LITTLE ALICE'S PALACE;OR, THE SUNNY HEART. LONDON:T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW;EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORK. 1872. {i:Miss Mason and Lolly: p0. Jpg} CHAPTER I. The rain was pattering, pattering steadily upon the roof of a littlebrown cottage that stood alone by the country roadside. There had been a long and dreary winter, and now the bright spring wascoming, with its buds and leaves and flowers, to gladden the earth, thathad all the time seemed to be dead. As the shower came down, the little green blades of grass sprang up tocatch the drops; and they seemed almost to laugh and sing, so full of joywere they when they could lift their heads from the dust. It was so much sweeter to be out once more from their prison-house and toexult with all God's fair creation; so they bathed themselves in thefalling shower, and made themselves fresh and clean; and nobody wouldever have believed that they came out from their dark beds in the earth. Little Alice looked out of the windows of the brown cottage, and saw themnodding gaily to her as they were taking their bath; and so she smiledback again, and talked to them from her perch in the window-seat as ifthey were brothers and sisters, with eyes and ears to see and hear, andhearts to return her love. Indeed, there was no one else to whom shecould talk the livelong day. No father, for he was dead; no livingbrothers and sisters; no mother at home, for they were very poor, and hermother must be gone at early dawn to labour for their food and clothingand shelter;--and so Alice had to make companions of the blades of grassthat nodded at her through the drops. "Oh, you beauties!" said she gladly; "and I know who made you, too, andwhat a great, good God he is to send you here--bright little creaturesthat you are. How pleasant it will be down by the brook-side when thesun comes out, and you and I and the blue violets and the dandelions haveour visiting-time together! Never a little girl had such joy as I have!"And Alice put her face close to the pane, and looked up into the sky tothank her kind heavenly Father for sending her such blessings. It seemedas if she could see him bending graciously down towards her, as herSunday-school teacher had often represented him to her; and then shethought of Him who was upon the earth, and who took up little children inhis arms and blessed them; and she put out her hands towards the heavens, saying earnestly, "Me, too, dear Saviour: bless me too!" So absorbed was she that she didn't hear anybody enter the room until atimid voice said, -- "Who were you speaking to, Alice?" There was such a woful figure by the door as she turned her head--nobonnet, no shoes, and a tattered frock, all draggled with dirt and rain, and the long, uncombed locks straggling about the child's shoulders, andsuch a blue, pinched look in the thin face! "Oh, it's you, Maddie, is it?" said Alice, jumping from the window andtaking the hand of the new-comer. "But it was a pity to get so wet. I'mglad you've come. We'll keep house together till it clears away, andthen maybe we'll have a nice walk. First we must dry your clothes, though. " And she put some sticks in the fireplace, and putting a matchto them, stationed Maddie before the blaze, while she held the skirt outto dry. "Isn't it pleasant here?" asked Alice, with a beaming smile. Maddie looked around, with a half shrug, upon the cheerless room, withits bit of a table and the one chair and the low, curtainless window, andthen her eyes fell upon the scantily-clad little girl by her side; andthen she shivered, as the dampness of her clothes sent a creeping chillthrough her frame; but she didn't say it was pleasant. "Aren't you afraid to stay here so much alone, Alice?" she asked, givinganother glance about the room. "But I never stay _alone_, Maddie!" answered the dear child. "I haveplenty of company--'Tabby, ' and the flies, and now and then a spider, andeverything that goes by the door, and the clouds and the sunshine and theleaves and the--oh dear! so many things, Maddie, that I can't begin totell you. " And she stopped short for want of breath. "And somebody you were talking to. Who was that?" asked Maddie. "Ah, yes, best of all! Don't you know, Maddie?" said Alice, sinking hervoice to a whisper, and gazing earnestly at her young companion. "MissMason told me how He is everywhere, and sees and hears us, and that heloves us better than our mother or father can do, and watches over us andkeeps us from all harm. If you go to the school with me you'll learn allabout it, Maddie dear. No, no; I'm never _alone_ though mother _is gone_all the long day. " "Do you _see_ Him, Alice?" asked Maddie earnestly. "Not as I see _you_, Maddie, " returned her companion with reverence; "butwhen I look up into the sky, and sometimes when I sit here by myself andspeak things that I have learned from my Bible, I seem to feel somestrange brightness all above and around me; and it's so real to me thatit's just like seeing with these eyes. Miss Mason says 'it's my soulthat sees. ' Whatever it is, it's very beautiful, Maddie. " And Aliceclasped her hands in a sort of ecstasy, and drew near to the window tolook up once more into the heavens, whither her eyes and her heart socontinually turned. CHAPTER II. The shower did not last long, and the warm sun melted the diamonds fromthe grass, so that it was soon fit for the little girls to go out intothe freshness and enjoy the pleasant air. "Don't you think this a pretty cottage?" asked Alice, as they steppedoutside and stood