Ruth Lamb

“ Her looks showed that, for the first time, she found her work a burden, because of the heavy heart she carried as she went about it.
Whilst Ann Crompton was in the kitchen, she managed to speak some encouraging words to poor Elizabeth, and even to turn Sarah's saucy ways and ready jokes to some account.
"Bless you, child," she said, with a benevolent look at the girl's laughing face; "it's a good thing to enjoy a laugh now and then. I'm glad I haven't forgotten how to laugh yet, though I'm an old woman. Still 'Merry and wise' is a good motto. Folks sometimes laugh at wrong things. ”

“ She looked at the two golden sovereigns with all the delight natural to one who has honestly earned what has been cheerfully paid.
"Let me see," she said, thinking aloud in her mistress's hearing. "One must go to mother. She did not want me to send her any of my wages, but I know she ought to have this and more, because it cost her a good bit to fit me out when I was coming."
"Can you spare so much, Ellen?" asked Mrs. Glover.
"Oh yes, ma'am. My things are not a bit worse; mother taught me to mend a hole when it is little. She says nothing grows faster than holes. ”

“ James Burton continued to distribute small coin broad-cast.
"Poor fellow!" he would say, as he dropped sixpence into the hand of a labourer out of work, "I wish I could give you any help worth having. But I am a small man with small means, and can only deal in trifles. If I were placed as some people are, I could do differently."
And then Mr. James would look towards the Hall, thus giving people to understand how differently he would act were he its master, and at the same moment bestow a penny on some little curly head that crossed his path, bidding her run to Mr. Duff's for a bun. ”

“ Powell's lips, and the listener never interrupted her until she finished with the question, "Don't you think it is very selfish of Elizabeth?"
"Well, I can't say yes, ma'am," was the honest answer. "The girl has all to lose in the way of money, home, rest and comfort by leaving your service. But she will gain in another way. Her conscience will say she has done right in going to her sick mother, for God puts 'Honour the father and mother' next to the commandments that teach us our special duty to Himself." ”

“ From that night master, mistress, and servant knelt together. Years passed on. Children were born in the house. Mr. Glover's means increased, and more servants were needed; but the one most trusted of all was Ellen Dixon.
"We should like you to have charge of the children next to ourselves," said Mr. and Mrs. Glover. "We know you will not teach them anything but what is right."
"They are our most precious treasures," said the mother, as she looked on her sleeping baby, and smiled as Ellen used the old familiar words. ”

“ Mothers! you cannot tell how much good you may do by teaching your children wise lessons and leading them in the right way whilst they are young and willing to be guided by you.
Take care that in after-life, when they go out into the world, or are at the head of home of their own, they may never be able to say of any wrong habits, "I learned it of mother, it was mother's way;" but may your names be ever joined to happy memories of wise words, pious training, and a good example.
NOTHING BEATS TRYING BUT DOING.
"SHE'S as good as she is pretty, and as pretty as she is good." ”

“ It is a beautiful and blessed thing to think of, that the better and more unselfish a good woman is, the more unwilling she is to think evil of others, and especially of the man she calls husband, and who is the father of her children. No doubt Mrs. James Burton, who is a sweet Christian gentlewoman, if ever there was one, blames bad companions for having drawn her husband aside from the right way. ”

“ The village gossips talked at him as he slunk home wet, out of the ditch he had jumped into instead of over, and pitied his poor mother for having such a son.
To tell a person, young or old, that he is on the high road to ruin, hopelessly bad, a plague to everybody, and of no use or comfort to anybody, is not the way to mend him. On the contrary, it is pretty sure to give him a push in the wrong direction.
Bob had heard such remarks dinned into his ears at every turn for a good while, but one evening an event happened which made matters worse than ever. ”

“ But I never can believe that those who love to pray in secret will not love to pray in God's house also, and with His people. To use one blessed privilege and neglect another is like taking breakfast and leaving dinner. You'll not find a healthy, hungry stomach do that. Neither will you find the soul that has an appetite for heavenly things neglect to seek for food when it's there for the having."
Duff found it hard to answer Mrs. Brown. Besides, in his own mind, he was beginning to doubt whether he had after all formed a correct judgment of Mr. James Burton's character. ”

“ James's furniture had been seized under a bill of sale, and that, if he had not gone away when he did, he might not have had the chance of going at all.
Little Mrs. Brown, whose bright, kind face told of the gladness in her heart, said she was sure that whoever had sent money for the suffering people had been moved to do it by Him without whose knowledge not a sparrow falls to the ground.
"We can thank God," she said, "and ask Him to bless the kind earthly friend who has been His instrument in sending plenty and comfort to poverty-stricken homes."
"You say 'We,'" replied one of her neighbours. ”

“ They call that "love" which induces them to win a good girl's heart and take her from a happy home where she is useful, and contented, when they have nothing half so good to give her—not even as true a heart in exchange. There often seems to be a very narrow step between what people call "love" and downright selfishness. Sometimes, indeed, there is no step at all, as in Mr. James's case, though most likely his poor young wife, much as she has suffered, does not blame him as he deserves. ”

“ Burton, 'I reckon that drink-giving is bad for those that like it and bad for those that don't. It leads the weak ones astray, and unless it is made up to the sober workers in some other way it puts a premium on drink. Now, you men have all worked heartily and satisfied me, so I shall divide amongst you the money I might have spent in beer for the drinkers, with a little extra, to show that I am satisfied. ”

“ I've got a lesson," added the baker, "and now my eyes are opened, maybe I shall keep my mouth shut oftener than I have done. To think I should have called Mr. Burton 'close fisted!' I feel as if I could not forgive myself. Well, may God bless him, say I, to-day. And may the poor lady at the Nest and the pretty little one be the means of brightening the Hall for its master, till he brings a mistress to the big house itself. Here's 'a happy Christmas to them and to everybody,'" to which farewell words Mrs. Brown, now arrived at her own door, responded by a hearty "Amen." ”

