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diff --git a/old/50104-0.txt b/old/50104-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e78e955..0000000 --- a/old/50104-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3254 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Jessica's First Prayer--Jessica's Mother, by -Hesba Stretton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Jessica's First Prayer--Jessica's Mother - -Author: Hesba Stretton - -Release Date: October 1, 2015 [EBook #50104] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JESSICA'S FIRST PRAYER *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian -Libraries) - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: “‘Lord, these are the lambs of thy flock.’”] - - - - -Jessica’s First Prayer - -Jessica’s Mother - - Hesba Stretton - - New York - H. M. Caldwell Co. - Publishers - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - The Coffee-Stall and its Keeper PAGE 5 - - CHAPTER II. - Jessica’s Temptation 15 - - CHAPTER III. - An Old Friend in a New Dress 23 - - CHAPTER IV. - Peeps into Fairy-land 35 - - CHAPTER V. - A New World Opens 44 - - CHAPTER VI. - The First Prayer 50 - - CHAPTER VII. - Hard Questions 54 - - CHAPTER VIII. - An Unexpected Visitor 60 - - CHAPTER IX. - Jessica’s First Prayer Answered 69 - - CHAPTER X. - The Shadow of Death 82 - - - - -Jessica’s First Prayer. - -CHAPTER I. - -THE COFFEE-STALL AND ITS KEEPER. - - -In a screened and secluded corner of one of the many railway-bridges -which span the streets of London there could be seen, a few years -ago, from five o’clock every morning until half-past eight, a tidily -set out coffee-stall, consisting of a trestle and board, upon which -stood two large tin cans with a small fire of charcoal burning under -each, so as to keep the coffee boiling during the early hours of the -morning when the work-people were thronging into the city on their -way to their daily toil. The coffee-stall was a favorite one, for -besides being under shelter, which was of great consequence upon rainy -mornings, it was also in so private a niche that the customers taking -their out-of-door breakfast were not too much exposed to notice; and, -moreover, the coffee-stall keeper was a quiet man, who cared only -to serve the busy workmen without hindering them by any gossip. He -was a tall, spare, elderly man, with a singularly solemn face and a -manner which was grave and secret. Nobody knew either his name or -dwelling-place; unless it might be the policeman who strode past the -coffee-stall every half-hour and nodded familiarly to the solemn man -behind it. There were very few who cared to make any inquiries about -him; but those who did could only discover that he kept the furniture -of his stall at a neighboring coffee-house, whither he wheeled his -trestle and board and crockery every day not later than half-past -eight in the morning; after which he was wont to glide away with a -soft footstep and a mysterious and fugitive air, with many backward -and sidelong glances, as if he dreaded observation, until he was lost -among the crowds which thronged the streets. No one had ever had the -persevering curiosity to track him all the way to his house, or to find -out his other means of gaining a livelihood; but in general his stall -was surrounded by customers, whom he served with silent seriousness, -and who did not grudge to pay him his charge for the refreshing coffee -he supplied to them. - -For several years the crowd of work-people had paused by the -coffee-stall under the railway-arch, when one morning, in a partial -lull of his business, the owner became suddenly aware of a pair of very -bright dark eyes being fastened upon him and the slices of bread and -butter on his board, with a gaze as hungry as that of a mouse which has -been driven by famine into a trap. A thin and meagre face belonged to -the eyes, which was half hidden by a mass of matted hair hanging over -the forehead and down the neck--the only covering which the head or -neck had; for a tattered frock, scarcely fastened together with broken -strings, was slipping down over the shivering shoulders of the little -girl. Stooping down to a basket behind his stall, he caught sight of -two bare little feet curling up from the damp pavement, as the child -lifted up first one and then other and laid them one over another to -gain a momentary feeling of warmth. Whoever the wretched child was, she -did not speak; only at every steaming cupful which he poured out of his -can her dark eyes gleamed hungrily, and he could hear her smack her -thin lips as if in fancy she was tasting the warm and fragrant coffee. - -“Oh, come now,” he said at last, when only one boy was left taking his -breakfast leisurely, and he leaned over his stall to speak in a low and -quiet tone, “why don’t you go away, little girl? Come, come; you’re -staying too long, you know.” - -“I’m just going, sir,” she answered, shrugging her small shoulders to -draw her frock up higher about her neck; “only it’s raining cats and -dogs outside; and mother’s been away all night, and she took the key -with her; and it’s so nice to smell the coffee; and the police has left -off worriting me while I’ve been here. He thinks I’m a customer taking -my breakfast.” And the child laughed a shrill laugh of mockery at -herself and the policeman. - -“You’ve had no breakfast, I suppose,” said the coffee-stall keeper, in -the same low and confidential voice, and leaning over his stall till -his face nearly touched the thin, sharp features of the child. - -“No,” she replied, coolly, “and I shall want my dinner dreadful bad -afore I get it, I know. You don’t often feel dreadful hungry, do you, -sir? I’m not griped yet, you know; but afore I taste my dinner it’ll be -pretty bad, I tell you. Ah! very bad indeed!” - -She turned away with a knowing nod, as much as to say she had one -experience in life to which he was quite a stranger; but before she had -gone half a dozen steps she heard the quiet voice calling to her in -rather louder tones, and in an instant she was back at the stall. - -“Slip in here,” said the owner, in a cautious whisper; “here’s a little -coffee left and a few crusts. There. You must never come again, you -know. I never give to beggars; and if you’d begged I’d have called the -police. There; put your poor feet towards the fire. Now, aren’t you -comfortable?” - -The child looked up with a face of intense satisfaction. She was seated -upon an empty basket, with her feet near the pan of charcoal, and a cup -of steaming coffee on her lap; but her mouth was too full for her to -reply except by a very deep nod, which expressed unbounded delight. -The man was busy for a while packing up his crockery; but every now and -then he stopped to look down upon her, and to shake his head. - -“What’s your name?” he asked, at length; “but there, never mind! I -don’t care what it is. What’s your name to do with me, I wonder?” - -“It’s Jessica,” said the girl: “but mother and every body calls me -Jess. You’d be tired of being called Jess, if you were me. It’s Jess -here, and Jess there: and every body wanting me to go errands. And they -think nothing of giving me smacks, and kicks, and pinches. Look here!” - -Whether her arms were black and blue from the cold or from ill-usage -he could not tell; but he shook his head again seriously and the child -felt encouraged to go on. - -“I wish I could stay here for ever and ever, just as I am!” she cried. -“But you’re going away, I know; and I’m never to come again, or you’ll -set the police on me!” - -“Yes,” said the coffee-stall keeper very softly; and looking round to -see if there were any other ragged children within sight, “if you’ll -promise not to come again for a whole week, and not to tell any body -else, you may come once more. I’ll give you one other treat. But you -must be off now.” - -“I’m off, sir,” she said, sharply; “but if you’ve a errand I could go -on I’d do it all right, I would. Let me carry some of your things.” - -“No, no,” cried the man; “you run away, like a good girl; and, mind! -I’m not to see you again for a whole week.” - -“All right,” answered Jess, setting off down the rainy street at a -quick run, as if to show her willing agreement to the bargain; while -the coffee-stall keeper, with many a cautious glance around him, -removed his stock in trade to the coffee-house near at hand, and -was seen no more for the rest of the day in the neighborhood of the -railway-bridge. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -JESSICA’S TEMPTATION. - - -Her part of the bargain Jessica faithfully kept; and though the solemn -and silent man under the dark shadow of the bridge looked for her every -morning as he served his customers, he caught no glimpse of her wan -face and thin little frame. But when the appointed time was finished -she presented herself at the stall, with her hungry eyes fastened -again upon the piles of buns and bread and butter, which were fast -disappearing before the demands of the buyers. The business was at its -height, and the famished child stood quietly on one side watching for -the throng to melt away. But as soon as the nearest church clock had -chimed eight she drew a little nearer to the stall, and at a signal -from its owner she slipped between the trestles of his stand and took -up her former position on the empty basket. To his eyes she seemed even -a little thinner, and certainly more ragged, than before; and he laid a -whole bun, a stale one which was left from yesterday’s stock, upon her -lap, as she lifted the cup of coffee to her lips with both her benumbed -hands. - -“What’s your name?” she asked, looking up to him with her keen eyes. - -“Why,” he answered, hesitatingly, as if he was reluctant to tell so -much of himself, “my christened name is Daniel.” - -“And where do you live, Mr. Dan’el?” she inquired. - -“Oh, come now!” he exclaimed, “if you’re going to be impudent, you’d -better march off. What business is it of yours where I live? I don’t -want to know where you live, I can tell you.” - -“I didn’t mean no offence,” said Jess humbly; “only I thought I’d like -to know where a good man like you lived. You’re a very good man, aren’t -you, Mr. Dan’el?” - -“I don’t know,” he answered uneasily; “I’m afraid I’m not.” - -“Oh, but you are, you know,” continued Jess. “You make good -coffee; prime! And buns too! And I’ve been watching you hundreds of -times afore you saw me, and the police leaves you alone, and never -tells you to move on. Oh, yes! you must be a very good man.” - -Daniel sighed, and fidgeted about his crockery with a grave and -occupied air, as if he were pondering over the child’s notion of -goodness. He made good coffee, and the police left him alone! It was -quite true; yet still as he counted up the store of pence which had -accumulated in his strong canvas bag, he sighed again still more -heavily. He purposely let one of his pennies fall upon the muddy -pavement, and went on counting the rest busily, while he furtively -watched the little girl sitting at his feet. Without a shade of change -upon her small face she covered the penny with her foot and drew it in -carefully towards her, while she continued to chatter fluently to him. -For a moment a feeling of pain shot a pang through Daniel’s heart; -and then he congratulated himself on having entrapped the young thief. -It was time to be leaving now; but before he went he would make her -move her bare foot and disclose the penny concealed beneath it, and -then he would warn her never to venture near his stall again. This was -her gratitude, he thought; he had given her two breakfasts and more -kindness than he had shown to any fellow-creature for many a long year, -and at the first chance the young jade turned upon him and robbed him! -He was brooding over it painfully in his mind when Jessica’s uplifted -face changed suddenly, a dark flush crept over her pale cheeks, and the -tears started to her eyes. She stooped down, and picking up the coin -from among the mud she rubbed it bright and clean upon her rags and -laid it upon the stall close to his hand, but without speaking a word. -Daniel looked down upon her solemnly and searchingly. - -“What’s this?” he asked. - -“Please, Mr. Dan’el,” she answered, “it dropped, and you didn’t hear -it.” - -“Jess,” he said sternly, “tell me all about it.” - -“Oh, please,” she sobbed, “I never had a penny of my own but once; and -it rolled close to my foot; and you didn’t see it; and I hid it up -sharp; and then I thought how kind you’d been, and how good the coffee -and buns are, and how you let me warm myself at your fire; and, please, -I couldn’t keep the penny any longer. You’ll never let me come again, I -guess.” - -Daniel turned away for a moment, busying himself with putting his cups -and saucers into the basket, while Jessica stood by trembling, with -the large tears rolling slowly down her cheeks. The snug, dark corner, -with its warm fire of charcoal and its fragrant smell of coffee, had -been a paradise to her for these two brief spans of time; but she had -been guilty of the sin which would drive her from it. All beyond the -railway-arch the streets stretched away, cold and dreary, with no -friendly face to meet hers and no warm cups of coffee to refresh her; -yet she was only lingering sorrowfully to hear the words spoken which -should forbid her to return to this pleasant spot. Mr. Daniel turned -round at last, and met her tearful gaze, with a look of strange emotion -upon his own solemn face. - -“Jess,” he said, “I could never have done it myself. But you may come -here every Wednesday morning, as this is a Wednesday, and there’ll -always be a cup of coffee for you.” - -She thought he meant that he could not have hidden the penny under his -foot, and she went away a little saddened and subdued, notwithstanding -her great delight in the expectation of such a treat every week; while -Daniel, pondering over the struggle that must have passed through her -childish mind, went on his way, from time to time shaking his head, -muttering to himself, “I couldn’t have done it myself: I never could -have done it myself.” - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -AN OLD FRIEND IN A NEW DRESS. - - -Week after week, through the three last months of the year, Jessica -appeared every Wednesday at the coffee-stall and, after waiting -patiently till the close of the breakfasting business, received her -pittance from the charity of her new friend. After a while Daniel -allowed her to carry some of his load to the coffee-house, but he -never suffered her to follow him farther, and he was always particular -to watch her out of sight before he turned off through the intricate -mazes of the streets in the direction of his own home. Neither did he -encourage her to ask him any more questions; and often but very few -words passed between them during Jessica’s breakfast time. - -As to Jessica’s home, she made no secret of it, and Daniel might have -followed her any time he pleased. It was a single room, which had once -been a hay-loft, over the stable of an old inn, now in use for two or -three donkeys, the property of costermongers dwelling in the court -about it. The mode of entrance was by a wooden ladder, whose rungs were -crazy and broken, and which led up through a trap-door in the floor -of the loft. The interior of the home was as desolate and comfortless -as that of the stable below, with only a litter of straw for the -bedding and a few bricks and boards for the furniture. Every thing that -could be pawned had disappeared long ago, and Jessica’s mother often -lamented that she could not thus dispose of her child. Yet Jessica was -hardly a burden to her. It was a long time since she had taken any -care to provide her with food or clothing, and the girl had to earn or -beg for herself the meat which kept a scanty life within her. Jess was -the drudge and errand-girl of the court; and what with being cuffed -and beaten by her mother, and overworked and ill-used by her numerous -employers, her life was a hard one. But now there was always Wednesday -morning to count upon and look forward to; and by and by a second scene -of amazed delight opened upon her. - -Jessica had wandered far away from home in the early darkness of a -winter’s evening, after a violent outbreak of her drunken mother, and -she was still sobbing now and then with long-drawn sobs of pain and -weariness, when she saw a little way before her the tall, well-known -figure of her friend Mr. Daniel. He was dressed in a suit of black, -with a white neckcloth, and he was pacing with brisk yet measured steps -along the lighted streets. Jessica felt afraid of speaking to him, but -she followed at a little distance, until presently he stopped before -the iron gates of a large building and, unlocking them, passed on to -the arched doorway, and with a heavy key opened the folding-doors and -entered in. The child stole after him but paused for a few minutes, -trembling upon the threshold, until the gleam of a light lit up within -tempted her to venture a few steps forward, and to push a little way -open an inner door, covered with crimson baize, only so far as to -enable her to peep through at the inside. Then, growing bolder by -degrees, she crept through herself, drawing the door to noiselessly -behind her. The place was in partial gloom, but Daniel