looking upon her home. "See the moss all over theshingles; how velvety it is! Tabby goes up there to sleep on the softcushion in the sun. And here's where I put my convolvuluses, and theyclimb up and run all over the window and make such a nice curtain, withthe pink and blue and white and purple mixed with the green; and theyreach up to the very chimney, Maddie, and hug it round, and then traildown upon the roof. Oh, I think it's elegant! And here's my flower-bed, right under the window, where mother can smell the blossoms as we sitsewing when she has a day at home. We take real comfort here, mother andI, Maddie. " And so the little blithesome child prattled about her humblehome, while her companion looked in astonishment upon her, wondering whyit was that Alice always seemed so happy, while _she_ was so miserable. "We'll go down by the brook-side now, " said Alice. "There's my grandpalace. Such hangings! all blue and gold and crimson; and carpets thatyour feet sink into; and a great mirror, such as the richest man couldn'tbuy. Don't you know what I mean, Maddie?" And Alice laughed gleefullyas they reached the brook-side, and pointed to the heavens above, sobrilliant in the sunny radiance, and down to the green and flowery turfbeneath their feet, and to the clear stream that reflected all things, like the purest glass. And she said, "Now, don't you like my palace, Maddie?" "Yes, it's very pretty here, " said Maddie; but she didn't seem to feelabout it as Alice did, who was in such good spirits that she could keepneither her feet nor her tongue still, but frisked about the green like ayoung deer, and chattered like a magpie, only in far sweeter tones. "_This_ is my _bower_, " said she, lifting up the drooping branches of awillow and shutting herself and Maddie within. "Here I come for a napwhen I am tired of play; and the leaves rustle in the wind, making apleasant sound, and the birds sit on the boughs and sing me asleep, and Idream always happy dreams. When awake, I think about the pure river thatmy Bible speaks of, and the tree of life that is on either side, and thebeautiful light that isn't like the sun, nor the moon, nor the blaze of acandle, but comes from the face of God, and is never hidden from us toleave us in darkness. " Maddie sat down upon a large stone that Alice called her throne, andlooked eagerly up at her companion for more; for Alice's words seemed toher like some beautiful story out of a book. "Did you ever go into any great house, Maddie?" asked Alice. "No, never, " said Maddie. "I passed by Mrs. Cowper's one day, and lookedin at the open door when somebody was coming out, but I couldn't seemuch. " "That's just where I went with mother, " said Alice; "and little Mary tookme into a high room, the walls all velvet and satin and gold, so that myeyes ached for looking; and there were such heaps of pretty things on thetables and all about the place; but it didn't make me feel glad as I dowhen I get out here in my grand palace with these living, breathingthings around me. O Maddie, there isn't anything on earth so beautifulas what God has made!" "Do you stay out here always?" asked Maddie. "Oh no, " said Alice; "that would be idle. When mother has work I stay athome to help her. I've learned to sew nicely now, and can save mothermany a stitch. To-day's my holiday, and I can play with you as long asyou please. I've brought some dinner, and we'll set a table in my dining-hall. " And she took from her pocket a little parcel, and led Maddie fromthe bower to a hollow near the brook, where was a flat rock, and thereshe spread her frugal fare. There were two pieces of homemade bread and a small slice of cold bacon, which she put upon leaves in the middle of the rocky table; and gatheringsome violets, she placed them in bunches here and there, till the tablewas sweet with their delicious fragrance. Just as the children were about to help themselves to the food, therecame some little tired feet over the grass; and a more forlorn figurethan Maddie's stood a few yards off, looking shyly, but wistfully, atthem. "Now, Lolly, you may just run home again as quick as you can, " saidMaddie sharply. "We haven't enough dinner for Alice and me. Go, now!"And she went towards her and gave her a slight push, at which the childcried, but without turning away or making a step towards home. "Is that your sister?" asked Alice, going up to Maddie. "Yes; she's always running after me, " returned Maddie, with anill-natured frown. "Poor little thing!" said Alice. "I wish my sister Nellie had lived. Ishouldn't be cross to her, I know. Come here, Lolly: you shall have someof _my_ dinner. " And she led the little grateful child to the wildtable, that seemed to her like a fairy scene, with the fresh leaf-plates, and the pure sweet flowers breathing so delightfully. "Mother makes capital bread--doesn't she, Maddie?" said Alice, as she ateher small portion with evident relish, while she shared the remnant withher guests. "Now, Maddie, " said she, as they finished the repast, "you clear thetable and wash the dishes, and Lolly and I'll go to my mirror to makeourselves nice to sit down, and then I'll tell you the story my teachertold me the other day, if you would like to hear it. " Maddie gladly agreed to this; and Lolly gave herself up to the gentlehands of her new friend, who took her to the brook and washed her faceuntil the dirt all vanished and her cheeks were like two red roses. Thenshe took her pocket-comb, and, dipping it into the water, made thechild's hair so smooth that Lolly didn't know herself