Matilda Horsburgh

“ Hushing as best he could the girl's burst of heart-felt grief, as he gently whispered the words, "Jesus has taken our little daughter to his heavenly fold; she was glad to go, Nora, she loved him so. Hush, my darling—compose yourself—it is well with her; the loss is ours. You are greatly needed here, my child."
He had half carried her into the parlour, and laid her down on the sofa. Quietly he stood by for a few minutes, with bent head and lowered eyes, letting her give vent to the tears which come so easily from hearts in their first sorrow, and which bring such blessed relief. ”

“ Ross had insisted on taking the orphan and bringing him up with their own children. And so, at the age of six years, little Pedro became an inmate of their home. A child too thoughtful for his years, shy, and sensitive, he never really amalgamated with the family: kindly treated in one way, neglected in others, he lived in a world of his own, and wove fanciful dreams, and created heroes and heroines for himself; and even in the midst of his lessons, visions of the sunny land of his birth and his childhood were ever before him. ”

“ Clara was much attracted by her bright young cousin, and determined to ask her parents, on her return home, to invite her to come and live with them for a while. There was much that was amiable and lovable in Clara's nature; but the crust which a worldly upbringing causes to grow over the heart and affections was beginning to grow on hers. An ardent nature, which in her early days sought eagerly for love, for love's own sweet sake, was now seeking rather for admiration, with its deadening influences. No one had spoken to her of that which is "better than gold, and above rubies." ”

“ Why, there's hardly a family in the village near us but some of them are abroad, or, at all events, away in town—some in Perth, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, London, and in America as well. Oh! Life here is not vegetation, I assure you;" and Nora's shyness vanished as she stood up for her people and her country.
"Indeed, Nora, you are right," said Mrs. Forbes, who, unknown to the girls, had entered and heard their conversation. "It is only foolish people who talk that way. Believe me, Clara, that life lived truly in such a place as this, is as full, as noble, as great as that lived elsewhere. ”

“ But it was Ronald who, as he walked between his uncle and the shepherd, uttered almost involuntarily the words:
"Great is the Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite."
"Praise the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights."
As he spoke, the shepherd reverently lifted his cap. "Ay," he said, "it's on the heights we can best feel as if we can best praise the Lord, young sir; yet down in the vales, he can hear our voices also, and like sweet melody, our songs o' praise sound in the ear o' the Almighty. ”

“ Into the house from which He had been tried to be excluded, the Lord entered, and taking the little orphan boy by the hand, led him apart, so to speak, and spoke comfortably to him there; and from that bed of sickness, the child rose no longer sad. A new love had come into his lonely heart—a new, never-failing, never-changing Friend had become his; memories of almost forgotten teaching had come back to him, and the Saviour his parents had loved and served had whispered the "Peace, be still," to the weary young heart. ”

“ Unknown to herself, she was learning many of the accomplishments for which the wise king extols the virtuous woman: and in stretching out her hands to the needy, Nora had to make no effort; never did a more loving, tender heart beat in a human breast. No wonder she was loved in the cottages of the poor. It was a sight, to see the bright little child, as she tripped over the hills and through the heather with a flagon full of soup to carry to some poor bedridden old woman. ”

“ We have plenty of fun at home, and we play all sorts of games; and sometimes in the evening, aunt plays and sings to us; and in summer, we have out-of-door games, and picnics, and drives. Oh, I assure you, we are never dull, never."
Clara shrugged her shoulders. "Ah well, you see, you know no other kind of life; but as for me, I would die, if I lived here. Why, Laura and Jane, my elder sisters, say life here is not life at all, only vegetation. The poor people can have no ideas, nothing to take them out of themselves."
"Vegetation!" repeated Nora. ”

“ Nora's tears were falling fast, but she faltered out the words, "If she dies, Clara, it won't be sad for her; she loves Jesus with all her heart, and he'll take care of her. But oh, how auntie and uncle and all of us will miss her. She was my special pet, my little Minnie."
Mrs. Ross came to help. She was put out at this sudden break-up of plans; and although sorry for Nora, still the worldly life she led had in part hardened her heart, and she wished heartily that the ball had been over ere the bad news had come. ”

