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have him if you wish it,” and going out
she soon returned with the kitten in her
hands. The little thing nestled up to the
sick child, who lay there with one hand
on her pet and the other clasped in that
of her sister.
In a few moments the Doctor came in.
Ellen held up her finger to keep him from
disturbing Bessie, thinking she was asleep,
but the child heard him as soon as he
entered. She held out her hand to him,
and said :
“ Elbe says you are good and kind, so
I’m not afraid of you,” and then an ex
pression of pain passed over her face as
she added, “ but those other bad men hurt
me so.”
“Never mind about those men now,
Miss Bessie,” said Dr. Foster, “they are
all gone, and we wont let them come back
any more.”
The child closed her eyes as if satisfied,
and the Doctor looked at Ellen and shook
his head. She understood in an instant
—Bessie was dying! dying!
Have any of my little readers ever
stood by a dying bed? If they have,
they will remember as long as they live
how they felt when they realized for the
first time that someone they loved so
dearly would soon be taken away!—
Though they were surrounded by kind
friends, and everything was done to com
fort them, they still felt almost as if they
did not care to live any longer.
When you remember this, you can im
agine what poor Elbe must have felt. No
friends to call upon —no loving hands to
elasp her’s, and comfort her in this her
great sorrow—surrounded by enemies on
every side, knowing, too, that those ene
mies had caused her darling’s death—and
yet she had to think of all this and be
unmoved, so that she might keep her
promise, made to little Bessie long ago,
that when she died Elbe would keep
“ close by her.”
The Doctor stood watching the dying
child, with an expression of the greatest
sympathy on his face. He still had hold
of her hand. After a while she said:
“Doctor, I wish you would please keep
those men from frightening any more lit
tle children, will you?”
“I will if I can, but try and not think
about them, my child.”
Then she said, “Elbe, are you hero?”
“ Yes, my darling.”
“And is Whitefoot here, too?”
“Yes,” said Dr. Foster, putting her
hand on the little kitten, “there he is.”
She smiled faintly as she felt the soft
fur of her little pet, and then said in a
weak voice:
“ Raise me up, Elbe, and put your arms
BURKE’S WEEKLY.
around me. lam not afraid of the Yan
kees now,” and with one long, loving
look at her sister’s face, “Little Bessie”
was soon where “ the wicked cease from
troubling.”
To His Heaven in Glory.
To Ills heaven, in glory,
Christ, our Lord, had gone,
And llis true disciples.
Waited for the morn,
When, in might descending,
From His home above,
God, the Holy Spirit,
Should make known llis love.
Christ had bade them carry
To all lands the word
That lie died to save us —
That He is our Lord.
Yet they could do nothing,
Could not even try,
Till His Spirit gave them
Power from on high.
Still our Saviour bids us
Spread the good news wido,
That, to save and bless us.
Ho hath lived and died ;
That He conquered for us
Death and sin and pain,
And that we can trust Him,
For He lives again.
We would tell His story
Over all the land —
We would spread His blessings
Far, on either hand —
But, though great our offerings,
Vainly are they made,
If the Holy Spirit
Como not to our aid.
Oh, dear Saviour, help us
In our work for Theo I
Send Thy Holy Spirit
Our true strength to be!
Blessed Holy Spirit,
Leave us nevermore!
Whom, with Son and Father,
We, as God, adore 1
[ Young Christian Soldier.
Making ethers Happy.
A mother in the habit of asking her
children before they retired at night what
they had done to make others happy,
found her two twin daughters silent. The
question was repeated.
“I can remember nothing good all this
day, dear mother, only one of my school
mates was happy because she had gained
the head of her class, and I smiled on her
and ran to kiss her, so she said I was
good. That’s all, dear mother.”
The other spoke more timidly :
“A little girl who sat with me on the
bench at school has lost a little brother.
I saw that while she studied her lesson
she hid her face in her book and wept. I
felt sorry, and laid myself on the same
book and wept with her. Then she look
ed up and was comforted, and put her
arms around my neck ; but I do not know
why she said I had done her good.”
“ Come to my arms, my darlings,” said
the mother; “to rejoice with those that
rejoice, and weep with those that weep,
is to obey our blessed Redeemer.”
THE HONEST POOR MAN.
tTST as the sun was Bet
' ting, one bright evening,
a * )o ° r lnUn the
road side, waiting the re-
turn of his son, whom ho
&&J*Lhad sent to the baker’s to buy a
jKgsV°af of bread. The boy soon re
turned with the loaf, but as the
man was cutting it, to make their
frugal meal, several pieces of gold fell
out upon the ground. The lad gave a
shout of joy, picked up the gold, and said:
“O, father! now as wo have found so
much money, we will not have to work
so hard.”
“But, my son, that money does not be
long to us.”
“ Whose is it, then ?” asked the son.
“I know not whose it is. We must
inquire.”
They took the loaf and the money to
the baker; told him that they found it
in the bread, and if it was his that ho
might take it.
“ You are, indeed, an honest man,” said
the baker, “and now I will tell you about
the gold, and how I came with it and the
loaf. A stranger, a few days ago, brought
me that loaf, and asked me to sell or give
it to the most worthy poor man in the
town. I did so, and the loaf with all its
treasuro is yours.”
The poor man’s feelings may be better
imagined than described. F. T. M.
Talladega , Ala.
♦♦♦
A Beautiful Thought.
Two little birds had a nest in the bushes
in the back part of the garden. Julia
found the nest. It had some speckled
eggs in it—one, two, three, four. But
she did not trouble the nest, or distress
the dear little birds.
One day, after she had been away some
time, down she ran into the garden to
take a peep at the four speckled eggs.
Instead of the beautiful eggs, there were
only broken, empty shells.
“ Oh,” sho said, picking out the pieces,
“ the beautiful eggs are all spoiled and
broken I”
“No, Julia,” said her brother, “they
arc not spoiled; the best part of them
has taken wings and flown away.”
So it is when a child dies —its liH'°
body, left behind, is only an empty shell,
while its soul, the better part, has taken
wings and flown away.
JBSy" Base all your actions upon a pdn
eiple of right; preserve your integrity of
character, and in doing this, never reck
on the cost.