when she lookedinto the brook, and asked, "What little girl it was with such bright eyesand fresh rosy cheeks?" And when Alice told her that it was herself, shelaughed with delight, and said "she would come every day to dress herselfby Alice's mirror if she could look so nice. " And then Alice and Maddieand Lolly went to the bower for the story. Alice sat down on the grassy bank, and Lolly laid her head upon herfriend's lap, while Maddie crowded close to her to listen. "I don't know that I can remember it very well, " said Alice; "but I'lltell it as nearly as I can like Miss Mason. She called it 'The LittleExiled Princess, ' and this is it. " CHAPTER III. Once upon a time there was a little girl no bigger than Lolly here, sitting in the dirt by the roadside, crying. Her frock was all ragged and soiled, and the tears had run over the dustupon her face, making it streaked, and disfiguring it sadly. Altogether, she was a very miserable little object, when a lady, walkingalong the road, suddenly came upon her, and stopped to see what was thematter. As the lady gazed upon the strange, ragged little creature, there cametears into her eyes, and she said softly, as if speaking to herself, -- "Who would think that this is the daughter of a great King?" The child, seeing a beautiful lady before her, jumped from the ground, and, with shame, began to shake herself from the dirt that clung to hergarments; but the stranger, taking no notice of her untidy condition, clasped the child's fingers in her white hand, and told her to lead herto her home. It was a brown cottage, very like mine, only _that_ one was hung withcobwebs, and the dust was an inch thick upon the floor, and the windowwas so begrimmed that scarcely any light came through. "Ugh!" said the lady, as she stood upon the threshold and looked in. "Bring me a broom!" And she brushed away the hanging webs, and made thefloor neat and clean, and taught the child to wash the window, until thebright sun came in and played about the floor and upon the walls; andthen she made the little girl wash her face and hands, and put on abetter frock, that she found in the chest. "Now, my little princess, " said she, "come outside for a while, in thefresh air, and I will talk to you. " "Why do you call me 'little princess'?" asked the child, as they sat downupon the cottage-step, while the birds twittered about them and the sweetbreath of summer touched their cheeks. "Because you are the daughter of a great King, " said the lady, gentlystroking her soft, brown hair, that she had found so tangled and shaggy, but had made so nice and smooth. "My father was a poor man, and he lies in the graveyard, " said the littlegirl, as she looked wonderingly at her friend. "Yes; but I mean your heavenly Father, " said the lady--"he whom we callGOD. Surely you have heard of him, my dear child!" The little girl said that she had heard of him; but, from what she couldlearn, the lady knew that she looked upon him as one that is afar off;and she wished to teach her how very near he is continually, even roundabout her bed and about her path, and spying out all her ways. "Do you live here all alone, dear child?" asked she kindly. Her words were so sweet and gentle that they sounded like the murmur ofthe brook near the little child's home. "All day long alone, while mother is away at her work, " answered thechild, with her eyes full of sad tears. "And what do you do with the weary hours? Do they not seem very dull anddreary to you?" asked the lady. "Ah, yes, " said the little one. "I have nobody to play with or talk to;and I'm glad when the night comes and I can creep into bed and shut myeyes and forget everything. " "What if you had some kind friend ever near, to smile on you and blessyou, --somebody to whom you could tell all your little sorrows as you arenow doing to me?" said the lady. "Would that be pleasant?" "Oh yes, indeed!" returned the child. "Will you stay?" for she had feltit very sweet to be sitting there with the kind lady's words falling likemusic upon her ear, and her heart was lighter and happier than it hadbeen in all her life. "I cannot always be with you, " said the lady. "But there is One who'will never leave you. ' How beautiful he has made everything about you!"And she looked upon the green earth, with the peeping flowers, and uponthe delicate shrubs that skirted the roadside, and the wild-roses andcreeping plants along the hedges, and then she looked up into the blueheavens, with such an expression of love that the child gazed at her withrapture. "Such a good God!" said the lady, still looking up with the bright lightupon her face. "And such a wondrously beautiful world, where we may walkjoyously, with his love in our hearts as well as all about our path; andyet we sit in the dust weeping, and forget that he is our Father, andthat he is watching for us to turn towards him--poor, wandering, waywardchildren that we are!" Though the lady spoke as if to herself, the child knew that she wasthinking of her; for she had not quite put away the shame of her firstappearance; and she touched her white hand timidly with her brown finger, and said, really in earnest, "I won't sit in the dirt again. " "That's a dear child, " said her friend. "You must never again forgetthat, although you are poor, and must live in this world for a while, youare in truth a little exiled princess, and your glorious home is with thegreat King, your Father, in the skies; and it does not become thedaughter of so great a King to put herself on a level with the beasts;but you must lift yourself