file which includes the original illustrations4 ,see #bciib-;h4htm or #bciib-;h4zip3 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/dirs_/#b_/ c_/i_/i_/bciib_/bciib-;h_/#bciib-;h4htm7 or 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/dirs_/#b_/ c_/i_/i_/bciib_/bciib-;h4zip7 ,a ,,missionary ,,twig4 by ,,emma ,l4 ,,burnett4 ,illustration3 ,a ,missionary ,twig4 ,,frontispiece4 ,illustration3 ,editor's arm ,american ,tract ,society1 #aej ,nassau ,street1 ,new ,york4 ,copyright1 #ahij1 ,american ,tract ,society4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,i4 ,edith ,tries to ,explain #e ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,what ,mrs4 ,howell told them #ad ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,marty ,gets ,started #ba ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,wholes instead of ,tenths #bi ,,chapter ,v4 ,the ,ebony ,chair #ci ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,the ,empty ,box #df ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,how ,missions ,helped the ,home ,folks #ed ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,not in the ,good ,times #fa ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,jennie #gb ,,chapter ,x4 ,laura ,amelia #hb ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,the ,good ,shepherd #ia ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,now ,don't ,forget6 #ii ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,off to the ,mountains #ajh ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,a ,plan and a ,talk #aae ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,the ,mountain ,mission-,band #abf ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,a ,flower ,sale #ace ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,weeding #add ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,the ,hotel ,missionary ,meeting #aef ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,the ,garden ,missionary ,meeting #aff ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,cousin ,alice's ,zenana ,work #agg ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,rosa ,stevenson's ,sister #ahi ,a ,,missionary ,,twig4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,edith ,,tries ,,to ,,explain4 ,i do think ,edith is the queerest girl ,i ever saw in all my life6 said ,marty ,ashford4 ,don't jump up and down behind my chair that way1 ,marty1 said her mother2 you shake me so that ,i can scarcely hold my needle4 ,what does ,edith do that is so queer8 ,oh1 she's always putting ten into things4 ,putting ten into things8 ,yes'm4 ,i mean when she gets any money she always says ten will go into it so many times1 and then she takes a tenth of it--you know we learn about tenths in fractions at school--and goes and puts it in a blue box she has4 ,i should call that taking ten out of things4 ,well1 whatever it is1 that's what she does4 ,every time she gets ten cents she puts one cent in her blue box4 ,what does she do if she only gets five cents8 ,oh1 she keeps it very carefully till she gets another five1 and then she takes her tenth out of it4 ,and would you believe it1 when we were all at ,asbury ,park last summer-- ,marty1 interrupted her mother1 can't you tell me just as well sitting still8 ,you fidget so that you make me dreadfully nervous4 ,can't you sit still8 ,i don't believe ,i can1 but ,i'll try real hard1 said ,marty1 crowding herself into ,freddie's little rocking-chair and clasping her arms around her knees1 as if to hold herself still4 ,well1 what about ,asbury ,park8 ,mrs4 ,ashford asked4 ,why1 when we were at ,asbury ,park and ,edith's father was going to ,new ,york1 he gave her a whole dollar to do what she pleased with4 ,now you know it would be the easiest thing in the world to spend a dollar there4 ,i could spend it just as easy as anything4 ,i dare say you could1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford1 laughing4 ,and any way you know it was vacation1 and even if you save tenths other times you oughtn't to feel as if you must do it in vacation4 ,but ,edith had to go and get her dollar changed and put ten cents of it in the old blue box4 ,so she would not take a vacation from her tenths8 ,no1 indeed4 ,and the other day when her uncle from ,baltimore was here1 he gave her fifty cents1 and it would just pay for a perfectly lovely paintbox that she wants2 but she couldn't buy it because five cents of the fifty was tenths2 and now she'll have to wait till she gets some more money4 ,what does she do with all the money in the blue box8 ,mrs4 ,ashford inquired4 ,oh1 she gives it to some mission-band6 replied ,marty in a tone of disgust4 ,is that the mission-band ,miss ,agnes ,walsh wanted you to join8 ,yes1 ma'am2 but ,i didn't want to take up my ,saturdays going to a thing like that1 ,i'd rather play4 ,let me see1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford1 what is the name of that band8 ,missionary ,twigs1 replied ,marty4 ,funny kind of a name1 isn't it8 ,then presently she said1 ,i don't think ,edith always takes the tenths out fair2 for when her grandma was away lately for six days she paid ,edith three cents a day for watering her plants1 and of course that was eighteen cents4 ,so the tenth was a good deal over one cent and not quite two1 and yet ,edith put two cents of it away4 ,i think that was more than fair4 ,well1 ,i suppose it was1 ,marty admitted4 ,she actually sat quite still for two or three minutes thinking1 and then asked1 ,mamma--,i never thought of this before but what do you suppose is the reason she saves tenths8 ,why doesn't she save ninths or elevenths or something else8 ,why don't you ask her8 suggested ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,i will1 exclaimed ,marty4 ,i'll ask her the very next time ,i go over there4 ,which was in about five minutes1 for ,edith lived in the same block and the little girls were constantly visiting each other4 ,this being ,saturday1 of course there was no school4 ,marty ran in at the side gate and through the kitchen with a ,how do1 ,mary8 to the cook4 ,edith heard her coming and called over the stairs1 ,o ,marty1 come right up6 ,i was just wishing you would come over and help me4 ,marty flew up stairs and into the nursery4 ,edith's dolls were sitting in a row on the little bureau1 some dressed and some undressed1 and ,edith was standing in front of them looking very much perplexed4 ,oh6 ,i'm so glad you've come1 she said4 ,now you can help me with these troublesome dolls4 ,what's the matter with them8 ,why1 we've just heard that ,aunt ,julia and ,fanny are coming to tea this evening1 and of course ,i want the dolls to look decent4 ,i wouldn't have ,fanny see them in their everyday clothes for anything2 and they don't seem to have enough good clothes to go around4 ,let's see what they've got1 said ,marty1 plunging into business with her usual energy4 ,well1 said ,edith1 ,queenie has her new white ,swiss1 so she's all right1 and she can have ,virginia's surah sash4 ,louisa ,alcott can wear her black silk skirt and borrow ,queenie's blue cashmere waist4 ,but ,harriet has nothing fit for an evening4 ,let her wear the sailor suit she came in1 and say she's just home from the seaside1 suggested ,marty1 after a moment's meditation4 ,yes1 that will do1 replied ,edith4 ,but what about ,virginia8 ,her white dress is soiled1 her red gauze is badly torn1 and she can't borrow from the others because she's so much larger4 ,to be sure she has this pale blue tea-gown ,i made myself4 ,do you think it would be good enough8 and she held it up doubtfully4 ,no1 said ,marty candidly1 ,i don't think it would4 ,it isn't made very well4 ,it's kind of baggy4 ,hasn't she anything else8 ,nothing but a brown woollen walking dress and a ,mother ,hubbard wrapper4 ,neither of those will do1 ,marty decided4 ,then she put her finger to her lip and thought4 ,a bright idea occurred to her presently4 ,put her to bed and make believe she's sick4 ,she can wear the best nightdress1 trimmed with lace1 and we can put on the ruffled pillow-cases and fix up the bed real nice4 ,that will be splendid6 cried ,edith4 ,i knew you'd think of something6 ,they went to work on the plans proposed1 and soon had the whole family in presentable condition4 ,so busy were they with the dolls that ,marty would have forgotten the errand she came on1 had she not happened to catch a glimpse of the blue box when ,edith opened a drawer4 ,then she exclaimed1 ,oh6 ,edie1 what ,i came over for was to ask you why you save tenths4 ,why ,i do what8 said ,edith1 wondering4 ,why you put tenths away in your box4 ,why don't you save eighths or ninths or something else8 ,because the ,bible says tenths1 ,edith replied4 ,the ,bible6 cried ,marty4 ,does the ,bible say anything about saving tenths for a mission-band8 ,no1 not just that2 but it says--wait1 ,i'll get my ,bible and show you what it does say4 ,she ran into her room1 and bringing her ,bible1 sat down on a low chair and eagerly turned the leaves4 ,marty knelt close beside her1 bending over the book also1 so that her brown curls pressed against ,edith's wavy golden hair4 ,here's one of the verses1 said ,edith4 ,leviticus twenty-seventh chapter and thirtieth verse3 ',and all the tithe of the land1 whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree1 is the ,lord's2 it is holy unto the ,lord4' ,there's nothing about tenths in that1 said ,marty4 ,tithes means tenths--the tenth part1 ,edith explained4 ,oh6 does it8 ,well1 you see1 ,i didn't know4 ,yes2 here it is in the thirty-second verse3 ',and concerning the tithe of the herd or of the flock1 even of whatsoever passeth under the rod1 the tenth shall be holy unto the ,lord4' ,but there's nothing in all that about money1 ,marty objected4 ,it's all fruit and flocks and herds4 ,i know1 ,edith replied1 but mamma says that flocks and herds and money are all different kinds of property4 ,the ,jews hadn't much money2 their property was flocks and herds and such things4 ,giving tenths of what they had for the ,lord's service was a very important part of their religion4 ,yes1 but you are not a ,jew1 said ,marty4 ,besides1 you give your tenths to a mission-band4 ,but the mission-band sends the money to a big society that uses it to send people to tell the heathen about ,god4 ,is that what mission-bands are for--to send people to teach the heathen8 asked ,marty4 ,yes1 and to tell us about the heathen1 so that we shall want to send the gospel to them1 said ,edith4 ,giving to help teach people about ,god is giving to him1 isn't it8 ,and does the ,bible say that everybody must give tenths8 asked ,marty4 ,no1 said ,edith1 there is another plan in the ,new ,testament4 ,mamma says that it is good for older people1 but for little children who haven't good judgment1 the ,jewish plan of giving tenths is better4 ,it must be pretty hard to have to give some of your money away1 whether you want to or not1 said ,marty4 ,oh6 but ,i always want to1 ,edith declared4 ,the longer ,i do this way the better ,i like it4 ,well1 remarked ,marty consolingly1 a tenth isn't much any way2 you'd hardly miss it4 ,neither would the ,jews1 for ,i guess they were pretty rich4 ,oh6 the tenth wasn't all they gave1 and it isn't all ,i give4 ,for me it is just the--the--beginning1 the sure thing4 ,the ,jews had other ways of giving--first-fruits and thank-offerings and praise-offerings and free-will-offerings4 ,and sometimes ,i give thank-offerings and praise-offerings too1 but they are extra2 the tenths ,i give always4 ,it's all dreadfully mixed up1 said poor ,marty4 ,i suppose it is1 the way ,i tell it1 ,edith candidly admitted4 ,let us go and get mamma to tell you1 the way she told me4 ,marty willingly agreed1 and they went into the sitting-room where ,mrs4 ,howell was sewing4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,what ,,mrs4 ,,howell ,,told ,,them4 ,mamma1 cried ,edith1 ,i've been trying to tell ,marty about tenths and offerings1 and why ,i give my money that way1 but ,i can't do it so that she can understand4 ,wont you tell her1 and show her some of the verses you showed me8 ,good-morning1 ,marty1 said ,mrs4 ,howell pleasantly to the little girl who ran to kiss her4 ,what is it you don't understand8 ,i don't quite understand why the ,jews gave tenths1 nor why ,edith has to do what the ,jews did4 ,well1 bring your ,bible1 ,edith1 and give ,marty mine1 and ,i will show you some of the passages about giving4 ,the first mention in the ,bible of giving tithes to the ,lord is when ,jacob was at ,bethel4 ,wasn't that when he slept on a stone pillow1 and had the beautiful dream of angels going up and down a ladder that reached to heaven8 ,edith asked4 ,yes2 and you remember the ,lord appeared to him in the dream1 and promised to be with him wherever he went4 ,and ,jacob made a vow to the ,lord1 in which he said1 ',and of all that thou shalt give me1 ,i will surely give the tenth unto thee4' ,you will find it all in the twenty-eighth chapter of ,genesis4 ,yes1 said ,marty1 after turning the leaves a few minutes4 ,here it is3 ,i never noticed it before4 ,then1 ,mrs4 ,howell went on1 you know when ,god brought the children of ,israel out of ,egypt into the promised land1 he gave them a great many laws1 for they were just like children1 and had to be told exactly what to do on every occasion4 ,among other things he told them how to give4 ,edith1 find the eighteenth chapter of ,numbers and the twenty-first verse4 ,edith found the place and read1 ,and behold1 ,i have given the children of ,levi all the tenth in ,israel for an inheritance1 for the service which they serve1 even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation4 ,why should the children of ,levi have it8 asked ,marty4 ,because the tribe of ,levi was set apart for the service of ,god in the tabernacle1 and afterward the temple1 and had no 'inheritance' of land to till and pasture flocks upon like the other tribes2 so the rest of the nation was instructed to provide for them4 ,so you see these tithes were for what we should call the support of the gospel2 and ,levi was the ministering tribe4 ,then ,mrs4 ,howell showed the children passages in ,second ,chronicles and ,nehemiah where bringing tithes is spoken of1 and in ,malachi where the people are rebuked for not bringing them4 ,then she bade them turn to places in the ,gospels of ,matthew and ,luke where our ,saviour commends the giving of tithes1 though he says that there are weightier matters of the law1 judgment1 mercy1 and faith4 ,but tithes were not all the ,israelites gave1 ,mrs4 ,howell resumed1 after the little girls had read the verses4 ,they gave in many other ways4 ,let me take that ,bible a moment1 ,marty4 ,here in ,deuteronomy1 twelfth chapter and sixth verse1 you see that many things are mentioned besides tithes--vows and free-will-offerings and the firstlings of the herds and of the flocks4 ,then at their feast times1 three times in the year1 they were told1 in the sixteenth chapter of the same book1 the sixteenth and seventeenth verses1 that every man was to give as he was able4 ,seems to me they must have been giving all the time1 observed ,marty4 ,yes1 it has been estimated that a truly devout ,jew gave away about a third of his income4 ,that is more than three-tenths1 you know4 ,giving freely to the ,lord's service and to the poor was part of a ,jew's religion4 ,that's what ,edith says1 ,marty remarked4 ',tisn't part of ours1 is it8 ,oh1 yes it is1 said ,mrs4 ,howell1 smiling a little2 though perhaps not as much as it should be4 ,all through the ,bible we are taught the duty of giving1 and though1 of course1 those particular directions in the ,old ,testament were intended especially for the ,jews1 we may learn from them that the best way of giving is to give systematically4 ,what do you mean by systematically8 asked ,marty4 ,i mean not giving just when we happen to feel particularly interested in some object1 or when we don't want the money for something else1 but having some plan about it and giving regularly1 intelligently1 and1 above all1 prayerfully4 ,tell ,marty the ,new ,testament plan for giving1 mamma1 ,edith requested4 ,st4 ,paul tells the ,corinthians in the sixteenth chapter and second verse of the first epistle3 ',upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store1 as ,god hath prospered him4' ,you see that is somewhat different from tenths4 ,no particular portion is mentioned1 but we are to regularly set aside for religious purposes as much as we can afford1 and the amount is to be increased as our means increase4 ,why doesn't ,edith do that way8 ,marty inquired4 ,when she is older and better able to judge how much she ought to give1 she may adopt that plan4 ,but it is simpler and easier just to give a tenth1 and it is well for little people who are learning to have a plain and easy rule to go by4 ,and why does ,edith give her tenths to foreign missionary work instead of to something else8 asked ,marty4 ,this led to a long talk about the duty of obeying ,christ's last command to carry the gospel to all nations2 and ,mrs4 ,howell explained how missionary societies are trying to obey this command1 and how important it is that ,christians should be very prompt and regular with their contributions1 so that the good work may not be hindered4 ,you see1 said ,mrs4 ,howell1 in order to send the gospel to these far-away people1 we must send missionaries to them4 ,there is no other way1 while there are a good many ways in which even children may help people near by4 ,for instance1 they can persuade other children to go to church and ,sunday-school4 ,and then they can be kind to the poor1 and can help them in other ways beside giving money to them4 ,edith mends her old toys for poor children4 ,she keeps her bright cards and picture books as nice as possible1 and when done with them carries them to the ,children's ,hospital or to the ,almshouse2 and she is very careful of her clothes1 so that when she has outgrown them they will do for poor little girls4 ,there are children now down town going to ,sunday-school in her clothes4 ,so you see that even if your money goes to the missionary work1 you need not neglect other ways of doing good4 ,i think it's grand6 said ,marty with long-drawn breath4 ,i've a great mind to begin trying to do somebody some good1 and not keep everything myself4 ,i have a dime every week to do what ,i please with1 and sometimes ,i get other money besides4 ,i am sure you would find a great deal of satisfaction in helping others1 said ,mrs4 ,howell4 ,mrs4 ,howell1 asked ,marty1 after studying the verse in ,first ,corinthians for some time1 what does it mean about laying by in store the first day of the week8 ,the first day of the week is the ,sabbath1 and that is a fitting time to consider how ,god has prospered you and to lay aside your offering4 ,i think if ,i had a box and saved tenths ,i'd like to do that way1 said ,marty4 ,i suppose papa could give me my dime just as well ,saturday as ,monday4 ,i do believe ,i'd like to belong to that band and give some money to send ,bibles and teachers to the heathen4 ,oh6 do1 do join our mission-band1 urged ,edith4 ,you'll like it ever so much1 and she went on so enthusiastically telling how delightful it was1 that ,marty at once decided1 if her mamma approved1 she would join at the very next meeting4 ,of course she could not have been so constantly with ,edith without already having heard much about the band1 but she had never been so interested in it as this morning1 and was now very anxious to go to the meeting the coming ,saturday4 ,i'll run right home and ask mamma1 she said4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,marty ,,gets ,,started4 ,o ,mamma6 cried ,marty1 bursting into her mother's room1 may ,i have-- ,then she stopped suddenly1 for she saw her mother was sitting in the rocking-chair with ,freddie in her arms1 evidently trying to put him to sleep4 ,he looked around when ,marty came in so noisily1 and ,mrs4 ,ashford said1 in a vexed tone1 ,o ,marty6 why do you rush in that way8 ,i have been trying for half an hour to put ,freddie to sleep1 and have just got him to lay his head down4 ,now ,i will lay my head up1 ,freddie announced1 and sat up with his eyes as wide open as if he never meant to go to sleep in his life4 ,i'm so sorry1 mamma1 said ,marty1 but ,i didn't know he'd be going to sleep at this time4 ,it is sooner than usual1 but he seemed so sleepy and was so fretful1 ,i thought ,i would just give him his dinner early1 and put him to sleep before our lunch4 ,maybe he will lie on the bed with me1 and go to sleep that way1 as he did the other day1 suggested ,marty1 who was always very ready to make amends for any mischief she had caused4 ,wont ,freddie come and lie down beside sister8 ,no1 no1 no6 said ,freddie1 shaking his curly head and pushing ,marty away with his foot4 ,i'll tell you a pretty story1 said ,marty coaxingly4 ,no1 no1 said the little boy4 ,pretty story about the three bears4 ,at this mention of his favorite story ,freddie began to relent1 and presently stretched out his arms to ,marty4 ,mrs4 ,ashford put him on the bed1 and he cuddled up to ,marty while she told him the thrilling story of the ,great ,huge ,bear1 the ,middle-sized ,bear1 and the ,little ,small ,wee ,bear2 but long before she came to the place where little ,silver ,hair was found1 ,freddie was fast asleep4 ,what were you going to ask me1 ,marty8 inquired her mamma1 when they were seated at lunch4 ,oh1 yes6 said ,marty1 in her excitement laying down her fork and twisting her napkin4 ,i was going to ask you if ,i might have a box to put tenths in1 and if ,i mayn't belong to the mission-band4 ,i thought you didn't want to belong to the band4 ,well1 ,i didn't before1 but ,i do now4 ,i didn't know till this morning how nice it is4 ,mrs4 ,howell and ,edith have been telling me all about giving money systematically1 and showing me verses in the ,bible2 and so ,i thought ,i'd like to give some of my money1 and go with ,edith to the mission meeting next ,saturday1 if you will let me4 ,of course you may go if you wish4 ,and may ,i have a box to put my money in8 ,yes4 ,where shall ,i get it8 ,i'll give you one1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford1 laughing4 ,will that cardinal and gilt one of mine be suitable for the purpose8 ,will you give me that beauty8 ,thank you ever so much1 and ,marty flew around the table to kiss her mother4 ,when they went up stairs ,mrs4 ,ashford got out the pretty box1 and1 at ,marty's desire1 wrote on the bottom of it1 ,martha ,ashford1 and the date4 ,marty1 after excessively admiring and rejoicing over it1 made a place for it in the corner of one of her drawers4 ,then she consulted her mother how to begin with the tenths4 ,i haven't any of this week's money left1 she said--in fact she seldom had any of her weekly allowance over--but ,i have twenty-seven cents of my ,christmas money yet4 ,had ,i better take a tenth of that1 or wait and begin with my next ten cents8 ,her mother thought it would be best1 perhaps1 to keep the twenty-seven cents for emergencies1 and begin the tenths with the next week's money4 ,but one penny will be very little to take to the meeting1 said ,marty4 ,how would it do to put in two more as a thank-offering for something or other8 ,that is a very good idea4 ,in the evening her father came in for his share of the requests4 ,papa1 she asked1 would you just as soon give me my ten cents this evening as ,monday8 ,certainly1 he replied1 taking a dime out of his pocket4 ,what's going on this evening8 ,oh1 nothing's going on1 but ,i've begun to have a box for missionary money--that lovely cardinal one of mamma's with gilt spots on it--and ,i'm going to put tenths and offerings in it and take them to the mission-band to help send missionaries to the heathen4 ,well1 that's good4 ,but what are you going to do about candy and such things8 ,oh1 ,i don't put all my money in the box2 just some of it4 ,i'm going to learn to give--what was it ,i told you mamma8 ,systematically8 ,yes1 ma'am1 that's it4 ,you know1 papa1 that means giving just so much of your money and giving it at a certain time and never forgetting to give it4 ,that's the reason ,i wanted my ten cents now1 so that ,i can put some of it in the box to-morrow morning4 ,and1 ,o papa6 would it trouble you to give it to me all in pennies8 ,not at all1 said her father gravely1 and he counted out ten pennies1 taking back the dime4 ,now how much of that goes in the cardinal box8 ,one penny for tenths and two as a thank-offering1 because ,i'm thankful that ,i've got started4 ,so to-morrow morning three pennies will rattle into the box4 ,why to-morrow8 ,because it's the first day of the week4 ,that's the ,new ,testament plan1 'lay by in store on the first day of the week4' ,then she climbed on her father's knee and told him all her day's experience4 ,he approved of her plans and said he hoped she would be able to carry them out4 ,i think1 he said1 it is a very good thing for small folks to learn to spend their money wisely1 and a better thing to learn to be willing to share the good they have with those not so well off4 ,but you will have to watch yourself very carefully1 for it wont be so easy to do all this when the novelty wears off as it is now4 ,oh6 ,i'm always going to do this way1 said ,marty very determinedly1 all my life4 ,she always entered with heart and soul into whatever interested her1 and all that week she could hardly think of anything but the mission-band and the money she was saving for it4 ,by ,wednesday she had dropped two more pennies into the box--a free-will-offering she told her mother--and did not spend a cent for anything1 though one of her dolls was really suffering for a pink sash4 ,she was a great deal of the time with ,edith1 who gave her the most glowing accounts of what they did at the band--how they had recitations and dialogues and items1 how they made aprons and kettle-holders and sold them1 and how ,miss ,agnes read most interesting missionary stories to them while they sewed4 ,she also told of a beautiful letter the secretary1 ,mary ,cresswell1 had written to the lady missionary in the school in ,lahore1 ,india1 which the ,twigs supported1 and how they were anxiously looking for a reply4 ,miss ,agnes said they must not expect a reply very soon1 for missionaries were very busy people and had not much time for letter-writing4 ,but the girls thought that ,mrs4 ,c----1 the missionary1 would be so pleased with ,mary's letter she would certainly make time to write1 at least a tiny answer4 ,does the band support a whole school8 ,marty inquired in surprise4 ,it must take a lot of money4 ,what we do is to pay the teacher's salary1 and that's only about twenty or twenty-five dollars a year1 ,edith replied4 ,you see it's this kind of a school3 the missionary ladies rent a little room for a school and hire a native teacher1 somebody perhaps who attends one of the mission churches4 ,but how can any one afford to teach for so little money8 ,oh1 that's a good deal for them1 for the natives of those countries can live on very little1 ,miss ,agnes says4 ,so the missionaries sometimes have a good many of these schools in different parts of the city1 and they visit each one every two or three days to see how the children are getting on and to give them religious instruction4 ,miss ,agnes says in that way the missionaries can do something for a great many children1 and the more money we bands send to pay teachers the more of these little schools there may be4 ,marty could hardly wait for ,saturday to come4 ,she asked her mother to select a verse for her to say at the meeting4 ,for ,edith says they all repeat verses when their names are called4 ,her mother chose this one for her3 ,the silver is mine1 and the gold is mine1 saith the ,lord of