking to me about poor Samuel Warren, who died eight years ago?" Cousin Lilian. 155 " Yes, I recollect," said the squire. " But what of that ? " " Why, papa, you wondered what had become of his son ; and I have found him in the hos- pital. He has been there for some time, and he and his sister are orphans, for their mother is dead. I recognised the name directly." And Lilian never rested until she had persuaded her father into having the boy down to the lodge. " You know, papa," she pleaded, " the head gardener and his wife have no children. She is such a nice, kind woman, that I'm sure she will like Harry to live with them, if we give him enough wages to pay for his board." " Well, have it your own way, Lilian, only don't bother me about your foundlings," said her father, laughing. " I believe, if you could, you would transport a whole kingdom of poor to Hatherleigh Hall. I foresee I shall be obliged to put on the drag, if it goes on at this rate. However, I shall be glad to see that boy again, for his father's sake, and it is a good riddance the woman is out of the way." " Hush ! dear George," said his sister-in-law. "She died repentant, and is beyond man's judgment now." /2^^ \ WELCOME HOME. IT is an April morning, clear and fresh; birds are twittering on the thatch, and there is a soft brown nest built beneath the eaves ; the sun is wrapping the earth in a golden morning mist ; myriads of dewdrops gem the grass, while an early breeze stirs the branches, now clothed in the first freshness of their spring resurrection beauty. Harry is still asleep, but his ear catches the rural sounds : the babble of the brook hard by, the rustling trees, and the birds' sweet song of satisfaction. He dreams he is back again in the old garret, but the skylight with its stuffed and broken panes is no longer there, and some- how there is nothing between him and the blue sky, as the sparrows fly in and out. Heaven seems very near, and he thinks he hears an angel-song, but as he listens for the words, he Welcome Home. 157 awakes to find the music is the chiming of the village bells, telling him it is Sunday. The attic walls vanish with the dream, and he is in his own little room in the old home, the very room where his father had so often laid his- hand in hlessing on the head of his sleeping child, praying that he might be trained to walk in God's holy fear and love. The sight of the familiar surroundings recalls a scene to Harry's- mind he had well-nigh forgotten, how one night he had wakened to see his father kneeling beside him, while deep, heartrending sobs broke the stillness of the night. The child was too fright- ened to speak, so closed his eyes again, and did not stir until his father had risen up and gone- out, but that scene could never be wholly effaced from his memory. It is still early, but Harry rises, and dressing himself in the neat suit of Sunday clothes the squire had given him on his arrival, a few days, ago, goes forth to seek the spots he had so often tried to recall when living far away from them' in hunger and poverty. The broad gravel path in the kitchen-garden looks just the same as when he had stood beside his father's wheel- barrow; and there are the sunny swards where he used to sit, stringing daisies on the grass, and the little lady had knelt beside him. Memory's scrap-book is turned over and over, 158 City Sparrows. and when, later in the morning, the bells ring to summon the worshippers to prayer, and he enters the lych-gate where he last remembered his father holding his hand, and once more finds himself inside the dear old church, the boy hides his face in his hands, to conceal the tears that will flow unbidden. The villagers flock into their seats, the squire and his daughter enter, and the service com- mences. Harry joins with heart and soul in all the prayers, and how real the thanksgiving sounds to him when the minister, after stating that " Harry Warren desires to return humble and hearty thanks to Almighty God, for his recovery from a long illness in St. Peter's Hos- pital," begins the prayer " Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we Thine unworthy servants do give Thee most humble and hearty thanks for all Thy good- ness and loving-kindness to us, and to all men [particularly to him who desires now to offer up his praises and thanksgivings for Thy late mercies vouchsafed to him] . We bless Thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life ; but above all, for Thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And we beseech Thee, give us that due sense of all Thy HARRY AT HIS FATHER S GRAVE. Welcome Home. 159 mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that \ve show forth Thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives; by giving up ourselves to Thy service, and by walking before Thee in holiness and righteous- ness all our days ; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with Thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen." Before leaving the churchyard, Harry crept round to a sheltered spot beneath the trees, to look for his father's grave. The neat grey headstone erected by his master was easily found, and grasses waved