up more and more towards heaven. " The little girl looked at her, and straightened her figure to itsgreatest possible height. "Not to carry yourself proudly, as the daughter of an earthly king mightdo, " continued the lady, "but be above doing a mean or low thing, and tryto be heavenly and pure, like your blessed Lord and Father; and then hewill lift you up to his beautiful, high throne. " The child's head drooped again, and she looked despondingly at herteacher, as if she did not really know what to do. "I'm going now, " said the lady; "but I shall come once a week to see howyou get on. I shall not expect the cobwebs to gather any more in thecottage, nor the dust to collect upon the floor, nor to shut out the sunfrom the window, nor the little princess's face to be dirty and ugly;because that would offend the pure and holy God, who made this worldfresh and clean and beautiful, and expects his children to keep it so. Doyou think you will remember 'Our Father'?" "'Who art in heaven, '" said the child, calling to mind the prayer taughther some time in her life, but long since almost forgotten. "Not in heaven _only_, dear child, " said the lady. "I want you to thinkof him as close beside you always, wherever you go. Can you read?" "A little. " The lady opened a pocket-Bible, and drawing the little girl closer toher, said, "Now, say after me, -- "'Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thypresence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bedin hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, anddwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand leadme, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darknessshall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, thedarkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: thedarkness and the light are both alike to thee. ' "You see, my dear child, " said she, as she reverently closed the book, "we cannot get away from God if we would, and surely we would not try tohide ourselves from so kind a Friend and Father if we could. Only whenwe are doing something that we are ashamed of do we shun the face of onewho loves us; and if we try to flee from the eye of God we may be sure weare guilty of some wickedness. How much sweeter is it to do what we knowwill please him, and look freely up into his face, as a good childdelights to meet his earthly parent's smile!" The lady rose to go, and the child looked wistfully at her and then atthe little Bible. "Ah yes; I will give you this. It will tell you what to do. " And sheput the book into the child's hands. "You will read a chapter every daytill I come?" The little girl gladly promised, but was sad at the parting; for never anhour passed so cheerily as the hour with the kind teacher. "You may be sure I'll come again, for _He_ sends me, " said the lady. Andshe looked up once more with the heavenly face, and then stooped till hersoft lips touched the child's forehead; and, while the pressure of thegentle kiss thrilled through the very soul of the little girl, her friendwas gone. CHAPTER IV "Did she come again?" asked Maddie, who had got upon her knees in frontof Alice, with mouth and eyes and ears wide open for the story. "Oh yes; many and many a time, " said Alice. "And she taught the littlegirl to see her Father's love in the trees, and the flowers, and allabout, as she walked amid his beautiful creation; and she learned to be aneat, tidy little girl, instead of the dirty, miserable creature that satcrying in the dirt by the roadside when she first saw her friend. Thelady taught her to look upon herself as greatly beloved by her Father, and after that she was not miserable any more. " "Did you ever see the little princess?" asked Lolly, raising her headfrom Alice's lap and looking earnestly at her. "Yes, indeed. Every day since the lady came to her, " said Alice. "Shelives in the same cottage now; but it has grown to be a beautiful place;for God's flowers are all about it, and God's sun streams in at thewindow, and all over the mossy roof, like a golden flood, --and Godhimself is always with her to keep her from harm and from being lonely orsad. " And as Alice said this, the tears glistened in her blue eyes, asthe dew-drops sparkle through the sunlight in the violets. "We'll go and see her now, " continued she; "and I'll show you two otherlittle exiled princesses. " And she took Lolly and Maddie down by thebrook-side, and bade them look in her great mirror; and there they sawthemselves and Alice--all children of the great King. "Ah, now I know!" said Maddie, clapping her hands. "_You_ are the littleprincess, Alice, and Miss Mason is the good lady. Is she so nice as allthat?" "_Just as nice_, dear Maddie, " replied Alice; "and if you and Lolly willgo with me to the Sunday-school, she'll tell us a great many morebeautiful stories, to help us on our way to our heavenly home. "But come. It is nearly time for us to go now. Mother will be lookingfor me. Good-bye. " And the little girl with the sunny heart bounded into the cottage with asmile and a kiss for her mother. CHAPTER V. When Alice left the children, they went sauntering along the road towardshome. Very slowly they walked, and not joyously and hopefully, as littlechildren do who think of their father's house as the brightest anddearest spot in the whole world. It was a long distance from the brown cottage of their friend; but thefreshness of the evening made it delightful to be out, and they had beenresting so many hours that they were not weary. Besides, the twinklingstars came out in the sky, and