hosts4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,wholes ,,instead ,,of ,,tenths4 ,when ,marty came home from the meeting the next ,saturday evening1 and entered the sitting-room in her usual whirlwind style1 she found her father there having a romp with ,freddie4 ,why1 here is little sister6 ,well1 missy1 where have you been8 he asked4 ,why1 papa6 exclaimed ,marty reproachfully4 ,to the mission meeting1 of course4 ,i told you this morning ,i was going4 ,so you did2 and you have told me every morning this week that this was the important day4 ,i don't know how ,i came to forget it4 ,well1 how did you like the meeting8 ,oh1 ever so much6 ,i heard a great many sad things4 ,that's a new reason for liking a thing1 said her father4 ,i mean1 replied ,marty1 ,i liked it because it was so nice and interesting1 but ,i did hear some sad things4 ,don't you think it's sad to hear of a little school in one of those big1 bad ,chinese cities1 where the children were beginning to learn about ,jesus1 being broken up because the folks in this country don't send money enough to pay a teacher8 ,and it would only take a little money1 too4 ,that is certainly very sad4 ,yes2 and ,miss ,agnes told us of other schools that have to send the girls and boys away because there isn't possibly room for them1 and there is no money to make the buildings larger4 ,i asked her why the big society in this country--the one where the money from all the bands is sent1 you know--didn't just take hold and build plenty of schools1 so that all the heathen children might be taught2 and she said that the ,board--that's the big society--has no money to send but what the churches and ,sunday-schools give them1 and lately they haven't been giving enough to build all the schools that are wanted4 ,isn't it awful6 ,a very sad state of affairs1 said ,mr4 ,ashford1 but he could hardly help smiling a little at ,marty's profound indignation4 ,i should think the people in this country couldn't sit still and see things going on in such a way1 she said4 ,why1 do you know1 ,miss ,agnes says there are places where the poor people are asking for missionaries1 and there are none to send1 because there's not money enough to support them4 ,i should think that people would just go and take all their money out of the banks and send it to the ,board4 ,then there would be so much money pouring in that the ,board would have to sit up nights to count it4 ,no1 no2 that wouldn't do1 said her father4 ,little girls don't understand these matters4 ,well1 but1 papa1 she said1 coming close to him1 dragging her coat after her by one sleeve1 don't you think if everybody were to give as the ,lord has prospered them1 there would be nearly enough money to do the right thing by the heathen8 ,yes1 there's something in that1 answered ,mr4 ,ashford1 looking with a queer kind of a smile at his wife1 over ,marty's head4 ,but you can't compel every one to do what is right4 ,all you can do is to attend to your own contributions4 ,well1 said ,marty1 half crying in her earnestness1 ,i started out to give tenths2 but as long as there are so many heathen1 and so few missionaries1 ,i'm going to give halves or wholes4 ,i can't stand tenths4 ,and she marched off and put every cent she had in the red box4 ,when she got her weekly allowance1 that also went in4 ,her mother suggested that she would better not give all her money away at once4 ,i think1 she said1 it would be much better to do as you started to do1 and not give in that impulsive way4 ,but ,marty was sure she should not regret it1 and declared she was going to give every bit of money she ever should have to send missionaries to the heathen4 ,she was very full of ardor for about two days1 though on ,monday something occurred that made her feel very bad4 ,she was playing with ,freddie in the morning1 and when schooltime came he began to whimper1 and holding her dress1 pleaded1 ,don't go1 ,marty2 play wis me4 ,she was very fond of her little brother1 and proud that he seemed to think more of her than he did of any one else1 so she was usually quite gentle with him4 ,she now petted him and coaxed him to let her go1 saying when she came home she would bring him a pretty little sponge cake4 ,she often brought these tasty little cakes to ,freddie1 and he considered them a great treat4 ,the prospect of one quite satisfied him1 and after many last kisses he let her go peaceably4 ,on the way home from school she stopped at the bakery1 and it was not until the cake was selected and wrapped up that she remembered she had no money4 ,it was all in her missionary box4 ,oh6 ,i can't take it after all1 she said regretfully4 ,i forgot ,i have no money4 ,that makes no difference at all1 said the kindly ,german woman1 who knew ,marty1 as ,mrs4 ,ashford generally dealt at the shop3 you take it all the same1 and bring the penny to-morrow--any day4 ,no1 thank you1 mamma wouldn't like me to do that1 answered ,marty1 hastening out to hide her tears4 ,she was so sorry for ,freddie's disappointment2 and disappointed he was1 for he had a good memory and immediately asked for his cake4 ,then there was a great crying scene1 for ,marty cried as heartily as he did1 and their mamma had to comfort them both4 ,i think1 mamma1 said ,marty1 when ,freddie had condescended to eat a piece of another kind of cake and quiet was restored1 ,i think1 after all1 ,i'll not put every cent of my money in the box1 but will keep a little to buy things for dear little ,freddie--and you1 giving her mother a squeeze4 ,that will be best1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,i know you enjoy bringing us things sometimes4 ,this was quite true4 ,marty was very generous1 and nothing pleased her more than to bring home some modest dainty1 such as her small purse would buy1 and share it with everybody in the house1 not forgetting ,katie in the kitchen4 ,but her penniless condition brought her a harder time yet4 ,the next day in school a sudden recollection flashed upon her that nearly took her breath away4 ,she could hardly wait until school was dismissed to race home to her mother1 to whom she managed to gasp1 ,oh1 mamma6 next ,friday is ,cousin ,alice's birthday6 ,is it8 said ,mrs4 ,ashford calmly4 ,what then8 ,why1 you know that letter-rack of silver cardboard that ,i have been making for her birthday1 and counted so on giving her1 isn't finished4 ,it is all ready but the ribbon1 isn't it8 ,it wont take long to finish4 ,i will make the bows for you4 ,but the ribbon isn't bought yet1 and ,i haven't got a cent6 exclaimed ,marty despairingly4 ,there were two very strict rules in connection with the money ,marty received each week4 ,one was she was never to ask for it in advance1 and the other that she was not to borrow from any one1 expecting to pay when she got her dime4 ,if she spent all her money the first of the week1 she had to do without things1 no matter how badly she wanted them1 till the next allowance came in4 ,this was to teach her foresight and carefulness1 her father said4 ,now she had no money and no expectation of any until ,saturday1 when the birthday would be over4 ,of course there was all the money in the red box1 but she did not dream of touching that4 ,it was just as much missionary money as if it was already in the hands of the ,board that ,miss ,agnes talked about4 ,if ,i had any ribbon that would suit1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford1 ,i would give it to you2 but ,i haven't4 ,besides1 for a present it would be better to have new ribbon4 ,how much would it cost8 ,rosa ,stevenson paid eight cents a yard for hers1 and it takes a yard and a half--narrow ribbon1 you know4 ,then you will want twelve cents4 ,i am sorry ,i cannot lend you the money1 but it is against the rule1 you know4 ,yes1 ma'am1 ,i know1 ,marty replied sorrowfully4 ,she was sadly disappointed1 as she had been looking forward for several weeks to the time when she should have the pleasure of presenting the nicely-made letter-rack to her cousin4 ,she did not grudge the money she had devoted to missions2 she would like to have given much more if she could2 but she began to see that ,edith's way of giving according to system was the best4 ,she was still very much interested in the heathen1 but they seemed a little farther off than on ,saturday1 while ,cousin ,alice and the letter-rack now absorbed most of her thoughts4 ,she stood dolefully gazing out the window1 not paying any attention to ,freddie's invitation to come and play cable cars4 ,well1 cheer up6 said her mother4 ,we will find some way out of the difficulty4 ,you try to think of some plan to get twelve cents1 and so will ,i4 ,between us we ought to devise something4 ,marty brightened up instantly and looked eagerly at her mother1 sure that relief was coming immediately4 ,what is your plan1 mamma8 she asked4 ,oh6 ,i didn't say ,i had one yet1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford1 laughing4 ,you must give me time to think2 and you must think yourself4 ,that was all she would say then1 and ,marty spent a very restless afternoon and evening trying to think of some way to earn or save that money1 but could think of nothing that would bring it in time for ,friday4 ,at bedtime her mother inquired1 ,have you got a plan yet8 ,no1 indeed4 ,i can't think of a thing1 answered ,marty1 nearly as doleful as ever4 ,how do you like this plan8 said ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,i have some rags up in the storeroom that ,i want picked over1 the white separated from the colored1 and if you will do it to-morrow afternoon1 ,i will give you fifteen cents4 ,oh1 ,i'll do it6 ,i'll do it6 cried ,marty in delight1 kissing her mother4 ,you're the best mamma that ever was6 ,it is not pleasant work1 and will probably take all your playtime1 cautioned her mother4 ,oh6 ,i don't mind that1 said ,marty4 ,so1 although the next afternoon was remarkably pleasant1 and it would have been delightful to be playing with her sled in the snow-heaped little park near by1 where the other girls were1 she very cheerfully spent it in the dull storeroom with an old calico wrapper over her dress1 sorting rags4 ,there were a good many to do--though she candidly said she didn't think there was more than fifteen cents' worth--and she got pretty tired4 ,katie offered to help1 but ,marty heroically refused1 and earned her money fairly4 ,the letter-rack was completed in good time1 and presented4 ,cousin ,alice said it was the very prettiest of all her gifts1 besides being extremely useful4 ,mamma1 said ,marty that evening1 ,i believe after all ,i'll go back to ,edith's plan of giving 'tenths' and 'offerings' to missions4 ,i think that would be the better way1 said her mother4 ,not that ,i'm tired of the heathen or the mission-band1 or of giving1 you know1 but just because-- ,yes1 ,i understand1 said her mother1 as she hesitated2 you are just as much interested in the matter as ever1 but you now see that there are more ways than one of doing good with money1 and that it is better to give systematically1 as ,mrs4 ,howell says4 ,then you know what you are doing1 and ,i dare say1 taking it all in all1 you will give more that way than by giving a good deal one time and nothing at all another4 ,oh6 ,i'll never come to the time when ,i wont give anything1 ,marty declared emphatically4 ,and she then truly believed she never should4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,ebony ,,chair4 ,for a few weeks everything went smoothly4 ,marty attended the meetings of the band1 in which she took great interest1 and put two or three pennies in her box every ,sunday morning4 ,but there came a time when she began to find it hard to give even that much4 ,there seemed to be so many little things she wanted1 and it was just the season of the year when she had very few presents of money4 ,she generally got some on her birthday1 in ,august1 and again at ,christmas2 but as she could not keep money very well1 that was soon spent1 and during the latter part of the winter she was very poor4 ,once or twice nothing went in the box but the strict tenth1 and once she had a hard struggle with herself before even that went in2 in fact1 she had a very bad time altogether4 ,it was all owing to a tiny chair4 ,o girls6 exclaimed ,hattie ,green1 one day at recess1 have you seen those lovely chairs in ,harrison's window8 ,what chairs8 inquired the girls4 ,oh1 such lovely little dolls' chairs6 ,carved1 you know1 and with beautiful red cushions4 ,i came by there this morning1 and that's the reason ,i was late at school1 ,i stopped so long to look at those cunning chairs4 ,let's all go home that way1 suggested ,marty1 and then we can see them4 ,all right1 said ,hattie4 ,so after school quite a crowd went around by ,harrison's toy-store to see the wonderful chairs4 ,there they were1 rather small1 to be sure1 but ebony--at least they looked like ebony--and crimson satin4 ,the girls were in raptures with them4 ,they are beauties6 cried ,edith4 ,how ,i should love to have one6 said ,marty4 ,i wonder how much they are1 said ,rosa ,stevenson4 ,you go in and ask1 ,rosa1 said ,edith4 ,yes1 do1 do1 urged the others4 ,rosa went1 and came back with the information that they were twelve cents apiece4 ,well1 that isn't so much1 said ,edith4 ,i think ,i can afford to get one4 ,i'll see when ,i go home4 ,i know ,i have enough money to buy one1 said ,rosa1 but ,i never buy anything without asking mamma about it first4 ,she'll let you get it1 said ,edith4 ,oh1 you girls always have some money saved up1 and ,i never have1 sighed ,marty4 ,and ,i do want one of those chairs so badly4 ,so do ,i1 said ,hattie1 and ,i haven't any money either1 but ,i'm going to tease mamma night and day till she gives me twelve cents4 ,it's no use to tease my mamma1 said ,marty4 ,if she wont let me do a thing1 she wont1 and that's the end of it4 ,but of course ,i'll tell her about the chairs1 and see what she says4 ,maybe she'll let me have one4 ,as soon as she reached home ,marty gave her mother a glowing description of the chairs1 winding up with1 ,and1 ,o mamma6 ,i do want one awfully4 ,but you have so many playthings already1 ,marty1 objected her mother4 ,just look at those closet shelves6 ,besides1 you got a complete set of dolls' furniture ,christmas4 ,oh1 ,i know ,i don't need another chair at all1 but those red ones are so cunning1 and one would look so well mixed in among my blue ones4 ,i should love to have one4 ,i am sorry your mind is so set on it1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford1 for ,i dislike to have you disappointed1 but when you have so many playthings1 ,i really don't feel like giving you money1 even if it is only a trifle4 ,may ,i buy a chair if ,i have money enough of my own8 ,marty asked4 ,oh1 yes--if you wish to spend your money that way2 but ,i would rather save it for something else if ,i were you4 ,marty had no very clear idea where money of her own was to come from just at that time1 but thought it possible the necessary amount might appear before the chairs were all sold4 ,the next morning ,rosa and ,edith came to school with money to buy chairs1 and at recess all their special friends went with them to ,harrison's to make the purchase4 ,when ,marty had a nearer view of the chairs and handled them1 she was more anxious than ever to possess one4 ,this anxiety increased as the days passed and the chairs gradually disappeared4 ,nobody gave her any money and her mother did not offer her any more paid work4 ,she was very1 very sorry that she had spent all of her allowance on ,monday morning--at least all but two cents and the one in the red box4 ,that1 of course1 she took with her to the meeting ,saturday afternoon4 ,saturday evening she received her next week's supply1 and that1 with the two cents she had over1 was exactly enough to get the longed-for toy4 ,but one cent was tenths4 ,that just spoils the whole thing1 she said to herself4 ,i might as well have none at all as only eleven cents4 ,then she wondered if it would not do to borrow that tenth4 ,she had not thought of taking out any of the money when she was in such straits about ,cousin ,alice's ribbon1 but this seemed different4 ,it was only one penny1 and she was sure of being able to replace it4 ,but borrowing was against the rule1 and it must be especially wrong to borrow missionary money4 ,she felt ashamed and her cheeks burned when the thought came to her4 ,i s'pose ,i'll have to give up the chair1 she sighed2 at least unless ,i get a little more money somehow4 ,i wish papa wasn't so strict about borrowing4 ,a penny wouldn't be much to borrow4 ,sunday morning she took out her money and counted it over again very carefully4 ,yes1 there was exactly twelve cents4 ,then she slowly took up one cent to drop in the box4 ,as she did so the temptation to borrow it came again4 ,no1 ,i wont do that1 she said resolutely1 but after looking at the penny for a while1 concluded not to put it in the box until after she came from ,sunday-school4 ,after ,sunday-school she tried it again1 but still hesitated4 ,i'll wait till bedtime1 she thought4 ,by bedtime she had decided not to put it in at all4 ,i b'lieve ,i'll borrow it4 ,it wont do any harm to let the box go empty for one week4 ,i'll get the chair to-morrow1 and make the tenth all right next ,sunday4 ,so she got into bed and covered herself up1 but she could not go to sleep4 ,she tossed and tumbled for what seemed to her a long time4 ,it's all because that penny isn't in the box1 she thought4 ,finally she could stand it no longer4 ,she got up1 and feeling around in the drawer1 found the penny and put it in the box4 ,then she went to bed1 and was soon asleep4 ,having decided she could not have what she so ardently desired1 ,marty should have kept out of the way of temptation1 but every day she went to look at the chairs1 and seeing them1 she continued to want one4 ,by ,thursday they were all gone but two1 and ,hattie triumphantly announced that at last her mamma had given her money to buy one4 ,then ,marty felt that she must have the other4 ,when she had her wraps on that afternoon ready to go out to play1 she went to the missionary box1 and1 with hands trembling in her excitement1 took out the solitary penny4 ,then without stopping to think she ran down stairs4 ,just as she was opening the street-door she repented1 and after meditating a while in the vestibule1 standing first on one foot and then on the other1 she slowly retraced her steps and put the penny back4 ,now it's safe1 she said4 ,i'll just dash out without it1 and of course when ,i haven't got it1 ,i can't spend it4 ,she dashed about half way1 when all at once the vision of the lovely chair rose up before her1 and the desire to possess it was greater than ever4 ,she stopped again to think1 and the result was1 she returned and got the penny--it was not quite so hard to take it out the second time as it was the first--and started for the street once more4 ,perhaps she might have repented and gone back again1 had not her mother1 who was entertaining some ladies in the parlor1 called to her1 ,marty1 don't race up and down stairs so1 and then ,marty went out with the penny in her hand4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,the ,,empty ,,box4 ,so the chair was bought and ,marty tried to think she was perfectly satisfied1 but it was strange how little she cared for it after all4 ,she showed her purchase to her mother1 who said it was quite pretty1 but not very substantial2 that she feared it would not last long4 ,marty put it in her dolls' house and played with it1 trying hard to enjoy it1 but her conscience was so ill at ease that she soon began to hate the sight of the chair1 and by ,friday evening she had pushed it away back on the shelf behind everything4 ,the sight of the red box1 too1 was more than she could stand1 it seemed to look so reproachfully at her2 even after she had laid one of her white aprons over it she disliked to open the drawer4 ,there was a special meeting of the band that ,saturday1 as they were getting ready for their anniversary4 ,no contributions were expected1 so that it did not matter about ,marty having no money2 but she was feeling so low-spirited and ashamed that she simply could not go among the others nor take part in missionary exercises4 ,are you going for ,edith this afternoon or is she coming for you8 inquired ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,i'm not going to the meeting1 replied ,marty in a low voice4 ,i told ,edith ,i wasn't going4 ,not going6 exclaimed ,mrs4 ,ashford in surprise4 ,why1 you are not tired of it already1 are you8 ,no1 ma'am1 ,marty answered1 but ,i don't want to go to-day4 ,mrs4 ,ashford thought perhaps ,marty and ,edith had had a little falling out1 though it must be said they very seldom quarreled2 or that ,marty was beginning to tire a little of her new enterprise1 for she was rather in the habit of taking things up with great energy and soon becoming weary of them4 ,mrs4 ,ashford had not expected her missionary enthusiasm to last very long2 and as she herself was not at that time much interested in such matters1 she was not prepared to keep up ,marty's zeal1 but was inclined to allow her to go on with the work or give it up1 just as she chose1 as she did in matters of less importance4 ,however1 ,mrs4 ,ashford knew that1 whatever the trouble was1 it would all come out sooner or later1 for ,marty always told her everything4 ,so she merely said1 ,well1 as it is so bleak to-day and you have a cold1 perhaps it would be just as well for you not to go out4 ,marty1 disinclined to play1 took one of her ,bessie ,books and sat down by the window4 ,though so cheerless out-doors1 with the wind whistling among the leafless trees and blowing the dust about1 that sitting room was certainly very cosey and pleasant4 ,marty's pretty mamma1 as she often called her1 in her becoming afternoon gown of soft1 dark red stuff1 sat in a low rocker in front of the bright fire busy with her embroidery and softly singing as she worked4 ,freddie1 on the rug at her feet1 played quietly with a string of buttons4 ,the only sounds in the room were ,mrs4 ,ashford's murmured song and an occasional chirp from the canary4 ,but all at once this cheerful quietness was broken by loud sobbing4 ,poor ,marty had been so unhappy the last two days1 and now added to what she felt to be the meanness of appropriating that missionary penny1 was the disappointment of not being at the meeting1 for she was longing to be there1 though not feeling fit to go4 ,besides1 it was a great load on her mind that she had not told her mamma how she got the chair1 nor what was the reason she did not want to go to the meeting4 ,and now she could endure her wretchedness no longer4 ,what's the matter1 ,marty8 exclaimed ,mrs4 ,ashford1 much startled4 ,are you ill8 ,is your throat sore8 ,come here and tell me what ails you8 ,oh1 mamma1 ,i'm very1 very wicked1 sobbed ,marty1 and running to her mother's arms she tried to tell her troubles1 but cried so that she could not be understood4 ,never mind1 never mind1 said her mother soothingly4 ,wait until you can stop crying and then tell me all about it4 ,freddie was dreadfully distressed to see his sister in such a state and did all he could to comfort her1 bringing her his horse-reins and a whole lapful of building-blocks1 and was rather surprised that they did not have the desired effect4 ,when ,marty became quieter she told the whole story of the dolls' chair and the missionary penny4 ,that's the reason ,i didn't want to go to the meeting1 she said4 ,i don't feel fit to 'sociate with good missionary children4 ,i'm so sorry and so ashamed4 ,i wish ,i had let the penny stay in the box and the chair stay in the store4 ,we cannot undo what is done1 said her mother gravely4 ,we can only make all possible amends and try to do better in future4 ,you can replace the penny this evening1 and this lesson you have had may teach you to be more self-denying4 ,you know you cannot spend all your money for trifles and yet have some to give away4 ,if you want to give you must learn to do without some things4 ,but1 ,marty1 if it is going to be so difficult to devote some of your money to missions1 you had better just give up the attempt and go back to your old way of doing4 ,oh1 no1 no6 exclaimed ,marty earnestly4 ,please let me try again4 ,i know ,i'll do better now1 and ,i do want to help in missionary work4 ,well1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford1 just as you wish4 ,i don't like to see you beginning things and giving them up so soon1 but at the same time ,i don't think you need feel obliged to give to these things whether you want to or not4 ,oh1 but ,i do want to ever so much1 ,marty protested4 ,she felt better after telling her mother all about the matter1 and now was quite ready to brighten up and start afresh4 ,the next morning besides dropping in two pennies for tenths she put in another1 which she said was a sorry offering1 but did not know the ,bible name for it4 ,she would have liked to make amends by putting in the whole ten cents1 but her mother would not allow it4 ,things would soon be as bad as ever1 were her warning words1 if that's the way you are going to do4 ,the next thing you will want to take some of it out1 as you did the penny for the chair4 ,no1 no1 mamma6 ,i don't b'lieve ,i ever could be so mean again1 ,marty declared4 ,i don't believe either that you would do it again4 ,but you will certainly save yourself a great deal of worry1 and will be likely to do more good in the work you have begun1 by following ,mrs4 ,howell's advice of having a plan of giving and keeping to it4 ,well1 ,i'm going to try that way in real earnest now1 said ,marty2 but ,i wish it was as easy for me to be steady about things as it is for ,edith4 ,she never seems to get into trouble over her tenths4 ,a few days after this1 when she was spending the afternoon with ,edith1 ,marty told ,mrs4 ,howell what a time she had had1 and added1 ,doesn't it seem strange that ,i can't give my money regularly8 ,perhaps1 suggested ,mrs4 ,howell1 you have not asked ,god to help you in your new enterprise4 ,why1 no1 ,i haven't1 replied ,marty4 ,i never thought of it4 ,my dear child1 we are nothing in our own strength4 ,we should always ask ,god to help us1 in what we attempt1 and ask for his blessing4 ,unless he blesses our work1 it cannot prosper4 ,but ,i don't know how to ask him1 said ,marty1 speaking softly4 ,the prayers ,i say every night are ',our ,father1' and ',now ,i lay me1' and there's nothing in them about mission work4 ,i should have to say another prayer1 shouldn't ,i8 ,if you more fully understood the ,lord's ,prayer1 you would know that exactly what you want is included in it4 ,but why cannot you ask for what you desire in your own words8 ,just go to ,god as trustingly as you would to your mother1 when you want something you know she will let you have1 if it is good for you to have it4 ,and that would be really praying1 for1 ,marty1 don't you know there's a great difference between saying prayers and praying8 ,you may say a dozen prayers and not pray at all4 ,don't ,i pray when ,i kneel beside the bed and say those two prayers8 ,you do if you make the petitions your own1 and really desire what you ask for1 and if you ask in the right spirit4 ,but if you just say the words over without thinking what you are saying1 or whom you are speaking to1 it is not praying at all4 ,it is mocking ,god4 ,i'm sure ,i wouldn't do that1 said ,marty1 looking frightened4 ,i know you would not willfully1 my dear1 but ,i just want to show you that saying over certain words is not praying4 ,we don't realize what a blessed privilege it is to pray4 ,god's ear is open night and day to any of us1 even the smallest child4 ,he is as ready to hear anything you may have to say as he is