pleasantly upon the turf-covered mound. Harry spelt out the in- cription. $it 3JTnn0rjj of SAMUEL WARREN, FOIi 30 YEARS THE VALUED AND RESPECTED SERVANT OF GEORGE LESLIE, ESQUIRE, OF HATIIERLEIGH HALL, FERNSHIRE, WHO DIED APRIL 2, i860. AGED 47. "Leave thy fatherless children; I will preserve Hum alive." Jer. xlix. n. " How good our Father in heaven has been to us both," thought he, as he knelt down beside the grave. " I must bring Zetta here when she comes, but three weeks is a long time to wait, and she can't write me a letter yet." But Harry was so happy in his new life, and 160 City Sparrows. anxious by degrees to get into regular work in the garden, that the weeks soon sped away as he gained strength with their flight, and April was bordering close upon May, when one bright day of alternate sunshine and showers, Lilian Leslie might have been seen taking the short cut through the rich meadow-lands surrounding the Hall, leading towards the cottage hospital, which now stood awaiting in perfect order and freshness the arrival of its new occupants, and looking like a snug nest half hidden among its embosoming trees. Mrs. Howard, the kind-looking matron, is already installed in her office, and hastens through the little garden to open the gate for Lilian. "Good afternoon, Miss; I've been hoping you would step down and see how comfortable 'tis all looking. And I've got the kettles on, so the young ladies can have a cup of tea directly they arrive." " Yes ; it is all very nice indeed," said Lilian, looking round pleased to find all her plans had been carefully carried out ; " and, Mrs. Howard, you understand I wish Miss Millar and her in- valid sister to have this sitting-room and bed- room entirely to themselves. I mean to keep this corner of the cottage for the use of invalid ladies who cannot afford to pay for change of V/elcomc Home. 161 air to the country; and since papa has had those four extra rooms and large kitchen added to the other side, there will be plenty of room for the rest of the patients, who are not to arrive until next week, so that you will be able to settle in a bit first." " Oh, yes, ma'am ; and I shall have my little maid to help me in my work. I always liked the look of that child when she used to come and see her brother in the hospital : she was so civil-spoken and modest." " Miss Millar tells me," answered Lilian, " that she is the most thoughtful, dependable child imaginable, and such a capital little nurse. They will miss her dreadfully when they go home, but it will be best for many reasons that Zetta should settle in steadily here under your training, and it will be pleasant for her to live close to her brother. I did not like separating them entirely." " She will be very happy here, Miss, I am sure ; but won't you please step upstairs, and see how cheerful the rooms look ? " Lilian could not resist this suggestion, and wished her uncle could have been with her to share the pleasure she felt in seeing the clean and white floors and walls, the neat little iron beds with their spotless coverings, and the rest of the furniture corresponding in its simpli;ity. 163 City Sparrows. While thus engaged, a sound of wheels was heard, and looking out of the casement, a fly was seen ascending the hill, with Zetta seated beside the driver, and luggage on the top. Lilian hastened down to welcome the travel- lers, and assisted Margaret to lift the fragile little Nelly from the carriage and carry her into the pretty parlour, where they laid her on a small but comfortable sofa to rest. She looked pale and exhausted, but Margaret said she had borne the journey much better than could have been expected. " And just see," she added, " how kind and thoughtful dear Mrs. Page has been ; " and she pointed to a long wheel basket-carriage, with a contrivance in it to lengthen the seat and trans- form it into a reclining couch, if the child was too weak to bear the motion sitting up. " It only arrived this morning, just as we were starting for the station. Wasn't it kind of the dear old lady ? We shall be able to take Nelly about anywhere in this." " How charming! " said Lilian. " I never saw one like it before : and the pretty blue cushions make it so complete. When Harry gets stronger he can be your pony. It looks so tempting, I should enjoy a ride in it myself." " Well, Zetta, how do you like coming to the country ? " she added, turning to the child, Welcome Home. 163 who certainly did credit to Margaret and Hester by her neat appearance and fresh healthy look. "Oh, ma'am! I never saw such a beautiful place in all my life," answered Zetta, gazing in admiration on the cottage and its surround- ings. " Didn't you ? " said Lilian, laughing. " Well, you must make haste and have your tea, and go and talk to Harry about it: he has plenty to tell and to show you." Then turning to Margaret, she added, " I am sorry to say I must leave you now, for it is time for me to go home and dress for dinner. I hope you will be very happy, and enjoy your holidays in this rustic place, and that we shall meet very often here and at the Hall. I must just run in and say ' good-bye ' to my little Snowdrop." The table in the tiny sitting-room looked most inviting, covered with a snowy cloth, and cups and saucers, a glass dish of cream from Hather- leigh dairy, and some home-baked bread. A pretty vase of flowers, tastefully arranged by Lilian, in the centre, gave a finishing touch to the whole, and made it look home-like ; and our travellers lost no time in sitting down to the tempting meal after their long journey. As soon as it was over, and they were some- what rested, Margaret lifted Nelly into the wheel -carriage and drew her a short distance 164 City Sparrows. beyond the cottage, where she could look through the branching wood to the river and hills beyond. The child's delight knew no bounds, and she was continually directing Margaret's attention to some newly-discovered beauty. 