“ Only that morning she had gone alone to strew some of her bridal flowers on the graves of her mother and of her little cousin Minnie, well knowing that she might never again revisit the spot. And now, even as with tear-dimmed eyes she drove once again through the lovely pass, gorgeous in its autumn dress, she cast around her a look which seemed as if it would stereotype the scene for ever on her memory's eye, to arise clearly in distant lands. ”

“ Ah well! I am glad my own loving-hearted wife yielded to my desire to bring up dear Elenora's children when they were left orphans. The charge has not proved too much for you, Charlotte?"
"Oh no," was the ready response; "the three orphans have brought joy, not sorrow, into our home, I think, Ralph; and our own little ones love them dearly. Nora is a sweet girl; but Ronald has the most character of them all. How I shall miss the noble boy when he leaves us! Eric can hardly fill his place to me yet: he is very heedless; he is the only one who causes me a moment's anxiety. ”

“ Macleod's arms, and said quietly—"Oh, I am so glad that I have you and uncle to love me still!"
Many anxious thoughts followed Eric as he left his home. There was no evidence that any thoughts of heavenly things were in his heart; and yet, though his friends failed to realize it, the seed sown was not in vain. The day-by-day power of a good example, the blessed influence of a Christian home, are never wholly without effect; though it was no hand in that happy home that was commissioned from on high to lead Eric to seek what is better than gold. ”

“ RIGHT down on Minnie's grave in the Highland churchyard the autumn sunbeams were playing, as Nora, some months after her hasty return to Benvourd, stood there wondering, as so many young hearts have done before her, how the sun could shine and all nature look bright when Minnie was dead. ”

“ And so on that winter evening he lay, before his eyes a picture of high mountains, on which the snowflakes were falling even then, and in his ears the rush of the Highland river as it dashed through the pass, near which stood the home of his childhood. Oh, to see it once again! To hear, but for one moment, the dearly-loved accents of the Gaelic tongue, to him sweeter and more melodious than any other language in the world—to feel once again the loving hand of his grandmother laid on his brow, as she was wont to do in his boyish days when she gave him her goodnight blessing! ”

“ Nay, I question if those who speak of such lives as vegetation know anything at all of what real life is, or value it as God's great gift. True, many of our people have not many books; but the few they have are well read and thoroughly understood. And though they know nothing of life as spent in towns, that does not prove that their minds are narrow. The truly narrow minds, Clara, are those which have no resources within themselves which can enable them to spend time profitably and pleasantly, without the constant excitement of society.—But there, now, we must not waste all the day in talking ”

“ Clara Ross was dressed in the height of the then prevailing fashion, and the number of flounces on her dress struck Nora with surprise, and, for the moment, made her ashamed of her own neat though plain plaid frock. The girls soon became friends, Clara chatting away about Edinburgh and all its attractions.
"Do you go to many parties?" she questioned Nora.
The child smiled.
"Parties, Clara? How could we? There are so few people live here, and the distance from one house to another is too great for any but grown-up people to go in the evening. Oh, no, we never go to what you call parties. ”

“ Say to her she must pray for me, for I am only a weak school-boy, and do not like to be laughed at; but I know how even an earthly soldier has to endure hardness, and surely Christ's soldiers should not shrink from any reviling they may be called on to endure for his sake. I do hope I may never forget how he wore, for me, the crown of thorns, and how he says to his followers who are faithful to him: "I will give thee a crown of life."'"
"That crown will be better than one of gold and rubies, Nora, will it not?" ”

“ She was very happy then; and somehow, after Ronald's departure, she seemed to love those messages of mercy more than ever. A thousand welcomes, spoken in the Gaelic tongue, greeted her as she entered the cottages of the poor, and the very look of her large soft eyes cheered their lonely hearts. Her uncle declared she had a God-given gift of nursing: no hand could smooth a pillow so well as Nora's; no one could be more skilful in cooling a burning forehead, and shading the light from aching eyes, than she was ”

“ A single stone, put up by Ronald, marked his resting-place, and on it were the words, "With the Lord."
There were tears shed in the quiet hut over the letter which told of the death of the wandering one; but they were not all bitter: joy mingled with the grief—the erring child was at rest now in the Father's house above.
"The Lord is a promise-keeping God," said the old woman. "The Good Shepherd has gone into the wilderness after the lost sheep, and borne it safely back to the fold. ”

