"Dear refuge of my weary soul,
On Thee, when sorrows rise,
On Thee, when storms of trouble roll,
My fainting hope relies."


It was a great comfort to Edith to sing this, for it was one of her
mamma's favorites. After the singing they all knelt in prayer and Aunt
Maria asked God to take care of this family that was divided for the
present. "Be with the sick mother, and make her well," she prayed, "and
bless these dear little ones under this roof."

So the children felt safe, and at home. It makes everybody feel safe and
at home even in a strange house, if there is prayer in it, and Jesus is
loved and worshipped there.

Bright and early next morning, Mabel was dressed and out of doors, with
a piece of corn-bread in her hand to feed the chickens and geese. She
felt the least bit of terror when the geese craned their long necks and
hissed at her, but they soon stopped this and became very friendly.

Folks talk about dumb creatures, but they are not very dumb, are they,
children? though they have not the gift of speech. They soon learn to
know who love them, and they testify their affection in many pleasant
ways. Now Luce was not a dog to strike up friendships with everybody,
but he and Johnnie seemed to like each other at first sight. Of course,
the very first evening, bedtime came early, and weary eyes were very
glad to shut. But before noon the next day Johnnie had discovered that
his new companion could perform ever so many tricks: he could shoulder
arms, stand on his hind feet, pretend to smoke a pipe, carry a basket,