"So Kittie got up without another word and left the room, but when she got to the door she ran back and kissed them both over and over again. 'I do love Him,' she says, 'and I will try to do as He likes!' And then she runs down in good earnest. After that Cherry begins to sing that one about the snow—'Wash me in the Blood of the Lamb, and I shall be whiter than snow.' That was just before you come in, Mrs. Seymour, and I was, as I says, sittin' nigh the gate of Heaven: for it seems to me, when we come to think o' His forgivin' love, as we mount up, and up, and up, till we are a'most lost in wonder!"
Mrs. Seymour did not answer beyond a gentle "Yes—yes—yes," as she busied herself in preparing her invalid's supper; but the story sank down into her heart, and many a time little Kittie got a kind smile or a word of encouragement, where before she would have passed her with a nod. And thus she gave "a cup of cold water" to another of His little disciples.
A day or two after this Jem and Meg bade Cherry good-bye, and left her under Mrs. Seymour's wing, proud to be of some use in the world. For Mrs. Seymour's last words as she placed her hand upon the girl's shoulder were—
"She's my grandchild, you know, Meg, and I couldn't spare her now for anything."
CHAPTER XX.
EARTH'S SONG AND HEAVEN'S ECHO.
