Jem kissed her for good night very tenderly.
"Ah, mother!" he said, "I see another way of gettin' to bear fruit; and that is to spread your roots deep in the soil as the great Gardener has got ready for us; I see that now, and I'll remember it."
She bade Meg good-bye, and went up-stairs again.
"Cherry, child," she began, coming close to the bed, "give grannie a kiss, and let's tell the Lord all about it."
Poor Cherry broke into sobs, as she raised her face to meet that of her friend.
"Child, there are many things to comfort you. He'll not be unhappy, my dear, even if he is blind. People will be kind to him, and he'll not miss it as much as you fear. But, whether or not, the best thing we can do is to come to the bottom at once. The Lord knows, and the Lord loves. Cherry, He loves Dickie more than you and Meg do, and that's saying a great deal."
Then she knelt down, and taking Cherry's hand in hers, she prayed that they might all be able to trust Him who loved them, both when He sent cloud and when He sent sunshine. And then Cherry, yielding herself to submit to the cloud, suddenly remembered the flash of sunshine which had been sent her that day, and cheered up and took courage.
When Mrs. Seymour rose, she put up her face once more.
"Oh, grannie!—may I call you grannie?—how good you are to me. Indeed, I will try to be a good girl to you and mother-Meg."