Baby Nightcaps

by Aunt Fanny

Of all the precious, bright-eyed fairies I ever knew, little Lillie was one of the very first and foremost. She was always doing or saying something charming or funny; and sometimes, of course, she was mischievous; but if you were ever so much provoked at her mischief and its effects, one look at her sweet, innocent face, so unconscious of wrong meaning, with the long golden curls floating round it, one look, and the great frown on your brow would soften into a little one; another look at the dimpled cheeks, and imploring blue eyes, and the little frown would disappear entirely; but when the sweet voice said, "Mamma, shall I put myself in the corner? I ought to go," why, one, two, three, presto!! all the angry feelings would come right out of your heart, and fly away up the chimney! and a very good riddance they were!

Don't you wish, little reader, that angry feelings of all sorts and sizes against everybody, would adopt the fashion of flying up the chimney, and never come back again? I do.

Lillie was five years old. She had two sisters older than herself. One had already gone "home," and was now a little white-robed angel in heaven, safe forever in Jesus' arms, from the temptations and dangers of this sorrowful life. The other was a dark-haired, dark-eyed little maiden, five years older than Lillie, and the grave dignity of all these years caused Annie to be impressed with a lively sense of the great necessity that rested upon her, of setting a good example to her sister, and brother Willie, a curly headed little fellow, not quite three years of age. I will tell you how Annie came to feel this responsibility so deeply.

One day her mother asked her to go down stairs, and get a book that she wanted; but Annie was very busy with her paper dolls, and she answered in a low voice, for she hardly meant her mother to hear her, "I shan't do it." When, what was her amazement and sorrow, to hear her little Lillie say, right after her, "Mamma, if you tell me, I sant do it, too."

Oh! my dear little reader, this was worse than the most dreadful punishment to Annie, to think that she had been so naughty, and that her example had caused Lillie to be naughty too, and her heart sank, as she looked up and saw her kind mother sitting there, the great tears falling one by one upon her clasped hands, and her sorrowful eyes fixed upon her children.

With a grieved cry, Annie rushed to her mother and threw her arms around her neck, and kissed her, and wiped the tears away, and said, "Hush! hush! dear mother. Oh! do stop crying! and I will never, never do so again," and little Lillie, who was only three years old then, and hardly knew how wrong she had acted, in her desire to imitate her sister, in everything, clung to her mother and said, "What for you ki, mamma? don't ki," and so it came to pass that Annie never forgot this terrible lesson, but strove with all her might to set her sister and brother a good example, and begged her good and pious mother to make a little prayer for her, that she might be strengthened from above.

This is the prayer her mother made, which Annie said every night and morning, with her other prayers, and Aunt Fanny who is writing this, begs you, dear little readers, to learn this prayer; if you only say it from your heart, I know it will help you.

"O God, my Heavenly Father, send thy Holy Spirit to help me to be good myself, and to set a good example to others. Take all the wicked disobedient thoughts out of my heart. Make me a comfort and a joy to my dear parents, and prepare me to live with Thee and my dear little sister now in Heaven. For Jesus, my Saviour's sake, Amen."

You have no idea how good and lovely Annie became after this. God answered her prayer.

In the summer time Lillie and the rest would go into the country to see her grandfather, of whom she was very fond, and well she might be, for he was one of the best and dearest grandfathers in the whole world. He was a gentleman of the old school, and treated even children with a stately courtesy; but while, at the same time, the children nestled to him with the most fearless confidence and love, they would as soon have thought of cutting their heads off, as of giving him one disrespectful word or look.