there was shining above them the calm, bright moon; and altogether it was so serene and lovely, that they almostwished they could be always walking in some pleasant path that shouldhave no unpleasant thing at the end--such as they felt their home to be. Presently they came to a bend in the road, and a few steps from thecorner was a low-roofed house, a ruinous-looking place, with rags stuffedin the broken window-panes. There were green fields around it, and talltrees gracefully waving near it; but the old house spoiled the landscapeby its slovenly, shabby appearance. A dim light was burning in the room nearest the children; and as theyapproached, they could see their father and mother sitting at a table, eating their coarse supper of bread and cold salt pork. Lolly thought what a pleasant table Alice had by the brook-side, and thescent of the violets seemed even now to reach her, and the music of thewaters was in her ears, and the bright, happy face of her little playmatecame freshly before her, making the dingy room where her parents sat, with the gloom of the dim light and the tattered dusty furniture, stillmore uninviting and cheerless. Lolly lingered outside the door, while Maddie entered. She sat down uponthe step, and called to mind all that Alice had said to them that day. She was younger than Maddie by a year or two, but her soul was older--thatis, it was more thoughtful and earnest; and instead of dwelling always onthe things of earth, she had a wistful longing for something higher andbetter, which Alice's words had begun to satisfy. The cool breeze played upon her cheek, and the sound of the air, as itrustled the leaves, and the breath of the flower-scented meadows fellsoothingly upon her senses; and as she looked up into the starry sky, with its myriads of gleaming lights, and recalled the story, she feltwithin herself that indeed she was a little princess as well as Alice, and that far above all the glory of the heavens her Father was awaitingher return to the heavenly palace. "Maddie and I mustn't forget these things, " said she to herself; "butmust try to get ready for our better home. " So much was Lolly thinking of the things she had heard in the story, thatshe might have sat there in the dew all night, but that her mother calledher to eat her supper and go to bed. Maddie was already fast asleep upon a trundle-bed, that was pushed underthe great bed by day, and drawn out at night; for there were only the tworooms in the house, and they had to make the most of all the space. Lolly had never felt the house so small and close as on this night; forher soul was swelling with such large free thoughts, that the four narrowwalls of the bedroom seemed to press in upon her and almost to stop herbreath. She could not go to bed until she had opened the window and looked uponce more into the bright sky; and as she did so, she said veryearnestly, "O my Father!" She did not know any prayers. She had never been taught to call uponGod. Most that she had ever heard of the other life was through Alice'sstory that day; and her heart was so glad of the knowledge, that italready began to go out towards her heavenly home and her graciousFather. As she spoke these words, there came such a happy feeling to her spirit--afeeling that she was not alone, but that she was watched over andprotected; and with a sense of security and safety, such as she had neverbefore known, she lay down beside her sister, and was soon sweetlyslumbering. CHAPTER VI. Lolly was awakened in the morning by the fretful voice of her mother, asshe went scolding about the house, trying to pick up something forbreakfast; and she heard her father answering her in no pleasant mood, and kicking about the floor whatever came in his way. It was a sad awakening for poor Lolly, and, for the minute, it put whollyout of her mind the pleasure of the previous day, and the lesson learnedin the green and sunny place by the brook-side; and she was sorelytempted to cover her head with the bed-clothes, and sleep again, untilher parents were off to their work, and then give herself up to idlenessand play, as she had always done. But the bright happy face of Alicecame before her to help her, and she was out of bed in a minute. "Maddie, Maddie!" said she, leaning over her sister and giving her theleast bit of a shake in order to arouse her; "come, get up. The sun isshining on the wall, and it is a beautiful day. I want you to go with mefor Alice. " "Get away!" returned Maddie in a huff. "I haven't slept half enough!"And, settling herself again, she dropped off into a heavier slumber;while Lolly, seeing that it would do no good to disturb her, dressedherself and went into the other room. Her mother was baking a cake, and her father sat near, idle. Both lookedsurprised to see Lolly up so early. There was a woollen-factory in the village, perhaps half a mile away, andthey were off generally long before the children were up; and Maddie andLolly usually ate such pickings as they left upon the table, and spenttheir days as they pleased, with little thought or care from theirparents. Lolly could not wait to get her breakfast. She cared for nothing to eat, now that her mind was intent upon some great thing, and she sped awayover the dewy grass to find her new friend. She had never been inAlice's house, for they had only lived a little while in the place wherethey now were, and Maddie alone had found out their neighbour. Hersister would not always let her play with her, and it was only a merechance that led her to follow Maddie the day before and get