A. L. O. E.

“ But who are believers, Norah? Though heaven lie straight afore us all, I take it that few will be so bold as to say that all who are called Christians will get to heaven."
Norah did not answer for two or three minutes, and then said, "Are not believers those who love the Lord Jesus Christ?"
"Right again!" cried Ned Franks. "And now tell me, Norah, is it not true that when we love any one much, we are ready and glad to do something for his sake?" ”

“ The girl was ashamed of her mistake, and at once set it right, but it was soon followed by another. Norah turned over two pages at once and read on, quite unconscious that her blunder rendered a sentence absolute nonsense.
Again Mrs. Martin recalled her to herself in a patient, gentle way; but Norah still read in so dull and lifeless a manner, that it could be no pleasure to hear her.
"You may shut the book, Norah," said the lady; "perhaps yesterday's long walk has tired you; I will only have my evening chapter from the Bible; there is no reading like that." ”

“ I should have liked of all things to go; but when I asked mistress, she shook her head and said that she did not approve of young girls being out late at night."
"I say, wasn't that a shame?" exclaimed Dan.
"It's a hard thing that she should keep you so tight, and not let you have a bit of fun, when you're slaving all day," cried Bessy.
"A hard thing is it," said Ned Franks, "that the lady won't let your child go swimming amongst the sharks?"
"If I was you, Norah," cried Dan, "I'd slip off without leave after the old dame was abed; you said she shut up soon after eight." ”

“ Norah was about to leave the room, when the magistrate called her back.
"Stay here a moment, my good girl," he said, laying his broad hand on the canvas bag which was on the table beside him. "Your conduct appears to have been most praiseworthy in this affair. It is not every young servant who, having found, as she thought, eight sovereigns, would have carried them at once to her mistress. You've earned a good character, Norah, and I make no doubt that you'll keep it, and find through life that honesty is the best policy in all things." ”

“ Martin, and Norah, who was waiting at the table, watched with interest to see the result.
"Worthless, every one of them!" cried Mr. Lowndes, first replacing the coins in their bag, and then the spectacles in their case. "It is well for your little maid there that she did not attempt to pass them, unless she could easily prove that she had nothing to do with Puller or any of his set."
Norah felt like a rider who has suddenly reined up on the brink of a dangerous precipice, and who looks down, shuddering but thankful, on the deep chasm into which he so nearly had fallen! ”

“ Martin?" asked Ned.
"Oh! One of your saintly ones," cried Bessy. "Always has my girl up to read the Bible to her of an evening, and sees that she goes to church once or twice every Sunday. The lady's getting a little old, and a little blind, Norah says, and can't afford to give good wages, but a respectable place like that is a stepping-stone to a better."
"Bessy," cried the sailor, "if your girl is moored in a safe good harbour, don't you be in haste to have her heave anchor and hoist sail; there's more to be thought of in a place than the mere matter of wages." ”

“ I just tap at the door at ten minutes to nine; the door is left on the latch."
"But mistress bids me lock it, and put up the chain for the night for fear of robbers," said Norah.
"You can do all that when you come home; you'll be back by eleven, you know; as for robbers and all that rubbish, only old women who are timid as mice ever dream of such things. Now, you must not look so grave, dear Norah. I've set my heart on your going, indeed I'll take no denial, when I've got the ticket and all. ”

“ Martin, "that St Peter's fall has been recorded in Scripture: it puts us on our guard against our own weakness; it shows us that even faith and love like his were not enough to guard him from sin in the hour of temptation."
"Then what can guard?" faltered Norah. ”

“ Ned's tone was raised, his eyes flashed, and he instinctively clenched his hand as thus, in figurative language, he described the Christian's secret struggle against sin.
Norah felt roused and animated, though she hardly realised the full meaning of what the sailor had said.
"Do you not think," asked the girl after a short pause, "that it is not easy for us always to tell what is sin and what is not? People view the same thing in such different ways." ”

“ I was lately reading to my mistress of the early martyrs, and then it seemed to be such a great and noble thing to die for religion."
"It is just as great and noble a thing, Norah, my girl, to live for religion, and that is what all believers must do; for we only deceive ourselves when we think that without obedience to God we have either true faith or love."
"I don't quite know what you mean," said Norah.
"Do you remember the words of Christ? 'He that taketh not his cross and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me.'" * ”