“ I won't tell mine."
"Nor I," put in Nora.
Truth to tell, she had wished she might wear the lovely diadem when she grew up, and was not sure whether her brother would not laugh at her wish.
"What stuff!" said Eric. "What's the use of wishing, if no one knows. I'm not ashamed of mine one bit; so here goes: 'I do wish to get very rich, have lots of money, heaps of gold.' Wait a bit, and see if my wish is not fulfilled."
"Heaps of gold, Eric?" And Ronald laid his hand kindly on his brother's shoulder. "Our mother used to say she hoped we would all find out what is better than gold." ”

“ But where's Ronald? Not at his book, I hope, when to-day is a holiday? He studies too much, and you, Master Eric, too little."
"O uncle," said Nora, "Ronald is out-of-doors—I saw him go: but, for all that, he had a book under his arm; he can't live without books," she said with a smile. "And this is his last day here for a long time. Let us go, Eric, and find out where he is—at the Wishing-Well, I believe. Oh, it will be lovely there to-day!" And so saying she ran off, followed by her brother.
"What a sweet-looking girl Nora grows," said her uncle, addressing his wife. ”

“ Nora, after running through the heather for a minute or two, and startling a covey of grouse, who rose with a whir as she approached, stood still, and, shading her eyes with her hand, looked in the direction Miss Stewart should have come; but there was no appearance of her. She lingered a short time, then turned homewards, wondering if her governess could have taken another road. She seldom did, still once or twice she had done so.
Musing thus, she re-entered the copsewood, and stood admiring the gorgeous colours of the low trees. ”

“ In the school-room, with the exception of two or three, there was but one opinion held on the subject, and that was, that Ronald was innocent; but how the boy suffered during these days none knew, save the God who allowed him to go through such a trial for the purifying of his faith and the chastening of his proud spirit. Closely was he watched by master and tutors during the week, but none could detect any signs of guilt or fear: steadily he went through with his lessons; fearlessly he bent his knee in private prayer, morning and evening. ”

“ Brightly shone the sun that day, and every blade of grass and remaining tuft of heather sparkled under its rays, as the party from Benvourd set off to the place of meeting. It was a good way off; but both Nora and her uncle were famous pedestrians, and fully enjoyed the walk on that quiet early Sabbath morn. The impression made on her heart by Minnie's early death had never worn completely off; the longing after higher and more satisfying joys than the world could give was still filling the girl's heart ”

“ Even Eric's spirits were subdued by the day's frolic, and Nora was more than usually thoughtful. Clara's words, unwilling as she was to allow it, had done their work: the visions of a town life, and plenty of companions and amusements, were strangely blended in her young mind with thoughts of sparkling rubies and an unfading crown.
At last she broke the silence by the question—
"Uncle, do you and aunt never mean to go to Edinburgh for the winter, even after Minnie and Charlie are old enough for school?"
Mr. Macintosh smiled. "'Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof,' Nora," he said ”

“ No, Dudley, I will certainly never beat any boy for defending a friend in whom he believes. It grieves me, as much as it does you, to think evil of Ronald. It grieves me more, far more than a little boy like you can understand, for I also thought highly of him; but this much I will tell you, the proof of his guilt cannot be put aside: his fishing rod was found, at least a part of it with his name on it, close by the spot where Mr. Lawson's man saw the boy fishing, and found a trout left behind when the fisher saw him coming and took flight. ”

“ CHAPTER VII. THE BANNER-BEARER IN TROUBLE.
Shall Jesus bear the cross alone,
And all the world go free?
No! There's a cross for every one,
And there's a cross for me.
ERE Ronald again entered the study, another boy had been there, one who went of his own accord. A rumour had arisen in the school-room that Ronald Macintosh was the boy accused of having been seen fishing in the river, and of having denied the fact. True, the report was not believed by all; but, at the first flash of it, Sir James Dudley had left the school-room, and sought the much-dreaded study of the headmaster. ”

“ Why, out-of-doors everything seems dancing and jumping—the leaves on the trees, the little river over the stones, and the lambs, mother—oh, if you only saw them! They are just wild with fun. I do believe, if you had been out, you would have run yourself, mother. I could not have stayed shut up in the school-room to-day for even one hour. I met Mr. Dale coming, and told him so, and that he need not go on, for I could not learn a lesson on such a day."
"James," said his uncle, in a stern tone, "are you the proper person to tell your tutor when you are to learn lessons and when not? ”