to hear ,dr4 ,edgar when he gets up in his pulpit and prays4 ,then it wouldn't be wrong to ask ,god to help me give missionary money regularly1 would it8 ,it would be very right4 ,that night when ,marty knelt beside her bed she really prayed4 ,she felt that ,god was listening to her1 and when she came to the words1 ,now ,i lay me down to sleep1 she realized that she was committing herself to his care1 and was sure that in that care she was safe4 ,after her usual prayers she paused a moment and then added1 ,and1 ,o ,lord1 please help me to be steady in giving missionary money4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,how ,,missions ,,helped ,,the ,,home ,,folks4 ,the mission work that ,marty had entered upon was teaching her to pray4 ,she really wished to be a mission worker in her small way and she tried hard to be faithful1 but owing to her forgetfulness or impatience or selfishness1 things sometimes went wrong4 ,once or twice she forgot to learn a verse to say at the meeting1 and was much mortified4 ,once she got very impatient with a piece of sewing and spoiled it1 and then was angry because some of the girls laughed at her4 ,and she still found it hard to give her money regularly2 some weeks she wanted it so much for something else4 ,but all these little trials she carried to ,god and was helped4 ,this led to the habit of bringing all her little troubles to him4 ,one day ,miss ,agnes remarked that we don't put enough thanks in our prayers4 ,we ask that such and such things may be done1 but we don't thank ,god half enough for what he has done and is constantly doing for us4 ,we come to him with all the miseries of our lives1 but don't tell him about the happy and joyous things4 ,afterward ,marty put more thanks in her prayers1 and she told ,miss ,agnes that it was astonishing how many thankful things there were to say4 ,marty also used her ,bible a great deal more after she joined the band than before4 ,besides the verse they were expected to repeat at roll-call1 ,miss ,agnes sometimes asked them to bring all the texts they could find bearing upon a certain subject4 ,the golden text for ,sunday-school might be learned from the lesson-paper1 but it was necessary to search the ,bible for these other verses4 ,at first ,marty did not know how to begin to find them and appealed to her mother for help4 ,mrs4 ,ashford gave all the assistance in her power1 though saying with a half-sigh1 ,i'm afraid ,i don't know much about these things1 ,marty4 ,one day ,mrs4 ,ashford had been out shopping and in the evening several parcels were sent home4 ,these she opened in the sitting-room4 ,as she unwrapped quite a large one ,mr4 ,ashford inquired1 ,what is that huge book8 ,when his wife handed it to him he whistled and exclaimed1 ,a concordance6 ,what in the world do you want with this8 ,are you going to study theology8 ,no1 replied ,mrs4 ,ashford1 laughing1 but ,marty comes to me with so many questions that ,i found ,i could not get on any longer without that4 ,what's a concordance1 mamma8 asked ,marty1 and has it anything to do with me8 ,it is a book to help us find all those verses in the ,bible you have been asking me about4 ,you see ,i'm not as good and wise as your friend ,mrs4 ,howell1 and don't know as much about the ,bible as she does4 ,you're every bit as good1 declared ,marty1 who by this time had got both arms around her mother's waist as she stood on the rug1 and was looking up in her face lovingly1 and you will be as wise when you are as old1 for she is a great deal older than you4 ,her father and mother both laughed at ,marty's earnestness1 and ,mr4 ,ashford said1 ,that's right1 ,marty4 ,stand up for your mother4 ,they found the concordance very useful1 and from time to time spent many happy hours searching the ,scriptures with its aid1 comparing passages and talking them over4 ,not only did they find texts for the band1 but other subjects were traced through the sacred pages4 ,occasionally ,marty saw her mother busy with the concordance and ,bible when she had not asked her assistance about verses4 ,it was while ,marty was giving wholes instead of tenths and the red box was so well filled1 that it met with an accident that disfigured it for life4 ,though the occurrence was a sad and humiliating one for ,marty1 it led to good results4 ,she had the box out one day and was counting the money1 although she knew precisely how much there was4 ,as a good deal of it was in pennies it made quite a noise1 so that ,freddie1 attracted by the bright outside and noisy inside1 thought he would like to have the box to play with4 ,he asked ,marty to give it to him1 but she1 busy with her counting1 answered rather sharply1 ,no1 indeed2 you can't have it4 ,go away1 now4 ,don't touch6 ,but ,freddie was very quick in his movements1 and before she could get it out of his reach he had seized it and shaken the contents all over the floor4 ,marty1 very angry at having her beautiful box treated so roughly1 and seeing the money rolling about in all directions1 cried in loud tones1 ,let go1 you naughty boy6 ,you'll break it6 ,freddie1 now angry also1 and determined to have what he wanted1 held on manfully1 screaming1 ,dive it to me6 dive it to me6 and in the struggle a small piece was broken off the lid4 ,mrs4 ,ashford1 hearing the loud tones1 hurried into the room1 and arrived in time to see ,marty strike ,freddie with one hand while she held the box high above her head with the other4 ,freddie was pounding her with all his little strength and crying uproariously4 ,marty1 ,marty6 called ,mrs4 ,ashford1 don't strike your little brother4 ,what is the matter8 ,come here1 ,freddie4 ,but ,freddie stamped his foot and screamed1 ,will have it6 ,will have pretty box6 and ,marty wailed1 ,oh6 he's broken my lovely box and spilled all my money4 ,it was some time before peace was fully restored1 though ,marty was soon very repentant for what she had done and ,freddie's ill-temper never lasted very long4 ,after standing a while with his face to the wall1 as was his custom on such occasions1 crying loudly1 the little tempest was all over4 ,he turned around1 and putting up his hands to wipe his eyes said pitifully1 ,my teeks are so wet1 and ,i have no hamititch to dry them4 ,come here and ,i'll dry them1 said his mother1 taking him on her knee4 ,illustration3 ,mrs4 ,ashford1 hearing the loud tones1 hurried into the room4 ,page #eh ,my chin is all wet1 he said4 ,so it is1 but we'll dry all your face4 ,and my hands are all wet4 ,what a poor little wet boy6 said his mother tenderly1 but cheerfully too4 ,after making him comfortable she said1 ,now are you sorry you were such a naughty boy8 ,he nodded his head1 and turning to ,marty1 who was crawling around gathering up her money1 he said1 ,sorry1 ,marty4 ,marty crept up to him1 and kissing over and over the little arm she had struck1 said with eyes full of tears1 ,you dear little darling1 you don't know how awfully sorry ,marty is for being so bad to you6 ,then they rubbed their curly heads together until ,freddie began to laugh1 and in a few moments he was playing with his tin horse as merrily as if nothing had happened1 while ,marty gathered up and put away her treasures4 ,now1 ,marty1 said her mother1 you must keep that out of ,freddie's sight4 ,he is nothing but a baby1 and doesn't know that it is any different from any other box4 ,let me see where it is broken4 ,perhaps ,i can mend it4 ,no1 mamma1 said ,marty1 ,i don't want it mended4 ,i am going to let it be this way to remind me of how naughty ,i was to my dear little brother1 and maybe it will keep me from getting so angry with him again4 ,it does seem dreadful1 too1 to think that just when ,i'm trying to be good to children away over the sea1 ,i should be partic'lerly bad to my own little brother1 doesn't it8 ,i sha'n't say a word1 replied her mother1 for ,i see you can rebuke yourself4 ,so the broken missionary box was a constant reminder to ,marty that her work for those far away should make her all the more loving to the dear ones at home4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,not ,,in ,,the ,,good ,,times4 ,one ,saturday afternoon as ,edith and ,marty entered the room where the meetings of the band were held1 half a dozen girls rushed to them1 exclaiming1 ,oh1 what do you think6 ,mary ,cresswell has a letter from ,mrs4 ,c----6 ,how eager they all were to hear that letter6 ,as soon as the opening exercises were over1 ,miss ,walsh told ,mary she might read it4 ,the young secretary looked quite proud and important as she unfolded the letter1 very tenderly1 indeed1 for it was written on thin paper1 as foreign letters are1 and she was afraid of tearing it4 ,after speaking very nicely of the letter she had received from them1 ,mrs4 ,c---- went on to tell them something about ,lahore and about the school they were interested in4 ,she said3 ,you must not imagine a well-arranged schoolroom with desks1 maps1 black-boards1 and so on4 ,we cannot afford anything like that1 and in any case it would be useless to the kind of pupils we have4 ,we pay a woman a little for the use of part of the room in which she lives1 and while the school is in session she goes on with her work in one corner4 ,this room is quite dark1 as1 having no windows1 all the light it receives is from the door4 ,it has no furniture to speak of4 ,the teacher and pupils sit on the earth floor4 ,she then described the dress of the little girls1 which certainly did not appear to be very comfortable for the cool weather they sometimes have in ,north ,india1 and said1 ,no matter how poor and scanty the clothing1 they must have some kind of jewelry1 even if it is only glass or brass bangles4 ,they are anything but cleanly1 as they are not taught in their own homes to be so2 besides1 some of their customs are considerably against cleanliness4 ,for instance1 they must not wash themselves at all for a certain length of time after the death of relatives4 ,so it sometimes happens the children come to school in a very dirty condition4 ,these children1 ,mrs4 ,c---- said1 were bright and learned quite readily4 ,she mentioned some of the hymns and ,scripture verses they knew1 and some of the answers they had given to questions she put to them4 ,but the great difficulty is1 she wrote1 they are taken away from school so young to be married and thus lost to us4 ,still it is good to think that they receive some religious instruction1 and matters in regard to girls and women in ,india are gradually improving4 ,not quite so much stress is laid on child-marriage2 indeed1 some native societies are being formed for the purpose of opposing this custom1 and many more girls are allowed to attend school than used to be the case4 ,but there is room yet for great improvement4 ,you1 my young friends1 in your happy childhood and girlhood1 cannot conceive the miseries of these poor little creatures4 ,thank ,god your lot is cast in a ,christian land1 and oh6 do all you can to send the gospel light into these dark places of the earth4 ,the girls had a great deal to say about this letter1 and as it was sewing afternoon1 ,miss ,walsh allowed them to talk over their work instead of having any reading4 ,somebody told me1 said little ,daisy ,roberts1 that in ,india they don't care as much about girls as boys1 and sometimes they kill the girl babies4 ,is that so8 ,yes1 replied ,miss ,walsh4 ,it used to be a very common custom1 and is still so to some extent1 though the ,british ,government has done much to stop it4 ,they must be very cruel to want to kill their own dear little babies4 ,why1 if anybody should hurt our little ,nellie1 we'd all fly at him and nearly tear him to pieces1 and ,daisy's face got very red and she doubled up her little fist at the very thought of such a thing4 ,it isn't always1 nor perhaps often1 done in a spirit of cruelty4 ,sometimes it is because the parents are poor and cannot afford to marry their daughters1 for weddings cost a great deal1 and according to the notions of the country everybody must be married4 ,often it ruins a man to get his daughters married1 and he lives in poverty all the rest of his life4 ,then very ignorant and superstitious parents sometimes sacrifice their children to please their gods1 and as girls are not as much thought of as boys1 it is frequently the girls who are killed4 ,but1 as ,i told you1 the ,government does not allow such doings1 and when people are found breaking the law they are punished4 ,besides1 as ,christianity spreads these wicked things cease4 ,i think that way they have of making little girls get married is awful1 said ,edith4 ,just think of being dragged off to be married when you're only a little mite of a thing1 and having to leave your own mamma and live with a cross old mother-in-law who abuses you6 ,don't their fathers and mothers love them at all1 ,miss ,agnes1 that they send them off that way and allow them to be miserable8 asked ,marty1 who was ready to cry over the miseries of the poor little ,india girl4 ,of course there are many cruel parents--heathenism1 you know1 does not teach people to be kind and loving--but many love their children as much as your parents love you4 ,in fact they are over-indulgent to them1 and let them do just what they please when they are small4 ,and you may imagine that the mother especially has a very sore heart when her little daughter is taken from her and when she hears of her being ill-treated in her new home4 ,but it is considered a disgrace if girls are not married when mere children2 and a loving mother wishes to keep her daughters from disgrace4 ,and how if the little girl's husband dies8 ,rosa ,stevenson inquired4 ,oh1 then the poor little widow leads a miserable life4 ,why1 how8 ,marty asked4 ,can't she go back home then8 ,no1 ,miss ,walsh answered4 ,she has to live on in the father-in-law's house1 where she is treated shamefully1 made to do hard work1 is half starved1 and not allowed clothes enough to keep her comfortable4 ,she is not taken care of when sick1 and is treated worse in every way than you have any idea of or ever can have4 ,it's perfectly dreadful6 declared one of the girls4 ,didn't they use to burn the widows on their husbands' funeral pile8 asked another4 ,yes1 but the ,british ,government put a stop to that4 ,i believe ,i'd rather be burnt up and done with it than have to lead such a miserable life1 said ,mary ,cresswell4 ,oh1 no1 it would be dreadful to be burnt1 said ,rosa4 ,seems to me it's dreadful all around1 said ,marty1 sighing4 ,you may be thankful you don't have to make the choice1 said ,miss ,walsh4 ,then the poor children are not even made comfortable when they go to school1 ,rosa went on1 so dirty and forlorn6 ,how queerly they're dressed1 said ,hannah ,morton4 ,they seem to be dressed principally in earrings and bracelets1 remarked ,marty4 ,miss ,agnes1 inquired ,mary1 aren't there other kinds of schools besides these little day-schools8 ,oh1 yes4 ,one of the first things that the missionaries try to do is to establish boarding-schools1 so as to get the boys and girls altogether away from the influence of their heathen homes4 ,this is the way many converts are made4 ,there are now many such schools and much good has been done by them4 ,you remember we sent the extra ten dollars we had last year to help build an addition to a boarding-school in ,china4 ,are ,chinese little girls treated as badly as the ones in ,india8 ,marty asked4 ,why1 yes1 said ,hannah1 before ,miss ,walsh could reply4 ,don't you remember the ',chinese ,slave ,girl1' that ,miss ,agnes read to us8--at least read some of it4 ,and don't you know how they are tortured by binding their feet8 ,that isn't done on purpose to torture them1 said ,mary4 ,that's a custom of the country4 ,most of their customs appear to be tortures1 said ,marty4 ,yes1 said ,miss ,walsh1 the customs of barbarous and half-civilized nations are very hard on the women and girls4 ,well1 it all makes me feel very sorrowful1 ,marty declared4 ,i never thought before1 when ,i've had such good times all my life1 that there are so many little girls who are not--a-- ,not in the good times8 said ,miss ,walsh1 helping her out4 ,yes1 ma'am2 and ,i do wish ,i could do something for some of them4 ,so do ,i1 said several of the others4 ,i suppose1 suggested ,edith1 the faster we send the gospel to those countries the better it will be for the girls and everybody4 ,couldn't we raise more money this year1 enough to support another school1 or to pay for a girl or boy in a boarding-school somewhere8 ,rosa proposed4 ,in that case we should have to double1 or more than double1 our usual amount1 said ,miss ,walsh4 ,the question is1 can we do that8 ,oh1 do let us try6 exclaimed several of the girls4 ,then they began forthwith to make plans for raising more money4 ,of course the more members we have1 the more money we'll raise1 said ,mary ,cresswell1 so ,i think we'd better try again to get others to join our band4 ,i have asked the ,patterson girls two or three times1 but ,i'm going to ask them again4 ,better not ask them plump to join1 suggested ,bertie ,lee4 ,just get them somehow to come to one meeting1 and then they'll be sure to want to belong4 ,there's some wisdom in that1 said ,miss ,walsh1 laughing4 ,yes'm1 said ,bertie1 and ,i believe ,i'll try that way with ,annie ,kelley4 ,i'm going to ask that new girl in our ,sunday-school class1 said ,hannah4 ,i'm going to try to get somebody to come1 said ,marty4 ,so am ,i1 ,and ,i1 cried the others4 ,that's right1 said ,miss ,walsh4 ,we want to get as many people as possible interested in missionary work1 and1 as ,mary says1 the more that are interested and belong to societies1 the more money will be raised1 and1 of course1 the more good will be done4 ,so1 don't you see1 you are aiding the cause very much when you try to make our meetings attractive1 and so induce others to join the band4 ,i've thought of a way to make some missionary money1 if it would be right to do it1 said ,edith4 ,what is it8 asked ,miss ,walsh4 ,well--you know those prizes ,dr4 ,edgar and ,mr4 ,stevenson give at the ,sunday-school anniversary for learning the ,psalms and chapters--would it do to ask them to give us money instead of books or anything else1 so that we might have it for missions8 ,we certainly might ask our pastor and superintendent what they think of the plan4 ,i have no doubt they would be willing to adopt it when they know what the money is to be used for4 ,i think myself1 your idea is a very good one4 ,yes1 said ,rosa1 we should not only be studying the ,bible for our own sakes1 but be helping missions at the same time4 ,we'd be working for our missionary money then1 shouldn't we8 remarked one of the girls4 ,yes1 indeed6 replied another1 with a laugh and shrug4 ,she was not fond of committing to memory4 ,it's a good way1 though1 said ,marty1 standing up for ,edith's suggestion1 and ,i'm going to start right in and learn something4 ,miss ,agnes1 ,i wonder how much they'd give for the #aaith ,psalm8 ,marty asked this in real earnest1 and although ,miss ,walsh felt like smiling1 she answered gravely1 ,i don't think it is quite the right spirit in which to study the ,bible1 ,marty--doing it only for the sake of the money1 even if the money is for missions4 ,oh6 ,i shouldn't do it just for the money1 but ,i thought if ,i could get more for a long ,psalm than for a short one1 ,i'd rather learn the long one1 and have more missionary money4 ,but ,i shouldn't want to do it if it was wrong1 you know1 ,marty added1 looking distressed4 ,i know you would not1 said ,miss ,walsh kindly4 ,i have no doubt your motives are all right1 though you can hardly explain them4 ,i can understand that you would be willing to do considerable hard work for missions1 and ,i am glad of your willingness and enthusiasm4 ,they help me4 ,then ,marty looked radiant4 ,there were other plans proposed1 and every one had so much to say that ,miss ,walsh had some trouble in getting the meeting to break up4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,jennie4 ,i do b'lieve1 said ,marty one day1 after she had been a member of the mission-band for several months1 ,i do b'lieve that hearing so much about the poor little children in ,india and ,china and those places1 and trying to do something to help them1 makes me feel far more like helping poor children here at home4 ,now1 there's ,jennie--,i know ,i shouldn't have thought much about her if ,i hadn't been thinking of those far-away children4 ,this was after she had made some sacrifices for the benefit of poor little ,jennie1 and this is the way she first came to know of her4 ,when the spring house-cleaning was going on1 ,mrs4 ,ashford's regular helper one day could not come and sent another woman4 ,in the evening when ,mrs4 ,ashford went into the kitchen to pay this ,mrs4 ,scott for her day's work1 ,marty1 who had a great habit of following her mother around the house1 went also4 ,mrs4 ,scott had just finished her supper1 and after receiving her money and replying to ,mrs4 ,ashford's pleasant remarks1 she said hesitatingly1 pointing to a saucer of very fine canned peaches which was part of her supper1 but which she had apparently only tasted1 ,please1 mem1 may ,i take them splendid peaches home to my sick little girl8 ,she can't eat nothin' at all hardly1 and she would relish them1 ,i know4 ,if you'd jist give me the loan of an old bowl or somethin-- ,oh6 have you a sick child8 said ,mrs4 ,ashford sympathizingly4 ,she shall certainly have some peaches1 but you must eat those yourself4 ,katie1 get-- ,oh6 no1 mem1 protested ,mrs4 ,scott1 that's too much like beggin'4 ,i jist wanted to take mine to her4 ,no1 it isn't begging at all1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,i'm very glad you told me about your little girl4 ,katie1 fill one of those small jars with peaches4 ,then ,mrs4 ,ashford went into the pantry1 and returning with two large oranges and some ,albert biscuit1 asked1 ,can you carry these also8 ,mrs4 ,scott was full of thanks1 and said she knew such nice things would do ,jennie a world of good4 ,i can make enough to keep her warm in winter and get her plain vittles1 but it isn't at all what she ought to have now1 ,i know1 she said sorrowfully4 ,mrs4 ,ashford asked what was the matter with ,jennie and how long she had been ill4 ,mrs4 ,scott replied that she had hurt her back more than a year ago2 and though she had been doctored then and appeared to get a little better1 since they moved to their present abode--for they came from a distant town--she had become worse and was now not able to walk at all1 but was obliged to lie in bed1 sometimes suffering much pain4 ,how was she hurt8 ,mrs4 ,ashford inquired4 ,she fell down the stair1 was all the reply given1 but ,katie said afterward that she had heard that ,jennie was thrown or pushed down stairs by her drunken father4 ,she said poor ,mrs4 ,scott had had a very hard life with this shiftless1 drunken husband1 who abused her and the children4 ,all the children were dead now except ,jennie1 who was about a year older than ,marty1 and early in the winter old ,scott1 as ,katie called him1 died himself from the effects of a hurt received in a fight while on a spree4 ,as ,mrs4 ,scott had been ill part of the winter and unable to work much1 she had got behind with her rent1 and altogether had been having a very hard time4 ,marty was very much interested in what ,mrs4 ,scott said1 and asked a question or two on her own account4 ,who stays with your little girl when you are away8 ,bless your sweet eyes6 nobody stays with her4 ,she just lies there her lone self1 unless some of the other children in the house run in and out1 but mostly she doesn't want their noise4 ,how long has she been in bed8 ,most of the time for eight months1 miss1 replied the poor mother with a sigh4 ,doesn't she ever sit up in the rocking-chair8 ,we have no rocking-chair1 but sometimes when ,i go home from work1 or the days ,i have no work1 ,i hold her in my arms a bit to rest her4 ,has she got anything to amuse her8 ,yes1 she has a picture-book ,i got her last ,christmas4 ,mamma6 exclaimed ,marty1 as soon as the door closed behind ,mrs4 ,scott1 just think of lying in bed since ,christmas1 and now it's the first of ,may1 with nothing but one picture-book6 ,ah6 ,marty1 said her mother1 there are many people in the world who have very hard times4 ,well1 ,i don't know them all1 and ,i couldn't help them all if ,i did2 but ,i feel that ,i know ,jennie real well1 and mayn't ,i give her some of my books and playthings8 a whole lot1 so that she wont be so lonesome when her mother's away4 ,i was thinking of going to see her soon1 and if you wish you may go too and carry her a picture-book or something of the sort4 ,marty in her usual wholesale way would have carried half her possessions to ,jennie1 but ,mrs4 ,ashford prevailed upon her to limit her gift to a small book and a few bright cards4 ,you would better see ,jennie first1 she said4 ,she may not care for books and may be too miserable to care much for playthings4 ,it happened the day they fixed upon to go ,mrs4 ,ashford brought home from market a small measure of strawberries1 though they were yet somewhat expensive4 ,marty1 seeing them on the lunch-table1 nearly went wild over them1 being very fond of the fruit1 but her mother noticed that after she was served she barely tasted them1 and then sat with the spoon in her hand gravely thinking4 ,don't you like them after all1 ,marty8 ,o mamma1 they're perfectly delicious6 ,i was just thinking how good they would taste to ,jennie4 ,can't we take her some of them8 ,i am afraid there are none to spare4 ,you know ,katie must have some1 and ,i want to save a few for your papa4 ,i might take her mine1 said ,marty slowly4 ,i've only eaten one4 ,but she looked at the berries longingly4 ,that would be too much of a sacrifice1 ,i fear1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford1 but ,i'll tell you what we will do if you are willing4 ,you set yours aside for ,jennie and ,i will give you half of mine1 and then we will all have some4 ,marty was afraid it would not be fair to have her mother make a sacrifice also1 but ,mrs4 ,ashford declared she should like it of all things1 and was very glad ,marty had thought of taking some berries to ,jennie4 ,so the strawberries were put in a basket with two glasses of jelly1 some nice rusks that ,katie was famous for making1 and a closely-covered dish of chicken broth4 ,marty had her parcel ready1 and they set out on their expedition4 ,when they reached the house and knocked at the door of the room ,mrs4 ,scott had directed them to1 a weak but shrill voice cried out1 ,come6 ,they entered a neat but poorly furnished room1 of which the only occupant was a pale1 thin girl1 lying in what appeared to be a very uncomfortable position in bed4 ,i suppose you are ,jennie1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford1 with her pleasant smile4 ,yes1 ma'am1 answered the girl1 staring4 ,i am ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,my little girl and ,i have come to see you4 ,jennie probably had few visitors1 and she certainly did not know how to treat them4 ,she did not ask her present ones to be seated1 and merely continued to stare at them as well as she could stare in the doubled-up way she was lying4 ,your mother is out to-day1 is she8 said ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,yes1 but she's only gone for half a day4 ,she ought to be home now1 and then the poor child broke into a whining cry1 saying1 ,i wish she'd come and fix me1 for ,i'm all slid down1 and give me some dinner4 ,it is very hard to be polite and pleasant when you are faint1 sick1 and generally miserable4 ,wont you let me fix you8 asked ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,she put the basket on the table1 and