was kindling -every gaslight, and each minute lit it up in more striking grandeur. -She stood in a carpeted aisle, with high oaken pews on each side -almost as black as ebony. A gallery of the same dark old oak ran round -the walls, resting upon massive pillars, behind one of which she was -partly concealed, gazing with eager eyes at Daniel, as he mounted the -pulpit steps and kindled the lights there, disclosing to her curious -delight the glittering pipes of an organ behind it. Before long the -slow and soft-footed chapel-keeper disappeared for a moment or two into -a vestry; and Jessica, availing herself of his short absence, stole -silently up under the shelter of the dark pews until she reached the -steps of the organ loft, with its golden show. But at this moment Mr. -Daniel appeared again, arrayed in a long gown of black serge; and as -she stood spell-bound gazing at the strange appearance of her patron, -his eyes fell upon her, and he also was struck speechless for a minute, -with an air of amazement and dismay upon his grave face. - -“Come, now,” he exclaimed, harshly, as soon as he could recover his -presence of mind, “you must take yourself out of this. This isn’t any -place for such as you. It’s for ladies and gentlemen; so you must run -away sharp before any body comes. How did you ever find your way here?” - -He had come very close to her, and bent down to whisper in her ear, -looking nervously round to the entrance all the time. Jessica’s eager -tongue was loosened. - -“Mother beat me,” she said, “and turned me into the streets, and I see -you there, so I followed you up. I’ll run away this minute, Mr. Daniel; -but it’s a nice place. What do the ladies and gentlemen do when they -come here? Tell me, and I’ll be off sharp.” - -“They come here to pray,” whispered Daniel. - -“What is pray?” asked Jessica. - -“Bless the child!” cried Daniel, in perplexity. “Why, they kneel down -in those pews; most of them sit, though; and the minister up in the -pulpit tells God what they want.” - -Jessica gazed into his face with such an air of bewilderment that a -faint smile crept over the sedate features of the pew-opener. - -“What is a minister and God?” she said; “and do ladies and gentlemen -want any thing? I thought they’d every thing they wanted, Mr. Daniel.” - -“Oh!” cried Daniel, “you must be off, you know. They’ll be coming in a -minute, and they’d be shocked to see a ragged little heathen like you. -This is the pulpit, where the minister stands and preaches to ’em; and -there are the pews, where they sit to listen to him, or to go to sleep, -may be; and that’s the organ to play music to their singing. There, -I’ve told you every thing, and you must never come again; never.” - -“Mr. Daniel,” said Jessica, “I don’t know nothing about it. Isn’t there -a dark little corner somewhere that I could hide in?” - -“No, no,” interrupted Daniel impatiently; “we couldn’t do with such -a little heathen, with no shoes or bonnet on. Come, now, it’s only a -quarter to the time, and somebody will be here in a minute. Run away, -do!” - -Jessica retraced her steps slowly to the crimson door, casting many a -longing look backwards; but Mr. Daniel stood at the end of the aisle, -frowning upon her whenever she glanced behind. She gained the lobby at -last, but already some one was approaching the chapel door, and beneath -the lamp at the gate stood one of her natural enemies, a policeman. Her -heart beat fast, but she was quickwitted, and in another instant she -spied a place of concealment behind one of the doors, into which she -crept for safety until the policeman passed on upon his beat. - -[Illustration] - -The congregation began to arrive quickly. She heard the rustling of -silk dresses, and she could see the gentlemen and ladies pass by the -niche between the door and the post. Once she ventured to stretch out a -thin little finger and touch a velvet mantle as the wearer of it swept -by, but no one caught her in the act, or suspected her presence behind -the door. Mr. Daniel, she could see, was very busy ushering the people -to their seats; but there was a startled look lingering upon his face, -and every now and then he peered anxiously into the outer gloom and -darkness, and even once called to the policeman to ask if he had seen -a ragged child hanging about. After a while the organ began to sound, -and Jessica crouched down in her hiding-place, listening entranced to -the sweet music. She could not tell what made her cry, but the tears -came so rapidly that it was of no use to rub the corners of her eyes -with her hard knuckles; so she lay down upon the ground and buried her -face in her hands and wept without restraint. When the singing was over -she could only catch a confused sound of a voice speaking. The lobby -was empty now, and the crimson doors closed. The policeman also had -walked on. This was the moment to escape. She raised herself from the -ground with a feeling of weariness and sorrow; and thinking sadly of -the light, and warmth, and music that were within the closed doors, she -stepped out into the cold and darkness of the streets, and loitered -homeward with a heavy heart. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -PEEPS INTO FAIRY-LAND. - - -It was not the last time that Jessica concealed herself behind the -baize-covered door. She could not overcome the urgent desire to enjoy -again and again the secret and perilous pleasure, and Sunday after -Sunday she watched in the dark streets for the moment when she could -slip in unseen. She soon learned the exact time when Daniel would -be occupied in lighting up, before the policeman would take up his -station at the entrance, and again, the very minute at which it would -be wise and safe to take her departure. Sometimes the child laughed -noiselessly to herself until she shook with suppressed merriment, as -she saw Daniel standing unconsciously, in the lobby, with his solemn -face and grave air, to receive the congregation, much as he faced his -customers at the coffee-stall. She learned to know the minister by -sight, the tall, thin, pale gentleman who passed through a side door, -with his head bent as if in deep thought, while two little girls, about -her own age, followed him with sedate yet pleasant faces. Jessica took -a great interest in the minister’s children. The younger one was fair, -and the elder was about as tall as herself, and had eyes and hair as -dark; but oh, how cared for, how plainly waited on by tender hands! -Sometimes, when they were gone by, she would close her eyes, and wonder -what they would do in one of the high black pews inside, where there -was no place for a ragged barefooted girl like her; and now and then -her wonderings almost ended in a sob, which she was compelled to stifle. - -It was an untold relief to Daniel that Jessica did not ply him with -questions, as he feared, when she came for breakfast every Wednesday -morning; but she was too shrewd and cunning for that. She wished him -to forget that she had ever been there, and by-and-by her wish was -accomplished, and Daniel was no longer uneasy, while he was lighting -the lamps, with the dread of seeing the child’s wild face starting up -before him. - -But the light evenings of summer-time were drawing near apace, and -Jessica foresaw with dismay that her Sunday treats would soon be over. -The risk of discovery increased every week, for the sun was later in -setting, and there would be no chance of creeping in and out unseen in -the broad daylight. Already it needed both watchfulness and alertness -to dart in at the right moment in the gray twilight; but still she -could not give it up; and if it had not been for the fear of offending -Mr. Daniel, she would have resolved upon going until she was found out. -They could not punish her very much for standing in the lobby of a -chapel. - -Jessica was found out, however, before the dusky evenings were quite -gone. It happened one night that the minister’s children, coming early -to the chapel, saw a small tattered figure, bareheaded and barefooted, -dart swiftly up the steps before them and disappear within the lobby. -They paused and looked at one another, and then, hand in hand, their -hearts beating quickly, and the color coming and going on their faces, -they followed this strange new member of their father’s congregation. -The pew-opener was nowhere to be seen, but their quick eyes detected -the prints of the wet little feet which had trodden the clean pavement -before them, and in an instant they discovered Jessica crouching behind -the door. - -“Let us call Daniel Standring,” said Winny, the younger child, clinging -to her sister; but she had spoken aloud and Jessica overheard her, and -before they could stir a step she stood before them with an earnest and -imploring face. - -“Oh, don’t have me drove away,” she cried; “I’m a very poor little -girl, and it’s all the pleasure I’ve got. I’ve seen you lots of times, -with that tall gentleman as stoops, and I didn’t think you’d have me -drove away. I don’t do any harm behind the door, and if Mr. Daniel -finds me out he wont give me any more coffee.” - -“Little girl,” said the elder child, in a composed and demure voice, -“we don’t mean to be unkind to you; but what do you come here for, and -why do you hide yourself behind the door?” - -“I like to hear the music,” answered Jessica, “and I want to find out -what pray is, and the minister, and God. I know it’s only for ladies -and gentlemen, and fine children like you; but I’d like to go inside, -just for once, and see what you do.” - -“You shall come with us into our pew,” cried Winny, in an eager and -impulsive tone; but Jane laid her hand upon her outstretched arm, with -a glance at Jessica’s ragged clothes and matted hair. It was a question -difficult enough to perplex them. The little outcast was plainly too -dirty and neglected for them to invite her to sit side by side with -them in their crimson-lined pew, and no poor people attended the chapel -with whom she could have a seat. But Winny, with flushed cheeks and -indignant eyes, looked reproachfully at her elder sister. - -“Jane,” she said, opening her Testament, and turning over the leaves -hurriedly, “this was papa’s text a little while ago: ‘For if there come -unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there -come in also a poor man in vile raiment; and ye have respect to him -that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a -good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my -footstool; are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges -of evil thoughts?’ If we don’t take this little girl into our pew we -‘have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with -respect of persons.’” - -“I don’t know what to do,” answered Jane, sighing; “the Bible -seems plain, but I’m sure papa would not like it. Let us ask the -chapel-keeper.” - -“Oh, no, no!” cried Jessica, “don’t let Mr. Daniel catch me here. I -wont come again, indeed; and I’ll promise not to try to find out about -God and the minister, if you’ll only let me go.” - -“But, little girl,” said Jane, in a sweet but grave manner, “we ought -to teach you about God, if you don’t know him. Our papa is the -minister, and if you’ll come with us we’ll ask him what we must do.” - -“Will Mr. Daniel see me?” asked Jessica. - -“Nobody but papa is in the vestry,” answered Jane, “and he’ll tell us -all, you and us, what we ought to do. You’ll not be afraid of him, will -you?” - -“No,” said Jessica cheerfully, following the minister’s children as -they led her along the side of the chapel towards the vestry. - -“He is not such a terrible personage,” said Winny, looking round -encouragingly, as Jane tapped softly at the door, and they heard a -voice saying, “Come in.” - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -A NEW WORLD OPENS. - - -The minister was siting in an easy chair before a comfortable fire with -a hymn-book in his hand, which he closed as the three children appeared -in the open doorway. Jessica had seen his pale and thoughtful face many -a time from her hiding-place, but she had never met the keen, earnest, -searching gaze of his eyes, which seemed to pierce through all her -wretchedness and misery, and to read at once the whole history of her -desolate life. But before her eyelids could droop, or she could drop -a reverential courtesy, the minister’s face kindled with such a glow -of pitying tenderness and compassion as fastened her eyes upon him, -and gave her new heart and courage. His children ran to him, leaving -Jessica upon the mat at the door, and with eager voices and gestures -told him the difficulty they were in. - -“Come here, little girl,” he said, and Jessica walked across the -carpeted floor till she stood right before him, with folded hands, and -eyes that looked frankly into his. - -“What is your name, my child?” he asked. - -“Jessica,” she answered. - -“Jessica?” he repeated, with a smile; “that is a strange name.” - -“Mother used to play ‘Jessica’ at the theatre, sir,” she said, “and I -used to be a fairy in the pantomime, till I grew too tall and ugly. If -I’m pretty when I grow up mother says I shall play too; but I’ve a -long time to wait. Are you the minister, sir?” - -“Yes,” he answered, smiling again. - -“What is a minister?” she inquired. - -“A servant!” he replied, looking away thoughtfully into the red embers -of the fire. - -“Papa!” cried Jane and Winny, in tones of astonishment; but Jessica -gazed steadily at the minister, who was now looking back again into her -bright eyes. - -“Please, sir, whose servant are you?” she asked. - -“The servant of God and of man,” he answered solemnly. “Jessica, I am -your servant.” - -The child shook her head, and laughed shrilly as she gazed round the -room and at the handsome clothing of the minister’s daughters, while -she drew her rags closer about her and shivered a little, as if she -felt a sting of the east wind which was blowing keenly through the -streets. The sound of her shrill childish laugh made the minister’s -heart ache. - -“Who is God?” asked the child. “When mother’s in a good temper, -sometimes she says ‘God bless me!’ Do you know him, please, minister?” - -But before there was time to answer the door into the chapel was -opened and Daniel stood upon the threshold. At first he stared blandly -forward, but then his grave face grew ghastly pale, and he laid his -hand upon the door to support himself until he could recover his speech -and senses. Jessica also looked about her, scared and irresolute, as if -anxious to run away or to hide herself. The minister was the first to -speak. - -“Jessica,” he said, “there is a place close under my pulpit where you -shall sit, and where I can see you all the time. Be a good girl, and -listen, and you will hear something about God. Standring, put this -little one in front of the pews by the pulpit steps.” - -Before she could believe it, for very gladness, Jessica found herself -inside the chapel, facing the glittering organ, from which a sweet -strain of music was sounding. Not far from her Jane and Winny were -peeping over the front of their pew with friendly smiles and glances. -It was evident that the minister’s elder daughter was anxious about -her behavior, and she made energetic signs to her when to stand and -when to kneel; but Winny was content with smiling at her whenever her -head rose above the top of the pew. Jessica was happy, but not in the -least abashed. The ladies and gentlemen were not at all unlike those -whom she had often seen when she was a fairy at the theatre; and very -soon her attention was engrossed by the minister, whose eyes often -fell upon her, as she gazed eagerly, with uplifted face, upon him. She -could scarcely understand a word of what he said, but she liked the -tones of his voice and the tender pity of his face as he looked down -upon her. Daniel hovered about a good deal, with an air of uneasiness -and displeasure, but she was unconscious of his presence. Jessica was -intent upon finding out what a minister and God were. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE FIRST PRAYER. - - -When the service was ended the minister descended the pulpit steps -just as Daniel was about to hurry Jessica away, and taking her by the -hand in the face of all the congregation he led her into the vestry, -whither Jane and Winny quickly followed them. He was fatigued with -the services of the day, and his pale face was paler than ever, as he -placed Jessica before his chair, into which he threw himself with an -air of exhaustion; but bowing his head upon his hands he said, in a low -but clear tone, “Lord, these are the lambs of thy flock. Help me to -feed thy lambs!” - -“Children,” he said, with a smile upon his weary face, “it is no -easy thing to know God. But this one thing we know, that he is our -Father--my Father and your Father, Jessica. He loves you, and cares for -you more than I do for my little girls here.” - -He smiled at them, and they at him, with an expression which Jessica -felt and understood, though it made her sad. She trembled a little, and -the minister’s ear caught the sound of a faint though bitter sob. - -“I never had any father,” she said sorrowfully. - -“God is your Father,” he answered very gently: “he knows all about you, -because he is present everywhere. We cannot see him, but we have only -to speak and he hears us, and we may ask him for whatever we want.” - -“Will he let me speak to him, as well as these fine children, that are -clean and have got nice clothes?” asked Jessica, glancing anxiously at -her muddy feet, and her soiled and tattered frock. - -“Yes,” said the minister, smiling, yet sighing at the same time; “you -may ask him this moment for what you want.” - -Jessica gazed round the room with large wide-open eyes, as if she were -seeking to see God; but then she shut her eyelids tightly, and bending -her head upon her hands, as she had seen the minister do, she said, “O -God! I want to know about you. And please pay Mr. Daniel for all the -warm coffee he’s give me.” - -Jane and Winny listened with faces of unutterable amazement; but the -tears stood in the minister’s eyes, and he added “Amen” to Jessica’s -first prayer. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -HARD QUESTIONS. - - -After waiting until the minister left the vestry Daniel found that -Jessica had gone away by the side entrance. He had to wait, therefore, -until Wednesday morning for an opportunity to speak to her, and the -sight of her pinched little face was welcome to him when he saw it -looking wistfully over the coffee-stall. Yet he had made up his mind to -forbid her to come again, and to threaten her with the policeman if he -ever caught her at the chapel, where for the future he intended to keep -a sharper lookout. But before he could speak Jess had slipped under -the stall and taken her old seat upon the upturned basket. - -“Mr. Daniel,” she said, “has God paid you for my sups of coffee yet?” - -“Paid me?” he repeated, “God? No.” - -“Well, he will,” she answered, nodding her head sagely; “don’t you be -afraid for your money, Mr. Daniel; I’ve asked him a many times, and the -minister says he’s sure to do it.” - -“Jess,” said Daniel, sternly, “have you been and told the minister -about my coffee-stall?” - -“No,” she answered, with a beaming smile, “but I’ve told God lots and -lots of times since Sunday, and he’s sure to pay in a day or two.” - -“Jess,” continued Daniel, more gently, “you’re a sharp little girl, I -see; and now, mind, I’m going to trust you. You’re never to say a word -about me or my coffee-stall; because the folks at our chapel are very -grand, and might think it low and mean of me to keep a coffee-stall. -Very likely they’d say I mustn’t be chapel-keeper any longer, and I -should lose a deal of money.” - -“Why do you keep the stall then?” asked Jessica. - -“Don’t you see what a many pennies I get every morning?” he said, -shaking his canvas bag. “I get a good deal of money that way in a year.” - -“What do you want such a deal of money for?” she inquired; “do you give -it to God?” - -Daniel did not answer, but the question went to his heart like a -sword-thrust. What did he want so much money for? He thought of his -bare and solitary room, where he lodged alone, a good way from the -railway-bridge, with very few comforts in it, but containing a desk, -strong, securely fastened, and in which were his savings’ bank book, -his receipts for money put out at interest, and a bag of sovereigns, -for which he had been toiling and slaving both on Sunday and week-days. -He could not remember giving any thing away, except the dregs of the -coffee and the stale buns for which Jessica was asking God to pay him. -He coughed, and cleared his throat, and rubbed his eyes; and then, -with nervous and hesitating fingers, he took a penny from his bag and -slipped it into Jessica’s hand. - -“No, no, Mr. Daniel,” she said; “I don’t want you to give me any of -your pennies. I want God to pay you.” - -“Ay, he’ll pay me,” muttered Daniel; “there’ll be a day of reckoning -by and by.” - -“Does God have reckoning days?” asked Jessica. “I used to like -reckoning days when I was a fairy.” - -“Ay, ay,” he answered, “but there’s few folks like God’s reckoning -days.” - -“But you’ll be glad; wont you?” she said. - -Daniel bade her get on with her breakfast, and then he turned over in -his mind the thoughts which her questions had awakened. Conscience told -him he would not be glad to meet God’s reckoning day. - -“Mr. Daniel,” said Jessica, when they were about to separate, and he -would not take back his gift of a penny, “if you wouldn’t mind, I’d -like to come and buy a cup of coffee to-morrow, like a customer, you -know; and I wont let out a word about the stall to the minister next -Sunday. Don’t you be afraid.” - -She tied the penny carefully into a corner of her rags, and with a -cheerful smile upon her thin face she glided from under the shadow of -the bridge and was soon lost to Daniel’s sight. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR. - - -When Jessica came to the street into which the court where she -lived opened, she saw an unusual degree of excitement among the -inhabitants, a group of whom were gathered about a tall gentleman -whom she recognized in an instant to be the minister. She elbowed her -way through the midst of them, and the minister’s face brightened as -she presented herself before him. He followed her up the low entry, -across the squalid court, through the stable, empty of the donkeys just -then, up the creaking rounds of the ladder, and into the miserable -loft where the tiles were falling in and the broken window-panes were -stuffed with rags and paper. Near to the old rusty stove, which served -as a grate when there was any fire, there was a short board laid across -some bricks, and upon this the minister took his seat, while Jessica -sat upon the floor before him. - -“Jessica,” he said, sadly, “is this where you live?” - -“Yes,” she answered; “but we’d a nicer room than this when I was a -fairy and mother played at the theatre; we shall be better off when I’m -grown up, if I’m pretty enough to play like her.” - -“My child,” he said, “I’m come to ask your mother to let you go to -school in a pleasant place down in the country. Will she let you go?” - -“No,” answered Jessica; “mother says she’ll never let me learn to -read, or go to church; she says it would make me good for nothing. But -please, sir, she doesn’t know any thing about your church, it’s such -a long way off, and she hasn’t found me out yet. She always gets very -drunk of a Sunday.” - -The child spoke simply, and as if all she said was a matter of course; -but the minister shuddered, and he looked through the broken window to -the little patch of gloomy sky overhead. - -“What can I do?” he cried mournfully, as though speaking to himself. - -“Nothing, please, sir,” said Jessica, “only let me come to hear -you of a Sunday, and tell me about God. If you was to give me fine -clothes--like your little girls’--mother ’ud only pawn them for gin. -You can’t do any thing more for me.” - -“Where is your mother?” he asked. - -“Out on a spree,” said Jessica. “She wont be home for a day or two. -She’d not hearken to you, sir. There’s the missionary came, and she -pushed him down the ladder till he was nearly killed. They used to call -mother ‘the vixen’ at the theatre, and nobody durst say a word to her.” - -The minister was silent for some minutes, thinking painful thoughts, -for his eyes seemed to darken as he looked round the miserable room, -and his face wore an air of sorrow and disappointment. At last he spoke -again. - -“Who is Mr. Daniel, Jessica?” he inquired. - -“Oh,” she said cunningly, “he’s only a friend of mine as gives me sups -of coffee. You don’t know all the folks in London, sir!” - -“No,” he answered, smiling, “but does he keep a coffee-stall?” - -Jessica nodded her head, but did not trust herself to speak. - -“How much does a cup of coffee cost?” asked the minister. - -“A full cup’s a penny,” she answered promptly; “but you can have half a -cup; and there are half-penny and penny buns.” - -“Good coffee and buns?” he said, with another smile. - -“Prime,” replied Jessica, smacking her lips. - -“Well,” continued the minister, “tell your friend to give you a full -cup of coffee and a penny bun every morning, and I’ll pay for them as -often as he chooses to come to me for the money.” - -Jessica’s face beamed with delight, but in an instant it clouded over -as she recollected Daniel’s secret, and her lips quivered as she spoke -her disappointed reply. - -“Please, sir,” she said, “I’m sure he couldn’t come; oh! he couldn’t. -It’s such a long way, and Mr. Daniel has plenty of customers. No, he -never would come to you for money.” - -“Jessica,” he answered, “I will tell you what I will do. I will trust -you with a shilling every Sunday, if you’ll promise to give it to your -friend the very first time you see him. I shall be sure to know if you -cheat me.” And the keen, piercing eyes of the minister looked down into -Jessica’s, and once more the tender and pitying smile returned to his -face. - -“I can do nothing else for you?” he said, in a tone of mingled sorrow -and questioning. - -“No, minister,” answered Jessica, “only tell me about God.” - -“I will tell you one thing about him now,” he replied. “If I took you -to live in my house with my little daughters you would have to be -washed and clothed in new clothing to make you fit for it. God wanted -us to go and live at home with him in heaven, but we were so sinful -that we could never have been fit for it. So he sent his own Son to -live among us, and die for us, to wash us from our sins, and to give us -new clothing, and to make us ready to live in God’s house. When you ask -God for any thing you must say, ‘For Jesus Christ’s sake.’ Jesus Christ -is the Son of God.” - -After these words the minister carefully descended the ladder, -followed by Jessica’s bare and nimble feet, and she led him by the -nearest way into one of the great thoroughfares of the city, where he -said good-by to her, adding, “God bless you, my child,” in a tone which -sank into Jessica’s heart. - -He had put a silver sixpence into her hand to provide for her breakfast -the next three mornings, and with a feeling of being very rich she -returned to her miserable home. - -The next morning Jessica presented herself proudly as a customer at -Daniel’s stall, and paid over the sixpence in advance. - -He felt a little troubled as he heard her story, lest the minister -should endeavor to find him out; but he could not refuse to let the -child come daily for her comfortable breakfast. If he was detected, he -would promise to give up his coffee-stall rather than offend the great -people of the chapel; but unless he was it would be foolish of him to -lose the money it brought in week after week. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -JESSICA’S FIRST PRAYER ANSWERED. - - -Every Sunday evening the barefooted and bareheaded child might be seen -advancing confidently up to the chapel where rich and fashionable -people worshipped God; but before taking her place she arrayed herself -in a little cloak and bonnet which had once belonged to the minister’s -elder daughter, and which was kept with Daniel’s serge gown, so that -she presented a somewhat more respectable appearance in the eyes of -the congregation. The minister had no listener more attentive, and he -would have missed the pinched, earnest little face if it were not to -be seen in the seat just under the pulpit. At the close of each service -he spoke to her for a minute or two in his vestry, often saying no -more than a single sentence, for the day’s labor had wearied him. The -shilling, which was always lying upon the chimney-piece, placed there -by Jane and Winny in turns, was immediately handed over, according to -promise, to Daniel as she left the chapel, and so Jessica’s breakfast -was provided for her week after week. - -But at last there came a Sunday evening when the minister, going up -into his pulpit, did miss the wistful, hungry face, and the shilling -lay unclaimed upon the vestry chimney-piece. Daniel looked out for -her anxiously every morning, but no Jessica glided into his secluded -corner, to sit beside him with her breakfast on her lap and with a -number of strange questions to ask. He felt her absence more keenly -than he could have expected. The child was nothing to him, he kept -saying to himself; and yet he felt that she was something, and that he -could not help being uneasy and anxious about her. Why had he never -inquired where she lived? The minister knew, and for a minute Daniel -thought he would go and ask him; but that might awaken suspicion. How -could he account for so much anxiety when he was supposed only to know -of her absence from chapel one Sunday evening? It would be running a -risk, and, after all, Jessica was nothing to him. So he went home and -looked over his savings bank book and counted his money, and he found -to his satisfaction that he had gathered together nearly four hundred -pounds, and that he was adding more every week. - -But when upon the next Sunday Jessica’s seat was again empty the -anxiety of the solemn chapel-keeper overcame his prudence and his -fears. The minister had retired to his vestry, and was standing with -his arm resting upon the chimney-piece, and his eyes fixed upon the -unclaimed shilling which Winny had laid there before the service, when -there was a tap at the door, and Daniel entered with a respectful but -hesitating air. - -“Well, Standring?” said the minister questioningly. - -“Sir,” he said, “I’m uncomfortable about that little girl, and I know -you’ve been once to see after her; she told me about it; and so I make -bold to ask you where she lives, and I’ll see what’s become of her.” - -“Right, Standring,” answered the minister; “I am troubled about the -child, and so are my little girls. I thought of going myself, but my -time is very much occupied just now.” - -“I’ll go, sir,” replied Daniel promptly; and after receiving the -necessary information about Jessica’s home he put out the lights, -locked the door, and turned towards his lonely lodgings. - -But though it was getting late upon Sunday evening, and Jessica’s home -was a long way distant, Daniel found that his anxiety would not suffer -him to return to his solitary room. It was of no use to reason with -himself, as he stood at the corner of the street, feeling perplexed -and troubled, and promising his conscience that he would go the very -first thing in the morning after he shut up his coffee-stall. In the -dim, dusky light, as the summer evening drew to a close, he fancied he -could see Jessica’s thin figure and wan face gliding on before him, -and turning around from time to time to see if he were following. It -was only fancy, and he laughed a little at himself; but the laugh was -husky, and there was a choking sensation in his throat, so he buttoned -his Sunday coat over his breast, where his silver watch and chain hung -temptingly, and started off at a rapid pace for the centre of the city. - -It was not quite dark when he reached the court, and stumbled up the -narrow entry leading to it; but Daniel did hesitate when he opened the -stable-door, and looked into a blank, black space, in which he could -discern nothing. He thought he had better retreat while he could do -so safely; but as he still stood with his hand upon the rusty latch he -heard a faint, small voice through the nicks of the unceiled boarding -above his head. - -“Our Father,” said the little voice, “please to send somebody to me, -for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.” - -“I’m here, Jess,” cried Daniel, with a sudden bound of his heart, such -as he had not felt for years, and which almost took away his breath as -he peered into the darkness until at last he discerned dimly the ladder -which led up into the loft. - -[Illustration] - -Very cautiously, but with an eagerness which surprised himself, he -climbed up the creaking rounds of the ladder and entered the dismal -room, where the child was lying in desolate darkness. Fortunately he -had his box of matches in his pocket, and the end of a wax candle with -which he kindled the lamps, and in another minute a gleam of light -shone upon Jessica’s white features. She was stretched upon a scanty -litter of straw under the slanting roof where the tiles had not fallen -off, with her poor rags for her only covering; but as her eyes looked -up into Daniel’s face bending over her a bright smile of joy sparkled -in them. - -“Oh!” she cried, gladly, but in a feeble voice, “it’s Mr. Daniel! Has -God told you to come here, Mr. Daniel?” - -“Yes,” said Daniel, kneeling beside her, taking her wasted hand in his, -and parting the matted hair upon her damp forehead. - -“What did he say to you?” said Jessica. - -“He told me I was a great sinner,” replied Daniel. “He told me I -loved a little bit of dirty money better than a poor, friendless, -helpless child, whom he had sent to me to see if I would do her a -little good for his sake. He looked at me, or the minister did, through -and through, and he said, ‘Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be -required of thee: then whose shall those things be which thou hast -provided?’ And I could answer him nothing, Jess. He had come to a -reckoning with me, and I could not say a word to him.” - -“Aren’t you a good man, Mr. Daniel?” whispered Jessica. - -“No; I’m a wicked sinner,” he cried, while the tears rolled down his -solemn face. “I’ve been constant at God’s house, but only to get money; -I’ve been steady and industrious, but only to get money; and now God -looks at me, and he says, ‘Thou fool!’ Oh, Jess, Jess, you’re more fit -for heaven than I ever was in my life!” - -“Why don’t you ask him to make you good for Jesus Christ’s sake?” asked -the child. - -“I can’t,” he said. “I’ve been kneeling down Sunday after Sunday -when the minister’s been praying, but all the time I was thinking -how rich some of the carriage people were. I’ve been loving money and -worshipping money all along, and I’ve nearly let you die rather than -run the risk of losing part of my earnings. I’m a very sinful man.” - -“But you know what the minister often says,” murmured Jessica: - -“‘Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent -his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’” - -“I’ve heard it so often that I don’t feel it,” said Daniel. “I used to -like to hear the minister say it, but now it goes in at one ear and out -at the other. My heart is very hard, Jessica.” - -By the feeble glimmer of the candle Daniel saw Jessica’s wistful eyes -fixed upon him with a sad and loving glance; and then she lifted up -her weak hand to her face, and laid it over her closed eyelids, and her -feverish lips moved slowly. - -“God,” she said, “please to make Mr. Daniel’s heart soft, for Jesus -Christ’s sake. Amen.” - -She did not speak again, nor Daniel, for some time. - -He took off his Sunday coat and laid it over the tiny, shivering frame, -which was shaking with cold even in the summer evening; and as he did -so he remembered the words which the Lord says he will pronounce at the -last day of reckoning: - -“Forasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my -brethren, ye have done it unto me.” - -Daniel Standring felt his heart turning with love to the Saviour, -and he bowed his head upon his hands, and cried, in the depths of his -contrite spirit, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE SHADOW OF DEATH. - - -There was no coffee-stall opened under the railway arch the following -morning, and Daniel’s regular customers stood amazed as they drew -near the empty corner where they were accustomed to get their early -breakfast. It would have astonished them still more if they could have -seen how he was occupied in the miserable loft. He had intrusted a -friendly woman out of the court to buy food and fuel, and all night -long he had watched beside Jessica, who was light-headed and delirious, -but in the wanderings of her thoughts and words often spoke to God, -and prayed for her Mr. Daniel. The neighbor informed him that the -child’s mother had gone off some days before, fearing that she was ill -of some infectious fever, and that she, alone, had taken a little care -of her from time to time. As soon as the morning came he sent for a -doctor, and after receiving permission from him he wrapped the poor -deserted Jessica in his coat, and bearing her tenderly in his arms down -the ladder he carried her to a cab, which the neighbor brought to the -entrance of the court. It was to no other than his own solitary home -that he had resolved to take her; and when the mistress of the lodgings -stood at her door with her arms a-kimbo, to forbid the admission of the -wretched and neglected child, her tongue was silenced by the gleam of a -half-sovereign which Daniel slipped into the palm of her hard hand. - -By that afternoon’s post the minister received the following letter: - -“REVERED SIR, - -“If you will condescend to enter under my humble roof you will have -the pleasure of seeing little Jessica, who is at the point of death, -unless God in his mercy restores her. Hoping you will excuse this -liberty, as I cannot leave the child, I remain with duty, - - “Your respectful servant, - “D. STANDRING. - -“P. S. Jessica desires her best love and duty to Miss Jane and Winny.” - -The minister laid aside the book he was reading, and without any delay -started off for his chapel-keeper’s dwelling. There was Jessica lying -restfully upon Daniel’s bed, but the pinched features were deadly -pale, and the sunken eyes shone with a waning light. She was too feeble -to turn her head when the door opened, and he paused for a moment, -looking at her and at Daniel, who, seated at the head of the bed, was -turning over the papers in his desk, and reckoning up once more the -savings of his lifetime. But when the minister advanced into the middle -of the room Jessica’s white cheeks flushed into deep red. - -“Oh, minister,” she cried, “God has given me every thing I wanted -except paying Mr. Daniel for the coffee he used to give me!” - -“Ah! but God has paid me over and over again,” said Daniel, rising to -receive the minister. “He’s given me my own soul in exchange for it. -Let me make bold to speak to you this once, sir. You’re a very learned -man, and a great preacher, and many people flock to hear you till I’m -hard put to it to find seats for them at times; but all the while, -hearkening to you every blessed Sabbath, I was losing my soul, and you -never once said to me, though you saw me scores and scores of times, -‘Standring, are you a saved man?’” - -“Standring,” said the minister in a tone of great distress and regret, -“I always took it for granted that you were a Christian.” - -“Ah,” continued Daniel, thoughtfully, “but God wanted somebody to ask -me that question, and he did not find anybody in the congregation, so -he sent this poor little lass to me. Well, I don’t mind telling now, -even if I lose the place; but for a long time, nigh upon ten years, -I’ve kept a coffee-stall on week-days in the city, and cleared, -one week with another, about ten shillings: but I was afraid the -chapel-wardens wouldn’t approve of the coffee business, as low, so I -kept it a close secret, and always shut up early of a morning. It’s me -that sold Jessica her cup of coffee, which you paid for, sir.” - -“There’s no harm in it, my good fellow,” said the minister kindly; “you -need make no secret of it.” - -“Well,” resumed Daniel, “the questions this poor little creature has -asked me have gone quicker and deeper down to my conscience than all -your sermons, if I may make so free as to say it. She’s come often and -often of a morning, and looked into my face with those clear eyes of -hers, and said, ‘Don’t you love Jesus Christ, Mr. Daniel?’ ‘Doesn’t -it make you very glad that God is your Father, Mr. Daniel?’ ‘Are we -getting nearer heaven every day, Mr. Daniel?’ And one day says she, -‘Are you going to give all your money to God, Mr. Daniel?’ Ah, that -question made me think indeed, and it’s never been answered till this -day. While I’ve been sitting beside the bed here I’ve counted up all my -savings: £397 18s. it is; and I’ve said, ‘Lord, it’s all thine; and I’d -give every penny of it rather than lose the child, if it be thy blessed -will to spare her life.’” - -Daniel’s voice quavered at the last words, and his face sank upon the -pillow where Jessica’s feeble and motionless head lay. There was a very -sweet yet surprised smile upon her face, and she lifted her wasted -fingers to rest upon the bowed head beside her, while she shut her -eyes and shaded them with her other weak hand. - -[Illustration] - -“Our Father,” she said in a faint whisper, which still reached the -ears of the minister and the beadle, “I asked you to let me come home -to heaven; but if Mr. Daniel wants me, please to let me stay a little -longer, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.” - -For some minutes after Jessica’s prayer there was a deep and unbroken -silence in the room, Daniel still hiding his face upon the pillow, and -the minister standing beside them with bowed head and closed eyes, as -if he also were praying. When he looked up again at the forsaken and -desolate child he saw that her feeble hand had fallen from her face, -which looked full of rest and peace, while her breath came faintly but -regularly through her parted lips. He took her little hand into his -own with a pang of fear and grief; but instead of the mortal chillness -of death he felt the pleasant warmth and moisture of life. He touched -Daniel’s shoulder, and as he lifted up his head in sudden alarm he -whispered to him, “The child is not dead, but is only asleep.” - -Before Jessica was fully recovered Daniel rented a little house for -himself and his adopted daughter to dwell in. He made many inquiries -after her mother, but she never appeared again in her old haunts, and -he was well pleased that there was nobody to interfere with his charge -of Jessica. When Jessica grew strong enough, many a cheerful walk had -they together, in the early mornings, as they wended their way to the -railway bridge, where the little girl took her place behind the stall -and soon learned to serve the daily customers; and many a happy day was -spent in helping to sweep and dust the chapel, into which she had crept -so secretly at first, her great delight being to attend to the pulpit -and the vestry, and the pew where the minister’s children sat, while -Daniel and the woman he employed cleaned the rest of the building. -Many a Sunday also the minister in his pulpit, and his little -daughters in their pew, and Daniel treading softly about the aisles, as -their glance fell upon Jessica’s eager, earnest, happy face, thought -of the first time they saw her sitting among the congregation, and of -Jessica’s first prayer. - - - - -Jessica’s Mother - -Hesba Stretton - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - Great Plans PAGE 3 - - CHAPTER II. - It’s Only a Stroke 14 - - CHAPTER III. - Jessica’s Mother 23 - - CHAPTER IV. - Jessica’s Choice 37 - - CHAPTER V. - How a Christian Ought to Act 45 - - CHAPTER VI. - Daniel’s Prayer 54 - - CHAPTER VII. - A Busy Day for Daniel 61 - - CHAPTER VIII. - Hopes of Recovery 70 - - CHAPTER IX. - The Gate of Death 76 - - CHAPTER X. - Speak of His Love 85 - - - - -JESSICA’S MOTHER. - -CHAPTER I. - -GREAT PLANS. - - -It was a gloomy Sunday in the gloomiest part of the year, when the -fog hung over London day and night, only lifting itself off a little -for two or three hours about noon time. The bells which rang from -the church towers might have been chiming from some region above the -clouds, so distant they sounded and so hidden were the belfries in -which they hung. - -In the early part of the day the congregations went to and from their -various places of worship with a feeling of sombre depression at the -long continuance of the gloom; but after nightfall the darkness was -only natural, and though the lamps gave but little light, and shone -merely like yellow balls in the fog, the passengers in the street moved -more briskly and talked more cheerfully than in the morning. Here and -there the brilliantly illuminated windows of some church or chapel cast -a pleasant gleam upon the pavement, and the open doors seemed to invite -any cold or weary passer-by to enter into its light and warmth; but -as if these buildings, the temples of God, were designed only for the -rich, and for those who had comfort enough in their own dwellings, it -was noticeable that but a very scanty sprinkling of worshippers dressed -in vile raiment were to be seen among the congregations, though there -was no lack of those who wore goodly apparel and gay clothing. - -The fashionable chapel of which Daniel Standring was the chapel-keeper -was no exception to the general rule, for there were no poor to be -found in it. There was within it every appliance of comfort and style -such as could give satisfaction to a wealthy congregation. The oak pews -were high enough for the head of an occasional slumberer to repose in -quiet indulgence, and they were well lined and carpeted and cushioned. -The shades for the lamps toned down their light to a clear yet soft -lustre, and the apparatus for heating the building was of the most -efficient kind. - -The crowds who flocked to hear the minister were increasing every -Sunday, and Daniel Standring had, with some reluctance, yielded to the -necessity of sharing his office of pew-opener with a colleague; a man, -however, of less dignity and solemnity of deportment than himself, and -who was quite willing to look up to him as a superior. Moreover, the -old members of the church, the “carriage people” especially, recognized -him only as their chapel-keeper, and entrusted any message or any -commission to him alone; and he also retained the charge of attending -upon the vestry. The other man was no more than a subordinate; and -after a while he was reconciled to this division of the office. - -There had been two things much talked about among the people for some -time past: the first, that the minister himself should have a colleague -found for him, and the second, that a large and still more fashionable -chapel should be built. - -As to the colleague there were several difficulties in the way, the -chief one being to find such a preacher as would attract the same -congregations as those which came in crowds to listen to the minister; -for it was found that whenever it was known that he would be absent -from his pulpit the numbers dwindled away, until during his yearly -holiday the chapel would seem almost empty, compared to the throng of -curious and eager listeners who hung upon his words, and scarcely dared -to sigh over his representations of their misery and peril lest they -should miss hearing a single syllable of the eloquence which described -it. - -Still every member of the congregation said it was essential that -a colleague should be found for their beloved pastor before he had -quite worn himself out; and great blame was thrown back upon the small -provincial church which five-and-twenty years ago had thrust him, a -mere youth of twenty, upon the exhausting duties of the ministry. As -for the second subject, it was settled without much difficulty, for -only money, not a man, was wanted; and upon the vestry table there was -a subscription-list already promising some thousands of pounds, and -beside it lay the plans for the new chapel, drawn up by an eminent -architect. - -The chapel doors had been opened by Daniel, and the gas toned down to -precisely the brilliance and softness which the congregation loved, -especially the lamps on each side of the pulpit, which shed a revealing -light upon the minister’s thoughtful face and upon his dark hair -just tinged with grey. In the vestry Jessica had just given a final -and delicate stroke of dusting, and was wiping the large pulpit Bible -and hymn-book with her clean pocket-handkerchief ready for Daniel to -carry up into the pulpit while the organist was playing the opening -voluntary, which he did with so solemn and ministerial an aspect that -a stranger, not accustomed to the etiquette of the place, might be -betrayed into the supposition that he was the minister himself. - -Daniel was waiting now in the porch like some faithful steward ready -to receive his master’s guests; and as carriage after carriage rolled -up almost a smile of satisfaction softened his rigid features. The -minister’s children had passed him with a smile and a nod, and he had -shut the door of their pew in the corner, so he knew the minister -was come, and putting a little additional briskness in his manner he -looked out for seats for the strangers who were filling the aisles, at -the same time listening for the first notes of the organ. - -The minister had entered the vestry just as Jessica had finished wiping -the imaginary dust off the Bible and hymn-book, and he drew his chair -up close to the fire, as if coming through the fog had chilled him. He -looked sad and downcast, and his head sank forward upon his breast. -For a minute Jessica stood behind his chair in silence, and then she -stretched out her hand, a small thin hand still, and laid it timidly -upon his arm. - -“Jessica,” said the minister, covering her small palm with his -scholarly hand, “I am sorrowful to-night, and I have great heaviness of -heart. Tell me, my child, do you understand what I preach about in my -pulpit?” - -“Oh, no, no!” answered Jessica, shaking her head deprecatingly, “only -when you say God, and Jesus Christ, and heaven! I know what you mean -by them.” - -“Do you?” said the minister, with a very tender smile; “and do I say -them often, Jessica?” - -“Sometimes they come over and over again,” replied Jessica, “and then I -feel very glad, because I know what you are preaching about. There is -always God in your sermon, but sometimes there isn’t Jesus Christ and -heaven.” - -“And what do I mean by God, and Jesus Christ, and heaven?” he asked. - -“I don’t know anything but what you’ve taught me,” said Jessica, -folding her brown hands meekly over one another; “you’ve told me that -God is the Father of our souls, and Jesus Christ is our elder brother, -who came down from heaven to save us, and heaven is the home of God, -where we shall all go if we love and serve him. I don’t know any more -than that.” - -“It is enough!” said the minister, lifting up his head with a brighter -look; “one soul has learned the truth from me. God bless you, Jessica, -and keep you in his fear and love for evermore.” - -As he spoke the deep tones of the organ fell upon their ears, and the -vestry door was opened by Daniel, coming for the pulpit books. There -was an air of solemn pride upon his face, and he bowed lower than usual -to his minister. - -“There’s a vast crush of people to-night, sir,” he said; “the aisles -and the galleries are all full, and there’s a many standing at the door -yet