4 " Listen, Margaret," she cried, after watch- ing in silence for some minutes the ceaseless flow of the water; " listen ! The river is sing- ing such a pretty song to the flowers ; it is say- ing, ' Hush ! hush ! go to sleep,' and the wind is rocking them so gently. How I wish I could run about and get some of the pretty primroses in that dear little wood ; " and the sigh that fol- lowed the words made Margaret step behind the child to hide the foolish tears that would come whenever that wistful look crossed Nelly's face ; but bending over to kiss her, she answered cheerfully " Some day, I hope. But think, Nelly, how long the primroses and violets have had to wait before they could open their eyes and smile from their green leaves. This is a bright spring time for us, Nelly, and we must thank our Father in heaven for it with all its blessings." And Margaret trembled to think how nearly her precious flower had been transplanted to bloom in the King's own garden above. There had been a shower while they w y ere Welcome Home. 165 in the house, and now the sun was sending his beams down aslant to fetch the truant rain- drops back. " Oh ! " said Nelly, stretching out both little arms towards the radiant beam of light. " Look Margaret ! there is the angels' ladder ! It must be like the one you were telling me about on Sunday, that Jacob saw in his dream. We could climb straight up into heaven, if only there were steps cut in it." " My darling, we are climbing a ladder more real than that one, and it reaches up into the happy land where Jesus and the angels dwell; but the top of it is hidden from us, and we may only see the steps one by one as the clouds roll back. That means we have only one day given to us at a time, but it ought to be a golden stair on which to mount upwards. We do not know how many more of these steps there are to climb before we reach the top, but the Lord Jesus is leading us, and His holy angels are ascending and descending to watch over and guard us from evil until we reach our rest above. It is called ' the narrow way that leadeth unto life.' " Nelly caught the meaning of the words, and her eyes rested with a rapt expression on the sunbeams ; and Margaret, fearful of disturbing that peaceful calm, watched her in silence, 166 City Sparrows. while the words were whispered to her own soul, "We may rise to the life immortal through Him who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost." And as the two sisters to- gether watched the sun fast hasting to his rest, a holy evening peace descended on the heart of the little child in her suffering weakness, and upon the brave self-sacrificing one who as a guardian angel stood beside her. Zetta has wandered off to be with Harry, and he hastens across the meadows to meet her as she runs towards him. " Come,Zetta," he said, joyfully, " and I will show you all the places I used to tell you about when we lived in a garret." And as he leads her to all his favourite haunts, he feels as if he were the happy child again of eight years ago. " Look! " said he, pointing to the path across the field to the lodge ; " that was where I first learnt about God: father used to carry me home that way on his shoulder when he had done his work, and he would point to the sky, and tell me the God who loves little children lives up there." The boy and girl stand still to listen to the rush of the river as it tumbles through the valley ; the birds are twittering faintly, and spring scents pervade the air. Beyond the Welcome Home. 167 belt of pines stretch the great blue hills, behind which the sun is sinking in red and gold. Zetta slips her hand into Harry's, and draws closer to him, as, awed by the grandeur of the scene, a sudden silence falls upon them both. " Those must be the golden gates, Zetta.," said Harry, softly; "and father went through them." " And mother, too," whispered Zetta, as she laid her head on Harry's shoulder : " they are together now.' CHAPTER XIII. MAY DAYS. THE sunbeams dance across the latticed panes of the cottage hospital, casting fantastic shadows from the elm trees on the whitewashed wall of the room where the sisters are lying. Margaret has been awake some time, but little Nelly, exhausted with her journey, still sleeps ; and her sister, fearful of disturbing her, is glad to lie quietly thinking of the rest and beauty by which she is surrounded. Pleasant country sounds fall on her ear, mingling with the