taking off her gloves1 approached the bed4 ,now1 ,marty1 she said1 as ,i raise ,jennie1 you beat up the pillows4 ,marty beat them with a will1 and the sick girl was soon comfortably placed4 ,she appeared greatly relieved and sighed from satisfaction4 ,mrs4 ,ashford1 seeing a tin plate on the shelf1 covered it with one of the napkins from her basket1 and placing on it the small glass saucer of strawberries and a rusk1 gave it to ,marty to carry to ,jennie4 ,the wan face of the invalid flushed with pleasure when she saw the dainty food4 ,for me6 she exclaimed4 ,of course it's for you1 replied ,marty1 settling the plate on the bed4 ,just then ,mrs4 ,scott entered1 almost breathless from her hurried walk1 having been detained1 and knowing ,jennie would need her4 ,she was exceedingly grateful when she found ,mrs4 ,ashford and ,marty ministering to her sick child4 ,o mother6 cried the latter4 ,the lady lifted me up in bed2 and see the strawberries6 ,some are for you4 ,no1 no1 protested her mother1 but ,jennie persisted in forcing at least one upon her4 ,when ,marty saw how the berries were enjoyed she felt very well repaid for having been satisfied with a smaller portion herself4 ,mrs4 ,ashford inquired what had been done for ,jennie1 and found she had had no doctor since coming to the city4 ,i have no money to pay a doctor1 said poor ,mrs4 ,scott1 wiping her eyes1 and ,i can't go to a stranger and ask him to attend her for nothing4 ,i give her the medicine the doctor told me to get when she was first hurt1 but it don't seem to do any good now4 ,mrs4 ,ashford said she would speak to a doctor not far from there1 with whom she was well acquainted1 and she was sure he would be willing to come and see what could be done for the child4 ,it is very hard that you have to be away from her so much1 when she is sick1 and almost helpless4 ,it is hard1 mem1 but what can ,i do8 ,i must work to pay the rent and get us bread1 and glad enough ,i am to have the work4 ,and she's not always so forlorn as you found her1 for mostly she can move herself4 ,she's a bit weak to-day4 ,then when ,i go for all day1 ,i leave things handy on a chair by the bed1 and the people in the house are real kind1 coming in to see if she wants anything and to mend the fire4 ,in the meantime the children were not saying much1 for ,jennie1 besides being somewhat shy1 appeared tired and weak4 ,she was greatly pleased with the book and cards1 holding them tenderly in her hands4 ,marty sat in silence a while1 and then asked1 ,have you a doll8 ,no1 replied ,jennie4 ,i never had one4 ,never in your whole life6 exclaimed ,marty1 extremely astonished4 ,no1 said ,jennie quietly4 ,but wunst we lived next door to a girl who had one1 and sometimes she let me hold it4 ,it was the very beautifulest kind of a doll1 ,i think1 she added with great animation3 had light curly hair and big blue eyes4 ,marty was so overcome that she could do nothing but stand and gaze at the little girl who never had a doll1 and nothing more was said until her mother was ready to go home4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,laura ,,amelia4 ,on their way home ,mrs4 ,ashford stopped at ,dr4 ,fisher's1 and finding him in his office1 made her plea1 and readily obtained his promise to see ,jennie4 ,all the way ,marty was unusually silent and appeared to be thinking intently4 ,when they were nearly home she said impressively1 ,mamma1 do you know1 ,jennie never had a doll--never in her whole life6 ,indeed6 ,no1 ma'am2 and ,i've been thinking ,i'd like to give her one of mine4 ,do you think you could part with any of yours8 ,i love them all dearly1 but ,i think ,i could do it to make ,jennie happy4 ,i know she'd like to have a doll1 and it would be a long time before ,i could save money enough to buy her one4 ,well1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford1 ,i'm sure she would be very happy with one of yours1 but you had better take time to think it over well1 and not do anything you would afterward regret4 ,marty thought it over until the next evening1 and then said she still wished to give ,jennie the doll4 ,very well1 then1 said her mother1 ,i am willing you should do it4 ,which doll do you think of giving her8 ,laura ,amelia4 ,why1 she is your third largest and one of your prettiest6 ,why do you choose her8 ,because ,jennie would like a fair doll1 and she's the only fair one ,i have except the one ,grandma ,brewster gave me1 and ,i shouldn't like to give that away4 ,and then she repeated what ,jennie had said about the next-door girl's doll4 ,so it was settled that ,laura ,amelia was to leave home the next ,saturday4 ,her clothes were put in good order1 and ,mrs4 ,ashford made her a travelling dress4 ,on ,friday night when ,marty1 in her little wrapper and worsted slippers1 made her appearance at the sitting-room door to say ,good-night1 she had ,laura ,amelia clasped in her arms4 ,halloa6 ,miss ,moppet1 said her papa4 ,are you off8 ,what's the matter with that dolly8 ,do you have to walk her to sleep8 ,oh1 no4 ,she's very good1 but she's going to sleep with me1 because it's the last night she'll be here4 ,marty tried to reply steadily1 but her voice trembled4 ,ah6 said her papa sympathizingly4 ,where is she going8 ,i'm going to give her to ,jennie4 ,of course ,mr4 ,ashford had heard all about ,jennie4 ,he approved of her being helped1 but did not like to see ,marty in distress1 and he noticed her eyes were full of tears4 ,it is a shame for the child to give away playthings she is fond of1 he said to his wife4 ,i didn't tell her to give it1 replied ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,it was her own notion4 ,here1 ,marty1 said her father1 putting his hand in his pocket1 you keep that doll yourself and ,i'll give you some money to get ,jennie another one4 ,oh6 no1 papa1 said ,marty earnestly4 ,thank you ever so much1 but ,i want to give ,jennie a doll all myself1 and ,i've quite made up my mind to give her this one4 ,i thought it over a whole day--didn't ,i1 mamma8 ,you mustn't s'pose ,i don't want to give ,laura ,amelia to ,jennie1 because ,i do1 but you know such things make one feel a little sad for a while4 ,i presume they do1 said ,mr4 ,ashford1 smiling as he lifted both ,marty and the doll to his knee4 ,how many dolls have you8 ,seven1 counting the two little china ones4 ,well1 that's a pretty numerous family for one small girl to care for4 ,i guess you can spare ,lucy ,aurelia4 ,lucy ,aurelia6 ,marty laughed heartily4 ,o papa1 what is the reason you never can remember my dolls' names8 ,i don't see how you can remember them yourself4 ,then as he kissed her goodnight he said1 ,i am glad my little girl is learning to be kind to the poor and friendless4 ,the next day there was some prospect that ,marty would not get to ,jennie's after all1 as ,mrs4 ,ashford could not very well go with her and would not let her go alone4 ,marty was preparing to be dreadfully disappointed1 but her mother said1 ,wait until after lunch and we will see what can be done4 ,just then there was a tap at the door1 and a tall1 dark-eyed1 smiling young lady entered4 ,why1 here's ,cousin ,alice6 exclaimed ,marty1 and the warm welcome the visitor received from them all showed what a favorite she was4 ,i've come to stay to lunch if you will have me1 she announced1 throwing her wrap and gloves on the couch4 ,marty immediately invited her to stay for ever1 and ,freddie began building a wall with his blocks all around her chair so that she could not possibly get away4 ,alice1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford1 after there had been a good deal of talk and play1 ,i am going to ask you to do something for me4 ,i shall be only too happy to do it1 ,cousin ,helen1 said ,miss ,alice in her bright way4 ,you have only to speak4 ,marty wants to do an errand down near the old postoffice this afternoon4 ,i don't like to have her go into that part of the town by herself1 and ,i can't go with her4 ,would you be willing to go with her8 ,most certainly1 was the cordial reply4 ,oh6 that will be splendid1 cried ,marty4 ,then both she and her mother proceeded to tell their cousin all about ,jennie1 after which ,marty dressed the doll and packed its clothes in a box4 ,what a good idea it is of ,marty's to give that doll and all its belongings to ,jennie6 said ,miss ,alice4 ,it will be such amusement and occupation for her when she is alone so much4 ,it must be perfectly dreadful to lie there all day1 and day after day1 with nothing to do and nothing to interest her4 ,i suppose she cannot read4 ,not very well1 ,i fancy1 for her mother said they had moved about so much before she was hurt that she had very little chance to go to school4 ,i suppose there is really not much of anything she could do now1 as she is so weak and miserable1 but it has just occurred to me that if she gets stronger under ,dr4 ,fisher's treatment1 you might help her to a light1 pleasant occupation which would enliven her dull life4 ,i8 ,how8 ,i'm sure ,i should be very glad to do anything possible for the poor girl4 ,you might teach her to crochet or knit4 ,you do such work to perfection and know so much about it4 ,i know you have plenty of odds and ends of worsted and other materials1 and ,i can furnish you with a good deal more4 ,if she is able to learn1 ,i think it would be a charming work for her1 and might be very useful in coming years4 ,that is an excellent suggestion4 ,i shall be very glad to teach her1 or at least try to teach her1 for ,i don't know how ,i should succeed in the attempt4 ,oh6 you would succeed beautifully1 and it need not take up much of your time1 as ,landis ,court is nearer you than it is to us1 and you could run over for a little while any time4 ,but you can see when you go whether it is worth while to speak of the matter4 ,it would be just lovely6 was ,marty's opinion4 ,now1 ,marty1 cautioned her mother1 don't you say anything about it to ,jennie4 ,just let ,cousin ,alice do it in her own nice way4 ,a thousand thanks1 said ,cousin ,alice with her gay laugh4 ,i'll be sure to do my prettiest after that4 ,when they made the visit1 however1 it was found useless to mention crocheting or any other subject to ,jennie4 ,her attention was altogether absorbed by the doll4 ,mrs4 ,scott happened to be at home1 and while she was bustling around getting chairs for her visitors and ,marty was introducing her cousin1 ,jennie never took her eyes from ,laura ,amelia4 ,presently she said in a trembling voice1 ,may ,i hold your doll a minute8 ,i brought her for you1 said ,marty1 handing the doll4 ,for me to hold a minute8 ,no2 to keep4 ,she's your dolly now4 ,jennie looked perfectly bewildered at first1 and then when she began to understand the matter she clasped the doll in her arms and burst into tears4 ,marty was very much frightened4 ,oh6 don't let her cry1 she said to ,mrs4 ,scott4 ,it will make her sick4 ,never mind1 missy2 she'll soon be all right4 ,come now ,jennie1 don't cry4 ,sit up and thank the little lady for the beautiful present4 ,but it's too much to give her4 ,who'd ha' thought of you bringing such a handsome doll6 ,and just what she's always wanted but never looked to having4 ,i'm sure ,i don't know how to thank you1 and the poor woman threatened to follow ,jennie's example1 and cry over their good fortune4 ,then ,cousin ,alice came to the rescue by suggesting that ,marty should tell ,jennie the doll's name and show her wardrobe4 ,the little girls were soon chattering over the contents of the box1 and ,miss ,alice learned from ,mrs4 ,scott that the doctor had been to see ,jennie4 ,he said he saw no reason why with proper treatment she should not become well again1 though it was likely she would always be somewhat lame and perhaps never very strong4 ,he had sent her strengthening medicine and said she must drink milk every day4 ,then began better times for ,jennie than she had ever had in her life before4 ,first1 as she would have said herself1 there was the doll to love and cherish1 to dress and undress1 to talk to and to put to sleep4 ,then there were the books and pictures1 for between ,marty and ,edith1 who also came1 her stock of them increased rapidly4 ,then there was the decrease of pain and the increase of strength1 for what with the bathings and rubbings that the doctor ordered1 and the nourishing food that ,mrs4 ,ashford and ,miss ,alice sent1 she began to get greatly better4 ,when she arrived at the point of sitting propped up in bed for several hours at a time1 ,miss ,alice spoke of the crocheting and found her exceedingly willing to learn4 ,she took it up quite rapidly too1 and very much enjoyed working with the bright worsteds4 ,miss ,alice was greatly interested in her pupil and sometimes made quite long visits1 teaching her or reading to her1 and her visits made the little invalid so happy that she got better all the faster4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,the ,,good ,,shepherd4 ,marty and ,edith often accompanied ,miss ,alice when she visited ,jennie4 ,sometimes they each took a doll to visit ,laura ,amelia1 also carrying some of their dishes and having a dolls' tea-party4 ,this always pleased ,jennie very much1 though at first she scarcely knew how to play in this quiet1 lady-like fashion1 as she had only been accustomed to playing in the street with rough children before she was hurt4 ,of course she had had no chance at all to play during the last year4 ,sometimes the girls read little stories to her4 ,this she viewed as a surprising accomplishment1 as she could only spell her way along1 not being able to read well enough to enjoy it4 ,so in one way or another they entertained her1 making her forget her weakness4 ,sometimes they talked about other things1 telling her of the mission-band1 though1 as it was something so outside of her experience1 she could1 with all their explanation1 hardly form any idea of it4 ,she took more interest in descriptions of the country1 the green fields1 shady woods1 and pretty gardens4 ,she was very fond of flowers1 and during the early summer her friends kept the poor room quite bright with them4 ,an old lady living near ,mrs4 ,ashford1 and having an unusually large yard for the city1 had a great many flowers1 and hearing of ,marty's sick friend in ,landis ,court1 told her whenever she was going over there to come and get some flowers for ,jennie4 ,this delighted both little girls extremely4 ,one day when they were all with ,jennie1 she picked up one of her cards that had on it a picture of a shepherd leading his flock and carrying a lamb in his arms4 ,she wanted to know what it meant1 and what a shepherd was1 and what sheep were4 ,after it had been explained1 she said1 ',shepherd' makes me think of a hymn they used to sing in the ,sunday-school down in the ,harbor4 ,did you ever go to ,sunday-school8 asked ,marty4 ,i went a little while when we lived down in the ,harbor4 ,my teacher had a lovely velvet cloak trimmed with fur4 ,didn't she tell you about the ,good ,shepherd8 ,edith inquired4 ,no4 ,she didn't seem to know about any kind of shepherd4 ,leastways she never let on that she did4 ,but they used to sing beautiful hymns1 and one was about a shepherd4 ,was it ',saviour1 like a shepherd lead us'8 asked ,marty4 ,that was the very one6 exclaimed ,jennie in delight4 ,how did you know that was it8 ,i thought it might be4 ,would you like to have us sing it now8 ,miss ,alice inquired4 ,oh1 yes1 indeed6 ,so they sang it1 ,jennie joining in whenever they came to the words1 ,blessed ,jesus1 which1 besides the first line1 was all she knew4 ,is blessed ,jesus a shepherd8 she asked4 ,he is the ,good ,shepherd1 replied ,edith4 ,where's his sheep8 ,all who believe on ,him are his sheep1 for the ,bible says1 ',my sheep hear my voice1 and ,i know them1 and they follow me4' ,miss ,alice saw that ,jennie did not altogether understand ,edith1 so in a few simple words she explained that ,jesus1 our ,lord and ,saviour1 speaks of himself as the ,good ,shepherd1 and calls us to follow him4 ,then taking up the picture again she repeated what she had said about shepherds and their flocks1 and also went over some of the hymn they had been singing1 until ,jennie began to get into her little muddled brain quite a clear idea of ,jesus1 our ,shepherd4 ,where is your ,bible8 ,i will show you the chapter about the ,good ,shepherd4 ,i ha'n't got one4 ,mother has one1 but ,i guess it's locked up in that little black trunk4 ,it's a purple one with clasps that somebody gave her long ago1 and she always had to keep it hid for fear papa'd sell it for whiskey4 ,jennie said all this very coolly1 she was so much accustomed to the kind of life in which there was more whiskey than ,bible2 but ,edith and ,marty looked much shocked4 ,never mind1 said ,miss ,alice1 ,i will bring my ,bible the next time ,i come and read the chapter to you4 ,just then a beautiful plan flashed into ,marty's head1 and as ,edith was included in it1 she could not resist reaching over and giving her arm a tiny squeeze4 ,edith must have partly understood1 for she answered with a smile4 ,in the meantime ,miss ,alice was saying to ,jennie1 ,did you ever hear the ,psalm beginning1 ',the ,lord is my ,shepherd'8 ,i don't b'lieve ,i ever did1 said ,jennie4 ,marty1 can't you and ,edith repeat it for her8 ,marty was not sure she remembered it all1 but ,edith knew it1 and the beautiful ,psalm was reverently recited4 ,that evening as ,mrs4 ,scott1 wearied with the labors of the day1 was seated in one of the stiff1 hard chairs doing some mending by the uncertain light of a smoky lamp1 ,jennie told her all that had been said and done in the afternoon1 and then asked1 ,mother1 can't you find that about the shepherd in your purple ,bible and read it over to me8 ,i'll try1 but ,i'm a poor reader1 ,jennie1 and anyways ,i don't know as ,i can find the place you want4 ,she unlocked the trunk and bringing forth1 wrapped in soft paper1 an old-fashioned1 small-print ,bible that had once been handsome1 but was now sadly tarnished1 she screwed up the smoky lamp and began to turn the leaves4 ,i don't know where the place is1 child4 ,i'm none so handy with books1 and there's a great many different chapters here4 ,it was about green pastures and quiet waters4 ,miss ,alice said a pasture is a field1 and it minded me of that grassy field where ,tim took me the summer before he died4 ,you know there was a pond in it1 and we paddled along the edge4 ,it was the prettiest place ,i ever saw1 and on awful hot days ,i wish ,i was there again4 ,i think it must be just such a place the ,bible shepherd takes his folks to4 ,mrs4 ,scott turned the leaves back and forth1 anxious to please ,jennie1 but unable to find what she wished4 ,now ,i mind1 exclaimed ,jennie presently3 ,miss ,alice didn't call the green pasture piece a chapter2 she called it a ,psalm4 ,oh6 now ,i'll find it1 said her mother4 ,i know about ,psalms1 for my good old grandfather used to be always reading them1 and ,i used to think it was queer the way they was spelt--with a 'p' at the beginning4 ,i saw them over here a minute ago4 ,then after a little more searching she inquired1 ,is this it8 ',the ,lord is my ,shepherd3 ,i shall not want4' ,the very thing6 ,jennie exclaimed joyfully4 ,mrs4 ,scott1 though with some difficulty1 managed to read it1 while ,jennie listened with closed eyes and clasped hands1 thinking of the delightful places into which the ,shepherd leads his flock4 ,they're sweet verses1 said ,mrs4 ,scott1 as she closed the book1 after laying a piece of yarn in to mark the place1 and it rests a body to read them4 ,i call to mind now that many's the time ,i've heard my granddad read 'em4 ,and ,i've heard 'em in church1 too1 when ,i used to go4 ,why don't you go to church sometimes now1 mother8 ,jennie asked4 ,there's nobody to rail at you for going4 ,you might borrow ,mrs4 ,o',brien's bonnet after she's been to mass1 and go round to the church on the front street1 where we hear the singing from every ,sunday4 ,mrs4 ,scott began to think she should like to go4 ,she cleaned off her old black alpaca as well as possible1 and the next ,sunday1 borrowing her kindly ,catholic neighbor's bonnet1 she went to church for the first time in many years4 ,she came home delighted1 and had much to tell ,jennie about the pleasant gentleman who gave her a seat and invited her to come again1 about the good sermon that she could understand every bit of1 and the rousing hymns1 which indeed ,jennie could hear with the window open4 ,not long after this1 one of the ladies ,mrs4 ,scott worked for gave her a partly-worn sateen dress and a black straw bonnet1 so that she was fitted out to go to church all summer2 and go she did with great enjoyment4 ,it was a pleasure to ,jennie also1 for with listening to the singing as she lay in bed1 and hearing about all that was said and done from her mother1 she almost felt as though she had been at church herself4 ,the purple ,bible was not locked up any more1 but kept handy for ,miss ,alice to read1 and to mark passages for ,mrs4 ,scott to read in the evening1 for ,jennie liked to hear the same things over and over4 ,the plan that popped into ,marty's head that day she told to ,edith on the way home1 after they had left ,cousin ,alice4 ,o ,edie6 she said1 wouldn't it be nice to give ,jennie a ,bible for her very own8 ,you mean for you and me together to give it8 said ,edith4 ,yes4 ,you know my birthday comes in ,august and yours in ,september1 and we always get some money-- ,and we could each give half1 and get ,jennie a ,bible1 broke in ,edith4 ,yes2 or if we couldn't do it then1 we might have enough by ,christmas4 ,and it would be a beautiful ,christmas gift6 ,oh6 do let us do it1 said ,marty1 seizing ,edith and whirling her around and around4 ,yes1 do1 said ,edith1 panting for breath4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,now ,,don',t ,,forget6 ,it was well on in ,june1 and ,mrs4 ,ashford was very busy making preparations to go to the country with the children4 ,two successive summers they had spent at a very pleasant mountain farmhouse1 but the last year they had gone to the seashore4 ,this summer ,mrs4 ,ashford decided for the farmhouse again1 to ,marty's great delight1 for it was a perfect paradise to her4 ,she herself had many preparations to make--deciding which dolls to take and which to leave at home1 and getting them all ready for whatever was to be their fate4 ,it also took a good deal of time to choose from her little library the few books her mamma allowed her to take for rainy days4 ,it was a weighty matter1 too1 to select a suitable present for ,evaline1 the little girl at the farmhouse1 as her father suggested she should do1 and gave her money to buy it4 ,then ,jennie was very much on her mind4 ,what will she do for soup and jelly and things when we are away1 mamma8 she asked anxiously4 ,i shall tell ,katie to carry her something now and then1 ,mrs4 ,ashford replied4 ,besides1 ,cousin ,alice will be in town until ,august1 and she will look out for ,jennie4 ,then ,mrs4 ,scott told me the other day that she had got all her back rent paid up now1 and she expects to have three days' work every week all summer2 so they will get on very well4 ,another day ,marty came home from ,jennie's in distress4 ,mamma1 she said1 the doctor says ,jennie may soon begin to sit up in an easy-chair2 and they haven't got any4 ,their two chairs are the most uneasy things ,i ever saw in my life4 ,now1 how is she going to sit up8 ,mrs4 ,ashford laughed as she said1 ,well1 ,i was going to give you a surprise1 but ,i may as well tell you now that ,i have sent that old rocking-chair that was up in the storeroom to be mended1 and am going to give it to ,mrs4 ,scott4 ,marty was overjoyed to hear this4 ,and1 oh6 mamma1 wont you give them the small table that stands in the third-story hall8 ,you always say it is only in the way there1 and it would be so nice beside ,jennie's bed to put her things on1 instead of a chair4 ,yes1 ,i suppose they might as well have it4 ,and the red cover that belongs to it1 mamma8 ,o ,marty1 ,marty6 exclaimed her mother1 laughing4 ,how many more things will you want for ,jennie8 ,but the red cover may go too4 ,these things were sent1 together with some of ,marty's underclothing1 a pair of half-worn slippers1 and a couple of ,mrs4 ,ashford's cast-off gingham dresses1 to be made into wrappers for ,jennie4 ,edith and ,cousin ,alice also brought some articles for ,jennie's comfort4 ,she will need a footstool with that chair1 said ,cousin ,alice4 ,i have an extra hassock in my room2 ,i'll bring that4 ,mrs4 ,howell sent an old but soft and pretty comfort to spread over the chair1 and which would also be handy for an additional covering in case of a cold night4 ,a curtain on the window would soften the light on hot afternoons1 ,miss ,alice thought4 ,so she made one of some white barred muslin she had and put it up4 ,she also thought that as ,jennie still had not much appetite1 some prettier dishes than those ,mrs4 ,scott had--they were very few1 and very coarse and battered--might make the food taste better4 ,i know1 when ,i am ill1 she said to ,mrs4 ,ashford1 the way my food is served makes a great difference4 ,so she brought a cheap but pretty plate1 cup1 and saucer1 with which ,jennie was extremely delighted4 ,after we all go away there wont be anybody to take flowers to ,jennie1 said ,edith1 and ,i'm afraid she'll miss them4 ,she does enjoy them so much4 ,i've a great mind to buy her a geranium4 ,may ,i1 mamma8 ,they're only ten cents4 ,of course you may4 ,i think it would be very nice for ,jennie and her mother to have something of the kind growing in their room1 said ,mrs4 ,howell4 ,she went with ,edith to the florist's1 and after helping her to select a scarlet geranium1 she bought a pot of mignonette and another of sweet alyssum for ,edith to give to ,jennie4 ,marty helped ,edith to carry their plants to their destination1 and what rejoicing there was over that window-garden6 ,it's too much6 too much6 exclaimed ,mrs4 ,scott1 wiping her eyes as she looked around the now really comfortable room4 ,then when ,miss ,alice came in1 as she did presently1 with four bright-colored ,japanese fans which she proceeded to fasten on the bare walls1 that seemed to cap the climax4 ,there never were kinder ladies--never6 exclaimed ,mrs4 ,scott1 while ,jennie was too much overcome to say anything4 ,it wont be so hard for ,jennie to be shut up here1 and she wont miss ,marty and ,edith so much1 if she has these little bits of bright things to look at1 said ,miss ,alice4 ,marty took the greatest interest in helping to arrange all these things for ,jennie's comfort and happiness1 and in thinking1 too1 how much pleasure they would bring into poor ,mrs4 ,scott's hard-working life4 ,when she went home after her final visit to ,landis ,court1 she said with a sigh of relief1 ,now they're fixed comfor'ble1 and we can go as soon as we like4 ,all this time that she had been so engaged with ,jennie she had not neglected the mission band1 but attended the meetings regularly and became more and more interested in what she heard there4 ,she still pursued the plan of giving to missions at least a tenth of all the money she got4 ,during the spring and early summer she had had two or three windfalls--one or two small presents of money1 and once her father had given her a quarter for hunting out from an enormous pile certain numbers of a magazine he wished to consult4 ,besides she had made a little money solely for the missionary-box by hemming dusters for her mother4 ,the meeting on the third ,saturday in ,june was very important1 as it was the last regular meeting that would be held until ,september1 and there were many arrangements to be made4 ,most of the girls and ,miss ,walsh herself expected to be away two months1 but several members