who will have to go away, for there’s no room for them.” - -The minister covered his face with his hands and shivered, with the -cold no doubt; and Daniel and Jessica were leaving the vestry when they -were called back by his voice speaking in husky and agitated tones. - -“Standring,” he said, “I have something of importance to say to you -after the service this evening, so come back here as soon as the -congregation is gone. And, Jessica, take care to sit in your own -place, where I can see you; for I will preach about Jesus Christ and -heaven to-night.” - -Jessica answered only by a little nod, and left the vestry by a door -which did not open into the chapel. In a minute or two afterwards she -was making her way up the crowded aisles to her usual seat at the foot -of the pulpit steps, where, with her head thrown back, her face lifted -itself up to the minister’s gaze. - -She had just time to settle herself and glance at the minister’s -children, who were looking out for her, when the last quiet notes of -the organ ceased, and the vestry door opened. The minister mounted the -stairs slowly, and with his head bent down, but as soon as he was in -the pulpit he looked round upon the faces whose eyes were all fastened -upon him. - -Many of the faces he knew, and had seen thus upraised to him for scores -of Sundays, and his eyes passed from one to another swiftly, but with -a distinguishing regard of which he had never been conscious before, -and their names swept across his memory like sudden flashes of light. -There sat his own children, and his eyes rested fondly upon them as -they looked up to him; and he smiled tenderly to himself as his glance -caught the flushed and fervent face of Jessica. - -The sermon he had prepared during the week was one of great research -and of studied oratory, which should hold his hearers in strained -and breathless attention; but as he bowed down his head in silent -supplication for the blessing of God he said to himself, “I will preach -to this people from the saying of Christ, ‘He calleth His own sheep by -name, and leadeth them out.’” - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -IT’S ONLY A STROKE. - - -The first part of the service passed by as usual, disturbed only by the -occasional rustle of a silk dress, or the carefully hushed footstep up -the aisles of some late comer, and the moment for the prayer before the -sermon was come. Every head was bent, and a deep stillness prevailed, -which grew more and more profound as the minister’s voice still -remained silent, as if he was waiting until there was no stir or rustle -or movement to be heard throughout the congregation. - -There was something awful in this solemn pause before his voice was -lifted up to God; and, as it prolonged itself, a sigh, it might have -been from the minister’s inmost heart, was heard by those nearest to -the pulpit. One or two looked up, and saw his head bowed down, with -the softened light of the lamps falling upon the silvery streaks of his -hair, and they dropped their faces again upon their hands, waiting. -Then there ran a thrill and a shiver through all the congregation, -and here and there a sob which could no longer be repressed broke the -laboring silence. - -After that there were whispers and murmurs, and faces lifted up with -a vague dread upon them; and still the minister did not raise his -face from the crimson cushion that his voice might allay the growing -agitation. His children were looking up at last; and Jessica had risen -from her knees and was gazing up with eager eyes to his drooping head. - -There was a stir now, and the spell of silence was broken; while -Jessica, forgetful of everything but her deep love for him, ran swiftly -up the steps and touched him timidly with her hand. The minister -neither spoke nor moved. - -The great congregation was in a tumult instantly, standing up, and -talking, and crying out with hysterical sobs, and pushing out of their -pews, and thronging towards the pulpit. In a few minutes the minister -was carried down into the vestry, and the crowd gathered about the -door of it. Some of the chief men belonging to the chapel urged the -congregation to disperse and return to their homes; but they were -too much excited to leave before it was known what had befallen the -minister. - -Jessica pushed her way--being small and nimble, and used to crowds--to -the very door of the vestry, where Daniel stood to guard it from being -invaded by too many strangers; and she waited there beside him until -the door was opened by a hand-breadth, and a physician whispered from -within, “It is not death, but a stroke.” - -More quickly than the words could be carried from lip to lip among the -crowd Jessica glided through the midst to the pew where the minister’s -children were kneeling, with arms about one another, sobbing out -inarticulate prayers to God. She stood for a moment beside them, -scarcely knowing what to say, and then she fell down on her knees by -Winny, and put her lips close to her ear. - -“Miss Winny,” she said with a trembling voice, “the doctor says it’s -nothing but a stroke. He isn’t taken with death, Miss Jane; it’s only a -stroke.” - -The children started up eagerly and caught Jessica’s hands, clinging -to her as some one older and wiser than themselves. They had had no -bitter taste of life’s troubles before this, for their mother had been -taken from them before they were old enough to understand their loss, -and their lives had been tenderly smoothed and cared for. That Jessica -should bring them some intelligence and consolation in their sudden -panic of dread invested her with a kind of superiority; so now they -looked to her as one who could help and counsel them. - -“What is a stroke, Jessica?” asked Jane, looking imploringly towards -her with her white face. - -“I don’t hardly know,” answered Jessica. “I know what strokes used to -be when I lived with mother; but this is different, Miss Jane; this -stroke comes from God, and it cannot be very bad.” - -The children were all three of them silent after Jessica had spoken: -but each one of them was gathering comfort and strength from her -words. It was a stroke which had come from God, and therefore it could -not be very bad. No one had seen it fall; no one had known that the -Father’s hand was lifted up to strike, and it had come down softly -and gently, only hushing the voice and shutting up the gateway of the -senses. Now that it was known, the chapel was gradually emptying as -the congregation went away, and Jane and Winny, feeling calmed and -strengthened, were ready to listen to their nurse, who was now anxious -to take them home. - -“Let Jessica come home with us, nurse,” said Winny, who still held -Jessica’s hand between both her own. The nurse consented willingly, -and in a few minutes they were walking homewards, one on each side -of Jessica. They felt strangely bewildered still; but Jessica was -like a guide to them, leading them through the fog and over the slimy -crossings with familiar confidence, until they reached the door of the -minister’s house, when she hung back shyly, as if not meaning to go in -with them. - -“You mustn’t leave us yet,” cried Winny, impetuously. “Papa is not come -home, and I’m a little bit afraid. Aren’t you afraid, Jessica?” - -“No,” answered Jessica cheerfully. “It can’t be anything dreadful bad.” - -“You must come in and stay with us,” said Jane, the calm sedateness of -her manner a little shaken by her fears. “Nurse, we will take Jessica -into papa’s study till he comes home.” - -The three children went quietly up stairs to the study and sat down -by the fire, which was burning brightly, as if waiting to welcome -the minister’s return after the labors of the day. The minister had -gathered about him many books, so that every part of the large room was -filled with them. - -On the table lay those which he had been studying during the week, -while he was preparing his elaborate sermon which was to have -astonished and electrified even his accustomed hearers; and upon the -desk there were scattered about the slips of paper upon which he -had jotted down some of the profound thoughts which only a few of -his people could comprehend. But upon the chimney-piece, at the end -where his easy-chair was placed, and close to his hand, lay a small -pocket-Bible, so worn with much reading that there was no book in his -study like it. - -The troubled children sitting on the hearth knew nothing of the -profound and scholarly volumes on the table; but they were familiar -with the little Bible, and Winny, taking it in her hand, lifted it to -her lips and kissed it fondly. - -“Papa always used to read and talk to us on a Sunday night after we had -come home,” she said sorrowfully, speaking already as if the custom was -one long past, which could never be resumed. - -“Does a stroke last long, Jessica?” inquired Jane, with a look of deep -anxiety. - -“I’m not sure,” answered Jessica. “Mother’s strokes were sharp and soon -over, but the smart lasted a long while. Maybe the stroke is now over, -but perhaps the smart will last a little while. God knows.” - -“Yes,” said Jane, the tears standing in her eyes, “and God knows what -is best for papa and us. We’ve known that a long time, but now we must -believe it with our hearts.” - -“Believing is a deal harder than knowing,” remarked Winny, with -a look wonderfully like her father’s, and the three children were -silent again, their minds full of thought, while they listened for the -minister’s return to his home. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -JESSICA’S MOTHER. - - -They were heavy steps which the three listening children heard at -last in the hall below, and upon the staircase the sounds of carrying -a helpless burden up the stairs, and Jane and Winny pressed closer -to Jessica, who looked from one to the other with an air of tender -encouragement. As the sounds drew near, they crept by one impulse to -the door, and opening it a little way they saw their father’s face as -he was carried past them, pale but peaceful, with the eyelids closed -as if he were in a deep sleep. Jessica’s quick eyes detected Daniel -standing in the darkness at the end of the passage, and as soon as the -sad procession had passed into the minister’s chamber, and the door was -shut, she darted out and led him eagerly to the study. - -“Oh, Standring!” cried Jane and Winny in one breath, “tell us -everything about papa.” - -“Come, come, you needn’t be frightened, my little ladies,” answered -Daniel soothingly. “Please God, your papa will be all right again in a -week or two. The doctors say he’s been studying too much to make his -grand sermons, and he hasn’t given his brain rest enough. But he’ll -come all right again by and by, or I don’t know whatever will become of -the chapel.” - -“He won’t die?” murmured Jane, with quivering lips. - -“Die!--oh, no!” said Daniel. “Why, my dears, you’re all of a tremble. -It would be the best for you to go to bed, for you can’t do any good -sitting up.” - -“Standring,” said Winny, “I wish you’d let Jessica stay all night with -us. She could sleep with nurse; and our room is inside nurse’s, and if -we leave the door open we could talk to one another.” - -“She may stay and welcome, if nurse likes, Miss Winny,” answered -Daniel; and as the nurse was anxious for her children to feel their new -sorrow as lightly as possible she was glad to grant their request. - -So after a while it happened that Daniel was wending his way alone, -through the fog and the damp of the streets, towards a little house in -a quiet and respectable sort of court, where for the last three years -he had dwelt with his adopted child. His mind had been fully occupied -with the strange events of the night and the paralysis of his stricken -master; but now that he was alone, and his thoughts were free to return -to his own affairs, they suddenly recalled to him the minister’s last -words to himself. - -What could it be of importance that he had to say to him when the -evening service was finished? His brain had been busy with guesses, in -spite of his conscience, during the singing of the hymns, and even -during the first prayer, when he stood at the chapel-door to arrest -the entrance of any late comer until it should be ended. Something of -importance, and now the minister could not reveal it to him! - -He knew that at a private committee meeting, during the past week, a -plan had been proposed for erecting a small residence close to the new -chapel and schoolrooms, where the chapel-keeper might dwell; and it had -been suggested that his salary should be raised to such a sum as would -free him from the necessity of seeking any other employment. In fact, -the care of the chapel would be work enough, for it was to be very -large and magnificent; and already his duties filled up four clear days -of the week. - -Could it be to speak about this the minister had desired him to come -into his vestry immediately after the congregation had departed? But -it was not so much the minister’s business as that of the chief men -belonging to the church. Could it be anything about Jessica? It did -not seem very likely; yet the minister was very partial to Jessica, and -always seemed pleased to see her about the vestry, and he was talking -to her very kindly when Daniel went to fetch the pulpit books. It was -a hard thing to pacify his awakened curiosity, and he supposed nobody -could satisfy it but the minister himself. How long was the stroke -likely to last? - -Daniel was asking himself this question, which neither he nor any one -else could answer, just as he reached the door of his dwelling. There -was a dim light from a lamp at the entrance of the court, and there -was the red gleam of his own fire shining upon the white window-blind -within, so that he could distinguish pretty plainly the figure of a -person, which looked more like a heap of rags, crouching upon his -door-sill. A tattered coat was tied round the neck by the sleeves, -and an old brimless hat was drawn over the back of the head; but -the tangled hair, which hung in ragged locks over the face, was too -long for a man’s; and as he stooped down to look more closely it was -certainly a woman’s face which was turned towards him. - -“Come, come,” he said, “you’ve no business here, you know; so you’d -better get up and go home. You don’t belong to this place, and you’ve -made a mistake coming here. This is my house.” - -He had his key in his hand, ready to let himself in where the -comfortable fire was waiting for him; but he could not open the door -until the miserable creature had moved, and, though she raised herself -a little, she did not get up on her feet. - -“I don’t belong to any place,” she answered suddenly, yet fiercely; -“and I haven’t made a mistake in coming here. You’re Daniel Standring, -and I’m Jessica’s mother.” - -Daniel reeled for a instant as if he had been struck by a very heavy -blow. He had long ago ceased to trouble himself about Jessica’s mother, -or to dread her reappearance; and the minister had assured him that, -if she should ever return to claim her daughter, he would use all his -influence to protect Jessica from her, as being an unfit person to have -the training of a child. The woman was standing up now, but leaning -her back against his door, snapping her fingers at him with her face -stretched out, with a glare of angry defiance in her bright eyes which -sparkled through the gloom. - -“I’ve nearly had the door down,” she said, with a hoarse laugh, “till -all your neighbors came out to see what was the matter; but I scared -them in again. The police himself turned tail like a coward.” And she -laughed again so loud that the quiet court seemed to ring with the -sound, and a door or two was cautiously opened, and Daniel saw his -neighbors peeping out; all of them decent people, who held him in -respect as the chapel-keeper of so fashionable a chapel. - -“I want my daughter,” she cried, in high, shrill notes; “my Jessica, my -daughter. Where is she, you scoundrel?” - -“Come, now, then,” answered Daniel, emboldened by the advance of two or -three of the men, who came up to form a flank of defence or resistance, -“this behavior won’t do. Jessica isn’t here; so you’d better take -yourself off. I wouldn’t give her up to you if she was here; but she -isn’t here, and there’s an end of it.” - -The woman seated herself once more upon the sill and leaned her head -against the door-post. - -“If you go in, I go in,” she said, doggedly; “and if I stay out, you -stay out. I want my Jessica.” - -It was an embarrassing position for Daniel. He did not like to resort -to force in order to enter his house, for several reasons. First, -and chiefly, he was now too sincere a Christian to choose any violent -or ungentle measures, but, besides this, the person before him was a -woman, and the mother of Jessica; and he was himself in a softened -mood, from the excitement and sorrow of the evening. He stretched out -his arm and fitted the key into the lock, but before he turned it he -looked as closely as he could through the gloom into the woman’s face. - -“You’re not drunk, are you?” he said. - -“Neither sup nor drop has passed my lips to-day,” she answered, with a -groan of suffering. - -“Well, well!