Amy Le Feuvre

“ She doesn't know anybody now, but she called out this morning, 'I want the Comforter.' You told her all about Him, didn't you?"
Old Timothy nodded his head sadly.
"Bless her little heart, she learns me as much as I learn her. Her name is just right. She's just faith through and through! I only wish mine were as big. But there! Don't you fret, Missy; she's in the Lord's Hands, and whether He carries her Home or leaves her with us, 'tis all for the best."
"But it isn't for the best if Faith dies!" cried Charity, stamping her foot. "We don't want her to die. ”

“ When you come next Saturday, I will tell you an anecdote concerning them.
"Your old friend,
"W. CARDWELL."
"He isn't a cross old man to me," said Faith. "I like him next to Timothy."
"I shouldn't like to be called Miss Moth," said Charity; "a moth is a horrid, dusty thing—lives on old clothes; the Bible says it corrupts, that's an awful thing to do."
Faith's face fell.
"I hope I don't corrupt," she said; "what does it mean?"
"Well, you do like old things," said Hope; "you like old men, so that part fits you."
"I think corrupt means make rotten or bad," said Charity. ”

“ I have a dream sometimes of getting a donkey and a little trap, then Granny could drive and enjoy the country as we do."
"Oh, Aunt Alice, how lovely! Do get a donkey," pleaded the children.
But Aunt Alice shook her head.
"How do you think we could afford to buy one? It's just as much as we can do to feed and clothe you all."
"It's a pity we aren't birds," said Faith; "then we could fly about and feed ourselves. Don't you think we might live on wild things? Strawberries and nuts and mushrooms—they don't cost money, do they?" ”

“ And I'm hoping the Comforter will make my soul grow big and strong. I should like never to cry when I'm hurt, and never grumble when things are horrid! And keep smiling even if the whole world turned against me and trampled me down!"
Faith spoke with such fervour that Charlie was much impressed.
She added:
"We all think you have a strong soul because you're so cheerful."
"Oh, I'm not!" said Charlie. "I've been beastly to Mother I'm so awfully disappointed that Dad won't let me go on the raft. It's the one thing I really enjoy! There's nothing else I can play at. It does seem a shame." ”

“ Faith thought hard.
"Granny, and Aunt Alice."
"Nobody else?"
Faith nodded.
"Yes, God."
"Then, darling, if you have faith in God, you have everything that you need in this world and in the next. Never doubt God, He will never fail, it is only our faith that fails. And you are called Faith, so you can always remind yourself by your name of the faith you must have in God."
"And the Comforter," said Faith very softly to herself. She did not quite understand Lady Melville's words, but she understood when she grew bigger. ”

“ There was an awful crash of branches, a scream, and a heavy thud, and poor little Faith lay a huddled-up heap at the foot of the tree!
Charity rushed to pick her up, and rent the air with her screams:
"She's dead! Faith is dead! Aunt Alice! Granny! Come quick! Faith is killed."
Granny and Aunt Alice heard the cries and ran out. Aunt Alice picked up the unconscious child and carried her into the house, and up to her bed. Charlie's father was sent for, and happily he had just arrived home from his rounds, so no time was lost, but he looked very grave when he saw the little girl. ”

“ Timothy says that tears bring Him very quickly, but we're so happy that I haven't had much to cry about yet. I expect He is waiting till I really want Him."
"I hope you won't find much to cry about here," said Lady Melville in a bright tone. "Tell me how you amuse yourselves. Are you fond of dolls?"
Faith smiled.
"Yes, I love mine. She's called Violet, but Hope has cut her arms and legs dreadfully, and sewed them up again, playing at operations. Charity doesn't care for dolls; she says they aren't alive, but I feel Violet is, when we're alone together. ”

“ The little girls went home in high spirits.
Granny looked slightly alarmed when she heard of what they intended to do, but Charity relieved her mind.
"The stream is so narrow, Granny, that we could step off the raft on the bank, any minute we wanted to, and oh, it will be such fun!"
Granny remembered the pranks of the boys in olden times, when she had so many of them in her house, and smiled.
"It is good to be young," she said.
"And the poor boy is prevented from a great deal of pleasure," said Aunt Alice; "Mrs. Horn was telling me about him. He will never make a strong man, they say." ”