were to be at home all summer and a few were only going away for a short time4 ,miss ,walsh said she did not think it fair that those remaining in town should be deprived of their missionary meetings4 ,it had therefore been decided that the meetings should be continued1 though not just in the same way as during the rest of the year4 ,no business was to be transacted and the girls were not to sew unless they wished4 ,at this good-by meeting1 as they called it1 ,miss ,walsh had a few words to say both to the stay-at-homes and to those who were going away4 ,to the first she said1 ,dear girls1 we leave the band in your hands knowing you will do all you can for its best interests4 ,mrs4 ,cresswell has kindly invited you to hold your meetings at her house4 ,i have appointed four of the older girls to lead these meetings--,mary ,cresswell and ,hannah ,morton in ,july1 ,ella ,thomas and ,mamie ,dascomb in ,august4 ,i have given each of these leaders some missionary reading in case you run short1 but ,i dare say you will find plenty of things yourselves4 ,i also intend to write you a little letter for each meeting1 and should be glad to have any or all of you write to me4 ,to the others she said1 ,now when you are away having a good time1 don't forget missions4 ,keep up your interest and come home ready to work more earnestly and faithfully than ever4 ,there are many ways of keeping the subject fresh in your minds and of helping along with the work even in vacation times4 ,but you know this as well as ,i do1 and ,i should like the suggestions as to how to do it to come from you4 ,after a pause ,edith said1 ,we all know the subjects for the next four meetings1 and we might study and read just as we should do at home4 ,that is a good suggestion1 said ,miss ,walsh1 and one ,i hope you will all adopt2 for if you don't1 ,i'm afraid the go-aways will be far behind the stay-at-homes4 ,we might remember what we hear about missions and tell it when we come back1 said one of the others4 ,that would be very instructive and pleasant1 said their leader2 and you may have plenty of opportunity to hear1 as in these days very interesting missionary meetings are often held at summer resorts4 ,besides you may meet individuals who can give you much information4 ,we might do as you are going to do and write letters to the band at home1 said another4 ,i know the band at home would like that very much1 but you must remember that they must be letters suited to a missionary meeting4 ,we might join with others in holding meetings1 suggested ,rosa ,stevenson4 ,in the cottage where ,i was last summer there were four other girls and two boys who belonged to mission-bands1 and we had a meeting every ,sunday4 ,good6 cried ,miss ,walsh4 ,if we meet any children who don't know about missions1 we might tell them about our band and what we do1 said ,daisy ,roberts timidly4 ,the very thing1 ,daisy6 exclaimed ,miss ,walsh1 patting the tiny girl on the shoulder4 ,and you think that might start them up to become mission workers1 do you8 ,yes1 ma'am1 replied ,daisy4 ,i think1 said ,marty1 after various other suggestions had been made1 and she wondered that no one had thought of this1 ,i think we all should take our missionary boxes and banks and barrels and jugs along with us1 and put money in regularly as we do at home4 ,that is very important1 said ,miss ,walsh1 because if we neglect to lay by our contributions at the right time1 trusting to make up the amount when we return home1 we may find ourselves in a tight place and our treasury will suffer4 ,and now1 dear missionary workers1 wherever you may be1 at home or abroad1 don't forget to pray every day for the success of this work4 ,remember what we are working for is the advancement of the kingdom of our blessed ,lord and ,saviour4 ,and then before the closing prayer they all stood up and sang1 ,the whole wide world for ,jesus4 ,this meeting filled ,marty with the greatest enthusiasm and she felt as though she could do anything for missions4 ,she would not forget the subject for a single day1 she was sure4 ,oh ,miss ,agnes1 she said1 ,i sha'n't forget missions4 ,i'll study the subjects every week and learn lots of missionary verses4 ,i'll save all the money ,i can2 and ,i'll tell somebody1 if it's only ,evaline1 all ,i know about missionary work4 ,i'll tell her the first thing when ,i get there4 ,to be sure she can't have a band all by herself1 but it may do good somehow4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,off ,,to ,,the ,,mountains4 ,here's your train6 said ,mr4 ,ashford1 hurrying into the waiting-room where he had left his wife and children while he purchased their tickets4 ,i'll carry ,freddie4 ,come1 ,marty4 ,while they were waiting their turn to pass through the gate ,marty and her mother were jostled by the crowd against two small1 ragged1 dirty boys1 who had crept by the officers and were looking through the railings at the arriving and departing trains4 ,lots of these folks are goin' to the country1 where 'ta'n't so hot and stuffy as 'tis here1 said the larger boy4 ,was you ever in the country1 ,jimmy8 ,naw1 replied the other1 a thin1 pale little chap about seven1 leaning wearily against an iron post4 ,never seed no country1 but ,i wants to4 ,marty and her mother1 who heard what was said and saw the wistful look on the small boy's face1 pressed each other's hands and exchanged a sorrowful glance4 ,then they were obliged to move on2 but after going through the gate ,marty pulled her hand out of her mother's and1 running back1 took a couple of cakes from a paper bag she carried and passed them through the fence to the boys4 ,how their faces brightened at this little act of kindness6 ,marty1 ,marty6 called her father1 who had not seen what she did and was afraid she would get lost in the crowd1 where are you8 ,hurry up1 child6 ,then1 when he had made them comfortable in the car and was about bidding them good-by1 he said1 ,now1 ,marty1 when you change cars stick closely to your mother and don't be running after strangers1 as you did a moment ago4 ,why1 papa1 ,marty protested earnestly1 they weren't strangers2 at least ,i know that littlest boy with the awfully torn hat4 ,he is ,jimmy-- ,well1 well1 ,i can't stop now to hear who he is1 but ,i didn't know he was an acquaintance of yours4 ,however1 don't run after anybody1 or you will get lost some of these days4 ,good-by1 good-by4 ,be good children1 both of you4 ,who was that boy1 ,marty8 asked ,mrs4 ,ashford presently4 ,he's ,jimmy ,torrence1 and he lives in ,jennie's house4 ,don't you remember ,i told you that one day1 when we were all in ,mrs4 ,scott's room singing to ,jennie1 a little boy came and leaned against the door-post and listened8 ,mrs4 ,scott told him to come in and took him on her lap4 ,she gave him a cup of milk1 and after he went away she said he had been sick with a fever and his folks were very poor4 ,there's a good many of them1 and they live in the third-story back-room4 ,oh1 yes1 ,i remember4 ,so that is the boy4 ,poor little fellow6 ,he looks as if he needed some country air4 ,doesn't he6 said ,marty4 ,o mamma1 don't you think that society ,mrs4 ,watson belongs to would send him to the country for a week8 ,that would be better than nothing4 ,i fear they cannot1 for ,mrs4 ,watson told me the other day that there are a great many more children who ought to be sent than they have money to pay for4 ,i wish he could go1 said ,marty4 ,the boy's pale1 wistful face haunted her for a while1 but in the excitement of the journey it faded from her mind4 ,after the rush and roar of the train how perfectly still it seemed in the green valley where stood ,trout ,run ,station6 ,how peaceful the mountains6 how pure and sweet the air6 ,mamma1 said ,marty almost in a whisper1 everything is exactly the same as ever4 ,mountains don't change much1 replied ,mrs4 ,ashford as she seated herself on one of the trunks and took ,freddie on her lap4 ,but ,i mean this funny little station and the tiny river and the old red tannery over there1 and the quietness and everything6 ,and oh1 there's ,hiram6 ,he looks just as he did summer before last1 and ,i believe he's got on the very same straw hat6 ,hiram1 ,farmer ,stokes' hired man1 who had come to meet the travellers1 now appeared from the rear of the station1 where he had been obliged to stay by his horses until the train had vanished in the distance4 ,his sunburnt face wore a broad smile1 and though he did not say much1 ,mrs4 ,ashford and ,marty knew that in his slow1 quiet way he was very glad to see them4 ,he seemed to be particularly struck by the fact that the children had grown so much1 and when ,freddie got off his mother's lap and ran across the platform1 ,hiram gazed at him in admiration1 also seeming highly amused4 ,i can't believe this tall girl's ,marty1 and as for the little boy--why1 he was carried in arms the last time ,i saw him6 ,two years makes a great difference in children1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,that's so1 ,hiram assented4 ,well1 ,i reckon we'd better be moving4 ,how ,i dread the steep hills1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford as they were being helped into the wagon after the baggage had been stowed away4 ,i do hope your horses are safe1 ,hiram4 ,now1 ,marty1 be sure to hold on with both hands when we come to the worst places4 ,don't you be 'fraid1 ,mrs4 ,ashford2 there isn't a mite of danger1 said ,hiram1 gathering up the reins4 ,get up6 ,get up6 cried ,freddie1 who had watched the process of getting started with the greatest interest1 and who was now holding a pair of imaginary reins in one tiny fist and flourishing an imaginary whip with the other4 ,hiram laughed aloud4 ,that ,freddie could walk was funny enough1 but that he could talk and make believe drive was too much for ,hiram4 ,it was some time before he got over it4 ,how's ,evaline8 asked ,marty4 ,why didn't she come to meet us8 ,she's spry4 ,she wanted to come along down1 but her ma was afraid 'twould crowd you4 ,illustration3 ,they approached an open1 level place from which there was a magnificent view4 ,page #aac ,after a drive of about three miles among the mountains1 the winding road gradually ascending1 with here and there a somewhat steep incline1 they approached an open1 level place from which there was a magnificent view of what ,marty called the real mountains4 ,for these wooded or cultivated hills they were driving among were only the beginnings of the range4 ,here was a cluster of houses and a white frame hotel with green blinds4 ,they've been doing right smart of building in ,riseborough since you were up1 said ,hiram to ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,you see the hotel's done1 and ,sims has built him a new store1 and ,mrs4 ,clarkson's been building on to her cottage4 ,is the hotel a success8 asked ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,first-rate4 ,full all last summer1 and ,dutton expects a lot of folks this season4 ,a big party came up t'other day4 ,they had a chance to see the guests at the hotel1 ladies on the piazzas and children playing in the green yard1 while ,hiram stopped to do an errand at the store1 which was also the postoffice4 ,nearly another mile of up-hill brought them to their destination--a brown farmhouse with its red barns and granaries standing in the midst of smiling fields and patches of cool1 dark woods1 while in the distance rose grand1 solemn mountains4 ,there was ,evaline1 seated on the low gatepost1 and ,mrs4 ,stokes and her grownup daughter1 ,almira1 in the doorway1 all on the lookout and ready to wave their handkerchiefs the moment the wagon appeared4 ,it's more like going to see some cousins or something than being summer-boarders1 isn't it1 mamma8 said ,marty4 ,here we all are1 ,mrs4 ,stokes6 cried ,mrs4 ,ashford from the wagon4 ,quite an addition to your family4 ,the more the merrier6 ,i'm right down glad to see you1 said good-natured ,mrs4 ,stokes1 coming to lift the children down and kissing them heartily4 ,the travellers were very tired after their long day's journey4 ,mrs4 ,ashford and ,marty were ready to do justice to the good supper provided1 but ,freddie was only able to keep his eyes open long enough to eat a little bread and milk4 ,the next morning1 however1 he was as bright as a button1 and took to country life so naturally that he was out in the yard feeding the chickens before his mother knew what he was about4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,a ,,plan ,,and ,a ,,talk4 ,marty so enjoyed being back at the farm1 and there was so much to see and to do1 that for four or five days she could think of nothing else4 ,she and ,evaline raced all over the place1 climbing trees and fences1 playing in the barn or down in the wood1 paddling in the little brook1 riding on the hay-wagon1 and going with the boy to bring home the cows4 ,in short1 the delights of farm life for the time being drove everything else out of ,marty's head1 and it was not until ,sunday morning that she gave a thought to missions4 ,perhaps she would not have remembered even then had not her mother said1 ,marty1 here are your ten pennies4 ,i forgot to give them to you yesterday4 ,there6 thought ,marty4 ,in spite of what ,miss ,agnes said the very last thing1 ,i've forgotten all about missions4 ,i've never told ,evaline a breath about them1 and ,i haven't prayed or done anything4 ,she got out her box and put in it her tenth1 and four pennies for a thank-offering for the happy time she had been having4 ,she also got the list of subjects ,miss ,walsh had furnished her with1 and some of her books2 but there was no time to read then1 for her mother had said she might go to church with ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,stokes1 and she must get ready4 ,evaline was not at home1 her uncle having called the previous evening and taken her to spend a couple of days at his house4 ,there was preaching that ,sunday in the schoolhouse at ,black's ,mills1 a village between four and five miles distant in the opposite direction from ,riseborough4 ,it was quite a novelty to ,marty to go so far to church1 but it was a lovely drive and she enjoyed it extremely4 ,it certainly seemed strange to attend service in the battered little frame schoolhouse1 without any organ or choir1 and to eat crackers and cheese in the wagon on the way home1 as ,mrs ,stokes was afraid she would be hungry before their unusually late dinner4 ,but ,marty was so charmed with country life and all belonging to it that she considered the whole thing an improvement upon city churchgoing4 ,in the afternoon she took her ,bible and some missionary leaflets1 and going into a retired place in the garden read and studied for more than an hour4 ,the missionary spirit within her was fully awake that day4 ,she longed to talk with ,evaline and could hardly wait until it was time for her to come home4 ,but by ,tuesday1 when she did come1 ,marty's head was full of other matters1 such as a discovery she had made in the wood of a hollow in an old tree which would be a lovely playhouse1 and an expedition to ,sunset ,hill that was being talked of4 ,so in one way or another nearly two weeks of vacation had passed before this ,missionary ,twig1 who had been so ardent to begin with1 had redeemed her promise of trying to interest somebody in the work4 ,but in the meantime she had thought of ,jimmy ,torrence4 ,the way he was brought to her mind was this4 ,she was with her mother on the side porch1 ,monday morning1 when ,mrs4 ,stokes1 coming out of the kitchen with floury hands1 inquired1 ,mrs4 ,ashford1 did you see the little boy in the carriage that just passed 'long8 ,yes1 replied ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,well1 you just ought to have seen him when they brought him up here three weeks ago--his folks are boarding over at ,capt4 ,smith's2 such a pale1 peaked child ,i never saw6 ,had been awful sick1 they said1 and now you see he looks right down well4 ,why1 yes1 he does1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,i should never imagine he had been ill very recently4 ,the country has certainly done him good4 ,that's just it6 said ,mrs4 ,stokes4 ,there's nothing like taking children to the country a spell after they've been sick4 ,makes 'em fat and rosy in less than no time4 ,oh6 mamma1 exclaimed ,marty4 ,that makes me think of poor little ,jimmy4 ,i wish we could do something to get him sent to the country4 ,i wish we could1 but ,i don't see any way to do it4 ,i have given all ,i can afford this summer to the different ,fresh-,air ,funds4 ,can't you think of anything1 clothes or such things1 that you were going to get me1 and that ,i could do without1 and send the money to ,mrs4 ,watson8 pleaded ,marty4 ,i can't think of anything just this minute1 answered her mother with a gentle smile1 but if you will bring ,freddie in out of the hot sun1 and get something to amuse him near here1 ,i'll try to think4 ,oh6 do1 please4 ,and mind1 mamma1 it must be something for me to do without--not you4 ,marty ran down the yard to where ,freddie1 with red face and without his hat1 was rushing up and down playing he was a little engine4 ,freddie1 she called1 don't you want to come and make mud pies8 ,this was a favorite amusement of the small boy1 and instantly the little engine subsided into a baker4 ,marty led him up near the porch1 where there was a nice bed of mould--clean dirt1 ,mrs4 ,stokes called it--and they were soon hard at work on the pies4 ,marty enjoyed this play as much as ,freddie1 and it was some time before she thought of asking1 ,mamma1 have you thought of anything yet8 ,mrs4 ,ashford smiled and nodded4 ,what is it8 exclaimed ,marty1 bounding up on the porch4 ,i don't know whether you will like the plan or not1 but it is the only thing that occurs to me4 ,your school coat will be too short for you next winter1 and ,i was going to get you a new one4 ,but the old one could be altered so that you might wear it4 ,i have some of the material1 and could piece the skirt and sleeves and trim it with braid4 ,as it always was a little too large for you about the shoulders1 it would fit next winter well enough that way4 ,doing that would save about five dollars as near as ,i can calculate4 ,then we should have five dollars for ,jimmy8 ,yes4 ,but would it be much trouble to you to alter the coat8 ,it would be some trouble1 but ,i am willing to take that for my share4 ,oh6 then let's do it1 cried ,marty4 ,wait1 wait1 said her mother4 ,you must think it over first4 ,you know when you do things in a hurry1 sometimes you regret them afterwards4 ,i know ,i sha'n't regret this1 ,marty protested2 but ,i'll go and think a while4 ,she went and sat down on her last batch of pies1 resting her head on her knees1 with her eyes shut4 ,in a very short space of time she was back at her mother's side4 ,oh6 you have not thought long enough1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,i meant for a day or two4 ,there's no use thinking any longer1 for ,i know ,i'll think just the same4 ,i've thought all about how the coat will look when it's pieced1 and how all the girls will know it's pieced1 and how ,i'd a great deal rather have one that isn't pieced4 ,then ,i thought how pale and sick ,jimmy looks1 and how much he wants to go to the country1 and how much good it would do him to go1 and how he has no nice times as ,i have1 and1 ,i declare1 ,i'd rather wear pieced coats all the rest of my life than not have him go4 ,she winked her eyes very hard to keep back the tears4 ,very well1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford1 stroking the little girl's flushed cheek1 we will consider it settled4 ,i will write to ,mrs4 ,watson this afternoon1 inclosing the money1 and telling her about ,jimmy4 ,by ,saturday a reply came from ,mrs4 ,watson saying that arrangements had been made to send ,jimmy to a kind woman in the country1 who would take good care of him1 and it was probable the money ,marty had sent would pay his board there for nearly three weeks4 ,she also said that ,jimmy had been very poorly again4 ,dr4 ,fisher1 finding him in ,mrs4 ,scott's room one day when he called1 had seen how miserable the boy was1 and had given him medicine1 and had said1 when he heard he was going to be sent to the country1 that it would be just the thing1 better than any amount of medicine4 ,the letter also stated that ,mrs4 ,fisher had fitted ,jimmy out in some of her little boy's clothes4 ,so he would be very comfortable4 ,could anything be nicer6 exclaimed ,marty4 ,i'm so glad of it all6 ,the same mail that brought ,mrs4 ,watson's letter brought ,marty's little missionary magazine1 which she always wanted to sit right down and read4 ,now1 said her mother1 after they had got through talking over the letter1 ,i wish you would mind ,freddie while ,i write some letters4 ,marty took her magazine into the back yard where ,freddie was playing with his wheelbarrow under the lilac-bushes4 ,she sat down by the big pear-tree to read1 though not forgetting to keep an eye on her little brother's proceedings4 ,missions seemed as interesting as ever as she read4 ,presently she saw ,evaline coming out of the kitchen with a pail of water and brush to scrub the back steps4 ,evaline1 she called1 when you get through your work come down here where ,i'm minding ,freddie1 wont you8 ,i want to tell you something4 ,yes1 replied ,evaline1 ,i'll come pretty soon4 ,this is the last thing ,i've got to do4 ,she soon came and threw herself on the grass beside ,marty1 who forthwith began showing her the magazine and telling her in a rather incoherent way about mission work in general and their band in particular4 ,she told how many belonged to the band1 what they did at the meetings1 how much money they had1 and what they were going to do with it2 how this band was only one of hundreds of bands that were all connected with a big society2 and how the object of the whole thing was to teach the heathen in foreign lands about ,god and try to make ,christians of them4 ,that must be the same thing that ,ruth ,campbell was talking so much about a while ago1 said ,evaline when ,marty stopped1 more to take breath than because she had nothing further to say4 ,who's ,ruth ,campbell8 and what was she saying8 ,why1 the ,campbells live in that house that you can just see the top of from our barn4 ,ruth's as old as our ,almiry1 but she knows a heap more1 for she went to school in ,johnsburgh4 ,she taught our school last winter1 and is going to again next4 ,she told us about something they have in ,johnsburgh1 and it sounds very much like yours1 so it must be a mission-band4 ,she said she wished we could have one here1 but none of us paid much attention to it4 ,oh1 ,i think you would like it ever so much1 said ,marty2 only maybe there wouldn't be enough children round here to make a band1 she added doubtfully4 ,how many does it take8 asked ,evaline4 ,oh1 bands are of different sizes4 ,i s'pose you could make one of four or five4 ,there's a sight more children than that on the mountain1 said ,evaline with some contempt4 ,but then some of 'em mightn't want to send their money away to the heathen2 and anyhow1 ,i don't know where they'd get any money to send4 ,folks up here1 'specially children1 don't have much4 ,why1 ,i thought the country was just the place to make money for missions1 cried ,marty4 ,there's 'first-fruits' and such things that are a great deal easier got at in the country than in town4 ,and ,i have heard of children raising missionary corn and potatoes1 and having missionary hens that laid the very best kind of eggs regularly every day1 that brought a high price4 ,yes1 but who's going to buy the things up here8 ,folks all have their own corn and potatoes and hens4 ,and how'd we children get a few little things miles and miles to market8 ,marty was rather taken aback by this view of the subject4 ,the children ,i read about got somebody to buy their things1 she said4 ,she was rather discouraged because ,evaline was not more enthusiastic about missions1 and thought there was no use trying to further the cause in this region2 but fortunately she happened to tell ,almira what they had been talking of1 and she took up the subject as warmly as ,marty could wish1 saying she thought it would be very nice to have a missionary circle of some sort4 ,ruth has talked to me about it1 she said1 and ,i promised to help1 but we can't seem to get the children interested4 ,aren't there any interested1 not even enough to begin with8 inquired ,marty4 ,well1 there are ,ruth's two brothers and sister1 and ,i think ,joe and ,maria ,pratt1 who live just beyond ,campbell's1 might be talked into it4 ,then there's ,eva1 but she doesn't seem to care much about it4 ,i care a great deal more since ,i heard ,marty tell about her band1 ,evaline declared1 and ,i wouldn't mind belonging to something of the kind1 only ,i don't see where ,i'd get any money to give4 ,we'd try to manage that1 said ,almira4 ,after that for a few days there was a good deal of talk among them all on the subject1 and some reading aloud afternoons from ,marty's missionary books4 ,finally ,mrs4 ,stokes said she thought it would be a very good thing for the young people in the neighborhood to have a society1 and proposed that ,almira and the little girls should go over and spend the next afternoon with ,ruth1 when they could talk the matter over4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,the ,,mountain ,,mission-,,band4 ,i am very glad ,marty came up here this summer1 for ,i do believe1 with her to help us1 we shall get the mission-band started at last1 said pretty1 blue-eyed ,ruth ,campbell1 after they had all been talking for an hour or so as hard as their tongues could go4 ,when she had learned what her visitors' errand was1 she had called her sister and brothers and had sent ,hugh over for ,maria and ,joe ,pratt4 ,then they had quite a conference on the shady porch1 ,ruth sewing busily all the while4 ,i'm afraid ,i can't help much1 said ,marty4 ,why1 you have helped and are helping ever so much4 ,you've got ,evaline all worked up1 and ,maria too1 and by telling us what you do in your band you have given us many hints for ours4 ,now1 ,ruth1 said ,evaline1 let's begin the band right away1 so that we can have some meetings while ,marty's here4 ,you must be president1 of course4 ,evaline has it all settled1 said ,ruth1 laughing4 ,then turning to ,almira she asked1 ,which do you think would be best--just start a kind of temporary band and wait until school opens to organize1 or organize now1 trusting to persuade others to join8 ,i think it would be best to organize now4 ,it will be easier to get them to join a band already started than it will be to get them stirred up to begin1 was ,almira's opinion4 ,then she wished to know what they would do about her4 ,she wanted to belong1 but then she was not a child4 ,do you know of any band1 ,marty1 that has both children and young ladies8 she asked4 ,no1 replied ,marty4 ,in our church the young ladies have a band themselves4 ,but this isn't a church band2 it's a neighborhood band1 ,ruth interposed2 and as we haven't many folks up here1 ,i think it will be well not to divide our forces1 but to include all in one organization4 ,of course ,almira must belong4 ,i think1 though1 before organizing we had better see and invite some of the other neighbors4 ,effie1 couldn't you and ,maria go over to ,mc,kay's and see what they think of it8 ,effie1 a gentle girl of thirteen1 just as pretty and blue-eyed as her sister1 thought she could4 ,joe ,pratt said he knew a boy he thought might come4 ,how about the ,smiths1 ,evaline8 ,do you think any of them would be interested8 ,ruth inquired4 ,sophy might1 ,evaline replied rather doubtfully4 ,well1 you see her1 wont you8 ,they are not far from you4 ,it was finally resolved that as everybody was so busy through the week during this harvesting season1 a meeting should be held the next ,sunday afternoon4 ,the place chosen was a grove which was just half way between ,mr4 ,stokes' and ,mr4 ,campbell's4 ,if1 however1 the day was not suitable for an out-door meeting1 they were to assemble in ,mr4 ,stokes' barn1 a fine1 new affair1 much handsomer than his house1 and occupying a commanding situation from which there was a beautiful view4 ,when everything was settled the children ran off to play1 and ,almira helped ,ruth and her mother to get supper4 ,the next ,sunday was a lovely day1 not too warm1 and the meeting in the grove was a decided success4 ,altogether there were fourteen present1 though two were visitors1 ,marty and one of ,capt4 ,smith's summer boarders1 who came with ,sophy4 ,ruth had a nice little programme made out1 and after the exercises they organized4 ,ruth was elected president1 ,almira1 for the present1 secretary1 and ,hugh ,campbell1 treasurer4 ,they decided as long as the weather remained pleasant to meet every ,sunday afternoon4 ,in winter1 of course1 they could not get together so frequently4 ,they had already had1 and continued to have1 many discussions about ways of earning their missionary money4 ,one thing the boys thought of was to gather berries and sell them to the people in the valleys1 mountain blackberries being esteemed very delicious4 ,there would be plenty of work about that--first climbing the heights and then carrying their burdens for miles4 ,ruth was so much taken with ,marty's plan of making tenths the basis of what she gave to missions that she concluded to adopt the same plan4 ,that's easy enough for you1 said ,almira4 ,you have your salary and half the butter-money1 but ,i have no income4 ,you know we don't sell much butter4 ,i'll have to think of some other way to earn a little money4 ,well1 do hurry and think what we can do1 ,almira1 said ,evaline fretfully4 ,she depended on her sister always to do the thinking4 ,i'm afraid we wont have anything to give4 ,i am thinking1 said ,almira4 ,the result was she asked her father if he would let her and ,evaline have a strip of the field adjoining the garden next summer1 where they might raise vegetables4 ,when he consented she asked ,mrs4 ,dutton at the hotel if she would buy these vegetables4 ,to this ,mrs4 ,dutton1 who knew the good quality of everything from the ,stokes farm1 and what a capable girl ,almira was1 readily agreed4 ,there now1 ,eva1 said ,almira1 by weeding and gathering vegetables you can earn your missionary money4 ,but1 ,almira1 said ,marty1 how will you ever get the things down to the hotel8 ,well1 the evenings ,hiram has to go to ,trout ,run to meet the market train1 he can take my baskets for the next day along4 ,other days1 if ,i can't do any better1 ,i can harness ,nelly and take them down in the morning myself before she is needed in the fields4 ,you'd have to get up awfully early4 ,oh1 yes6 said ,almira1 laughing4 ,i'll have to get up about three o'clock1 ,i suppose1 to have the things ready in time4 ,three o'clock6 exclaimed ,marty in dismay4 ,there's going to be plenty of hard work about your missionary money1 ,almira1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,oh1 ,i'm willing to do the work1 replied ,almira4 ,from all ,ruth says1 it is a cause worth working for4 ,yes2 but all that wont be till next summer--a year off1 objected ,evaline4 ,how are we going to get any money sooner8 ,but ,almira had another plan4 ,father1 she said1 one evening1 instead of hiring an extra hand this fall to sort and barrel apples1 wont you let ,evaline and me do it1 and pay us the wages8 ,do you think you could do as much work as a man8 inquired the farmer good-humoredly4 ,i'll back ,almiry for fast and good work against any man ,i ever saw1 said ,hiram emphatically4 ,mr4 ,stokes laughed quietly4 ,well1 he said1 't will be hard work1 with all else you have to do1 but ,i'm willing you should try4 ,i can do it1 ,almira answered determinedly4 ,after another spell of thinking she said to ,evaline1 ,we might raise some turkeys next summer4 ,they bring a good price4 ,oh1 turkeys are such a bother6 cried ,evaline4 ,they take so much running after--always going where they might get hurt4 ,she had had some experience in minding young turkeys4 ,but just think of the money we'd have1 ,almira reminded her4 ,and you know we'll have to work for our missionary money somehow4 ,that's so1 said ,evaline1 who was not fond of work4 ,it might as well be turkeys as anything else4 ,mamma1 said ,marty one morning1 ,hiram says he'd like to join the band4 ,but a great big man can't belong to a mission-band1 can he8 ,he might be an honorary member1 suggested ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,what sort of a member is that8 ,he could attend the meetings1 take part in the exercises1 and contribute money1 but he could not vote4 ,well1 maybe ,hiram would like to join that way4 ,s'pose we ask him2 and off she and ,evaline flew in search of ,hiram4 ,they found him up by the barn4 ,o ,hiram6 said ,marty4 ,i just now told mamma about your wanting to join the mission-band1 and she says you might join as an honorary member4 ,hiram stuck his pitchfork in the ground1 rested his hands on the top of it1 and his chin on his hands4 ,what's that kind of a member got to do8 he asked slowly4 ,you may give money1 but you can't vote1 ,marty instructed him4 ,hiram thought over it a good while1 and then said very gravely1 though his eyes twinkled1 ,well1 ,i guess giving money's the main thing after all1 isn't it8 ,i reckon ,i'll join if you'll let me4 ,we'll be ever so glad to have you1 said ,marty warmly4 ,she felt as if it was partly her band1 and was interested in seeing it growing and flourishing4 ,they were nearly back to the house when ,evaline suddenly stopped1 exclaiming1 ,you never told him he might come to the meetings6 ,neither ,i did6 ,how came ,i to forget that6 ,we must go right back and tell him4 ,when they reached the barn again1 they saw ,hiram at the foot of the hill1 just entering the next field2 but hearing the girls shouting1 ,hiram6 ,hiram6 and seeing them running to overtake him1 he strode back across the fence1 and seated himself on the top rail to wait for them4 ,i forgot a most important thing1 said ,marty1 panting for breath4 ,mamma says honorary members may attend the meetings4 ,maybe ,i hadn't better attend them1 said ,hiram with a quizzical look4 ,i might want to vote4 ,oh1 do you think you should8 asked ,marty anxiously4 ,hiram bit off a piece of straw and chewed it1 slowly moving his head from side to side1 appearing to meditate profoundly1 while the little girls waited in suspense4 ,well1 he said1 after he had apparently thought the matter over1 ,i suppose ,i can hold up from voting2 and ,i reckon you can count on me to come4 ,and come he did1 the very next ,sunday1 appearing to take great interest in the proceedings4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,a ,,flower ,,sale4 ,oh1 look6 ,look over there6 exclaimed ,marty4 ,what are those lovely white flowers8 ,wild clematis1 replied ,evaline4 ,o ,hiram1 wont you please stop and let us get some8 pleaded ,marty4 ,i'd like so much to take some to mamma4 ,hiram was obliged to go to ,black's ,mills on an errand that morning1 and ,marty and ,evaline had been allowed to go with him for the ride4 ,returning he had driven around by another road1 as he said one of the horses had lost a shoe1 and this road1 though longer1 was less stony1 and therefore easier for the horse than the other4 ,besides it would take them by ,mc,kay's blacksmith-shop1 where he could get the horse shod4 ,it was when going through a valley1 which the country folks called the bottom1 that they saw the clematis4 ,it was growing in the greatest profusion in the meadows and the woods on both sides of the road1 rambling over bushes1 rocks1 fences1 everything1 with its great starry clusters of white blossoms4 ,i don't think you had better go after any1 said ,hiram in reply to ,marty's request4 ,them low places are muddy after the rain yesterday1 and your ma might be angry if you was to go home with your shoes all muddied4 ,besides1 there may be snakes under them bushes4 ,snakes6 ,oh1 dear6 said ,marty with a shudder4 ,but ,i should like some of those flowers for mamma4 ,well1 said ,hiram1 reining in the horses1 if you promise to sit still in the wagon and not be up to any of your tricks of climbing in and out1 ,i'll get you some4 ,oh1 thank you ever so much6 ,i'll sit as still as a mouse4 ,but then ,i shouldn't like the snakes to bite you4 ,i reckon they wont bite me1 said ,hiram1 as he leaped over the fence1 and taking out his knife proceeded to cut great clusters of flowers4 ,oh1 just see the loads he is getting6 cried ,marty4 ,then as ,hiram returned with a huge armful which he carefully laid in the back of the wagon1 she said1 ,thank you many times1 ,hiram4 ,you are very kind4 ,how pleased mamma will be6 ,but half these are yours1 ,evaline4 ,after this they had what was to ,marty the pleasure of fording a small stream1 where the horses were allowed to stop and drink4 ,presently they had a distant view of a cascade1 called ,buttermilk ,falls4 ,as the road did not approach very near1 only a glimpse could be caught of the creamy foam2 but ,hiram said that some day1 if ,mr4 ,stokes could spare him1 he would drive them all down to that point1 and they could walk from there to the falls4 ,i reckon ,mrs4 ,ashford would like to see 'em1 he said4 ,indeed she would1 said ,marty4 ,altogether the drive was what ,marty considered just perfectly lovely4 ,and she was delighted also to be able to go home with such quantities of pretty flowers4 ,she was already planning with ,evaline what vases and pitchers they should put them in4 ,how surprised the folks will be when they see us coming in with our arms full6 she said4 ,when they reached a little wood back of ,mr4 ,stokes' barn1 ,hiram stopped the horses1 saying1 ,now1 ,i've got to go 'round to ,mc,kay's1 and may have to wait there a considerable spell1 so you'd better just hop out here and go home through the woods4 ,he helped them out1 gave them the flowers1 and drove on4 ,the girls sat down under a tree and divided the spoils4 ,marty contrived to make a basket of her broad-brimmed brown straw hat1 in which she carefully placed her flowers4 ,evaline's basket was her gingham apron held up by the corners4 ,when they came within sight of the grove where their missionary meetings had been held1 ,evaline whispered1 ,look1 ,marty6 there are some ladies sitting on our log4 ,sure enough1 there were three young ladies1 evidently resting after a mountain climb1 for their alpenstocks were lying beside them1 and one1 a bright1 black-eyed girl wearing a stylish red jacket1 was fanning herself with her broad hat4 ,as ,marty and ,evaline drew near this young lady called out gaily1 ,well1 little flower girls1 where did you come from8 ,we've been to ,black's ,mills in the wagon with ,hiram1 and when we were coming through the bottom he got this clematis for us1 explained ,marty1 who always had to be spokesman4 ,and it is beautiful6 exclaimed the young lady4 ,what wouldn't ,i give for some like it6 ,did ,hiram leave any or did he gather all for you8 ,oh1 there's plenty left6 ,then ,i must have some1 said the young lady1 jumping up4 ,come1 girls1 follow your leader to this bottom1 wherever it is1 and let us gather clematis while we may4 ,fanny1 ,fanny1 you crazy thing6 ,sit down and behave yourself1 cried one of her friends1 laughing4 ,you have no idea where the place is1 and we have been walking for three or four hours already4 ,oh1 you can't go1 said ,marty earnestly to ,miss ,fanny4 ,it's miles and miles away2 down steep hills and across the ford4 ,besides1 ,hiram says there may be snakes among the bushes4 ,well1 that settles it1 said ,miss ,fanny1 reseating herself on the log1 while the others laughed heartily4 ,then ,marty said with pretty hesitation1 ,wont you have some of my flowers8 ,i'd like to give you some4 ,some of mine1 too1 said ,evaline1 her generosity overcoming her shyness4 ,oh1 no1 indeed6 protested ,miss ,fanny4 ,thank you very much1 but ,i would not for the world deprive you of them4 ,very likely you have got it all arranged exactly how you are going to dispose of them at home4 ,so they had1 but neither of them was a bit selfish4 ,marty had already placed her hat on the end of the log and was busily engaged in separating a large bunch of flowers from the rest1 and ,evaline1 approaching the young ladies1 held out her apronful towards them4 ,perhaps1 suggested the tall1 fair girl1 whom her companions called ,dora1 perhaps you would be willing to play you are real flower girls and would sell us some4 ,yes1 yes1 exclaimed ,miss ,fanny1 let us make a play of it4 ,little girls1 how much are your flowers8 and she drew forth a long blue purse4 ',t would be mean to sell what didn't cost us anything1 and what we didn't have to move a finger to get1 said ,marty4 ,i'd a great deal rather you would let me give you as many as you want4 ,no1 it would not be mean at all when you are giving up what you have so much pleasure in4 ,it would only be fair to take something in exchange1 said ,miss ,fanny4 ,just think6 she added persuasively1 isn't there something you'd each like to have a quarter for8 ,marty still held out against taking money for the flowers1 but all at once ,evaline exclaimed brightly1 ,oh1 the mission-band6 ,mission-band6 cried ,miss ,fanny4 ,familiar sound6 ,are you mission girls8 ,yes1 they said4 ,why1 so are we all4 ,we must shake hands all around4 ,they did so1 laughing1 and feeling like old friends4 ,then in ten minutes' chatter the young ladies told what cities they were from and what bands they belonged to1 found out about ,marty's home band1 and the newly-formed mountain band she took such an interest in1 and which ,evaline persisted in saying ,marty started4 ,they were particularly delighted in hearing about this last2 they thought it highly romantic that the meetings were held in that lovely grove1 and were amused by the idea of meeting in the barn in case of rain1 and also of ,hiram's consenting to join as an honorary member4 ,now1 said ,miss ,fanny1 you will agree to sell some of your flowers1 wont you8 ,see how nicely it all fits in--we want some flowers very much1 and you want some money for your mission work4 ,so it's a fair exchange4 ,girls1 she said1 turning to her friends1 you know this is ,mrs4 ,thurston's birthday4 ,wouldn't it be lovely if we could have about half this clematis to decorate her room with8 ,marty declared if she was going to give them a quarter apiece1 she must take all1 or most of the flowers1 instead of half4 ,after much talk it was finally arranged that the little girls were each to keep what ,miss ,fanny called a good double-handful1 and the rest was handed over to the young ladies4 ,this is my first missionary money1 said ,evaline1 caressing her bright silver quarter in delight4 ,marty1 also1 appeared very well pleased with the unexpected increase to her store4 ,before separating ,miss ,fanny proposed another plan4 ,she had already stated that she and her friends were staying at the hotel in ,riseborough1 and had caused ,evaline to point out where she lived4 ,day after to-morrow1 said ,miss ,fanny1 a party of five or six of us are going to take a drive to see some falls1 and coming back we pass right by your house4 ,we shall probably be along towards the close of the afternoon4 ,now couldn't you be on the lookout for us1 and have some more missionary clematis for sale8 ,it doesn't grow very near here1 said ,evaline1 and ,i don't believe ,hiram would have time to take us to the bottom again after any4 ,he's busy harvesting4 ,of course ,i don't wish you to go to so much trouble about it2 but cannot you get us flowers of some kind near here--in some of these woods8 ,evaline1 who was anxious for more missionary money1 said she thought there were still some cardinal flowers down in the glen1 and ,miss ,fanny said they would be the very thing4 ,and then it would be more like earning the missionary money if we had to work ourselves to get the flowers1 said ,marty4 ,you have been brought up in the orthodox school1 ,i see1 said ,miss ,fanny1 and all the young ladies laughed4 ,after many last words and kindly adieus1 they parted1 and the children ran home to relate their adventures4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,weeding4 ,when the plan for ,thursday was announced1 both ,mrs4 ,ashford and ,mrs4 ,stokes objected to the little girls going so far into the woods by themselves2 and nobody could go with them4 ,then we'll have no flowers for the ladies1 sighed ,marty4 ,and no more missionary money1 added ,evaline4 ,why not give them flowers out of the garden8 said ,mrs4 ,stokes4 ,sakes alive6 there's plenty there4 ,and they're just the kind ,i've seen city folks going crazy over4 ,some of the hotel folks were up here last summer1 and deary me6 but they did make a to-do over my larkspur1 sweet-william1 china pinks1 candytuft1 cockscomb1 and such4 ,you just give the ladies some of 'em1 and they'll be pleased enough2 for there's hardly any flowers in ,riseborough--too shady1 ,i guess4 ,that's all well enough for ,evaline1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford1 but ,marty has no right to sell your flowers4 ,she has if ,i give 'em to her1 hasn't she8 ,i'm sure she's welcome to every bloom in the garden to do what she pleases with4 ,not that ,i want my flowers sold2 ,i'd rather give 'em to the ladies1 but as long as it is for mission work-- and the good woman finished with a little nod4 ,but ,mrs4 ,ashford still objected to ,marty's taking the flowers1 and ,evaline would not have anything to do with the scheme unless ,marty could go halves4 ,dear ,mrs4 ,stokes1 said ,marty1 can't you think of some way ,i could work for the flowers1 and then mamma wouldn't object to my taking them8 ,well1 ,i'll tell you4 ,the gravel walk 'round the centre bed is pretty tolerable weedy1 and if you and ,evaline'll weed it out nice and clean1 you may have all the flowers you want all summer4 ,that satisfied all parties1 and the weeding began that afternoon4 ,when ,marty was going to do anything she always wanted to get at it right away4 ,besides ,almira advised them to do some that afternoon4 ,then maybe you can finish it up to-morrow morning before the sun gets 'round there1 she said4 ,this is a very good time to do it too--just after the rain4 ,the girls were armed with old knives--not very sharp ones--to dig out the weeds with1 if they would not come with pulling4 ,you must be sure to get them up by the roots1 said ,almira1 or they'll grow again before you know where you are4 ,oh1 we are going to do it good1 ,marty declared4 ,they divided the walk into sections1 and set to work vigorously4 ,in a few moments ,marty remarked complacently1 ,the bottom of my basket is quite covered with weeds4 ,but then1 she added in a different tone1 ,i don't see where they came from4 ,i hardly miss them out of the walk4 ,a few moments more of quiet work1 and she called out1 ,evaline1 are many of your weeds in tight8 ,awful tight1 answered ,evaline disconsolately4 ,they've got the longest roots of any weeds ,i ever saw4 ',t would take a week of rain to make this walk fit to weed4 ,well1 said ,marty1 of course it isn't just as easy as taking a quarter for some clematis that was given to us in the first place1 but as it is for missions ,i think we ought to be willing to do it1 even if it is a little hard4 ,that's so1 ,evaline replied1 brightening up4 ,and ,i'm very glad your mother thought of this1 ,marty went on1 for it would be dreadful disappointing not to have any flowers for the ladies when they come1 and not to get any more missionary money4 ,again ,evaline agreed with her1 and the work went on4 ,in about half an hour there was quite a large clean patch1 and much encouraged by seeing the progress they were making1 they worked more diligently than ever4 ,then ,marty had a sentimental idea that it might help them along to sing a missionary hymn1 but found upon trial that it was more of a hindrance than a help4 ,i can't sing when ,i'm all doubled up this way1 she said1 and anyway when ,i find a very tough weed ,i have to stop singing and pull4 ,then ,i forget what comes next4 ,i guess it's better to work while you work and sing afterward1 was ,evaline's opinion4 ,here they heard somebody laughing1 and looking up saw ,mrs4 ,ashford1 who had come out to see how they were getting on4 ,i think ,evaline is about right1 she said2 singing and weeding don't go together very well4 ,but how nicely you have been doing6 ,why1 you are nearly half through6 ,yes1 ma'am1 said ,evaline1 and the other side of the circle a'n't half so bad as this was4 ,we'll easy get it done to-morrow morning4 ,yes2 and1 mamma1 cried ,marty1 we've got them out good4 ,i don't believe there'll ever be another weed here6 ,they'll be as bad as ever after a while1 said ,evaline1 who knew them of old4 ,marty was pretty tired that evening and did not feel like running about as much as usual4 ,there now6 exclaimed ,mrs4 ,stokes1 looking at ,marty as she sat on the porch steps after supper leaning back against her mother1 there now6 you're all beat out4 ',t was too hard work for you4 ,i oughtn't to have let you do it4 ,oh6 indeed1 ,mrs4 ,stokes1 ,i'm not so very tired1 cried ,marty1 and ,i was glad to do it4 ,another hour's work the next morning finished the weeding1 and the girls reflected with satisfaction that they had earned their flowers4 ,mrs4 ,stokes said the work was done beautiful1 and ,hiram1 who was brought to inspect it1 said they had done so well that he had a great mind to have them come down to the field and hoe corn4 ,thursday morning early they gathered and put in water enough flowers for seven fair-sized bouquets1 thinking they had better have one more than ,miss ,fanny mentioned in case an extra lady came4 ,by four o'clock these flowers--and how lovely and fragrant they were6--with ,mrs4 ,ashford's valuable assistance were made into tasteful bouquets1 placed on an old tray with their stems lightly covered with wet moss1 and set in the coolest corner of the porch4 ,the children1 including ,freddie1 all nicely dressed1 took up position on the steps1 partly to keep guard over the flowers and prevent ,ponto from lying down on them1 and partly to watch for their callers4 ,marty's bright eyes were the first to see the carriages4 ,there they come around the bend6 she exclaimed1 and shortly a carryall driven by ,jim ,dutton1 and containing three ladies and two children1 followed by a buck-board wherein sat ,miss ,fanny and ,miss ,dora1 drew up at the gate4 ,evaline's shyness came on in full force and she hung back1 but ,marty1 with ,freddie holding her hand1 proceeded down the walk4 ,they were met by ,miss ,fanny1 who had thrown the reins to her friend and jumped out the moment the horse stopped4 ,she kissed ,marty1 snatched up ,freddie1 exclaiming1 ,what a darling little boy6 and called out1 ,come down here1 ,evaline6 ,i want to see you4 ,mrs4 ,stokes1 who was too hospitable to see people so near her house without inviting them in1 now came forward to give the invitation1 and as they were obliged to decline on the score of lateness1 she called ,almira to bring some cool spring water for them4 ,seeing ,freddie approaching dangerously near one of the horses1 ,marty cried1 ,freddie1 ,freddie1 come away from the horse6 and he gravely inquired1 ,what's the matter with the poor old horse8 ,this made every one laugh and brought ,mrs4 ,ashford from the porch to take his hand and keep him out of danger4 ,so they were all assembled at the roadside1 and quite a pleasant1 lively time they had4 ,the flowers were asked for and ,evaline brought them1 while ,marty explained why they were garden instead of wild flowers1 and ,mrs4 ,stokes told how the girls earned them4 ,the bouquets were extremely admired4 ,when proposing the plan in the woods1 ,miss ,fanny had suggested ten-cent bouquets1 but everybody said ten cents was entirely too cheap for such large1 beautifully arranged ones1 that fifteen cents was little enough4 ,there was one composed entirely of sweet peas1 as ,mrs4 ,ashford said those delicate flowers looked prettier by themselves4 ,this ,miss ,fanny seized upon1 insisted on paying twenty cents for1 and presented to a pale1 sweet-faced lady in mourning4 ,she drew ,marty to the side of the carriage where this lady was1 and said in a low voice1 ,mrs4 ,thurston1 this is the little girl ,i told you of--the ,missionary ,twig who doesn't leave her missionary zeal at home when she goes away in vacation4 ,the lady smiled affectionately as she pressed ,marty's hand1 and said1 ,i am glad to meet such an earnest little comrade4 ,oh6 but you don't know1 protested ,marty4 ,i came very near forgetting the whole thing4 ,indeed1 it went out of my head altogether from ,tuesday till ,sunday4 ,the ladies laughed1 and ,miss ,fanny said1 ,mrs4 ,thurston was a missionary in ,india for many years1 ,marty1 and would be there yet if she was able4 ,india6 exclaimed ,marty1 with wide-open eyes4 ,in ,lahore6 ,she had heard more about ,lahore than any other place1 and to her it seemed like the principal city in ,india4 ,oh1 no6 replied ,mrs4 ,thurston4 ,far from there1 hundreds of miles4 ,lahore1 you know1 is in ,northern ,india1 in the part known as the ,punjab1 while my home was in the extreme south near a city called ,madura4 ,are you especially interested in ,lahore8 ,yes1 ma'am4 ,it's where our band sends its money4 ,we have a school there4 ,that is1 we pay the teacher4 ,it is one of those little schools in a room rented from a poor woman1 who does her work in one corner while the school is going on1 and the teacher is a native4 ,ah1 yes2 ,i understand4 ,mrs4 ,c---- is the missionary who superintends it1 along with a lot of other schools4 ,do you know her8 ,no1 but ,i have seen her name in the missionary papers4 ,did you have some of those little schools when you were a missionary1 ,mrs4 ,thurston8 ,marty inquired4 ,yes1 ,i did some school work1 but more zenana work4 ,what is zenana work8 ,just then ,mrs4 ,thurston noticed that preparations were being made to drive on1 so she merely replied1 ,come down to the village and see me1 and we will have a good missionary talk4 ,thank you ever so much1 said ,marty4 ,i do hope mamma will let me go4 ,evaline was quite overcome when she learned that ,mrs4 ,thurston was a real live missionary1 and said1 ,she's the first one ,i ever saw4 ,i wonder if they're all as nice as that4 ,after consultation with her mother1 ,marty decided to give half her flower money--which altogether amounted to eighty cents--to the mountain band1 and keep the other half for the home band4 ,because1 you see1 this is all out-and-out missionary money2 there's no tithing to be done1 she said4 ,evaline never felt so large in her life as she did when going to the band meeting the next ,sunday1 with her eighty cents ready to hand to ,hugh ,campbell4 ,the ,saturday following that memorable ,thursday1 ,miss ,fanny and ,miss ,mary again presented themselves at the farmhouse1 where they were welcomed like old friends4 ,after some pleasant chat1 and a lunch of gingerbread and fresh buttermilk1 ,miss ,fanny said1 ,we came this morning chiefly to bring you an invitation from ,mrs4 ,thurston4 ,she wants you all1 or as many as possible1 to come to an all-day missionary meeting at the hotel next ,tuesday4 ,all day6 exclaimed ,almira4 ,yes4 ,that sounds formidable1 doesn't it8 laughed ,miss ,fanny4 ,but ,i'll tell you about it4 ,we are going to sew for a home missionary family4 ,you must know that ,mrs4 ,thurston1 after spending the best part of her