'If I were a man,' said little Effie, shuddering, 'I should be afraid to
do anything lest I should do wrong.'

'And why so?' asked Mrs Maurice; 'you forget, my dear, that you, too,
are exposed to temptations, that none of us are exempt from trials, and
our only hope is in the promise that the child of God shall not be
tempted above what he is able to bear.'

'Remember,' added Mr Maurice, taking the family Bible from its shelf
preparatory to their evening devotions, 'to love not the world, neither
the things that are in the world. And remember, when you are searching
your hearts to discover their hidden idols, that the same Divine Being
has said, "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in
him."'




CHAPTER V.

THE POOR WIDOW.


The next morning, in accordance with his children's wishes, Mr Maurice
accompanied Harry to the residence of the poor woman they had seen at Mr
T.'s shop. It was a miserable hovel, but after all there was an air of
cleanliness and comfort about it, that the most abject poverty can
seldom of itself destroy. A white curtain, mended it is true, in very
many places, yet looking quite respectable, still shaded the only window
of the apartment. There were a few coals, on which was laid a single