He smiled again.
“Well, it isn’t giving information to a wise and loving Father as to what He had better do for us. It’s in trying to carry out the law of His being in doing things for others. That isn’t all of it, by any means; but it’s a starting-point. Spender tells me that that nice fellow Pyncheon brought you in. Well, then, every glass of soda-water Pyncheon draws is in its way a prayer for you, because the boy’s heart is full of you. Prayer is action—only it’s kind action.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said, with an effort to control the tremor of my voice; “I think I understand you.”
“You yourself will be praying all through this week, in your very effort to buck up. You’ll be praying in helping that poor man Lovey to do the same. In his own purblind way—of course I understand his type and what you’re trying to do for him—he’ll be praying, too. Prayer is living—only, living in the right way.” He said, suddenly, “I suppose you rather dread the week.”
“Well, I do—rather—sir.”
“Then I’ll tell you what will make it easier—what will make it pass quickly and turn it into a splendid memory.” He nodded again toward the back room. “Chum up with these fellows. You wouldn’t, of course, be condescending to them—”
“It’s for them to be condescending to me.”
He surprised me by saying: “Perhaps it is. You know best. But here we try to get on a broad, simple, human footing in which we don’t make comparisons. But you get what I mean. The simplest, kindliest approach is the best approach. Just make it a point to be white with them, as I’m sure they’ve been white with you.”
I said I had never been more touched in my life than by the small kindnesses of the past two hours.
“That’s the idea. If you keep on the watch to show the same sort of thing it will not only make the time pass, but it will brace you up mentally and spiritually. You see, they’re only children. Fundamentally you’re only a child yourself. We’re all only children, Frank. Some one says that women grow up, but that men never do. Well, I don’t know about women, but I’ve had a good deal to do with men—and I’ve never found anything but boys. Now you can spoil boys by too much indulgence, but you can’t spoil them by too much love.”