“ The baker apologised, and hoped there was nobody ill at Mrs. Brown's.
"It's only baby that is restless o' nights just now. She's about her teeth," she replied.
"I get so angry when I think of the good that man might do with his money, that I'm afraid I forget myself," said Mr. Duff. "Now I'll just give you a sample of those two gentlemen, and it was only yesterday I witnessed the whole affair. Mr. Burton was coming along in his steady, plodding way, never so much as giving a 'good-day' to anybody, when old Ann Willis hobbled towards him and asked him for a copper. ”

“ Duff would have said she was to be pitied; for, like most individuals who are constantly sitting in judgment on their neighbours, he felt quite certain that he was right, and whoever thought otherwise was in the wrong.
Mrs. Brown's reply was irritating. "I always think Mr. Burton and Mr. James favour one another in looks."
"Tut, tut! Looks are not of much account. People's ways are more than faces. ”

“ I, who have so much, murmured and fretted and sent my dear kind husband away with the memory of my complaining words and clouded brow. She lay repeating to herself words of hope and encouragement, and willing to welcome with a smile the first friend who should enter for her relief. ”

“ Such went hungry themselves in order to spread something like a meal for the tired wayfarer, whose only longing was for work, which he could not get, and the chance to win with his strong, willing hands, bread for wife and children. ”

“ And if my bits of things do not take me long to clean, I have all the more time to spend on the work that earns the bread."
Did somebody say, "How lonely it must be for you, living all by yourself!" Ann would answer, "There are folks within sound if not within sight. I have only to knock at the wall and somebody comes directly. My neighbours know that I never trouble them without a needs-be, and they're real kind. At nights, if I wake with my rheumatics and what not, I think to myself, 'I'm getting old and I cannot expect to be free from the infirmities that belong to age. ”

“ They were brought home to her mind still more by what Elizabeth said when she came to bid her mistress good-bye.
"If you will excuse me, ma'am, I should like to speak a word for Sarah. I do believe she wants to do right, and has made up her mind to keep her best side out, and deserve to be trusted. But she is a girl that has been too much driven and too seldom led, and she cannot do with driving. I think if you would encourage her and seem as if you trusted her, it would go a great way towards making her deserve your confidence." ”

“ James would say in his airy fashion, "but big enough to hold an old bachelor and his few traps. 'Man wants but little here below,' you know, Mr. Duff. The 'dry morsel,' the 'dinner of herbs' and quietness are better than the 'stalled ox' under certain circumstances." ”

“ Duff, bitterly. "It's a shame, a burning shame, that the biggest landowner in the neighbourhood should keep out of the way, at the time of all others when he should be doing his duty to his neighbours. I can only give a little, but I can trust you folks that want a bit o' credit, and I hope those in the meat and grocery lines will do the same."
Mr. James Burton was at home. His house was a small one in comparison with the Hall, but, if report said truly, it abounded in creature comforts. ”

“ She and the girl, so unlike her to begin with, became fast friends. Sarah learned her need of a Saviour by God's blessing on this old disciple's teaching, and having found Him in Jesus Christ, she is striving to follow the example of His most holy life. She has to fight many a battle with her headstrong temper and wilful habits, but she is cheered and encouraged by the friend who, though weak in body, is "strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." ”

“ James had been too anxious to get hold of it, and too much afraid of being found out, to make very good terms, so Mr. Burton gave the lender his own back again, and had the furniture replaced in the Nest.
It turned out that Mrs. James was the orphan daughter of an old friend of the family, and was earning her bread as governess, in a home where she was loved and respected, when Mr. James met with her again. He had known her as a child, and his pleasant ways and pretence of affection induced the young lady to become his wife. ”

“ Brown and her husband, the old mother who was spending Christmas with them, having undertaken to see to the cookery, assisted by the eldest girl.
Duff was feeling not a little ashamed of himself, and he even owned to Mrs. Brown that he had been mistaken in his judgment of Mr. Burton and his brother.
"You see," he said, "it is not always easy to tell the difference between real gold and plated articles; and sometimes the imitations are so fair on the outside that people are deceived by looks, and take them for solid metal. ”

“ Duff," continued Mrs. Brown, in her quiet way, "and I dare say Dick Pearson could tell you the same sort of tale."
The baker could not withstand such evidence, but he liked Mrs. Brown's words no better for being equally true and reasonable. He felt angry at the little woman for having proved him in the wrong, but she was a good customer, and he did not wish to offend her. ”

“ But taking the words out of one another's mouths isn't good manners, for all that. Mark what I say now, and then go and pack up your things. The mistress has astonished me, and I'm going to astonish her. There! Mind if I don't find a way out of this seaside business that will make all straight." Sarah gave Elizabeth no chance of replying, but whisked out of the kitchen with a merry laugh. ”

“ And Sarah's hopes about Elizabeth have been fulfilled. The mother has been raised from her sick bed, and is once more able to attend to her family, and Mrs. Powell receives more devoted service than ever from the girl whom she joyfully welcomed back again, when, filial duty done, she could return to her place with a quiet conscience.
IT IS MOTHER'S WAY.
"IF you please, ma'am, you did not tell me how I was to set the table, so I did it mother's way." ”

“ She had only enough for one cake at the time they met, yet the barrel of meal did not waste through all the season of famine, and she and her son, and the visitor sent from God, never wanted bread. So I, though I never knew what hand would bring the next, finished the food that came on one day, and slept without fear that I should be left to hunger for more before a supply was sent. Now, ma'am, I have told you this long tale, and I'm afraid it has been very selfish of me taking up so much of your time when you have matters of your own to think of. ”