answered," she explained to Katherine.

"Surely, dear, you do not think that God ever made anyone, or
anything, imperfect or ugly?" Katherine gently inquired.

The child hesitated a moment, as if pondering the question.

"Well," she presently asserted, with a positive intonation and nod
of her head, "there are a lot of deformed, sick and ugly people in
the world, and the Bible tells us that He made everything."

"The Bible tells us, in Genesis, that 'everything that God made
was good'; and, in Psalms, that 'all His ways are perfect,'"
quoted Katherine.

"Yes, I know it; that was in the beginning, though," said Dorothy;
"but if He could make things perfect in the first place I don't
see why He didn't keep them so if He is God."

"Come, come, dearie; I think we must go on now--we are keeping
Miss Reynolds and Miss Minturn from their walk," Mrs. Seabrook
again interposed, with a note of gentle reproof in her tone, as
she stooped to tuck the robe more closely around the girl.

A sunny smile, like a burst of sunshine from under a cloud,
suddenly broke over Dorothy's face, at once dispelling its
unnatural gravity and perplexity.

"I didn't think how naughty that was going to sound, mamma dear,"
she said, as, with a deprecating air, she softly patted her