full, glad rush of flowing water, and a blackbird is making merry on a bough close by, uttering deep, sweet trills of melody. " A morning song, set to the music of the river," thought Margaret. It was like a strange, sweet dream, to find herself there, re- minding her of the chamber called Peace in the House Beautiful, where Pilgrim was laid to sleep. And as her eye wanders round the room, . May Days. 169 it rests on the illuminated text framed and hung opposite the bed : " Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be trou- bled, neither let it be afraid." Nelly stirs, and in another moment soft little arms are about her neck, and the child utters a glad cry at sight of the blue sky and waving branches. " Good-morning, my darling. What a nice sound sleep you have had." "Yes, Maggie, and wasn't it funny? I was dreaming about the pretty wood we saw last evening, and there was such a lovely bird flying about, with green and gold feathers. Bertie was with me, and we tried to catch it, but it always hopped away, singing all the time ; and then I woke, and found it was the birds outside our window. Hark ! what is that sound, like bells tinkling?" Margaret rose to open the lattice, securing it against the wall of the cottage by a hook which found its fastening among the ivy. As she did so the soft west wind fanned her cheek, and the sweet breath of hawthorn and other honied flowers filled the room. " Oh, look, Margaret! The roses are trying lo climb right into the window. What a beau- tiful cluster there is close to your hand." 170 City Sparrows. " Would you like to have one, Nelly ? Wait a moment, dear ; I will carry you over, and you shall gather it for yourself. See," she said, holding her in her arms, " there are the cows, , with Swiss bells hung from their necks. They have been to the farm to be milked, and now the boy is driving them back to the fresh green meadows, where they will lie among buttercups and daisies, under the shady trees, until the evening. We will go and see them milked by-and-by, and you shall take your cup to be filled with frothy new milk." " Oh, how nice ! " said the child, clasping her thin white hands together. " Do please make haste, Margaret, and dress me." And the sparkle of joy that came into those dear young eyes, that had so often closed in tearful pain, revived fresh hope in the sister's heart, kindling a flame of love and gratitude as the prayer ascended far above the blue, cloud- flecked sky : " O God, the strength of all them that put their trust in Thee." Breakfast over, and Margaret having just finished reading aloud the morning psalm, a timid knock is heard at the door, and Zetta enters, in neat print gown, white apron, and cap. " If you please, ma'am, Harry's here, and wants to know how soon you would like him to May Days. 171 come and draw Miss Nelly's carriage. Miss Leslie told him to come." " I don't think \ve will go far to-day," said Margaret, rising and beckoning Harry to come to the window and speak to her. " My little sister is tired after her journey, but if you will wait a few minutes we will get ready, and you shall take her down to the little wood, where we can sit in the shade and enjoy the fresh air. Would you like that, Nelly?" " Oh, yes, Maggie dear; do let us go now." So Nelly's soft, white, quilted hat was soon tied on, and shawls, books, and work were put with her into the carriage. " I will take pen and ink as well," said Mar- garet, "and then I can write to papa. They will be looking out for a letter to-morrow. And please, Mrs. Howard, if Miss Leslie comes down from the Hall, tell her where she will find us." " Yes, miss, surely," answered the kind ma- tron, carefully arranging the cushions for the sick child, and tucking in the shawl that covered her. The spot selected for the summer parlour was a choice one. It was among some huge lichen- covered boulders, where the trees arched greenly overhead, and the mossy carpet was spangled with spring flowers. It sloped down towards 172 City Sparrows. a sandy reach opening on the river, which tossed its tiny wavelets over brown stones guarding deep amber pools, where speckled trout would hide and leap. Harry drew the carriage carefully to a level and sheltered spot, and said he would be near at hand, " if little Miss would like to go further." Nelly was soon deep in one of the pretty story books that Lilian's thoughtful care had provided for the cottage library, and Margaret's home letter rilled three sheets in no time, so full was her heart to express its overflowing gladness. " I wish you could see our darling's bright eyes and happy face, dear papa," she was writing, when the joyous bark of a dog and a merry laugh made her pause and look up, to see Lilian's white dress appearing in the vista of green. Romp reaches the encamp- ment long before his mistress, and instantly commences sniffing round the strangers, as if to ask, "Where do you come from?" But he is a friendly fellow, and giving Nelly's fearlessly outstretched hand a gentle lick, he rushes off again, whisking his tail, to meet Lilian, and assure her with his golden eyes that it is all right. " Be quiet, Romp ! Down with you, you rude dog !" said