acquaintedwith Alice. I did not mean to say _chance_. I would rather say a kind watchful_Providence_--which is the true and right word for a Christian to use;because everything that happens in this world is governed by God's over-ruling power for some good purpose; and Lolly was led to the spot whereher sister and Alice were at play, expressly that she might learnsomething of her bright, eternal home. Now that she had seen the sunny-hearted little girl once, it took her butvery few minutes to find her again. The distance seemed nothing at all; and, from the time she left her owndoor, she could see the cheerful face all along her way, making her walkvery pleasant and not in the least lonely. The cottage door was wide open, and the sunlight lay in golden streaks onthe floor at the entrance, where Tabby had stretched herself comfortably. Lolly could see into the little square room at the right. The table was spread with a neat, white cloth, and Alice and her motherwere eating their breakfast together. There were two white plates on thetable, and white cups and saucers, and a smoking dish of porridge. Allthis Lolly could see as she stood hesitating near the door; but, in aminute, Alice caught a glimpse of her little, shy face, and ran to leadher in. "You must have some of this nice breakfast, " said she, giving Lolly aplateful of the porridge, and pouring some milk on it from a small whitepitcher. Lolly looked timidly at Alice's mother, to see if she might eat it; andthe kind pleasant smile she received made her feel quite at home, so thatshe needed no further urging. Soon after the mother went away, and left Alice to put the room in order;and, when all things were right, Alice said "she could go with Lolly aswell as not that day, and they would make a pretty place of the shabbycottage; for it was just in the best spot--so wild and shady and green. " It was rather a sorrowful task at the beginning, and almost any otherlittle girl than Alice would have been quite discouraged. There was a great deal of rubbish in the sitting-room, and the floor andwindows looked as if they had never known anything of soap and water. Maddie sat upon the top of a half-barrel, swinging her brown, soiledfeet, and playing with a black puppy, that was snapping at her toes;while the table was strewn with crumbs and dirty dishes from themorning's meal, and chips and sticks and bits of rags were upon thefloor. She looked as if she had just got out of bed. Her face was dull, and herhair showed no touch of brush or comb, and her nails were long and dirty;but she jumped from her perch with some signs of shame as she saw Alice, so neat and tidy, at the door; and she began to scramble about as if shewished to make things a little better. "May I help you to-day, Maddie?" asked Alice. "I haven't any work athome, and I like to get things tidy. We'll make such a room of thisbefore night!" And, without another word, she began in earnest to bringorder out of strange confusion. Lolly was a capital helper, because her heart was in the matter, and shereally wanted a pleasant, cheerful home; but Maddie was content to lookon, and scarcely moved a finger to help. They packed away the wood and chips in the closet under the lowest shelf, and washed the dishes and set them up edgewise in their proper places;and they mopped the floor, and scrubbed the windows and table, andbrought boughs of evergreen to hang upon the nails around the walls andmake it cheerful and pretty. Alice thought of this. She said, "Rich folks hang paintings on theirwalls--and these are God's pictures, the work of his almighty fingers, and so beautiful! Why not put them where we can always look at them, andin them see his love and kindness?" Lolly thought her the most wonderful little girl in all the world, andclapped her hands for joy as she looked upon the altered room. Then they went outside, and swept the sticks and chips from the lawn; andMaddie managed to hunt up a hammer and some old rusty nails, and to helpAlice to fasten the loose boards upon the door, which improved it morethan anything else could do. It was so low from the roof to the ground that by stepping on a chairthey could easily reach; and they trained a running rose-bush, that hadbeen long neglected, and hung, trailing, over the grass, so that itnearly covered the whole side of the cottage, and would soon be like abright green mantle over the dark walls. CHAPTER VII. Just as they had finished their labours, and Alice had prevailed uponMaddie to put herself in a little better order, and the three youngfriends had seated themselves upon the step to get something from Alice'sBible--some words of love and blessing, as Alice said, from theirheavenly Father--there came a lady up the road towards them. She waswalking very slowly along, with her parasol shielding her face, so thatit was quite concealed from the children; but Alice knew her dress, andran quickly to meet her, crying joyously, "It is Miss Mason, dear Lolly!" Maddie ran into the cottage and hid behind the door, like a foolishlittle girl; but Lolly sat still, very glad that the good teacher wascoming to speak to her, yet trembling with a sort of nervous fear;because she was a shy little girl, and so seldom saw strangers. She wondered that Alice dared go so fearlessly up and walk along, withher hand in Miss Mason's hand, and her face upturned towards the lady's, while she talked as freely as if it had been herself or Maddie listening. But when Miss Mason stood by the step and stooped down to kiss her sun-burned cheek, and said sweetly, "So this