--come in,” said Daniel; “and you too, Mr. Brookes, if you -please. I’m not myself at all to-night; and it ’ud hearten me to have -somebody to back me. Come in.” - -He opened the door into a comfortable and neat room, where everything -was arranged with scrupulous order; for he was an orderly man by -nature and Jessica had already the thrifty habits of a housekeeper. The -fire had been well raked over with small coals before he and Jessica -started for chapel, and now it was a bank of glowing embers. - -The woman tottered across to the hearth and flung herself into Daniel’s -arm-chair. They could see now how wan and hollow her face was, with the -cheeks fallen in and the burning eyes sunk deep into the head, while, -as she stretched out her thin and yellow hands over the fire, the red -gleam shone through them. The poor tatters she wore were limp and -dank with fog, and the slippers into which her naked feet were thrust -were worn out at the toes, so as to give free inlet to the mud of the -pavement. - -Daniel regarded her in silence for a minute or two, and he then passed -on into a small kitchen at the back and returned quickly with some -bread and cheese and some coffee, which he warmed up in a little -saucepan. She drank the coffee eagerly, but she could not swallow more -than a mouthful or two of the bread. - -“And this is Jessica’s home,” she said, when she was revived a little; -“and a very comfortable home too. Eh! but I’m a lucky mother, and she’s -a lucky girl. Will she be in to-night, Mr. Standring?” - -“No,” answered Daniel, shortly. - -“Well, I can make myself comfortable,” she said, with a laugh which -made Daniel shiver. “I dare say her bed is softer than any I’ve slept -on of late. Last night I slept under a scaffolding on some shavings. -Don’t put yourself out about me. I can make myself comfortable.” - -“But you cannot stay here all night,” replied Daniel decisively. - -“And why not?” she rejoined. “I suppose I’m as good as my daughter. Ah, -she’ll never be the woman I’ve been! I rode in my carriage once, man, -I can tell you. And what should hinder me staying a night, or a week, -or a month in your paltry little house? No, no! you’ll not see my back -to-night, I promise you.” - -“I wouldn’t give you a night’s lodging for five shillings,” said Daniel -hastily. - -“I not going to give you five farthings for it,” said the woman, -settling herself in his arm-chair with an air of impudent defiance. -“Jessica’s home is my home. If you turn me out, out she goes with me.” - -Daniel drew his neighbor aside into the kitchen, where he consulted -with him in whispers while he kept his eye upon his terrible visitor -through the open door. - -“What am I to do with her?” he asked. “I wouldn’t have her stop -here for anything. Jessica is staying all night with the minister’s -children; but she’ll come back to-morrow. Whatever am I to do?” - -“Give her some money to go away,” answered Brookes; and after a little -heavy-hearted hesitation Daniel resolved to act upon his advice. He -returned into his comfortable little parlor, which in some way had -never looked even to himself so comfortable and pleasant; and he -addressed his visitor with a determined and resolute aspect. - -“Now,” he said, “if you won’t go away peaceable I’ll send for a -policeman, as sure as I’m the chapel-keeper of St. John’s Chapel. I -don’t want to be violent with you, for I’m a Christian man; but I don’t -know that a Christian man is bound to give you a lodging in his own -house. I should rather think he wasn’t. But if you will go away quiet, -here is a shilling to pay for a bed and breakfast elsewhere. That’s all -I can do or say. It’s that, or the police.” - -The woman deliberated for a few minutes, looking hard into Daniel’s -face; but there was no sign of irresolution or relenting upon his grave -features; and at last she raised herself slowly and weariedly from the -chair, and dragged her slip-shod feet across the floor towards him. She -took the shilling sullenly from his hand and without a word passed into -the cold and damp of the streets, while Daniel watched her unsteady -steps down the court with a feeling of relief. - -But when Brookes was gone, and the door was locked for the night, and -the agreeable warmth of the glowing fire wrapped round him, he could -not keep his thoughts from wondering where the wretched woman had found -a shelter. His mind also looked onwards with misgiving to the future -which lay immediately before him and Jessica; and again he lamented -on his own account that he could not go for counsel to Jessica’s -other friend, the minister who had been stricken into silence and -unconsciousness even concerning interests still nearer and dearer to -his heart. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -JESSICA’S CHOICE. - - -Early the next morning Daniel went to the minister’s house, half hoping -that he should hear that the malady of the night before had been only a -temporary insensibility, from which he had recovered. But the minister -lay in the same state of unconsciousness, and showed no sign of -returning life. The nurse told him that a ragged and miserable woman, -who called herself Jessica’s mother, had seen him during the Sunday -afternoon, and held a long conversation with him, after which he had -ordered some food to be given her in the kitchen. - -This, then, no doubt, was the subject upon which the minister wished to -speak to Daniel; and the latter felt more than ever lost in doubt as to -what he ought to do, as it was now impossible to hear the advice which -his master had intended to give to him. - -He walked thoughtfully towards the chapel, with Jessica beside him, -scarcely knowing how to break the news to her. She was a little sad, -and less talkative than usual, and her small hand was thrust lovingly -into his own, as if she felt that it was needful to assure herself -that it could return her warm grasp. When they opened the vestry-door, -and, going in, saw all the confusion which bore testimony of the last -night’s calamity, Daniel drew the child closer to him with his arm, and -bending down stiffly kissed her uplifted face. - -“He isn’t going to die,” said Jessica, with a trembling voice; “he is -only resting himself, the doctor says, and then he will know us again, -and speak to us all.” - -“To think,” cried Daniel, in a mournful amazement, “that he should have -spoken thousands and thousands of words, ay! millions! and I scarce -gave an ear to them; and now I’d almost offer a golden guinea for every -word he could speak to me! Ay! Jessica, so that he spoke pretty short -and simple, I’d give a guinea a word if he could tell me what I ought -to do.” - -“Do you want him to say something particular?” asked Jessica. - -“Ay! very particular,” answered Daniel. - -“Couldn’t you ask God?” suggested Jessica. - -“Well,” he answered, doubtfully, “of course I could; but then there’s -no direct answer, which I couldn’t mistake. My mother used to open her -Bible and take the first words she set her eyes on for answer; and very -queer answers they were sometimes. I’m not good enough yet to expect a -very clear answer to my prayers.” - -Jessica made no answer, for Daniel’s mode of reasoning was a little -obscure to her; but she set to work to put the scattered chairs in -order, while Daniel looked on with loving but troubled eyes. - -“Jessica,” he said, “the trouble I’d like to talk to him about is that -your mother’s come back again.” - -She started, and looked at him with great, wide-open eyes of amazement -and terror, while her face quivered, and she twitched her small -shoulders a little, as if already shrinking from a blow. But the -expression of pain and fear passed away quickly, and though her face -was pale a smile came upon it. - -“Doesn’t God know that mother’s come back?” she asked. - -There was no need for Daniel to answer her question, but he turned -it over and over again in his own mind with something very much like -doubt. It seemed as if it would have been so much better, especially -at this crisis, for Jessica’s mother to remain absent that it was as -if God had given up His particular providence over the affairs of -insignificant people like himself and Jessica. It would be no wonder -if amid all the affairs of the hosts of angels, and the myriads of -worlds of which he had a vague idea, that God should overlook a little -matter like the tramping to and fro of a drunken woman. It was a -saddening thought; but Daniel was in the mood to cherish it. - -“Do you know where mother is?” asked Jessica. - -“No, deary,” answered Daniel. “I gave her a shilling last night to pay -for her lodging and breakfast. She told me she’d had nothing to eat -or drink all day; but the nurse said she’d been to see the minister -yesterday afternoon and had a good meal. She’s sure to come again.” - -“Ay, she’s sure to come again,” echoed Jessica. - -“And so,” continued Daniel, “nurse and me have agreed you’d better stay -with the young ladies for a bit, out of the way like, till I can see -how I can settle with your mother. You’d be glad to stay with Miss -Jane and Winny, Jessica?” - -“Yes,” she answered, her face quivering again, as if she could scarcely -keep herself from crying, “but I’d like to see my mother.” - -“See your mother!” repeated Daniel, with unfeigned astonishment; -“whatever for, Jessica?” - -“She’s my mother,” replied Jessica, “and the Lord Jesus Christ had a -mother. Oh! I’d like to see her again, and tell her about God, and -Jesus Christ, and heaven. Perhaps she’d become a good woman!” - -She could control herself no longer, and throwing herself on her knees -before the minister’s chair she hid her face in her hands, and Daniel -heard that amid her sobs she was murmuring some prayer to God for her -mother. This was a new perplexity, that Jessica should wish to see her -cruel and hard-hearted mother; but there was something in it which he -could neither blame nor gainsay. He would rather have kept Jessica in -safety at the minister’s house than have her exposed to the frequent -and violent visits of the drunken woman to his own little dwelling; but -if Jessica decided otherwise he would not oppose her. His house did not -seem the same place without her presence in it. - -“Choose for yourself, deary,” he said, very gently: “come home with me, -and run the chance of your mother coming again soon; or go back to Miss -Jane and Winny, who are so fond of you, and where everything is fine, -and you’ll be in such good company. Choose for yourself.” - -“I’ll go home with you,” said Jessica, getting up from her knees with a -cheerful smile. “I couldn’t think this morning who’d sweep the kitchen, -and get the breakfast. I’d rather go home with you, if you please.” - -It was impossible for Daniel not to be gratified at Jessica’s choice, -however troubled he might be with the idea of her mother’s disturbance -of their peace; for home was not home without her. They kept very near -to one another all day at their work, and it was late at night before -they returned home, where they found no one sitting upon the doorsteps, -as Daniel timorously expected. But their neighbor Brookes informed them -that Jessica’s mother had been sobbing and crying before the closed -door during a great part of the evening. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -HOW A CHRISTIAN OUGHT TO ACT. - - -Daniel was very anxious that Jessica should not be exposed to her -mother’s violence at any time during his absence, when he would not -be there to protect her from any ill-usage; and as he was almost -constantly engaged with the chapel affairs for the next two or three -days he and Jessica were never at home until late in the evening. - -But upon Thursday night as they turned into the court Jessica’s quick -eye saw a woman’s figure leaning against the door-post of their house. -She stood still for an instant, clasping Daniel’s hand with close and -timid grasp and then, quitting him, she ran forward, and stretching -out both her hands, almost as if she wished to throw herself into her -mother’s arms, she cried, “Mother! mother!” - -The woman laughed loudly and shrilly, and flung her shriveled arms -about Jessica, fondling her with a maudlin fondness; Jessica drew back -sorrowfully, and lifted herself on tip-toe to whisper into Daniel’s ear: - -“She’s a little drunk, you know,” she said, “but she isn’t very bad -yet. She isn’t furious. What shall we do?” - -It was precisely the question Daniel was asking of himself, for he -could not bear the idea of taking a drunken woman into his respectable -and orderly house; and yet, could he turn out Jessica’s mother before -Jessica’s eyes? He paused for some minutes before unlocking the door, -while the woman continued to talk in a foolish strain to her child, but -at last he felt compelled to open it, and she was the first to push her -way in. She took possession again of his arm-chair, and tossed her old, -tattered hat into a corner of the room, while he looked on in helpless -and deep dismay. - -“Mother,” said Jessica, speaking to her in gentle but steady tones, -“this isn’t your house at all, and you can’t stay here. It’s Mr. -Daniel’s house: but I dare say he’ll let me give you some supper, and -then you’d better go away, and come to see me again when you’re quite -yourself.” - -The woman fastened her red and sunken eyes upon Jessica, and then burst -into a fit of passionate lamenting, while she drew the child closer to -her. - -“Oh! I wish I was a better woman!” she cried. “I’ve been driven to it, -Jessica. But I’m coming to live here with you now, and be decent like -the rest of you. I’m going to turn over a new leaf, and you’ll see how -steady I’ll be. I’ll be no disgrace to any of you.” - -“But, mother,” said Jessica, “you can’t live here, because it’s Mr. -Daniel’s house, and he only took me out of charity, when I was ill and -you left me. We can’t look for him to take you.” - -“If you stay, I stay,” said her mother, in a tone of obstinacy, setting -her elbows firmly upon the arms of the chair, and planting her feet on -the floor; “or, if I go, you go. I’d like to know who’d have the heart -to separate a mother from her own child!” - -Jessica stood for a minute or two looking at her mother with eyes full -of sadness and pity, and then she crept to Daniel’s side, and whispered -to him with an air of pleading: - -“I don’t think she ever knew that God is our Father,” she said. - -Daniel found himself at a complete loss as to what he ought to do. -The miserable creature before him shocked every sense of decency and -propriety, which had been firmly and rigidly rooted in his nature; and -the very sight of her, drunken and disorderly, upon his hearth, was an -abomination to him. Since she had last spoken she had fallen into a -brief slumber, and her grey, uncovered head was shaking and nodding -with an imbecile aspect. Jessica was going upstairs, for what he did -not know, unless it was to make some arrangement for her mother’s -accommodation; and he remained motionless, staring at the wretched -woman with a feeling of abhorrence and disgust which increased every -moment. - -But presently he heard Jessica’s light steps descending the stairs, and -started with surprise when she came into the room. She had changed her -tidy dress for the poorest and oldest clothing in her possession, and -she approached him with a sorrowful but patient look upon her face. - -“Mr. Daniel,” she said, unconsciously falling back into speaking the -old name by which she had first called him, “you mustn’t go to take -mother in out of charity, as well as me. That ’ud never do. So I’ll go -away with her to-night, and in the morning, when she’s sober, I’ll -tell her all about God, and Jesus Christ, and heaven. She doesn’t know -it yet, but maybe when she hears every thing she’ll be a different -woman; like me, you know; and then we can all help her to be good. Only -I must go away with her to-night, or she’ll get into a raging fury like -she used to do.” - -“No, no, no!” cried Daniel vehemently. “I couldn’t let you go, dear. -Why, Jessica, I love you more than my money, don’t I? God knows I -love you better. I’d rather lose all my money, ay, and my place as -chapel-keeper, than lose you.” - -“You aren’t going to lose me,” said Jessica, with the same patient -but sorrowful light in her eyes, “I’m only going away for a little -while with my mother. She’s my mother, and I want to tell her all -I know--that she may go to heaven as well as us. I’ll come back -to-morrow.” - -“She shall stay here,” said Daniel, hesitatingly. - -“No, no,” answered Jessica, “that ’ud never do. She’ll be for stopping -always if you give in once. You’d better let me go with her this one -night; and to-morrow morning, when she’s all right, I’ll tell her -everything. She’ll be very low then, and she’ll hearken to me. Mother! -I’m ready to go with you.” - -The woman opened her swollen eyelids and staggered to her feet, laying -her hand heavily upon the slight shoulder of Jessica, who looked from -her to Daniel with a clear, sad, brave smile, as she bent her childish -shoulders a little under her mother’s hand, as if they felt already the -heavy burden that was falling upon her life. It was a hard moment for -Daniel, and he was yet doubtful whether he should let them both go, or -keep them both; but Jessica had led her mother to the door, and already -her hand was upon the latch. - -“Stop a minute, Jessica,” he said; “I’ll let you go with her this once, -only there’s a lodging-house not far off, and I’ll come with you and -see you safe for the night, and pay your lodgings.” - -“All right!” answered Jessica, with a quick, sagacious nod; and in a -few minutes they were walking along the streets, Jessica between her -mother and Daniel, all of them very silent, except when the woman broke -out into a stave or two of some old, long-forgotten song. Before long -they reached the lodging-house of which Daniel had spoken, and he saw -them safely into the little, close, dark closet which was to be their -bedroom. - -“Good-night,” said Daniel, kissing Jessica with more than usual -tenderness; “you don’t feel as if you’d like to come back with me, now -we’ve seen your mother comfortable, do you?” - -“No,” answered Jessica, with a wistful look from him to her mother, who -had thrown herself upon the bed and was fast asleep already. “I think -I’m doing what God would like me to do; aren’t I? He knows she is my -mother.” - -“Ay, God bless you, my dear,” said Daniel, turning away quickly, and -closing the door behind him. He stumbled down the dark stairs into the -street, and returned to his desolate home, saying to himself, “I’m sure -I don’t know how a Christian ought to act in this case; and there’s -nobody to go and ask now.