Lilian, as her loving kiss on Nelly's May Days. 173 cheek awakens a feeling of jealousy in his c nine breast. " Don't mind him, Nelly, he never hurts any one. Oh ! what a charming place you have chosen, Margaret. I wonder I never thought of ensconcing myself here with my books, when I wished a quiet retreat. You must have a picnic here, and invite me to it, some day." "That would be delightful," replied Margaret. " I hope yqu--will join us here whenever you can." /^ Lilian soon found what she called a " rock- sofa," and seated herself near Margaret, with Romp stretched full length at her feet. " What is that book lying there, Margaret?" " Oh, it is a volume of Hans Andersen's. I translate them for Nelly's benefit when I read aloud to her." " You know German, then. Oh, I should like to learn it so much : the governess I had could not teach it." " I shall be delighted to give you a lesson whenever you like," said Margaret, glad to lind there was anything by which she could prove how grateful she was for Lilian's kindness. "Will you, Margaret : how very kind! If you are not busy, let us b^gin at once." " Certainly, with all my heart. But see, Nelly's book has dropped from her fingers, and 174 City Sparrows. she is sound asleep. I will carry her into the cottage, and lay her on the bed first. I don't think it would wake her, and I should be afraid to let her sleep in the open air." "Dear -little thing," said Lilian. "How white and waxen she looks." Margaret soon returned, but there was not much German done that day. They drifted off into long talks concerning the past, each finding in the other what both had so often longed for a congenial friend. How soon is the right chord struck between those whose hearts are in unison about the higher life. They may be widely separated by -temporal circumstances, rank, wealth, or out- ward distinctions, yet it is instinctively felt that they belong to the same Father, the same Elder Brother " of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named;" and no friendship in this world of chance and change which lacks this foundation can be sealed with Christ's " for ever and ever." Long and happy were those bright May-days spent in closest companionship with the youth- ful mistress of Hatherleigh Hall ; and as Nelly gradually grew stronger, long rambles were undertaken in the beautiful lanes in the vicinity of the cottage, and it was Harry's greatest pleasure to draw the basket carriage, and climb May Days. 175 hedges and gates to find floral treasures for the fragile little child who would not be able for many a long day to gather them for herself. Margaret used often to talk to him as he walked beside her, seeking to train his soul for progress in the Divine life, and awakening a deeper love in his heart for the dear Saviour he had so long sought ; and his simple faith led his teacher to cast her soul more entirely on the One who has promised never to leave or forsake those who trust in Him. Margaret's character deepened and developed the more she saw of Lilian. It was the '' iron sharpening iron " that she needed, and found in this new friend. For hitherto Margaret's life had been so full of responsibility, anxiety, and care, that it disposed her to a morbid sensitive- ness, which was gradually crushing out the joy which ought to be linked with Christian faith. Lilian's bright earnestness and sunny nature just gave the counteracting touch that was wanted, and Margaret's deep trustfulness and pure truthful affection caused Lilian to lean upon her as indeed a sister-friend. It was a labour of love they shared together, as the \vards gradually filled with patients, to assist in ministering to their needs, and brighten their lives by carrying the message that should uplift their weary hearts towards a rest yet more 176 City Sparrows. peaceful and abiding. And how intense the joy to Lilian to watch the glow of health return to wan faces, and see them awaken to beauties they had never even dreamt of in their close and miserable dwellings ; and above all to feel she had been allowed to help in forwarding such a great and noble work, and be an honoured instrument in God's hand for carrying out His purposes of love towards those whom sickness had left exhausted and forlorn. It was a sad morning when the letter came, summoning Margaret back to home duties, for the month's holiday had passed all too quickly. Nelly was better, but still unable to walk, and Margaret's heart was sad at the thought of taking her away from the country just when it was doing her so much good. This was the trouble which Lilian made her confess as the open letter lay before her. " But," said Lilian, " of course you will not take Nelly away yet, though I quite see you must go yourself. Papa says, if you will trust her to our care, I may have her at the Hall until she gets quite well. ., He is so fond of her, Margaret ; she has quite won his heart by her pretty ways. Do you know, I saw his eyes fill with tears the other day as she put up her mouth to kiss him for bringing her flowers. Do let us have her : we will take such care of her." May Days. 177 " Oh, how kind and good you are," said Margaret, though not without a pang