life and the greater part of her strength in the foreign field1 still does all1 in fact1 more than her poor health will allow her to do for missions both at home and abroad4 ,she heard the other day that a missionary family1 acquaintances of hers1 in ,nebraska1 had been burnt out1 and lost everything but the clothes they had on4 ,she told us about them with tears in her eyes1 and some of us discovered she was laying aside some of her own clothes for the missionary's wife and planning how she could squeeze out a little money--for she is not rich by any means--to buy some clothes for the children4 ,well1 the result was we took up a collection of clothes and money at the hotel1 and ,mrs4 ,thurston got ,mr4 ,dutton to go to ,trout ,run and telegraph to the ,mission ,board that this missionary is connected with that we would send a box of things in a few days that will keep the family going until some church can send them a good large box4 ,but how will you know what kind of garments to send8 asked ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,i mean1 what sizes8 ,mrs4 ,thurston knows all about how many children there are1 and their ages1 so we can guess at their sizes4 ,mrs4 ,ashford1 discovering there was a little girl near ,freddie's age1 and as he was1 of course1 yet in girl's clothes1 said she could spare a couple of his suits1 having brought an ample supply4 ,some of ,marty's clothes also were found available4 ,we have had some things given us for the lady1 said ,miss ,fanny1 a wrapper1 a jersey1 a cashmere skirt1 a shawl2 also two or three children's dresses4 ,we have bought nearly all the muslin in ,mr4 ,sims' store1 with some flannel and calico4 ,he is going to ,johnsburgh ,monday1 and will get us shirts for the missionary1 stockings1 and such things4 ,monday is to be a grand cutting-out day4 ,tuesday we are to have three sewing-machines4 ,several of the village ladies are coming to help1 and we shall be very glad if some of you will come4 ,mrs4 ,thurston particularly desires that the little girls shall come4 ,oh1 do let us go1 ,marty said1 while ,evaline looked it4 ,mrs4 ,ashford could not leave ,freddie1 and it was not possible for both ,mrs4 ,stokes and ,almira to go1 so it was settled that the latter1 the little girls1 and ,ruth ,campbell1 whom ,miss ,fanny wished ,almira to invite1 should walk down pretty early in the morning1 and ,hiram should bring the light wagon for them in the evening4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,hotel ,,missionary ,,meeting4 ,it was an elegant sewing-meeting1 ,marty confided to her mother when she got home ,tuesday evening1 and it wasn't a bit like that one ,aunt ,henrietta had the last time we were in ,rochester4 ,i liked this one best4 ,there1 you know1 the ladies came all dressed up1 carrying little velvet or satin work-bags1 and we just had thin bread and butter and such things for tea--nothing very good4 ,here some of the ladies--of course ,i mean the ones from the village--came in calico dresses and sun-bonnets4 ,and they were so free and easy--sewed fast and talked fast while they were there2 and then if they had to go home a little bit1 they'd just pop on their bonnets and off they'd go4 ,mrs4 ,clarkson thought it was going to rain1 and she ran home to take in her wash1 and another lady went home two or three times to see how her dinner was getting on4 ,some of them stayed at the hotel to dinner1 and all that did stay brought something with them1 pies mostly1 though some brought pickles1 preserves1 and frosted cake4 ,and every time ,mrs4 ,dutton saw something being smuggled through the hall she'd call out1 ',now ,i told you not to bring anything4 ,the dinner is my part of this missionary meeting4' ,then they'd all laugh4 ,they were all real kind and pleasant4 ,and such a dinner6 ,i do believe we had some of everything4 ,and supper was just the same way4 ,the hotel1 though the boast of the surrounding country1 was a very plain establishment1 being nothing more than a tolerably large1 simply furnished frame house accommodating about forty persons4 ,but it was bright and home-like and beautifully situated4 ,mrs4 ,thurston's meeting1 as they called it1 was held in the large1 uncarpeted dining-room1 and the dinner tables were set in the shady back yard4 ,the sewing-room was a busy scene1 with ,miss ,dora and two other ladies making the machines whir and groups of workers getting material ready for the machines or finishing off4 ,mrs4 ,thurston1 appealed to from all sides1 quietly directed the work1--while ,miss ,fanny was here1 there1 and everywhere1 helping everybody4 ,almira heard1 in the course of the day1 that ,miss ,fanny was quite wealthy1 that she had contributed a great deal towards getting up the box1 and was going to pay the freight4 ,there were several children besides ,marty and ,evaline4 ,they were employed to run errands1 pass articles from one person to another1 and fold the smaller pieces of clothing as they were completed4 ,as the day wore on and the novelty of the thing wore off1 most of the children got tired and went out to play2 but ,marty1 though she ran out a few minutes occasionally1 spent most of the time in the work-room1 keeping as close as possible to ,mrs4 ,thurston1 to whom she had taken a great fancy4 ,soon after dinner ,miss ,fanny came to ,mrs4 ,thurston and said1 ,now1 ,mrs4 ,thurston1 if you don't get out of this commotion a while you will have one of your bad headaches4 ,do go out in the air4 ,we can get on without you for an hour4 ,so ,mrs4 ,thurston took ,marty and went into the grove back of the house1 and it was while sitting there on a rustic seat1 with the magnificent view spread out before them1 that they had their missionary talk4 ,illustration3 ,while sitting there on a rustic seat 444 they had their missionary talk4 ,page #aeh4 ,mrs4 ,thurston described her home in ,southern ,india1 and spoke of the kind of work she and her husband did there--how he preached and taught in the city and surrounding villages2 how she instructed children in the schools1 and visited the ignorant women1 both rich and poor1 in their homes4 ,often1 when not able to leave home on account of her children1 she had classes of poor women in her compound1 as the yards around the houses in ,india are called4 ,she also spent a good deal of time giving her servants religious instruction4 ,you know1 she said1 it is very1 very hot there1 and we ,americans can only endure the heat by being very careful4 ,at best we sometimes get sick1 and we must do all we can to save ourselves up to teach and preach4 ,that's what we go there for4 ,if we should cook or do any work of that kind1 we should die2 so we employ the natives1 who are accustomed to the heat1 to do these things for us4 ,then1 these servants will each do only one kind of work4 ,that is1 the sweeper wont do any cooking or washing2 the man who buys the food and waits on the table wont do anything else4 ,that's very queer1 said ,marty4 ,yes1 but it is their way4 ,so we are obliged to have several servants4 ,but then the wages are very low4 ,altogether it does not cost any more1 perhaps not as much1 as one good girl would in this country4 ,they are a great deal of trouble1 too4 ,they are not1 as a rule1 very honest or faithful1 and they have1 of course1 all the heathen vices1 and sometimes we have much worry with them4 ,but what ,i was going to say is1 that we do our best to teach these servants about ,god4 ,we used to have them come in to prayers every day1 and on ,sunday ,i would collect them on the veranda and try to teach them verses of ,scripture1 which ,i would explain over and over again4 ,on these occasions a good many poor1 lame1 blind people from the neighborhood would also come4 ,these people were so densely ignorant that it was hard to make them understand anything1 but in some cases ,i think the light did get into their minds4 ,then ,mrs4 ,thurston told of the death of her three dear little children1 and ,marty felt very1 very sorry for her when she spoke of the three little graves in that distant land4 ,haven't you any living children8 she asked4 ,yes1 two4 ,one of my sons is a missionary in ,ceylon1 and the other1 with whom ,i live1 is a minister in ,new ,york ,state4 ,then1 it appeared1 after many years of labor in that hot climate1 the health of both ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,thurston broke down1 and they were obliged to leave the work they loved and come back to ,america4 ,in a short time ,mr4 ,thurston died4 ,marty found out1 somewhat to her surprise1 that the big society her band was connected with was not the only one4 ,mrs4 ,thurston belonged to an entirely different one1 and the young ladies1 ,fanny1 ,dora1 and ,mary1 to still another4 ,you see we belong to different religious denominations1 said ,mrs4 ,thurston1 and each denomination has its own ,society or ,board4 ,this ,nebraska missionary1 now1 suggested ,marty1 ,i suppose he belongs to your de--whatever it is4 ,denomination1 said ,mrs4 ,thurston1 smiling4 ,no1 he belongs to yours4 ,yet you are all working for him6 exclaimed ,marty4 ,of course4 ,it would not do for these different families of ,christians to keep in their own little pens all the time and never help each other4 ,but as yet it has been found best for each denomination to have its own missionary society1 though there are some ,union ,societies1 and perhaps in coming years it may be all union4 ,now there's this mountain band1 said ,marty reflectively4 ,the people in it are not all the same kind4 ,i mean some are ,methodists1 and some are ,presbyterians1 and the ,smiths are ,baptists4 ,i heard ,ruth say she didn't know what would be best to do with their money4 ,she afterwards heard ,ruth consulting ,mrs4 ,thurston about the matter1 and the latter spoke of one of these union societies4 ,ruth said she would speak to the others and see if they would wish to send their funds there4 ,by half-past four a great deal of work had been done1 and the new garments were piled up on a table in the corner of the room4 ,though needles were still flying1 taking last stitches1 the hard-driven machines were silent1 having run out of work1 as ,miss ,fanny said4 ,in the comparative quiet ,ruth was heard singing softly over her work4 ,sing louder1 ,ruth1 said ,almira1 and ,ruth more audibly1 but still softly1 sang1 ,from ,greenland's icy mountains4 ,one voice after another took up the refrain1 and by the time the second line was reached the old hymn was sent forth on the air as a grand chorus4 ,the children came up on the porch1 the girls came out of the kitchen to listen4 ,the customers in ,sims' store and the loungers around the blacksmith's shop stopped talking as the sound reached them4 ,when the last strains died away1 and before talking could be resumed1 ,ruth said1 ,marty1 wont you say those verses you said at our last band meeting8 ,i'll say them if the ladies would like to hear them1 said ,marty1 who was not at all timid1 and knew the verses very thoroughly1 having recited them at the anniversary of her own band4 ,the ladies desired very much to hear them1 and1 taking her stand at one end of the room1 she repeated very nicely those well-known lines beginning1 ,an aged woman1 poor and weak1 ,she heard the mission teacher speak2 ,the slowly-rolling tears came down ,upon her withered features brown3 ',what blessed news from yon far shore6 ,would ,i had heard it long before6' ,how touching that is6 said one of the hotel ladies1 and ,mrs4 ,sims was seen to wipe her eyes with the pillow-slip she was seaming4 ,mrs4 ,thurston1 said ,miss ,fanny1 who saw that a good start on a foreign missionary meeting had been made1 and was not willing to let the opportunity be lost1 when you were in ,india did you meet many persons who were anxious to hear the gospel1 or were they mainly indifferent8 ,in replying to this question ,mrs4 ,thurston told many interesting things that had come under her observation1 and this led to further questions from others1 so they had quite a long talk on missionary work both in ,india and other countries4 ,finally one of the boarders asked1 ,well1 do you think the world ever will be converted to ,christianity8 ,i know it will1 replied ,mrs4 ,thurston2 and she quoted1 ,all the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the ,lord2 and all kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee4 ,,fanny4 ,for it is written1 ,as ,i live1 saith the ,lord1 every knee shall bow to me1 and every tongue shall confess to ,god4 ,,dora4 ,the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the ,lord1 as the waters cover the sea4 ,,ruth4 ,he shall have dominion also from sea to sea1 and from the river unto the ends of the earth4 ,dora1 ,dora1 said ,miss ,fanny1 with an imperative little gesture1 ',jesus shall reign'-- ,miss ,dora obediently began to sing1 ,jesus shall reign where'er the sun ,does his successive journeys run1 and was at once joined by the others4 ,now1 dear friends1 said ,mrs4 ,thurston1 when the hymn was finished1 upon this1 the only occasion we are all likely to be together1 shall we not unite in asking ,god to hasten the coming of this glorious time1 and ask for his blessing on our humble attempts to work in this cause8 ,work was dropped and every head bowed1 as ,mrs4 ,thurston uttered fervent words of prayer that the ,lord would fill all their hearts with love for missions1 and that he would permit them to do something towards helping in the work4 ,she prayed especially for the children who were engaged in missionary work1 and asked that they might have grace given them to devote their whole lives to the service of ,god4 ,well1 said ,mrs4 ,clarkson1 as she was leaving1 this has been a right down pleasant meeting1 and ,i think the last part was just about the best4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,the ,,garden ,,missionary ,,meeting4 ,two or three days afterwards ,miss ,fanny1 with one of her young friends1 came up to tell the farmhouse people that the box had gone4 ,she said that ,mr4 ,sims had given them a box1 and had also kindly attended to sending it off4 ,the day after the meeting1 when ,hiram went down to the postoffice1 ,marty and ,evaline had each sent by him a book for the missionary children1 and ,miss ,fanny said that this prompted some of the children at the hotel to send books4 ,during the remainder of the summer there was frequent intercourse between the hotel and the farmhouse1 and the mission workers1 particularly1 learned to love each other very much4 ,marty felt very proud to be numbered among these workers1 though she was only a twig4 ,she said1 ,i'll have a great deal to tell ,miss ,agnes and the girls when ,i go home--sha'n't ,i1 mamma8 ,some new members joined the mountain band1 and by the last of ,august it numbered twenty-one4 ,ruth said she wished very much that before ,mrs4 ,thurston left they might have her meet with the band4 ,she thought they would all take greater interest in mission work if they could hear something of it from one who had spent so many years in the midst of it4 ,mrs4 ,thurston said she would be very happy to attend a meeting and talk with the members4 ,so arrangements were made to have her do so4 ,it would be impossible for her to reach the grove1 as she could not walk so far1 and the drive from the hotel to ,mr4 ,campbell's was very rough and quite long4 ,mother1 said ,almira1 when they were trying to settle the matter1 couldn't we have a meeting here8 ,it would be easier for ,mrs4 ,thurston to get here1 and convenient enough for everybody else4 ,why1 of course they may meet here1 her mother replied4 ,our parlor's a plenty big enough to hold 'em4 ,oh6 dear ,mrs4 ,stokes1 protested ,marty1 don't let us meet in the house when there's so much lovely out-of-doors4 ,that grassy place in the garden near the currant-bushes would be just an elegant place for a meeting4 ,i vote with ,marty for out-of-doors1 said ,ruth4 ,we'll have enough times for in-door meetings after a while4 ,suit yourselves1 said kind ,mrs4 ,stokes4 ,you're welcome to any place ,i've anything to do with4 ,and may some of the rest of us from the hotel come8 asked ,miss ,fanny1 who happened to be present when this talk was going on4 ,yes1 indeed4 ,the more the--4 ,mrs4 ,stokes was just going to say1 as she so often did1 the more the merrier1 when she recollected that it would be ,sunday and the meeting a religious one4 ,but she let them all know she would like them to come4 ,mrs4 ,ashford and ,ruth had great difficulty in persuading her not to bake a quantity of cake on ,saturday and serve refreshments to the band4 ,you must remember1 dear ,mrs4 ,stokes1 said ,ruth1 it isn't a party1 and nobody will expect anything to eat4 ,now you must not think of going to any trouble4 ,the idee of having a lot of people come to your house and not give 'em a bite of anything6 exclaimed ,mrs4 ,stokes4 ,sunday afternoon chairs were carried out to the grassy spot ,marty had selected1 among them a comfortable arm-chair for ,mrs4 ,thurston4 ,marty insisted on farmer ,stokes' special arm-chair being carried out for him1 and with the help of ,wattie ,campbell contrived to get it there4 ,hiram1 before he drove down to the hotel for the ladies1 made a couple of benches of boards placed on kegs4 ,these were for the girls4 ,the boys1 he said1 could sit on the ground1 and that is where he sat himself4 ,mrs4 ,thurston brought with her a cloth map of ,india which the young ladies fastened to two trees4 ,she also had some photographs of people and places in ,india which were passed around among the company4 ,mr4 ,stokes was particularly struck with the beautiful scenery these pictures showed4 ,well1 he said1 ,i never knew much about ,india1 but ,i had no idea it was such a handsome place4 ,oh1 yes1 said ,mrs4 ,thurston1 the scenery in some parts of these tropical countries is very fine1 the foliage is so luxuriant1 the flowers so gorgeous1 the skies so brilliant4 ,indeed1 a photograph only gives the merest hint of the beauties4 ,she described certain mountain and forest views1 also some parks and gardens she had visited4 ,don't you remember those lines in the missionary hymn1 ,mr4 ,stokes1 ,miss ,dora asked1 ',where every prospect pleases1 ,and only man is vile'8 ,mrs4 ,thurston told them that the people in ,india do not live on farms as many do in this country1 but crowd together in towns and villages1 going out from there to work in the fields4 ,she briefly described the large city of ,madras1 with its mingled riches and poverty1 its streets crowded with all sorts of people1 some of them with hardly any clothing on1 its temples and bazaars1 or shops4 ,then she spoke of ,madura1 where her home had been so long4 ,it was hard to get her listeners1 as they sat in this cool1 shady garden1 fanned by mountain breezes1 to understand how hot it is in ,india1 especially ,southern ,india4 ,they thought the punkahs1 or huge fans1 that are in all the churches and larger houses1 and which a man works constantly to cool the air1 must be very queer contrivances4 ,the idea of having to stay indoors during the middle of the day1 keeping very still1 lying down1 perhaps1 did not strike ,mrs4 ,stokes very favorably4 ,that wouldn't suit me1 she said--to lie down in the daytime and be fanned4 ,i'd want to be up and doing4 ,i fear even your energy would flag in that climate1 replied ,mrs4 ,thurston1 laughing4 ,foreigners are obliged to be very careful or they could not live there at all4 ,of course we missionaries were not idle at the time ,i speak of4 ,we were studying1 writing1 or making arrangements about our work4 ,she then told a good deal about the way the missionaries work among the people1 taking her hearers with her in imagination to some of the mission-schools1 and to the ,sunday services in the little church where her husband had preached4 ,in doing this she repeated a passage of ,scripture and sang a hymn in the ,tamil language--the language used in that part of ,india4 ,now ,i will tell you something of zenana visiting1 she said4 ,mrs4 ,thurston1 said ,ruth1 wont you please first tell us exactly what a zenana is8 ,ruth knew herself1 but she was afraid some of the others did not4 ,the word zenana1 replied ,mrs4 ,thurston1 strictly means women's apartment1 but as it is generally used by us it means the houses of the high caste gentlemen1 where their wives live in great seclusion4 ,these high caste women very seldom go out1 except occasionally to worship at some temple4 ,they live1 as we would say1 at the back of the house1 their windows never facing the street4 ,sometimes they have beautiful gardens and pleasant rooms1 but often it is just the other way4 ,they have few visitors and no male visitors at all1 never seeing even their own brothers4 ,the low caste women1 though they lack many privileges the others have1 yet have more freedom and are not secluded in this way4 ,i'd rather be low caste1 said ,marty4 ,you wouldn't rather be either if you knew all about it1 said ,miss ,fanny4 ,in visiting the poorer people1 ,mrs4 ,thurston went on to say1 when ,i was seen to enter a house the neighbors all around would flock in1 so that ,i could talk with several families at once4 ,but in visiting a zenana ,i only saw the inhabitants of that one house4 ,to be sure there was generally quite a crowd of them1 for the rich gentlemen often have several wives4 ,then there would be the daughters-in-law1 for the sons all bring their wives to their father's house4 ,then all these ladies have female servants to wait on them and who are constantly present1 so altogether there would be quite a company4 ,i suppose they would be glad to see you1 suggested ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,oh1 yes4 ,they welcome any change1 their lives are so dull4 ,what do they do with themselves all day long8 inquired ,miss ,fanny4 ,i suppose they don't work1 as they have plenty of servants to do everything for them4 ,they don't shop or market or visit4 ,they have no lectures or concerts to attend4 ,they are not educated1 at least not many of them2 and even if they could read1 they have no books4 ,oh1 what a life6 ,what do they do1 ,mrs4 ,thurston8 ,marty asked4 ,well1 they look over their clothes and jewels1 spend a great deal of time every day in being bathed in their luxurious way1 and being dressed4 ,then they lounge about1 gossip1 and quarrel a good deal1 ,i suspect4 ,they are very fond of hearing what is going on1 and the servant who brings them the most news is the greatest favorite4 ,and that's the way so many women have lived for centuries6 sighed ,ruth4 ,things are improving somewhat now1 said ,mrs4 ,thurston4 ,education for women is very much more thought of than in former years4 ,a great many girls are now allowed to attend the ,government and other schools1 and many men in these days are anxious to have their wives educated4 ,some employ teachers to come to their houses and teach the inmates4 ,if only all these women could receive a ,christian education1 ,india would soon be a delightfully different place4 ,how do the missionaries get into these zenanas8 ,ruth inquired4 ,do they go as teachers or visitors or--what8 ,in some cases missionary ladies have gained admission by going to teach these shut-in ladies fancy-work or something of the kind4 ,other times they contrive to get introduced in some way1 going as visitors4 ,but in every case they aim to make their visit the means of carrying the gospel to these women4 ,are they willing to have you talk on religious subjects8 asked ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,some of them are not4 ,you know there is1 of course1 as much diversity among them as among any other women4 ,but after they have got used to our coming1 and have examined our clothes and asked us all sorts of questions1 some of them very childish ones1 they generally listen to what we wish to say and become interested in the ,bible and the story of the cross4 ,mrs4 ,thurston then spoke particularly of some of the houses she used to visit1 told about the pretty little children and their pretty young mothers1 what they all did and said1 in a way that interested her hearers very much4 ,she also told how some of these friends of hers had received the gospel message and were converted to ,christ4 ,and if you only understood the position of these people under this dreadful caste system1 you would see what difficulties they have to contend with before they can come out on the ,lord's side1 she said4 ,but it is our duty and privilege to show them the right way1 the way of life1 and shall we not do all in our power to send them the gospel8 ,those of them who know about free and happy ,america are looking to us for help4 ,did you ever hear some verses called ',work in the ,zenana'8 ,i can repeat a couple of them4 ',do you see those dusky faces ,gazing dumbly to the ,west-- ,those dark eyes1 so long despairing1 ,now aglow with hope's unrest8 ',they are looking1 waiting1 longing ,for deliverance and light2 ,shall we not make haste to help them1 ,our poor sisters of the night8' ,there was a great deal more talk about ,india1 ,mrs4 ,thurston being besieged with questions1 until ,ruth feared she would be worn out1 and said the meeting had better close4 ,oh6 ,i like to talk about my dear ,india1 said ,mrs4 ,thurston with a tearful smile2 and if it is any help to you all in your work1 ,i am only too willing to give you the help4 ,you have helped us ever so much1 replied ,ruth1 and we are very grateful4 ,i'm sure we shall always feel the greatest interest in that wonderful old ,india1 with its sore need of the gospel4 ,yes1 said ,almira1 ,i feel now that every cent of money we can scrape together should be used for ,india4 ,unfortunately it is not the only needy place in the world1 said ,miss ,mary4 ,well1 said ,ruth1 we must just work hard and do all we can for heathen lands4 ,then they sang several hymns1 ,hiram and ,hugh ,campbell having carried ,almira's melodeon out to the garden1 and closed by repeating the ,lord's prayer in concert4 ,during the singing ,mrs4 ,stokes had slipped away1 and ,mrs4 ,ashford and ,ruth exchanged smiling glances when they saw her standing by the garden-gate as the friends passed out1 insisting that they should take some cookies and drop cakes from a basket she held4 ,she would not hear of the hotel ladies getting into the carriage until they had partaken of the sliced cake and hot tea she had ready for them on the side porch4 ,ah1 this is the way you get around it1 ,mrs4 ,stokes6 said ,ruth4 ,now1 ,ruth1 exclaimed the good woman1 don't you say a word4 ,i a'n't going to have these folks go back home all fagged out when a cup of tea will do 'em good4 ,this is another perfectly elegant missionary meeting1 said ,marty4 ,i wonder if ,edith and the other girls are having as good a time as ,i am4 ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,,cousin ,,alice',s ,,zenana ,,work4 ,mr4 ,ashford came up to the farmhouse about the first of ,september1 and spent a week before taking his family home4 ,so ,marty did not arrive in time to be present at the first meeting of the band1 but on the third ,saturday of the month she was on hand with her budget of news4 ,she had much to hear as well as to tell1 and it would take a long time to relate all the missionary experiences of those travelled ,twigs4 ,indeed for several weeks something new was constantly coming up4 ,it would be1 ,o ,miss ,agnes1 ,i forgot to tell about such a thing4 ,or1 ,i just now remember what ,i heard at such a place4 ,may ,i tell it8 ,edith had attended a grand missionary meeting at the seaside1 and ,rosa had gone with her mother and elder sister to a missionary convention1 where she saw and heard several missionaries who were at home for rest1 and also several new ones who were going out soon4 ,others of the girls had attended