Her own recitations completed, her attention was next given to the other members of the class; and if, as was too often the case, there were any unprepared with lessons, Katie always considered it her especial duty to assist them as much as possible, finding easy places in the Testament or short hymns for them to learn. In this way many who would otherwise have been totally deficient, were enabled to recite a dozen verses before leaving the room.
Her knowledge of Scripture was, for one so young, truly marvellous. Every great historical event recorded on those sacred pages she knew by heart. With the beautiful Psalms of David, the sublime prophecies of Isaiah, and the solemn, yet mysterious revelations of John, she was equally familiar; and on being once questioned by a teacher in whose class she was temporarily placed, where she had learned so much about the Bible, she replied, "I learned it all in Sabbath-school." She could commit to memory with great facility; and being very fond of reading, no spare moment found Katie without a book or paper in her hands.
Katie belonged, for some time, to an Industrial school in Brooklyn; and the teachers and managers bear a willing testimony to the high character she maintained while there. Diligent, attentive, and obedient, her lovely disposition soon rendered her here, as everywhere else, a universal favorite; while her prompt and efficient aid in all the minor duties of the school, made her almost invaluable as an assistant.
But it is time to speak of Katie's spiritual life; and short as the record must necessarily be, it is yet sufficient to prove that "not by might, nor by power," but by the Holy Spirit alone are we made wise unto salvation. When she first entered the school, the Bible was to her almost a sealed book. True, she was not unacquainted with the name of Christ, nor that he lived and died for sinners; but beyond the knowledge of this simple fact, she was entirely ignorant. That she was personally interested in the matter was something she had never dreamed of. This life alone occupied all her thoughts; and it was left for a Sabbath-school teacher first to open her eyes to the necessity of a preparation here for the life beyond; to teach her the true significance of that sorrowful life which Jesus led on earth, the thorny crown and the agonizing death on the cross; to show her that it was for her sake he suffered, for her sins he was numbered with transgressors. It was all new to Katie, something she had never heard of before; and the interest she at first manifested became more and more intense, as week after week some new truth was unfolded, some new idea gained of the great plan of redemption through a crucified Saviour.
The influence of the Holy Spirit upon Katie's mind was like the rising dawn, not a sudden change from midnight darkness to the full and glowing splendor of noonday. She could not, probably, have given a connected account of her experience, and pointed to the day and hour in which she first felt the love of Christ, nor to the moment when for the first time she felt the joy of pardoned sin through his perfect merits. All she knew was, that whereas once she was blind, now she saw; and she was content.
One Sabbath a new teacher, in whose class Katie was placed a few months previous to her death, took occasion privately to address her on the duty of personal religion, urging upon her the importance of giving her heart to Jesus while in her youth. With a bright, happy smile, Katie replied,
"Why, teacher, I do love Jesus now."
"Well, Katie, I am glad; but you must love him with all your heart, so much that you will be willing to give up all your own wishes for his sake; to do any thing he requires, however hard it may seem, and to work for him all your life; and to try and grow more and more like him every day. This is the kind of love I mean."
Katie humbly replied, "I think I love him a great deal, but I know it is not enough—it is only a little child's love; but when I get older, then I will love him as much as grown persons do."
Only a child's love! The teacher's eye grew dim as she remembered the words of the blessed Master: "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."