at her heart at the thought of leaving her precious little treasure behind. " I cannot bear to part from her, but I know she could not be in better hands." " Thank you, Margaret," cried Lilian, joy- ously, and kissing her gratefully, as though receiving instead of conferring the benefit. " It is so good of you to trust me with the dear little pet. There is Harry bringing her to meet us in her basket-carriage. Let us go and tell her about it." A few tears followed the announcement of Margaret's departure ; but the child was soon reconciled to remaining with Lilian, whom by this time she had grown so accustomed to, and loved with all her heart. So when the June roses began to blow, and the clematis opened its starry blossoms, Mar- garet said good-bye to Hatherleigh, her last sight of Nelly being in the squire's arms, waving her adieu as the train moved slowly off. WHAT THE BIRDS WOULD TELL US. Is the story finished ? Yes, I have little more to tell my readers. Do they want to know if Nelly ever grew well and strong again, and whether Harry and Zetta are still living near each other ? They had better put on a pair of wings and fly to Hatherleigh, where the little birds will tell them (if they understand their language) that the rose-sprays, blushing and climbing round their nests, are not brighter than the bloom is now on Nelly's cheek, as she flits to and fro among the flowers and grasses, a happy, healthy child again. Lilian still calls her "Little Snowdrop," though she has no longer a right to the name, and says she cannot possibly do without her; so Hatherleigh Hall has become a second home to the child, who spends many months at a time there, and as she always droops in the atmo- What the Birds would tell us. 179 sphere of town, papa and Margaret are well pleased to spare her. She has no need for the invalid-carriage, and it is left gratefully for the use of the other patients in the cottage-hospital, to some of whom it is the greatest boon. The hospital itself has greatly increased in dimensions, for subscriptions having flowed in freely from the neighbourhood and county round, a large wing, containing two long wards, has been added, and many a sick one has had reason to bless God for the . squire's bountiful birthday gift to his daughter. Alice Millar has found her vocation in minis- tering to the invalids there, her heart having been drawn to the work from love and gratitude to her Heavenly Father, who had so mercifully blessed the means, and given back their own dear little Nell. She found herself among the few in this world who, without neglecting the path of duty, may be exempted from home cares, and free to devote the energy of their youth to outside work. She went through a careful training, which thoroughly fitted her for the responsi- bilities of lady-superintendent to Lilian's cot- tage hospital. Her first visit to Hatherlcigh showed her how urgently more help was needed, and of course doubly required as the building grew in size. i8o City Sparrows. Bright, active Lotta proved herself quite capable of becoming Margaret's assistant at home in housekeeping duties and the charge of her brothers; and each sister in her separate sphere is seeking how she can best glorify God, who Himself chooses the portion of the vineyard which His children are called to occupy. Would that there were a cottage-hospital es- tablished near every country town. If others would give likewise out of their abundance, how many of those fainting by the way from sickness and suffering would be enabled to regain their health in fresh, pure country air. Of course it is only the few who are privileged by circumstances and means to carry out such a great and glorious work as the building of a hospital, but all may assist by trying to help those who are thus engaged in this the Heavenly Master's own work. And let none think this a work of mere secondary importance. The Lord who came to give His life a ransom for many, never thought it beneath Him to stay His steps and relieve the bodily wants of those around ; and if we would follow in His footprints, let us in our little measure feed the hungry and relieve the sick, pointing, as we do so, to the One who can meet every want, and remembering His blessed words, " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the What the Birds would tell us. 181 least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me." Whene'er ye see them weary on the way, Athirst, or fainting, then remember Me; Think then thou hearest Me, the Master, say, Give Me to drink, this boon I crave of thee. But to return to our characters. Harry and Zetta are growing up in happiness and comfort in their separate homes, learning to lead good and useful lives; and when they walk across the fields to meet each other of an evening after their work is done, they often talk of the loving care of their Heavenly Father, without whom even a sparrow cannot fall to the ground. The puny, delicate boy has shot up into a stalwart youth, full of health and strength for active service, and his steady conduct has made him a most valuable worker on the estate. His intelligence and respectful manners have won for him the confidence and