is your little friend Lolly, isit, Alice?" she did not wonder any longer; for her heart leaped to meetthe gentle lady, and she could not take her eyes from such a kind andloving face. "Where's Maddie?" asked Miss Mason, with a smile. She could see her peeping through the crack of the door; and, understanding the case, she said carelessly, -- "I suppose she will join us by-and-by. We will sit here and read inAlice's book until she comes, and then I want to talk to you. Alice toldme you lived here, Lolly, and I want you to go to the Sunday-school. Weare very happy there, are we not, Alice?" Alice answered with a beaming face, and she and Lolly sat, one on eachside of the teacher, and listened as she read to them from God's holyWord. She read first about the creation of this beautiful world, and the gardenwhere Adam and Eve were placed; and, when she had made Lolly and Maddieunderstand all about how sin came--for Maddie, attracted by the sweetvoice and pleasant manner, had crept softly from her hiding-place andcurled herself upon the step behind the lady--Miss Mason turned to theNew Testament and read to them a few verses about Jesus, who took uponhimself our nature and suffered for our sins. The children were much impressed by the story of the Saviour's sufferingsand death; and when the teacher told them that every naughty word anddeed of theirs was like a nail in the Saviour's feet or hands, they feltthat they would never again do a wicked thing. Then she told them how impossible it would be for them to keep from sinwithout God's continual help; and she taught them how to look up to himand ask for his aid and blessing. And when she had made sure that theycould say a short prayer, and had obtained a promise from them that theywould go every Sunday to the Sunday-school, she kissed them all threevery affectionately, and went on to search for others of her heavenlyFather's wandering children. "When she had gone quite out of sight, and they were taking another goodlook at the changed rooms, that seemed so grand to them all, Lolly saidthoughtfully to Alice, -- "Do you think the great King will like to come here now?" "He _is_ here, " said Alice reverently. "Don't you feel it, Lolly? Wenever see him, you know, as we see each other; but we feel that he isnear, just as you feel that your mother is in the room even when thedarkness hides her from your eyes. " Lolly repeated the little prayer softly, "O my heavenly Father, I willtry to love thee. Wilt thou not come unto me, and be with me wherever Iam, and help me to be thy child?" And, as she said the words, she knewthat God was with her, and that from that hour there was a Presence inthe house that would drive away all the gloom, and make such brightnessas filled the cottage of her little friend. It was time for Alice to go; but she lingered a little while longer toteach Maddie how to prepare the supper, so that when her mother came homeweary from her labour, there might be no more hard work for her to do, but real comfort and rest. "Now, don't get tired of housekeeping, " said she, as she tied on her sun-bonnet to go. "I shall run over some day to see how you get on; and I'msure it's so much prettier to be sweet, and clean, and tidy, that you'lllove to keep the house nice. " And away she tripped to make thingspleasant for her own dear, hard-working mother. Sunny little girl! She knew how many tiresome steps her diligent handsand loving heart could save her poor widowed mother; and in everythingshe did there was a tender thought of the warm heart against which herinfant head had lain when her little feet and hands were weak andhelpless. She was glad now that they had grown strong to aid, that she could giveback some of the care and effort. Alice never dreamed of growingimpatient in her mother's service. She did not wait to be asked to helpher, but watched for opportunities, and so proved a great blessing andtreasure in the lowly cottage home, that would have been very dismal andsad without her sunny, buoyant little body. CHAPTER VIII. Peter Rand and his wife came lagging up the road as the sun was setting. They had passed an uncommonly laborious day, and were completely tiredout with their toil. They were very silent, and were thinking what asad, miserable home was theirs, and how little of cheer they had in life. Nothing seemed bright to them, although the earth was like a paradise forgreenness and fragrance and beauty. As they drew near the house, Mr. Rand was very much surprised by the great change in the outward aspect ofthe place. He could scarcely believe that he had not mistaken the road, and come to some other cottage than the slovenly one that he had left inthe morning. His wife, intent upon the supper that her hungry appetite craved, hadpressed forward in haste to prepare it. As she entered the door, however, she started back with the strangefeeling that she was in the house of some neighbour; but Pug, the littledog, ran frisking about her, and convinced her that is was indeed her ownhouse. The table was set in the middle of the room, and the dishes were arrangedin nice order; and just in the centre was Lolly's pewter mug, with abunch of sweet, blue violets to grace it all. There was the savoury odour of the baking cake from the fire, and thefumes of the steeping tea filled the room, and already gave a sense ofrefreshing to the weary work-people. The rags were taken from the windows, and square bits of paper werepinned over the openings; and the floor was neat and clean, and thebeautiful green boughs hung upon the walls, and the