ΤΗ

CHAPTER III.

HE day had been very stormy, and Mr. Capel busy and anxious. He had been called to settle a quarrel between a husband and wife-he, a hard, brutalized being, from whom drink had sapped every particle of humanity; she, a delicate woman, whose crushing life-sorrows had weakened her powers of endurance, making worse a naturally unhappy temper. Although enabled to settle the terrible dispute (which from angry words had led to blows) and restore some sort of peace to that hopelessly wretched household, the remembrance of the scene he had witnessed lay like a heavy burden on his heart. "How long, O Lord, how long," was his bitter cry, as towards evening he took his way to see Willie. "No bright sunset for the little man to-night," he thought as he looked around at the lowering sky; "but I daresay he has found something else to cheer him. Ah! what a thing is childlike faith!"

Mr. Capel found Willie sitting up in bed. His white cheeks were flushed with an unusual glow of pleasure, and his large eyes were brighter even than

ever.

"Well, little man," said Mr. Capel as he entered,

"you've missed your beautiful sunset to-night, have you not?"

"Yes, sir," said Willie, smiling; "to-day's sunset wasn't there, but still yesterday's was. I never let one go out of my mind until another comes in, then I'm never wanting brightness like."

"I see," said Mr. Capel; "you like to keep past mercies ever before you, so that, however dark the present and the future, the brightness of their memory may make you cheerful and happy. Quite right, my boy. I wish I could always do so too;" and Mr. Capel again yearned for greater childlike faith, and the yearning breathed itself into a prayer, and the strong man was comforted.

"Oh, sir," said Willie, breaking in upon his meditation, "I've got something to tell you! Only fancy! I've found out who the good fairy is who brings me oranges and grapes!"

"Have you?" said Mr. Capel, eagerly; "who is it?"

"Can you guess, sir?" said Willie, looking very merry and mysterious.

"I have guessed so often," said Mr. Capel, "and failed, I think you will have to tell me, Willie."

You

"Well, sir, I'll tell you how I found it out. know it was generally in the evening the stranger brought me my surprises, when mother was out. I

set Mrs. Pym next door to watch, but she made belief she could never find out; so last night I thought I'd watch myself. I got mother to move my bed to this corner, and with sitting upright I could see everyone who passed our door. Well, I hadn't been watching long, when I caught sight of someone coming with a brown bag in his hand. Now I've got you, thought I; but I'd nearly lost him, for he was in a great hurry, and would have been away before I could have said Jack Robinson, if I hadn't taken it into my head to scream. I can't quite think what made me do it, but I did scream finely for a minute, and felt very ill and faint; but I wonderfully recovered when I heard someone coming up the stairs, and I almost laughed when who should pop in here in a great fright but-guess, sir, do;" and Willie stopped short, the very picture of gleeful delight.

"Harry Johnson?" said Mr. Capel, by way of suggesting someone.

"No, sir, it was Tom Morris; and in his hand was the brown paper bag."

In a moment it flashed across Mr. Capel. This, then, was Tom's secret-he had spent his money in buying little luxuries for Willie. What a noble fellow!

"Well, Willie, what did you do next?" said Mr. Capel, after expressing enough surprise and delight to satisfy even Willie himself.

warm then as now," said Willie. "I do wish I might; but I'm very happy up here, and everyone is so kind to me; I'm glad I've been ill,-I didn't know before what a lot of people I loved."

"You mean," said Mr. Capel, smiling, "what a lot of people loved you."

"No, sir, I really mean what I say," said Willie. "I think people often love us because we love them. I used to think none of the boys in my class cared for me,—I'm sure I didn't like them when they teased me so; but since I've been ill, I've thought about them all, and prayed about them too, and then I found out that I loved them, and somehow since then they seem as if they loved me too. Joe Philips brought me a packet of sweets the other day he had bought with the penny his father always gives him on a Saturday, and Harry Martin sent me a paper kite. I think they can't hate me as they used to do, and if they are getting to love me a little, I think it must be because I am learning to love them."

Mr. Capel thought how true those simple thoughts of Willie's were to the great principle of our inner life and being. "We love God, because He first loved us." He rose to go with a heart lightened of many cares, as faith and hope took strength and courage under the bright influence of a little child.

Scarcely had Mr. Capel left the cottage, when a

and in his heart he thanked God that he had been permitted to thus learn of Him Who is meek and lowly of heart, through the pages of human life, read in the characters of these two boys.

WINTE

CHAPTER IV.

NTER had come, and with it increased want and trouble to many of the poor in the town where Tom and Willie lived. Willie's father had been dismissed from the hospital as incurable, and as the old year "passed away," he too sank into the grave, like it, to rise again into a life before the Face of God, whose love had reached and renewed his heart in the evening of his days.

'So He giveth His beloved sleep," said Mr. Capel, gently, as he turned away from the dead to minister to the wants of the living.

Willie had crept downstairs some few moments previously, distressed to witness the last sufferings of his father, and Mr. Capel found him sitting with his head upon his hand, looking up fixedly into the heavens. There were traces of tears on the childish face, but