esteem of the old Squire. " That boy is a chip of the old block, a true son of his father," he would often say to Lilian, when relating some little incident in which Harry had shown forethought and interest for his master. " I am glad poor Warren's lad has turned out so well."yx~~ Zetta., too, has fulfilled the promise of her childhood by growing into girlhood a truly 13 1 82 City Sparrows. Christian character. No hand is more tender than hers in dressing wounds, applying ban- dages, or arranging the various comforts an invalid requires ; and though the matron has sometimes occasion to say, when directions are forgotten, " One must not expect to find old heads upon young shoulders," still the general opinion is that Zetta is thoughtful beyond her years, and will in time make a first-rate hos- pital nurse. If the wings will carry my readers a little farther, let them fly on to the town where Mr. Millar and Margaret live. They will find him still labouring on for God in his over-crowded parish, but the look of anxiety and care has passed fr.om his brow, for good Mrs. Page, who now rests beside her husband and little boy, has left a bequest of "200 a year to be added to his stipend, in grateful remembrance of his ministrations as a pastor, which enables him to live in compara- tive ease and comfort. Margaret still continues her teaching at the Belfields', for they all say they cannot spare her, and she is treated by them as a dear and valued friend, and always makes one of the party when her pupils visit Hatherleigh. What the Birds would tell us. 183 And so disappear from our view the City Sparrows the poor waifs and strays with whom our story commenced and the kind friends who, under the Divine Friend, cared for and suc- coured them. Without Him " not a sparrow falleth to the ground," and the poorest and meanest of His children is of " more value than many sparrows." From His throne of glory He bends a pitying eye upon the sufferers of earth. From that throne He sent down His Son to die, as the proof and manifestation of His fatherly love. To seek and save the lost, the Good Shepherd gave His life, that by His death they might live. And still He sends forth His servants, that in the Saviour's name they may clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and bring to everlasting life those ready to perish, /ps In this noble and blessed work, even the youngest may take a part. He who said, " Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and for- bid them not, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven;" said, too, " Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings He ordained strength." Even the little ones may share in the un- speakable honour of being " workers together with God." Even the poor may be enabled to dispense "the unsearchable riches of Christ." Even the ignorant may, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, make others " wise unto salvation." 184 City Sparrows. Even the angels of Heaven can engage in no higher and nobler work than that to which the frail and erring children of men are invited. If you have not gold and silver Ever ready at command ; If you cannot to the needy Reach an ever open hand; You can visit the afflicted, O'er the erring you can weep ; You can be a true disciple Sitting at the Saviours feet. If you cannot in the harvest Garner up the richest sheaves, Many a grain both ripe and golden Will the careless reapers leave ; Go and glean among the briers, Growing rank against the wall, For it may be that their shadow Hides the heaviest wheat of all. Do not then stand idly waiting For some greater work to do ; Oh, improve each passing moment, For these moments may be few. Go and toil in any vineyard, Do not fear to do or dare ; If you want a field for labour, You can find it anywhere. It is but very little that we can do for Him who has done all for us. May each one of us do that little sincerely and prayerfully, so that at last, by His boundless grace, we may hear Him say: "Well done, good and faithful What the Birds would tell us. 185 servants, ye have been faithful in a few things, I will make you rulers over many things : enter ye into the joy of your Lord." My readers, you will, I trust, indeed put on the wings of Faith and Charity, and be enrolled among the number of earth's angels, for A sacred burden is the life ye bear, Look on it, lift it, bear it solemnly, Stand up and walk beneath it steadfastly ; Fail not for sorrow, falter not for sin, But onward, upward, till the goal ye win. God guard ye, and God guide ye on your way, Young pilgrim warriors who set forth to-day. The great thing is to see to it that your motives are right and pure. It is not what we do, but how we do it, that God regards. " She hath done what she could," was our Lord's benediction upon the woman who knelt at His feet. There is a wise old saying, " If you cannot do a kind deed, speak a kind word ; if you cannot speak a kind word, think a kind thought." If you lack wisdom to put your kind thoughts into practice, " ask of God, who giveth unto all men liberally and upbraideth not." The Apostle John, in his epistle, writing to " little