“ She still went up to Timothy's cottage and had long talks with him. Aunt Alice said to Granny that Faith was too old for her age.
"It isn't natural for a child to be talking to an old man continually."
"I don't know about that," said Granny smiling; "we old folk often understand children better than you younger ones. And Faith is a child at heart. She is just as keen in her games as the others, and I'm thankful to see her white cheeks becoming rosy. She is much stronger than she was. It is quite natural for a child to be religious, Alice." ”

“ Hope said nothing more, but the little girls found themselves repeating to Lady Melville what the old man had said.
"Children are rather prigs when they talk goody," said Charity—"at least, we think they are; but Timothy seemed to say that Faith had been doing great things just like the Bible people."
"I don't think little Faith is at all a prig," said Lady Melville gently; "you know if we are very full of anything we can't help talking about it. It bubbles up at once like a little spring in the ground which gets over full when a storm of rain comes. ”

“ The next morning Charity and Hope were up early. Faith still had her breakfast in bed, but they were allowed to take their presents in before. As Faith sat up in bed unwrapping all her parcels, her little fingers trembled with excitement. There were cries of ecstasy over every one of the gifts. Faith was always easy to please. The tea-set was what she had always longed for, Granny's jacket was almost too grand to wear, and the muff was a luxury she had never before experienced. Charlie's box of fretwork was most entrancing; she longed to begin testing the tools at once ”

“ The first morning after breakfast I would lead Granny down the steps, and there would be waiting for her a beautiful little pony carriage painted blue with white velvet cushions, and two white Arab ponies with flowing manes and tails, and a little boy would get up on the seat behind and fold his arms and Granny would step in and take the reins in her hands and drive away miles into the most beautiful country she has ever seen. Granny likes driving herself. She always used to do that, when she was rich, didn't she, Aunt Alice? ”

“ Nothing seemed to depress her, and Granny was just as cheerful, so Hope said to Mrs. Cox, "It will be all right, Mrs. Cox. Aunt Alice says it will. We are going to do everything ourselves. We've got very poor, I don't know how, but Granny always says a beggar is happier than a king! And we shall love it all, I know we shall."
The day came when a cab drew up to the door, and the little girls with their arms full of parcels and baskets followed Granny out of the house in which they had spent most of their lives, and rolled away to the big, bustling station. ”

“ Charity and Faith often quarrelled, and she made peace between them.
"And I think animals are the nicest things in the world," she said. "I shall have lots of ponies and dogs when I grow up."
Then the cottage was reached, and Granny and Aunt Alice were told of the delightful time they had had.
"I knew they would enjoy themselves," said Granny; "Sir George always had a weak spot in his heart for children even as a boy; and his wife seems just as kind."
"Lady Melville said she was coming to see you in a day or two," said Faith; "she knows somebody who may be able to teach us lessons!" ”

“ Then Faith found herself telling her all about their life in London, and the school they went to, and how the girls laughed at their names, and how they hoped they would not have to go to the village school here.
"Aunt Alice doesn't like teaching lessons," said Faith, shaking her curly head, "so we don't know what will come to us. We have got to learn to be clever, Aunt Alice says, because when we grow up we must work for our living; but being clever is very difficult, and I don't think I shall ever learn it."
"What do you want to do when you grow up?" asked Lady Melville. ”

“ And I'm not the only one."
"No," said Hope with an understanding nod; "it is everybody that misses Faith. We wonder why, because we thought her rather quiet and dull sometimes, but we don't now. We know how we miss her, but we don't quite understand why the village people talk about her so."
"'Tis just her little winning way and her big heart," said Timothy; "and then when she talks to folk, she has always something big to talk about."
"How do you mean?" asked Charity. ”

“ Some would live in cottages, and give her baked apples for tea, some would live in beautiful houses, but they would all be very glad to see her and would sit up and talk with her for hours."
"Oh," cried Faith, clapping her hands, "I think I should have the best, for my surprise would be fresh every day. I could see one new old man every day, and Charity and Granny would soon come to the end of theirs. What about Aunt Alice?" ”

“ Granny looked at her rather wistfully. "And you have quite made up your mind to give up your war work and come with us? You don't think I could manage with the children?"
"I am sure you could not, Mother. There will be wood to be sawn, and the garden to be tilled. Sir George has given us leave to gather all the wood we want from his woods, but we can get no man or boy to help us. Mrs. Horn told me that. She is running her small farm without any man at all, her two daughters do everything. The children must make themselves useful."
"And what about their lessons?"
Aunt Alice looked grave. ”