“ Think you that a real Christian would willingly hold parley with any sin, far less welcome it upon deck? No, it is his enemy, his Saviour's enemy, which he must resist to the death. If it tries to board, as 'tis always trying, he must yield it not a foot, not an inch; he must hurl it over the bulwarks, throw it into the sea, give no quarter to sin, in the name and in the strength of the Great Captain of his salvation! ”

“ Martin to see more company, and to let me have a little more freedom, but she does not keep me in out of crossness. If you only knew how good she is to the poor, and how dearly she loves her Bible, and how patient she is when in pain, and she suffers a great, great deal, 'specially from her poor eyes, but she never murmurs at all!" The girl's face kindled with emotion as she spoke of her kind old mistress, and Ned watched it with a feeling of pleasure, while his heart warmed towards his young niece. ”

“ They do not believe and obey as we must do, Norah. What were the words of the Lord to those whom He called to be His disciples, were they not, 'follow Me'? And if we follow the Holy Saviour, think you it can be on a path of sin? God forbid! Nay, St John says, 'Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.' † We must put on the breastplate of righteousness, if we would follow the Lord. ”

“ It is needless to repeat all the arguments used by an unprincipled girl to persuade poor Norah to consent to do what her conscience condemned. Sophy never paused to consider that she was acting as Satan's servant, and doing the devil's work, in tempting her young simple friend from the straight narrow path of duty. Perhaps Sophy actually believed that she was showing kindness to Norah. ”

“ I never was told that it was such a sin!"
"Did not conscience tell you, my child? Did not the Word of God tell you? Where it exhorts 'servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again, NOT PURLOINING, but shewing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.'" * ”

“ Yes, if I'd only time, I should like to hear all about him," said Sophy, "but I've come on a little bit of business, and I thought it was best to drop in at tea-time; I knew that my darling would always make me welcome!" Here followed a caress, which made poor Norah feel more embarrassed than ever. ”

“ Lowndes went on. "I'm giving a fête to-day in my ground to all our school children here, in honour of my little girl's birthday. We're to have the grand conjurer to show his tricks, then a feast, and fireworks to close the entertainment; could you spare me this little maid?" continued the magistrate, turning towards his sister. "I should like to show the children one who has set them so good an example of honesty and uprightness."
"I will spare Norah with pleasure," said the kind old lady, "and make the same arrangement with my char-woman as I did upon Monday. ”

“ Norah was full of delight; she knew that she had her lady's free forgiveness for all the past, and her confidence for the future, and but one cloud rested on the sunny sky above Norah—the thought of the shame and trouble in which her late companion must be involved by the sad disgrace of a father.
"Ah! Poor Sophy! She has had no one to show her the straight right way, no one to speak to her faithfully as my sailor uncle spoke to me! She has not heard of the daily battle to fight, the daily cross to take up ”

“ Mind you, Bessy, the Bible is the only chart as is given us to steer by, and when one sees in that chart, 'provide things honest in the sight of all men,' *—'He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much, and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much,' † one learns that the safe channel is a very narrow channel indeed, and that if we don't carefully keep the right course, we shall run the vessel aground. ”

“ It was quite time for the police to be on the alert, a great deal of mischief has been done already, for the false money is so close an imitation of the good, that the simple folk about here have taken it pretty freely. I saw a poor widow yesterday, who was in bitter distress, finding that the sovereign for which she had sold her pig, was worth no more than a brass farthing. ”

“ So, neglecting her duty, misusing her time, trying to silence her conscience, Norah plunged into the midst of a novel but too well suited to inflame her imagination and corrupt her mind. She was so deep in the interest of the story, that she started with impatient annoyance at the sound of the bell which summoned her up to the drawing-room, to read to her mistress as usual.
CHAPTER VI. HELP IN NEED.
WELL was it for Norah Peele that a quiet time for thinking was thus forced upon her, unwilling as she felt at the moment to lay down her tempting novel, and obey her mistress's summons. ”

“ Why Bill Jones—a good fellow is he—made a little chest of drawers for his mother, all of mahogany wood, and I don't believe that his master so much as guessed that he had not been working from morning till night every day in the week at the fittings in Sir Lacy Barton's study. ”

“ Conscious of her own backsliding, of the weakness which she had shown, of the evil intention which she had harboured after all her good resolutions, every verse which she read from the Bible seemed to Norah to convey a reproach. At last, when she came to Peter's assurance that he would fellow his Master to prison and to death, and the mournful warning which followed, Norah's voice failed her, and she paused for a minute to recover her own self-command.
"I am always thankful," said Mrs. ”