children," says, " But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." It is this anointing of the Holy Spirit which makes us strong and wise, holy i86 City Sparrows. and happy, useful to others, and truly blessed in ourselves. God grant, then, that you may be richly en- dowed with this holy anointing oil, and then, for Christ's sake, your feet will often stand within the homes of sadness and suffering, smoothing the sick one's pillow, and ministering comfort and consolation to those in need ; assisting the heavy-laden to bear their burdens; turning aside little feet from the thorns that would prick them, and helping to lead each one to their eternal home in the golden city, where God shall wipe away the tears from all eyes, and where there shall be no more death. PUBLICATIONS TRACT SOCIETY. TEXTS, PICTURES, AND BOOKS FOR HOSPITALS. // is believed that a great deal of good may be done by gifts of Texts, Books, and Pictures to Hospitals, where tJie time often passes wearily. The following are recom- mended as suitable for such purposes, both for the grown-up People's and the Children's Hospitals. I. THE SAVIOUR'S CALL: A Selection of Texts hung on a Roller, suitable for Hospitals, Sick Chambers, c. 6d. II. THE SILENT COMFORTER. Texts in large type, and hung on Roller. 2s. in. GREEN PASTURES. Printed in large type, and hung on Roller. 2s. LONDON : 56, PATERNOSTER Row, & 164, PICCADILLY. Publications of the " We cannot too highly recommend them." Art Journal. CHEAP COLOURED PICTURES FOR HOSPITALS, COTTAGE WALLS, ETC. Beautifully printed in Oil Colours, by Kronheim. Size, 1 5 in. by 20 in. Price 3d. each ; in gilt frame and glazed, 2s. Welcome Home Again. The Queen and the Highland Cottager. The Flower Girl. The Gleaner. Marked for Falling. In the Hayfield with Father. " Don't Cry, Dear." The Land of Plenty. A Long Pull and a Strong Pull. / Alone in the World. Neddy and Me. Good News from a Far Country. With Cattle on the Mountains. The Best Jug to Fetch Beer in. Watchful Care. The Fisher Girl. Deer on the Mountain. A Merry Christmas. Daniel in the Lions' Den. Elijah Fed by Ravens. The Scapegoat. Noah and the Dove. Haman and Mordecai. Moses Lifting up the Brazen Serpent. "It is impossible to speak too highly of them." Literary Churchman. " Well printed in colours cheap indeed." Standard. "As gifts, the pictures would be valued by thousands to whom a really gooi picture is unknown." Public Opinion. LONDON : 56, PATERNOSTER Row, & 164, PICCADILLY. Religious Tract Society. ILLUMINATED SCRIPTURE TEXTS. Series No. i. Eight Cards. Printed in Gold and Colours, on Large Cards. Size, 14^ in. by 9^ in. qd. each. Mounted in Glass, or in Oxford frame and glazed, 35. each. "Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long" "My Father, Thou art the Guide of my Youth." " Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith." " Those that seek Me early shall find Me" &c., &>c. Series No. 2. Eight Cards. Beautifully printed in Gold and Colours. For School- room and Cottage Walls, etc. Size, n in. by 8| in. In Packets containing four different Cards, 2s. each. Packets A and B ready. Mounted in Glass, or in Oxford frame and glazed, 2s. each. Series No. 3. Seventy-Two Cards. Beautifully printed in Gold and Colours. Size, 6 in. by 4f in. In Six Packets of twelve Cards, all different is. each. In Glass, 6d. ; or in Oxford frames and glazed, is. each. Series No. 4. Thirty-Six Cards. Beautifully printed in Gold and Colours. Size, 4^ in. by 3i in. In Three Packets of twelve Cards, all different, 6d. each. In Glass, or in Oxford frame, glazed, 6d. Also Packet L, consisting of twenty Cards in Colours, 4d. each. LONDON : 56, PATERNOSTER Row, & 164, PICCADILLY. Publications of the BOOKS FOR THE AFFLICTED, BEREAVED, ETC. Baxter. Dying Thoughts. A.D. 1688. Abridged by Dr. FAWCETT. i8mo. is. boards ; is. 6d. half-bound. Lord William Russell, shortly before he was executed, sent to Mr. Baxter his hearty thanks for his " Dying Thoughts," saying, " They have made me better acquainted with the other world than I was before ; and have not a little contributed to- my support and relief, and to the fitting me for what I am to go through." Baxter. Converse with God in Solitude. A.D. 1664. 32mo. Sd. boards; is. half-bound; 2s. 6d. morocco. The Christian, especially if in affliction, who is desirous of cultivating a deep and close acquaintance with God and himself, may here find that which is calculated to aid him in his momentous inquiries. Bickersteth. Water from the Well- Spring. By E. H. BICKERSTETH, M. A. Fcap. Svo. 2s. boards; 55. 6d. morocco. A course of morning and evening meditations for every Sunday in the year, intended to supply comfort and in- struction to afflicted believers. Brooks. The Mute Christian under the Smarting Rod. By Rev. THOMAS BROOKS. A.D. 1655. 32mo. is. boards; is. 4d. half-bound. Enforcing the doctrine " that it is the great duty and concernment of gracious souls to be silent under the greatest afflictions, the saddest providences, and sharpest trials they meet with in this world." LONDON : 56, PATERNOSTER Row, & 164, PICCADILLY. Religious Tract Society. Boston. The Crook in the Lot. By the Rev. T. 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