children sat, withclean hands and faces, awaiting the return of father and mother. They looked so bright and happy that the weary couple quite forgot theirfatigue, and chatted merrily over their pleasant meal, praising thechildren for their thoughtful work, and saying they didn't believe therewas a more beautiful home in the world than theirs. Altogether, it was a very happy evening. Maddie and Lolly made theirfather and mother sit down quietly while they cleared off the table, andwashed the dishes, and swept the crumbs away; and then they all had acozy little time, talking of new hopes and plans. For the change was socomfortable that it put life and spirits into every soul; and the fathersaid he would get some glass and putty and mend the windows; and themother would make some white curtains, and the children would getevergreen and form it into wreaths to loop them up. Oh, it takes solittle to make a cheerful, happy home! It is only the idle and viciousthat need be really miserable. If God does not always give us plenty ofmoney, he furnishes us with so many rich things in this world of his, that we may adorn even a lowly and barren place until it shall appearricher than the gayest palace. Maddie and Lolly found this out throughAlice; and every day they hunted the woods for mosses and flowers, andtheir father made little shelves to put them on, and formed many a prettyseat of twisted branches of trees; so that by-and-by their cottage wasone of the prettiest places anywhere around, and attracted the notice ofeverybody that passed it. Miss Mason came very often, now that she had found them out; and she notonly prevailed on the parents to send their children to Sunday-school, but they themselves went regularly to church, and tried to serve thegreat and holy God who had put it into the hearts of their children tomake their earthly place of abode something akin to the better home. So soon as they began to feel the presence of the heavenly King, all thedespondency and gloom vanished, and, even though poor and hard-working, they were happy in the possession of such riches as nothing but the loveand favour of our heavenly Father can give. CHAPTER IX. It was not very long after the children learned to look away from earthto the blest abode beyond the skies, when Lolly began to droop and growweak and listless; and, although her parents and Maddie thought it wasbut a trifling illness, she herself felt that her Father was about tocall her home. She was not afraid to die; and, when she grew so languidthat her little feet lost the power to take her to the Sunday-school, Miss Mason and Alice and the kind minister came often to talk to her ofher approaching joy. There was one beautiful little story that the minister used to tell herover and over again, she liked it so much. I do not know whether he madeit, or whether he got it from some book; but I want to tell it to you, for I like it as well as Lolly did. It is this:--"There was a bright, beautiful butterfly that was about to die. She had laid her eggs on acabbage-leaf in the garden; and, as she thought of her children, she saidto a caterpillar that was crawling upon the leaf, 'I am going to die. Ifeel my strength fast failing, and I want you to take care of my littleones. ' "The caterpillar promised, and the butterfly folded her wings andbreathed her last. "Then the caterpillar did not know what to do. She wanted someinstruction with regard to her charge: so she thought she would ask alark, that went soaring up into the blue sky. At first the lark wassilent, and plumed his wings and went up--up--up, as if to gather wisdomfor his answer; and then he came, singing, down and said, -- "'I'll tell you something about your charge; but you won't believe me. These young butterflies that you look for will become caterpillars. ' "'Poh! poh!' said the old caterpillar. 'I don't believe a word of it. ' "'No; I told you you wouldn't. And what do you suppose they will liveupon?' said the lark. "'Why, the dew and the sweet honey from the flowers, to be sure, ' repliedthe caterpillar. 'That is what all butterflies live on. ' "'They won't, indeed, ' said the lark. 'They will eat cabbage-leaves. 'And he went soaring away again into the clear heavens. "Presently, back he came and said to the caterpillar, -- "'I'll tell you something stranger still about yourself. You'll be abeautiful butterfly. ' "The caterpillar laughed at the idea; but, as she turned around and sawthe eggs upon the leaf all hatched into little crawling caterpillars, shewas forced to believe what the lark had said concerning herself; and shewent about as happy as could be, telling everybody what a glorious changewould come to her after she had folded herself in her close chrysalis. " The minister told Lolly that this caterpillar in the chrysalis was likeus worms of the dust when lying in the narrow grave enshrouded in ourdeath-robes; and that, like as the caterpillar bursts his darksome bondsand soars away upon butterfly pinions, so shall we come forth from thetomb on the resurrection day, and with angel-wings mount upward to theworld of light and peace. Then he read a few verses to her from thatbeautiful account of the rising from the dead, in the fifteenth chapterof the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Lolly would lie upon her sick-bed and fasten her earnest eyes upon him ashe read and as he spoke so sweetly to her of the other life; and then shewould look away through the open window to the heavens above, and seem tosee the face of her Father, who was drawing her slowly to himself.