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -DANIEL’S PRAYER. - - -The two following days, Friday and Saturday, were always a busy time -at the chapel, for the whole place had to be swept and dusted in -preparation for the coming Sunday. Never had Daniel felt so depressed -and downhearted as when he entered the chilly and empty chapel early in -the morning and alone; for Jessica was to follow him by and by, when -her mother had strolled away for the day to her old haunts. - -Only a week ago he and Jessica had gone cheerfully about their work -together, Jessica’s blithe, clear young voice echoing through the place -as she sang to herself, or called to him from some far-off pew, or down -from the gallery. But now everything was upset and in confusion. He -mounted the pulpit steps, and after shaking the cushions, and dusting -every ledge and crevice, he stood upright in a strange and solemn -reverie, as he looked round upon the empty pews, which were wont to be -so crowded on a Sunday. - -It would make a wonderful difference to the place, he thought, if -anything worse should happen to his master; for even to himself Daniel -could not bear to say the sad word, death. They could never find his -like again. Never! he repeated, laying his hand reverently upon the -crimson cushion, where the minister’s grey head had sunk in sudden -dumbness before God; and two large solemn tears forced themselves into -Daniel’s eyes, and rolled slowly down his cheeks. - -He did not know who ever would fill the pulpit even on the coming -Sabbath; but he felt that he could never bear to stay at the chapel -after its glory was departed, and see the congregation dwindling down, -and growing more and more scanty every week, until only a few drowsy -hearers came to listen sleepily to a lifeless preacher. No! no! That -would go a good way towards breaking his heart. - -Besides all this, how he longed to be able to ask the minister what -he ought to do about Jessica’s mother! But whether for instruction in -the pulpit or for counsel in private the minister’s voice was hushed; -and Daniel’s heart was not a whit lighter, as he slowly descended the -pulpit steps. - -It was getting on for noon before Jessica followed him, bringing his -dinner with her in a little basket. Her eyes were red with tears, and -she was very quiet while he ate with a poor appetite the food she set -before him. He felt reluctant to ask after her mother; but when the -meal was finished Jessica drew near to him, and took hold of his hand -in both her own. - -“Mr. Daniel,” she said, very sorrowfully, “when mother awoke this -morning I told her everything about Jesus Christ, and God, and heaven; -and she knew it all before! Before I was born, she said!” - -“Ah!” ejaculated Daniel, but not in a tone of surprise; only because -Jessica paused and looked mournfully into his face. - -“Yes,” continued Jessica, shaking her head hopelessly, “she knew about -it, and she never told me; never! She never spoke of God at all, only -when she was cursing. I don’t know now anything that’ll make her a good -woman. I thought that if she only heard what I said she’d love God, but -she only laughed at me, and said it’s an old story. I don’t know what -can be done for her now.” - -Jessica’s tears were falling fast again, and Daniel did not know how to -comfort her. There was little hope, he knew, of a woman so enslaved by -drunkenness being brought back again to religion and God. - -“If the minister could only see her!” said Jessica. “He speaks as if he -had seen God, and talked to him sometimes; and she’d be sure to believe -him. I don’t know how to say the right things.” - -“No, no!” answered Daniel. “She saw him on Sunday, before he had the -stroke, and he talked a long time to her. No! she won’t be changed by -him.” - -“She’s my mother, you know,” repeated Jessica anxiously. - -“Ay!” said Daniel, “and that puzzles me, Jessica; I don’t know what to -do.” - -“Couldn’t we pray to God,” suggested Jessica, again, “now, before we go -on any farther?” - -“Maybe it would be the best thing to do,” agreed Daniel, rising -from his chair and kneeling down with Jessica beside him. At first -he attempted to pray like some of the church-members at the weekly -prayer-meeting, in set and formal phrases; but he felt that if he -wished to obtain any real blessing he must ask for it in simple and -childlike words, as if speaking face to face with his Heavenly Father; -and this was the prayer he made, after freeing himself from the -ceremonial etiquette of the prayer-meetings: - -“Lord, thou knowest that Jessica’s mother is come back, and what a -drunken and disorderly woman she is, and we don’t know what to do with -her, and the minister cannot give us his advice. Sometimes I’m afraid -I love my money too much yet, but, Lord, if it’s that, or anything -else that’s hard in my heart, so as to hinder me from doing what the -Saviour, Jesus Christ, would do if he was in my place, I pray thee to -take it away, and make me see clearly what my Christian duty is. Dear -Lord, I beseech thee, keep both me and Jessica from evil.” - -Daniel rose from his knees a good deal relieved and lightened in -spirit. He had simply, with the heart of a child, laid his petition -before God; and now he felt that it was God’s part to direct him. -Jessica herself seemed brighter, for if the matter had been laid in -God’s hands she felt that it was certain to come out all right in the -end. - -They went back to their work in the chapel, and though it was -melancholy to remember that their own minister would be absent from the -pulpit on the Sunday which was drawing near, they felt satisfied with -the thought that God knew all, and was making all things work together -for the good of those who loved him. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -A BUSY DAY FOR DANIEL. - - -Daniel went home with Jessica, still disturbed a little with the dread -of finding his unwelcome visitor awaiting their arrival; but she -was not there, and there was no interruption to their quiet evening -together, though both of them started and looked towards the door at -every sound of a footstep in the court. - -After they had had their tea, and while Jessica was putting away the -tea-things in the kitchen, Daniel unlocked his desk, and took out his -receipts for the money he had out on interest. Since he had adopted -Jessica he had not added much to his savings; for besides the cost of -her maintenance there had also been the expenses of housekeeping. In -former times he had scarcely cared how uncomfortable his lodgings -were, provided that they were cheap; and he had found that to have a -tidy and comfortable house of his own involved a great outlay of money. - -Sometimes a thought had crossed his mind, of which he was secretly -ashamed, that the minister, who seemed so fond of Jessica, or at -least some of the rich members of the congregation, might have borne -part of the charge of her living; but no one had ever offered to do -anything for her. He had spent his money with a half grudge, and now -the question upon his mind was, did God require him to waste--he said -“waste” to himself--his hardly-earned savings upon a drunken and wicked -woman? - -It was a hard trial. He loved Jessica, as he had said, more than his -money, and had never really regretted taking her into his home; she -was like a daughter to him, and he was a happier and a better man for -her companionship. But this woman was an abhorrence to him, a disgust -and disgrace. She had no more claim upon him than any other of the -thousands of lost men and women who thronged the streets of London. - -Surely God did not require him to take this money, which was the sole -provision for his old age; and now that the minister was so stricken -there would be no new chapel built for him, and no house for the -chapel-keeper, and no increase of salary. That was already a settled -point, for the physicians who were attending the minister declared -positively that never again would his over-worked brain be capable of -sustaining any long strain of thought, such as had drawn together his -eager and attentive congregations. - -It was scarcely even a question whether he would be able to resume his -position as pastor of this old church; and under a new minister it -was probable the place might be half emptied, and his emoluments as -chapel-keeper be considerably lessened. He was getting older, too, -and there was not more than ten years’ work in him. He looked at his -treasured receipts, and asked himself, Could it be possible that God -required him to sacrifice his past gains and risk his future comforts -upon Jessica’s mother? - -Then another question, in the very depths of his conscience, was -whispered to his heart, which at first was willing to remain deaf to -the small and quiet voice; but it grew louder and more clamorous, until -Daniel found that it must be heard and answered. - -“What think you Christ would have done with this woman?” it asked. If -God had brought her to that door where He dwelt as a poor carpenter, -would He have thrust her back upon the misery of the life which drove -her again and again to the vilest of her sins? Would Jesus, who came -to seek as well as to save those who are lost, have balanced a book of -savings against the hope, faint though it was, of rescuing the woman’s -soul? - -“Daniel, Daniel,” answered the quiet voice to his inmost heart, “what -would thy Lord have done?” He tried to set it aside, and hush it up, -while he turned the key upon his receipts, telling himself that he had -done all that his duty as a Christian demanded of him when he rescued -and adopted Jessica. But the Spirit of God has a gracious tyranny which -requires more and more from the soul which begins to sacrifice itself. -He had mastered his love of money for the sake of a child whom he -loved; now he must conquer it to rescue a wretched woman whom he shrank -from. - -The struggle seemed to last long, but it was ended before Jessica came -back to the fireside. Daniel’s prayer in the afternoon had been too -sincere for him to be left in darkness to grope along a wrong path. His -face wore a smile as Jessica took her sewing and sat down opposite to -him; such a smile as rarely lit up his rigid features. - -“Jessica,” he said, “God has shown me what to do.” - -“Perhaps it’ll be better than the minister himself,” answered Jessica. - -“Ay!” answered Daniel. “I don’t think the minister could have told -me plainer. Why, Jessica, suppose the Lord had been living here, and -your mother had come to his door, wouldn’t he have cared for her, and -grieved over her, and done everything he could to prevent her going on -in sin? Well, dear, it seems to me it wouldn’t be altogether right to -take her to live with us all at once, because you are a young girl and -ought not to see such ways, and I might get angry with her; but I’ll -hire a room for her somewhere, that shall be always kept for her, and -whenever she comes to it there will be a bed, and a meal for her; and -we’ll be very kind to her, and see if by any means we can help to make -her good.” - -Jessica had dropped her sewing and drawn near to Daniel; and now she -flung her arms round his neck, and hid her face upon his breast, crying. - -“Why, now, now, my dear!” said Daniel, “what ails you, Jessica? -Wouldn’t the Lord Jesus have made a plan something like that? Come, -come; we’ll pray to him to make her a good woman, and then--who -knows?--she may come here to live with us.” - -“She’s my own mother, you know,” sobbed Jessica, as if these words -alone were thoughts in her heart. - -“Yes!” answered Daniel, “and we must do our best for her. Jessica, I -know now that I love God more than aught else in this world or the -next.” - -It was a knowledge worth more than all the riches of earth; and as -Daniel sat in his chimney-corner he could hardly realize his own -happiness. To be sure that he loved God supremely, and to have the -witness in himself that he did so! He felt as if he could take all -the world of lost and ruined sinners to his heart, and, like Christ -himself, lay down his life for them. There was only one shadow, if -it could be called a shadow, upon his joy unspeakable, and full of -comfort--it was that he could not gladden the heart of the minister by -telling him of this change in his nature. - -The next day was a very busy one for Daniel; for besides his ordinary -duties he charged himself with finding a suitable place for Jessica’s -mother. He met with a room at last in the dwelling of a poor widow, who -was glad to let him have it on condition that he paid the rent of the -house. - -He and Jessica bought a bed and a chair and a table, and put everything -in readiness for their expected visitor. Scanty as was the furniture, -it was a warm and certain shelter for the poor vagrant, who spent half -her nights shivering under archways or in unfinished buildings; and -never had Daniel felt so pure a gratification as when he gave a last -look at the room, and taking Jessica by the hand went back to his own -home, no longer afraid of meeting the woman on his threshold. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -HOPES OF RECOVERY. - - -It was a happy Sunday for Daniel, in spite of the minister’s absence -and the downcast looks of the congregation as they occupied their -accustomed seats. The chapters read out of the Bible had new meaning -for him, and the singing brought happy tears to his eyes. It seemed as -if he had never truly known God before; and though the sermon, by a -student merely, was one which he would have criticised with contempt -a week ago, now it was pleasant only to hear the names of his God and -Saviour; just as one is pleased to hear even a stammering tongue speak -the praises of those we love. - -During the evening service Jessica went to stay with the minister’s -children. Jane came down to her in the hall and told her they were to -sit in their father’s room while the strange nurse and their own nurse -were having tea together in an adjoining room. - -“Nurse thinks,” said Jane, “that, if papa knew, he would like us to -sit with him this Sunday evening; and sometimes we think he does know, -though he never speaks, and he seems to be asleep all the time. We -are to read our chapter and say our hymns just as if he could hear. -And nurse says he told your mother only last Sunday that he loves you -almost like one of his own little girls. So we said we should like you -to come and read with us; for you are not a bit afraid, Jessica.” - -They had mounted the stairs while Jane was whispering these sentences; -and now, hand in hand, they entered the minister’s room. - -There was a fire burning and a lamp lit upon a table, so that the -minister’s face could be plainly seen, as they stole with tender -caution to his side. - -It had been a pale face always, but it was very colorless now; the lids -were closed lightly over the eyeballs, which seemed almost to burn and -shine through them; and the lips, which might have been speaking words -that seemed to bring his listeners almost into the presence of God, -were locked in silence. Yet the face was full of life, which rippled -underneath, as it were; as if the colorless cheeks, and thin eyelids, -and furrowed forehead were only a light mask; and while the children -gazed upon it the lips moved slowly, but soundlessly. - -“He is talking to God,” whispered Jessica, in a tone of awe. - -“Jessica,” said Winny, pressing close to her, “I can’t help thinking -about Paul, when he was caught up into the third heaven and heard -unspeakable words. I think perhaps he looked like my father.” - -She had never called him father before, and she uttered it in a -strangely solemn voice, as if it was a more fitting title than the -familiar one they had called him by on ordinary days. They stood beside -him for a few minutes, and then they crept on tiptoe across to the -hearth. The children read their chapter, and said their hymns, and -sang a favorite one of their father’s, in soft low tones which could -scarcely have been heard outside the room; and the little timepiece -over the fireplace chimed seven as they finished. - -“It was just this time last Sunday,” said Jane, “when papa had the -stroke. He was just going to pray when the chapel-clock struck seven.” - -“I wonder what he was going to say?” said Winny, sorrowfully. - -“Our Father!” murmured a voice behind them, very low and weak, like the -voice of one who has only strength to utter a single cry; and turning -quickly, with a feeling of fear, they saw their father’s eyes opened, -and looking towards them with inexpressible tenderness. Jessica laid -her finger on her lips as a sign to them to be still, and with timid -courage she went to the minister’s side. - -“Do you know us again?” she asked, trembling between fear and joy; “do -you know who we are, minister?” - -“Jessica, and my children,” he whispered, with a feeble smile -fluttering upon his face. - -“He is come back!” cried Jessica, returning with swift but noiseless -steps to Jane and Winny. “Let us make haste and tell the others. Maybe -he is hungry and weak and faint. But he knows us--he is come back to us -again.” - -In a few minutes the joyful news was known throughout the house, and -was carried to the chapel before the evening service was over; and the -congregation, as they dispersed, spoke hopefully of the minister’s -recovery. It was the crowning gladness of the day to Daniel, and he -lingered at the minister’s house, to which he hastened as soon as he -had closed the chapel, until it was getting on for midnight; and then -he left Jessica with the children and started off for his home with a -heart in which joy was full. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE GATE OF DEATH. - - -Daniel had a good way to go, for the minister’s house was in an -opposite direction to his own from the chapel. The November fogs still -hung about London, and the lamps gave only a dim light through the -gloom. Those who were yet walking about the streets marched quickly, as -if anxious to reach whatever shelter they called their own. - -Daniel himself was making his way as fast as he could along the muddy -pavement, when he came to a part of the streets where the drainage was -being repaired, and where charcoal fires were burning in braziers here -and there, at once to give warning to the passers-by and to afford -warmth to the watchmen who stayed beside them all night. One of the -watchmen had brought an old door and reared it up against a rude wall -of stone and bricks so as to form some protection from the rain, which -now and then fell in short showers. - -He had quitted his shed, for some reason or other, and as Daniel -drew near his steps were arrested; for crouching underneath it, and -stretching out her shrivelled arms over the brazier full of charcoal, -was Jessica’s mother. The fitful light was shining strongly upon her -face, and showed the deep lines which misery and degradation had -ploughed upon it and the sullenness and stupidity which were stamped -upon her features. - -He stood still, gazing at her with disgust; but very soon a feeling of -profound pity took its place. He had been wondering what had become of -her since Friday morning, and had even felt a kind of anxiety about -her; and now, as he thought of the room with its comfortable bed which -was waiting for her, instead of the brief shelter of the shed, he -climbed over the heaps of rubbish which lay between them, calling to -her, for he did not know her name, “Jessica’s mother!” - -The woman started to her feet at the sound of his voice, and looked him -full in the face with an expression of utter wretchedness. Her eyes -were inflamed and swollen with tears, and every feature was quivering -as if she had no control over them. She was so miserable a creature -that Daniel did not know in what words to speak to her; but his heart -was moved with an unutterable compassion, unknown to him till now. - -He even felt a sympathy for her, as if he had once been in the same -depths of degradation, as he looked down shudderingly into the deep -abyss where she had fallen by her sins; and the sense of her misery -touched him so closely that he would have given his life for her -salvation. He stretched out his hand towards her, but she pushed it -away, and with a groan of despair she fled from the light, and sought -to hide herself in the darkness of the foggy streets. - -But Daniel was not easily turned aside from his desire to bring some -help to Jessica’s mother, even if it were no more than to rescue her -from the chilliness of the November night. He followed her with steps -as rapid as her own, and only that she had the first start he would -have been quickly at her side. She fled swiftly along the streets to -escape from him, and he pursued her, hoping that she would soon weary -and would turn to speak to him. - -But she kept on until Daniel found himself at the entrance of one of -the old bridges of the city which span the wide waters of the river. -Side by side with it a new bridge was being constructed with massive -beams of timber, and huge blocks of stone, and vast girders of iron, -lying like some giant skeleton enveloped in the fog, yet showing dimly -through it by the glare of red lights and blazing torches, which were -kindled here and there, and cast flickering gleams upon the black -waters beneath, into which Daniel looked down with a shiver, as he -paused for a moment in his pursuit. - -But he had lost sight of the woman when he lifted up his eyes again, -unless the strange dark figure on one of the great beams stretching -over the river was the form of Jessica’s mother. He pressed towards it, -quitting the safety of the old bridge; but, as a wild and very mournful -cry smote upon his ear, he missed his footing, and fell heavily upon a -pile of masonry at some distance below him. - -It could only have been a minute that he was unconscious, for the -deep-toned clock of St. Paul’s had chimed the first stroke of midnight -as he lost footing, and the boom of the last stroke was still ringing -through the air when he tried to raise himself and look again for the -dark figure which he had seen hanging over the river; but he could not -move, and he lay quietly, without making a second effort, and thinking -clearly over what had happened. - -There was little doubt that the wretched woman whom he had sought to -save had hurried away from all salvation, whether of God or man; and -yet how was it that, instead of the shock of horror, a perfect peace -possessed his soul? For a moment it seemed to him that he could hear a -voice speaking, through the dull and monotonous splashing of the cold -water against the arches below him, and it said to him, “Because thou -hast been faithful unto death, I will give thee a crown of life.” - -Was he going to die? he asked himself, as a pang of extreme agony ran -through all his frame, and extorted a moan from his lips. He was ready -and willing, if it was the will of God; but he would like to see his -little Jessica again and tell her gently with his own lips that her -mother was dead, and gone--he could say nothing gentler--to her own -place, which God knew of. - -The midnight hour was quieter than usual in the busy city, for it was -Sunday and the night was damp; so Daniel lay for some time before he -heard the tread of a passer-by upon the bridge above him. He could hear -many sounds at a little distance; but he could not raise his voice -loudly enough to be audible through the splash of the waters. But -as soon as he heard footsteps on the bridge he cried, with a strong -effort, “Help me, or I shall die before morning!” - -It seemed a long time, and one of great suffering to him, before he was -raised up and laid upon the smooth pathway of the bridge. But he did -not cry out or groan; and as the little crowd which gathered around him -spoke in tones of commiseration and kindness he thanked them calmly, -and with a cheerfulness which deceived them. They bore him to the -nearest hospital, but as they would have laid him on a bed there he -stopped them, with great energy and earnestness. - -“Let the doctor see me first,” he said, “and tell me whether I am -likely to die or live.” - -The doctor’s hand touched him, and there were a few questions put to -him, which he answered calmly; and then, as the doctor looked down upon -him with a grave face, he looked back with perfect composure. - -“I’m a Christian man,” said Daniel, “and I’m not afraid to die. But if -you think there’s no chance for me I’d rather go home. I’ve a little -girl at home who’d like to be with me all the time till I’m taken away -from her. The key of my house is in my pocket. Let me be taken home.” - -They could not refuse his request; but the doctor told him he might -live yet for some days, though the injuries he had received gave no -hope of his life; to which Daniel replied only by a solemn smile. It -was nearly morning before he reached his house, under the care of a -nurse and a student from the hospital; and thus he entered for the last -time the home where he had spent the three happiest years of his life -with Jessica. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -SPEAK OF HIS LOVE. - - -For several days Daniel suffered great pain, but with such perfect -peace and joy in his heart that it seemed as if he could scarcely -realize or feel his bodily anguish. Jessica was with him constantly; -and when he was free from pain she read aloud to him, or talked with -him of the heaven to which he was going, and which seemed to be open -to his gaze already, as one catches a glimpse from afar off of some -beautiful country basking in the glory of a full noontide sunshine. - -The chapel people came to see him, some of them in the carriages which -of old set him pondering on their riches; and they left him, marveling -that they had known so little of the religiousness of the man who -had ushered them to their pews Sunday after Sunday. But as yet the -minister had not visited him, though he had sent him word that as soon -as it was possible he would come to see him. - -The last day had arrived; both Daniel and Jessica knew that it was -the last day, and she had not stirred from his side since morning; -and still the minister had not come--had not been able to come to the -death-bed of his old friend. For they were old friends, having met many -times a week for a dozen years in the same chapel; and since Jessica -had drawn them closer together the learned and eloquent preacher had -cared for Daniel’s illiterate soul, and the chapel-keeper had learned -to pick up some crumbs of nourishment from the great feast which the -minister prepared week after week for his intellectual congregation. He -had not been, but Daniel was undisturbed, and so, patient and peaceful, -with a smile upon his lips when he met Jessica’s wistful eyes, he -waited for the last hour and the last moment to come. - -Yet before it was too late, and before his eye grew dim, and his tongue -numbed with the chillness of death, the minister arrived, pale in face, -and bowed down with weakness, and with a trembling voice which faltered -often as he spoke. They clasped one another’s hands, and looked into -one another’s face with a strange recognition, as if both had seen -further into the other world than they had ever done before, and then -the minister sank feebly into the chair beside Daniel’s pillow. - -“I will rest here, and stay with you for an hour,” he said. - -“It is the last hour,” answered Daniel. - -“Be it so,” replied the minister. “I too have looked death in the face.” - -They were silent for a while, while the minister rallied his strength, -and then he bent his head, his head only, for he was too feeble yet to -kneel beside the dying man, and he poured forth a prayer to God in his -inmost heart, but with hesitating lips, which no longer uttered with -ready speech the thoughts which thronged to his brain. The Amen with -which he ended was almost a groan. - -“My power is taken from me,” he said; “the Almighty has stricken me in -the pride of my heart. I shall never more speak as I used to do, of his -glory and majesty, and the greatness of his salvation.” - -“You can speak of his love,” murmured Daniel. - -“Yes,” he answered despondently, “but only as a child speaks. I shall -never stir the hearts of the congregation again. My speech will be -contemptible.” - -“Jessica, tell him what you and I have been talking about,” said Daniel. - -Jessica lifted up her face from the pillow, and turned it towards the -minister, a smile struggling through her tears; and though her voice -was unsteady to begin it grew calm and clear before she had spoken -many words. - -“We were talking how he’d never be the chapel-keeper any more, and go -up into the pulpit to carry the books before you; and then we thought -it was true, maybe, what the doctor says, that you’d never be well -enough again to preach in such a big chapel; and so we went on talking -about the time when we shall all be in heaven. We said that perhaps God -would give you more beautiful thoughts there, and grander words, and -you’d still be our minister; and the angels ’ud all come thronging up -in crowds all about you and us to hearken to what you’d thought about -Jesus Christ and about God; and there’d be a great congregation again. -Only whenever you were silent for a minute we could look up and see the -Saviour himself listening to us all.” - -Then the minister bowed his pale face upon his hands; but he did not -answer a word. - -“There is one thing still I want to say,” said Daniel. “I’ve made my -will, and left all I had to Jessica; but I don’t know where she’ll find -a home. If you’d look out for her--” - -“Jessica shall come home to me,” interrupted the minister, laying his -hand upon hers and Daniel’s and clasping them both warmly. - -“I’m a Christian man,” whispered Daniel. “I know that I love God, and -that he has made me something like himself. There’s a verse about it in -the Bible.” - -“‘Beloved,’” said the minister, “‘now are we the sons of God, and it -doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall -appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.’” - -There was no stammering of the minister’s speech as he pronounced these -words, and his face grew bright, as did the face of the dying man. -Daniel’s mind wandered a little, and he groped about, as in the dark, -for the Bible, which lay upon the bed; and he murmured, - -“It’s time to take up the books, for the congregation is waiting, and -the minister is ready. I will take them up to heaven.” - -He spoke no more; but the Bible after a while fell from his hand, and -Jessica and the minister, looking upon his face, saw that in heaven he -was beholding the face of the Father. - -It proved true that the minister could never again preach a sermon such -as in former times, when the people listened with strained attention, -and he was to them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant -voice, and playeth well on an instrument; but they heard his words -and did them not. Yet he was a man of calmer happiness than before; -and in his quiet country home, where sometimes of a Sunday he mounted -the pulpit-steps of a little chapel, and taught a simple congregation -simple truths, he drew nearer day by day in spirit to the great -congregation who were waiting for him, and before whom his lips should -never more be silenced. - - - - -Transcriber’s Note: - -Spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been retained as they appear -in the original publication, including the use of “wont” for “won’t” in -“Jessica’s First Prayer”, except as follows: - -_Jessica’s First Prayer_ - - Page 17 - ‘You make good coffee _changed to_ - “You make good coffee - - Page 26 - sobs of pain and wearness _changed to_ - sobs of pain and weariness - - Page 27 - through at the inside- _changed to_ - through at the inside. - - Page 43 - looking round encourageingly _changed to_ - looking round encouragingly - - Page 54 - CHAPTER IV. _changed to_ - CHAPTER VII. - - Page 70 - often saying no more that _changed to_ - often saying no more than - - Page 89 - minister and the beadle, ‘I asked _changed to_ - minister and the beadle, “I asked - -_Jessica’s Mother_ - - Page 21 - it with our hearts. _changed to_ - it with our hearts.” - - Page 31 - the door into a comforttable _changed to_ - the door into a comfortable - - Page 35 - in some away had never looked _changed to_ - in some way had never looked - - Page 50 - when she hears every, thing _changed to_ - when she hears every thing - - Page 53 - He knows she is my mother. _changed to_ - He knows she is my mother.” - - Page 58 - on any farther? _changed to_ - on any farther?” - - Page 64 - would he have thrust _changed to_ - would He have thrust - - Page 74 - caried to the chapel _changed to_ - carried to the chapel - - Page 79 - like some giant skeletion _changed to_ - like some giant skeleton - - A Contents has been added for _Jessica’s Mother_. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Jessica's First Prayer--Jessica's -Mother, by Hesba Stretton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JESSICA'S FIRST PRAYER *** - -***** This file should be named 50104-0.txt or 50104-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/1/0/50104/ - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian -Libraries) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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