band meetings where they were visiting1 or had joined with other young workers in holding meetings in hotels and cottages4 ,but no one had1 like ,marty1 been present at the forming of a band and helped it start4 ,nor had they1 like her1 become well acquainted with a real missionary4 ,oh1 ,i just had the nicest long talks with her6 said ,marty1 meaning of course ,mrs4 ,thurston4 ,i could ask her anything ,i wanted1 you know4 ,i even sat in her lap sometimes and hugged her real hard2 and she would pat me and smooth my hair with the very same hands that used to do things for the little girls in ,india4 ,how elegant it must have been to have a missionary meeting in that pretty old garden1 and such a nice missionary there to tell you things6 said one of the girls4 ,it was1 replied ,marty briefly but fervently4 ,oh1 ,i wish ,i could help start a band as ,marty did6 exclaimed ,daisy4 ,perhaps you have helped1 though you may not be there to see it start1 said ,miss ,walsh4 ,perhaps what you told those little girls from ,georgia about our band and missions in general will bear good fruit1 and there may be after a while a brand-new band in that far-away ,southern town1 that little ,daisy helped to start4 ,oh1 ,i do hope so1 said ,daisy1 smiling and pressing her hands together4 ,i think it would be nice to ask ,marty's mountain band to write to our band and tell us what they're doing1 and we'll tell them what we're doing1 suggested ,edith4 ,oh1 yes1 yes6 cried some of the girls4 ,after a little talk the suggestion was adopted4 ,they all wanted ,marty to be the one to write2 but she said1 though of course she was going to write to ,evaline1 she could not write a good enough letter to be read at the band1 and would rather ,mary ,cresswell wrote4 ,miss ,walsh decided that would be the better way1 as ,mary was so much older and more accustomed to writing4 ,it was too much to expect ,marty to do4 ,so ,mary wrote a very nice letter--the ,twigs were very proud of their bright secretary--inclosing a note of introduction from ,marty4 ,in course of time a reply was received from ,almira thanking them all for their kind interest in the mountain band1 and accepting the invitation to enter into a correspondence4 ,this correspondence proved to be very pleasant and profitable to both parties4 ,what pleased the ,twigs particularly was that ,almira told them the mountain band was very much indebted to one of their members1 and it was likely the band would not have been formed that summer if it had not been for that member's help4 ,of course she meant ,marty4 ,it must not be supposed ,marty had boasted that she had done much towards getting the band organized4 ,she only told in her childish way how it had come about1 and the girls could not help seeing she had given all the aid possible4 ,some of the other girls heard from members of bands they had met during the summer1 and in this way several suggestions of ways of doing things were gathered up and acted upon4 ,miss ,walsh said the whole summer experience had been very helpful4 ,one of ,marty's earliest visits after her return was paid to ,jennie in company with ,cousin ,alice4 ,they found the invalid sitting up in the comfortable rocking-chair1 looking very much better4 ,she was overjoyed to see them and had a great deal to say4 ,she was so pleased that she happened to be up1 and insisted on showing how she could take the three or four steps necessary to get from the bed to the chair4 ,she told them the doctor said that after a while1 if she was very careful1 she would be able to walk4 ,not1 of course1 that skippy way you do1 she said to ,marty1 but to kind o' get along4 ,she also showed the crocheting she had done1 and it was really very well done4 ,as she seemed so much better1 ,miss ,alice asked the doctor if it would hurt her to study a little4 ,he said it would not1 and ,miss ,alice undertook to teach her to read better1 so that she could enjoy reading to herself4 ,jennie was glad of the chance to learn and made good progress1 so that by ,christmas1 when ,marty and ,edith gave her the ,bible they had talked of in the summer1 she could read it quite well4 ,i think1 after a while1 when ,jennie gets still stronger1 said ,miss ,alice one day at ,mrs4 ,ashford's1 ,i will teach her something of arithmetic and writing1 because she will never be able to go to school1 and some knowledge of the kind will be useful to her4 ,i will teach her to sew nicely1 too1 and when she is older she may be able to earn her living1 even if she is lame and delicate4 ,what a good work you will be doing1 ,alice1 cried ,mrs4 ,ashford1 if you help a poor1 sickly1 ignorant child to develop into an intelligent1 self-helpful1 and ,i hope ,christian woman4 ,jennie will bless the day she first saw you4 ,ah1 but she never would have seen me but for you and ,marty4 ,in fact ,i don't think ,i should have taken much interest in her if my attention had not been attracted to her by ,marty's self-denying gift of that doll4 ,and ,i don't believe ,i'd have taken much interest in her if it hadn't been for hearing about the poor foreign children at the mission-band1 said ,marty4 ,everything comes around to the mission-band first or last1 doesn't it8 said ,cousin ,alice1 laughing4 ,pretty near everything1 replied ,marty seriously4 ,and then there's ,jimmy ,torrence1 she added presently4 ,i don't believe ,i'd have been willing to have my ulster pieced for his sake if ,i hadn't been hearing about those other forlorn children4 ,she was glad to see ,jimmy looking so much brighter and better4 ,though he did not know he owed his country visit to her1 he remembered the cake she had given him and the kind words she had more than once spoken to him1 so he often lingered on the stairs to see her as she passed in and out of ,mrs4 ,scott's room1 always greeting her with a bright smile4 ,one ,sunday ,mrs4 ,scott made him and his next older sister as clean and respectable as possible1 and took them to church with her4 ,the result was1 some of the ladies of the church came around to see the ,torrences1 fitted the older ones out with decent clothes1 and gathered them into the ,sunday-school4 ,soon after this1 one afternoon ,miss ,alice came into ,mrs4 ,ashford's sitting-room1 half laughing1 and exclaimed as she sank into a chair1 ,oh1 ,marty1 how you and your mission work are getting me into business6 ,why1 how8 demanded ,marty4 ,oh1 those ,torrences6 said ,miss ,alice1 still laughing4 ,what about them8 ,do tell us1 ,marty insisted4 ,well1 one day as ,i was going to see ,jennie1 ,i saw the two little girls younger than ,jimmy on the stairs1 and they did look so cold this kind of weather in their ragged calico frocks1 and not much else on4 ,so ,i just went home1 got my old blue flannel dress1 bought a few yards of cotton flannel1 and took them to ,mrs4 ,torrence to make some comfortable clothes for those poor children4 ,and1 ,cousin ,helen1 will you believe it8 ,i found the woman didn't know the first thing about cutting and making clothes6 ,that is very strange1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,how has she been getting along all this time with such a family8 ,she depends on people giving her things1 and on buying cheap ready-made clothing4 ,that is very thriftless4 ,yes4 ,but ,i've heard it is the way so many poor people do4 ,a great many of those women work in factories or shops before they are married1 and afterwards1 too1 sometimes1 and they have no time to learn to sew4 ,when ,i found out about ,mrs4 ,torrence ,i thought ,i would offer to show her how to cut and make those things4 ,i thought doing that would be far greater charity than making them for her would be4 ,so it would4 ,to be sure she goes out washing now and then1 but she has time enough to sew other days1 as she only has those two little rooms to take care of1 and she hasn't been taking much care of them evidently4 ,i thought they only had one room1 said ,marty4 ,they have taken another now1 as ,mr4 ,torrence has steady work4 ,father got him a place in a livery stable1 and he's not a drinking man1 so they ought to get along4 ,well1 how did ,mrs4 ,torrence take your offer of help8 asked ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,she did not seem to like it at first4 ,i suspect she thought ,i ought to make the garments myself4 ,but after a while she came around and-- ,your pleasant ways would make anybody come around1 exclaimed ,marty warmly4 ,thanks for the compliment1 replied ,miss ,alice1 smiling4 ,well1 the amount of it is ,i have been giving her lessons1 and she is really beginning to do right well4 ,the little tots look a great deal more comfortable1 and now ,i am going to show her how to alter some of the clothes the ,methodist ,sunday-school ladies gave her1 so that she will have something decent to wear herself4 ,i think you are getting into business6 exclaimed ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,it is certainly very good of you to take all that trouble4 ,and ,i should imagine it is not the most comfortable place in the world in which to give sewing or any other kind of lessons4 ,now ,mrs4 ,scott is different4 ,her room is always as neat as a pin4 ,oh1 yes6 cried ,miss ,alice1 that reminds me there's more to my story4 ,these sewing lessons are actually making ,mrs4 ,torrence cleaner and more tidy4 ,the first day ,i went the table was all cluttered up1 and when she cleaned it off for me to cut out on she looked rather ashamed of its dinginess1 and muttered some excuse as she wiped it over with an old cloth4 ,the next day that table looked as if she had been scrubbing it all night--it was so startlingly clean4 ,she had scrubbed a chair1 too1 for me to sit on4 ,then ,i suppose she thought the clean table and chair put the rest of the room out of countenance1 for on my next visit ,i found the floor had been scrubbed and the windows washed4 ,when ,i told mother about it she said the woman should be encouraged1 and sent her that striped rug that used to be in our dining-room1 you remember4 ,it was to spread down before the stove4 ,the result of that was the old stove has been polished up within an inch of its life4 ,yesterday ,i took to the children those gay pictures that came last ,christmas with the ,graphic1 and tacked them on to the wall4 ,now the next time ,i go ,i expect to see the walls scoured or whitewashed or something1 and ,miss ,alice finished with a laugh4 ,if you keep on you will work quite a change in their way of living1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,there's plenty of room yet for improvement1 replied her cousin2 for although it must be pretty hard for such a large family to live in such a small space and be cleanly1 still they might try to be4 ,i should think the narrow space would be bad enough without the dirt4 ,well1 things have been and are yet pretty forlorn4 ,but ,i am glad ,i have been able to effect a little change for the better4 ,but you said ,i got you into it1 said ,marty1 and ,i don't see what ,i have to do with it1 nor what mission work has either4 ,i should have told you that one reason ,i thought of offering this help to ,mrs4 ,torrence is that it may perhaps give me an opportunity to say something to her on religious subjects4 ,she takes no interest in such matters1 never goes to church1 and only allows her children to go to ,sunday-school for what people give them4 ,the ,bible-reader of that district tells me that ,mrs4 ,torrence wont listen to her1 wont let her go into the room4 ,she is a sullen1 ill-natured kind of woman--,i mean ,mrs4 ,torrence--and hard to get at4 ,so ,i thought ,i might possibly get at her in this way1 and your account of missionary ladies going to zenanas to teach fancy-work in order to get a chance to tell the women of ,god and the ,bible1 put it into my head that ,i might try something of the same kind4 ,oh1 it is just the same1 cried ,marty1 except that it's altering and mending instead of fancy-work4 ,how curious it is that zenana work away off in ,india should make you think of helping a poor woman close by in ,landis ,court6 ,have you got ,mrs4 ,torrence to listen to you yet8 asked ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,i haven't ventured to say anything directly to her yet1 but ,i have been talking to the children about the ,sunday-school lesson1 explaining it to them and teaching them the ,golden ,text1 and their mother is obliged to hear1 whether she wants to or not4 ,that's just the way ,mrs4 ,thurston says it is in those zenanas1 said ,marty4 ,many of the women at first don't care to listen to good reading and teaching1 and want to talk about all sorts of other things1 so the missionaries have to work it in the best way they can1 and after a while the women get interested and want to hear4 ,it seems as if they couldn't get enough ,bible-reading and talk4 ,maybe that'll be the way with ,mrs4 ,torrence4 ,we will hope so1 replied ,cousin ,alice4 ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,,rosa ,,stevenson',s ,,sister4 ,as ,christmas drew near ,marty found herself very busy1 for besides some little presents she was making for her own folks1 she and her mother set to work to mend some of her old toys1 to dress some new cheap dolls1 and to make a few picture-books of bright pretty cards pasted on silesia and yellow muslin1 for the little ,torrences and other poor children they knew of4 ,edith1 also1 was engaged in the same way1 and the little girls often worked together4 ,though they had received some money on their birthdays1 they concluded to wait until ,christmas to give ,jennie her ,bible1 as everybody appeared to think it would be a very suitable ,christmas gift for her4 ,they got ,mrs4 ,ashford to go with them to buy it1 and with her aid succeeded in getting a very nice one1 good size1 clear print1 and pretty cover1 for the money they had set aside for the purpose4 ,their mothers gave them permission to run down the afternoon before ,christmas to carry the ,bible to ,jennie1 as there would not possibly be time to go ,christmas day when there was so much going on4 ,they were to call and ask ,cousin ,alice to go with them2 but when they stopped at her house they found she had already gone over to ,landis ,court1 but had left word for them if they came to follow her4 ,when they arrived at ,mrs4 ,scott's room they found ,miss ,alice very busy indeed1 hanging up some wreaths of green and otherwise decorating the room4 ,she was hurrying to get it all in order before ,mrs4 ,scott returned from her work1 as it was to be a surprise to her4 ,jennie1 sitting in the rocking-chair with the doll in her arms1 was watching the operation with the greatest interest1 every now and then exclaiming1 ,oh1 that's splendid6 ,what'll mother say to that6 ,when ,marty and ,edith appeared something else seemed to occur to her1 and turning from the decorations she cried eagerly to them1 ,oh1 did you get--6 and then glancing at ,miss ,alice1 covered her mouth with her hand1 laughed very much1 but would not finish what she had begun to say4 ,she nearly went wild over the beautiful ,bible and could hardly thank the givers enough4 ,and ,i can read it my own self too1 'cepting of course the long words1 she said4 ,how queer it'll be to be sitting up reading a chapter to mother 'stead of her reading to me6 ,you might read to her those ,christmas verses in ,luke to-morrow that ,i read to you not long ago1 ,miss ,alice suggested4 ,oh6 ,i will4 ,where are they1 ,i wonder8 said ,jennie4 ,edith found the place1 while ,marty snipped off a little bit of her blue hair-ribbon for a mark4 ,some cakes and fruit ,mrs4 ,howell and ,mrs4 ,ashford sent ,jennie were also highly appreciated4 ,they had also sent some small but useful and pretty presents for her mother1 which ,jennie was to have the pleasure of giving to her4 ,thus they all tried to bring some ,christmas joy into the poor little girl's life4 ,when ,marty and ,edith went home they each found a small parcel that ,jimmy ,torrence had left for them4 ,they contained nicely crocheted bureau-covers for their dolls' houses1 and were marked in ,miss ,alice's handwriting1 ,for ,marty1 from ,jennie1 and ,for ,edith1 from ,jennie4 ,ah6 this was the secret she had with ,cousin ,alice1 exclaimed ,marty4 ,just look mamma6 isn't it a pretty cover8 ,edith was equally pleased with hers1 and ,jennie seemed much pleased with their hearty thanks4 ,i really believe she enjoyed making and giving those little things more than any other part of ,christmas1 said ,miss ,alice4 ,i suppose it made her feel as if she was in the ,christmas times4 ,marty never enjoyed any ,christmas season so much as this one1 when she worked so hard to give happiness to the poor4 ,she had her temptations to overcome1 too2 for when the stores were filled with beautiful things that she would like to buy for herself or her friends1 it was very hard to keep from entrenching on the money she had saved up for a special ,christmas missionary offering4 ,but her year's training in missionary giving had not gone for nothing1 and she was able to make a missionary offering a part of her ,christmas celebration4 ,the members of the band had not forgotten the talk they had had over ,mrs4 ,c----'s letter1 when they resolved to try very hard to double their usual amount4 ,the most of them were trying1 and the sum was rolling up1 the treasurer said4 ,whether or not they would succeed in what they were aiming at1 remained to be seen1 but ,miss ,walsh encouraged them by saying that they would certainly come much nearer success by making continual efforts than by making no effort at all4 ,one morning when the holidays were over1 and the little girls were on their way to school1 ,edith had a great piece of news to tell4 ,what do you think6 she said4 ,rosa ,stevenson's grownup sister is going away next month to be a missionary6 ,is she really8 exclaimed ,marty4 ,yes2 going to ,japan1 and ,miss ,agnes has asked her to come to the meeting next ,saturday and tell us about it4 ,the news spread1 and the next ,saturday every one of the ,twigs was there1 gazing with wide-open eyes at the fair young girl who was going so far from home to carry the gospel to her ignorant sisters4 ,sitting there with tearful ,rosa's hand clasped in hers1 she told the girls that when she was studying in college1 ,god had put it into her heart to carry the tidings of his salvation to the people who knew him not4 ,she said that though it was very hard to leave home and friends1 she felt it was her duty and privilege to go1 and she was thankful that the way was open for her4 ,then she showed them on the map what city she was going to1 and told them something of the school in which she was to teach4 ,she promised to write to the band some time1 and in closing she earnestly appealed to them to do all they could for missions4 ,even be ready to go yourself if ,god calls you1 she said4 ,when ,i was a little girl in a mission-band1 saving up pennies and learning about these foreign lands1 ,i never thought that one day ,i should be going to teach the girls of one of these countries and try to win them to ,christ4 ,so there may be some among you whom ,god will call to this work1 and ,i hope none of you will slight his call1 but be ready to do his will in this matter as in all others4 ,marty was very deeply impressed by what ,miss ,stevenson said4 ,she thought it would be a grand thing to go away off as a missionary4 ,she wondered if ,god would call her to go4 ,she hoped he would4 ,only she would not wish to go to such a civilized country as ,japan2 the very worst part of ,africa or the wildest part of ,asia would be what she would choose4 ,her mind was so full of the subject that she did not want to talk about anything else1 or to talk at all1 and was glad that ,edith was going to her aunt ,julia's from the meeting1 so she could walk home alone4 ,she concluded that as soon as she reached home1 she would go into her room and pray that she might be a missionary4 ,then she could not wait until she got home1 and being on a quiet street1 she slipped behind a tree-box and offered this little prayer3 ,dear ,lord1 if missionaries are still needed by the time ,i grow up1 ,i pray thee let me be one4 ,for ,jesus ,christ's sake4 ,amen4 ,she walked in home very soberly for her1 and going directly to her mother1 asked1 ,mamma1 should you like me to go away over the seas and be a missionary8 ,no1 indeed6 said her mother emphatically4 ,i should not like it at all4 ,you mustn't think of such a thing4 ,but if ,god calls me to go8 said ,marty1 with quivering lip4 ,it would be hard1 after all1 to leave this dear home4 ,she scarcely knew whether she wanted her prayer answered or not4 ,what do you mean8 inquired ,mrs4 ,ashford1 drawing her on her lap4 ,then ,marty told all about the meeting1 and what she had been thinking1 and how she had prayed to be a missionary4 ,i want to be one if ,god wants me to1 but ,i don't see how ,i can go away and leave you all1 she said1 half crying4 ,well1 said her mother soothingly1 seeing she was trembling with excitement1 we need not talk about it yet4 ,it will be a long time until you are old enough or know enough to go4 ,you will have to go to school many years yet1 and then1 perhaps1 to college1 for you know the better missionaries are educated the more good they can do4 ,then you must learn to make your own clothes and take care of them1 and it is well to know a good deal about housekeeping also1 for missionaries have to know how to be independent1 and be ready for any kind of life4 ,you would hardly be prepared to go before you are twenty1 anyway1 and that is ten years yet4 ,nine and a half1 put in ,marty4 ,in the meantime you can be doing as much as possible for missions at home4 ,yes1 said ,marty1 wiping her eyes and looking comforted1 that's so4 ,we needn't think of my going away yet1 and ,i s'pose the right way is to do as ,miss ,agnes says4 ,she says the best way in mission work1 as in everything else1 is just to do the nearest thing and do it as well as we possibly can1 and then be willing to let ,god lead us along from one step to another4 ,she is certainly right1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford4 ,i have taken some steps since ,edith got me started1 haven't ,i8 ,i've learned a good deal about missions1 and ,i find it a great deal easier to give money regularly now than when ,i began4 ,don't you remember how at first ,i either wanted to give every cent ,i had or else not to give anything8 ,but ,i found out that wasn't the best way to do4 ,and another thing1 said ,mrs4 ,ashford1 you have been the means of some of the rest of us taking steps4 ,seeing how well your systematic giving is working1 ,i have started in to do the same way4 ,oh6 have you1 mamma8 exclaimed ,marty4 ,are you going to have a box for tenths8 ,how delightful6 ,no1 not a box--my square ,russia-leather pocketbook4 ,and not tenths exactly1 but what you call the ,new ,testament way4 ,that's just lovely6 said ,marty1 caressing her4 ,i'm so glad4 ,so we'll both be mission workers the rest of our lives1 wont we8 ,with ,god's help1 we will1 replied her mother4 ,and p'r'aps dear little ,freddie will begin1 too1 when he gets old enough4 ,you know there are boy bands4 ,but where is ,freddie8 ,he was here when ,i came in4 ,just then a high-pitched little voice from the next room called1 ,whoop6 ,marty6 ,there he is4 ,i wonder what sort of a funny place he's hiding in this time1 said ,marty1 laughing and running to see4 ,freddie had taken one of his papa's large handkerchiefs out of the lower drawer of the bureau1 and spreading it out over his head was standing in the middle of the room1 hiding4 ,how he laughed when ,marty found him6 ,soon after ,mrs4 ,ashford and ,marty began studying the ,bible with the help of the concordance1 they agreed that it would be pleasant to read a chapter together every night before ,marty went to bed4 ,sometimes she was too sleepy to read more than a few verses1 but generally she tried to get ready in good time so that she would be wide enough awake to read a whole chapter1 unless it was a very long one4 ,they were reading in ,luke's ,gospel now1 but the evening of this day ,marty said1 ,mamma1 mayn't we read that chapter that has in it1 ',here am ,i2 send me'8 ,miss ,stevenson read that verse to us to-day when she was talking about us going1 any of us4 ,do you know where it is8 ,i think ,i can find it pretty easily1 ,mrs4 ,ashford replied4 ,i know it is in ,isaiah4 ,here it is--the sixth chapter4 ,they read it1 and the eighth verse coming to ,marty1 she read slowly and reverently1 ,also ,i heard the voice of the ,lord saying1 ,whom shall ,i send1 and who will go for us8 ,then said ,i1 ,here am ,i2 send me4 ,after they had finished reading1 she said1 ,i think that is a very hard chapter4 ,the only verses in it that ,i understand are this one where it says1 ',holy1 holy1 holy is the ,lord of hosts1' and the eighth verse about ',whom shall ,i send8' ,well1 said her mother1 if you understand those two1 they will give you plenty to think of1 and when you are older you will be able to understand more4 ,after a moment's silence ,marty said1 ,you were saying a while ago that ,i'd have to go to school and learn a great deal before ,i could be a missionary4 ,i s'pose ,i'll have to study the ,bible a great deal too4 ,oh1 of course4 ,i didn't mention that particularly1 because ,i took it for granted you would know that any one who undertakes to show others the way of life must know the way herself1 and the ,bible is the book that points out that way4 ,you remember ,jesus says1 ',search the ,scriptures2 they are they which testify of me4' ,but how am ,i ever to learn8 ,some people seem to know just where everything is1 all the verses that explain other verses1 and so on4 ,they can so easily find something in the ,old ,testament that exactly fits into something in the ,new ,testament4 ,i often wonder how they do it4 ,they love the ,word of ,god1 study it1 and pray over it4 ,i want to love it too1 said ,marty1 pressing her face against the open ,bible on her mother's knee4 ,whether ,i'm a missionary or not1 ,i want to be a ,christian and do some work for the ,lord4 ,devotional ,books4 ,,daily ,,light ,,on ,,the ,,daily ,,path4 #cbmo4 ,size1 #d-c_/d by #c-a_/d by #c_/d inches4 ,morning or ,evening ,hour1 each1 in cloth1 #dj cts42 cloth gilt1 #ej cts42 morocco gilt1 #a2 kid-lined1 #c4 ,morning and ,evening ,hour1 combined4 #cbmo edition4 ,cloth1 #fj cts42 cloth gilt1 #ge cts42 ,seal ,russia1 #a #bj2 morocco1 #a #dj2 morocco1 red and gold edges1 #a #fj2 seal extra1 gold edges1 #b2 calf1 #b2 kid-lined1 #d4 ,,large ,,print ,,edition4 #afmo4 ,size1 #e-c_/d by #d-a_/b ins4 ,morning or ,evening ,hour1 each1 cloth gilt1 #ge cts42 morocco1 gilt1 #a4 ,morning and ,evening ,hour1 combined4 ,morocco gilt1 #b2 calf1 #b #ej2 ,levant gilt1 #c2 kid-lined1 #e4 ,,anchor ,,of ,,the ,,soul4 ,by ,dr4 ,arnot4 #bdmo4 #dh pp4 ,cloth1 #dj cts42 gilt1 #fj cts4 ,cloth limp1 #bj cts4 ,,bible ,,prayers4 ,by ,jonas ,king1 ,d4 ,d4 #cbmo4 #ahb pp4 ,cloth1 #be cts4 ,,christian ,,home ,,life4 #abmo4 #bii pp4 #a4 ,,daily ,,communion ,,with ,,god4 ,by ,j4 ,r4 ,boyd1 ,d4 ,d4 #ahmo4 #ajd pp4 ,cloth1 #cj cts42 gilt1 #ej cts42 morocco1 #a #be4 ,,devotional ,,thoughts4 ,by ,d4 ,a4 ,harsha1 ,m4 ,a4 #abmo4 #eff pp4 #g portraits4 ,cloth1 #a #ej4 ,,drops ,,from ,,the ,,brook ,,by ,,the ,,way4 #bdmo4 #aif pp4 ,cloth1 #ej cts4 ,,passion ,,flowers4 ,by ,rev4 ,c4 ,s4 ,hageman1 ,d4 ,d4 #bdmo4 ,illuminated4 #fd pp4 ,cloth gilt1 #ej cts4 ,,american ,,tract ,,society1 #aej ,,nassau ,,st4 and #cjd ,,fourth ,,av41 ,,new ,,york4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's note3 ,the original spelling of wont for won't was retained4 ,punctuation was corrected where appropriate4 ,captions for the illustrations were created by the transcriber4