on,” said Miss
Celia, in a tone that rather nettled Master Thorny.
“Is Ben going to black my boots before he goes?” with a glance at the new shoes which caused them to creak uneasily.
“No; he is going to black
mine,
if he will be so kind. You won’t need boots for a week yet, so we won’t waste any time over them. You will find everything
in the shed, Ben; and at ten you may go for Lita.”
With that, Miss Celia walked her brother off to the dining room, and Ben retired to vent his ire in such energetic demonstrations
with the blacking brush that the little boots shone splendidly.
He thought he had never seen anything as pretty as his mistress when, an hour later, she came out of the house in her white
shawl and bonnet, holding a book and a late lily of the valley in the pearl-colored gloves, which he hardly dared to touch
as he helped her into the carriage. He had seen a good many fine ladies in his life; and those he had known had been very
gay in the colors of their hats and gowns, very fond of cheap jewelry, and much given to feathers, lace, and furbelows; so
it rather puzzled him to discover why Miss Celia looked so sweet and elegant in such a simple suit. He did not then know that
the charm was in the woman, not the clothes; or that merely living near such a person would do more to give him gentle manners,
good principles, and pure thoughts, than almost any other training he could have had. But he
was
conscious that it was pleasant to be there, neatly dressed, in good company,and going to church like a respectable boy. Somehow, the lonely feeling got better as he rolled along between green fields,
with the June sunshine brightening everything, a restful quiet in the air, and a friend beside him who sat silently looking
out at the lovely world with what he afterward learned to call her “Sunday face”— a soft, happy look, as if all the work and
weariness of the past week were forgotten, and she was ready to begin afresh when this blessed day was over.
“Well, child, what is it?” she asked, catching his eye as he stole a shy glance at her, one of many which she had not seen.
“I was only thinking you looked as if—”
“As if what? Don’t be afraid,” she said, for Ben paused and fumbled at the reins, feeling half ashamed to tell his fancy.
“— you were saying prayers,” he added, wishing she had not caught him.
“So I was. Don’t you, when you are happy?”
“No, ‘m. I’m glad, but I don’t say anything.”
“Words are not needed; but they help, sometimes, if they are sincere and sweet. Did you never learn any prayers, Ben?”
“Only ‘Now I lay me.’ Grandma taught me that when I was a little mite of a boy.”
“I will teach you another, the best that was ever made, because it says all we need ask.”
“Our folks wasn’t very pious; they didn’t have time, I s’pose.
“I wonder if you know just what it means to be pious?” “Goin’ to church, and readin’ the Bible, and sayin’ prayers and hymns,
ain’t it?”
“Those things are a part of it; but being kind and cheerful,doing one’s duty, helping others, and loving God, is the best way to show that we are pious in the true sense of the word.”
“Then you are!” and Ben looked as if her acts had been a better definition than her words.
“I try to be, but I very often fail; so every Sunday I make new resolutions, and work hard to keep them through the week.
That is a great help, as you will find when you begin to try it.”
“Do you think if I said in meetin’, ‘I won’t ever swear anymore,’ that I wouldn’t do it again?” asked Ben, soberly; for that
was his besetting sin just now.
“I’m afraid we can’t get rid of our faults quite so easily; I wish we could. But I do believe that if you keep saying that,
and trying to stop, you will cure the habit sooner than you think.”
“I never did swear very bad, and I didn’t mind much till I came here; but
Celia, in a tone that rather nettled Master Thorny.
“Is Ben going to black my boots before he goes?” with a glance at the new shoes which caused them to creak uneasily.
“No; he is going to black
mine,
if he will be so kind. You won’t need boots for a week yet, so we won’t waste any time over them. You will find everything
in the shed, Ben; and at ten you may go for Lita.”
With that, Miss Celia walked her brother off to the dining room, and Ben retired to vent his ire in such energetic demonstrations
with the blacking brush that the little boots shone splendidly.
He thought he had never seen anything as pretty as his mistress when, an hour later, she came out of the house in her white
shawl and bonnet, holding a book and a late lily of the valley in the pearl-colored gloves, which he hardly dared to touch
as he helped her into the carriage. He had seen a good many fine ladies in his life; and those he had known had been very
gay in the colors of their hats and gowns, very fond of cheap jewelry, and much given to feathers, lace, and furbelows; so
it rather puzzled him to discover why Miss Celia looked so sweet and elegant in such a simple suit. He did not then know that
the charm was in the woman, not the clothes; or that merely living near such a person would do more to give him gentle manners,
good principles, and pure thoughts, than almost any other training he could have had. But he
was
conscious that it was pleasant to be there, neatly dressed, in good company,and going to church like a respectable boy. Somehow, the lonely feeling got better as he rolled along between green fields,
with the June sunshine brightening everything, a restful quiet in the air, and a friend beside him who sat silently looking
out at the lovely world with what he afterward learned to call her “Sunday face”— a soft, happy look, as if all the work and
weariness of the past week were forgotten, and she was ready to begin afresh when this blessed day was over.
“Well, child, what is it?” she asked, catching his eye as he stole a shy glance at her, one of many which she had not seen.
“I was only thinking you looked as if—”
“As if what? Don’t be afraid,” she said, for Ben paused and fumbled at the reins, feeling half ashamed to tell his fancy.
“— you were saying prayers,” he added, wishing she had not caught him.
“So I was. Don’t you, when you are happy?”
“No, ‘m. I’m glad, but I don’t say anything.”
“Words are not needed; but they help, sometimes, if they are sincere and sweet. Did you never learn any prayers, Ben?”
“Only ‘Now I lay me.’ Grandma taught me that when I was a little mite of a boy.”
“I will teach you another, the best that was ever made, because it says all we need ask.”
“Our folks wasn’t very pious; they didn’t have time, I s’pose.
“I wonder if you know just what it means to be pious?” “Goin’ to church, and readin’ the Bible, and sayin’ prayers and hymns,
ain’t it?”
“Those things are a part of it; but being kind and cheerful,doing one’s duty, helping others, and loving God, is the best way to show that we are pious in the true sense of the word.”
“Then you are!” and Ben looked as if her acts had been a better definition than her words.
“I try to be, but I very often fail; so every Sunday I make new resolutions, and work hard to keep them through the week.
That is a great help, as you will find when you begin to try it.”
“Do you think if I said in meetin’, ‘I won’t ever swear anymore,’ that I wouldn’t do it again?” asked Ben, soberly; for that
was his besetting sin just now.
“I’m afraid we can’t get rid of our faults quite so easily; I wish we could. But I do believe that if you keep saying that,
and trying to stop, you will cure the habit sooner than you think.”
“I never did swear very bad, and I didn’t mind much till I came here; but
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