"It's all gone now. Papa telled the good Jamie to tome home," he explained to the girls, "and here he is, papa," he added, holding up his sweet mouth for a kiss.
"How beautiful is a child's faith," exclaimed Kate, after the little fellow had gone out to play again.
"Indeed I have learned more than I can tell you from the children," said Mr. Hayden, thoughtfully. "Mabel is old enough to understand a good deal, but Fred and Jamie are very quick to apply what they learn. Last night Jamie complained of the stomach ache. Neither of the children knew that I was near, but I overheard Fred telling his brother that he would treat him if he would keep still. Jamie consented and I peeped in a moment later, curious to know what they were doing. Fred sat there grave as an owl, with his hands over his eyes, and Jamie in a chair opposite, his eyes shut tightly and an air of expectancy on his face."
"Now you're all right," said Fred, very positively, after a few minutes. They were soon playing and not once did the child complain after that. When going to bed, Jamie told me about it, and I asked Fred what he did when he treated.
"W'y," he answered, "w'y, I just 'membered what you said to Mabel that everybody has two kinds o' thoughts, and one kind thinks you're sick, and the other kind knows you're well, so I thinked about Jamie till I thinked the know thoughts, and course he got well then."
"It was a lesson to me, and I have tried to emulate their receptiveness and childlike trust. I don't know how well I am succeeding, but it is pretty hard sometimes to get the problems all worked out."
"We wouldn't have to work them out if we had the faith of a child," said Kate, warmly. These little incidents touched her deeply.
"Well, there is nothing better to learn from than living examples, and yet we can only take them as guides, they will not do our work for us. Every one of us must go through his own experience, and prove his right to an inheritance, by claiming it on trust as the child does. Now, yesterday," continued Mr. Hayden, leaning back and stroking his chin, "I worked hard all the forenoon, and everything seemed to go wrong with me,"—Grace glanced at Kate—"I was not willing to live a moment at a time, as the child does, with no thought or care as to where its next day's supplies are to come from, but I was tired and cross all day. The consequence was, in the afternoon my old enemy, the headache, began to assert itself. Then I got Marion's letter and that helped me, because it threw some light on the cause, but when I heard Fred's explanation of a treatment I just applied it. I 'thinked,' till the 'know thoughts came,'" Mr. Hayden concluded with a grave smile.
"I believe that is what it means to 'work out our own salvation,'" said Grace, "and how beautiful to have the children learn! It will make different men and women of them."
"Indeed it will; I have already seen some change in the children. But are you not going to read the letter, Miss Grace?" asked Mr. Hayden.