“ Don't you think Fred may be our pirate? Because there can't be lots of islands about, and perhaps that was why he had cake and tea in the hut, he had put them there when the little boy was with him!"
Charity paused for breath.
"I wish we could see him again," said Faith.
"We'll keep a sharp look-out along the roads when we walk," said Hope. "Mrs. Cox wasn't at all right about the country. We do meet people very often, and we may meet him."
"We'll ask Lady Melville if she knows him when we see her next," Charity said; "and now I'm going to plant my magic seed. Come and see me do it." ”

“ We have fields where little strawberries grow wild, and we can pick them without paying anything. And we never go out for a walk without seeing somebody we know. We have all kinds of friends, a lady who paints pictures, a shepherd who keeps a dog to drive his sheep, a boy who has a raft of his own, a man who plays he is a pirate, an old man who lies on a couch, and is very fond of Faith, a man who has a house full of books, and his wife who always smiles when she sees us, and they both have horses and ponies which Hope likes to ride. ”

“ Then as Faith watched her, the tears came to her eyes, and rolled down her cheeks. She wiped them away with the corner of the sheet.
"Nobody to care for me!" she muttered. "My Jim is away, and when he comes home, I'll be lyin' under the earth like a dog!"
"Oh, but you'll be in heaven," said Faith eagerly; "that will be only your body, and may I just tell you what old Timothy has told me? You needn't be alone or unhappy, for the Comforter will come and stay with you. He is God, you know, and He loves unhappy people. He dries their tears and comforts them. ”

“ Faith went on, "Charity and Hope expect me to do something very big with it, and so does Charlie, and it is the big things that are so difficult."
"Now look here," said Granny, cheerfully. "Christmas will soon be here. I know you don't want to spend it all on yourself. Take some of it and buy presents for your friends. Not big presents—just buy nice gifts for them, then put the rest of the money in the bank; and by-and-bye you may think of a nice way to spend it. There is no hurry—you can spend it gradually. There is no need for getting rid of it at once." ”

“ She told him all about Charlie, and the raft and the Pirate.
"'Tis a pity the little laddie enjoys such poor health," said Timothy to her. "The doctor be such a hearty man, but there—the Lord have a way of His Own with each o' us, and 'tis ordained for him to be weakly. I often sits and thinks o' strength. 'Tis misused in the body, and if so be the soul is strong, 'tisn't so much odds about the body!"
"I wonder how strong my soul is," said Faith. "I'm not very strong in my body, Granny says. Can I make my soul strong, Timothy?"
"Ask the Comforter," said the old man. "He'll strengthen the weak. ”

“ The butterfly flew away, and Faith watched it alight on a rhododendron outside. Then she turned:
"Oh, dear, everybody tells me I give sermons! I don't mean to. And I'm not partickly fond of sermons myself, they're so long and dry. But I do love talking about the Comforter. Charity and Hope won't listen; they say they don't want any comfort at all. I s'pose if you're never unhappy you don't. But they do get miserable sometimes."
She stopped. Tea was being brought in, and she had the supreme joy of handling the silver teapot, and pouring out cups of tea for herself and the old man. ”

“ I almost wish we could have some at the Cottage. Mrs. Cox used to have a lot happen to her, but we never did!"
"Would you like to be tossed by a furious bull? We have one in a field by himself, he's a bad-tempered brute."
"Oh, no," cried Faith. "I don't like disasters at all; we have come out to enjoy ourselves. It's when we're very dull, we wish for accidents and things of that sort."
"I'll do my best to prevent you feeling dull," the Pirate said.
The Towers was a bigger house than Sir George's, but the children all agreed it was a gloomy looking place. ”

“ Lessons went on very quietly after that, but when Miss Vale had gone, they rushed off to find their Aunt Alice.
"Well," she said, "I expect you have guessed already. Mr. Cardwell is coming to-morrow to drive you over to the Towers to spend the afternoon."
"Our dear Pirate, how lovely!" exclaimed Charity.
Faith got pink with pleasure.
"All of us are to go?" questioned Hope.
"Yes. I think it is remarkably good of him to be troubled with you," said Aunt Alice laughing. ”